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Learn the basics of using imkitchen
Master meal plan generation
Create and organize your recipes
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Troubleshooting and FAQs
Learn how to create your first week of meals using your favorite recipes.
Getting Started • 3 min readCompare features and understand which tier is right for you.
Account & Billing • 5 min readUnderstand how main courses are automatically paired with sides like rice and pasta.
Meal Planning • 4 min readStep-by-step guide to bulk importing your recipe collection.
Recipe Management • 6 min readLearn about week locking and how it protects your in-progress meals.
Meal Planning • 3 min readUnderstand recipe snapshots and how deletion affects other users.
Community • 4 min readClick the "Get Started" or "Register" button in the top navigation. Fill out the registration form with your name, email, password, and meal preferences (dietary restrictions, household size, cuisine variety). Accept the terms and click "Create Account."
You can configure multiple dietary restrictions including Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Nut-Free, and Low-Carb. The meal planning algorithm will respect these restrictions when generating meal plans.
Yes, you need to have favorited recipes before generating a meal plan. You can create your own recipes, import recipes via JSON, or favorite recipes from the community. We recommend having at least 15-20 favorites for best results.
The system automatically generates meal plans for all remaining weeks of the current month (from next week onwards). If you're at the end of the month, it will extend into the next month. Typically this generates 3-5 weeks of meals.
No. Free tier users can only view the first generated week. Weeks 2-5 are locked with upgrade prompts. Premium subscribers have full visibility across all generated weeks.
The current week (Monday-Sunday range containing today) is locked to preserve your in-progress meals. This prevents accidentally replacing meals you've already started preparing. You can regenerate all future weeks individually or all at once.
The system gracefully handles insufficient recipes by leaving empty meal slots. There's no minimum recipe count required. For example, with 10 favorites you might get Week 1 full and Week 2 partial with empty slots.
No. Generation is non-deterministic - each regeneration produces different meal slot assignments even with the same favorite recipes. This allows you to regenerate until you find an arrangement you prefer.
When you create a main course recipe, you can mark it as accepting accompaniments and specify preferred types (rice, pasta, bread, fries, salad, vegetables). The algorithm will automatically pair compatible accompaniment recipes with your main courses when generating meal plans.
Recipes are categorized into 4 types: <strong>Appetizer</strong> (starters, salads), <strong>Main Course</strong> (entrees), <strong>Dessert</strong> (sweets), and <strong>Accompaniment</strong> (sides like rice, pasta, bread). Each day's meal plan can include an appetizer, main course with optional accompaniment, and dessert.
Go to the Recipe Import page, drag and drop JSON files (max 10MB each, up to 20 files per batch), and click Import. The system validates each recipe against the schema and provides a summary showing successful imports, failed recipes, and duplicates. Check our JSON Schema documentation for the required format.
Free tier users can favorite a maximum of 10 recipes. Premium subscribers have unlimited favorites. If you try to favorite more than 10 on the free tier, you'll see an upgrade modal.
No. All recipe fields including dietary restrictions, cuisine type, and preferences must be explicitly set by users when creating or importing recipes. The system does not automatically detect or infer these attributes from recipe content.
Yes. Imported recipes are stored in your recipe library just like manually created recipes. You can edit, delete, share, or favorite them like any other recipe.
When creating or editing a recipe, check the "Share with community" toggle. Shared recipes become publicly visible in community search, allowing other users to discover, favorite, and include them in their meal plans.
When a user favorites your recipe, they can include it in their meal plans. You are not notified when someone favorites your recipe. If you delete a shared recipe, it's automatically removed from all users' favorites.
When meal plans are generated, the system creates complete snapshots/copies of all referenced recipes (including community recipes). This ensures meal plan integrity if the original recipe owner deletes or modifies their recipe. Historical meal plans always retain the original recipe data.
Yes. All users (free and premium) can rate and review community recipes. Ratings help maintain quality - low-rated recipes are buried in search results. There's no pre-approval required; the community self-moderates through feedback.
Yes. Both free and premium tier users can share all 4 recipe types with the community. Recipe sharing is not restricted to premium subscribers.
<strong>Free:</strong> View first week only of generated meal plans, max 10 favorite recipes, unlimited regenerations.<br><strong>Premium ($9.99/mo or $59.94/yr):</strong> View all generated weeks (full month visibility), unlimited favorite recipes, priority support, early access to features.
Click any "Upgrade to Premium" button throughout the app, or go to your Profile/Settings page and select the subscription option. Choose monthly ($9.99/mo) or annual ($59.94/yr, 50% savings) billing. Enter your payment information and confirm.
Yes. Cancel anytime through your account settings. You'll retain premium access until the end of your paid period, then automatically revert to the free tier. No refunds are provided for partial months or unused portions of annual subscriptions.
When downgrading: (1) You can only view the first week of meal plans (others become locked), (2) Favorited recipes exceeding 10 are hidden (not deleted) until you remove some or upgrade, (3) Previously generated meal plans remain accessible according to free tier rules.
Yes. Subscriptions automatically renew at the end of each billing period (monthly or annual). You'll receive an email notification before renewal. Cancel anytime to prevent renewal.
We accept all major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover) processed through secure PCI-DSS compliant payment processors. We do not store full card numbers.
We support modern browsers: Chrome 90+, Firefox 88+, Safari 14+, and Edge 90+. For best experience, keep your browser updated to the latest version.
Yes. imkitchen is a Progressive Web App (PWA) designed mobile-first with touch-optimized interfaces, week carousel navigation, and responsive layouts. It works on iOS Safari, Android Chrome, and can be installed as a standalone app.
Common login issues: (1) Check your email/password are correct, (2) Clear browser cache and cookies, (3) Try password reset if forgotten, (4) If account is suspended by admin, you won't be able to log in - contact support.
Multi-week generation completes in under 5 seconds for up to 5 weeks (P95 performance). If generation takes longer, check your internet connection or contact support.
The import summary shows which recipes failed and why. Common issues: (1) Invalid JSON format, (2) Missing required fields, (3) File size exceeding 10MB, (4) Duplicate recipes. Review the JSON Schema documentation and ensure your files match the required structure. Only 100% valid recipes are imported.
Offline recipe access is supported. You can view previously loaded recipes and meal plans offline. Generating new meal plans, syncing data, and community features require an internet connection.
Our support team is here to assist you