Help

What is BarCaddy?

BarCaddy keeps track of the bottles in your home bar. It shows the cocktails you can make and builds a menu to share with guests.

The app has five tabs:

• Bar: your bottles and pantry
• Drinks: your recipes
• Cooper, in the middle: your bartender, who answers questions about drinks and bottles
• Host: your guest menu
• Shop: your shopping list, Make more and Explore

Please drink responsibly. If you or someone you know needs support, help is available: see Settings › Drink responsibly, or visit drinkaware.co.uk (UK), ccsa.ca (Canada), samhsa.gov (US) or drinkwise.org.au (Australia).

Do I need an account?

No. Your bar is stored on your phone, and every feature works without signing in.

Signing in with Apple is optional and free. It lets you:

• Back up your bar
• Keep your bar on your other iPhones

Sharing a bar with co-owners requires signing in and is part of Pro.

Buying Pro or restoring it on a new phone also needs signing in, because Pro belongs to your account.

Can I look around before adding my own bottles?

Yes. During setup, tap Try it under Just looking? to open a sample bar with a stocked pantry. Your own bar is not affected.

• To switch between the two bars, tap the bar's name at the top of the screen.
• To repeat setup, open Settings (the gear at the top) and tap Go through the setup again.

How do I add bottles?

On Bar › Bottles, tap Add and choose a method:

• Search by name
• Scan a barcode
• Photograph a label, or your whole shelf
• Import from a store link
• Import a spreadsheet (CSV) or a pasted list

You review what was found before anything is added.

Search, barcodes and spreadsheets are free and unlimited. The free plan also includes 3 label photos or store links and 1 shelf photo. Pro raises this to 50 label photos and 30 shelf photos a month.

Can I add things from Safari or other apps?

Yes. In the other app, tap Share, then choose BarCaddy. If BarCaddy isn't listed, tap More at the end of the row of apps.

When you share a web page, BarCaddy asks what it contains:

• A bottle for my bar: a bottle's page on a store's website. This uses one of your label scans.
• A recipe: a cocktail recipe page.
• An ingredient for my pantry: a syrup, bitters or another pantry item.

Shared recipe text, or up to 4 photos of a recipe, opens directly in Import a recipe. You review what was found before anything is added.

Instagram doesn't share captions, so share a screenshot of the recipe instead.

How do I get a good scan?

Good light and a steady hand make the biggest difference.

• Barcode: point the camera at the barcode on the back label. It scans automatically, and barcode scans are always free.
• Label: hold the phone close to the front label and scan one bottle at a time.
• Shelf: scan one row at a time, with the front labels facing you. Bottles hidden behind others can't be read.
• Existing photo: tap Choose a photo instead of Take photo.

Photos are read by Anthropic's Claude only to identify the labels, and are never kept. You review every bottle before it's added.

How do I mark how full a bottle is?

Swipe the bottle's row on Bar › Bottles.

• Swipe left to lower the level by one step (full, ¾, ½, running low, then empty).
• Swipe right to raise it by one step, up to full.
• Swipe left on an empty bottle to mark it full again, as when you buy a new one.

To set a level directly, open the bottle and tap its level under Bottles. An empty bottle doesn't count towards drinks until it's refilled.

How do I move, copy or delete several bottles at once?

On Bar › Bottles, tap Select, or touch and hold a bottle.

1. Tick the bottles you want.
2. Choose Move to, Copy to or Delete.

For a single bottle, open it and tap Copy or move to another bar. Moving and copying require a second bar of your own. A moved bottle keeps all its details, including notes and fill levels.

How do I add or delete a bar?

Tap the bar's name at the top of any tab to open Your bars, which lists all your bars.

• Add a bar: give it a name and choose its pantry. Quick setup then helps you add its bottles. Having more than one bar is part of Pro, which includes up to 5 bars.
• Delete: tap the bin next to the bar. If it contains bottles, you can move them to another bar first.
• Tap a bar to switch to it, or tap the pencil to rename it.

Deleting a bar also deactivates its guest menu link and QR code. If it was your only bar, a new empty bar replaces it.

Can I change how a bottle is drawn?

Yes. Open the bottle, tap Edit, then tap Bottle look.

• Choose the shape, glass, label, neck foil and closure, and their colours.
• Liquid colour sets the colour of the contents. From tasting notes uses the colour described in the bottle's tasting notes.
• Reset to the catalog look removes your changes.

The illustration uses shapes and colours only, never logos or text.

