hermes-config/skills/self-hosting/mealie-setup/references/batch-import.md

Batch Recipe Import

Import recipes in bulk via the Mealie API. The scraper extracts full recipe data (ingredients, steps, images, times) from any supported URL.

Python Script

import requests
import time

MEALIE = "http://127.0.0.1:9925"
EMAIL = "your@email.com"
PASSWORD = "your-password"

# Authenticate
resp = requests.post(
    f"{MEALIE}/api/auth/token",
    data={"username": EMAIL, "password": PASSWORD, "grant_type": ""},
    headers={"Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"}
)
token = resp.json()["access_token"]
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}", "Content-Type": "application/json"}

# Recipe URLs (one per line)
urls = [
    "https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/classic-lasagne",
    "https://www.budgetbytes.com/one-pot-creamy-cajun-chicken-pasta/",
    "https://www.recipetineats.com/thai-green-curry/",
]

for url in urls:
    resp = requests.post(
        f"{MEALIE}/api/recipes/create/url",
        json={"url": url},
        headers=headers,
        timeout=60
    )
    if resp.status_code in (200, 201):
        print(f"  OK: {url.split('/')[-2]}")
    else:
        print(f"  FAIL: {url.split('/')[-2]} — {resp.status_code}")
    time.sleep(1.5)  # Be polite to recipe sites

Bulk curl (no Python needed)

# Get token
TOKEN=$(curl -s -X POST "http://127.0.0.1:9925/api/auth/token" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
  -d "grant_type=&username=you@email.com&password=yourpass" \
  | grep -o '"access_token":"[^"]*"' | cut -d'"' -f4)

# Import a single recipe
curl -s -X POST "http://127.0.0.1:9925/api/recipes/create/url" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/classic-lasagne"}'

Notes

• URLs must be full recipe pages, not search results or category pages.
• If a site returns HTTP 400 consistently, it likely blocks automated scrapers — see scraper-sites.md for alternatives.
• First import may be slow (Mealie's scraper downloads the page, parses schema.org JSON-LD, and extracts structured data).
• Real-world success rate: ~50-60% across mixed URLs. Expect roughly half to fail on the first pass. Rerun failures from a reliable source (BBC Good Food, RecipeTin Eats) to fill gaps.
• From Hermes: use execute_code with import requests — the sandboxed Python environment can call http://127.0.0.1:9925 directly. No need for curl or external scripts.