Mealie: open it, first login, settings, fixes
· Updated 18 September 2026 · SparkBox team
A self-hosted recipe manager and meal planner. Import recipes from any website, organize them with tags and categories, plan your meals for the week, and generate shopping lists. This is the short card for it — the two minutes after you press Enable, and the page to come back to when something is off.
Open it
Dashboard → Apps → Mealie → Open. The direct address on your network is:
http://<your-box-IP>:9925Paste any recipe URL to import it automatically with photos and instructions
First login
Login: admin@sparkbox.local — the password was auto-generated for you (Settings → Service Passwords). Installs enabled before v1.6.223 may still use changeme@example.com / MyPassword — change that immediately.
Any password the installer generated for you is under Settings → Passwords; the Open button offers to copy it.
Worth knowing
- Paste a recipe URL to instantly import it with ingredients and instructions
- Use the meal planner to organize your week and auto-generate shopping lists
When it breaks
If it will not open, check the app card first — a red dot means it is restarting or unhealthy, and this walkthrough reads the reason from its log. Tom AI on the dashboard can do the same for you.
Where your data lives
/opt/sparkbox/modules/mealie/config/Included in the dashboard's Backup by default. Restoring that backup on a fresh install brings Mealie back exactly as it was.
Questions, or did this not match your box?
Every guide here came from a real problem someone hit. If yours behaves differently, say so — that is how these get corrected, and how the fix gets prioritised.
We answer there rather than in a comment box, because that is where the people who have already solved it are.