Hey everyone! I'm working on a personal web application as a gift for my girlfriend, and I'm seeking advice on the tech stack. The plan is to create a private recipe keeper that is mobile-first. I've already put together some UI mockups in Figma, and I want to choose a solid and future-proof stack before I dive into implementation.
Here are some core features I want to include now or in the future:
- Login and authentication
- Protected access (no public recipes)
- Central storage for recipes (accessible from anywhere)
- Ability to add recipes manually
- Option to import recipes from sites like Chefkoch (need HTML parsing for that)
- Search recipes by title
- Filter recipes using keywords (e.g., cooking time) and available ingredients
- Edit recipes
- Adjust portion sizes for each recipe
- Add personal notes
- Optional: add recipe images
What I'm looking for in the tech stack is clean authentication and security, easy hosting with low operations hassle, a nice user interface, and reasonable long-term maintainability. I'm not super experienced yet, but I've worked with Python in my projects. I'm aiming to avoid the vibe-coding approach this time and want to do things a bit more properly. I'd appreciate any advice on suitable tech stack choices, lessons you've learned, things you would have approached differently, and common pitfalls to watch out for early on—especially regarding authentication and data modeling. Thanks in advance! I'm more than happy to share my mockups or additional details if needed.
6 Answers
If you're familiar with Python, using vanilla Django and HTMX is a great way to go. It’s straightforward, and you can get things done quickly. Use Django AllAuth for authentication and manage storage as you grow. This project is definitely doable in no time if you embrace a Pythonic approach.
This is such a thoughtful project! You've done a great job planning out the features and constraints before diving into coding. With your background in Python and your focus on keeping things low ops and maintainable, it looks like you're on the right path. I’m excited to see what stack you choose!
Consider checking if Chefkoch supports schema.org for recipes; this can save you time on HTML parsing, simplifying the process of importing recipes.
I wish someone would gift me an app like this! I think using Next.js along with Payload could be a solid choice, and you could deploy it on Vercel's free tier, which is quick to set up.
I've never used JS much. Is Next.js similar to Nuxt.js?
You might want to give Firebase a shot—it could work well for your requirements.
If you want to avoid vibe coding and prefer a user-friendly framework, I recommend using Laravel (PHP). It's super beginner-friendly and comes with everything you need, like authentication and password resets already built-in. You could easily set up a 'Recipe' model and manage your database with Laravel's Eloquent ORM. It’s a breeze to get started, plus it includes features that keep your app scalable if you ever want to open it up!
Thanks! I'll try this since I need to learn everything from scratch. I'll start by building the login with PHP, and if I feel comfortable, I’ll keep moving forward with it 🙂
+1 to this! Especially since you’ve mentioned not being too familiar with JS.