Something about a bottle is wrong. What can I do?

For a bottle from the catalog, open it and tap Report a mistake. Describe the problem and send the report. We'll review it and correct the catalog.

If only the strength differs, tap Strength on your bottle and choose the value on your label.

What does "Can make" mean?

Can make means you have everything the drink needs. An ingredient counts when it's:

• in a bottle that isn't empty
• ticked in Bar › Pantry
• covered by a swap, a substitute the recipe allows, such as one gin for another

On the recipe, a swapped line is marked as a swap. Some ingredients have no substitute and are always required as written.

One away means a single ingredient is missing. Optional ingredients never stop a drink from counting. Shop › Make more lists the missing ingredients that would add the most drinks.

What is the pantry for?

Bar › Pantry holds everything other than bottles: juices, syrups, bitters, mixers and fresh ingredients such as lemons, mint and eggs.

• Tick the items you keep on hand. A drink counts an item only while it's ticked.
• Add fresh basics adds lemons, limes, oranges, mint, eggs and sugar to your pantry in one tap.
• Premixed bases, such as margarita mix, have their own shelf. A ticked mix can replace a classic's ingredients and is shown as a swap.

How do I find alcohol-free drinks?

On Drinks, open the Strength drop-down and choose Zero-proof.

• Searching for terms such as zero proof, alcohol-free, mocktail or virgin shows the same drinks.
• On a recipe, turn on Make it alcohol-free to replace the spirits with your alcohol-free bottles.
• When you edit an alcohol-free bottle, Stands in for lists the spirits it can replace.
• On your guest menu, these drinks are tagged Zero-proof, and guests can tap a Zero-proof chip.

To use only the original spirits, turn off Alcohol-free stand-ins in Settings, under Preferences.

How do I make a drink, or a batch?

Open the recipe and tap Make it. The recipe opens full screen in large type, showing the glass and the bottle to use.

• On the recipe, tap a bottle to choose which of your bottles to use.
• In Make it, tap an ingredient to cross it off as you go. The screen stays on.
• To make several drinks, change the number of drinks on the recipe, from 1 to 50. All amounts update.
• For a batch prepared ahead in a bottle, the recipe shows how much water to add.

Make it doesn't change your fill levels, so swipe a bottle's row when it runs low.

Can I add my own recipes?

Yes. On Drinks, tap +, then Write your own. Use it for an original drink or your house version of a classic.

• Glass and colour sets the glass and the colour of the drink's illustration. From ingredients calculates the colour for you.
• To undo your changes to a classic, open its … menu and tap Restore original.
• Ask Cooper to invent one, in the same + menu, has Cooper create a drink from your bar.

I removed a recipe by mistake. How do I get it back?

On Drinks, open the Source drop-down and choose Removed.

1. Find the recipe in the list.
2. Tap Restore next to it.

The recipe is restored for you and for everyone who shares the bar.

How do I import a recipe?

On Drinks, tap +, then Import a recipe. Choose a method:

• Photos: up to 4 photos or screenshots of one recipe
• Website link: a recipe page
• Paste text: an Instagram caption, a message or a note

You review each line before anything is saved. You can also share a recipe page or photo to BarCaddy from another app. Recipe import is part of Pro, and the free plan includes a few imports to try.

Who is Cooper?

Cooper is your bartender, found in the Cooper tab in the middle. He knows the bottles and pantry items in your bar.

You can ask him, for example:

• What can I make tonight?
• Which bottle should I buy next?
• Invent a drink for me.

When he suggests a drink, you can make it, save it to your recipes or add any missing ingredients to your shopping list.

Can Cooper help me choose a bottle?

Yes. You can ask for a peaty Scotch to sip, or how long vermouth keeps once opened. He answers from your bar first, then suggests bottles worth buying.

• Alcohol-free: ask for a zero-proof drink, and he suggests drinks your bar can make without alcohol.
• Prices: he can't see prices, so he recommends checking with your local store.
• Food: he focuses on drinks and doesn't suggest dishes or snacks.

Where are my chats with Cooper kept?

Your chats are saved only on this phone, for 30 days, under Recent in the Cooper tab. To delete a chat, swipe it left.

To answer, Cooper sends your question and your bar's list to Anthropic's Claude. We keep only usage counts, never the text of your questions.

The first time you use Cooper, scanning or recipe import, BarCaddy asks before sending anything to Claude. Settings › Privacy turns this on or off.

