One family cookbook, everyone can add to
Not a single person's private collection - a living cookbook that grows every time someone in the family cooks something worth keeping.
Family recipes usually end up scattered: a few in someone's head, a few on index cards in a drawer, a few texted to a group chat and never seen again. Nobody has the whole picture, and whoever finally decides to put together "the family cookbook" ends up doing it alone, typing everyone else's recipes in by hand.
CookBird spreads that work out instead of piling it on one person. Invite your family, and everyone adds their own recipes to the same shared book - imported from a link, typed in from memory, whichever's easier. It's never "done," and that's the point: it keeps growing as long as your family keeps cooking.
How it works
Invite your family by email
From the Sharing page, send an invite to each family member. Nothing is shared until they accept - it's never automatic or one-sided.
Everyone adds what they have
Each person imports recipes from links they already have saved, or types in a family recipe from memory using CookBird's rich-text editor. No one has to transcribe anyone else's recipes.
Browse and cook from the combined book
Search and filter across everyone's contributions by tag, course, or ingredient - and turn any combination of recipes into one shopping list when it's time to cook.
Invite the whole family
Send an invite by email to as many family members as you want. Once they accept, their recipes show up alongside yours - and yours alongside theirs.
Anyone can add a recipe
Paste a link and CookBird imports and translates it automatically, or type one in by hand, family recipe box style. No single person has to be the one keeping it updated.
Stays organized as it grows
Tag recipes by who they came from, the occasion, or however your family actually talks about food - so the book stays searchable even once it's a hundred recipes deep.
Nobody sees it by accident
Recipes are only shared with people you specifically invite and who accept. There's no public link, no discoverable directory - just the family members you chose.
Shop from it together, too
Once the recipes are in one place, building a shopping list from a few of them - for Sunday dinner, for the holidays, for whoever's cooking this week - takes one click, and everyone on the list can check items off together in real time.
Common questions
Does everyone need a paid account?
No. Every family member can use CookBird free, with up to 10 recipes each - that cap is per person, not per shared book, so a family of four free accounts can still contribute up to 40 recipes combined. Premium removes the cap for anyone who wants more.
Can I control who sees what?
Sharing works per person you invite: once someone accepts, you see their recipes and they see yours. You can revoke someone's access at any time from the Sharing page, and toggle whose recipes show up in your own view.
What if someone doesn't want to type in a recipe by hand?
If it exists online, pasting the link is faster than typing anyway - CookBird imports and translates it automatically. Manual entry is there for the recipes that only exist in someone's memory or on a handwritten card.
Can a family member leave later without losing their recipes?
Yes. Leaving a shared book or having access revoked only affects what's visible to others - each person's own recipes stay in their own account either way.