Introduction
What is the Smantry App? Supported platforms Functions
The Pantry.App is a web application that helps you manage your supplies. You can organize your supplies into categories and keep track of expiration dates. The Pantry.App also helps you create and manage shopping lists.
The Speisekammer.App is available as an iOS, Android, and web app. There's also an API for integration into your own applications.
The Pantry.App offers a variety of features to help you manage your supplies. These include:
Inventory management
Keep an eye on expiration dates
Create and manage shopping lists
Joint management of supplies in a community
Integration into your own applications
Printing the food supply
All steps up to the final print Overview of all storage locations Next, we will show you how to create a list for a single storage location Why does the print contain these strange rectangles ☐☐☐?
First, we will show you how to print a list of all storage locations. We have taken screenshots of the app and highlighted the relevant button.
Go to your community overview:
Use the green printer icon to create a PDF file. Once it is created, it will automatically download to your PC.
This is what the finished PDF looks like – an overview of all storage locations and all the items stored there:
First, open the warehouse whose items you want to print.
At the storage location, click on the green printer icon. A PDF file will be created and downloaded.
You can print out the finished PDF and leave it as a reference at the respective storage location.
As soon as the PDF is exported or the printout is made, the listed inventories will inevitably become outdated over time. Therefore, the printout should be updated regularly. If this is done in the app, a new printout can easily be created.
If a smartphone is not available, a withdrawal can also be made on the printout: For each item taken, exactly one box is crossed out ☐ - because exactly one box is printed for each item. This way, even after several items have been taken, you always know exactly how many items are still in stock. The inventory can then be updated and transferred in the app at regular intervals.
If you're only going to be offline for a short period, there's no need to worry: With our iOS and Android app, you can also work offline temporarily.
Have fun managing your supplies!
How do I invite a member to my community?
Instructions for the mobile app (iOS and Android) Instructions for the WebApp
Open the app or go to “Overview”.
Scroll down to find your community section.
Tap the plus icon in the top right corner of this section to generate the QR code for the community.
Show this QR code to the people you want to invite to your community.
The invited person opens the Smantry App and scans the QR code with the barcode scanner.
The new member will automatically be added to your community.
Open the WebApp and log in
Go to the community members page.
Here you can see all members of the community. Open the "Invite another person" dialog.
Prior to iOS and Android versions 1.4.0, there was a join link. This feature has been replaced by the QR code. The join link is no longer available.
It is not possible to remove a member yourself. Please contact support at support@speisekammer.app for manual removal.
Organizing items in categories
What categories give you Assigning categories Tips for useful categories
More order: products grouped by topic instead of an endless list
Faster finding: no scrolling, jump straight to the right category
Better collaboration: in communities everyone sees at once where things belong
Individual: create your own categories to match your life – meal prep, emergency stock or baby supplies
When creating or editing an item you pick its category – or create a new one on the spot. Items you recorded earlier can be sorted in at any time; when moving items, Smantry adjusts the assignment automatically.
Less is more: five to ten categories matching how you actually shop and cook beat thirty theoretically perfect ones. Mirror the zones of your real pantry – then digital and physical order match.
Printing your own barcodes for homemade goods
Why print your own barcodes? How it works Practical tips
Record and check out jars and boxes in seconds – like at a supermarket checkout
Every jar gets its own best-before date and storage location
Scan when you use something up – your stock always matches reality
Create your homemade item in Smantry (e.g. "apple sauce 2026"). The app generates a barcode for it, which you print and stick on the jar or box. From then on your homemade goods behave like any bought product: scan, count, get reminded.
Waterproof labels or clear tape over the print survive the freezer
One barcode per recipe batch is enough – track the number of jars via the quantity
Also label by hand with contents and year – for moments without a phone in reach
Widgets: expiry dates on your home screen
The two widget sizes What the colors mean How to set up the widget
Small: one big number shows how many items are due in the next 7 days – plus the most urgent product
Medium: up to four items with a countdown ("today", "tomorrow", "in 3 days")
Red: overdue – check first
Orange: due today
Yellow: due within the next three days
If nothing is due, a green check mark shows "Nothing expiring soon" – the best state a pantry widget can be in.
iOS: long-press the home screen, tap the plus in the top left, search for "Smantry" and pick a size. Android: long-press the home screen, choose "Widgets", find "Smantry" and drag the widget where you want it.
