How to Back Up Your CookBook Recipes

Keep an editable archive and a readable copy

Save and inspect the export

1. Choose the format in Settings → Backup / Export recipes and let the export finish.
2. Save or share the generated ZIP to storage you control. Keep a second copy separately if these recipes would be difficult to replace.
3. Label the folder with the export date and note your recipe count. Keep the original ZIP untouched.
4. Open a copy of the ZIP. Check a recent recipe, an older family favourite and one with groups, notes or several images.
5. Compare the quantities, servings, instructions, source and notes against the recipe in CookBook. Investigate an empty or incomplete file before replacing an older backup.

Preserve pictures independently

Cloud sync and an independent archive serve different purposes. A recipe file that references a hosted picture still needs that picture to remain available. CookBook’s export guide warns that deleting an account removes its hosted images.

Keep the original photos of handwritten cards, cookbook pages and dishes in your own photo or file storage. Use recognisable filenames or folders so you can match them to the recipes. If you are moving to another app, confirm that it has copied the images, rather than only displaying the same hosted links, before closing the old account.

For a PDF you intend to keep offline, open that saved file with the device disconnected and check whether the needed pictures actually appear. That checks the individual document; it does not prove that every image in a native recipe archive is independent.

Check a small restore before relying on the archive

Export is available on the free plan, but adding restored recipes still depends on your current plan and recipe capacity. Check that capacity before importing a sample.

Keep your current collection and full backup intact. Prepare a separate ZIP containing a few .cookbook files from a copy of the archive. Choose recipes with different kinds of information, not just the simplest one.

1. In CookBook, choose Add (+) → Bulk import recipes → Select .cookbook ZIP file. Self-service files may contain up to 250 recipes.
2. Give the import a unique tag, such as Backup check, so the test copies are easy to identify. Choose whether to bring over the tags stored in the files.
3. Open each imported recipe and compare its details with the source. Check photos while online, then separately verify your own saved original images.
4. Record which recipes you checked and any missing details. Do not repeatedly import the full collection to test it: that may create duplicates.
5. If you remove test copies later, inspect the selected recipes carefully before deleting anything. Keep your original library and archive.

See the bulk-import instructions for the current controls and help with larger files. A successful text check alone does not establish that photos, nested organisation or linked recipes have been restored exactly.

Make the next backup easy

Repeat the export after a substantial round of family-recipe scanning, editing or importing. Keep the previous checked copy until you have checked the new one. For sentimental cards, follow our family-recipe preservation guide; for a move from Paprika, use the transfer checklist.