🍽️ Recipe Manager App

A comprehensive Flutter mobile application for managing recipes, meal planning, and cooking with an intuitive user interface and powerful features.

👥 Team Members

Danial Kaltay - 230103193@sdu.edu.kz - @Euc1d
Gaziz Nurgeldy - 230103167@sdu.edu.kz

SDU University
Mobile Application Development Course
December 2025

📱 About The Project

Recipe Manager is a full-featured mobile application developed as a team project for managing recipes, meal planning, and cooking. Built with Flutter and Firebase, it provides a seamless cooking experience with features like cooking timers, shopping lists, and personalized recipe collections. The app includes a curated collection of 10 traditional Arabic recipes and allows users to create their own recipe database.

✨ Key Features

Core Functionality

• User Authentication - Secure registration and login with Firebase Auth
• Recipe Management - Full CRUD operations for personal recipes
• Advanced Search - Real-time search with category filters (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Dessert, Snack)
• Favorites System - Save and organize favorite recipes with heart icon
• Smart Shopping List - One-click ingredient addition from recipes
• Cooking Timer - Built-in countdown timer integrated with recipe cooking time
• Push Notifications - Recipe reminders and cooking alerts
• Dark Mode - Complete dark theme support with smooth transitions
• Profile Management - Edit profile with local avatar photo storage

Unique Features

• ⏰ Smart Cooking Timer - Automatically pre-set from recipe cooking time
• 🛒 One-Click Shopping - Add all recipe ingredients to shopping list instantly
• 🌍 Default Recipe Library - 10 curated traditional Arabic recipes (Hummus, Falafel, Shawarma, etc.)
• 📱 Responsive UI - Beautiful Material Design 3 interface
• 🔍 Intelligent Search - Search across recipe titles, descriptions, and ingredients
• 💾 Local Photo Storage - Profile photos stored locally using SharedPreferences for fast access
• 🎨 Theme Persistence - Dark mode preference saved across sessions

🛠️ Technologies Used

Frontend

• Flutter 3.x - Cross-platform mobile framework
• Dart - Programming language
• Provider 6.x - State management solution
• Material Design 3 - Modern UI design system

Backend & Services

• Firebase Authentication - User authentication and authorization
• Cloud Firestore - NoSQL database for recipes and user data
• Flutter Local Notifications - Push notification system
• Shared Preferences - Local data persistence
• Image Picker - Camera and gallery integration for profile photos

External Packages

dependencies:
  firebase_core: ^2.24.2
  firebase_auth: ^4.15.3
  cloud_firestore: ^4.13.6
  provider: ^6.1.1
  shared_preferences: ^2.2.2
  flutter_local_notifications: ^16.3.0
  image_picker: ^1.0.7
  url_launcher: ^6.2.2

📐 Project Architecture

lib/
├── models/
│   ├── recipe_model.dart        # Recipe data structure
│   └── user_model.dart          # User data structure
├── providers/
│   ├── auth_provider.dart       # Authentication state management
│   ├── recipe_provider.dart     # Recipe state management
│   ├── shopping_provider.dart   # Shopping list state management
│   └── theme_provider.dart      # Theme state management
├── services/
│   ├── auth_service.dart        # Firebase Auth operations
│   ├── database_service.dart    # Firestore CRUD operations
│   ├── notification_service.dart # Local notifications
│   └── shopping_service.dart    # Shopping list operations
├── screens/
│   ├── login_screen.dart        # Login page
│   ├── signup_screen.dart       # Registration page
│   ├── home_screen.dart         # Main recipe feed
│   ├── recipe_detail_screen.dart # Recipe details view
│   ├── add_recipe_screen.dart   # Create recipe form
│   ├── favorites_screen.dart    # Favorites collection
│   ├── shopping_list_screen.dart # Shopping list
│   ├── profile_screen.dart      # User profile
│   ├── edit_profile_screen.dart # Profile editing
│   └── cooking_timer_screen.dart # Cooking timer
└── main.dart                     # App entry point

Architecture Pattern: Provider Pattern + Service Layer

• Models - Data structures and business entities
• Providers - State management and UI logic
• Services - Backend communication and data operations
• Screens - User interface and navigation

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Flutter SDK (3.0 or higher)
• Dart SDK (3.0 or higher)
• Android Studio / VS Code with Flutter extensions
• Firebase project configured (instructions below)
• Android device or emulator (API level 21+)

Installation

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/Euc1d/recipe-app.git
cd recipe-app

2. Install dependencies

flutter pub get

3. Configure Firebase

Create a Firebase project at Firebase Console

Enable the following services:

• Authentication (Email/Password)
• Cloud Firestore Database
• Storage (optional)

Download configuration files:

• google-services.json for Android → android/app/
• GoogleService-Info.plist for iOS → ios/Runner/

4. Set up Firestore Security Rules

rules_version = '2';
service cloud.firestore {
  match /databases/{database}/documents {
    match /users/{userId} {
      allow read, write: if request.auth != null && request.auth.uid == userId;
    }
    match /recipes/{recipeId} {
      allow read: if request.auth != null;
      allow create: if request.auth != null;
      allow update, delete: if request.auth != null && 
        resource.data.userId == request.auth.uid;
    }
    match /shoppingItems/{itemId} {
      allow read, write: if request.auth != null && 
        resource.data.userId == request.auth.uid;
    }
  }
}

5. Run the app

flutter run

📦 Build Release

Android APK (for direct installation)

flutter build apk --release

Output: build/app/outputs/flutter-apk/app-release.apk

Android App Bundle (for Google Play Store)

flutter build appbundle --release

Output: build/app/outputs/bundle/release/app-release.aab

iOS (requires Mac)

flutter build ios --release

🎯 How to Use

First Time Setup

1. Launch the app - Opens on Login screen
2. Create account - Tap "Sign Up" and register with email/password
3. Load default recipes - Go to Profile → "Load Default Recipes" (10 Arabic recipes)

