How to set up Mealie
· Updated 31 July 2026 · SparkBox team
Save, organize, and plan your recipes. This guide covers how to access it, log in for the first time, configure the basics, and where its data lives so you can back it up.
1. What is Mealie?
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.
2. How to access it
Once it's enabled, Mealie runs on your SparkBox at:
http://<your-NAS-IP>:9925Paste any recipe URL to import it automatically with photos and instructions
3. 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.
If it instead asks for a password you didn't set, check Settings → Passwords in your SparkBox dashboard — every auto-generated credential is listed there.
4. Tips
- 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
5. Where your data lives
Mealie's config and persistent data are stored on the SparkBox host under:
/opt/sparkbox/modules/mealie/config/Backups via the SparkBox dashboard's Backup tile include this directory by default, so a single restore brings Mealie back to its current state on a fresh install.
Next steps
That's Mealie live on SparkBox.
If something doesn't match what you see, post in d/sparkbox or hit us up on YouTube. Every SparkBox bug gets patched; every UX-stumble in this guide gets rewritten.
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.