Search

The search command helps you find recipes quickly by searching through titles, ingredients, instructions, and metadata. It's perfect for answering "what can I cook with what I have?" or finding that recipe you remember but can't locate.

Basic Usage

cook search chicken

This searches all recipes for the word "chicken" and returns matching recipes sorted by relevance.

Search Basics

cook search tomato

Output:

Pasta with Tomato Sauce.cook
Tomato Soup.cook
Caprese Salad.cook
Pizza Margherita.cook

Multiple Terms

All terms must match (AND logic):

cook search chicken rice
# Finds recipes containing both "chicken" AND "rice"

Use quotes for exact phrases:

cook search "olive oil"
# Matches the exact phrase "olive oil"

cook search "slow cooker"
# Finds recipes mentioning "slow cooker" together

What Gets Searched

The search looks through:

  • Recipe titles – From filename or title metadata
  • Ingredients – All ingredient names and quantities
  • Instructions – The complete cooking steps
  • Metadata – Tags, categories, cuisine, etc.
  • Notes – Any notes or comments in the recipe

Search Options

Specify Directory

Search in a specific directory:

# Search in specific folder
cook search -b ~/recipes chicken

# Search in Italian recipes only
cook search -b ~/recipes/italian pasta

Case Sensitivity

Searches are case-insensitive by default:

cook search Chicken  # Same as...
cook search chicken  # ...and...
cook search CHICKEN  # ...this

Practical Examples

Finding Recipes by Ingredient

What can I make with what I have?

# What can I make with chicken?
cook search chicken

# Recipes with both chicken and mushrooms
cook search chicken mushrooms

# Vegetarian recipes (assuming you tag them)
cook search vegetarian

# Quick recipes
cook search "30 minutes"
cook search quick

Dietary Restrictions

# Gluten-free recipes (if tagged)
cook search gluten-free

# Vegan recipes
cook search vegan

# Dairy-free
cook search dairy-free

By Cooking Method

cook search grilled
cook search "slow cooker"
cook search "instant pot"
cook search baked
cook search "no cook"

By Cuisine

cook search italian
cook search mexican
cook search thai
cook search indian

Advanced Usage

Search and Cook Workflow

Find a recipe and immediately view it:

# Find and select
recipe=$(cook search chicken | head -1)
cook recipe "$recipe"

# Interactive selection with fzf
cook search pasta | fzf | xargs cook recipe

Search and Shopping List

Create shopping list from search results:

# Shopping list for all chicken recipes
cook search chicken | xargs cook shopping-list

# First 3 pasta recipes
cook search pasta | head -3 | xargs cook shopping-list

Inventory-Based Cooking

# What can I make with ingredients I have?
ingredients="chicken tomato basil"
for ingredient in $ingredients; do
  cook search $ingredient
done | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head

# This shows recipes ranked by how many of your ingredients they use

Search Patterns

Exclusion Patterns

While the search command doesn't support negative queries directly, you can filter results:

# Chicken recipes without rice
cook search chicken | grep -v -i rice

# Pasta without tomato
cook search pasta | grep -v -i tomato

Complex Queries

Combine with shell tools for complex searches:

# Recipes with chicken OR beef
{ cook search chicken; cook search beef; } | sort | uniq

# Quick recipes (under 30 min) with chicken
cook search chicken | while read recipe; do
  cook recipe "$recipe" -f json | \
    jq -r 'select(.metadata.time <= 30) | input_filename'
done

# Recipes matching multiple criteria
comm -12 \
  <(cook search italian | sort) \
  <(cook search vegetarian | sort)

Integration Examples

# Weekly menu planner
days="monday tuesday wednesday thursday friday"
for day in $days; do
  echo "$day:"
  cook search $day | head -1
done

# Random meal selector
cook search dinner | shuf -n 1

Recipe Discovery

# Recipe of the day
cook search "" | shuf -n 1 | xargs cook recipe

# Explore new cuisines
cuisines=(thai indian moroccan korean)
cuisine=${cuisines[$RANDOM % ${#cuisines[@]}]}
echo "Try something $cuisine today:"
cook search $cuisine | head -3

Export Search Results

# Create a cookbook of chicken recipes
cook search chicken | while read recipe; do
  cook recipe "$recipe" -f markdown
done > chicken-cookbook.md

# Generate recipe index
cook search "" | sort > recipe-index.txt

Tips and Tricks

Fuzzy Search Workflow

Use with fuzzy finders for interactive selection:

# With fzf
cook search "" | fzf --preview 'cook recipe {}' | xargs cook recipe

# With dmenu (Linux)
cook search "" | dmenu | xargs cook recipe

# With rofi (Linux)
cook search "" | rofi -dmenu | xargs cook recipe

Structure your recipes for better searchability:

---
title: Quick Chicken Stir-Fry
tags: quick, weeknight, asian, chicken
time: 20 minutes
cuisine: Chinese
---

Troubleshooting

No Results Found

  • Check spelling
  • Try simpler terms
  • Use single words instead of phrases
  • Verify you're in the right directory

Too Many Results

  • Add more search terms
  • Use more specific terms
  • Search in subdirectories
  • Filter results with grep

Performance

For very large collections:

  • Organize recipes into folders
  • Search specific directories
  • Consider using external search tools like ripgrep