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Tracking your pantry
How to add what is in your kitchen, scan shelves with the camera (A La Carte Plus), read the freshness bars, and correct an expiry date.
Adding pantry items
Tap the search bar at the top of the Pantry tab, or Plus → Manage Pantry → 'Add manually'. Search the ingredient catalog, pick a result, set the quantity and unit, and tap 'Add to Pantry'.
If the catalog doesn't have your item, type the name and tap the Add "…" row below the results (it repeats what you typed) — it's saved as free text and still works everywhere else in the app.
Scanning your pantry with the camera
Plus → Manage Pantry → 'Scan pantry' opens the camera. Photograph your shelves or an open fridge — every visible item is identified, quantities are estimated, and the items go straight into your pantry; there is no list to confirm first. (The photo scan is part of A La Carte Plus; adding items by hand is free.)
It copes with partly hidden labels and works items out from context. You can take several photos in one scan, so a whole kitchen takes a few shots rather than a few dozen entries. Something you already have is restocked on its existing row instead of being added twice.
While the scan works, a small card beside Capy at the bottom of the screen shows its progress, the photos uploading and then being read, and it follows you to the other tabs. Tap it to open the scan: your photos, its steps, Hide, and Cancel scan, which stops the scan so nothing from those photos is added (unless Capy is already adding them). When it's done, Capy places each item straight into its row in the Pantry: its aisle sticker lands at the row's edge and a honey highlight sweeps across it and gathers into a New or Restocked tag, which fades a few seconds after you've seen it. Items further down the list wear their tag until you scroll to them. If you're on another tab, the card says 'Pantry updated' until you open the Pantry. You don't have to wait on the Pantry while it works.
On the free plan the scan sheet closes and the upgrade screen opens instead of an error appearing; nothing is added to your pantry.
Quantities and units
Each pantry item carries a quantity and unit. Tap the quantity to use the wheel picker; tap the unit to swap between common ones (each, oz, lb, cup, tbsp, …). Spices and herbs default to unitless 'have it' tracking — you don't measure paprika at the store.
Quantities go up automatically when you check a grocery item off and tap 'Add to Pantry'.
Freshness and expiry dates
Each item shows a small bar for how much of its usual life has gone, based on what the ingredient typically is — eggs keep for weeks, ground beef does not. The bar turns amber as an item gets close and red once it's past. Anything added or restocked in the last day always reads as fresh.
To correct a date, tap the date next to the bar and set the real one with the month/day/year wheels. Do this whenever the packet has a printed date — the estimate is a typical value for that ingredient, not a reading of your packet.
Expired items don't count as 'have it' when a grocery list is built, so anything past its date goes back on the list.
Restocking behaves like a real kitchen: adding to an expired item replaces it with a fresh date, adding to something nearly expired sums the amount and restarts the clock, and adding to something fresh sums it and keeps the original date.
How items are categorized
Items group into sections (Produce, Dairy, Pantry Staples, …) based on the catalog's category. Tap a section header to collapse or expand it. Within a section, anything expired or expiring soon sorts to the top.
If something looks miscategorized, leave it — there's no per-item override yet, and the catalog improves as we curate it.
Removing pantry items
The trash on a row removes just that item. The trash on a section's header clears that section, and the trash at the top of the Pantry tab clears your whole pantry. Each asks you to confirm first, and none can be undone.