diff --git a/CHANGES.md b/CHANGES.md --- a/CHANGES.md +++ b/CHANGES.md @@ -1,13 +1,20 @@ User-visible changes in the hledger command line tool and library. +# 1.20.2 2020-12-28 + +- help: Fix loss of capitalisation in part of the hledger-ui manual. + +- Fix the info manuals' node structure. + +- Drop unused parsec dependency. + # 1.20.1 2020-12-15 - bal, bs, cf, is: In amount-sorted balance reports, equal-balance accounts are now reliably sorted by name. (Simon Michael, Stephen Morgan) - help: Fix the topic hierarchy in Info manuals. - # 1.20 2020-12-05 diff --git a/Hledger/Cli/Commands.hs b/Hledger/Cli/Commands.hs --- a/Hledger/Cli/Commands.hs +++ b/Hledger/Cli/Commands.hs @@ -156,6 +156,7 @@ -- commandsList :: String -> [String] -> [String] commandsList progversion othercmds = [ + -- keep synced with hledger.m4.md -> Commands --> "-------------------------------------------------------------------------------" ,progversion ,"Usage: hledger COMMAND [OPTIONS] [-- ADDONCMDOPTIONS]" diff --git a/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Aregister.txt b/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Aregister.txt --- a/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Aregister.txt +++ b/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Aregister.txt @@ -30,6 +30,9 @@ Transactions making a net change of zero are not shown by default; add the -E/--empty flag to show them. +This command also supports the output destination and output format +options The output formats supported are txt, csv, and json. + aregister and custom posting dates Transactions whose date is outside the report period can still be shown, @@ -41,11 +44,6 @@ To filter strictly by transaction date instead, add the --txn-dates flag. If you use this flag and some of your postings have custom dates, it's probably best to assume the running balance is wrong. - -Output format - -This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are txt, csv, and json. Examples: diff --git a/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Balance.txt b/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Balance.txt --- a/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Balance.txt +++ b/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Balance.txt @@ -23,6 +23,10 @@ show real-world account balances. In some cases the -H/--historical flag is used to ensure this (more below). +This command also supports the output destination and output format +options The output formats supported are (in most modes): txt, csv, +html, and json. + The balance command can produce several styles of report: Classic balance report @@ -552,9 +556,3 @@ liabilities || $-283.00 [ 26% of $-1100.00] ----------------------------------------++------------------------------- || 0 [ 0] - -Output format - -This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are (in most modes): txt, csv, -html, and json. diff --git a/embeddedfiles/hledger-ui.1 b/embeddedfiles/hledger-ui.1 --- a/embeddedfiles/hledger-ui.1 +++ b/embeddedfiles/hledger-ui.1 @@ -1,11 +1,11 @@ -.TH "hledger-ui" "1" "December 2020" "hledger-ui 1.20.1" "hledger User Manuals" +.TH "HLEDGER-UI" "1" "December 2020" "hledger-ui-1.20.1 " "hledger User Manuals" .SH NAME .PP -hledger-ui - terminal interface for the hledger accounting tool +A terminal interface (TUI) for the hledger accounting tool. .SH SYNOPSIS .PP \f[C]hledger-ui [OPTIONS] [QUERYARGS]\f[R] @@ -189,18 +189,18 @@ \f[B]\f[CB]--debug[=N]\f[B]\f[R] show debug output (levels 1-9, default: 1) .PP -a \[at]file argument will be expanded to the contents of file, which +A \[at]FILE argument will be expanded to the contents of FILE, which should contain one command line option/argument per line. -(to prevent this, insert a \f[C]--\f[R] argument before.) -.SH keys +(To prevent this, insert a \f[C]--\f[R] argument before.) +.SH KEYS .PP \f[C]?\f[R] shows a help dialog listing all keys. -(some of these also appear in the quick help at the bottom of each -screen.) press \f[C]?\f[R] again (or \f[C]escape\f[R], or -\f[C]left\f[R], or \f[C]q\f[R]) to close it. -the following keys work on most screens: +(Some of these also appear in the quick help at the bottom of each +screen.) Press \f[C]?\f[R] again (or \f[C]ESCAPE\f[R], or +\f[C]LEFT\f[R], or \f[C]q\f[R]) to close it. +The following keys work on most screens: .PP -the cursor keys navigate: \f[C]right\f[R] (or \f[C]enter\f[R]) goes +The cursor keys navigate: \f[C]right\f[R] (or \f[C]enter\f[R]) goes deeper, \f[C]left\f[R] returns to the previous screen, \f[C]up\f[R]/\f[C]down\f[R]/\f[C]page up\f[R]/\f[C]page down\f[R]/\f[C]home\f[R]/\f[C]end\f[R] move up and down through lists. @@ -212,104 +212,103 @@ faster you may want to adjust it. (If you\[aq]re on a mac, the karabiner app is one way to do that.) .PP -with shift pressed, the cursor keys adjust the report period, limiting +With shift pressed, the cursor keys adjust the report period, limiting the transactions to be shown (by default, all are shown). \f[C]shift-down/up\f[R] steps downward and upward through these standard report period durations: year, quarter, month, week, day. -then, \f[C]shift-left/right\f[R] moves to the previous/next period. +Then, \f[C]shift-left/right\f[R] moves to the previous/next period. \f[C]T\f[R] sets the report period to today. -with the \f[C]--watch\f[R] option, when viewing a \[dq]current\[dq] +With the \f[C]--watch\f[R] option, when viewing a \[dq]current\[dq] period (the current day, week, month, quarter, or year), the period will move automatically to track the current date. -to set a non-standard period, you can use \f[C]/\f[R] and a +To set a non-standard period, you can use \f[C]/\f[R] and a \f[C]date:\f[R] query. .PP \f[C]/\f[R] lets you set a general filter query limiting the data shown, using the same query terms as in hledger and hledger-web. -while editing the query, you can use ctrl-a/e/d/k, bs, cursor keys; -press \f[C]enter\f[R] to set it, or \f[C]escape\f[R]to cancel. -there are also keys for quickly adjusting some common filters like +While editing the query, you can use CTRL-a/e/d/k, BS, cursor keys; +press \f[C]ENTER\f[R] to set it, or \f[C]ESCAPE\f[R]to cancel. +There are also keys for quickly adjusting some common filters like account depth and transaction status (see below). -\f[C]backspace\f[R] or \f[C]delete\f[R] removes all filters, showing all +\f[C]BACKSPACE\f[R] or \f[C]DELETE\f[R] removes all filters, showing all transactions. .PP -as mentioned above, by default hledger-ui hides future transactions - +As mentioned above, by default hledger-ui hides future transactions - both ordinary transactions recorded in the journal, and periodic transactions generated by rule. -\f[C]f\f[R] toggles forecast mode, in which future/forecasted +\f[C]F\f[R] toggles forecast mode, in which future/forecasted transactions are shown. -\f[I](experimental)\f[R] .PP -\f[C]escape\f[R] resets the UI state and jumps back to the top screen, +\f[C]ESCAPE\f[R] resets the UI state and jumps back to the top screen, restoring the app\[aq]s initial state at startup. Or, it cancels minibuffer data entry or the help dialog. .PP -\f[C]ctrl-l\f[R] redraws the screen and centers the selection if +\f[C]CTRL-l\f[R] redraws the screen and centers the selection if possible (selections near the top won\[aq]t be centered, since we don\[aq]t scroll above the top). .PP \f[C]g\f[R] reloads from the data file(s) and updates the current screen and any previous screens. -(with large files, this could cause a noticeable pause.) +(With large files, this could cause a noticeable pause.) .PP -\f[C]i\f[R] toggles balance assertion checking. -disabling balance assertions temporarily can be useful for +\f[C]I\f[R] toggles balance assertion checking. +Disabling balance assertions temporarily can be useful for troubleshooting. .PP \f[C]a\f[R] runs command-line hledger\[aq]s add command, and reloads the updated file. -this allows some basic data entry. +This allows some basic data entry. .PP -\f[C]a\f[R] is like \f[C]a\f[R], but runs the hledger-iadd tool, which +\f[C]A\f[R] is like \f[C]a\f[R], but runs the hledger-iadd tool, which provides a terminal interface. -this key will be available if \f[C]hledger-iadd\f[R] is installed in +This key will be available if \f[C]hledger-iadd\f[R] is installed in $path. .PP -\f[C]e\f[R] runs $hledger_ui_editor, or $editor, or a default +\f[C]E\f[R] runs $HLEDGER_UI_EDITOR, or $EDITOR, or a default (\f[C]emacsclient -a \[dq]\[dq] -nw\f[R]) on the journal file. -with some editors (emacs, vi), the cursor will be positioned at the +With some editors (emacs, vi), the cursor will be positioned at the current transaction when invoked from the register and transaction screens, and at the error location (if possible) when invoked from the error screen. .PP -\f[C]b\f[R] toggles cost mode, showing amounts in their transaction -price\[aq]s commodity (like toggling the \f[C]-b/--cost\f[R] flag). +\f[C]B\f[R] toggles cost mode, showing amounts in their transaction +price\[aq]s commodity (like toggling the \f[C]-B/--cost\f[R] flag). .PP -\f[C]v\f[R] toggles value mode, showing amounts\[aq] current market +\f[C]V\f[R] toggles value mode, showing amounts\[aq] current market value in their default valuation commodity (like toggling the -\f[C]-v/--market\f[R] flag). -note, \[dq]current market value\[dq] means the value on the report end +\f[C]-V/--market\f[R] flag). +Note, \[dq]current market value\[dq] means the value on the report end date if specified, otherwise today. -to see the value on another date, you can temporarily set that as the +To see the value on another date, you can temporarily set that as the report end date. -eg: to see a transaction as it was valued on july 30, go to the accounts +Eg: to see a transaction as it was valued on july 30, go to the accounts or register screen, press \f[C]/\f[R], and add \f[C]date:-7/30\f[R] to the query. .PP -at most one of cost or value mode can be active at once. +At most one of cost or value mode can be active at once. .PP -there\[aq]s not yet any visual reminder when cost or value mode is +There\[aq]s not yet any visual reminder when cost or value mode is active; for now pressing \f[C]b\f[R] \f[C]b\f[R] \f[C]v\f[R] should reliably reset to normal mode. .PP -with --watch active, if you save an edit to the journal file while -viewing the transaction screen in cost or value mode, the -\f[C]b\f[R]/\f[C]v\f[R] keys will stop working. -to work around, press g to force a manual reload, or exit the +With \f[C]--watch\f[R] active, if you save an edit to the journal file +while viewing the transaction screen in cost or value mode, the +\f[C]B\f[R]/\f[C]V\f[R] keys will stop working. +To work around, press \f[C]g\f[R] to force a manual reload, or exit the transaction screen. .PP \f[C]q\f[R] quits the application. .PP -additional screen-specific keys are described below. -.SH screens -.SS accounts screen +Additional screen-specific keys are described below. +.SH SCREENS +.SS Accounts screen .PP -this is normally the first screen displayed. -it lists accounts and their balances, like hledger\[aq]s balance +This is normally the first screen displayed. +It lists accounts and their balances, like hledger\[aq]s balance command. -by default, it shows all accounts and their latest ending balances +By default, it shows all accounts and their latest ending balances (including the balances of subaccounts). -if you specify a query on the command line, it shows just the matched +If you specify a query on the command line, it shows just the matched accounts and the balances from matched transactions. .PP Account names are shown as a flat list by default; press \f[C]t\f[R] to @@ -505,6 +504,6 @@ Released under GNU GPL v3 or later. .SH SEE ALSO -hledger(1), hledger\-ui(1), hledger\-web(1), -hledger_csv(5), hledger_journal(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5), -ledger(1) +hledger(1), hledger\-ui(1), hledger\-web(1), ledger(1) + +hledger_journal(5), hledger_csv(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5) diff --git a/embeddedfiles/hledger-ui.info b/embeddedfiles/hledger-ui.info --- a/embeddedfiles/hledger-ui.info +++ b/embeddedfiles/hledger-ui.info @@ -3,10 +3,10 @@  File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Top, Next: OPTIONS, Up: (dir) -hledger-ui(1) hledger-ui 1.20.1 -******************************* +hledger-ui(1) +************* -hledger-ui - terminal interface for the hledger accounting tool +A terminal interface (TUI) for the hledger accounting tool. 'hledger-ui [OPTIONS] [QUERYARGS]' 'hledger ui -- [OPTIONS] [QUERYARGS]' @@ -36,18 +36,14 @@ * Menu: * OPTIONS:: -* keys:: -* screens:: -* accounts screen:: -* Register screen:: -* Transaction screen:: -* Error screen:: +* KEYS:: +* SCREENS:: * ENVIRONMENT:: * FILES:: * BUGS::  -File: hledger-ui.info, Node: OPTIONS, Next: keys, Prev: Top, Up: Top +File: hledger-ui.info, Node: OPTIONS, Next: KEYS, Prev: Top, Up: Top 1 OPTIONS ********* @@ -208,22 +204,22 @@ show debug output (levels 1-9, default: 1) - a @file argument will be expanded to the contents of file, which -should contain one command line option/argument per line. (to prevent + A @FILE argument will be expanded to the contents of FILE, which +should contain one command line option/argument per line. (To prevent this, insert a '--' argument before.)  -File: hledger-ui.info, Node: keys, Next: screens, Prev: OPTIONS, Up: Top +File: hledger-ui.info, Node: KEYS, Next: SCREENS, Prev: OPTIONS, Up: Top -2 keys +2 KEYS ****** -'?' shows a help dialog listing all keys. (some of these also appear in -the quick help at the bottom of each screen.) press '?' again (or -'escape', or 'left', or 'q') to close it. the following keys work on +'?' shows a help dialog listing all keys. (Some of these also appear in +the quick help at the bottom of each screen.) Press '?' again (or +'ESCAPE', or 'LEFT', or 'q') to close it. The following keys work on most screens: - the cursor keys navigate: 'right' (or 'enter') goes deeper, 'left' + The cursor keys navigate: 'right' (or 'enter') goes deeper, 'left' returns to the previous screen, 'up'/'down'/'page up'/'page down'/'home'/'end' move up and down through lists. Emacs-style ('ctrl-p'/'ctrl-n'/'ctrl-f'/'ctrl-b') movement keys are also supported @@ -232,99 +228,106 @@ want to adjust it. (If you're on a mac, the karabiner app is one way to do that.) - with shift pressed, the cursor keys adjust the report period, + With shift pressed, the cursor keys adjust the report period, limiting the transactions to be shown (by default, all are shown). 'shift-down/up' steps downward and upward through these standard report -period durations: year, quarter, month, week, day. then, +period durations: year, quarter, month, week, day. Then, 'shift-left/right' moves to the previous/next period. 'T' sets the -report period to today. with the '--watch' option, when viewing a +report period to today. With the '--watch' option, when viewing a "current" period (the current day, week, month, quarter, or year), the -period will move automatically to track the current date. to set a +period will move automatically to track the current date. To set a non-standard period, you can use '/' and a 'date:' query. '/' lets you set a general filter query limiting the data shown, -using the same query terms as in hledger and hledger-web. while editing -the query, you can use ctrl-a/e/d/k, bs, cursor keys; press 'enter' to -set it, or 'escape'to cancel. there are also keys for quickly adjusting +using the same query terms as in hledger and hledger-web. While editing +the query, you can use CTRL-a/e/d/k, BS, cursor keys; press 'ENTER' to +set it, or 'ESCAPE'to cancel. There are also keys for quickly adjusting some common filters like account depth and transaction status (see -below). 'backspace' or 'delete' removes all filters, showing all +below). 'BACKSPACE' or 'DELETE' removes all filters, showing all transactions. - as mentioned above, by default hledger-ui hides future transactions - + As mentioned above, by default hledger-ui hides future transactions - both ordinary transactions recorded in the journal, and periodic -transactions generated by rule. 'f' toggles forecast mode, in which -future/forecasted transactions are shown. _(experimental)_ +transactions generated by rule. 'F' toggles forecast mode, in which +future/forecasted transactions are shown. - 'escape' resets the UI state and jumps back to the top screen, + 'ESCAPE' resets the UI state and jumps back to the top screen, restoring the app's initial state at startup. Or, it cancels minibuffer data entry or the help dialog. - 'ctrl-l' redraws the screen and centers the selection if possible + 'CTRL-l' redraws the screen and centers the selection if possible (selections near the top won't be centered, since we don't scroll above the top). 'g' reloads from the data file(s) and updates the current screen and -any previous screens. (with large files, this could cause a noticeable +any previous screens. (With large files, this could cause a noticeable pause.) - 'i' toggles balance assertion checking. disabling balance assertions + 'I' toggles balance assertion checking. Disabling balance assertions temporarily can be useful for troubleshooting. 'a' runs command-line hledger's add command, and reloads the updated -file. this allows some basic data entry. +file. This allows some basic data entry. - 'a' is like 'a', but runs the hledger-iadd tool, which provides a -terminal interface. this key will be available if 'hledger-iadd' is + 'A' is like 'a', but runs the hledger-iadd tool, which provides a +terminal interface. This key will be available if 'hledger-iadd' is installed in $path. - 'e' runs $hledger_ui_editor, or $editor, or a default ('emacsclient --a "" -nw') on the journal file. with some editors (emacs, vi), the + 'E' runs $HLEDGER_UI_EDITOR, or $EDITOR, or a default ('emacsclient +-a "" -nw') on the journal file. With some editors (emacs, vi), the cursor will be positioned at the current transaction when invoked from the register and transaction screens, and at the error location (if possible) when invoked from the error screen. - 'b' toggles cost mode, showing amounts in their transaction price's -commodity (like toggling the '-b/--cost' flag). + 'B' toggles cost mode, showing amounts in their transaction price's +commodity (like toggling the '-B/--cost' flag). - 'v' toggles value mode, showing amounts' current market value in -their default valuation commodity (like toggling the '-v/--market' -flag). note, "current market value" means the value on the report end -date if specified, otherwise today. to see the value on another date, -you can temporarily set that as the report end date. eg: to see a + 'V' toggles value mode, showing amounts' current market value in +their default valuation commodity (like toggling the '-V/--market' +flag). Note, "current market value" means the value on the report end +date if specified, otherwise today. To see the value on another date, +you can temporarily set that as the report end date. Eg: to see a transaction as it was valued on july 30, go to the accounts or register screen, press '/', and add 'date:-7/30' to the query. - at most one of cost or value mode can be active at once. + At most one of cost or value mode can be active at once. - there's not yet any visual reminder when cost or value mode is + There's not yet any visual reminder when cost or value mode is active; for now pressing 'b' 'b' 'v' should reliably reset to normal mode. - with -watch active, if you save an edit to the journal file while -viewing the transaction screen in cost or value mode, the 'b'/'v' keys -will stop working. to work around, press g to force a manual reload, or -exit the transaction screen. + With '--watch' active, if you save an edit to the journal file while +viewing the transaction screen in cost or value mode, the 'B'/'V' keys +will stop working. To work around, press 'g' to force a manual reload, +or exit the transaction screen. 'q' quits the application. - additional screen-specific keys are described below. + Additional screen-specific keys are described below.  -File: hledger-ui.info, Node: screens, Next: accounts screen, Prev: keys, Up: Top +File: hledger-ui.info, Node: SCREENS, Next: ENVIRONMENT, Prev: KEYS, Up: Top -3 screens +3 SCREENS ********* +* Menu: + +* Accounts screen:: +* Register screen:: +* Transaction screen:: +* Error screen:: +  -File: hledger-ui.info, Node: accounts screen, Next: Register screen, Prev: screens, Up: Top +File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Accounts screen, Next: Register screen, Up: SCREENS -4 accounts screen -***************** +3.1 Accounts screen +=================== -this is normally the first screen displayed. it lists accounts and -their balances, like hledger's balance command. by default, it shows +This is normally the first screen displayed. It lists accounts and +their balances, like hledger's balance command. By default, it shows all accounts and their latest ending balances (including the balances of -subaccounts). if you specify a query on the command line, it shows just +subaccounts). If you specify a query on the command line, it shows just the matched accounts and the balances from matched transactions. Account names are shown as a flat list by default; press 't' to @@ -365,10 +368,10 @@ Press 'right' or 'enter' to view an account's transactions register.  -File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Register screen, Next: Transaction screen, Prev: accounts screen, Up: Top +File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Register screen, Next: Transaction screen, Prev: Accounts screen, Up: SCREENS -5 Register screen -***************** +3.2 Register screen +=================== This screen shows the transactions affecting a particular account, like a check register. Each line represents one transaction and shows: @@ -412,10 +415,10 @@ detail.  -File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Transaction screen, Next: Error screen, Prev: Register screen, Up: Top +File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Transaction screen, Next: Error screen, Prev: Register screen, Up: SCREENS -6 Transaction screen -******************** +3.3 Transaction screen +====================== This screen shows a single transaction, as a general journal entry, similar to hledger's print command and journal format @@ -436,10 +439,10 @@ reload).  -File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Error screen, Next: ENVIRONMENT, Prev: Transaction screen, Up: Top +File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Error screen, Prev: Transaction screen, Up: SCREENS -7 Error screen -************** +3.4 Error screen +================ This screen will appear if there is a problem, such as a parse error, when you press g to reload. Once you have fixed the problem, press g @@ -447,9 +450,9 @@ to cancel the reload attempt.)  -File: hledger-ui.info, Node: ENVIRONMENT, Next: FILES, Prev: Error screen, Up: Top +File: hledger-ui.info, Node: ENVIRONMENT, Next: FILES, Prev: SCREENS, Up: Top -8 ENVIRONMENT +4 ENVIRONMENT ************* *COLUMNS* The screen width to use. Default: the full terminal width. @@ -477,7 +480,7 @@  File: hledger-ui.info, Node: FILES, Next: BUGS, Prev: ENVIRONMENT, Up: Top -9 FILES +5 FILES ******* Reads data from one or more files in hledger journal, timeclock, @@ -488,8 +491,8 @@  File: hledger-ui.info, Node: BUGS, Prev: FILES, Up: Top -10 BUGS -******* +6 BUGS +****** The need to precede options with '--' when invoked from hledger is awkward. @@ -516,30 +519,25 @@  Tag Table: Node: Top71 -Node: OPTIONS1554 -Ref: #options1651 -Node: keys5718 -Ref: #keys5813 -Node: screens10145 -Ref: #screens10254 -Node: accounts screen10254 -Ref: #accounts-screen10390 -Node: Register screen12605 -Ref: #register-screen12752 -Node: Transaction screen14749 -Ref: #transaction-screen14899 -Node: Error screen15769 -Ref: #error-screen15903 -Node: ENVIRONMENT16147 -Ref: #environment16266 -Node: FILES17073 -Ref: #files17172 -Node: BUGS17385 -Ref: #bugs17464 +Node: OPTIONS1434 +Ref: #options1531 +Node: KEYS5598 +Ref: #keys5693 +Node: SCREENS10012 +Ref: #screens10117 +Node: Accounts screen10207 +Ref: #accounts-screen10335 +Node: Register screen12550 +Ref: #register-screen12705 +Node: Transaction screen14702 +Ref: #transaction-screen14860 +Node: Error screen15730 +Ref: #error-screen15852 +Node: ENVIRONMENT16096 +Ref: #environment16210 +Node: FILES17017 +Ref: #files17116 +Node: BUGS17329 +Ref: #bugs17406  End Tag Table - - -Local Variables: -coding: utf-8 -End: diff --git a/embeddedfiles/hledger-ui.txt b/embeddedfiles/hledger-ui.txt --- a/embeddedfiles/hledger-ui.txt +++ b/embeddedfiles/hledger-ui.txt @@ -1,10 +1,10 @@ -hledger-ui(1) hledger User Manuals hledger-ui(1) +HLEDGER-UI(1) hledger User Manuals HLEDGER-UI(1) NAME - hledger-ui - terminal interface for the hledger accounting tool + A terminal interface (TUI) for the hledger accounting tool. SYNOPSIS hledger-ui [OPTIONS] [QUERYARGS] @@ -185,16 +185,16 @@ --debug[=N] show debug output (levels 1-9, default: 1) - a @file argument will be expanded to the contents of file, which should - contain one command line option/argument per line. (to prevent this, + A @FILE argument will be expanded to the contents of FILE, which should + contain one command line option/argument per line. (To prevent this, insert a -- argument before.) -keys - ? shows a help dialog listing all keys. (some of these also appear in - the quick help at the bottom of each screen.) press ? again (or escape, - or left, or q) to close it. the following keys work on most screens: +KEYS + ? shows a help dialog listing all keys. (Some of these also appear in + the quick help at the bottom of each screen.) Press ? again (or ESCAPE, + or LEFT, or q) to close it. The following keys work on most screens: - the cursor keys navigate: right (or enter) goes deeper, left returns to + The cursor keys navigate: right (or enter) goes deeper, left returns to the previous screen, up/down/page up/page down/home/end move up and down through lists. Emacs-style (ctrl-p/ctrl-n/ctrl-f/ctrl-b) movement keys are also supported (but not vi-style keys, since hledger-1.19, @@ -202,87 +202,87 @@ rate, to move faster you may want to adjust it. (If you're on a mac, the karabiner app is one way to do that.) - with shift pressed, the cursor keys adjust the report period, limiting + With shift pressed, the cursor keys adjust the report period, limiting the transactions to be shown (by default, all are shown). shift- down/up steps downward and upward through these standard report period - durations: year, quarter, month, week, day. then, shift-left/right + durations: year, quarter, month, week, day. Then, shift-left/right moves to the previous/next period. T sets the report period to today. - with the --watch option, when viewing a "current" period (the current + With the --watch option, when viewing a "current" period (the current day, week, month, quarter, or year), the period will move automatically - to track the current date. to set a non-standard period, you can use / + to track the current date. To set a non-standard period, you can use / and a date: query. / lets you set a general filter query limiting the data shown, using - the same query terms as in hledger and hledger-web. while editing the - query, you can use ctrl-a/e/d/k, bs, cursor keys; press enter to set - it, or escapeto cancel. there are also keys for quickly adjusting some + the same query terms as in hledger and hledger-web. While editing the + query, you can use CTRL-a/e/d/k, BS, cursor keys; press ENTER to set + it, or ESCAPEto cancel. There are also keys for quickly adjusting some common filters like account depth and transaction status (see below). - backspace or delete removes all filters, showing all transactions. + BACKSPACE or DELETE removes all filters, showing all transactions. - as mentioned above, by default hledger-ui hides future transactions - + As mentioned above, by default hledger-ui hides future transactions - both ordinary transactions recorded in the journal, and periodic trans- - actions generated by rule. f toggles forecast mode, in which fu- - ture/forecasted transactions are shown. (experimental) + actions generated by rule. F toggles forecast mode, in which fu- + ture/forecasted transactions are shown. - escape resets the UI state and jumps back to the top screen, restoring + ESCAPE resets the UI state and jumps back to the top screen, restoring the app's initial state at startup. Or, it cancels minibuffer data en- try or the help dialog. - ctrl-l redraws the screen and centers the selection if possible (selec- + CTRL-l redraws the screen and centers the selection if possible (selec- tions near the top won't be centered, since we don't scroll above the top). g reloads from the data file(s) and updates the current screen and any - previous screens. (with large files, this could cause a noticeable + previous screens. (With large files, this could cause a noticeable pause.) - i toggles balance assertion checking. disabling balance assertions + I toggles balance assertion checking. Disabling balance assertions temporarily can be useful for troubleshooting. a runs command-line hledger's add command, and reloads the updated - file. this allows some basic data entry. + file. This allows some basic data entry. - a is like a, but runs the hledger-iadd tool, which provides a terminal - interface. this key will be available if hledger-iadd is installed in + A is like a, but runs the hledger-iadd tool, which provides a terminal + interface. This key will be available if hledger-iadd is installed in $path. - e runs $hledger_ui_editor, or $editor, or a default (emacsclient -a "" - -nw) on the journal file. with some editors (emacs, vi), the cursor + E runs $HLEDGER_UI_EDITOR, or $EDITOR, or a default (emacsclient -a "" + -nw) on the journal file. With some editors (emacs, vi), the cursor will be positioned at the current transaction when invoked from the register and transaction screens, and at the error location (if possi- ble) when invoked from the error screen. - b toggles cost mode, showing amounts in their transaction price's com- - modity (like toggling the -b/--cost flag). + B toggles cost mode, showing amounts in their transaction price's com- + modity (like toggling the -B/--cost flag). - v toggles value mode, showing amounts' current market value in their - default valuation commodity (like toggling the -v/--market flag). - note, "current market value" means the value on the report end date if - specified, otherwise today. to see the value on another date, you can - temporarily set that as the report end date. eg: to see a transaction + V toggles value mode, showing amounts' current market value in their + default valuation commodity (like toggling the -V/--market flag). + Note, "current market value" means the value on the report end date if + specified, otherwise today. To see the value on another date, you can + temporarily set that as the report end date. Eg: to see a transaction as it was valued on july 30, go to the accounts or register screen, press /, and add date:-7/30 to the query. - at most one of cost or value mode can be active at once. + At most one of cost or value mode can be active at once. - there's not yet any visual reminder when cost or value mode is active; + There's not yet any visual reminder when cost or value mode is active; for now pressing b b v should reliably reset to normal mode. - with --watch active, if you save an edit to the journal file while - viewing the transaction screen in cost or value mode, the b/v keys will - stop working. to work around, press g to force a manual reload, or + With --watch active, if you save an edit to the journal file while + viewing the transaction screen in cost or value mode, the B/V keys will + stop working. To work around, press g to force a manual reload, or exit the transaction screen. q quits the application. - additional screen-specific keys are described below. + Additional screen-specific keys are described below. -screens - accounts screen - this is normally the first screen displayed. it lists accounts and - their balances, like hledger's balance command. by default, it shows +SCREENS + Accounts screen + This is normally the first screen displayed. It lists accounts and + their balances, like hledger's balance command. By default, it shows all accounts and their latest ending balances (including the balances - of subaccounts). if you specify a query on the command line, it shows + of subaccounts). If you specify a query on the command line, it shows just the matched accounts and the balances from matched transactions. Account names are shown as a flat list by default; press t to toggle @@ -452,9 +452,11 @@ SEE ALSO - hledger(1), hledger-ui(1), hledger-web(1), hledger_csv(5), - hledger_journal(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5), ledger(1) + hledger(1), hledger-ui(1), hledger-web(1), ledger(1) + hledger_journal(5), hledger_csv(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_time- + dot(5) -hledger-ui 1.20.1 December 2020 hledger-ui(1) + +hledger-ui-1.20.1 December 2020 HLEDGER-UI(1) diff --git a/embeddedfiles/hledger-web.1 b/embeddedfiles/hledger-web.1 --- a/embeddedfiles/hledger-web.1 +++ b/embeddedfiles/hledger-web.1 @@ -1,11 +1,11 @@ -.TH "hledger-web" "1" "December 2020" "hledger-web 1.20.1" "hledger User Manuals" +.TH "HLEDGER-WEB" "1" "December 2020" "hledger-web-1.20.1 " "hledger User Manuals" .SH NAME .PP -hledger-web - web interface for the hledger accounting tool +A web interface (WUI) for the hledger accounting tool. .SH SYNOPSIS .PP \f[C]hledger-web [OPTIONS]\f[R] @@ -610,6 +610,6 @@ Released under GNU GPL v3 or later. .SH SEE ALSO -hledger(1), hledger\-ui(1), hledger\-web(1), -hledger_csv(5), hledger_journal(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5), -ledger(1) +hledger(1), hledger\-ui(1), hledger\-web(1), ledger(1) + +hledger_journal(5), hledger_csv(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5) diff --git a/embeddedfiles/hledger-web.info b/embeddedfiles/hledger-web.info --- a/embeddedfiles/hledger-web.info +++ b/embeddedfiles/hledger-web.info @@ -3,10 +3,10 @@  File: hledger-web.info, Node: Top, Next: OPTIONS, Up: (dir) -hledger-web(1) hledger-web 1.20.1 -********************************* +hledger-web(1) +************** -hledger-web - web interface for the hledger accounting tool +A web interface (WUI) for the hledger accounting tool. 'hledger-web [OPTIONS]' 'hledger web -- [OPTIONS]' @@ -589,26 +589,21 @@  Tag Table: Node: Top72 -Node: OPTIONS1750 -Ref: #options1855 -Node: PERMISSIONS8954 -Ref: #permissions9093 -Node: EDITING UPLOADING DOWNLOADING10305 -Ref: #editing-uploading-downloading10486 -Node: RELOADING11320 -Ref: #reloading11454 -Node: JSON API11887 -Ref: #json-api12001 -Node: ENVIRONMENT17491 -Ref: #environment17607 -Node: FILES18340 -Ref: #files18440 -Node: BUGS18653 -Ref: #bugs18731 +Node: OPTIONS1707 +Ref: #options1812 +Node: PERMISSIONS8911 +Ref: #permissions9050 +Node: EDITING UPLOADING DOWNLOADING10262 +Ref: #editing-uploading-downloading10443 +Node: RELOADING11277 +Ref: #reloading11411 +Node: JSON API11844 +Ref: #json-api11958 +Node: ENVIRONMENT17448 +Ref: #environment17564 +Node: FILES18297 +Ref: #files18397 +Node: BUGS18610 +Ref: #bugs18688  End Tag Table - - -Local Variables: -coding: utf-8 -End: diff --git a/embeddedfiles/hledger-web.txt b/embeddedfiles/hledger-web.txt --- a/embeddedfiles/hledger-web.txt +++ b/embeddedfiles/hledger-web.txt @@ -1,10 +1,10 @@ -hledger-web(1) hledger User Manuals hledger-web(1) +HLEDGER-WEB(1) hledger User Manuals HLEDGER-WEB(1) NAME - hledger-web - web interface for the hledger accounting tool + A web interface (WUI) for the hledger accounting tool. SYNOPSIS hledger-web [OPTIONS] @@ -545,9 +545,11 @@ SEE ALSO - hledger(1), hledger-ui(1), hledger-web(1), hledger_csv(5), - hledger_journal(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5), ledger(1) + hledger(1), hledger-ui(1), hledger-web(1), ledger(1) + hledger_journal(5), hledger_csv(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_time- + dot(5) -hledger-web 1.20.1 December 2020 hledger-web(1) + +hledger-web-1.20.1 December 2020 HLEDGER-WEB(1) diff --git a/embeddedfiles/hledger.1 b/embeddedfiles/hledger.1 --- a/embeddedfiles/hledger.1 +++ b/embeddedfiles/hledger.1 @@ -1,23 +1,20 @@ .\"t -.TH "hledger" "1" "December 2020" "hledger 1.20.1" "hledger User Manuals" +.TH "HLEDGER" "1" "December 2020" "hledger-1.20.1 " "hledger User Manuals" .SH NAME .PP -hledger - a command-line accounting tool +A command-line accounting tool for both power users and folks new to +accounting. .SH SYNOPSIS .PP +\f[C]hledger\f[R] +.PP \f[C]hledger [-f FILE] COMMAND [OPTIONS] [ARGS]\f[R] -.PD 0 -.P -.PD +.PP \f[C]hledger [-f FILE] ADDONCMD -- [OPTIONS] [ARGS]\f[R] -.PD 0 -.P -.PD -\f[C]hledger\f[R] .SH DESCRIPTION .PP hledger is a reliable, cross-platform set of programs for tracking @@ -2466,22 +2463,85 @@ report\[aq]s multi-period mode (whether showing one or many subperiods). .SH COMMANDS .PP -hledger provides a number of subcommands; \f[C]hledger\f[R] with no -arguments shows a list. +hledger provides a number of commands for producing reports and managing +your data. +Run \f[C]hledger\f[R] with no arguments to list the commands available. .PP -If you install additional \f[C]hledger-*\f[R] packages, or if you put -programs or scripts named \f[C]hledger-NAME\f[R] in your PATH, these -will also be listed as subcommands. +To run a command, write its name (or its abbreviation shown in the +commands list, or any unambiguous prefix of the name) as hledger\[aq]s +first argument. +Eg: \f[C]hledger balance\f[R] or \f[C]hledger bal\f[R]. .PP -Run a subcommand by writing its name as first argument (eg -\f[C]hledger incomestatement\f[R]). -You can also write one of the standard short aliases displayed in -parentheses in the command list (\f[C]hledger b\f[R]), or any any -unambiguous prefix of a command name (\f[C]hledger inc\f[R]). +Here are the built-in commands: .PP -Here are all the builtin commands in alphabetical order. -See also \f[C]hledger\f[R] for a more organised command list, and -\f[C]hledger CMD -h\f[R] for detailed command help. +\f[B]Data entry (these modify the journal file):\f[R] +.IP \[bu] 2 +add - add transactions using guided prompts +.IP \[bu] 2 +import - add any new transactions from other files (eg csv) +.PP +\f[B]Data management\f[R]: +.IP \[bu] 2 +check - check for various kinds of issue in the data +.IP \[bu] 2 +close (equity) - generate balance-resetting transactions +.IP \[bu] 2 +diff - compare account transactions in two journal files +.IP \[bu] 2 +rewrite - generate extra postings, similar to print --auto +.PP +\f[B]Financial statements:\f[R] +.IP \[bu] 2 +aregister (areg) - show transactions in a particular account +.IP \[bu] 2 +balancesheet (bs) - show assets, liabilities and net worth +.IP \[bu] 2 +balancesheetequity (bse) - show assets, liabilities and equity +.IP \[bu] 2 +cashflow (cf) - show changes in liquid assets +.IP \[bu] 2 +incomestatement (is) - show revenues and expenses +.IP \[bu] 2 +roi - show return on investments +.PP +\f[B]Miscellaneous reports:\f[R] +.IP \[bu] 2 +accounts (a) - show account names +.IP \[bu] 2 +activity - show postings-per-interval bar charts +.IP \[bu] 2 +balance (b, bal) - show balance changes/end balances/budgets in accounts +.IP \[bu] 2 +codes - show transaction codes +.IP \[bu] 2 +commodities - show commodity/currency symbols +.IP \[bu] 2 +descriptions - show unique transaction descriptions +.IP \[bu] 2 +files - show input file paths +.IP \[bu] 2 +notes - show unique note segments of transaction descriptions +.IP \[bu] 2 +payees - show unique payee segments of transaction descriptions +.IP \[bu] 2 +prices - show market price records +.IP \[bu] 2 +print (p, txns) - show transactions (journal entries) +.IP \[bu] 2 +print-unique - show only transactions with unique descriptions +.IP \[bu] 2 +register (r, reg) - show postings in one or more accounts & running +total +.IP \[bu] 2 +register-match - show a recent posting that best matches a description +.IP \[bu] 2 +stats - show journal statistics +.IP \[bu] 2 +tags - show tag names +.IP \[bu] 2 +test - run self tests +.PP +Next, the detailed command docs, in alphabetical order. .SS accounts .PP accounts, a @@ -2664,6 +2724,10 @@ .PP Transactions making a net change of zero are not shown by default; add the \f[C]-E/--empty\f[R] flag to show them. +.PP +This command also supports the output destination and output format +options The output formats supported are \f[C]txt\f[R], \f[C]csv\f[R], +and \f[C]json\f[R]. .SS aregister and custom posting dates .PP Transactions whose date is outside the report period can still be shown, @@ -2677,12 +2741,7 @@ \f[C]--txn-dates\f[R] flag. If you use this flag and some of your postings have custom dates, it\[aq]s probably best to assume the running balance is wrong. -.SS Output format .PP -This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are \f[C]txt\f[R], \f[C]csv\f[R], -and \f[C]json\f[R]. -.PP Examples: .PP Show all transactions and historical running balance in the first @@ -2734,6 +2793,10 @@ In some cases the -H/--historical flag is used to ensure this (more below). .PP +This command also supports the output destination and output format +options The output formats supported are (in most modes): \f[C]txt\f[R], +\f[C]csv\f[R], \f[C]html\f[R], and \f[C]json\f[R]. +.PP The balance command can produce several styles of report: .SS Classic balance report .PP @@ -3378,11 +3441,6 @@ || 0 [ 0] \f[R] .fi -.SS Output format -.PP -This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are (in most modes): \f[C]txt\f[R], -\f[C]csv\f[R], \f[C]html\f[R], and \f[C]json\f[R]. .SS balancesheet .PP balancesheet, bs @@ -4047,371 +4105,6 @@ Snacks \f[R] .fi -.SS payees -.PP -payees -.PD 0 -.P -.PD -List the unique payee/payer names that appear in transactions. -.PP -This command lists the unique payee/payer names that appear in -transactions, in alphabetic order. -You can add a query to select a subset of transactions. -The payee/payer is the part of the transaction description before a | -character (or if there is no |, the whole description). -.PP -Example: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger payees -Store Name -Gas Station -Person A -\f[R] -.fi -.SS prices -.PP -prices -.PD 0 -.P -.PD -Print market price directives from the journal. -With --costs, also print synthetic market prices based on transaction -prices. -With --inverted-costs, also print inverse prices based on transaction -prices. -Prices (and postings providing prices) can be filtered by a query. -Price amounts are always displayed with their full precision. -.SS print -.PP -print, txns, p -.PD 0 -.P -.PD -Show transaction journal entries, sorted by date. -.PP -The print command displays full journal entries (transactions) from the -journal file in date order, tidily formatted. -With --date2, transactions are sorted by secondary date instead. -.PP -print\[aq]s output is always a valid hledger journal. -.PD 0 -.P -.PD -It preserves all transaction information, but it does not preserve -directives or inter-transaction comments -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger print -2008/01/01 income - assets:bank:checking $1 - income:salary $-1 - -2008/06/01 gift - assets:bank:checking $1 - income:gifts $-1 - -2008/06/02 save - assets:bank:saving $1 - assets:bank:checking $-1 - -2008/06/03 * eat & shop - expenses:food $1 - expenses:supplies $1 - assets:cash $-2 - -2008/12/31 * pay off - liabilities:debts $1 - assets:bank:checking $-1 -\f[R] -.fi -.PP -Normally, the journal entry\[aq]s explicit or implicit amount style is -preserved. -For example, when an amount is omitted in the journal, it will not -appear in the output. -Similarly, when a transaction price is implied but not written, it will -not appear in the output. -You can use the \f[C]-x\f[R]/\f[C]--explicit\f[R] flag to make all -amounts and transaction prices explicit, which can be useful for -troubleshooting or for making your journal more readable and robust -against data entry errors. -\f[C]-x\f[R] is also implied by using any of -\f[C]-B\f[R],\f[C]-V\f[R],\f[C]-X\f[R],\f[C]--value\f[R]. -.PP -Note, \f[C]-x\f[R]/\f[C]--explicit\f[R] will cause postings with a -multi-commodity amount (these can arise when a multi-commodity -transaction has an implicit amount) to be split into multiple -single-commodity postings, keeping the output parseable. -.PP -With \f[C]-B\f[R]/\f[C]--cost\f[R], amounts with transaction prices are -converted to cost using that price. -This can be used for troubleshooting. -.PP -With \f[C]-m\f[R]/\f[C]--match\f[R] and a STR argument, print will show -at most one transaction: the one one whose description is most similar -to STR, and is most recent. -STR should contain at least two characters. -If there is no similar-enough match, no transaction will be shown. -.PP -With \f[C]--new\f[R], for each FILE being read, hledger reads (and -writes) a special state file (\f[C].latest.FILE\f[R] in the same -directory), containing the latest transaction date(s) that were seen -last time FILE was read. -When this file is found, only transactions with newer dates (and new -transactions on the latest date) are printed. -This is useful for ignoring already-seen entries in import data, such as -downloaded CSV files. -Eg: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger -f bank1.csv print --new -(shows transactions added since last print --new on this file) -\f[R] -.fi -.PP -This assumes that transactions added to FILE always have same or -increasing dates, and that transactions on the same day do not get -reordered. -See also the import command. -.PP -This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are \f[C]txt\f[R], \f[C]csv\f[R], -and (experimental) \f[C]json\f[R] and \f[C]sql\f[R]. -.PP -Here\[aq]s an example of print\[aq]s CSV output: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger print -Ocsv -\[dq]txnidx\[dq],\[dq]date\[dq],\[dq]date2\[dq],\[dq]status\[dq],\[dq]code\[dq],\[dq]description\[dq],\[dq]comment\[dq],\[dq]account\[dq],\[dq]amount\[dq],\[dq]commodity\[dq],\[dq]credit\[dq],\[dq]debit\[dq],\[dq]posting-status\[dq],\[dq]posting-comment\[dq] -\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]2008/01/01\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]income\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]assets:bank:checking\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]$\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq] -\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]2008/01/01\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]income\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]income:salary\[dq],\[dq]-1\[dq],\[dq]$\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq] -\[dq]2\[dq],\[dq]2008/06/01\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]gift\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]assets:bank:checking\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]$\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq] -\[dq]2\[dq],\[dq]2008/06/01\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]gift\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]income:gifts\[dq],\[dq]-1\[dq],\[dq]$\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq] -\[dq]3\[dq],\[dq]2008/06/02\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]save\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]assets:bank:saving\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]$\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq] -\[dq]3\[dq],\[dq]2008/06/02\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]save\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]assets:bank:checking\[dq],\[dq]-1\[dq],\[dq]$\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq] -\[dq]4\[dq],\[dq]2008/06/03\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]*\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]eat & shop\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]expenses:food\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]$\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq] -\[dq]4\[dq],\[dq]2008/06/03\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]*\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]eat & shop\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]expenses:supplies\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]$\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq] -\[dq]4\[dq],\[dq]2008/06/03\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]*\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]eat & shop\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]assets:cash\[dq],\[dq]-2\[dq],\[dq]$\[dq],\[dq]2\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq] -\[dq]5\[dq],\[dq]2008/12/31\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]*\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]pay off\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]liabilities:debts\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]$\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq] -\[dq]5\[dq],\[dq]2008/12/31\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]*\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]pay off\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]assets:bank:checking\[dq],\[dq]-1\[dq],\[dq]$\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq] -\f[R] -.fi -.IP \[bu] 2 -There is one CSV record per posting, with the parent transaction\[aq]s -fields repeated. -.IP \[bu] 2 -The \[dq]txnidx\[dq] (transaction index) field shows which postings -belong to the same transaction. -(This number might change if transactions are reordered within the file, -files are parsed/included in a different order, etc.) -.IP \[bu] 2 -The amount is separated into \[dq]commodity\[dq] (the symbol) and -\[dq]amount\[dq] (numeric quantity) fields. -.IP \[bu] 2 -The numeric amount is repeated in either the \[dq]credit\[dq] or -\[dq]debit\[dq] column, for convenience. -(Those names are not accurate in the accounting sense; it just puts -negative amounts under credit and zero or greater amounts under debit.) -.SS print-unique -.PP -print-unique -.PD 0 -.P -.PD -Print transactions which do not reuse an already-seen description. -.PP -Example: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ cat unique.journal -1/1 test - (acct:one) 1 -2/2 test - (acct:two) 2 -$ LEDGER_FILE=unique.journal hledger print-unique -(-f option not supported) -2015/01/01 test - (acct:one) 1 -\f[R] -.fi -.SS register -.PP -register, reg, r -.PD 0 -.P -.PD -Show postings and their running total. -.PP -The register command displays matched postings, across all accounts, in -date order, with their running total or running historical balance. -(See also the \f[C]aregister\f[R] command, which shows matched -transactions in a specific account.) -.PP -register normally shows line per posting, but note that multi-commodity -amounts will occupy multiple lines (one line per commodity). -.PP -It is typically used with a query selecting a particular account, to see -that account\[aq]s activity: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger register checking -2008/01/01 income assets:bank:checking $1 $1 -2008/06/01 gift assets:bank:checking $1 $2 -2008/06/02 save assets:bank:checking $-1 $1 -2008/12/31 pay off assets:bank:checking $-1 0 -\f[R] -.fi -.PP -With --date2, it shows and sorts by secondary date instead. -.PP -The \f[C]--historical\f[R]/\f[C]-H\f[R] flag adds the balance from any -undisplayed prior postings to the running total. -This is useful when you want to see only recent activity, with a -historically accurate running balance: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger register checking -b 2008/6 --historical -2008/06/01 gift assets:bank:checking $1 $2 -2008/06/02 save assets:bank:checking $-1 $1 -2008/12/31 pay off assets:bank:checking $-1 0 -\f[R] -.fi -.PP -The \f[C]--depth\f[R] option limits the amount of sub-account detail -displayed. -.PP -The \f[C]--average\f[R]/\f[C]-A\f[R] flag shows the running average -posting amount instead of the running total (so, the final number -displayed is the average for the whole report period). -This flag implies \f[C]--empty\f[R] (see below). -It is affected by \f[C]--historical\f[R]. -It works best when showing just one account and one commodity. -.PP -The \f[C]--related\f[R]/\f[C]-r\f[R] flag shows the \f[I]other\f[R] -postings in the transactions of the postings which would normally be -shown. -.PP -The \f[C]--invert\f[R] flag negates all amounts. -For example, it can be used on an income account where amounts are -normally displayed as negative numbers. -It\[aq]s also useful to show postings on the checking account together -with the related account: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger register --related --invert assets:checking -\f[R] -.fi -.PP -With a reporting interval, register shows summary postings, one per -interval, aggregating the postings to each account: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger register --monthly income -2008/01 income:salary $-1 $-1 -2008/06 income:gifts $-1 $-2 -\f[R] -.fi -.PP -Periods with no activity, and summary postings with a zero amount, are -not shown by default; use the \f[C]--empty\f[R]/\f[C]-E\f[R] flag to see -them: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger register --monthly income -E -2008/01 income:salary $-1 $-1 -2008/02 0 $-1 -2008/03 0 $-1 -2008/04 0 $-1 -2008/05 0 $-1 -2008/06 income:gifts $-1 $-2 -2008/07 0 $-2 -2008/08 0 $-2 -2008/09 0 $-2 -2008/10 0 $-2 -2008/11 0 $-2 -2008/12 0 $-2 -\f[R] -.fi -.PP -Often, you\[aq]ll want to see just one line per interval. -The \f[C]--depth\f[R] option helps with this, causing subaccounts to be -aggregated: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger register --monthly assets --depth 1h -2008/01 assets $1 $1 -2008/06 assets $-1 0 -2008/12 assets $-1 $-1 -\f[R] -.fi -.PP -Note when using report intervals, if you specify start/end dates these -will be adjusted outward if necessary to contain a whole number of -intervals. -This ensures that the first and last intervals are full length and -comparable to the others in the report. -.SS Custom register output -.PP -register uses the full terminal width by default, except on windows. -You can override this by setting the \f[C]COLUMNS\f[R] environment -variable (not a bash shell variable) or by using the -\f[C]--width\f[R]/\f[C]-w\f[R] option. -.PP -The description and account columns normally share the space equally -(about half of (width - 40) each). -You can adjust this by adding a description width as part of ---width\[aq]s argument, comma-separated: \f[C]--width W,D\f[R] . -Here\[aq]s a diagram (won\[aq]t display correctly in --help): -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -<--------------------------------- width (W) ----------------------------------> -date (10) description (D) account (W-41-D) amount (12) balance (12) -DDDDDDDDDD dddddddddddddddddddd aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa AAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAA -\f[R] -.fi -.PP -and some examples: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger reg # use terminal width (or 80 on windows) -$ hledger reg -w 100 # use width 100 -$ COLUMNS=100 hledger reg # set with one-time environment variable -$ export COLUMNS=100; hledger reg # set till session end (or window resize) -$ hledger reg -w 100,40 # set overall width 100, description width 40 -$ hledger reg -w $COLUMNS,40 # use terminal width, & description width 40 -\f[R] -.fi -.PP -This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are \f[C]txt\f[R], \f[C]csv\f[R], -and (experimental) \f[C]json\f[R]. -.SS register-match -.PP -register-match -.PD 0 -.P -.PD -Print the one posting whose transaction description is closest to DESC, -in the style of the register command. -If there are multiple equally good matches, it shows the most recent. -Query options (options, not arguments) can be used to restrict the -search space. -Helps ledger-autosync detect already-seen transactions when importing. .SS rewrite .PP rewrite @@ -4979,62 +4672,82 @@ (\f[C]-- --help\f[R] currently doesn\[aq]t show them). .SS Add-on commands .PP -hledger also searches for external add-on commands, and will include -these in the commands list. -These are programs or scripts in your PATH whose name starts with -\f[C]hledger-\f[R] and ends with a recognised file extension (currently: -no extension, \f[C]bat\f[R],\f[C]com\f[R],\f[C]exe\f[R], -\f[C]hs\f[R],\f[C]lhs\f[R],\f[C]pl\f[R],\f[C]py\f[R],\f[C]rb\f[R],\f[C]rkt\f[R],\f[C]sh\f[R]). +Any programs or scripts in your PATH named named +\f[C]hledger-SOMETHING\f[R] will also appear in the commands list (with +a \f[C]+\f[R] mark). +These are called add-on commands. .PP -Add-ons can be invoked like any hledger command, but there are a few -things to be aware of. -Eg if the \f[C]hledger-web\f[R] add-on is installed, -.IP \[bu] 2 -\f[C]hledger -h web\f[R] shows hledger\[aq]s help, while -\f[C]hledger web -h\f[R] shows hledger-web\[aq]s help. +These offical add-ons are maintained and released along with hledger: .IP \[bu] 2 -Flags specific to the add-on must have a preceding \f[C]--\f[R] to hide -them from hledger. -So \f[C]hledger web --serve --port 9000\f[R] will be rejected; you must -use \f[C]hledger web -- --serve --port 9000\f[R]. +ui an efficient terminal interface for hledger (TUI) .IP \[bu] 2 -You can always run add-ons directly if preferred: -\f[C]hledger-web --serve --port 9000\f[R]. +web a simple web interface for hledger (WUI) .PP -Add-ons are a relatively easy way to add local features or experiment -with new ideas. -They can be written in any language, but haskell scripts have a big -advantage: they can use the same hledger (and haskell) library functions -that built-in commands do, for command-line options, journal parsing, -reporting, etc. +These add-ons are maintained separately: +.IP \[bu] 2 +iadd a more interactive alternative for the add command +.IP \[bu] 2 +interest generates interest transactions according to various schemes +.IP \[bu] 2 +stockquotes downloads market prices for your commodities from +AlphaVantage \f[I](experimental)\f[R] .PP -Two important add-ons are the hledger-ui and hledger-web user -interfaces. -These are maintained and released along with hledger: -.SS ui +Additional experimental add-ons, which may not be in a working state, +can be found in the bin/ directory in the hledger repo. +.SS Add-on command flags .PP -hledger-ui provides an efficient terminal interface. -.SS web +In a hledger command line, add-on command flags must have a double dash +(\f[C]--\f[R]) preceding them. +Eg you must write: +.IP +.nf +\f[C] +$ hledger web -- --serve +\f[R] +.fi .PP -hledger-web provides a simple web interface. +and not: +.IP +.nf +\f[C] +$ hledger web --serve +\f[R] +.fi .PP -Third party add-ons, maintained separately from hledger, include: -.SS iadd +(because the \f[C]--serve\f[R] flag belongs to \f[C]hledger-web\f[R], +not \f[C]hledger\f[R]). .PP -hledger-iadd is a more interactive, terminal UI replacement for the add -command. -.SS interest +The \f[C]-h/--help\f[R] and \f[C]--version\f[R] flags work without +\f[C]--\f[R], with their position deciding which program they refer to. +Eg \f[C]hledger -h web\f[R] shows hledger\[aq]s help, +\f[C]hledger web -h\f[R] shows hledger-web\[aq]s help. .PP -hledger-interest generates interest transactions for an account -according to various schemes. -.SS stockquotes +If you have any trouble with this, remember you can always run the +add-on program directly, eg: +.IP +.nf +\f[C] +$ hledger-web --serve +\f[R] +.fi +.SS Making add-on commands .PP -hledger-stockquotes downloads market prices for the commodities in your -journal from AlphaVantage. +Add-on commands are programs or scripts in your PATH +.IP \[bu] 2 +whose name starts with \f[C]hledger-\f[R] +.IP \[bu] 2 +whose name ends with a recognised file extension: +\f[C].bat\f[R],\f[C].com\f[R],\f[C].exe\f[R], +\f[C].hs\f[R],\f[C].lhs\f[R],\f[C].pl\f[R],\f[C].py\f[R],\f[C].rb\f[R],\f[C].rkt\f[R],\f[C].sh\f[R] +or none +.IP \[bu] 2 +and (on unix, mac) which are executable by the current user. .PP -A few more experimental or old add-ons can be found in hledger\[aq]s -bin/ directory. -These are typically prototypes and not guaranteed to work. +Add-ons are a relatively easy way to add local features or experiment +with new ideas. +They can be written in any language, but haskell scripts have a big +advantage: they can use the same hledger library functions that built-in +commands use for command-line options, parsing and reporting. .SH ENVIRONMENT .PP \f[B]LEDGER_FILE\f[R] The journal file path when not specified with @@ -5214,6 +4927,6 @@ Released under GNU GPL v3 or later. .SH SEE ALSO -hledger(1), hledger\-ui(1), hledger\-web(1), -hledger_csv(5), hledger_journal(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5), -ledger(1) +hledger(1), hledger\-ui(1), hledger\-web(1), ledger(1) + +hledger_journal(5), hledger_csv(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5) diff --git a/embeddedfiles/hledger.info b/embeddedfiles/hledger.info --- a/embeddedfiles/hledger.info +++ b/embeddedfiles/hledger.info @@ -3,4705 +3,4393 @@  File: hledger.info, Node: Top, Next: COMMON TASKS, Up: (dir) -hledger(1) hledger 1.20.1 -************************* - -hledger - a command-line accounting tool - - 'hledger [-f FILE] COMMAND [OPTIONS] [ARGS]' -'hledger [-f FILE] ADDONCMD -- [OPTIONS] [ARGS]' -'hledger' - - hledger is a reliable, cross-platform set of programs for tracking -money, time, or any other commodity, using double-entry accounting and a -simple, editable file format. hledger is inspired by and largely -compatible with ledger(1). - - This is hledger's command-line interface (there are also terminal and -web interfaces). Its basic function is to read a plain text file -describing financial transactions (in accounting terms, a general -journal) and print useful reports on standard output, or export them as -CSV. hledger can also read some other file formats such as CSV files, -translating them to journal format. Additionally, hledger lists other -hledger-* executables found in the user's $PATH and can invoke them as -subcommands. - - hledger reads data from one or more files in hledger journal, -timeclock, timedot, or CSV format specified with '-f', or -'$LEDGER_FILE', or '$HOME/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps -'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). If using '$LEDGER_FILE', note this -must be a real environment variable, not a shell variable. You can -specify standard input with '-f-'. - - Transactions are dated movements of money between two (or more) named -accounts, and are recorded with journal entries like this: - -2015/10/16 bought food - expenses:food $10 - assets:cash - - For more about this format, see hledger_journal(5). - - Most users use a text editor to edit the journal, usually with an -editor mode such as ledger-mode for added convenience. hledger's -interactive add command is another way to record new transactions. -hledger never changes existing transactions. - - To get started, you can either save some entries like the above in -'~/.hledger.journal', or run 'hledger add' and follow the prompts. Then -try some commands like 'hledger print' or 'hledger balance'. Run -'hledger' with no arguments for a list of commands. - -* Menu: - -* COMMON TASKS:: -* Getting help:: -* Constructing command lines:: -* Starting a journal file:: -* Setting opening balances:: -* Recording transactions:: -* Reconciling:: -* Reporting:: -* Migrating to a new file:: -* OPTIONS:: -* General options:: -* Command options:: -* Command arguments:: -* Queries:: -* Special characters in arguments and queries:: -* Unicode characters:: -* Input files:: -* Strict mode:: -* Output destination:: -* Output format:: -* Regular expressions:: -* Smart dates:: -* Report start & end date:: -* Report intervals:: -* Period expressions:: -* Depth limiting:: -* Pivoting:: -* Valuation:: -* COMMANDS:: -* accounts:: -* activity:: -* add:: -* aregister:: -* balance:: -* balancesheet:: -* balancesheetequity:: -* cashflow:: -* check:: -* close:: -* codes:: -* commodities:: -* descriptions:: -* diff:: -* files:: -* help:: -* import:: -* incomestatement:: -* notes:: -* payees:: -* prices:: -* print:: -* print-unique:: -* register:: -* register-match:: -* rewrite:: -* roi:: -* stats:: -* tags:: -* test:: -* Add-on commands:: -* ENVIRONMENT:: -* FILES:: -* LIMITATIONS:: -* TROUBLESHOOTING:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: COMMON TASKS, Next: Getting help, Prev: Top, Up: Top - -1 COMMON TASKS -************** - -Here are some quick examples of how to do some basic tasks with hledger. -For more details, see the reference section below, the -hledger_journal(5) manual, or the more extensive docs at -https://hledger.org. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Getting help, Next: Constructing command lines, Prev: COMMON TASKS, Up: Top - -2 Getting help -************** - -$ hledger # show available commands -$ hledger --help # show common options -$ hledger CMD --help # show common and command options, and command help -$ hledger help # show available manuals/topics -$ hledger help hledger # show hledger manual as info/man/text (auto-chosen) -$ hledger help journal --man # show the journal manual as a man page -$ hledger help --help # show more detailed help for the help command - - Find more docs, chat, mail list, reddit, issue tracker: -https://hledger.org#help-feedback - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Constructing command lines, Next: Starting a journal file, Prev: Getting help, Up: Top - -3 Constructing command lines -**************************** - -hledger has an extensive and powerful command line interface. We strive -to keep it simple and ergonomic, but you may run into one of the -confusing real world details described in OPTIONS, below. If that -happens, here are some tips that may help: - - * command-specific options must go after the command (it's fine to - put all options there) ('hledger CMD OPTS ARGS') - * running add-on executables directly simplifies command line parsing - ('hledger-ui OPTS ARGS') - * enclose "problematic" args in single quotes - * if needed, also add a backslash to hide regular expression - metacharacters from the shell - * to see how a misbehaving command is being parsed, add '--debug=2'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Starting a journal file, Next: Setting opening balances, Prev: Constructing command lines, Up: Top - -4 Starting a journal file -************************* - -hledger looks for your accounting data in a journal file, -'$HOME/.hledger.journal' by default: - -$ hledger stats -The hledger journal file "/Users/simon/.hledger.journal" was not found. -Please create it first, eg with "hledger add" or a text editor. -Or, specify an existing journal file with -f or LEDGER_FILE. - - You can override this by setting the 'LEDGER_FILE' environment -variable. It's a good practice to keep this important file under -version control, and to start a new file each year. So you could do -something like this: - -$ mkdir ~/finance -$ cd ~/finance -$ git init -Initialized empty Git repository in /Users/simon/finance/.git/ -$ touch 2020.journal -$ echo "export LEDGER_FILE=$HOME/finance/2020.journal" >> ~/.bashrc -$ source ~/.bashrc -$ hledger stats -Main file : /Users/simon/finance/2020.journal -Included files : -Transactions span : to (0 days) -Last transaction : none -Transactions : 0 (0.0 per day) -Transactions last 30 days: 0 (0.0 per day) -Transactions last 7 days : 0 (0.0 per day) -Payees/descriptions : 0 -Accounts : 0 (depth 0) -Commodities : 0 () -Market prices : 0 () - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Setting opening balances, Next: Recording transactions, Prev: Starting a journal file, Up: Top - -5 Setting opening balances -************************** - -Pick a starting date for which you can look up the balances of some -real-world assets (bank accounts, wallet..) and liabilities (credit -cards..). - - To avoid a lot of data entry, you may want to start with just one or -two accounts, like your checking account or cash wallet; and pick a -recent starting date, like today or the start of the week. You can -always come back later and add more accounts and older transactions, eg -going back to january 1st. - - Add an opening balances transaction to the journal, declaring the -balances on this date. Here are two ways to do it: - - * The first way: open the journal in any text editor and save an - entry like this: - - 2020-01-01 * opening balances - assets:bank:checking $1000 = $1000 - assets:bank:savings $2000 = $2000 - assets:cash $100 = $100 - liabilities:creditcard $-50 = $-50 - equity:opening/closing balances - - These are start-of-day balances, ie whatever was in the account at - the end of the previous day. - - The * after the date is an optional status flag. Here it means - "cleared & confirmed". - - The currency symbols are optional, but usually a good idea as - you'll be dealing with multiple currencies sooner or later. - - The = amounts are optional balance assertions, providing extra - error checking. - - * The second way: run 'hledger add' and follow the prompts to record - a similar transaction: - - $ hledger add - Adding transactions to journal file /Users/simon/finance/2020.journal - Any command line arguments will be used as defaults. - Use tab key to complete, readline keys to edit, enter to accept defaults. - An optional (CODE) may follow transaction dates. - An optional ; COMMENT may follow descriptions or amounts. - If you make a mistake, enter < at any prompt to go one step backward. - To end a transaction, enter . when prompted. - To quit, enter . at a date prompt or press control-d or control-c. - Date [2020-02-07]: 2020-01-01 - Description: * opening balances - Account 1: assets:bank:checking - Amount 1: $1000 - Account 2: assets:bank:savings - Amount 2 [$-1000]: $2000 - Account 3: assets:cash - Amount 3 [$-3000]: $100 - Account 4: liabilities:creditcard - Amount 4 [$-3100]: $-50 - Account 5: equity:opening/closing balances - Amount 5 [$-3050]: - Account 6 (or . or enter to finish this transaction): . - 2020-01-01 * opening balances - assets:bank:checking $1000 - assets:bank:savings $2000 - assets:cash $100 - liabilities:creditcard $-50 - equity:opening/closing balances $-3050 - - Save this transaction to the journal ? [y]: - Saved. - Starting the next transaction (. or ctrl-D/ctrl-C to quit) - Date [2020-01-01]: . - - If you're using version control, this could be a good time to commit -the journal. Eg: - -$ git commit -m 'initial balances' 2020.journal - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Recording transactions, Next: Reconciling, Prev: Setting opening balances, Up: Top - -6 Recording transactions -************************ - -As you spend or receive money, you can record these transactions using -one of the methods above (text editor, hledger add) or by using the -hledger-iadd or hledger-web add-ons, or by using the import command to -convert CSV data downloaded from your bank. - - Here are some simple transactions, see the hledger_journal(5) manual -and hledger.org for more ideas: - -2020/1/10 * gift received - assets:cash $20 - income:gifts - -2020.1.12 * farmers market - expenses:food $13 - assets:cash - -2020-01-15 paycheck - income:salary - assets:bank:checking $1000 - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Reconciling, Next: Reporting, Prev: Recording transactions, Up: Top - -7 Reconciling -************* - -Periodically you should reconcile - compare your hledger-reported -balances against external sources of truth, like bank statements or your -bank's website - to be sure that your ledger accurately represents the -real-world balances (and, that the real-world institutions have not made -a mistake!). This gets easy and fast with (1) practice and (2) -frequency. If you do it daily, it can take 2-10 minutes. If you let it -pile up, expect it to take longer as you hunt down errors and -discrepancies. - - A typical workflow: - - 1. Reconcile cash. Count what's in your wallet. Compare with what - hledger reports ('hledger bal cash'). If they are different, try - to remember the missing transaction, or look for the error in the - already-recorded transactions. A register report can be helpful - ('hledger reg cash'). If you can't find the error, add an - adjustment transaction. Eg if you have $105 after the above, and - can't explain the missing $2, it could be: - - 2020-01-16 * adjust cash - assets:cash $-2 = $105 - expenses:misc - - 2. Reconcile checking. Log in to your bank's website. Compare - today's (cleared) balance with hledger's cleared balance ('hledger - bal checking -C'). If they are different, track down the error or - record the missing transaction(s) or add an adjustment transaction, - similar to the above. Unlike the cash case, you can usually - compare the transaction history and running balance from your bank - with the one reported by 'hledger reg checking -C'. This will be - easier if you generally record transaction dates quite similar to - your bank's clearing dates. - - 3. Repeat for other asset/liability accounts. - - Tip: instead of the register command, use hledger-ui to see a -live-updating register while you edit the journal: 'hledger-ui --watch ---register checking -C' - - After reconciling, it could be a good time to mark the reconciled -transactions' status as "cleared and confirmed", if you want to track -that, by adding the '*' marker. Eg in the paycheck transaction above, -insert '*' between '2020-01-15' and 'paycheck' - - If you're using version control, this can be another good time to -commit: - -$ git commit -m 'txns' 2020.journal - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Reporting, Next: Migrating to a new file, Prev: Reconciling, Up: Top - -8 Reporting -*********** - -Here are some basic reports. - - Show all transactions: - -$ hledger print -2020-01-01 * opening balances - assets:bank:checking $1000 - assets:bank:savings $2000 - assets:cash $100 - liabilities:creditcard $-50 - equity:opening/closing balances $-3050 - -2020-01-10 * gift received - assets:cash $20 - income:gifts - -2020-01-12 * farmers market - expenses:food $13 - assets:cash - -2020-01-15 * paycheck - income:salary - assets:bank:checking $1000 - -2020-01-16 * adjust cash - assets:cash $-2 = $105 - expenses:misc - - Show account names, and their hierarchy: - -$ hledger accounts --tree -assets - bank - checking - savings - cash -equity - opening/closing balances -expenses - food - misc -income - gifts - salary -liabilities - creditcard - - Show all account totals: - -$ hledger balance - $4105 assets - $4000 bank - $2000 checking - $2000 savings - $105 cash - $-3050 equity:opening/closing balances - $15 expenses - $13 food - $2 misc - $-1020 income - $-20 gifts - $-1000 salary - $-50 liabilities:creditcard --------------------- - 0 - - Show only asset and liability balances, as a flat list, limited to -depth 2: - -$ hledger bal assets liabilities --flat -2 - $4000 assets:bank - $105 assets:cash - $-50 liabilities:creditcard --------------------- - $4055 - - Show the same thing without negative numbers, formatted as a simple -balance sheet: - -$ hledger bs --flat -2 -Balance Sheet 2020-01-16 - - || 2020-01-16 -========================++============ - Assets || -------------------------++------------ - assets:bank || $4000 - assets:cash || $105 -------------------------++------------ - || $4105 -========================++============ - Liabilities || -------------------------++------------ - liabilities:creditcard || $50 -------------------------++------------ - || $50 -========================++============ - Net: || $4055 - - The final total is your "net worth" on the end date. (Or use 'bse' -for a full balance sheet with equity.) - - Show income and expense totals, formatted as an income statement: - -hledger is -Income Statement 2020-01-01-2020-01-16 - - || 2020-01-01-2020-01-16 -===============++======================= - Revenues || ----------------++----------------------- - income:gifts || $20 - income:salary || $1000 ----------------++----------------------- - || $1020 -===============++======================= - Expenses || ----------------++----------------------- - expenses:food || $13 - expenses:misc || $2 ----------------++----------------------- - || $15 -===============++======================= - Net: || $1005 - - The final total is your net income during this period. - - Show transactions affecting your wallet, with running total: - -$ hledger register cash -2020-01-01 opening balances assets:cash $100 $100 -2020-01-10 gift received assets:cash $20 $120 -2020-01-12 farmers market assets:cash $-13 $107 -2020-01-16 adjust cash assets:cash $-2 $105 - - Show weekly posting counts as a bar chart: - -$ hledger activity -W -2019-12-30 ***** -2020-01-06 **** -2020-01-13 **** - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Migrating to a new file, Next: OPTIONS, Prev: Reporting, Up: Top - -9 Migrating to a new file -************************* - -At the end of the year, you may want to continue your journal in a new -file, so that old transactions don't slow down or clutter your reports, -and to help ensure the integrity of your accounting history. See the -close command. - - If using version control, don't forget to 'git add' the new file. