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How to Install Mealie (Recipe Manager) on Debian 12 with Docker + SSL

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Mealie (Recipe Manager) on Debian 12

Mealie is a modern, open-source self-hosted recipe manager and meal-planning platform built to help you organize recipes, plan meals, generate shopping lists, and collaborate with family or teams. It supports recipe imports from popular websites, Markdown-based editing, nutrition calculations, and multi-user access, making it a powerful alternative to cloud-based cooking and meal-planning apps.

Unlike SaaS recipe platforms, Mealie keeps all your data on your own server. Recipes, images, meal plans, and user data never leave your infrastructure, which makes Mealie ideal for privacy-conscious users, families, and self-hosting enthusiasts.

Running Mealie on Debian 12 (Bookworm) provides a stable, secure, and long-term supported foundation. Debian 12 ships with systemd 252, OpenSSL 3, and mature Docker and Nginx packages, making it an excellent choice for deploying Mealie with Docker, PostgreSQL, Nginx, and HTTPS (SSL) in a production-ready setup.

Architecture Overview

LayerComponentRole
OSDebian 12 (Bookworm)Stable, production-grade Linux base
Container RuntimeDocker / Docker ComposeRuns Mealie and supporting services
ApplicationMealie (Python + FastAPI)Recipe management, meal planning, REST API
DatabasePostgreSQLStores recipes, users, meal plans, metadata
Reverse ProxyNginxHTTPS termination, routing, compression
TLSLet’s Encrypt / PKISecure encrypted access to the web interface

Mealie’s containerized design makes it easy to deploy, upgrade, migrate, and back up, even on small VPS or home servers.

Why Use Mealie?

  • Self-hosted recipe manager – full ownership of your cooking data
  • Recipe importers – save recipes directly from supported websites
  • Meal planning & calendars – plan meals days or weeks in advance
  • Automatic shopping lists – generated from your meal plans
  • Multi-user support – ideal for families or shared kitchens
  • Nutrition data & unit conversions – useful for diet tracking
  • Clean, modern UI – responsive and mobile-friendly
  • Open-source & actively developed – transparent and extensible

Mealie is designed for users who want organization, automation, and privacy in their kitchen workflow.

Mealie vs Other Recipe Platforms

Feature / CapabilityMealiePaprikaYummlyTandoor
HostingSelf-hostedApp-basedCloud onlySelf-hosted
Meal planning✅ Yes✅ Yes❌ Limited✅ Yes
Shopping lists✅ Yes✅ Yes❌ Limited✅ Yes
Multi-user✅ Yes❌ No❌ No✅ Yes
PrivacyFull controlApp-dependentCloud-basedFull control
CostFree, open-sourcePaid appFree / PaidFree

Mealie offers an excellent balance between ease of use, collaboration, and self-hosting.

Security & Best Practices on Debian 12

  • Run Mealie behind Nginx with HTTPS enabled.
  • Keep Mealie and PostgreSQL restricted to internal Docker networks.
  • Store secrets (database passwords, JWT secrets) using environment variables.
  • Use UFW or nftables and allow only ports 80 and 443.
  • Automate SSL certificate renewal with Certbot.
  • Regularly update Debian, Docker, and Mealie images.
  • Back up:
    • PostgreSQL database
    • Mealie configuration
    • Uploaded images and assets
  • Create separate user accounts and restrict admin access.
  • Disable public registration if Mealie is used privately.

Typical Use Cases

  • Personal recipe collections – replace cloud cooking apps
  • Family meal planning – shared recipes and shopping lists
  • Home-lab lifestyle tools – private, self-hosted daily utilities
  • Diet & nutrition tracking – structured meals and portions
  • Content creators – manage large recipe libraries
  • Small communities – collaborative cooking platforms

Deploying Mealie on Debian 12 with Docker and SSL gives you a secure, private, and feature-rich recipe management platform — combining modern meal-planning tools with full data ownership and Debian’s legendary stability.

Step 1: Create a Server Instance on Shape.Host

Before installing Mealie, you need a VPS.

Log in to your Shape.Host account at https://shape.host.

