What is a .melarecipe file?

A .melarecipe file is a single recipe exported from Mela, the iOS/macOS recipe app. It's a plain JSON file — Mela's developers documented the format publicly, which makes it one of the friendliest recipe exports to convert. A .melarecipes file (note the 's') is a zip containing many .melarecipe files.

How do I export my recipes from Mela?

In Mela, open a recipe and tap the share button → Mela Recipe File to export a single .melarecipe. To export a whole collection, select multiple recipes (or a smart list) and share — Mela bundles them as a .melarecipes zip. Upload either format here.

Will my photos and notes survive the conversion?

Yes. Mela embeds recipe images as base64 data inside the JSON, and we preserve them through to PDF and HTML outputs. Notes, source links, prep/cook times, categories, and nutrition fields all carry through to the schema.org Recipe shape used by every output format.

Can I move my Mela recipes to Paprika or another app?

Convert to JSON or .cook here, then import into the destination app. Most modern recipe apps accept schema.org JSON-LD or have a generic JSON import. For Paprika specifically, the JSON output is structured to match what Paprika expects on import.

.melarecipe and .melarecipes both supported

Convert your Mela recipes

Mela ships only on Apple devices. Get your recipes into PDF, JSON, CSV, Markdown, or .cook so you can read them on anything — even after you switch apps.

100% free. Open-source parsing. No account required.

What we support

Both Mela export shapes — single recipes and full collections.

.melarecipe Supported

A single recipe shared from Mela as a JSON file. Title, ingredients, instructions, notes, embedded photos, source link, and nutrition all carry through.

.melarecipes Supported

A whole collection — Mela bundles multiple recipes into a single zip with the trailing 's'. We unpack and convert each recipe into your chosen output format.

How to export from Mela

1

Open the recipe (or select multiple)

For one recipe, open it. For a collection, go to All Recipes → Select, tap the recipes you want, then tap Share.

2

Tap the share button

Use the share icon in the top toolbar. Mela offers several share formats — pick "Mela Recipe File" for a single recipe, or share multiple to get a .melarecipes archive.

3

Save the file

Save to Files, AirDrop to your Mac, or email it to yourself. You'll end up with a .melarecipe (single) or .melarecipes (collection).

4

Upload it here

Drag the file into the upload area above and pick the output format you want — PDF, JSON, CSV, Markdown, or .cook.

Why move recipes out of Mela?

Mela is a beautifully built recipe app — and that's part of the trap. It only runs on Apple platforms. If you switch to Android, want to read a recipe on a Windows PC in the kitchen, or just want a printable card, the recipes are stuck inside the app.

Mela's developers did a thoughtful thing: they documented the export format publicly. That means your recipes aren't trapped — they're just one conversion step away from any other tool you might want to use.

Convert to JSON for re-import into another app, PDF for printing, Markdown for a personal cookbook, or .cook for any CookLang-compatible tool. Your collection, your choice of format.

Export to any format

Get your recipes in formats that work for you

{ }

JSON

Schema.org compliant

PDF

Print-ready cards

CSV

Excel-friendly

MD

Markdown

Plain text

.cook

CookLang

For developers

DB

SQLite

Portable database

ORF

Open Recipe

YAML format

Free your Mela collection

Drop a .melarecipe or .melarecipes file above and we'll convert every recipe into the format you want.