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: OPTIONS, Next: General options, Prev: Migrating to a new file, Up: Top - -10 OPTIONS -********** - - -File: hledger.info, Node: General options, Next: Command options, Prev: OPTIONS, Up: Top - -11 General options -****************** - -To see general usage help, including general options which are supported -by most hledger commands, run 'hledger -h'. - - General help options: - -'-h --help' - - show general usage (or after COMMAND, command usage) -'--version' - - show version -'--debug[=N]' - - show debug output (levels 1-9, default: 1) - - General input options: - -'-f FILE --file=FILE' - - use a different input file. For stdin, use - (default: - '$LEDGER_FILE' or '$HOME/.hledger.journal') -'--rules-file=RULESFILE' - - Conversion rules file to use when reading CSV (default: FILE.rules) -'--separator=CHAR' - - Field separator to expect when reading CSV (default: ',') -'--alias=OLD=NEW' - - rename accounts named OLD to NEW -'--anon' - - anonymize accounts and payees -'--pivot FIELDNAME' - - use some other field or tag for the account name -'-I --ignore-assertions' - - disable balance assertion checks (note: does not disable balance - assignments) -'-s --strict' - - do extra error checking (check that all posted accounts are - declared) - - General reporting options: - -'-b --begin=DATE' - - include postings/txns on or after this date -'-e --end=DATE' - - include postings/txns before this date -'-D --daily' - - multiperiod/multicolumn report by day -'-W --weekly' - - multiperiod/multicolumn report by week -'-M --monthly' - - multiperiod/multicolumn report by month -'-Q --quarterly' - - multiperiod/multicolumn report by quarter -'-Y --yearly' - - multiperiod/multicolumn report by year -'-p --period=PERIODEXP' - - set start date, end date, and/or reporting interval all at once - using period expressions syntax -'--date2' - - match the secondary date instead (see command help for other - effects) -'-U --unmarked' - - include only unmarked postings/txns (can combine with -P or -C) -'-P --pending' - - include only pending postings/txns -'-C --cleared' - - include only cleared postings/txns -'-R --real' - - include only non-virtual postings -'-NUM --depth=NUM' - - hide/aggregate accounts or postings more than NUM levels deep -'-E --empty' - - show items with zero amount, normally hidden (and vice-versa in - hledger-ui/hledger-web) -'-B --cost' - - convert amounts to their cost/selling amount at transaction time -'-V --market' - - convert amounts to their market value in default valuation - commodities -'-X --exchange=COMM' - - convert amounts to their market value in commodity COMM -'--value' - - convert amounts to cost or market value, more flexibly than - -B/-V/-X -'--infer-value' - - with -V/-X/-value, also infer market prices from transactions -'--auto' - - apply automated posting rules to modify transactions. -'--forecast' - - generate future transactions from periodic transaction rules, for - the next 6 months or till report end date. In hledger-ui, also - make ordinary future transactions visible. -'--color=WHEN (or --colour=WHEN)' - - Should color-supporting commands use ANSI color codes in text - output. 'auto' (default): whenever stdout seems to be a - color-supporting terminal. 'always' or 'yes': always, useful eg - when piping output into 'less -R'. 'never' or 'no': never. A - NO_COLOR environment variable overrides this. - - When a reporting option appears more than once in the command line, -the last one takes precedence. - - Some reporting options can also be written as query arguments. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Command options, Next: Command arguments, Prev: General options, Up: Top - -12 Command options -****************** - -To see options for a particular command, including command-specific -options, run: 'hledger COMMAND -h'. - - Command-specific options must be written after the command name, eg: -'hledger print -x'. - - Additionally, if the command is an add-on, you may need to put its -options after a double-hyphen, eg: 'hledger ui -- --watch'. Or, you can -run the add-on executable directly: 'hledger-ui --watch'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Command arguments, Next: Queries, Prev: Command options, Up: Top - -13 Command arguments -******************** - -Most hledger commands accept arguments after the command name, which are -often a query, filtering the data in some way. - - You can save a set of command line options/arguments in a file, and -then reuse them by writing '@FILENAME' as a command line argument. Eg: -'hledger bal @foo.args'. (To prevent this, eg if you have an argument -that begins with a literal '@', precede it with '--', eg: 'hledger bal --- @ARG'). - - Inside the argument file, each line should contain just one option or -argument. Avoid the use of spaces, except inside quotes (or you'll see -a confusing error). Between a flag and its argument, use = (or -nothing). Bad: - -assets depth:2 --X USD - - Good: - -assets -depth:2 --X=USD - - For special characters (see below), use one less level of quoting -than you would at the command prompt. Bad: - --X"$" - - Good: - --X$ - - See also: Save frequently used options. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Queries, Next: Special characters in arguments and queries, Prev: Command arguments, Up: Top - -14 Queries -********** - -One of hledger's strengths is being able to quickly report on precise -subsets of your data. Most commands accept an optional query -expression, written as arguments after the command name, to filter the -data by date, account name or other criteria. The syntax is similar to -a web search: one or more space-separated search terms, quotes to -enclose whitespace, prefixes to match specific fields, a not: prefix to -negate the match. - - We do not yet support arbitrary boolean combinations of search terms; -instead most commands show transactions/postings/accounts which match -(or negatively match): - - * any of the description terms AND - * any of the account terms AND - * any of the status terms AND - * all the other terms. - - The print command instead shows transactions which: - - * match any of the description terms AND - * have any postings matching any of the positive account terms AND - * have no postings matching any of the negative account terms AND - * match all the other terms. - - The following kinds of search terms can be used. Remember these can -also be prefixed with *'not:'*, eg to exclude a particular subaccount. - -*'REGEX', 'acct:REGEX'* - - match account names by this regular expression. (With no prefix, - 'acct:' is assumed.) same as above - -*'amt:N, amt:N, amt:>=N'* - - match postings with a single-commodity amount that is equal to, - less than, or greater than N. (Multi-commodity amounts are not - tested, and will always match.) The comparison has two modes: if N - is preceded by a + or - sign (or is 0), the two signed numbers are - compared. Otherwise, the absolute magnitudes are compared, - ignoring sign. -*'code:REGEX'* - - match by transaction code (eg check number) -*'cur:REGEX'* - - match postings or transactions including any amounts whose - currency/commodity symbol is fully matched by REGEX. (For a partial - match, use '.*REGEX.*'). Note, to match characters which are - regex-significant, like the dollar sign ('$'), you need to prepend - '\'. And when using the command line you need to add one more - level of quoting to hide it from the shell, so eg do: 'hledger - print cur:'\$'' or 'hledger print cur:\\$'. -*'desc:REGEX'* - - match transaction descriptions. -*'date:PERIODEXPR'* - - match dates within the specified period. PERIODEXPR is a period - expression (with no report interval). Examples: 'date:2016', - 'date:thismonth', 'date:2000/2/1-2/15', 'date:lastweek-'. If the - '--date2' command line flag is present, this matches secondary - dates instead. -*'date2:PERIODEXPR'* - - match secondary dates within the specified period. -*'depth:N'* - - match (or display, depending on command) accounts at or above this - depth -*'note:REGEX'* - - match transaction notes (part of description right of '|', or whole - description when there's no '|') -*'payee:REGEX'* - - match transaction payee/payer names (part of description left of - '|', or whole description when there's no '|') -*'real:, real:0'* - - match real or virtual postings respectively -*'status:, status:!, status:*'* - - match unmarked, pending, or cleared transactions respectively -*'tag:REGEX[=REGEX]'* - - match by tag name, and optionally also by tag value. Note a tag: - query is considered to match a transaction if it matches any of the - postings. Also remember that postings inherit the tags of their - parent transaction. - - The following special search term is used automatically in -hledger-web, only: - -*'inacct:ACCTNAME'* - - tells hledger-web to show the transaction register for this - account. Can be filtered further with 'acct' etc. - - Some of these can also be expressed as command-line options (eg -'depth:2' is equivalent to '--depth 2'). Generally you can mix options -and query arguments, and the resulting query will be their intersection -(perhaps excluding the '-p/--period' option). - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Special characters in arguments and queries, Next: Unicode characters, Prev: Queries, Up: Top - -15 Special characters in arguments and queries -********************************************** - -In shell command lines, option and argument values which contain -"problematic" characters, ie spaces, and also characters significant to -your shell such as '<', '>', '(', ')', '|' and '$', should be escaped by -enclosing them in quotes or by writing backslashes before the -characters. Eg: - - 'hledger register -p 'last year' "accounts receivable -(receivable|payable)" amt:\>100'. - -* Menu: - -* More escaping:: -* Even more escaping:: -* Less escaping:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: More escaping, Next: Even more escaping, Up: Special characters in arguments and queries - -15.1 More escaping -================== - -Characters significant both to the shell and in regular expressions may -need one extra level of escaping. These include parentheses, the pipe -symbol and the dollar sign. Eg, to match the dollar symbol, bash users -should do: - - 'hledger balance cur:'\$'' - - or: - - 'hledger balance cur:\\$' - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Even more escaping, Next: Less escaping, Prev: More escaping, Up: Special characters in arguments and queries - -15.2 Even more escaping -======================= - -When hledger runs an add-on executable (eg you type 'hledger ui', -hledger runs 'hledger-ui'), it de-escapes command-line options and -arguments once, so you might need to _triple_-escape. Eg in bash, -running the ui command and matching the dollar sign, it's: - - 'hledger ui cur:'\\$'' - - or: - - 'hledger ui cur:\\\\$' - - If you asked why _four_ slashes above, this may help: - -unescaped: '$' -escaped: '\$' -double-escaped: '\\$' -triple-escaped: '\\\\$' - - (The number of backslashes in fish shell is left as an exercise for -the reader.) - - You can always avoid the extra escaping for add-ons by running the -add-on directly: - - 'hledger-ui cur:\\$' - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Less escaping, Prev: Even more escaping, Up: Special characters in arguments and queries - -15.3 Less escaping -================== - -Inside an argument file, or in the search field of hledger-ui or -hledger-web, or at a GHCI prompt, you need one less level of escaping -than at the command line. And backslashes may work better than quotes. -Eg: - - 'ghci> :main balance cur:\$' - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Unicode characters, Next: Input files, Prev: Special characters in arguments and queries, Up: Top - -16 Unicode characters -********************* - -hledger is expected to handle non-ascii characters correctly: - - * they should be parsed correctly in input files and on the command - line, by all hledger tools (add, iadd, hledger-web's - search/add/edit forms, etc.) - - * they should be displayed correctly by all hledger tools, and - on-screen alignment should be preserved. - - This requires a well-configured environment. Here are some tips: - - * A system locale must be configured, and it must be one that can - decode the characters being used. In bash, you can set a locale - like this: 'export LANG=en_US.UTF-8'. There are some more details - in Troubleshooting. This step is essential - without it, hledger - will quit on encountering a non-ascii character (as with all - GHC-compiled programs). - - * your terminal software (eg Terminal.app, iTerm, CMD.exe, xterm..) - must support unicode - - * the terminal must be using a font which includes the required - unicode glyphs - - * the terminal should be configured to display wide characters as - double width (for report alignment) - - * on Windows, for best results you should run hledger in the same - kind of environment in which it was built. Eg hledger built in the - standard CMD.EXE environment (like the binaries on our download - page) might show display problems when run in a cygwin or msys - terminal, and vice versa. (See eg #961). - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Input files, Next: Strict mode, Prev: Unicode characters, Up: Top - -17 Input files -************** - -hledger reads transactions from a data file (and the add command writes -to it). By default this file is '$HOME/.hledger.journal' (or on -Windows, something like 'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). You can -override this with the '$LEDGER_FILE' environment variable: - -$ setenv LEDGER_FILE ~/finance/2016.journal -$ hledger stats - - or with the '-f/--file' option: - -$ hledger -f /some/file stats - - The file name '-' (hyphen) means standard input: - -$ cat some.journal | hledger -f- - - Usually the data file is in hledger's journal format, but it can be -in any of the supported file formats, which currently are: - -Reader: Reads: Used for file - extensions: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -'journal'hledger journal files and some Ledger '.journal' '.j' - journals, for transactions '.hledger' '.ledger' -'timeclock'timeclock files, for precise time '.timeclock' - logging -'timedot'timedot files, for approximate time '.timedot' - logging -'csv' comma/semicolon/tab/other-separated '.csv' '.ssv' '.tsv' - values, for data import - - hledger detects the format automatically based on the file extensions -shown above. If it can't recognise the file extension, it assumes -'journal' format. So for non-journal files, it's important to use a -recognised file extension, so as to either read successfully or to show -relevant error messages. - - When you can't ensure the right file extension, not to worry: you can -force a specific reader/format by prefixing the file path with the -format and a colon. Eg to read a .dat file as csv: - -$ hledger -f csv:/some/csv-file.dat stats -$ echo 'i 2009/13/1 08:00:00' | hledger print -ftimeclock:- - - You can specify multiple '-f' options, to read multiple files as one -big journal. There are some limitations with this: - - * directives in one file will not affect the other files - * balance assertions will not see any account balances from previous - files - - If you need either of those things, you can - - * use a single parent file which includes the others - * or concatenate the files into one before reading, eg: 'cat - a.journal b.journal | hledger -f- CMD'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Strict mode, Next: Output destination, Prev: Input files, Up: Top - -18 Strict mode -************** - -hledger checks input files for valid data. By default, the most -important errors are detected, while still accepting easy journal files -without a lot of declarations: - - * Are the input files parseable, with valid syntax ? - * Are all transactions balanced ? - * Do all balance assertions pass ? - - With the '-s'/'--strict' flag, additional checks are performed: - - * Are all accounts posted to, declared with an 'account' directive ? - (Account error checking) - * Are all commodities declared with a 'commodity' directive ? - (Commodity error checking) - - See also: https://hledger.org/checking-for-errors.html - - _experimental._ - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Output destination, Next: Output format, Prev: Strict mode, Up: Top - -19 Output destination -********************* - -hledger commands send their output to the terminal by default. You can -of course redirect this, eg into a file, using standard shell syntax: - -$ hledger print > foo.txt - - Some commands (print, register, stats, the balance commands) also -provide the '-o/--output-file' option, which does the same thing without -needing the shell. Eg: - -$ hledger print -o foo.txt -$ hledger print -o - # write to stdout (the default) - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Output format, Next: Regular expressions, Prev: Output destination, Up: Top - -20 Output format -**************** - -Some commands (print, register, the balance commands) offer a choice of -output format. In addition to the usual plain text format ('txt'), -there are CSV ('csv'), HTML ('html'), JSON ('json') and SQL ('sql'). -This is controlled by the '-O/--output-format' option: - -$ hledger print -O csv - - or, by a file extension specified with '-o/--output-file': - -$ hledger balancesheet -o foo.html # write HTML to foo.html - - The '-O' option can be used to override the file extension if needed: - -$ hledger balancesheet -o foo.txt -O html # write HTML to foo.txt - - Some notes about JSON output: - - * This feature is marked experimental, and not yet much used; you - should expect our JSON to evolve. Real-world feedback is welcome. - - * Our JSON is rather large and verbose, as it is quite a faithful - representation of hledger's internal data types. To understand the - JSON, read the Haskell type definitions, which are mostly in - https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/blob/master/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Types.hs. - - * hledger represents quantities as Decimal values storing up to 255 - significant digits, eg for repeating decimals. Such numbers can - arise in practice (from automatically-calculated transaction - prices), and would break most JSON consumers. So in JSON, we show - quantities as simple Numbers with at most 10 decimal places. We - don't limit the number of integer digits, but that part is under - your control. We hope this approach will not cause problems in - practice; if you find otherwise, please let us know. (Cf #1195) - - Notes about SQL output: - - * SQL output is also marked experimental, and much like JSON could - use real-world feedback. - - * SQL output is expected to work with sqlite, MySQL and PostgreSQL - - * SQL output is structured with the expectations that statements will - be executed in the empty database. If you already have tables - created via SQL output of hledger, you would probably want to - either clear tables of existing data (via 'delete' or 'truncate' - SQL statements) or drop tables completely as otherwise your - postings will be duped. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Regular expressions, Next: Smart dates, Prev: Output format, Up: Top - -21 Regular expressions -********************** - -hledger uses regular expressions in a number of places: - - * query terms, on the command line and in the hledger-web search - form: 'REGEX', 'desc:REGEX', 'cur:REGEX', 'tag:...=REGEX' - * CSV rules conditional blocks: 'if REGEX ...' - * account alias directives and options: 'alias /REGEX/ = - REPLACEMENT', '--alias /REGEX/=REPLACEMENT' - - hledger's regular expressions come from the regex-tdfa library. If -they're not doing what you expect, it's important to know exactly what -they support: - - 1. they are case insensitive - 2. they are infix matching (they do not need to match the entire thing - being matched) - 3. they are POSIX ERE (extended regular expressions) - 4. they also support GNU word boundaries ('\b', '\B', '\<', '\>') - 5. they do not support backreferences; if you write '\1', it will - match the digit '1'. Except when doing text replacement, eg in - account aliases, where backreferences can be used in the - replacement string to reference capturing groups in the search - regexp. - 6. they do not support mode modifiers ('(?s)'), character classes - ('\w', '\d'), or anything else not mentioned above. - - Some things to note: - - * In the 'alias' directive and '--alias' option, regular expressions - must be enclosed in forward slashes ('/REGEX/'). Elsewhere in - hledger, these are not required. - - * In queries, to match a regular expression metacharacter like '$' as - a literal character, prepend a backslash. Eg to search for amounts - with the dollar sign in hledger-web, write 'cur:\$'. - - * On the command line, some metacharacters like '$' have a special - meaning to the shell and so must be escaped at least once more. - See Special characters. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Smart dates, Next: Report start & end date, Prev: Regular expressions, Up: Top - -22 Smart dates -************** - -hledger's user interfaces accept a flexible "smart date" syntax (unlike -dates in the journal file). Smart dates allow some english words, can -be relative to today's date, and can have less-significant date parts -omitted (defaulting to 1). - - Examples: - -'2004/10/1', exact date, several separators allowed. Year -'2004-01-01', is 4+ digits, month is 1-12, day is 1-31 -'2004.9.1' -'2004' start of year -'2004/10' start of month -'10/1' month and day in current year -'21' day in current month -'october, oct' start of month in current year -'yesterday, today, -1, 0, 1 days from today -tomorrow' -'last/this/next -1, 0, 1 periods from the current period -day/week/month/quarter/year' -'20181201' 8 digit YYYYMMDD with valid year month and - day -'201812' 6 digit YYYYMM with valid year and month - - Counterexamples - malformed digit sequences might give surprising -results: - -'201813' 6 digits with an invalid month is parsed as start of - 6-digit year -'20181301' 8 digits with an invalid month is parsed as start of - 8-digit year -'20181232' 8 digits with an invalid day gives an error -'201801012' 9+ digits beginning with a valid YYYYMMDD gives an error - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Report start & end date, Next: Report intervals, Prev: Smart dates, Up: Top - -23 Report start & end date -************************** - -Most hledger reports show the full span of time represented by the -journal data, by default. So, the effective report start and end dates -will be the earliest and latest transaction or posting dates found in -the journal. - - Often you will want to see a shorter time span, such as the current -month. You can specify a start and/or end date using '-b/--begin', -'-e/--end', '-p/--period' or a 'date:' query (described below). All of -these accept the smart date syntax. - - Some notes: - - * As in Ledger, end dates are exclusive, so you need to write the - date _after_ the last day you want to include. - * As noted in reporting options: among start/end dates specified with - _options_, the last (i.e. right-most) option takes precedence. - * The effective report start and end dates are the intersection of - the start/end dates from options and that from 'date:' queries. - That is, 'date:2019-01 date:2019 -p'2000 to 2030'' yields January - 2019, the smallest common time span. - - Examples: - -'-b begin on St. Patrick's day 2016 -2016/3/17' -'-e 12/1' end at the start of december 1st of the current year - (11/30 will be the last date included) -'-b all transactions on or after the 1st of the current month -thismonth' -'-p all transactions in the current month -thismonth' -'date:2016/3/17..'the above written as queries instead ('..' can also be - replaced with '-') -'date:..12/1' -'date:thismonth..' -'date:thismonth' - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Report intervals, Next: Period expressions, Prev: Report start & end date, Up: Top - -24 Report intervals -******************* - -A report interval can be specified so that commands like register, -balance and activity will divide their reports into multiple subperiods. -The basic intervals can be selected with one of '-D/--daily', -'-W/--weekly', '-M/--monthly', '-Q/--quarterly', or '-Y/--yearly'. More -complex intervals may be specified with a period expression. Report -intervals can not be specified with a query. