Virtual Recipe Box is a Dockerised recipe manager that ships with both a guided CLI and a lightweight Flask web UI.
Recipes live in a local SQLite database, while PDFs and exports are stored beside the code (bind-mount the folder to persist them on the host).

• Preloaded starter recipes to explore the interface immediately
• Add new recipes manually or by importing local/remote PDF files
• Automatic text extraction with optional clean-up before saving
• Rich filtering (term, ingredient, tags, PDF presence) in both CLI and web UI
• Full-featured web experience to create, edit, delete, and export recipes
• Edit/delete recipes and manage their associated PDFs and images
• Export any recipe into a formatted PDF document for sharing

• Docker Engine 20.10+ (or compatible runtime)
• Optional bind-mounted host directory for database and file persistence

docker build -t virtual-recipe-box -f docker/Dockerfile .

docker run --rm -it -v "$(pwd)":/app virtual-recipe-box

Inside the menu, choose Search Recipes to combine filters such as ingredient keywords, tag selections, and PDF availability.

The application stores runtime artefacts inside the mounted directory:

• recipes.db – SQLite database containing recipe metadata
• pdf_recipe_files/ – managed storage for recipe PDFs
• exported_recipes/ – generated PDFs from the export option
• app.log – error log for troubleshooting

docker run --rm -it -p 8000:8000 -v "$(pwd)":/app virtual-recipe-box python virtual_recipe_box.py --web

The web experience mirrors the CLI: add, import, edit, delete, filter, and export recipes all from the browser. Linked detail pages offer inline PDF access and quick exports.
Visit http://localhost:8000 after starting the container.

• Supply a file path that is visible inside the container (relative paths work when the repository is bind-mounted).
• Alternatively, paste an HTTP/HTTPS URL; the PDF is downloaded into pdf_recipe_files/.
• The importer extracts text, guesses ingredients/instructions, and lets you tweak them before saving.

An initial set of recipes (sample_recipes.json) is automatically loaded the first time the database is created.
Customise or extend this file before the first run to tailor the starter content.

docker run --rm -it -v "$(pwd)":/app virtual-recipe-box python connection_Tester.py

The helper prints the total recipe count and up to five sample entries.

• Exercise both the CLI and the web UI when making changes.
• docker run --rm -v "$(pwd)":/app virtual-recipe-box python -m compileall virtual_recipe_box.py connection_Tester.py ensures the Python modules still compile.
• Keep dependency changes minimal and document behavioural updates here.