LoginSign Up
← Back to all sparks
G

Grocy

PM
Velocity0.0

Self-hosted groceries and household management with chores and tasks

grocy.info ↗

Grocy opened a plugin seam for barcode lookups, then went quiet for a year.

self-hostedhousehold-erpbarcode-lookupplugin-interfaceslow-cadence
◆Current state
Grocy releases on a slow, maintainer-paced rhythm — a handful of releases across 2024 and 2025, then a single 4.6.0 in March 2026 that makes PHP 8.5 with SQLite 3.40+ the only supported runtime. The functional work concentrates on stock handling: quantity-unit defaults that stay editable until a product has been in stock, automatic 1:1 unit conversions when no default applies, and a long tail of filter and validation fixes across the stock, shopping list and master data pages.
◆Where it's heading
The notable structural move was 4.4.0, which introduced external barcode lookup as a product-picker workflow with a pluggable backend and shipped an Open Food Facts plugin on by default. That converted Grocy from a purely self-contained ledger into something that pulls product data from the outside world, and the releases since have mostly been refining that plugin — localized names, empty-name handling, image URLs with query parameters. Beyond it, the direction is consolidation: fewer rough edges, a tighter supported runtime, no expansion of scope.
◆Prediction
Expect continued single-release years focused on stock and quantity-unit correctness. The barcode plugin interface is the one place where new capability could arrive without new maintainer surface, so additional lookup providers are the most plausible next addition.

◆Recent moves

  1. 4mo ago

    PHP 8.5 becomes the only supported runtime

    The sole 2026 release narrows the supported runtime to PHP 8.5 with SQLite 3.40+ and reworks quantity-unit defaults so they stay editable until a product has been in stock, auto-creating 1:1 conversions where no default applies. Runtime consolidation plus the stock-handling refinement that is Grocy's steady focus.

    View source ↗
  2. 1y ago

    Open Food Facts lookup fixes and a default-store column

    Refinement of the barcode-lookup plugin introduced in 4.4.0: empty localized names ignored, non-ASCII handling corrected, and image URLs with query parameters no longer producing invalid filenames. A hidden Default store column joins the stock overview.

    View source ↗
  3. 1y ago

    Localized product names and shopping list rounding fixes

    The lookup plugin starts using the user's Grocy language for product names, and shopping-list totals respect the round-up setting. Small corrections on recently added surfaces.

    View source ↗
  4. 1y ago

    Barcode plugin pointed at the production Open Food Facts API

    A fix for the bundled plugin calling the Open Food Facts staging environment instead of production, plus special-character handling in several filters. Early-shipment repair on the 4.4.0 feature.

    View source ↗
  5. 1y ago

    External barcode lookup arrives as a pluggable workflow

    ⚡ SPARK

    The release that gave Grocy an outside data source: a new product-picker workflow that calls a configurable lookup plugin and drops the user into a pre-filled product edit page. Every stock-related release since has been refining the Open Food Facts implementation it shipped with.

    View source ↗
  6. 1y ago

    Stock form validation and Scan Mode fixes

    Validation fixes for unit conversions with many decimal places, self-produced products excluded from the Spendings report, and Scan Mode repaired on the purchase and consume pages. Housekeeping ahead of the barcode-lookup release.

    View source ↗