Migrate your Mela recipes to Cookfolio in under a minute

You use Mela on iPhone, iPad, or Mac and want your collection in the browser or on Android too? Cookfolio imports your full Mela library in one go and syncs it across all your devices — including outside the Apple ecosystem. If you’re starting from scratch instead, here’s how to digitize your family recipes.

Before you start: export from Mela

Mela lets you export your full library to a .melarecipes file, or a single recipe to .melarecipe. The steps depend on your device:

• macOS: right-click a category in the sidebar (All, Want to Cook, Favorites, or a custom folder) → export option → .melarecipes file created
• iOS / iPadOS: long-press a category in the sidebar → export menu → .melarecipes file shared via the iOS share sheet
• Single recipe: open the recipe → share button → .melarecipe file

Get the file onto the device where you use Cookfolio (AirDrop, email it to yourself, iCloud Drive — anything works).

How to import your Mela recipes into Cookfolio

1. Open Cookfolio, go to Settings, then tap Import from Paprika & Mela.

   

2. Select your file .melarecipes (or .melarecipe for a single recipe). Cookfolio confirms how many recipes were detected and starts the import in the background.

   

3. Keep using the app while it imports. A banner at the top tracks progress, and recipes appear in your library as they come through.

   

4. Open any imported recipe: structured ingredients, adjustable servings, photo preserved, categories converted into tags.

   

What gets preserved

• Photos: kept with each recipe
• Mela categories: automatically converted into Cookfolio tags. If a category didn’t exist in your collection yet, the tag is created for you.
• Ingredients: parsed into a proper structured list (name, quantity, unit), which is what lets you adjust servings on imported recipes.
• Metadata: prep time, cook time, servings, notes, source

How many recipes can I import?

Up to 500 recipes per file, within a 150 MB limit. If your collection is bigger, export it in several categories one after the other: Cookfolio automatically detects duplicates and won’t import the same recipe twice.

What happens if the import is interrupted?

You can close the app while it’s running: Cookfolio finishes the work in the background, and your recipes will be waiting for you next time you open it. If your connection drops, the import resumes on its own from where it stopped — there’s no “Retry” button to tap.

What’s next?

Once your collection is migrated, you can keep adding to it without starting from scratch: import a recipe from a website by pasting a link, or from a YouTube video. Old and new recipes live in the same book — adjustable and available everywhere.

Plan required

Bulk import is included in Cookfolio’s Pro plan.

Try it now

Download Cookfolio, export your Mela collection, import in one go. Your library follows you — on iPhone, Mac, web, and Android.