CookCLI vs Mealie

Two self-hosted Recipe Management apps, compared on the facts we track: GitHub popularity and activity, license, language, Docker images and a rough hosting estimate.

Side by side

CookCLIMealie
DescriptionCommand-line tool for automating meal planning and shopping with Cooklang recipes, scriptable for UNIX workflows, includes web server.Material design inspired recipe manager with category and tag management, shopping-lists, meal-planner, and site customizations. Mealie is focused on simple user interactions to keep the whole family using the app.
GitHub stars1,43013,814
Forks––
Open issues––
Commits (12 months)8311.5k
Last activity2026-11-042026-11-05
Latest releasev0.40.0 (2026-11-03)v3.30.0 (2026-10-31)
Maintenance healthActiveActive
LicenseMITMIT
Language / platformRustPython
Docker Hub image––
Docker pulls––
Est. server size~512 MB, 1 vCPU~1 GB, 1 vCPU
Est. hosting from$3.5/mo$5/mo
CategoriesRecipe ManagementRecipe Management
LinksWebsite · SourceWebsite · Source

What the numbers say

Summary: Mealie leads on GitHub popularity and commit activity. The right choice depends on the features you need — read both project descriptions and docs.

This summary is generated from GitHub, Docker Hub and awesome-selfhosted data as of 2026-11-05. It does not rate features or quality.

Frequently asked questions

Is CookCLI or Mealie more popular?

Mealie has more GitHub stars (13,814 vs 1,430 for CookCLI, as of 2026-11-05). Stars measure interest, not quality.

Which is more actively maintained, CookCLI or Mealie?

Mealie had more commits over the last 12 months (1,535 vs 831). The last recorded activity was 2026-11-04 for CookCLI and 2026-11-05 for Mealie. Our health labels: CookCLI is “Active”, Mealie is “Active”.

What licenses do CookCLI and Mealie use?

Both use MIT.

Can I run CookCLI and Mealie with Docker?

We did not detect a Docker Hub image for either app. Check each project's documentation for install options.

Read more

CookCLI

Command-line tool for automating meal planning and shopping with Cooklang recipes, scriptable for UNIX workflows, includes web server.

Active ★ 1.4k MIT ~$3.5/mo

Mealie

Material design inspired recipe manager with category and tag management, shopping-lists, meal-planner, and site customizations. Mealie is focused on simple user interactions to keep the whole family using the app.

Active ★ 13.8k MIT ~$5/mo

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