Daily Usage

1. Browse Recipes - View default and personal recipes on Home screen
2. Search - Use search bar to find recipes by name or ingredients
3. Filter by Category - Tap category chips (All, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Dessert, Snack)
4. Add to Favorites - Tap heart icon on recipe cards or detail page
5. Create Recipe - Tap orange + button, fill form with ingredients and steps
6. Shopping List - Open recipe → "Add to List" button → adds all ingredients
7. Cooking Timer - Open recipe → tap blue clock button → auto-set timer
8. Edit Profile - Profile → "Edit Profile" → change name, email, password, photo
9. Dark Mode - Profile → toggle "Dark Mode" switch

Recipe Management

• View Details - Tap any recipe card
• Edit Recipe - Only your own recipes (3-dot menu → Edit)
• Delete Recipe - Only your own recipes (3-dot menu → Delete)
• Share Ingredients - "Add to List" button on recipe detail page

🎨 Screenshots

Light Mode

• Home Screen - Recipe grid with search and category filters
• Recipe Details - Full recipe view with ingredients, steps, and actions
• Add Recipe - Form with dynamic ingredient/step fields
• Shopping List - Checkable items with swipe-to-delete
• Profile - User info with settings and actions

Dark Mode

• Complete dark theme across all screens
• Smooth theme transitions
• Easy on the eyes for night cooking

🔐 Security & Privacy

Authentication

• Firebase Authentication with email/password
• Secure password hashing (handled by Firebase)
• Session management with automatic token refresh

Data Privacy

• User recipes are private (filtered by userId)
• Shopping lists are user-specific
• Profile data is protected by Firestore security rules
• Local photos stored in app-specific directory

Best Practices

• Input validation on all forms
• Error handling with user-friendly messages
• Secure API calls with Firebase SDK
• No hardcoded credentials

📊 Database Schema

Firestore Collections

users/ - User profiles

{
  name: "John Doe",
  email: "john@example.com",
  favoriteRecipes: ["recipeId1", "recipeId2"]
}

recipes/ - Recipe database

{
  title: "Chicken Shawarma",
  description: "Marinated chicken with spices",
  category: "Dinner",
  cookingTime: 45,              // minutes
  servings: 4,
  ingredients: [
    "1 kg chicken",
    "2 tsp cumin",
    "Pita bread"
  ],
  steps: [
    "Mix spices",
    "Marinate chicken",
    "Grill and serve"
  ],
  imageUrl: "https://...",
  userId: "user123",           // recipe owner
  createdAt: 1702818000000     // timestamp
}

shoppingItems/ - Shopping list items

{
  name: "2 cups chickpeas",
  isChecked: false,
  userId: "user123",
  recipeId: "recipe456",
  recipeName: "Hummus"
}

🌟 Development Highlights

Team Collaboration

• Version Control - Git/GitHub for code management
• Code Reviews - Peer review before merging
• Task Distribution - Frontend/Backend split between team members
• Communication - Regular sync meetings and Telegram coordination

Code Quality

• Clean Architecture - Clear separation of concerns
• Error Handling - Comprehensive try-catch blocks
• Code Comments - Well-documented complex logic
• Consistent Styling - Unified code formatting

Performance Optimizations

• Lazy Loading - Images loaded on-demand
• Efficient Queries - Indexed Firestore queries by userId
• State Management - Provider prevents unnecessary rebuilds
• Local Storage - SharedPreferences for quick access

User Experience

• Loading Indicators - Clear feedback during operations
• Error Messages - User-friendly error descriptions
• Smooth Animations - Hero animations and transitions
• Responsive Design - Works on various screen sizes

📝 Future Enhancements

Planned Features

• Social features (share recipes with friends)
• Recipe ratings and reviews
• Meal planning calendar
• Nutrition information calculator
• Barcode scanner for ingredients
• Export shopping list to PDF
• Multi-language support (English, Russian, Kazakh)
• Recipe import from websites
• Video tutorials integration
• Voice commands for cooking

Technical Improvements

• Unit and integration tests
• CI/CD pipeline setup
• Cloud Functions for advanced features
• Firebase Storage for user-uploaded images
• Offline mode with local database
• Analytics integration

🐛 Known Issues

• Profile photo displays only first letter on some devices (workaround: reload profile)
• Timer notification may not show on some Android versions (check notification permissions)

📚 Learning Outcomes

This project helped us learn:

• Flutter widget tree and state management
• Firebase integration (Auth, Firestore, Notifications)
• Provider pattern for scalable state management
• RESTful patterns in NoSQL databases
• Mobile UI/UX design principles
• Git collaboration workflows
• Debugging and error handling in production apps

🤝 Contributing

This is an educational project. For questions or suggestions:

• Create an issue on GitHub
• Contact team members via email
• Message on Telegram: @Euc1d

📄 License

This project is created for educational purposes as part of Mobile Application Development course at Suleyman Demirel University.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Flutter Team - For the amazing cross-platform framework
• Firebase - For backend services and real-time database
• Provider Package - For elegant state management
• Unsplash - For high-quality recipe images
• Material Design - For UI/UX guidelines
• Our Course Instructor - For guidance and support
• SDU - For providing learning opportunities

📞 Contact & Support

Danial Kaltay
📧 230103193@sdu.edu.kz
💬 @Euc1d
🐙 GitHub

Gaziz Nurgeldy
📧 230103167@sdu.edu.kz

University
Suleyman Demirel University
Almaty, Kazakhstan

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Built with ❤️ and Flutter by Danial & Gaziz