Click Create from the dashboard and select Instance.

Choose a data center location close to your users.

Select a VPS plan with at least:

2 CPU cores

4 GB RAM

30 GB SSD storage

Choose Debian 12 (Bookworm) as the operating system.

Create the instance and wait for provisioning.

Copy the public IP address of the server.

This server will host Docker, Mealie, PostgreSQL, Nginx, and SSL.

Step 2: Connect to the Debian 12 Server

Linux / macOS

ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

Windows

Use PowerShell, Windows Terminal, or PuTTY:

ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

Once connected, you should be logged in as root.

Step 3: Install Mealie with Docker Compose

3.1 Update the System

apt update

Updates the package index.

apt upgrade -y

Upgrades all installed packages.

3.2 Install Required Dependencies

apt install ca-certificates curl gnupg lsb-release

Installs tools required for secure repository management.

mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings

Creates a directory for trusted GPG keys.

3.3 Add Docker Repository

curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/debian/gpg | gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg

Downloads and registers Docker’s GPG key.

echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/debian bookworm stable" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list

Adds the Docker repository for Debian 12.

apt update

Refreshes package lists.

3.4 Install Docker and Docker Compose

apt install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

Installs Docker Engine and Docker Compose plugin.

docker --version

Verifies Docker installation.

docker compose version

Verifies Docker Compose availability.

Step 4: Configure Mealie

4.1 Create Project Directory

mkdir -p /opt/mealie

cd /opt/mealie

4.2 Create Docker Compose File

nano docker-compose.yml

Paste the following configuration:

services:
  db:
    image: postgres:16
    container_name: mealie-db
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: mealie
      POSTGRES_USER: mealie
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: strong_db_password
    volumes:
      - /opt/mealie/db:/var/lib/postgresql/data

  mealie:
    image: ghcr.io/mealie-recipes/mealie:latest
    container_name: mealie
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:9000:9000"
    environment:
      ALLOW_SIGNUP: "false"
      DB_ENGINE: postgres
      POSTGRES_DB: mealie
      POSTGRES_USER: mealie
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: strong_db_password
      POSTGRES_SERVER: db
      POSTGRES_PORT: 5432
      BASE_URL: https://mealie.example.com
    volumes:
      - /opt/mealie/data:/app/data
    depends_on:
      - db

This setup:

  • Uses PostgreSQL 16 as the database backend
  • Restricts Mealie access to localhost
  • Prepares the app for reverse proxy and HTTPS

4.3 Create Persistent Storage Directories

mkdir -p /opt/mealie/db

mkdir -p /opt/mealie/data

4.4 Start Mealie

docker compose pull

Pulls the latest Mealie and PostgreSQL images.

docker compose up -d

Starts the containers in detached mode.

docker compose ps

Confirms that the containers are running.

Step 5: Configure Nginx Reverse Proxy

5.1 Install and Check Nginx

apt install nginx

systemctl status nginx

5.2 Create Nginx Virtual Host

nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/mealie

Paste:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name mealie.example.com;

    client_max_body_size 100M;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:9000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;

        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

5.3 Enable the Site

ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/mealie /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default

nginx -t

systemctl reload nginx

Step 6: Enable SSL with Let’s Encrypt

apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx

certbot --nginx -d debian-tutorials.shape.host

Replace with your actual domain if needed:

yourdomain.com

Certbot will automatically:

  • Issue an SSL certificate
  • Configure Nginx for HTTPS
  • Enable automatic certificate renewal

Step 7: Verify the Installation

Open your browser: https://mealie.example.com

Check container status:

docker compose ps
  • Verify Nginx:
systemctl status nginx

If Mealie loads correctly over HTTPS, the installation is complete.

You installed Mealie on Debian 12 using Docker Compose, connected it to a PostgreSQL database, exposed it via Nginx, and secured it with Let’s Encrypt SSL. This setup is robust, secure, and ideal for personal or family recipe management.

For hosting self-hosted applications like Mealie with excellent performance, scalability, and full root access, Shape.Host Cloud VPS is a reliable choice for modern server workloads.

Tags:
Christian Wells

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