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Period expressions, Next: Depth limiting, Prev: Report intervals, Up: Top - -25 Period expressions -********************* - -The '-p/--period' option accepts period expressions, a shorthand way of -expressing a start date, end date, and/or report interval all at once. - - Here's a basic period expression specifying the first quarter of -2009. Note, hledger always treats start dates as inclusive and end -dates as exclusive: - - '-p "from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1"' - - Keywords like "from" and "to" are optional, and so are the spaces, as -long as you don't run two dates together. "to" can also be written as -".." or "-". These are equivalent to the above: - -'-p "2009/1/1 2009/4/1"' -'-p2009/1/1to2009/4/1' -'-p2009/1/1..2009/4/1' - - Dates are smart dates, so if the current year is 2009, the above can -also be written as: - -'-p "1/1 4/1"' -'-p "january-apr"' -'-p "this year to 4/1"' - - If you specify only one date, the missing start or end date will be -the earliest or latest transaction in your journal: - -'-p "from 2009/1/1"' everything after january 1, 2009 -'-p "from 2009/1"' the same -'-p "from 2009"' the same -'-p "to 2009"' everything before january 1, 2009 - - A single date with no "from" or "to" defines both the start and end -date like so: - -'-p "2009"' the year 2009; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to 2010/1/1” -'-p "2009/1"' the month of jan; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to 2009/2/1” -'-p "2009/1/1"' just that day; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to 2009/1/2” - - Or you can specify a single quarter like so: - -'-p "2009Q1"' first quarter of 2009, equivalent to “2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1” -'-p "q4"' fourth quarter of the current year - - The argument of '-p' can also begin with, or be, a report interval -expression. The basic report intervals are 'daily', 'weekly', -'monthly', 'quarterly', or 'yearly', which have the same effect as the -'-D','-W','-M','-Q', or '-Y' flags. Between report interval and -start/end dates (if any), the word 'in' is optional. Examples: - -'-p "weekly from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1"' -'-p "monthly in 2008"' -'-p "quarterly"' - - Note that 'weekly', 'monthly', 'quarterly' and 'yearly' intervals -will always start on the first day on week, month, quarter or year -accordingly, and will end on the last day of same period, even if -associated period expression specifies different explicit start and end -date. - - For example: - -'-p "weekly from starts on 2008/12/29, closest preceding -2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1"' Monday -'-p "monthly in starts on 2018/11/01 -2008/11/25"' -'-p "quarterly from starts on 2009/04/01, ends on 2009/06/30, -2009-05-05 to which are first and last days of Q2 2009 -2009-06-01"' -'-p "yearly from starts on 2009/01/01, first day of 2009 -2009-12-29"' - - The following more complex report intervals are also supported: -'biweekly', 'fortnightly', 'bimonthly', 'every -day|week|month|quarter|year', 'every N -days|weeks|months|quarters|years'. - - All of these will start on the first day of the requested period and -end on the last one, as described above. - - Examples: - -'-p "bimonthly from periods will have boundaries on 2008/01/01, -2008"' 2008/03/01, ... -'-p "every 2 weeks"' starts on closest preceding Monday -'-p "every 5 month from periods will have boundaries on 2009/03/01, -2009/03"' 2009/08/01, ... - - If you want intervals that start on arbitrary day of your choosing -and span a week, month or year, you need to use any of the following: - - 'every Nth day of week', 'every WEEKDAYNAME' (eg -'mon|tue|wed|thu|fri|sat|sun'), 'every Nth day [of month]', 'every Nth -WEEKDAYNAME [of month]', 'every MM/DD [of year]', 'every Nth MMM [of -year]', 'every MMM Nth [of year]'. - - Examples: - -'-p "every 2nd day of periods will go from Tue to Tue -week"' -'-p "every Tue"' same -'-p "every 15th day"' period boundaries will be on 15th of each - month -'-p "every 2nd period boundaries will be on second Monday of -Monday"' each month -'-p "every 11/05"' yearly periods with boundaries on 5th of Nov -'-p "every 5th Nov"' same -'-p "every Nov 5th"' same - - Show historical balances at end of 15th each month (N is exclusive -end date): - - 'hledger balance -H -p "every 16th day"' - - Group postings from start of wednesday to end of next tuesday (N is -start date and exclusive end date): - - 'hledger register checking -p "every 3rd day of week"' - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Depth limiting, Next: Pivoting, Prev: Period expressions, Up: Top - -26 Depth limiting -***************** - -With the '--depth N' option (short form: '-N'), commands like account, -balance and register will show only the uppermost accounts in the -account tree, down to level N. Use this when you want a summary with -less detail. This flag has the same effect as a 'depth:' query argument -(so '-2', '--depth=2' or 'depth:2' are equivalent). - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Pivoting, Next: Valuation, Prev: Depth limiting, Up: Top - -27 Pivoting -*********** - -Normally hledger sums amounts, and organizes them in a hierarchy, based -on account name. The '--pivot FIELD' option causes it to sum and -organize hierarchy based on the value of some other field instead. -FIELD can be: 'code', 'description', 'payee', 'note', or the full name -(case insensitive) of any tag. As with account names, values containing -'colon:separated:parts' will be displayed hierarchically in reports. - - '--pivot' is a general option affecting all reports; you can think of -hledger transforming the journal before any other processing, replacing -every posting's account name with the value of the specified field on -that posting, inheriting it from the transaction or using a blank value -if it's not present. - - An example: - -2016/02/16 Member Fee Payment - assets:bank account 2 EUR - income:member fees -2 EUR ; member: John Doe - - Normal balance report showing account names: - -$ hledger balance - 2 EUR assets:bank account - -2 EUR income:member fees --------------------- - 0 - - Pivoted balance report, using member: tag values instead: - -$ hledger balance --pivot member - 2 EUR - -2 EUR John Doe --------------------- - 0 - - One way to show only amounts with a member: value (using a query, -described below): - -$ hledger balance --pivot member tag:member=. - -2 EUR John Doe --------------------- - -2 EUR - - Another way (the acct: query matches against the pivoted "account -name"): - -$ hledger balance --pivot member acct:. - -2 EUR John Doe --------------------- - -2 EUR - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Valuation, Next: COMMANDS, Prev: Pivoting, Up: Top - -28 Valuation -************ - -Instead of reporting amounts in their original commodity, hledger can -convert them to cost/sale amount (using the conversion rate recorded in -the transaction), or to market value (using some market price on a -certain date). This is controlled by the '--value=TYPE[,COMMODITY]' -option, but we also provide the simpler '-B'/'-V'/'-X' flags, and -usually one of those is all you need. - -* Menu: - -* -B Cost:: -* -V Value:: -* -X Value in specified commodity:: -* Valuation date:: -* Market prices:: -* --infer-value market prices from transactions:: -* Valuation commodity:: -* Simple valuation examples:: -* --value Flexible valuation:: -* More valuation examples:: -* Effect of valuation on reports:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: -B Cost, Next: -V Value, Up: Valuation - -28.1 -B: Cost -============= - -The '-B/--cost' flag converts amounts to their cost or sale amount at -transaction time, if they have a transaction price specified. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: -V Value, Next: -X Value in specified commodity, Prev: -B Cost, Up: Valuation - -28.2 -V: Value -============== - -The '-V/--market' flag converts amounts to market value in their default -_valuation commodity_, using the market prices in effect on the -_valuation date(s)_, if any. More on these in a minute. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: -X Value in specified commodity, Next: Valuation date, Prev: -V Value, Up: Valuation - -28.3 -X: Value in specified commodity -===================================== - -The '-X/--exchange=COMM' option is like '-V', except you tell it which -currency you want to convert to, and it tries to convert everything to -that. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Valuation date, Next: Market prices, Prev: -X Value in specified commodity, Up: Valuation - -28.4 Valuation date -=================== - -Since market prices can change from day to day, market value reports -have a valuation date (or more than one), which determines which market -prices will be used. - - For single period reports, if an explicit report end date is -specified, that will be used as the valuation date; otherwise the -valuation date is "today". - - For multiperiod reports, each column/period is valued on the last day -of the period, by default. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Market prices, Next: --infer-value market prices from transactions, Prev: Valuation date, Up: Valuation - -28.5 Market prices -================== - -_(experimental)_ - - To convert a commodity A to its market value in another commodity B, -hledger looks for a suitable market price (exchange rate) as follows, in -this order of preference : - - 1. A _declared market price_ or _inferred market price_: A's latest - market price in B on or before the valuation date as declared by a - P directive, or (with the '--infer-value' flag) inferred from - transaction prices. - - 2. A _reverse market price_: the inverse of a declared or inferred - market price from B to A. - - 3. A _a forward chain of market prices_: a synthetic price formed by - combining the shortest chain of "forward" (only 1 above) market - prices, leading from A to B. - - 4. A _any chain of market prices_: a chain of any market prices, - including both forward and reverse prices (1 and 2 above), leading - from A to B. - - Amounts for which no applicable market price can be found, are not -converted. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: --infer-value market prices from transactions, Next: Valuation commodity, Prev: Market prices, Up: Valuation - -28.6 -infer-value: market prices from transactions -================================================== - -_(experimental)_ - - Normally, market value in hledger is fully controlled by, and -requires, P directives in your journal. Since adding and updating those -can be a chore, and since transactions usually take place at close to -market value, why not use the recorded transaction prices as additional -market prices (as Ledger does) ? We could produce value reports without -needing P directives at all. - - Adding the '--infer-value' flag to '-V', '-X' or '--value' enables -this. So for example, 'hledger bs -V --infer-value' will get market -prices both from P directives and from transactions. - - There is a downside: value reports can sometimes be affected in -confusing/undesired ways by your journal entries. If this happens to -you, read all of this Valuation section carefully, and try adding -'--debug' or '--debug=2' to troubleshoot. - - '--infer-value' can infer market prices from: - - * multicommodity transactions with explicit prices ('@'/'@@') - - * multicommodity transactions with implicit prices (no '@', two - commodities, unbalanced). (With these, the order of postings - matters. 'hledger print -x' can be useful for troubleshooting.) - - * but not, currently, from "more correct" multicommodity transactions - (no '@', multiple commodities, balanced). - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Valuation commodity, Next: Simple valuation examples, Prev: --infer-value market prices from transactions, Up: Valuation - -28.7 Valuation commodity -======================== - -_(experimental)_ - - *When you specify a valuation commodity ('-X COMM' or '--value -TYPE,COMM'):* -hledger will convert all amounts to COMM, wherever it can find a -suitable market price (including by reversing or chaining prices). - - *When you leave the valuation commodity unspecified ('-V' or '--value -TYPE'):* -For each commodity A, hledger picks a default valuation commodity as -follows, in this order of preference: - - 1. The price commodity from the latest P-declared market price for A - on or before valuation date. - - 2. The price commodity from the latest P-declared market price for A - on any date. (Allows conversion to proceed when there are inferred - prices before the valuation date.) - - 3. If there are no P directives at all (any commodity or date) and the - '--infer-value' flag is used: the price commodity from the latest - transaction-inferred price for A on or before valuation date. - - This means: - - * If you have P directives, they determine which commodities '-V' - will convert, and to what. - - * If you have no P directives, and use the '--infer-value' flag, - transaction prices determine it. - - Amounts for which no valuation commodity can be found are not -converted. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Simple valuation examples, Next: --value Flexible valuation, Prev: Valuation commodity, Up: Valuation - -28.8 Simple valuation examples -============================== - -Here are some quick examples of '-V': - -; one euro is worth this many dollars from nov 1 -P 2016/11/01 € $1.10 - -; purchase some euros on nov 3 -2016/11/3 - assets:euros €100 - assets:checking - -; the euro is worth fewer dollars by dec 21 -P 2016/12/21 € $1.03 - - How many euros do I have ? - -$ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros - €100 assets:euros - - What are they worth at end of nov 3 ? - -$ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros -V -e 2016/11/4 - $110.00 assets:euros - - What are they worth after 2016/12/21 ? (no report end date -specified, defaults to today) - -$ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros -V - $103.00 assets:euros - - -File: hledger.info, Node: --value Flexible valuation, Next: More valuation examples, Prev: Simple valuation examples, Up: Valuation - -28.9 -value: Flexible valuation -=============================== - -'-B', '-V' and '-X' are special cases of the more general '--value' -option: - - --value=TYPE[,COMM] TYPE is cost, then, end, now or YYYY-MM-DD. - COMM is an optional commodity symbol. - Shows amounts converted to: - - cost commodity using transaction prices (then optionally to COMM using market prices at period end(s)) - - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at posting dates - - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at period end(s) - - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using current market prices - - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at some date - - The TYPE part selects cost or value and valuation date: - -'--value=cost' - - Convert amounts to cost, using the prices recorded in transactions. -'--value=then' - - Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commodity, - using market prices on each posting's date. This is currently - supported only by the print and register commands. -'--value=end' - - Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commodity, - using market prices on the last day of the report period (or if - unspecified, the journal's end date); or in multiperiod reports, - market prices on the last day of each subperiod. -'--value=now' - - Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commodity - using current market prices (as of when report is generated). -'--value=YYYY-MM-DD' - - Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commodity - using market prices on this date. - - To select a different valuation commodity, add the optional ',COMM' -part: a comma, then the target commodity's symbol. Eg: -*'--value=now,EUR'*. hledger will do its best to convert amounts to -this commodity, deducing market prices as described above. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: More valuation examples, Next: Effect of valuation on reports, Prev: --value Flexible valuation, Up: Valuation - -28.10 More valuation examples -============================= - -Here are some examples showing the effect of '--value', as seen with -'print': - -P 2000-01-01 A 1 B -P 2000-02-01 A 2 B -P 2000-03-01 A 3 B -P 2000-04-01 A 4 B - -2000-01-01 - (a) 1 A @ 5 B - -2000-02-01 - (a) 1 A @ 6 B - -2000-03-01 - (a) 1 A @ 7 B - - Show the cost of each posting: - -$ hledger -f- print --value=cost -2000-01-01 - (a) 5 B - -2000-02-01 - (a) 6 B - -2000-03-01 - (a) 7 B - - Show the value as of the last day of the report period (2000-02-29): - -$ hledger -f- print --value=end date:2000/01-2000/03 -2000-01-01 - (a) 2 B - -2000-02-01 - (a) 2 B - - With no report period specified, that shows the value as of the last -day of the journal (2000-03-01): - -$ hledger -f- print --value=end -2000-01-01 - (a) 3 B - -2000-02-01 - (a) 3 B - -2000-03-01 - (a) 3 B - - Show the current value (the 2000-04-01 price is still in effect -today): - -$ hledger -f- print --value=now -2000-01-01 - (a) 4 B - -2000-02-01 - (a) 4 B - -2000-03-01 - (a) 4 B - - Show the value on 2000/01/15: - -$ hledger -f- print --value=2000-01-15 -2000-01-01 - (a) 1 B - -2000-02-01 - (a) 1 B - -2000-03-01 - (a) 1 B - - You may need to explicitly set a commodity's display style, when -reverse prices are used. Eg this output might be surprising: - -P 2000-01-01 A 2B - -2000-01-01 - a 1B - b - -$ hledger print -x -X A -2000-01-01 - a 0 - b 0 - - Explanation: because there's no amount or commodity directive -specifying a display style for A, 0.5A gets the default style, which -shows no decimal digits. Because the displayed amount looks like zero, -the commodity symbol and minus sign are not displayed either. Adding a -commodity directive sets a more useful display style for A: - -P 2000-01-01 A 2B -commodity 0.00A - -2000-01-01 - a 1B - b - -$ hledger print -X A -2000-01-01 - a 0.50A - b -0.50A - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Effect of valuation on reports, Prev: More valuation examples, Up: Valuation - -28.11 Effect of valuation on reports -==================================== - -Here is a reference for how valuation is supposed to affect each part of -hledger's reports (and a glossary). (It's wide, you'll have to scroll -sideways.) It may be useful when troubleshooting. If you find -problems, please report them, ideally with a reproducible example. -Related: #329, #1083. - -Report '-B', '-V', '-X' '--value=then''--value=end' '--value=DATE', -type '--value=cost' '--value=now' --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -*print* -posting cost value at value at value at value -amounts report end posting report or at - or today date journal end DATE/today -balance unchanged unchanged unchanged unchanged unchanged -assertions/assignments -*register* -starting cost value at day not value at day value -balance before supported before at -(-H) report or report or DATE/today - journal journal - start start -posting cost value at value at value at value -amounts report end posting report or at - or today date journal end DATE/today -summary summarised value at sum of value at value -posting cost period ends postings period ends at -amounts in DATE/today -with interval, -report valued at -interval interval - start -running sum/average sum/average sum/average sum/average sum/average -total/averageof displayed of displayed of of displayed of - values values displayed values displayed - values values -*balance -(bs, bse, -cf, is)* -balance sums of value at not value at value -changes costs report end supported report or at - or today of journal end DATE/today - sums of of sums of of sums - postings postings of - postings -budget like balance like balance not like like -amounts changes changes supported balances balance -(-budget) changes -grand sum of sum of not sum of sum of -total displayed displayed supported displayed displayed - values values values values -*balance -(bs, bse, -cf, is) -with -report -interval* -starting sums of value at not value at sums of -balances costs of report start supported report start postings -(-H) postings of sums of of sums of before - before all postings all postings report - report start before before start - report start report start -balance sums of same as not balance value -changes costs of -value=end supported change in at -(bal, is, postings in each period, DATE/today -bs period valued at of sums --change, period ends of -cf postings --change) -end sums of same as not period end value -balances costs of -value=end supported balances, at -(bal -H, postings valued at DATE/today -is -H, from before period ends of sums -bs, cf) report start of - to period postings - end -budget like balance like balance not like like -amounts changes/end changes/end supported balances balance -(-budget) balances balances changes/end - balances -row sums, sums, not sums, sums, -totals, averages of averages of supported averages of averages -row displayed displayed displayed of -averages values values values displayed -(-T, -A) values -column sums of sums of not sums of sums of -totals displayed displayed supported displayed displayed - values values values values -grand sum, average sum, average not sum, average sum, -total, of column of column supported of column average -grand totals totals totals of -average column - totals - - '--cumulative' is omitted to save space, it works like '-H' but with -a zero starting balance. - - *Glossary:* - -_cost_ - - calculated using price(s) recorded in the transaction(s). -_value_ - - market value using available market price declarations, or the - unchanged amount if no conversion rate can be found. -_report start_ - - the first day of the report period specified with -b or -p or - date:, otherwise today. -_report or journal start_ - - the first day of the report period specified with -b or -p or - date:, otherwise the earliest transaction date in the journal, - otherwise today. -_report end_ - - the last day of the report period specified with -e or -p or date:, - otherwise today. -_report or journal end_ - - the last day of the report period specified with -e or -p or date:, - otherwise the latest transaction date in the journal, otherwise - today. -_report interval_ - - a flag (-D/-W/-M/-Q/-Y) or period expression that activates the - report's multi-period mode (whether showing one or many - subperiods). - - -File: hledger.info, Node: COMMANDS, Next: accounts, Prev: Valuation, Up: Top - -29 COMMANDS -*********** - -hledger provides a number of subcommands; 'hledger' with no arguments -shows a list. - - If you install additional 'hledger-*' packages, or if you put -programs or scripts named 'hledger-NAME' in your PATH, these will also -be listed as subcommands. - - Run a subcommand by writing its name as first argument (eg 'hledger -incomestatement'). You can also write one of the standard short aliases -displayed in parentheses in the command list ('hledger b'), or any any -unambiguous prefix of a command name ('hledger inc'). - - Here are all the builtin commands in alphabetical order. See also -'hledger' for a more organised command list, and 'hledger CMD -h' for -detailed command help. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: accounts, Next: activity, Prev: COMMANDS, Up: Top - -30 accounts -*********** - -accounts, a -Show account names. - - This command lists account names, either declared with account -directives (-declared), posted to (-used), or both (the default). With -query arguments, only matched account names and account names referenced -by matched postings are shown. It shows a flat list by default. With -'--tree', it uses indentation to show the account hierarchy. In flat -mode you can add '--drop N' to omit the first few account name -components. Account names can be depth-clipped with 'depth:N' or -'--depth N' or '-N'. - - Examples: - -$ hledger accounts -assets:bank:checking -assets:bank:saving -assets:cash -expenses:food -expenses:supplies -income:gifts -income:salary -liabilities:debts - - -File: hledger.info, Node: activity, Next: add, Prev: accounts, Up: Top - -31 activity -*********** - -activity -Show an ascii barchart of posting counts per interval. - - The activity command displays an ascii histogram showing transaction -counts by day, week, month or other reporting interval (by day is the -default). With query arguments, it counts only matched transactions. - - Examples: - -$ hledger activity --quarterly -2008-01-01 ** -2008-04-01 ******* -2008-07-01 -2008-10-01 ** - - -File: hledger.info, Node: add, Next: aregister, Prev: activity, Up: Top - -32 add -****** - -add -Prompt for transactions and add them to the journal. Any arguments will -be used as default inputs for the first N prompts. - - Many hledger users edit their journals directly with a text editor, -or generate them from CSV. For more interactive data entry, there is the -'add' command, which prompts interactively on the console for new -transactions, and appends them to the journal file (if there are -multiple '-f FILE' options, the first file is used.) Existing -transactions are not changed. This is the only hledger command that -writes to the journal file. - - To use it, just run 'hledger add' and follow the prompts. You can -add as many transactions as you like; when you are finished, enter '.' -or press control-d or control-c to exit. - - Features: - - * add tries to provide useful defaults, using the most similar (by - description) recent transaction (filtered by the query, if any) as - a template. - * You can also set the initial defaults with command line arguments. - * Readline-style edit keys can be used during data entry. - * The tab key will auto-complete whenever possible - accounts, - descriptions, dates ('yesterday', 'today', 'tomorrow'). If the - input area is empty, it will insert the default value. - * If the journal defines a default commodity, it will be added to any - bare numbers entered. - * A parenthesised transaction code may be entered following a date. - * Comments and tags may be entered following a description or amount. - * If you make a mistake, enter '<' at any prompt to go one step - backward. - * Input prompts are displayed in a different colour when the terminal - supports it. - - Example (see the tutorial for a detailed explanation): - -$ hledger add -Adding transactions to journal file /src/hledger/examples/sample.journal -Any command line arguments will be used as defaults. -Use tab key to complete, readline keys to edit, enter to accept defaults. -An optional (CODE) may follow transaction dates. -An optional ; COMMENT may follow descriptions or amounts. -If you make a mistake, enter < at any prompt to go one step backward. -To end a transaction, enter . when prompted. -To quit, enter . at a date prompt or press control-d or control-c. -Date [2015/05/22]: -Description: supermarket -Account 1: expenses:food -Amount 1: $10 -Account 2: assets:checking -Amount 2 [$-10.0]: -Account 3 (or . or enter to finish this transaction): . -2015/05/22 supermarket - expenses:food $10 - assets:checking $-10.0 - -Save this transaction to the journal ? [y]: -Saved. -Starting the next transaction (. or ctrl-D/ctrl-C to quit) -Date [2015/05/22]: $ - - On Microsoft Windows, the add command makes sure that no part of the -file path ends with a period, as that would cause problems (#1056). - - -File: hledger.info, Node: aregister, Next: balance, Prev: add, Up: Top - -33 