Guide

Pantry Inventory App — Know What's in Your Kitchen

Most people have no idea what's in their pantry. Expired cans, duplicate spices, the rice you bought three months ago. ShelfLife builds your complete inventory from a receipt scan — categorized, dated, and recipe-matched in 3 seconds.

Why pantry tracking fails

Traditional pantry apps ask you to type every item. You do it once. Then you buy more groceries and don't update it. The app drifts from reality. ShelfLife solves this: every receipt scan refreshes your entire inventory automatically.

The stakes are real: the EPA estimates the average family of four wastes $2,900/year on food — much of it already sitting in the pantry, so knowing what you own is the first step toward saving money on groceries.

What ShelfLife tracks

• Every item from every receipt — produce, dairy, meat, bakery, pantry, frozen
• Expiry dates — AI-estimated by a multi-provider AI cascade with automatic failover
• Categories — Auto-detected (produce, dairy, meat, bakery, pantry, frozen)
• Quantities — Parsed from receipt ("X4", "1LB", "6OZ", "DOZEN")
• Urgency ranking — "Eat This First" engine sorts by expiry + recipe match

Auto-inventory from receipts

Shop → Scan → Done. The receipt scanner reads everything, including items barcode apps miss:

• Produce (no barcodes)
• Store brands (often unrecognized)
• Bulk items (nuts, grains, spices)
• Deli & bakery (hand-written or generic labels)
• Meat & seafood counter items

Recipe matching with pantry awareness

ShelfLife doesn't just show recipes — it shows recipes you can actually make:

• Pantry-staple awareness — Assumes you have oil, salt, flour, spices
• Expiring-item boost — Recipes using items expiring in 1-3 days rank higher
• Quick Wins — Use 3+ expiring items in one meal
• Meal Prep — Batch cook with what you have
• Budget Picks — Cheapest meals from current inventory

Household pantry sharing

Pro includes household sharing: create a household, share an invite code, everyone sees the same inventory. Assign items ("I'll use the spinach"), track who used what, shared Savor Score. No more "I didn't know we had that" or buying duplicates.

Works offline

Your pantry lives on your device. Scan receipts offline. View inventory offline. Sync when you're back online. Local-first with Supabase cloud sync for multi-device households.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best pantry inventory app?

ShelfLife is the best pantry inventory app because it builds your inventory automatically from receipt scans — no manual entry. It tracks expiry dates, matches recipes to what you have, and shares with your household.

How does ShelfLife track pantry inventory?

Scan a grocery receipt. OCR reads every item. AI categorizes (produce, dairy, pantry, frozen, etc.) and estimates expiry dates. Your pantry inventory is live in 3 seconds, sorted by urgency.

Can ShelfLife match recipes to my pantry?

Yes. Recipe matching uses pantry-staple awareness and expiring-item boosts. It suggests Quick Wins (use 3+ expiring items), Meal Prep, and Budget Picks based on what you actually have.

Does ShelfLife work for household pantry sharing?

Yes. ShelfLife Pro includes household sharing — create a household, share via invite code, everyone sees the same inventory. Assign items, track who used what, shared Savor Score.