Tip: put the widget on your first home screen page. The casual glance when unlocking replaces deliberate checking – that's how the routine forms that stops things from expiring.
Smantry App for clubs
Organization of camps and excursions Inventory management
Scouts regularly organize camps and outings, where they bring food and supplies. For example, making stick bread over a campfire requires flour, yeast, salt, sugar, and water. Are there enough supplies left from the last camp, or do we need to buy more? How much flour is about to expire and should therefore be used up soon?
The Pantry App can help you manage your supplies and keep track of everything. With expiration dates and quantities, every organizer has an overview, even on the go, and the ability to plan and organize supplies and purchases.
How can I cancel my subscription?
Subscription completed via Apple Subscription completed via Google Subscription completed through us or via the WebApp
For
There is also a good guide for
If you subscribed
If you still have an older
If you don't know exactly where you purchased your subscription, please send us all the necessary information to support@speisekammer.app and we will be happy to help you.
We would really appreciate it if you could tell us why you want to cancel your subscription so we can improve in the future.
Thanks in advance for your feedback!
Notifications for expiring food items
Notifications for expiring food items Configuring notifications
If you have items in stock that are about to expire, you can have the pantry app notify you. The notifications will appear as push notifications on your smartphone.
Notifications will be sent for 30 days. After that, you'll need to open the app to receive further notifications. This ensures that you use the app regularly and keep track of your food.
You also need to set a reasonable warning period in your account—that is, the number of days you want to be warned before the expiration date. You can configure this setting in your account itself.
The Smantry App requires permission to send push notifications to deliver notifications. You will be asked for this permission the first time you launch the app. If you do not grant this permission, we will not be able to send you notifications.
Resolve payment issues
Resolve payment issues Payment via the WebApp (via Stripe) Google Play Store Apple App Store
If you have a subscription with us and are having problems with your payment, you can find instructions here on how to resolve the issue.
The most common issues you can resolve by updating your payment information are:
The credit card has expired
The payment method has been blocked
The payment method stored with Paypal has been deleted or has expired
If you purchased your subscription through our web app, payment is usually processed through Stripe. Unfortunately, Stripe doesn't automatically create a link to update your payment. Please contact support, and we'll create a suitable link for you.
If you purchased your subscription through the Google Play Store, we unfortunately cannot help you directly. Please contact Google for assistance. The following link provides instructions for resolving payment issues:
If you purchased your subscription through the Apple App Store, we're unfortunately unable to assist you directly. Please contact Apple for assistance. You can find instructions for resolving payment issues at the following link:
How do I fix items without a warehouse location assigned?
Error description Troubleshooting New features and improvements: Instructions for correcting affected articles Note: Warehouse assignment possible on mobile devices
In our app and web app, there was an error that caused an invalid warehouse to be linked to some articles. In the item overview, the error message displayed in these cases was:
The error occurred because in certain cases no valid warehouse was assigned when creating articles. Moreover, it was not possible to correct the warehouse location afterwards via the WebApp.
We have successfully fixed the error. From now on, articles will always be created with one of your valid warehouses. Additionally, we have expanded the WebApp so that you can now easily correct faulty articles.
Filter for items without warehouse assignment:
Warehouse assignment via the WebApp:
Open the WebApp and navigate to
Choose your community.
Use the new filter
Click on the button
Assign the correct warehouse to the item.
Save the changes.
After the successful correction, the article will be displayed with the correct storage location and the error message
You can perform the inventory allocation not only in the WebApp, but also easily in the mobile app.
Help, the barcode scanner is not working!
The process through the barcode scanning procedure Do I really have to give permission for camera access every time? For iOS (Safari): For Android (Chrome):
Click on the blue Scan button (if it does not appear, the device does not have a camera, or does not have access to it).