aregister -************ - -aregister, areg -Show transactions affecting a particular account, and the account's -running balance. - - 'aregister' shows the transactions affecting a particular account -(and its subaccounts), from the point of view of that account. Each -line shows: - - * the transaction's (or posting's, see below) date - * the names of the other account(s) involved - * the net change to this account's balance - * the account's historical running balance (including balance from - transactions before the report start date). - - With 'aregister', each line represents a whole transaction - as in -hledger-ui, hledger-web, and your bank statement. By contrast, the -'register' command shows individual postings, across all accounts. You -might prefer 'aregister' for reconciling with real-world asset/liability -accounts, and 'register' for reviewing detailed revenues/expenses. - - An account must be specified as the first argument, which should be -the full account name or an account pattern (regular expression). -aregister will show transactions in this account (the first one matched) -and any of its subaccounts. - - Any additional arguments form a query which will filter the -transactions shown. - - Transactions making a net change of zero are not shown by default; -add the '-E/--empty' flag to show them. - -* Menu: - -* aregister and custom posting dates:: -* Output format:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: aregister and custom posting dates, Next: , Up: aregister - -33.1 aregister and custom posting dates -======================================= - -Transactions whose date is outside the report period can still be shown, -if they have a posting to this account dated inside the report period. -(And in this case it's the posting date that is shown.) This ensures -that 'aregister' can show an accurate historical running balance, -matching the one shown by 'register -H' with the same arguments. - - To filter strictly by transaction date instead, add the '--txn-dates' -flag. If you use this flag and some of your postings have custom dates, -it's probably best to assume the running balance is wrong. - -33.2 Output format -================== - -This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', and 'json'. - - Examples: - - Show all transactions and historical running balance in the first -account whose name contains "checking": - -$ hledger areg checking - - Show transactions and historical running balance in all asset -accounts during july: - -$ hledger areg assets date:jul - - -File: hledger.info, Node: balance, Next: balancesheet, Prev: aregister, Up: Top - -34 balance -********** - -balance, bal, b -Show accounts and their balances. - - The balance command is hledger's most versatile command. Note, -despite the name, it is not always used for showing real-world account -balances; the more accounting-aware balancesheet and incomestatement may -be more convenient for that. - - By default, it displays all accounts, and each account's change in -balance during the entire period of the journal. Balance changes are -calculated by adding up the postings in each account. You can limit the -postings matched, by a query, to see fewer accounts, changes over a -different time period, changes from only cleared transactions, etc. - - If you include an account's complete history of postings in the -report, the balance change is equivalent to the account's current ending -balance. For a real-world account, typically you won't have all -transactions in the journal; instead you'll have all transactions after -a certain date, and an "opening balances" transaction setting the -correct starting balance on that date. Then the balance command will -show real-world account balances. In some cases the -H/-historical flag -is used to ensure this (more below). - - The balance command can produce several styles of report: - -* Menu: - -* Classic balance report:: -* Customising the classic balance report:: -* Colour support:: -* Flat mode:: -* Depth limited balance reports:: -* Percentages:: -* Sorting by amount:: -* Multicolumn balance report:: -* Budget report:: -* Output format:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Classic balance report, Next: Customising the classic balance report, Up: balance - -34.1 Classic balance report -=========================== - -This is the original balance report, as found in Ledger. It usually -looks like this: - -$ hledger balance - $-1 assets - $1 bank:saving - $-2 cash - $2 expenses - $1 food - $1 supplies - $-2 income - $-1 gifts - $-1 salary - $1 liabilities:debts --------------------- - 0 - - By default, accounts are displayed hierarchically, with subaccounts -indented below their parent, with accounts at each level of the tree -sorted by declaration order if declared, then by account name. - - "Boring" accounts, which contain a single interesting subaccount and -no balance of their own, are elided into the following line for more -compact output. (Eg above, the "liabilities" account.) Use -'--no-elide' to prevent this. - - Account balances are "inclusive" - they include the balances of any -subaccounts. - - Accounts which have zero balance (and no non-zero subaccounts) are -omitted. Use '-E/--empty' to show them. - - A final total is displayed by default; use '-N/--no-total' to -suppress it, eg: - -$ hledger balance -p 2008/6 expenses --no-total - $2 expenses - $1 food - $1 supplies - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Customising the classic balance report, Next: Colour support, Prev: Classic balance report, Up: balance - -34.2 Customising the classic balance report -=========================================== - -You can customise the layout of classic balance reports with '--format -FMT': - -$ hledger balance --format "%20(account) %12(total)" - assets $-1 - bank:saving $1 - cash $-2 - expenses $2 - food $1 - supplies $1 - income $-2 - gifts $-1 - salary $-1 - liabilities:debts $1 ---------------------------------- - 0 - - The FMT format string (plus a newline) specifies the formatting -applied to each account/balance pair. It may contain any suitable text, -with data fields interpolated like so: - - '%[MIN][.MAX](FIELDNAME)' - - * MIN pads with spaces to at least this width (optional) - - * MAX truncates at this width (optional) - - * FIELDNAME must be enclosed in parentheses, and can be one of: - - * 'depth_spacer' - a number of spaces equal to the account's - depth, or if MIN is specified, MIN * depth spaces. - * 'account' - the account's name - * 'total' - the account's balance/posted total, right justified - - Also, FMT can begin with an optional prefix to control how -multi-commodity amounts are rendered: - - * '%_' - render on multiple lines, bottom-aligned (the default) - * '%^' - render on multiple lines, top-aligned - * '%,' - render on one line, comma-separated - - There are some quirks. Eg in one-line mode, '%(depth_spacer)' has no -effect, instead '%(account)' has indentation built in. Experimentation -may be needed to get pleasing results. - - Some example formats: - - * '%(total)' - the account's total - * '%-20.20(account)' - the account's name, left justified, padded to - 20 characters and clipped at 20 characters - * '%,%-50(account) %25(total)' - account name padded to 50 - characters, total padded to 20 characters, with multiple - commodities rendered on one line - * '%20(total) %2(depth_spacer)%-(account)' - the default format for - the single-column balance report - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Colour support, Next: Flat mode, Prev: Customising the classic balance report, Up: balance - -34.3 Colour support -=================== - -In terminal output, when colour is enabled, the balance command shows -negative amounts in red. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Flat mode, Next: Depth limited balance reports, Prev: Colour support, Up: balance - -34.4 Flat mode -============== - -To see a flat list instead of the default hierarchical display, use -'--flat'. In this mode, accounts (unless depth-clipped) show their full -names and "exclusive" balance, excluding any subaccount balances. In -this mode, you can also use '--drop N' to omit the first few account -name components. - -$ hledger balance -p 2008/6 expenses -N --flat --drop 1 - $1 food - $1 supplies - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Depth limited balance reports, Next: Percentages, Prev: Flat mode, Up: balance - -34.5 Depth limited balance reports -================================== - -With '--depth N' or 'depth:N' or just '-N', balance reports show -accounts only to the specified numeric depth. This is very useful to -summarise a complex set of accounts and get an overview. - -$ hledger balance -N -1 - $-1 assets - $2 expenses - $-2 income - $1 liabilities - - Flat-mode balance reports, which normally show exclusive balances, -show inclusive balances at the depth limit. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Percentages, Next: Sorting by amount, Prev: Depth limited balance reports, Up: balance - -34.6 Percentages -================ - -With '-%' or '--percent', balance reports show each account's value -expressed as a percentage of the column's total. This is useful to get -an overview of the relative sizes of account balances. For example to -obtain an overview of expenses: - -$ hledger balance expenses -% - 100.0 % expenses - 50.0 % food - 50.0 % supplies --------------------- - 100.0 % - - Note that '--tree' does not have an effect on '-%'. The percentages -are always relative to the total sum of each column, they are never -relative to the parent account. - - Since the percentages are relative to the columns sum, it is usually -not useful to calculate percentages if the signs of the amounts are -mixed. Although the results are technically correct, they are most -likely useless. Especially in a balance report that sums up to zero (eg -'hledger balance -B') all percentage values will be zero. - - This flag does not work if the report contains any mixed commodity -accounts. If there are mixed commodity accounts in the report be sure -to use '-V' or '-B' to coerce the report into using a single commodity. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Sorting by amount, Next: Multicolumn balance report, Prev: Percentages, Up: balance - -34.7 Sorting by amount -====================== - -With '-S'/'--sort-amount', accounts with the largest (most positive) -balances are shown first. For example, 'hledger bal expenses -MAS' -shows your biggest averaged monthly expenses first. - - Revenues and liability balances are typically negative, however, so -'-S' shows these in reverse order. To work around this, you can add -'--invert' to flip the signs. Or, use one of the sign-flipping reports -like 'balancesheet' or 'incomestatement', which also support '-S'. Eg: -'hledger is -MAS'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Multicolumn balance report, Next: Budget report, Prev: Sorting by amount, Up: balance - -34.8 Multicolumn balance report -=============================== - -Multicolumn or tabular balance reports are a very useful hledger -feature, and usually the preferred style. They share many of the above -features, but they show the report as a table, with columns representing -time periods. This mode is activated by providing a reporting interval. - - There are three types of multicolumn balance report, showing -different information: - - 1. By default: each column shows the sum of postings in that period, - ie the account's change of balance in that period. This is useful - eg for a monthly income statement: - - $ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E - Balance changes in 2008: - - || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 - ===================++================================= - expenses:food || 0 $1 0 0 - expenses:supplies || 0 $1 0 0 - income:gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 - income:salary || $-1 0 0 0 - -------------------++--------------------------------- - || $-1 $1 0 0 - - 2. With '--cumulative': each column shows the ending balance for that - period, accumulating the changes across periods, starting from 0 at - the report start date: - - $ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E --cumulative - Ending balances (cumulative) in 2008: - - || 2008/03/31 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 - ===================++================================================= - expenses:food || 0 $1 $1 $1 - expenses:supplies || 0 $1 $1 $1 - income:gifts || 0 $-1 $-1 $-1 - income:salary || $-1 $-1 $-1 $-1 - -------------------++------------------------------------------------- - || $-1 0 0 0 - - 3. With '--historical/-H': each column shows the actual historical - ending balance for that period, accumulating the changes across - periods, starting from the actual balance at the report start date. - This is useful eg for a multi-period balance sheet, and when you - are showing only the data after a certain start date: - - $ hledger balance ^assets ^liabilities --quarterly --historical --begin 2008/4/1 - Ending balances (historical) in 2008/04/01-2008/12/31: - - || 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 - ======================++===================================== - assets:bank:checking || $1 $1 0 - assets:bank:saving || $1 $1 $1 - assets:cash || $-2 $-2 $-2 - liabilities:debts || 0 0 $1 - ----------------------++------------------------------------- - || 0 0 0 - - Note that '--cumulative' or '--historical/-H' disable -'--row-total/-T', since summing end balances generally does not make -sense. - - Multicolumn balance reports display accounts in flat mode by default; -to see the hierarchy, use '--tree'. - - With a reporting interval (like '--quarterly' above), the report -start/end dates will be adjusted if necessary so that they encompass the -displayed report periods. This is so that the first and last periods -will be "full" and comparable to the others. - - The '-E/--empty' flag does two things in multicolumn balance reports: -first, the report will show all columns within the specified report -period (without -E, leading and trailing columns with all zeroes are not -shown). Second, all accounts which existed at the report start date -will be considered, not just the ones with activity during the report -period (use -E to include low-activity accounts which would otherwise -would be omitted). - - The '-T/--row-total' flag adds an additional column showing the total -for each row. - - The '-A/--average' flag adds a column showing the average value in -each row. - - Here's an example of all three: - -$ hledger balance -Q income expenses --tree -ETA -Balance changes in 2008: - - || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 Total Average -============++=================================================== - expenses || 0 $2 0 0 $2 $1 - food || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 - supplies || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 - income || $-1 $-1 0 0 $-2 $-1 - gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 $-1 0 - salary || $-1 0 0 0 $-1 0 -------------++--------------------------------------------------- - || $-1 $1 0 0 0 0 - -(Average is rounded to the dollar here since all journal amounts are) - - The '--transpose' flag can be used to exchange the rows and columns -of a multicolumn report. - - When showing multicommodity amounts, multicolumn balance reports will -elide any amounts which have more than two commodities, since otherwise -columns could get very wide. The '--no-elide' flag disables this. -Hiding totals with the '-N/--no-total' flag can also help reduce the -width of multicommodity reports. - - When the report is still too wide, a good workaround is to pipe it -into 'less -RS' (-R for colour, -S to chop long lines). Eg: 'hledger -bal -D --color=yes | less -RS'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Budget report, Next: , Prev: Multicolumn balance report, Up: balance - -34.9 Budget report -================== - -With '--budget', extra columns are displayed showing budget goals for -each account and period, if any. Budget goals are defined by periodic -transactions. This is very useful for comparing planned and actual -income, expenses, time usage, etc. -budget is most often combined with -a report interval. - - For example, you can take average monthly expenses in the common -expense categories to construct a minimal monthly budget: - -;; Budget -~ monthly - income $2000 - expenses:food $400 - expenses:bus $50 - expenses:movies $30 - assets:bank:checking - -;; Two months worth of expenses -2017-11-01 - income $1950 - expenses:food $396 - expenses:bus $49 - expenses:movies $30 - expenses:supplies $20 - assets:bank:checking - -2017-12-01 - income $2100 - expenses:food $412 - expenses:bus $53 - expenses:gifts $100 - assets:bank:checking - - You can now see a monthly budget report: - -$ hledger balance -M --budget -Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: - - || Nov Dec -======================++==================================================== - assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $565 [ 118% of $480] - expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $53 [ 106% of $50] - expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $412 [ 103% of $400] - expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] 0 [ 0% of $30] - income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $2100 [ 105% of $2000] -----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] - - This is different from a normal balance report in several ways: - - * Only accounts with budget goals during the report period are shown, - by default. - - * In each column, in square brackets after the actual amount, budget - goal amounts are shown, and the actual/goal percentage. (Note: - budget goals should be in the same commodity as the actual amount.) - - * All parent accounts are always shown, even in flat mode. Eg - assets, assets:bank, and expenses above. - - * Amounts always include all subaccounts, budgeted or unbudgeted, - even in flat mode. - - This means that the numbers displayed will not always add up! Eg -above, the 'expenses' actual amount includes the gifts and supplies -transactions, but the 'expenses:gifts' and 'expenses:supplies' accounts -are not shown, as they have no budget amounts declared. - - This can be confusing. When you need to make things clearer, use the -'-E/--empty' flag, which will reveal all accounts including unbudgeted -ones, giving the full picture. Eg: - -$ hledger balance -M --budget --empty -Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: - - || Nov Dec -======================++==================================================== - assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $565 [ 118% of $480] - expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $53 [ 106% of $50] - expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $412 [ 103% of $400] - expenses:gifts || 0 $100 - expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] 0 [ 0% of $30] - expenses:supplies || $20 0 - income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $2100 [ 105% of $2000] -----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] - - You can roll over unspent budgets to next period with '--cumulative': - -$ hledger balance -M --budget --cumulative -Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: - - || Nov Dec -======================++==================================================== - assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] - assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] - assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] - expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $1060 [ 110% of $960] - expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $102 [ 102% of $100] - expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $808 [ 101% of $800] - expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] $30 [ 50% of $60] - income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $4050 [ 101% of $4000] -----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] - - For more examples and notes, see Budgeting. - -* Menu: - -* Budget report start date:: -* Nested budgets:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Budget report start date, Next: Nested budgets, Up: Budget report - -34.9.1 Budget report start date -------------------------------- - -This might be a bug, but for now: when making budget reports, it's a -good idea to explicitly set the report's start date to the first day of -a reporting period, because a periodic rule like '~ monthly' generates -its transactions on the 1st of each month, and if your journal has no -regular transactions on the 1st, the default report start date could -exclude that budget goal, which can be a little surprising. Eg here the -default report period is just the day of 2020-01-15: - -~ monthly in 2020 - (expenses:food) $500 - -2020-01-15 - expenses:food $400 - assets:checking - -$ hledger bal expenses --budget -Budget performance in 2020-01-15: - - || 2020-01-15 -==============++============ - || $400 ---------------++------------ - || $400 - - To avoid this, specify the budget report's period, or at least the -start date, with '-b'/'-e'/'-p'/'date:', to ensure it includes the -budget goal transactions (periodic transactions) that you want. Eg, -adding '-b 2020/1/1' to the above: - -$ hledger bal expenses --budget -b 2020/1/1 -Budget performance in 2020-01-01..2020-01-15: - - || 2020-01-01..2020-01-15 -===============++======================== - expenses:food || $400 [80% of $500] ----------------++------------------------ - || $400 [80% of $500] - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Nested budgets, Prev: Budget report start date, Up: Budget report - -34.9.2 Nested budgets ---------------------- - -You can add budgets to any account in your account hierarchy. If you -have budgets on both parent account and some of its children, then -budget(s) of the child account(s) would be added to the budget of their -parent, much like account balances behave. - - In the most simple case this means that once you add a budget to any -account, all its parents would have budget as well. - - To illustrate this, consider the following budget: - -~ monthly from 2019/01 - expenses:personal $1,000.00 - expenses:personal:electronics $100.00 - liabilities - - With this, monthly budget for electronics is defined to be $100 and -budget for personal expenses is an additional $1000, which implicitly -means that budget for both 'expenses:personal' and 'expenses' is $1100. - - Transactions in 'expenses:personal:electronics' will be counted both -towards its $100 budget and $1100 of 'expenses:personal' , and -transactions in any other subaccount of 'expenses:personal' would be -counted towards only towards the budget of 'expenses:personal'. - - For example, let's consider these transactions: - -~ monthly from 2019/01 - expenses:personal $1,000.00 - expenses:personal:electronics $100.00 - liabilities - -2019/01/01 Google home hub - expenses:personal:electronics $90.00 - liabilities $-90.00 - -2019/01/02 Phone screen protector - expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades $10.00 - liabilities - -2019/01/02 Weekly train ticket - expenses:personal:train tickets $153.00 - liabilities - -2019/01/03 Flowers - expenses:personal $30.00 - liabilities - - As you can see, we have transactions in -'expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades' and 'expenses:personal:train -tickets', and since both of these accounts are without explicitly -defined budget, these transactions would be counted towards budgets of -'expenses:personal:electronics' and 'expenses:personal' accordingly: - -$ hledger balance --budget -M -Budget performance in 2019/01: - - || Jan -===============================++=============================== - expenses || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] - expenses:personal || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] - expenses:personal:electronics || $100.00 [ 100% of $100.00] - liabilities || $-283.00 [ 26% of $-1100.00] --------------------------------++------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] - - And with '--empty', we can get a better picture of budget allocation -and consumption: - -$ hledger balance --budget -M --empty -Budget performance in 2019/01: - - || Jan -========================================++=============================== - expenses || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] - expenses:personal || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] - expenses:personal:electronics || $100.00 [ 100% of $100.00] - expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades || $10.00 - expenses:personal:train tickets || $153.00 - liabilities || $-283.00 [ 26% of $-1100.00] -----------------------------------------++------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] - -34.10 Output format -=================== - -This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are (in most modes): 'txt', 'csv', -'html', and 'json'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: balancesheet, Next: balancesheetequity, Prev: balance, Up: Top - -35 balancesheet -*************** - -balancesheet, bs -This command displays a balance sheet, showing historical ending -balances of asset and liability accounts. (To see equity as well, use -the balancesheetequity command.) Amounts are shown with normal positive -sign, as in conventional financial statements. - - The asset and liability accounts shown are those accounts declared -with the 'Asset' or 'Cash' or 'Liability' type, or otherwise all -accounts under a top-level 'asset' or 'liability' account (case -insensitive, plurals allowed). - - Example: - -$ hledger balancesheet -Balance Sheet - -Assets: - $-1 assets - $1 bank:saving - $-2 cash --------------------- - $-1 - -Liabilities: - $1 liabilities:debts --------------------- - $1 - -Total: --------------------- - 0 - - With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for -each report period. As with multicolumn balance reports, you can alter -the report mode with '--change'/'--cumulative'/'--historical'. Normally -balancesheet shows historical ending balances, which is what you need -for a balance sheet; note this means it ignores report begin dates (and -'-T/--row-total', since summing end balances generally does not make -sense). Instead of absolute values percentages can be displayed with -'-%'. - - This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', 'html', and -(experimental) 'json'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: balancesheetequity, Next: cashflow, Prev: balancesheet, Up: Top - -36 balancesheetequity -********************* - -balancesheetequity, bse -This command displays a balance sheet, showing historical ending -balances of asset, liability and equity accounts. Amounts are shown -with normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. - - The asset, liability and equity accounts shown are those accounts -declared with the 'Asset', 'Cash', 'Liability' or 'Equity' type, or -otherwise all accounts under a top-level 'asset', 'liability' or -'equity' account (case insensitive, plurals allowed). - - Example: - -$ hledger balancesheetequity -Balance Sheet With Equity - -Assets: - $-2 assets - $1 bank:saving - $-3 cash --------------------- - $-2 - -Liabilities: - $1 liabilities:debts --------------------- - $1 - -Equity: - $1 equity:owner --------------------- - $1 - -Total: --------------------- - 0 - - This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', 'html', and -(experimental) 'json'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: cashflow, Next: check, Prev: balancesheetequity, Up: Top - -37 cashflow -*********** - -cashflow, cf -This command displays a cashflow statement, showing the inflows and -outflows affecting "cash" (ie, liquid) assets. Amounts are shown with -normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. - - The "cash" accounts shown are those accounts declared with the 'Cash' -type, or otherwise all accounts under a top-level 'asset' account (case -insensitive, plural allowed) which do not have 'fixed', 'investment', -'receivable' or 'A/R' in their name. - - Example: - -$ hledger cashflow -Cashflow Statement - -Cash flows: - $-1 assets - $1 bank:saving - $-2 cash --------------------- - $-1 - -Total: --------------------- - $-1 - - With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for -each report period. Normally cashflow shows changes in assets per -period, though as with multicolumn balance reports you can alter the -report mode with '--change'/'--cumulative'/'--historical'. Instead of -absolute values percentages can be displayed with '-%'. - - This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', 'html', and -(experimental) 'json'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: check, Next: close, Prev: cashflow, Up: Top - -38 check -******** - -check -Check for various kinds of errors in your data. _experimental_ - - hledger provides a number of built-in error checks to help prevent -problems in your data. Some of these are run automatically; or, you can -use this 'check' command to run them on demand, with no output and a -zero exit code if all is well. Some examples: - -hledger check # basic checks -hledger check -s # basic + strict checks -hledger check ordereddates uniqueleafnames # basic + specified checks - - Here are the checks currently available: - -* Menu: - -* Basic checks:: -* Strict checks:: -* Other checks:: -* Add-on checks:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Basic checks, Next: Strict checks, Up: check - -38.1 Basic checks -================= - -These are always run by this command and other commands: - - * *parseable* - data files are well-formed and can be successfully - parsed - - * *autobalanced* - all transactions are balanced, inferring missing - amounts where necessary, and possibly converting commodities using - transaction prices or automatically-inferred transaction prices - - * *assertions* - all balance assertions in the journal are passing. - (This check can be disabled with '-I'/'--ignore-assertions'.) - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Strict checks, Next: Other checks, Prev: Basic checks, Up: check - -38.2 Strict checks -================== - -These are always run by this and other commands when '-s'/'--strict' is -used (strict mode): - - * *accounts* - all account names used by transactions have been - declared - - * *commodities* - all commodity symbols used have been declared - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Other checks, Next: Add-on checks, Prev: Strict checks, Up: check - -38.3 Other checks -================= - -These checks can be run by specifying their names as arguments to the -check command: - - * *ordereddates* - transactions are ordered by date (similar to the - old 'check-dates' command) - - * *uniqueleafnames* - all account leaf names are unique (similar to - the old 'check-dupes' command) - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Add-on checks, Prev: Other checks, Up: check - -38.4 Add-on checks -================== - -Some checks are not yet integrated with this command, but are available -as add-on commands in -https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/tree/master/bin: - - * *hledger-check-tagfiles* - all tag values containing / (a forward - slash) exist as file paths - - * *hledger-check-fancyassertions* - more complex balance assertions - are passing - - You could make your own similar scripts to perform custom checks; -Cookbook -> Scripting may be helpful. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: close, Next: codes, Prev: check, Up: Top - -39 close -******** - -close, equity -Prints a "closing balances" transaction and an "opening balances" -transaction that bring account balances to and from zero, respectively. -These can be added to your journal file(s), eg to bring asset/liability -balances forward into a new journal file, or to close out -revenues/expenses to retained earnings at the end of a period. - - You can print just one of these transactions by using the '--close' -or '--open' flag. You can customise their descriptions with the -'--close-desc' and '--open-desc' options. - - One amountless posting to "equity:opening/closing balances" is added -to balance the transactions, by default. You can customise this account -name with '--close-acct' and '--open-acct'; if you specify only one of -these, it will be used for both. - - With '--x/--explicit', the equity posting's amount will be shown. -And if it involves multiple commodities, a posting for each commodity -will be shown, as with the print command. - - With '--interleaved', the equity postings are shown next to the -postings they balance, which makes troubleshooting easier. - - By default, transaction prices in the journal are ignored when -generating the closing/opening transactions. With '--show-costs', this -cost information is preserved ('balance -B' reports will be unchanged -after the transition). Separate postings are generated for each cost in -each commodity. Note this can generate very large journal entries, if -you have many foreign currency or investment transactions. - -* Menu: - -* close usage:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: close usage, Up: close - -39.1 close usage -================ - -If you split your journal files by time (eg yearly), you will typically -run this command at the end of the year, and save the closing -transaction as last entry of the old file, and the opening transaction -as the first entry of the new file. This makes the files self -contained, so that correct balances are reported no matter which of them -are loaded. Ie, if you load just one file, the balances are initialised -correctly; or if you load several files, the redundant closing/opening -transactions cancel each other out. (They will show up in print or -register reports; you can exclude them with a query like -'not:desc:'(opening|closing) balances''.) - - If you're running a business, you might also use this command to -"close the books" at the end of an accounting period, transferring -income statement account balances to retained earnings. (You may want -to change the equity account name to something like "equity:retained -earnings".) - - By default, the closing transaction is dated yesterday, the balances -are calculated as of end of yesterday, and the opening transaction is -dated today. To close on some other date, use: 'hledger close -e -OPENINGDATE'. Eg, to close/open on the 2018/2019 boundary, use '-e -2019'. You can also use -p or 'date:PERIOD' (any starting date is -ignored). - - Both transactions will include balance assertions for the -closed/reopened accounts. You probably shouldn't use status or realness -filters (like -C or -R or 'status:') with this command, or the generated -balance assertions will depend on these flags. Likewise, if you run -this command with -auto, the balance assertions will probably always -require -auto. - - Examples: - - Carrying asset/liability balances into a new file for 2019: - -$ hledger close -f 2018.journal -e 2019 assets liabilities --open - # (copy/paste the output to the start of your 2019 journal file) -$ hledger close -f 2018.journal -e 2019 assets liabilities --close - # (copy/paste the output to the end of your 2018 journal file) - - Now: - -$ hledger bs -f 2019.journal # one file - balances are correct -$ hledger bs -f 2018.journal -f 2019.journal # two files - balances still correct -$ hledger bs -f 2018.journal not:desc:closing # to see year-end balances, must exclude closing txn - - Transactions spanning the closing date can complicate matters, -breaking balance assertions: - -2018/12/30 a purchase made in 2018, clearing the following year - expenses:food 5 - assets:bank:checking -5 ; [2019/1/2] - - Here's one way to resolve that: - -; in 2018.journal: -2018/12/30 a purchase made in 2018, clearing the following year - expenses:food 5 - liabilities:pending - -; in 2019.journal: -2019/1/2 clearance of last year's pending transactions - liabilities:pending 5 = 0 - assets:checking - - -File: hledger.info, Node: codes, Next: commodities, Prev: close, Up: Top - -40 codes -******** - -codes -List the codes seen in transactions, in the order parsed. - - This command prints the value of each transaction's code field, in -the order transactions were parsed. The transaction code is an optional -value written in parentheses between the date and description, often -used to store a cheque number, order number or similar. - - Transactions aren't required to have a code, and missing or empty -codes will not be shown by default. With the '-E'/'--empty' flag, they -will be printed as blank lines. - - You can add a query to select a subset of transactions. - - Examples: - -1/1 (123) - (a) 1 - -1/1 () - (a) 1 - -1/1 - (a) 1 - -1/1 (126) - (a) 1 - -$ hledger codes -123 -124 -126 - -$ hledger codes -E -123 -124 - - -126 - - -File: hledger.info, Node: commodities, Next: descriptions, Prev: codes, Up: Top - -41 commodities -************** - -commodities -List all commodity/currency symbols used or declared in the journal. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: descriptions, Next: diff, Prev: commodities, Up: Top - -42 descriptions -*************** - -descriptions -List the unique descriptions that appear in transactions. - - This command lists the unique descriptions that appear in -transactions, in alphabetic order. You can add a query to select a -subset of transactions. - - Example: - -$ hledger descriptions -Store Name -Gas Station | Petrol -Person A - - -File: hledger.info, Node: diff, Next: files, Prev: descriptions, Up: Top - -43 diff -******* - -diff -Compares a particular account's transactions in two input files. It -shows any transactions to this account which are in one file but not in -the other. - - More precisely, for each posting affecting this account in either -file, it looks for a corresponding posting in the other file which posts -the same amount to the same account (ignoring date, description, etc.) -Since postings not transactions are compared, this also works when -multiple bank transactions have been combined into a single journal -entry. - - This is useful eg if you have downloaded an account's transactions -from your bank (eg as CSV data). When hledger and your bank disagree -about the account balance, you can compare the bank data with your -journal to find out the cause. - - Examples: - -$ hledger diff -f $LEDGER_FILE -f bank.csv assets:bank:giro -These transactions are in the first file only: - -2014/01/01 Opening Balances - assets:bank:giro EUR ... - ... - equity:opening balances EUR -... - -These transactions are in the second file only: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: files, Next: help, Prev: diff, Up: Top - -44 files -******** - -files -List all files included in the journal. With a REGEX argument, only -file names matching the regular expression (case sensitive) are shown. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: help, Next: import, Prev: files, Up: Top - -45 help -******* - -help -Show any of the hledger manuals. - - The 'help' command displays any of the main hledger manuals, in one -of several ways. Run it with no argument to list the manuals, or -provide a full or partial manual name to select one. - - hledger manuals are available in several formats. hledger help will -use the first of these display methods that it finds: info, man, $PAGER, -less, stdout (or when non-interactive, just stdout). You can force a -particular viewer with the '--info', '--man', '--pager', '--cat' flags. - - Examples: - -$ hledger help -Please choose a manual by typing "hledger help MANUAL" (a substring is ok). -Manuals: hledger hledger-ui hledger-web journal csv timeclock timedot - -$ hledger help h --man - -hledger(1) hledger User Manuals hledger(1) - -NAME - hledger - a command-line accounting tool - -SYNOPSIS - hledger [-f FILE] COMMAND [OPTIONS] [ARGS] - hledger [-f FILE] ADDONCMD -- [OPTIONS] [ARGS] - hledger - -DESCRIPTION - hledger is a cross-platform program for tracking money, time, or any -... - - -File: hledger.info, Node: import, Next: incomestatement, Prev: help, Up: Top - -46 import -********* - -import -Read new transactions added to each FILE since last run, and add them to -the main journal file. Or with -dry-run, just print the transactions -that would be added. Or with -catchup, just mark all of the FILEs' -transactions as imported, without actually importing any. - - The input files are specified as arguments - no need to write -f -before each one. So eg to add new transactions from all CSV files to -the main journal, it's just: 'hledger import *.csv' - - New transactions are detected in the same way as print -new: by -assuming transactions are always added to the input files in increasing -date order, and by saving '.latest.FILE' state files. - - The -dry-run output is in journal format, so you can filter it, eg to -see only uncategorised transactions: - -$ hledger import --dry ... | hledger -f- print unknown --ignore-assertions - -* Menu: - -* Importing balance assignments:: -* Commodity display styles:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Importing balance assignments, Next: Commodity display styles, Up: import - -46.1 Importing balance assignments -================================== - -Entries added by import will have their posting amounts made explicit -(like 'hledger print -x'). This means that any balance assignments in -imported files must be evaluated; but, imported files don't get to see -the main file's account balances. As a result, importing entries with -balance assignments (eg from an institution that provides only balances -and not posting amounts) will probably generate incorrect posting -amounts. To avoid this problem, use print instead of import: - -$ hledger print IMPORTFILE [--new] >> $LEDGER_FILE - - (If you think import should leave amounts implicit like print does, -please test it and send a pull request.) - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Commodity display styles, Prev: Importing balance assignments, Up: import - -46.2 Commodity display styles -============================= - -Imported amounts will be formatted according to the canonical commodity -styles (declared or inferred) in the main journal file. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: incomestatement, Next: notes, Prev: import, Up: Top - -47 incomestatement -****************** - -incomestatement, is - - This command displays an income statement, showing revenues and -expenses during one or more periods. Amounts are shown with normal -positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. - - The revenue and expense accounts shown are those accounts declared -with the 'Revenue' or 'Expense' type, or otherwise all accounts under a -top-level 'revenue' or 'income' or 'expense' account (case insensitive, -plurals allowed). - - Example: - -$ hledger incomestatement -Income Statement - -Revenues: - $-2 income - $-1 gifts - $-1 salary --------------------- - $-2 - -Expenses: - $2 expenses - $1 food - $1 supplies --------------------- - $2 - -Total: --------------------- - 0 - - With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for -each report period. Normally incomestatement shows revenues/expenses -per period, though as with multicolumn balance reports you can alter the -report mode with '--change'/'--cumulative'/'--historical'. Instead of -absolute values percentages can be displayed with '-%'. - - This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', 'html', and -(experimental) 'json'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: notes, Next: payees, Prev: incomestatement, Up: Top - -48 notes -******** - -notes -List the unique notes that appear in transactions. - - This command lists the unique notes that appear in transactions, in -alphabetic order. You can add a query to select a subset of -transactions. The note is the part of the transaction description after -a | character (or if there is no |, the whole description). - - Example: - -$ hledger notes -Petrol -Snacks - - -File: hledger.info, Node: payees, Next: prices, Prev: notes, Up: Top - -49 payees -********* - -payees -List the unique payee/payer names that appear in transactions. - - This command lists the unique payee/payer names that appear in -transactions, in alphabetic order. You can add a query to select a -subset of transactions. The payee/payer is the part of the transaction -description before a | character (or if there is no |, the whole -description). - - Example: - -$ hledger payees -Store Name -Gas Station -Person A - - -File: hledger.info, Node: prices, Next: print, Prev: payees, Up: Top - -50 prices -********* - -prices -Print market price directives from the journal. With -costs, also print -synthetic market prices based on transaction prices. With --inverted-costs, also print inverse prices based on transaction prices. -Prices (and postings providing prices) can be filtered by a query. -Price amounts are always displayed with their full precision. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: print, Next: print-unique, Prev: prices, Up: Top - -51 print -******** - -print, txns, p -Show transaction journal entries, sorted by date. - - The print command displays full journal entries (transactions) from -the journal file in date order, tidily formatted. With -date2, -transactions are sorted by secondary date instead. - - print's output is always a valid hledger journal. -It preserves all transaction information, but it does not preserve -directives or inter-transaction comments - -$ hledger print -2008/01/01 income - assets:bank:checking $1 - income:salary $-1 - -2008/06/01 gift - assets:bank:checking $1 - income:gifts $-1 - -2008/06/02 save - assets:bank:saving $1 - assets:bank:checking $-1 - -2008/06/03 * eat & shop - expenses:food $1 - expenses:supplies $1 - assets:cash $-2 - -2008/12/31 * pay off - liabilities:debts $1 - assets:bank:checking $-1 - - Normally, the journal entry's explicit or implicit amount style is -preserved. For example, when an amount is omitted in the journal, it -will not appear in the output. Similarly, when a transaction price is -implied but not written, it will not appear in the output. You can use -the '-x'/'--explicit' flag to make all amounts and transaction prices -explicit, which can be useful for troubleshooting or for making your -journal more readable and robust against data entry errors. '-x' is -also implied by using any of '-B','-V','-X','--value'. - - Note, '-x'/'--explicit' will cause postings with a multi-commodity -amount (these can arise when a multi-commodity transaction has an -implicit amount) to be split into multiple single-commodity postings, -keeping the output parseable. - - With '-B'/'--cost', amounts with transaction prices are converted to -cost using that price. This can be used for troubleshooting. - - With '-m'/'--match' and a STR argument, print will show at most one -transaction: the one one whose description is most similar to STR, and -is most recent. STR should contain at least two characters. If there -is no similar-enough match, no transaction will be shown. - - With '--new', for each FILE being read, hledger reads (and writes) a -special state file ('.latest.FILE' in the same directory), containing -the latest transaction date(s) that were seen last time FILE was read. -When this file is found, only transactions with newer dates (and new -transactions on the latest date) are printed. This is useful for -ignoring already-seen entries in import data, such as downloaded CSV -files. Eg: - -$ hledger -f bank1.csv print --new -(shows transactions added since last print --new on this file) - - This assumes that transactions added to FILE always have same or -increasing dates, and that transactions on the same day do not get -reordered. See also the import command. - - This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', and -(experimental) 'json' and 'sql'. - - Here's an example of print's CSV output: - -$ hledger print -Ocsv -"txnidx","date","date2","status","code","description","comment","account","amount","commodity","credit","debit","posting-status","posting-comment" -"1","2008/01/01","","","","income","","assets:bank:checking","1","$","","1","","" -"1","2008/01/01","","","","income","","income:salary","-1","$","1","","","" -"2","2008/06/01","","","","gift","","assets:bank:checking","1","$","","1","","" -"2","2008/06/01","","","","gift","","income:gifts","-1","$","1","","","" -"3","2008/06/02","","","","save","","assets:bank:saving","1","$","","1","","" -"3","2008/06/02","","","","save","","assets:bank:checking","-1","$","1","","","" -"4","2008/06/03","","*","","eat & shop","","expenses:food","1","$","","1","","" -"4","2008/06/03","","*","","eat & shop","","expenses:supplies","1","$","","1","","" -"4","2008/06/03","","*","","eat & shop","","assets:cash","-2","$","2","","","" -"5","2008/12/31","","*","","pay off","","liabilities:debts","1","$","","1","","" -"5","2008/12/31","","*","","pay off","","assets:bank:checking","-1","$","1","","","" - - * There is one CSV record per posting, with the parent transaction's - fields repeated. - * The "txnidx" (transaction index) field shows which postings belong - to the same transaction. (This number might change if transactions - are reordered within the file, files are parsed/included in a - different order, etc.) - * The amount is separated into "commodity" (the symbol) and "amount" - (numeric quantity) fields. - * The numeric amount is repeated in either the "credit" or "debit" - column, for convenience. (Those names are not accurate in the - accounting sense; it just puts negative amounts under credit and - zero or greater amounts under debit.) - - -File: hledger.info, Node: print-unique, Next: register, Prev: print, Up: Top - -52 print-unique -*************** - -print-unique -Print transactions which do not reuse an already-seen description. - - Example: - -$ cat unique.journal -1/1 test - (acct:one) 1 -2/2 test - (acct:two) 2 -$ LEDGER_FILE=unique.journal hledger print-unique -(-f option not supported) -2015/01/01 test - (acct:one) 1 - - -File: hledger.info, Node: register, Next: register-match, Prev: print-unique, Up: Top - -53 register -*********** - -register, reg, r -Show postings and their running total. - - The register command displays matched postings, across all accounts, -in date order, with their running total or running historical balance. -(See also the 'aregister' command, which shows matched transactions in a -specific account.) - - register normally shows line per posting, but note that -multi-commodity amounts will occupy multiple lines (one line per -commodity). - - It is typically used with a query selecting a particular account, to -see that account's activity: - -$ hledger register checking -2008/01/01 income assets:bank:checking $1 $1 -2008/06/01 gift assets:bank:checking $1 $2 -2008/06/02 save assets:bank:checking $-1 $1 -2008/12/31 pay off assets:bank:checking $-1 0 - - With -date2, it shows and sorts by secondary date instead. - - The '--historical'/'-H' flag adds the balance from any undisplayed -prior postings to the running total. This is useful when you want to -see only recent activity, with a historically accurate running balance: - -$ hledger register checking -b 2008/6 --historical -2008/06/01 gift assets:bank:checking $1 $2 -2008/06/02 save assets:bank:checking $-1 $1 -2008/12/31 pay off assets:bank:checking $-1 0 - - The '--depth' option limits the amount of sub-account detail -displayed. - - The '--average'/'-A' flag shows the running average posting amount -instead of the running total (so, the final number displayed is the -average for the whole report period). This flag implies '--empty' (see -below). It is affected by '--historical'. It works best when showing -just one account and one commodity. - - The '--related'/'-r' flag shows the _other_ postings in the -transactions of the postings which would normally be shown. - - The '--invert' flag negates all amounts. For example, it can be used -on an income account where amounts are normally displayed as negative -numbers. It's also useful to show postings on the checking account -together with the related account: - -$ hledger register --related --invert assets:checking - - With a reporting interval, register shows summary postings, one per -interval, aggregating the postings to each account: - -$ hledger register --monthly income -2008/01 income:salary $-1 $-1 -2008/06 income:gifts $-1 $-2 - - Periods with no activity, and summary postings with a zero amount, -are not shown by default; use the '--empty'/'-E' flag to see them: - -$ hledger register --monthly income -E -2008/01 income:salary $-1 $-1 -2008/02 0 $-1 -2008/03 0 $-1 -2008/04 0 $-1 -2008/05 0 $-1 -2008/06 income:gifts $-1 $-2 -2008/07 0 $-2 -2008/08 0 $-2 -2008/09 0 $-2 -2008/10 0 $-2 -2008/11 0 $-2 -2008/12 0 $-2 - - Often, you'll want to see just one line per interval. The '--depth' -option helps with this, causing subaccounts to be aggregated: - -$ hledger register --monthly assets --depth 1h -2008/01 assets $1 $1 -2008/06 assets $-1 0 -2008/12 assets $-1 $-1 - - Note when using report intervals, if you specify start/end dates -these will be adjusted outward if necessary to contain a whole number of -intervals. This ensures that the first and last intervals are full -length and comparable to the others in the report. - -* Menu: - -* Custom register output:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Custom register output, Up: register - -53.1 Custom register output -=========================== - -register uses the full terminal width by default, except on windows. -You can override this by setting the 'COLUMNS' environment variable (not -a bash shell variable) or by using the '--width'/'-w' option. - - The description and account columns normally share the space equally -(about half of (width - 40) each). You can adjust this by adding a -description width as part of -width's argument, comma-separated: -'--width W,D' . Here's a diagram (won't display correctly in -help): - -<--------------------------------- width (W) ----------------------------------> -date (10) description (D) account (W-41-D) amount (12) balance (12) -DDDDDDDDDD dddddddddddddddddddd aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa AAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAA - - and some examples: - -$ hledger reg # use terminal width (or 80 on windows) -$ hledger reg -w 100 # use width 100 -$ COLUMNS=100 hledger reg # set with one-time environment variable -$ export COLUMNS=100; hledger reg # set till session end (or window resize) -$ hledger reg -w 100,40 # set overall width 100, description width 40 -$ hledger reg -w $COLUMNS,40 # use terminal width, & description width 40 - - This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', and -(experimental) 'json'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: register-match, Next: rewrite, Prev: register, Up: Top - -54 register-match -***************** - -register-match -Print the one posting whose transaction description is closest to DESC, -in the style of the register command. If there are multiple equally -good matches, it shows the most recent. Query options (options, not -arguments) can be used to restrict the search space. Helps -ledger-autosync detect already-seen transactions when importing. