🍳 Recipe Organizer

A powerful tool to identify, organize, and centralize your recipe files automatically. 🥘

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✨ Features

• 🕵️ Smart Detection: Identifies recipes by keywords (Ingredients, Method, etc.) and filenames
• 📄 Multi-Format Support: Works with .docx, .doc, .pdf, .txt, .tiff, and .zip files
• 📂 Automatic Organization: Sorts recipes into A-Z folders based on filename
• 🗃️ Recipe Database: Maintains a searchable recipes.json index of your collection
• 🎛️ Easy Controls: Browse for folders, select modes, and toggle options with checkboxes
• 📝 Toggleable Log: Show/hide detailed progress logs to keep the interface clean
• ⚡ Performance: Animated progress bar with real-time status updates
• 🔒 Safe Testing: Test mode previews changes without moving files

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📥 Installation

Option 1: C# Application (Recommended) 🚀

Faster, more stable, and easier to use.

1. Go to the src folder.
2. Run RecipeOrganizer.exe.
3. (Optional) Move the EXE to any folder you like.

Option 2: PowerShell Script 📜

Good for customization or if you prefer scripts.

1. Run RecipeOrganizerGUI.ps1.
2. Ensure you have PowerShell execution policies set to allow scripts.

Option 3: Standalone PowerShell EXE

1. Run Build-Standalone.ps1 to create a wrapped EXE version of the script.
2. Find the output in the Release folder.

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🚀 Quick Start (GUI)

1. Select Source Folder: Where your messy recipe files are
2. Select Destination Folder: Where you want them organized
3. Choose Mode:
   • Test - Preview what will happen (no files moved)
   • Copy - Copy recipes to destination (originals untouched)
   • Move - Move recipes to destination (originals deleted)
4. Click Start Organizing (button text changes based on mode!)

Tip: Always start with Test mode to see what will happen first.

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🛠️ Advanced Usage

Command Line

Run the PowerShell script directly for automation or scripting:

.\Organize-Recipes.ps1 -SourcePath "C:\MyDocs" -DestinationPath "C:\Recipes" -Mode Copy

Parameters

Parameter	Alias	Description	Default
-SourcePath	-src, -s	Folder to search for recipes	MyDocuments
-DestinationPath	-dst, -d	Folder to organize recipes into	C:\Recipes
-Mode	-mod, -m	Operation mode: Test, Copy, Move	Test
-NoRecurse	-nr	Only search top-level folder (no subfolders)	False
-Keywords	-key, -k	Custom keywords to search for	See below

Default Keywords: "Ingredients", "Directions", "Recipe", "Servings", "Prep time", "Cook time", "Instructions", "Method", "Yield", "Total time", "Nutrition", "Calories"

Examples

Basic test run:

.\Organize-Recipes.ps1 -Mode Test

Organize Downloads folder (no recursion):

.\Organize-Recipes.ps1 -SourcePath "C:\Users\You\Downloads" -DestinationPath "C:\Recipes" -Mode Move -NoRecurse

Custom keywords:

.\Organize-Recipes.ps1 -Keywords "Grandma", "Secret Sauce", "Family Recipe" -Mode Test

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🔧 Troubleshooting

"Windows cannot access the specified device" / SmartScreen Warning

This is normal - the executable is not code-signed (we're an open-source project).

Quick Fix:

1. Move the EXE from Downloads to another folder (e.g., C:\RecipeOrganizer\)
2. Right-click RecipeOrganizer.exe → Properties
3. Check "Unblock" at the bottom → Click OK
4. Run the EXE - if SmartScreen appears, click "More info" → "Run anyway"

Why this happens:

• Windows Defender SmartScreen flags unsigned executables as "Unknown Publisher"
• Attack Surface Reduction (ASR) rules block untrusted executables from the Downloads folder
• This is NOT malware - the source code is public and fully auditable on GitHub

For Enterprise Users: Ask your IT administrator to whitelist RecipeOrganizer.exe.

"Script is not digitally signed"

If using the PowerShell script directly, you need to allow script execution:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

Run this in PowerShell as Administrator.

"Files not found"

• Ensure files contain one of the keywords (e.g., "Ingredients", "Recipe")
• For images (TIFF) or PDFs without text, ensure the filename contains "Recipe"
• Check if the file is in a subfolder and you used -NoRecurse

"Access Denied"

• Ensure you have permission to read source files and write to destination
• Close any open Word/PDF documents before running the script
• Try running as Administrator (right-click → "Run as administrator")

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📋 Requirements

• OS: Windows 10 or Windows 11
• .NET 6 SDK: Required only if building from source (Download)
• PowerShell: 5.1 or later (for script mode)

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🗺️ Roadmap

Want to see what's coming next? Check out our ROADMAP.md for the full development roadmap!

v2.0 Features (Now Available! 🎉):

• ✅ Duplicate detection (SHA256 hash comparison)
• ✅ Recipe database with JSON index
• ✅ Full C# feature parity with PowerShell version

Upcoming Features:

• v2.1: OCR for image recipes, fuzzy filename matching
• v3.0: AI-powered features (Gemini integration, meal planning, nutrition tracking)

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

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📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

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💬 Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions

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⭐ Show Your Support

If you find this tool helpful, please consider giving it a star on GitHub! ⭐