Import a recipe from a URL
Not available yet: how URL import (pasting the link to a published recipe and getting it back as an editable draft) will work once it's switched on.
This route isn't available yet. URL import is not switched on in the app: today it doesn't appear on any screen (neither the "Is your recipe published on the web?" prompt nor the Import from a URL button), so there's nothing to click. This page describes how it will work once it's enabled. In the meantime, import the recipe as a photo or PDF.
What will it solve?
When a recipe lives on a blog, a supplier's site, or a course page, copying it by hand—ingredient by ingredient and step by step—is slow. With this route you'll just paste the link: we'll go to the page, pull the data for you, and hand back a draft recipe inside AreaCacao. It won't replace your judgment—it'll be a starting point you review before you go into production. It will be the third way to import, alongside photo/PDF and CSV.
Where it will appear
It's planned to live in Import recipes (sidebar → FORMULATION), Upload new tab. At the end of the tab, below the CSV or Excel (no credits) card, the prompt "Is your recipe published on the web?" will show up with the Import from a URL button, which will open the window where you paste the links.
Until the feature is switched on, that block isn't rendered: if you can't find it on your screen, nothing is wrong with your account or your plan.
Credits, as planned
Importing from a URL will use credits, but fewer than importing a photo. Before you confirm, the window will show the exact cost of the import—around 8 credits per recipe. Treat that 8 as a reference: the figure that will count is the one shown on screen before confirming.
You'll be charged only if it works. If the page can't be read or isn't a recipe, nothing will be charged (full refund).
How it will work, step by step
- Open Import recipes. Sidebar → FORMULATION → Import recipes, Upload new tab.
- Click "Import from a URL". It will sit at the end of the tab, in the "Is your recipe published on the web?" prompt.
- Paste the links. You'll be able to paste one or several at once (up to 5), one recipe per link. The window will show the exact cost before you continue.
- Confirm. The import will start in the background: you'll be able to keep working, with no need to wait on this screen.
- Wait for processing. Each import will appear in the list and update on its own, moving from Processing to Ready, with no reload.
- Open the recipe. Once an import reaches Ready, the recipe will already be saved in your recipe book, and the Open recipe button will open it in the editor, with the validation panel expanded, for you to review.
Just like the other imports, the recipe will be saved in your recipe book as soon as the import finishes; that's why there'll be no "Save recipe" button here. What you'll do in the editor is review and correct it.
Planned status of each import
| Status | What will be happening |
|---|---|
| Processing | We're going to the page and reading the recipe. You can keep working. |
| Ready | Recipe extracted; you can now click Open recipe. |
| Not a recipe | The link didn't lead to a recipe; nothing has been imported or charged. |
| Failed | The page couldn't be read; nothing has been charged. |
URL imports will also show up in History, alongside the rest of your imports, with their status and warnings; in the File column they'll be listed as Web link. See Import history.
Which pages will work best
- Public pages. It will work best with recipes on open pages, reachable without a password.
- We won't reach pages behind a paywall or a login. If the recipe requires signing in or paying to view it, we won't be able to read it. In that case, open it in your browser, take a screenshot, and import it as an image. See Import a photo or PDF.
- One recipe per link. If a page gathers several recipes, the result will be cleaner when each link points to a specific recipe.
Expected errors
- The page can't be read. Usually because the recipe is behind a login or a paywall. Nothing is charged; import it as an image instead.
- It's not a recipe. If the link points to a page with no recipe on it (an index, an article, a store), the import will end as Not a recipe, with the notice "That link doesn't seem to lead to a recipe. Make sure it points straight to the recipe. You weren't charged any credits." The link has to go straight to the recipe.
- More than five links. The planned limit is 5 at a time; beyond that they'll have to be split into batches.