The app's access to the browser must be allowed:
The camera image is displayed. If the scanner is correctly aligned with the barcode (barcode should fill about half of the camera image) and the image is sharp enough, it will be automatically recognized. Open barcode scanner via the blue buttonAllow camera accessHold the barcode up to the camera
If this product is not yet in stock (left), it can be created. If it is already in stock (right), you will automatically see the products in stock and can edit them directly from this screen. Of course, you can still create a new product with the same barcode.
If you click on "Create Product", the product will be searched for at
The item will be searched for in the personal pantry.
4. The article has been found and can be saved! If necessary, you can still correct the values, add the expiration date, enter the quantity of identical products, and make notes.
When you click on "Add Article", the article will be loaded from the global article database and can be created.
If the regular confirmation for camera access is bothering you, you can also permanently enable camera access.
Click on the "AA" icon at the top left, then on Website Settings, and then on Camera - Allow.
Click on the lock icon at the top left, then on Website Settings, and then on Camera Access - Allow.
Help! My inventory is not syncing
No internet connection Lack of membership in the desired community Different community selected Use of different accounts
A functioning internet connection is required for synchronization. But don't worry, if you temporarily lose your internet connection, any modified communities, storage locations, and items will automatically resynchronize once the internet connection is restored.
By the way, this cause of error can also have less obvious reasons: For example, an internet access for the Pantry.App blocked in the settings, a firewall, or an ad blocker. Here, restarting the device might help.
Users can synchronize storage locations and items across multiple user accounts if they are members of the same community. If you can't see your partner's items, you may not yet be a member of the community they created. In this article, you will learn
While the WebApp displays all communities on the "Communities" page, in the iOS or Android app, one selects a community within the user account to be displayed. The selection field shows all the communities you are a member of.
Are different storage locations and items displayed - or in case of doubt, none at all? Then you might not have selected the desired community. Simply choose the correct community in your account - this setting is saved in the account, by the way.
Anonymous user accounts (without registration) cannot be synchronized across multiple devices on the Pantry.App.
If you start without registering (using an anonymous account) on one device and then create an account via email, Google, or Apple on another device, a second account will be created in the background.
The synchronization of a user account requires the same login data across all devices (for more on the exception with multiple accounts in a community, see below). If multiple accounts have been created for you, please delete all unused accounts. If your previously used account is an anonymous account without registration, you can then link it with your email, your Google account, or your Apple account afterwards. It does not matter whether this is done in the WebApp, the iOS app, or the Android app.
If an error occurs when linking an existing account with the desired email address after deleting unnecessary accounts, please contact support.
We hope this article helps you with synchronization issues - for comments, questions, and problems, please write to us at any time at support@speisekammer.app.
Connect external barcode scanner
The continuous recording of food at home The scanning process Features in the Pantry App
The groceries at home can be digitally recorded with the Pantry App. The challenge is not the initial recording (which is often associated with spring cleaning and is fun), but the continuous maintenance of the inventory.
A barcode scanner significantly simplifies this task, as it allows the correct item to be quickly located. Scanning with a smartphone camera works fairly well, but an external scanner definitely has the advantage: its image sensor is optimized for reading barcodes, and additional lighting ensures optimal contrast when scanning in poor lighting conditions.
As a technical standard, it has been established that a barcode scanner is integrated as a keyboard. Thus, the barcode scanner reads the underlying identification number of the barcode and types it out as if on a keyboard.
If you have connected your scanner as a keyboard with your device (this can be a USB or Bluetooth scanner, whether on an iOS/Android/Windows device), then you can also use this scanner for the Pantry App.
So, a special scanner, such as a NETUM Scanner from our store, is not required, even though we have already tested it with the app:
Shop with pantry-related itemsFor a limited time, we have set up a shop for a small selection of products. Our barcode scanners have been tested directly with the Pantry App. They are all wireless, and make scanning your items a breeze, even in poor lighting conditions. /**/Pantry AppMatthias Schmid
A Bluetooth scanner paired with a mobile phone has the huge advantage that the scanning process can be done completely wirelessly.
Wireless Netum C740 barcode scanner that can be connected to a mobile phone via Bluetooth.
In every screen where the blue barcode icon is available, scanning with an external scanner is also possible.
The blue barcode icon indicates on which screens scanning with an external scanner is also possible.
