Frequently Asked Questions

Recipe API is a production-ready REST API that provides structured recipe data for developers building food and cooking applications. Each recipe includes detailed ingredients, step-by-step instructions with temperatures and timings, comprehensive nutrition data (32 nutrients per serving), dietary flags, and more.

Getting started is simple:

1. Visit /signup and enter your email
2. Check your inbox for a magic link
3. Click the link to sign in; it lands you on /keys
4. Create an API key there. The plaintext key is shown once, so copy it then.

The free tier is $0/mo forever.

The Generate endpoint (POST /api/v1/generate) creates brand-new recipes from structured inputs. You provide:

• • Recipe title and cuisine type
• • Key ingredients to include
• • Required equipment
• • Target cooking time and difficulty

The API returns a complete recipe with USDA-verified nutrition.

Generate has separate daily/monthly limits: Evaluation: 1/day, 1/mo · Developer ($29/mo): 10/day, 150/mo · Production ($99/mo): 25/day, 500/mo · Scale ($299/mo): 50/day, 1,200/mo · Enterprise ($4,999/mo): 100/day, 2,000/mo.

All API responses are in JSON format. Recipes follow a consistent schema with structured data for ingredients (with quantities, units, and substitutions), instructions (with actions, temperatures, and doneness cues), and nutrition (32 nutrients per serving).

Try it now without signup: curl https://recipe-api.com/api/v1/dinner

Yes, rate limits depend on your plan:

• Evaluation: 50 requests/day, 50 unique recipes/mo, Generate 1/day & 1/mo
• Developer ($29/mo): 500 requests/day, 250 unique recipes/mo, Generate 10/day & 150/mo
• Production ($99/mo): 2,000 requests/day, 1,000 unique recipes/mo, Generate 25/day & 500/mo
• Scale ($299/mo): 10,000 requests/day, 5,000 unique recipes/mo, Generate 50/day & 1,200/mo
• Enterprise ($4,999/mo): 100,000 requests/day, unlimited unique recipes/mo, Generate 100/day & 2,000/mo

See our plan comparison for full details.

The unique recipes limit tracks how many different recipes you access per billing period. Re-requesting the same recipe doesn't count against this limit—only new recipes do.

This encourages caching (which is good for both performance and API efficiency) and ensures fair access to our recipe database across all users.

Yes! Caching rights depend on your plan:

• Evaluation: No caching (evaluation only)
• Developer ($29/mo): 24-hour local caching
• Production ($99/mo): 7-day local caching
• Scale ($299/mo): Persistent application caching
• Enterprise ($4,999/mo): Custom caching + white-label rights

With Scale and above, you can keep fetched responses in your application database or cache layer to reduce latency and improve reliability for data you have already retrieved.

Caching rights are for your licensed application use. They do not include bulk dataset extraction, resale or sublicensing, AI/ML model training, partner redistribution, or post-termination commercial use unless we agree those rights in writing.

White-label is available on Enterprise agreements for teams that need brand-first recipe experiences without Recipe API attribution. Depending on the written agreement, you can:

• • Rebrand the data as “[Your Company] Recipes”
• • Include recipes inside your own customer-facing product
• • Remove all Recipe API references

Raw API access, standalone datasets, partner distribution, and model-training rights require explicit written approval.

Our nutrition data is sourced primarily from USDA FoodData Central and other verified databases. Each recipe includes 32 nutrients per serving:

• • Calories, protein, carbohydrates, fat (including saturated, trans, mono, poly)
• • Fiber, sugar, sodium, cholesterol
• • Vitamins A, C, D, E, K, B6, B12, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate
• • Minerals: calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc

Each ingredient shows its nutrition source (e.g., “USDA FoodData Central”).

All recipes are professionally developed and curated. Each recipe includes:

• • Structured ingredients with precise quantities and units
• • Step-by-step instructions with actions, temperatures, and timings
• • Troubleshooting tips for common issues
• • Chef notes with professional techniques
• • Cultural context where relevant
• • Storage and reheating instructions

New recipes are added weekly across multiple cuisines, categories, and dietary preferences. Every addition follows the same structured schema as the rest of the catalog.

No, attribution is not required. You can use Recipe API responses in your applications under your own brand, subject to your plan limits and the Terms of Service. The no-attribution right does not permit raw redistribution, sublicensing, bulk dataset export, or AI/ML model training.

Not under the self-serve plans. Recipe API works well for runtime AI experiences such as recipe assistants, search, filtering, and prompt context, but using API data to train, fine-tune, evaluate, or develop machine learning models requires a separate written Enterprise or data license.

No shared keys. Your API key is for your account and approved application only. If a partner, contractor, affiliate, or R&D collaborator needs access, contact us so we can approve the right access path or put it under a custom Enterprise agreement.

You'll receive a 429 Too Many Requests response with a Retry-After header indicating when you can retry.

Free tier: Wait for the limit to reset (per-minute resets every 60s, daily resets rolling 24h).

Paid tiers: Contact us if you need temporary increases for special circumstances.

Caching rights depend on your plan:

• Evaluation: No caching (evaluation only)
• Developer ($29/mo): 24-hour local caching
• Production ($99/mo): 7-day local caching
• Scale ($299/mo): Persistent application caching
• Enterprise ($4,999/mo): Custom caching + white-label rights

Caching means storing API responses in your own database, cache, or file system for your licensed application. After the permitted period, you must re-fetch the data or delete your local copy. Persistent caching on Scale is still subject to the Terms and does not include raw redistribution, model training, or continuing use after your subscription ends. See our Terms of Service for full details.

No public package-manager SDK is available yet. The API is straightforward REST/JSON and works with any HTTP client. We provide code examples for JavaScript, Python, and cURL in our documentation.

An OpenAPI spec is available at /openapi.json for generating clients in any language.

Starter repos and the source SDK are available from GitHub.

API responses are typically under 100ms (p95) globally. Our infrastructure is hosted on Fly.io with edge locations for low latency.

API requests are authenticated using an API key passed in the X-API-Key header. Keys have the format rapi_...

Create keys from the dashboard. Each plaintext key is shown once when you create it; you can revoke or create replacement keys anytime.

Yes! We provide a dedicated ingredients database with 10,000+ ingredients across 23 categories:

• • /api/v1/ingredients - Browse and search ingredients by name or category
• • /api/v1/ingredient-categories - List all 23 ingredient categories
• • /api/v1/recipes?ingredients=id1,id2 - Find recipes containing specific ingredients

Categories include: Vegetables, Beef, Poultry, Seafood, Dairy & Eggs, Legumes, Grains & Pasta, Fruits, Spices & Herbs, and more.

Sign in to your dashboard and click “Upgrade” to select a paid plan. You'll be redirected to Stripe checkout to complete payment. Your new limits apply immediately.

We accept all major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) through Stripe. Some regions may also support local payment methods.

Monthly subscriptions are non-refundable for partial months, but you can cancel anytime and continue using the service until your billing period ends.

If you have concerns, contact us and we'll work with you.

Not currently, but contact us if you're interested. We may offer annual plans with a discount in the future.

Sign in to your dashboard, click “Manage Billing”, and cancel from the Stripe billing portal. Your access continues until the end of your current billing period.

Yes! Contact us for custom enterprise plans with higher rate limits, dedicated support, and custom SLAs.

The Enterprise plan includes a 99.9% uptime SLA. For enterprise customers requiring higher guarantees or custom terms, contact us to discuss.

Enterprise plan customers receive priority email support. For enterprise customers, we offer dedicated support channels and faster response times. Contact us for details.