Mela to Markdown (Python script)

I adore Mela as my recipe manager and meal planner. We use it every single day.

For safekeeping my recipes, I wrote a python script that converts Mela their export to Markdown.

1. Export Mela recipes under Settings > General. (Only iOS / iPadOS)
2. Transfer the .melarecipes file to your computer.
3. Rename .melarecipes to .zip.
4. Extract to preferred folder. There should be a list of .melarecipe files.
5. Add the following Python script to the directory. In the script, under "Define your directories", define where you'd like to store the Markdown recipe and the respective image. (NOTE: the relative path to the image will be parsed in the Markdown.)
6. Run the Python script.

import json
import os
import base64
from datetime import datetime

# Define your directories
json_dir = './Recipes'  # Correct path to your JSON files
markdown_dir = './Markdown'  # Output directory for Markdown files
images_dir = './Attachments/recipeImages'  # Directory to store images

# Ensure the Markdown and images directories exist
os.makedirs(markdown_dir, exist_ok=True)
os.makedirs(images_dir, exist_ok=True)
print(f"Markdown directory is set at {markdown_dir}")
print(f"Images will be stored in {images_dir}")

def save_image(title, base64_string):
    """Decode base64 image and save as a JPG file."""
    img_data = base64.b64decode(base64_string)
    img_filename = f"{title}.jpg".replace(" ", "_")
    img_path = os.path.join(images_dir, img_filename)
    with open(img_path, 'wb') as img_file:
        img_file.write(img_data)
    return img_path

def convert_recipe_to_markdown(json_file):
    print(f"Processing file: {json_file}")
    
    try:
        with open(json_file, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as file:
            recipe = json.load(file)
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Error reading file {json_file}: {e}")
        return

    # Frontmatter
    markdown_content = "---\n"
    markdown_content += "category: recipeNotes\n"
    markdown_content += f"title: {recipe['title']}\n"
    markdown_content += f"created: {datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d')}\n"  # Assuming creation date is now
    markdown_content += f"updated: {datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d')}\n"  # Assuming last updated is now
    markdown_content += "---\n\n"

    markdown_content += f"# {recipe['title']}\n\n{recipe.get('text', 'No description available.')}\n\n"
    
    if recipe.get('images'):
        image_path = save_image(recipe['title'], recipe['images'][0])
        markdown_content += f"![{recipe['title']}]({image_path})\n\n"
    
    if 'ingredients' in recipe:
        markdown_content += "---\n\n- " + recipe['ingredients'].replace('\n', '\n- ') + "\n\n"
    else:
        markdown_content += "---\n\nNo ingredients listed.\n\n"
    
    instructions = recipe.get('instructions', 'No instructions provided.')
    steps = instructions.split('\n')
    formatted_steps = [f"- {step}" for step in steps if step.strip()]
    formatted_instructions = '\n'.join(formatted_steps)
    markdown_content += "---\n\n" + formatted_instructions + "\n"


    #  markdown_content += "---\n\n" + recipe.get('instructions', 'No instructions provided.') + "\n"

    markdown_filename = os.path.join(markdown_dir, f"{recipe['title']}.md")
    
    try:
        with open(markdown_filename, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as md_file:
            md_file.write(markdown_content)
        print(f"Successfully wrote {markdown_filename}")
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Error writing to file {markdown_filename}: {e}")

# Check if the JSON directory exists
if not os.path.exists(json_dir):
    print(f"JSON directory {json_dir} does not exist. Please check the path.")
else:
    # Loop through all files in the JSON directory
    files_processed = 0
    for filename in os.listdir(json_dir):
        if filename.endswith('.melarecipe'):
            convert_recipe_to_markdown(os.path.join(json_dir, filename))
            files_processed += 1
    
    if files_processed == 0:
        print("No .melarecipe files found in the directory.")
    else:
        print(f"All recipes processed. {files_processed} files converted.")