In the window that opens after the scanning process, there are three functions:
Display product information for the scanned item
Items
Listing of all products with this barcode in your inventory. Here you can directly adjust the inventory with +/- - so you can also quickly remove items that have been consumed.
Is my data safe?
Summary of Privacy Policy Details on the privacy policy
Your data is stored in our pantry app database on a secure Google server in Frankfurt, Germany
Your data will NOT be shared with all users. However, you can share your data with family members or others in a community.
You must be logged in to view your data. Choose a secure password if you don't want others to see your stash ;)
We don’t sell your data!
If you do not include your address in the storage location description and do not upload a picture of your house, there is no way for us to find your stock.
We have a large stock ourselves and no interest in yours ;-)
With the Smantry App, we've fully embraced synchronization, so the data is stored on a server. We use a secure Google server located in Frankfurt, Germany.
If someone gains unauthorized access to our database on the server, they won't be able to use all the information unless the name of the storage location or community can be traced back to an address or family name. While the IP address could be used to identify the provider, this is always located in a larger city, where there are thousands of households—making it impossible to find a specific stash.
If there are further privacy concerns, a purely offline version might be interesting in the future, so that you retain complete control over your data. If this sounds like something you'd like, please vote for this feature here:
You can find further details in our
Terms
Communities Community / Household Storage locations Members of the community Inventories
With the Smantry WebApp you can manage items in your household together with all team members.
Because we know the app is also useful for managing vacation homes, camps, etc., you can switch between different households and communities. On the Communities page, you can select all the households you belong to. You can see your household members, their total food needs, and their current status.
Once you've selected a community, an overview of all storage locations within that community appears. Items can be stored in each storage location. You can also see which people are members of that household.
The list of storage locations features clearly recognizable icons for quick retrieval. The list can be expanded as desired, allowing you to organize your household the way you want.
In this view, you can see all the people who are members of this household and thus have access to managing the items in this household. All these people are also included in the household's food and beverage needs. You can also invite other people to the household via their email address using this view. For example, you can invite your husband and children so they can get an overview of your household with you.
If you select a storage location in the community overview, you'll see a view of the inventory stored at that location. You'll see the number of items, their descriptions, how many calories an item contains, and its shelf life.
Security of your data
What happens during connection problems? Do you lose data when switching devices?
Even if the app can't load items for a moment, your data is safely stored on the server. Changes you make while offline are transferred as soon as your device is back online – see the offline mode article for details.
No. Your stock is tied to your account, not your device: sign in on the new device and everything is back. Just make sure you use a registered account – with an anonymous account without an email address, access can be lost.
Preparation statistics
Preparation statistics, preparation information and emergency planning Identifying the needs of a community Determining the reach of a community's food and beverages Preparation statistics
Even without prep mode, the Smantry app records the nutritional values of stored products and creates statistics. Learn more here:
Additionally, you can ensure that each member of your community enters their energy and water needs in their profile. This allows the pantry app to calculate your community's total energy needs. This setting can only be configured in the web app.
An example of this would look like this:
To determine the range, you must activate the preparation mode.
In the WebApp, click on User Account, and then on Activate Preparation Mode
In the mobile app, go to your user profile, then click on Settings and then activate the “Preparation Info”:
The preparation statistics show you how many days of energy and water you have in stock to fully cover your needs in the event of a quarantine.
In the WebApp you can see the number of days for which you have energy and water in stock to fully cover your needs in the event of a quarantine.
What apps and app versions are available?
Our WebApp with cloud synchronization Pantry App for iOS Pantry (classic) iOS Version 3.5 Pantry 4.0 native Pantry App for Android Pantry App 4.0 for Android
This web variant available since September 2019 in version 4.0 can be used in the browser at
Help, the barcode scanner isn't working! Here you can see which browser we recommend for using the WebApp and how the scanning process works. You will also find a tip on how to grant permanent permission for scanning.Pantry AppMatthias Schmid
The Pantry App (classic) for iOS, which was available from 2013 - 2020 in the
This app cannot synchronize
Our team is currently developing a brand-new iOS app that will enable real-time synchronization with our web app. A subscription completed for the web app will also be valid for the new iOS app.
