Taste Maker 🍲

Ever stare into your fridge full of ingredients and have no idea what to actually cook? Yeah, me too. That's why I built Taste Maker!

This project is my attempt to solve the "what's for dinner?" problem by helping you find recipes based on the ingredients you already have. You can search, filter by cuisine, or even get some creative ideas generated by AI if you're feeling adventurous.

What it Does ✨

• Smart Ingredient Search: Chuck in the ingredients you've got (e.g., "chicken, tomato, onion"), and it'll find recipes you can make. 🥕
• Cuisine Filter: Craving something specific? Narrow down your search by cuisine type (Indian, Italian, etc.). 🇮🇳🇮🇹
• AI Recipe Generation: Stuck for ideas? Give the AI your ingredients and see what unique recipes it comes up with! Uses the Gemini API. 🤖
• Recipe Details: Click on any recipe to see the full ingredient list, step-by-step instructions, prep time, difficulty, etc. 📖
• User Accounts: Sign up to save your profile (you can even add a profile picture!). (Future: Save favorite recipes).👤
• API Fallbacks: Tries Spoonacular first, then Edamam, and finally Gemini AI to make sure you always get some results. 💪

Tech Stack 🛠️

This is a full-stack MERN-ish project:

• Frontend: React, Vite, Tailwind CSS, Axios, React Router
• Backend: Node.js, Express.js, MongoDB (with Mongoose)
• Authentication: JWT (Access + Refresh Tokens stored in HttpOnly cookies)
• APIs: Spoonacular, Edamam, Google Gemini
• Deployment: Render (Frontend Static Site + Backend Web Service)

Getting Started Locally 🚀

Want to run it yourself? Cool!

1. Clone the repo:

   git clone [https://github.com/Necro-Rohan/Taste-Maker.git](https://github.com/Necro-Rohan/Taste-Maker.git)
   cd Taste-Maker

2. Backend Setup:

   • cd backend
   • npm install
   • Create a .env file in the backend folder and add your variables:

     PORT=3001
     MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
     JWT_SECRET=your_super_secret_key
     REFRESH_SECRET=your_other_super_secret_key
     SPOONACULAR_API_KEY=your_key
     EDAMAM_APP_ID=your_id
     EDAMAM_APP_KEY=your_key
     GEMINI_API_KEY=your_google_ai_key
     # For local dev, allow localhost (update port if needed)
     FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:5173

   • npm run dev (This usually uses nodemon)

3. Frontend Setup:

   • Open a new terminal.
   • cd frontend
   • npm install
   • Create a .env file in the frontend folder (if you need to override the backend URL for local dev, though the Vite proxy should handle it):

     # Usually not needed if Vite proxy is set up correctly
     # VITE_API_BASE_URL=http://localhost:3001

   • Make sure your frontend/vite.config.js proxy points to the correct backend port (e.g., 3001).
   • npm run dev

4. Open the App: Go to http://localhost:5173 in your browser.

Deployment 🌐

This project is deployed live using Render!

• Frontend: https://taste-maker-1.onrender.com/
• Backend: https://taste-maker.onrender.com/

(Note: Free tier on Render might take a moment to wake up if inactive!)

Connect with Me 🧑‍💻

Feel free to check out my other stuff or connect!

• GitHub: Necro-Rohan
• LinkedIn: Rohan Kumar
• Instagram: rohan_gupta_c53

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