Safety policies
CookDex previews before it changes anything in Mealie. Writing changes takes a deliberate step, and the riskiest options take an owner’s approval.
Preview by default
Section titled “Preview by default”Most write-capable tasks default to dry_run=true: the run reports what it would change and writes nothing. In the web UI this is Preview Run.
Live runs need an owner
Section titled “Live runs need an owner”Live runs (dry_run=false) and other dangerous options are blocked unless an owner enables the task policy through PUT /policies or the web UI unlock flow.
Backup First
Section titled “Backup First”The Backup First option is hidden while a task is in dry-run mode. When enabled for a live run, CookDex creates a Mealie backup before the main task starts. CookDex keeps the newest 10 of these backups; see mealie-backup.
Automations
Section titled “Automations”Approval to apply changes unattended is kept per automation (policy key workflow:<id>), not per task. Only an owner can give it; an editor who changes an approved automation’s steps or settings withdraws it. See Scheduling and automations.
Failures
Section titled “Failures”Cleanup commands and reimport return a nonzero exit status when their reports contain failed operations, including partial failures. The maintenance pipeline stops on a failed cleanup stage unless continue_on_error=true.