How do guests see my menu?

Host › Share shows your menu's QR code and link.

• Copy link or Share sends the link.
• Print table card creates a card with the QR code for your table.
• New QR code creates a new code and link, and the old ones stop working.

Guests open the menu in their web browser, with no app required. The menu updates whenever you change your bar. Host › Preview shows it exactly as guests see it.

What goes on the menu?

Your menu shows the spirits you choose and your house cocktails, both set on Host › Menu.

• Spirits: tap Choose the spirits on the menu, then turn bottles on or off. Each bottle's page has the same On guest menu switch.
• New bottles are added to the menu automatically. An empty bottle stays hidden until it's restocked.
• House cocktails: tap Choose house cocktails. Drinks are grouped by base spirit, and Show all recipes adds the ones you can't make yet. A recipe's Show on the guest menu switch works too.
• Your choices are listed on Host › Menu in the order guests see. Use the arrows to reorder them, the cross to remove one, or Clear all to start over.
• A drink you can't currently make is hidden from guests until you can.
• Your notes appear only where you turn on Show note on guest menu.

On the free plan, the menu shows 3 house cocktails and a small Made with BarCaddy footer. Pro shows all of them without the footer, and lets you group them under your own section headings.

Can I change how the menu looks?

Yes. On Host › Menu, scroll to Look.

• The Classic theme and its accent colours are free. Pro adds five more themes and your logo.
• You can preview a Pro theme before choosing it.
• Drink illustrations shows or hides the small illustration of each cocktail, on any plan.
• Also available alcohol-free tags each house cocktail you can make without alcohol. Its details then show the Alcohol-free version.

What's on the Shop tab?

The Shop tab brings together everything worth buying, in three sections:

• Shopping list: bottles running low, finished bottles under Restock?, and your wishlist. Add item adds any bottle, ingredient or note. Share or Copy sends the list as text.
• Make more: the single ingredients that would add the most drinks.
• Explore: the catalog. Use Show to see Not in my bar, All bottles or your Wishlist.

In Explore, a bottle's page shows how many of your one-away drinks it would complete. Tap Add to wishlist to add it to your list.

How do I share a bar, and what can co-owners do?

To share a bar, sign in and send an invite link. Sharing a bar is part of Pro.

1. Tap the bar's name at the top, then tap the share button next to the bar. You can also find it in Settings › Backup & sync.
2. Tap Send an invite link.

Each link can be used once and expires after 7 days. Each bar can have up to 2 co-owners, and you can share your bars with up to 4 people in all.

Co-owners can add bottles, record pours by swiping, edit the menu and rate drinks. The bar stays in sync on everyone's phone. In a shared bar, guest menu features follow the owner's plan.

The owner can remove a co-owner, and a co-owner can leave at any time.

What does Pro add, and how do I get it?

Pro is free while BarCaddy is in testing. To turn it on, go to Settings › Plan and choose Pro (free for now).

The free plan includes backup and sync of your bar when you sign in. It also lets you try the Pro features:

• 3 label scans, 1 shelf scan and 3 recipe imports
• 3 questions to Cooper
• 3 house cocktails on your guest menu

When you're signed in, these allowances count towards your account, so reinstalling the app doesn't reset them.

Pro adds more bars, co-owners, many more scans, imports and questions, Fill in with Claude, and menu sections, themes and a logo. For the full list, see Settings › Plan.

You'll be notified before paid plans begin, and nothing is charged without your consent.

How do I back up my bar?

In Settings, tap Sign in to back up your bar. Backup is free and runs once a day when something has changed.

• On a new phone, or after reinstalling, sign in with the same Apple account to restore your bar.
• Sync across my devices, in Settings › Backup & sync, keeps your bar up to date on every iPhone you use. Sync is also free.
• To keep your own copy, use Settings › Backup file, or Export my bar (spreadsheet) in Backup & sync.

What are the anonymous usage stats?

Once a day, the app sends counts only, such as how many bottles and recipes you have and which features you used. It never sends names, notes or chats.

The counts are linked to a random install ID, not to you or your account. To stop them, turn off Share anonymous usage stats in Settings › Privacy.

How do I delete my account?

You can delete your account in the app, on the free plan or Pro, in two steps:

1. In Settings, tap Delete account (also in Backup & sync).
2. Type delete to confirm.

This removes your account, your cloud backup and your synced bars from our server. A bar you share is also deleted for its co-owners. Your bar remains on this phone until you delete the app.