We had an Android app as a Webview in the store for a while since March 2020, see
Our team is currently developing a brand-new Android app that will enable real-time synchronization with our WebApp. A subscription completed for the WebApp will also be valid for the new Android app.
Why not all products are found using a barcode scanner - and where our data comes from
How does a barcode work? Identification scheme since 2015 How does one access the product data? The first pantry app with product data: Crowdsourcing The current Pantry WebApp A few facts about OpenFoodFacts Pantry App and OpenFoodFacts
A barcode, also known as a stripe code, is a machine-readable identification number. It makes products identifiable for commercial use and retail - ideally unique on a global scale.
The first barcode (Universal Product Code, abbreviated UPC) was introduced in 1973 in the USA. The commonly used UPC-A in the USA consists of 12 digits. It quickly becomes apparent that, aside from the country and the manufacturing company, not much information is contained within those 12 digits.
An EAN13 barcode - the machine-readable part on top, below the encoded 13-digit identification number. No more information is contained directly in the barcode. By
In Europe, three years later in 1976, the European Article Number (abbreviated EAN) was introduced. It is 13 digits long and compatible with the UPC system.
Since 2015, the identification numbers used worldwide in commerce have been renamed to Global Trade Item Number (GTIN). It is 8, 12, 13, or 14 digits long and always contains a check digit to detect errors during machine reading.
GS1 Germany GmbH based in Cologne is the only official provider of EAN8/EAN13 codes in Germany. Anyone who wants to sell a product with a barcode must purchase a unique barcode from there.
Up to 30 barcodes can be retrieved for free per day from there - however, without all the relevant sizes that are of interest for the storage of food. For example, the product name, the package size, and the nutritional values are missing.
As a test, I used the official barcode search of GS1 Germany called
The search in Gepir yields the following result: Company name "HARIBO ESPAÑA S.A.U." as well as an address.
Unfortunately, we can't do much with this yet. Commercial use of the service is costly and does not provide us with the data we are interested in. At a minimum, these would be: name, quantity, nutritional values of the food, and information on any allergens it may contain.
When we launched the first pantry app in the App Store in 2013, there wasn't even a barcode scanner - and accordingly, no product data was stored.
Each user had to enter their items manually, which was quite laborious. In December 2015, the time had finally come: We created a product database for the pantry, with which users still had to enter food items, but these were then shared among all users! This way, at least common items were usually already in the database, and the recording of stock or shopping became much faster.
However, over time, weaknesses of the approach have become apparent:
Thus, there was only one field per article for the product name - even though the app was also used internationally. People then filled in the name sometimes in Swedish, sometimes in English, sometimes in German.
Although the app had storage locations, it seems that these were not sufficient for organizing items for some users. Thus, cryptic category names like "30 Juice", "31 UHT Milk" quickly emerged, which were only understandable to the respective user.
Some users have meticulously transferred all nutritional values - others have completely skipped this part. The level of detail of the products varied accordingly. Excerpt from the product database of the Pantry App, where product names have been entered by different users in various languages.
Before we released our current WebApp for public beta in 2019, we spent a long time searching for the right model regarding the product database. We considered how we could improve the quality of the existing data.
Ultimately, we have actively decided to stop using our own product database and instead switch to the open model of
Products can be accessed directly from OpenFoodFacts and used for one's own purposes. The product data is licensed under the
OpenFoodFacts was founded in France in May 2012
Meanwhile, there are 1,875,095 product data from all over the world listed with barcodes
Compared to our first database, OpenFoodFacts has a very extensive data schema. For instance, name fields are provided for any language.
Additionally, OpenFoodFacts allows for the uploading of photos of the product, the list of ingredients, and the nutritional value table. This enables automated machine quality control of the entered nutritional information, significantly improving the quality of the data.
Everything that can be found on OpenFoodFacts about the bag of Haribo from the example above can be found
Since October 7, 2019, we have been retrieving product data from OpenFoodFacts and, of course, also contributing back for the benefit of all users.
Since then, our users have created 10,184 articles from scratch and edited 20,441 articles, mostly to add missing attributes.
