# Write a Recipe (/docs/guide/write-a-recipe)



The guide sorts a support inbox. Every page uses the same Recipe, and it grows as you go.

A Recipe is a JSON file. It names the model, sets the review threshold, and lists the
Questions. Save this as `recipe.json`:

```json title="recipe.json"
{
  "format": 1,
  "name": "support-inbox",
  "version": 1,
  "model": "jev-1.13.0",
  "reviewThreshold": 0.7,
  "questions": {
    "category": {
      "type": "choice",
      "instructions": "Which category best describes this message?",
      "criteria": {
        "complaint": "The sender is unhappy with the product or service",
        "question": "The sender asks how something works",
        "other": "Anything else, including spam and thanks"
      }
    },
    "wants_human": {
      "type": "noul",
      "instructions": "Does the sender ask to speak to a person?"
    }
  }
}

```

Two Questions so far. `category` is a Choice: the model picks one of the three labels, and the
description beside each label is what it picks on, so write descriptions that separate the
labels rather than restate them. `wants_human` is a yes/no Question, `"type": "noul"`. It has
no criteria here, though it can carry a description for `true` and for `false` when the
boundary needs spelling out.

The fields around the Questions:

* `format` is the Recipe file format, `1` today. A breaking change to the format bumps it.
* `name` and `version` identify the Recipe. Every Decision names both, so change `version`
  whenever you change a Question.
* `model` pins the model that answers. `jev-1.13.0` is the current one.
* `reviewThreshold` is the confidence below which a Decision is Unsure. It is required in the
  file, so a Recipe on disk never silently gets a default.

Question names are the keys under `questions`. They become keys in every Decision's
`answers` and in every Fixture's `expect`, so pick names you are happy to see in JSON and
in code.

Next: [measure the Recipe against examples you label](/docs/guide/measure-with-fixtures)
before it touches real Records.