How to Import Recipes

A guide to saving recipes from social media, websites, photos, and text into Bytful Free or Pro.

Last updated: 5/22/2026 • 2 min read

Bytful is designed to be your recipe inbox. You can save recipes from common sources, and Bytful helps clean them up into a standardized format.

Bytful Free includes up to 7 saved recipes. If you want unlimited saves plus Smart Plan, grocery lists, and more Chef Byte help, eligible subscribers can try Bytful Pro free for 7 days from inside the app.

1. Universal Import (Social & Web)

One of Bytful’s core features is the ability to share a recipe directly from supported apps.

Supported Apps

  • Instagram: supported public reels, posts, and captions.
  • TikTok: supported public videos, captions, and comments when available.
  • Safari / Chrome: many recipe blogs and recipe websites.

How to use the Share Extension

  1. Open the recipe in the original app (e.g., Instagram).
  2. Tap the Share icon (arrow or square with arrow).
  3. Look for the Bytful icon in the app list. (Note: You might need to tap “More…” and edit your list to add Bytful).
  4. Tap Bytful.
  5. A confirmation banner will appear: “Saved to Inbox”.

The recipe will appear in your Inbox as a “Pending Recipe” with a Processing... status. Bytful is extracting the ingredients and steps in the background.

2. Scan Physical Cookbooks (OCR)

Digitize your grandmother’s handwritten cards or pages from a magazine.

  1. Open Bytful and go to the Home or Cookbook tab.
  2. Tap the + (Add) button.
  3. Select Scan Recipe (Camera icon).
  4. Take a photo of the recipe page.
    • Tip: Ensure good lighting and try to flatten the page.
    • Tip: If the recipe spans multiple pages, take multiple photos.
  5. Tap Done.
  6. The image is uploaded as a Pending Recipe type .image. Our OCR (Optical Character Recognition) engine will transcribe the text and structure it.

3. Paste Text or Link

If you have a recipe in a text message, Notes app, or generic URL:

  1. Copy the text or URL.
  2. Tap + (Add).
  3. Select Paste Link or Paste Text.
  4. The content is added to the queue for AI processing.

Understanding Statuses

  • Processing: Bytful is analyzing the content. This usually takes a short moment, but timing can vary by source and connection.
  • Draft: The recipe needs your review. Maybe the AI wasn’t sure about an ingredient.
  • Saved: The recipe is fully structured and added to your library.