With this, our users have created 0.5% of all articles in the global database - that's an impressive sum, from which users in Germany benefit especially! A heartfelt thank you at this point for the careful entry of data, which will be very conveniently available to all future users.
Although it may happen that individual products are not found when scanning, we believe in the approach: A product database maintained by users is independent of the interests of food manufacturers, can be expanded as needed, and is unrestrictedly usable for all future purposes.
So if you come across an article that is not found, and you have to enter it yourself - think of the many users who will also scan the article, they will thank you for your product entry! 😊
How you can support us
For developers Provide your own API integration
The Smantry App is designed to be extensible in various directions. In addition to our web app and mobile apps, we also offer an API. As a developer, you can help us by providing your own API integration and connecting your application with the Smantry App. This allows you to, for example, synchronize your own application with the Smantry App or display data from the Speisekammer.App in your application.
API
Open source projects General information
The following open source projects have emerged around the Speisekammer.App API.
Ideas for future projects Examples of use
Build a display using a custom monitor, smart mirror, or similar. The display can be used to show the current state of your pantry.
Integration with smart home systems such as Home Assistant, OpenHAB, ioBroker, etc. to display the current status of your pantry.
Reading access is free.
A premium membership is required for write access.
We do not plan to introduce any incompatibilities in the further development of the API, but we cannot completely rule them out.
The API is subject to change.
How does authentication work?
We use a bearer token approach. Generate a token and use it to access the API. The token expires after the desired period of time. You can generate a new token at any time. You must pass the token with each API request.
The API token will only appear once and then disappear. For security reasons, we do not keep track of generated API tokens. Please make sure you copy it now. If you lose your token, you can generate a new one.
You must be logged in with a verified email address to generate a token.
The token identifies you as your user to the API and has all the same rights as your user, so be careful when changing or deleting content.
No results found.
Offline mode
Unplugged from the grid!
What to do when there is no internet connection? Can I still use the PantryApp (Spoiler: Yes, you can!) and what happens to my recorded data once I'm back online?
Do you live in an area with an internet connection that isn't always very stable? Then, unfortunately, it may happen that you can't use our PantryApp as usual.
In this post, we explain to you which functions are limited, how you can still use our app, and what happens when you go back online.
What is the difference when using the Speisekammer.app in offline mode
This is how our apps differ when you're offline
– meaning without an internet connection
The Web App:
Our very first app. The Web App can generally only be used online – as the name suggests. Scanning, creating, and managing items is only possible with an internet connection.
The PantryApp for Android and iOS:
The advantage of the Android and iOS app is that you can also use it offline to a limited extent. If you're not connected to the network, as can be the case in basements or supermarkets (no, not every basement has Wi-Fi), you can still access and manage existing items. For example, you can check what's still in stock at home while you're at the supermarket, or sync your cellar inventory with the app. However, if you want to add a new item using the Open Food Facts database, you'll need to be online again.
No internet in the basement or supermarket?
I have a question...
But why does the creation of new articles only work when you are online? The reason is that the database, which includes all products, is over 4 GB in size. Quite a lot, isn't it? It's extremely important to us to provide the same foundation to all users. Moreover, this allows us to offer better support. Open questions can thus be answered more quickly – and if it's the same question from multiple users – uniformly. That's why we decided to store the database on the server rather than installing it on each device.
Edit in offline mode and then?
Calm down and keep cool ;) - you didn't do the work in the SpeisekammerApp for nothing. As soon as the connection is restored, all changes will be adopted in chronological order. Moreover, the changes will be synchronized across all devices, Yay!
Thanks to this feature, the changes are visible on every device where you have installed the Speisekammer App - and of course by every member of the community.
The key features summarized briefly
- The web app can only be used online.
- The app for Android and iOS can be used online without any restrictions. However, changes to the inventory can be made offline.
- Additionally, the smartphone app allows for the creation and management of personal articles offline without any restrictions.
Questions upon questions...
As we always strive to improve, we urgently need your feedback.
Have you ever used the Speisekammer app in restricted mode? How did you find the usability? What has been your experience with the automatic adjustment? Just send us an email at info@speisekammer.app. We look forward to your feedback!
