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Mercury is a personal recipe library for iPhone and iPad. You can add recipes manually, import them from websites or text, organise them by category and rating, log your cooks, and display your favourites on your home screen.
Tap the + button in the top-right corner of the recipe list, then choose one of the following:
.mercuryrecipe file shared from another deviceFree accounts can store up to 5 recipes, including imports. Upgrading to Mercury Pro removes this limit entirely.
Tap + → Import From Website, paste the URL of a recipe page, and tap Import. Mercury uses Apple Intelligence to extract the title, ingredients, and steps from the page.
You can also import from Safari directly: tap the Share button in Safari and select Mercury from the share sheet to send the current page straight to the importer.
If you have a recipe copied from an email, a PDF, or anywhere else, tap + → Paste Text Recipe and paste the text. Mercury will parse it into structured ingredients and steps.
Mercury uses the .mercuryrecipe file format for sharing. If someone sends you one — via AirDrop, Mail, or Files — tap it to open Mercury and confirm the import. No Pro subscription is required to receive files.
Most recipe websites work well, but some use unusual layouts that can confuse the parser. If a field is missing or wrong, you can edit any part of the recipe after import by tapping the pencil icon on the recipe detail screen.
You can assign a category to each recipe (such as Breakfast, Italian, or Baking). Categories are created automatically when you type a new one while editing a recipe. To filter by category, tap the filter icon in the recipe list toolbar.
Tap any star on a recipe's detail screen to rate it from 1 to 5. You can sort your library by star rating and filter to show only recipes above a minimum rating using the filter menu.
Tap the heart icon on any recipe to mark it as a favourite. You can filter your list to show only favourites, and your top favourites appear automatically on the Favourites widget.
Tap the sort icon to sort by Name, Star Rating, Total Time, or Category. Tap the filter icon to narrow results by category, minimum rating, minimum cook count, or favourites only.
Open any recipe and tap the frying pan icon in the toolbar. You can record the date, a rating for that particular cook, and any notes. Each log is saved separately so you can track how a recipe improves over time.
The recipe detail screen shows a summary of how many times you've cooked the recipe and your average rating. Tap that section to see the full log, edit entries, or delete individual cooks.
Mercury awards badges as you reach milestones — cooking your first recipe, reaching 10 cooks, adding favourites, and more. Tap the trophy icon in Settings to see your progress and which badges you've earned.
Mercury offers two widget types, each available in small, medium, and large sizes.
| Widget | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Favourite Recipes | Your hearted recipes, most recently added first. Tap any card to open that recipe. |
| Recently Cooked | Recipes from your cook history, most recently cooked first. Tap any card to open that recipe. |
Open Mercury and leave it on the recipe list for a moment — the widget data refreshes automatically when the app is in the foreground. If the widget still doesn't update, remove it and re-add it from the widget picker.
Mercury Pro is available as an auto-renewable subscription at $9.99 per year. Payment is charged to your Apple ID. Your subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period.
Go to Settings → [Your Name] → Subscriptions on your iPhone or iPad and select Mercury to manage or cancel your subscription.
Tap Restore Purchases at the bottom of the Mercury Pro screen within the app. Make sure you are signed into the same Apple ID used for the original purchase.
⚖️ Terms of Use: Mercury uses Apple's standard End User Licence Agreement. Read the Terms of Use.
Mercury uses Apple's CloudKit to sync your recipes and cook history across all your Apple devices signed into the same iCloud account. Sync happens automatically in the background — no setup is required beyond being signed into iCloud.
Go to Settings → [Your Name] → iCloud → Show All and toggle Mercury off. Your existing recipes will remain on your device but will no longer sync.
The parser does its best, but some recipe pages structure their content unusually. Tap the pencil icon on the recipe to edit any field manually.
Open the paywall screen within Mercury and tap Restore Purchases. If the problem persists, sign out of your Apple ID and back in, then try again.
Open Mercury and browse the recipe list briefly — the widget data is written to the home screen when the app runs. If it still doesn't update after a moment, remove the widget from your home screen and re-add it.
Yes. Deleted recipes are moved to Recently Deleted and kept for 30 days before being permanently removed. To restore a recipe, go to Settings → Recently Deleted, then swipe the recipe to the right and tap Restore.
Try force-quitting Mercury (swipe up from the home bar, swipe Mercury away) and reopening it. If the problem continues, please get in touch — details below.
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