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: rewrite, Next: roi, Prev: register-match, Up: Top - -55 rewrite -********** - -rewrite -Print all transactions, rewriting the postings of matched transactions. -For now the only rewrite available is adding new postings, like print --auto. - - This is a start at a generic rewriter of transaction entries. It -reads the default journal and prints the transactions, like print, but -adds one or more specified postings to any transactions matching QUERY. -The posting amounts can be fixed, or a multiplier of the existing -transaction's first posting amount. - - Examples: - -$ hledger-rewrite.hs ^income --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33 ; income tax' --add-posting '(reserve:gifts) $100' -$ hledger-rewrite.hs expenses:gifts --add-posting '(reserve:gifts) *-1"' -$ hledger-rewrite.hs -f rewrites.hledger - - rewrites.hledger may consist of entries like: - -= ^income amt:<0 date:2017 - (liabilities:tax) *0.33 ; tax on income - (reserve:grocery) *0.25 ; reserve 25% for grocery - (reserve:) *0.25 ; reserve 25% for grocery - - Note the single quotes to protect the dollar sign from bash, and the -two spaces between account and amount. - - More: - -$ hledger rewrite -- [QUERY] --add-posting "ACCT AMTEXPR" ... -$ hledger rewrite -- ^income --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' -$ hledger rewrite -- expenses:gifts --add-posting '(budget:gifts) *-1"' -$ hledger rewrite -- ^income --add-posting '(budget:foreign currency) *0.25 JPY; diversify' - - Argument for '--add-posting' option is a usual posting of transaction -with an exception for amount specification. More precisely, you can use -''*'' (star symbol) before the amount to indicate that that this is a -factor for an amount of original matched posting. If the amount -includes a commodity name, the new posting amount will be in the new -commodity; otherwise, it will be in the matched posting amount's -commodity. - -* Menu: - -* Re-write rules in a file:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Re-write rules in a file, Up: rewrite - -55.1 Re-write rules in a file -============================= - -During the run this tool will execute so called "Automated Transactions" -found in any journal it process. I.e instead of specifying this -operations in command line you can put them in a journal file. - -$ rewrite-rules.journal - - Make contents look like this: - -= ^income - (liabilities:tax) *.33 - -= expenses:gifts - budget:gifts *-1 - assets:budget *1 - - Note that ''='' (equality symbol) that is used instead of date in -transactions you usually write. It indicates the query by which you -want to match the posting to add new ones. - -$ hledger rewrite -- -f input.journal -f rewrite-rules.journal > rewritten-tidy-output.journal - - This is something similar to the commands pipeline: - -$ hledger rewrite -- -f input.journal '^income' --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' \ - | hledger rewrite -- -f - expenses:gifts --add-posting 'budget:gifts *-1' \ - --add-posting 'assets:budget *1' \ - > rewritten-tidy-output.journal - - It is important to understand that relative order of such entries in -journal is important. You can re-use result of previously added -postings. - -* Menu: - -* Diff output format:: -* rewrite vs print --auto:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Diff output format, Next: rewrite vs print --auto, Up: Re-write rules in a file - -55.1.1 Diff output format -------------------------- - -To use this tool for batch modification of your journal files you may -find useful output in form of unified diff. - -$ hledger rewrite -- --diff -f examples/sample.journal '^income' --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' - - Output might look like: - ---- /tmp/examples/sample.journal -+++ /tmp/examples/sample.journal -@@ -18,3 +18,4 @@ - 2008/01/01 income -- assets:bank:checking $1 -+ assets:bank:checking $1 - income:salary -+ (liabilities:tax) 0 -@@ -22,3 +23,4 @@ - 2008/06/01 gift -- assets:bank:checking $1 -+ assets:bank:checking $1 - income:gifts -+ (liabilities:tax) 0 - - If you'll pass this through 'patch' tool you'll get transactions -containing the posting that matches your query be updated. Note that -multiple files might be update according to list of input files -specified via '--file' options and 'include' directives inside of these -files. - - Be careful. Whole transaction being re-formatted in a style of -output from 'hledger print'. - - See also: - - https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/issues/99 - - -File: hledger.info, Node: rewrite vs print --auto, Prev: Diff output format, Up: Re-write rules in a file - -55.1.2 rewrite vs. print -auto ------------------------------- - -This command predates print -auto, and currently does much the same -thing, but with these differences: - - * with multiple files, rewrite lets rules in any file affect all - other files. print -auto uses standard directive scoping; rules - affect only child files. - - * rewrite's query limits which transactions can be rewritten; all are - printed. print -auto's query limits which transactions are - printed. - - * rewrite applies rules specified on command line or in the journal. - print -auto applies rules specified in the journal. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: roi, Next: stats, Prev: rewrite, Up: Top - -56 roi -****** - -roi -Shows the time-weighted (TWR) and money-weighted (IRR) rate of return on -your investments. - - This command assumes that you have account(s) that hold nothing but -your investments and whenever you record current appraisal/valuation of -these investments you offset unrealized profit and loss into account(s) -that, again, hold nothing but unrealized profit and loss. - - Any transactions affecting balance of investment account(s) and not -originating from unrealized profit and loss account(s) are assumed to be -your investments or withdrawals. - - At a minimum, you need to supply a query (which could be just an -account name) to select your investments with '--inv', and another query -to identify your profit and loss transactions with '--pnl'. - - This command will compute and display the internalized rate of return -(IRR) and time-weighted rate of return (TWR) for your investments for -the time period requested. Both rates of return are annualized before -display, regardless of the length of reporting interval. - - Note, in some cases this report can fail, for these reasons: - - * Error (NotBracketed): No solution for Internal Rate of Return - (IRR). Possible causes: IRR is huge (>1000000%), balance of - investment becomes negative at some point in time. - * Error (SearchFailed): Failed to find solution for Internal Rate of - Return (IRR). Either search does not converge to a solution, or - converges too slowly. - - Examples: - - * Using roi to report unrealised gains: - https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/blob/master/examples/roi-unrealised.ledger - - More background: - - "ROI" stands for "return on investment". Traditionally this was -computed as a difference between current value of investment and its -initial value, expressed in percentage of the initial value. - - However, this approach is only practical in simple cases, where -investments receives no in-flows or out-flows of money, and where rate -of growth is fixed over time. For more complex scenarios you need -different ways to compute rate of return, and this command implements -two of them: IRR and TWR. - - Internal rate of return, or "IRR" (also called "money-weighted rate -of return") takes into account effects of in-flows and out-flows. -Naively, if you are withdrawing from your investment, your future gains -would be smaller (in absolute numbers), and will be a smaller percentage -of your initial investment, and if you are adding to your investment, -you will receive bigger absolute gains (but probably at the same rate of -return). IRR is a way to compute rate of return for each period between -in-flow or out-flow of money, and then combine them in a way that gives -you an annual rate of return that investment is expected to generate. - - As mentioned before, in-flows and out-flows would be any cash that -you personally put in or withdraw, and for the "roi" command, these are -transactions that involve account(s) matching '--inv' argument and NOT -involve account(s) matching '--pnl' argument. - - Presumably, you will also record changes in the value of your -investment, and balance them against "profit and loss" (or "unrealized -gains") account. Note that in order for IRR to compute the precise -effect of your in-flows and out-flows on the rate of return, you will -need to record the value of your investement on or close to the days -when in- or out-flows occur. - - Implementation of IRR in hledger should match the 'XIRR' formula in -Excel. - - Second way to compute rate of return that 'roi' command implements is -called "time-weighted rate of return" or "TWR". Like IRR, it will also -break the history of your investment into periods between in-flows and -out-flows to compute rate of return per each period and then a compound -rate of return. However, internal workings of TWR are quite different. - - In technical terms, IRR uses the same approach as computation of net -present value, and tries to find a discount rate that makes net present -value of all the cash flows of your investment to add up to zero. This -could be hard to wrap your head around, especially if you haven't done -discounted cash flow analysis before. - - TWR represents your investment as an imaginary "unit fund" where -in-flows/ out-flows lead to buying or selling "units" of your investment -and changes in its value change the value of "investment unit". Change -in "unit price" over the reporting period gives you rate of return of -your investment. - - References: * Explanation of rate of return * Explanation of IRR * -Explanation of TWR * Examples of computing IRR and TWR and discussion of -the limitations of both metrics - - More examples: - - Lets say that we found an investment in Snake Oil that is proising to -give us 10% annually: - -2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil - assets:cash -$100 - investment:snake oil - -2019-12-24 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil = $110 - equity:unrealized gains - - For now, basic computation of the rate of return, as well as IRR and -TWR, gives us the expected 10%: - -$ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+--------+ -| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | -+===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++========+========+ -| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 110 | 10 || 10.00% | 10.00% | -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+--------+ - - However, lets say that shorty after investing in the Snake Oil we -started to have second thoughs, so we prompty withdrew $90, leaving only -$10 in. Before Christmas, though, we started to get the "fear of -mission out", so we put the $90 back in. So for most of the year, our -investment was just $10 dollars, and it gave us just $1 in growth: - -2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil - assets:cash -$100 - investment:snake oil - -2019-01-02 Buyers remorse - assets:cash $90 - investment:snake oil - -2019-12-30 Fear of missing out - assets:cash -$90 - investment:snake oil - -2019-12-31 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil = $101 - equity:unrealized gains - - Now IRR and TWR are drastically different: - -$ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++-------+-------+ -| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | -+===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++=======+=======+ -| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 101 | 1 || 9.32% | 1.00% | -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++-------+-------+ - - Here, IRR tells us that we made close to 10% on the $10 dollars that -we had in the account most of the time. And TWR is ... just 1%? Why? - - Based on the transactions in our journal, TWR "think" that we are -buying back $90 worst of Snake Oil at the same price that it had at the -beginning of they year, and then after that our $100 investment gets $1 -increase in value, or 1% of $100. Let's take a closer look at what is -happening here by asking for quarterly reports instead of annual: - -$ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+-------+ -| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | -+===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++========+=======+ -| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | -| 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | -| 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | -| 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10 | 90 | 101 | 1 || 37.80% | 4.03% | -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+-------+ - - Now both IRR and TWR are thrown off by the fact that all of the -growth for our investment happens in Q4 2019. This happes because IRR -computation is still yielding 9.32% and TWR is still 1%, but this time -these are rates for three month period instead of twelve, so in order to -get an annual rate they should be multiplied by four! - - Let's try to keep a better record of how Snake Oil grew in value: - -2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil - assets:cash -$100 - investment:snake oil - -2019-01-02 Buyers remorse - assets:cash $90 - investment:snake oil - -2019-02-28 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil - equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 - -2019-06-30 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil - equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 - -2019-09-30 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil - equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 - -2019-12-30 Fear of missing out - assets:cash -$90 - investment:snake oil - -2019-12-31 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil - equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 - - Would our quartery report look better now? Almost: - -$ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ -| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | -+===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++========+========+ -| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10.25 | 0.25 || 9.53% | 10.53% | -| 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10.25 | 0 | 10.50 | 0.25 || 10.15% | 10.15% | -| 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10.50 | 0 | 10.75 | 0.25 || 9.79% | 9.78% | -| 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10.75 | 90 | 101.00 | 0.25 || 8.05% | 1.00% | -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ - - Something is still wrong with TWR computation for Q4, and if you have -been paying attention you know what it is already: big $90 buy-back is -recorded prior to the only transaction that captures the change of value -of Snake Oil that happened in this time period. Lets combine -transactions from 30th and 31st of Dec into one: - -2019-12-30 Fear of missing out and growth of Snake Oil - assets:cash -$90 - investment:snake oil - equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 - - Now growth of investment properly affects its price at the time of -buy-back: - -$ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ -| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | -+===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++========+========+ -| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10.25 | 0.25 || 9.53% | 10.53% | -| 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10.25 | 0 | 10.50 | 0.25 || 10.15% | 10.15% | -| 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10.50 | 0 | 10.75 | 0.25 || 9.79% | 9.78% | -| 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10.75 | 90 | 101.00 | 0.25 || 8.05% | 9.57% | -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ - - And for annual report, TWR now reports the exact profitability of our -investment: - -$ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++-------+--------+ -| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | -+===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++=======+========+ -| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 101.00 | 1.00 || 9.32% | 10.00% | -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++-------+--------+ - - -File: hledger.info, Node: stats, Next: tags, Prev: roi, Up: Top - -57 stats -******** - -stats -Show some journal statistics. - - The stats command displays summary information for the whole journal, -or a matched part of it. With a reporting interval, it shows a report -for each report period. - - Example: - -$ hledger stats -Main journal file : /src/hledger/examples/sample.journal -Included journal files : -Transactions span : 2008-01-01 to 2009-01-01 (366 days) -Last transaction : 2008-12-31 (2333 days ago) -Transactions : 5 (0.0 per day) -Transactions last 30 days: 0 (0.0 per day) -Transactions last 7 days : 0 (0.0 per day) -Payees/descriptions : 5 -Accounts : 8 (depth 3) -Commodities : 1 ($) -Market prices : 12 ($) - - This command also supports output destination and output format -selection. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: tags, Next: test, Prev: stats, Up: Top - -58 tags -******* - -tags -List the unique tag names used in the journal. With a TAGREGEX -argument, only tag names matching the regular expression (case -insensitive) are shown. With QUERY arguments, only transactions -matching the query are considered. - - With the -values flag, the tags' unique values are listed instead. - - With -parsed flag, all tags or values are shown in the order they are -parsed from the input data, including duplicates. - - With -E/-empty, any blank/empty values will also be shown, otherwise -they are omitted. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: test, Next: Add-on commands, Prev: tags, Up: Top - -59 test -******* - -test -Run built-in unit tests. - - This command runs the unit tests built in to hledger and hledger-lib, -printing the results on stdout. If any test fails, the exit code will -be non-zero. - - This is mainly used by hledger developers, but you can also use it to -sanity-check the installed hledger executable on your platform. All -tests are expected to pass - if you ever see a failure, please report as -a bug! - - This command also accepts tasty test runner options, written after a -- (double hyphen). Eg to run only the tests in Hledger.Data.Amount, -with ANSI colour codes disabled: - -$ hledger test -- -pData.Amount --color=never - - For help on these, see https://github.com/feuerbach/tasty#options -('-- --help' currently doesn't show them). - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Add-on commands, Next: ENVIRONMENT, Prev: test, Up: Top - -60 Add-on commands -****************** - -hledger also searches for external add-on commands, and will include -these in the commands list. These are programs or scripts in your PATH -whose name starts with 'hledger-' and ends with a recognised file -extension (currently: no extension, 'bat','com','exe', -'hs','lhs','pl','py','rb','rkt','sh'). - - Add-ons can be invoked like any hledger command, but there are a few -things to be aware of. Eg if the 'hledger-web' add-on is installed, - - * 'hledger -h web' shows hledger's help, while 'hledger web -h' shows - hledger-web's help. - - * Flags specific to the add-on must have a preceding '--' to hide - them from hledger. So 'hledger web --serve --port 9000' will be - rejected; you must use 'hledger web -- --serve --port 9000'. - - * You can always run add-ons directly if preferred: 'hledger-web - --serve --port 9000'. - - Add-ons are a relatively easy way to add local features or experiment -with new ideas. They can be written in any language, but haskell -scripts have a big advantage: they can use the same hledger (and -haskell) library functions that built-in commands do, for command-line -options, journal parsing, reporting, etc. - - Two important add-ons are the hledger-ui and hledger-web user -interfaces. These are maintained and released along with hledger: - -* Menu: - -* ui:: -* web:: -* iadd:: -* interest:: -* stockquotes:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: ui, Next: web, Up: Add-on commands - -60.1 ui -======= - -hledger-ui provides an efficient terminal interface. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: web, Next: iadd, Prev: ui, Up: Add-on commands - -60.2 web -======== - -hledger-web provides a simple web interface. - - Third party add-ons, maintained separately from hledger, include: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: iadd, Next: interest, Prev: web, Up: Add-on commands - -60.3 iadd -========= - -hledger-iadd is a more interactive, terminal UI replacement for the add -command. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: interest, Next: stockquotes, Prev: iadd, Up: Add-on commands - -60.4 interest -============= - -hledger-interest generates interest transactions for an account -according to various schemes. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: stockquotes, Prev: interest, Up: Add-on commands - -60.5 stockquotes -================ - -hledger-stockquotes downloads market prices for the commodities in your -journal from AlphaVantage. - - A few more experimental or old add-ons can be found in hledger's bin/ -directory. These are typically prototypes and not guaranteed to work. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: ENVIRONMENT, Next: FILES, Prev: Add-on commands, Up: Top - -61 ENVIRONMENT -************** - -*LEDGER_FILE* The journal file path when not specified with '-f'. -Default: '~/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps -'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). - - A typical value is '~/DIR/YYYY.journal', where DIR is a -version-controlled finance directory and YYYY is the current year. Or -'~/DIR/current.journal', where current.journal is a symbolic link to -YYYY.journal. - - On Mac computers, you can set this and other environment variables in -a more thorough way that also affects applications started from the GUI -(say, an Emacs dock icon). Eg on MacOS Catalina I have a -'~/.MacOSX/environment.plist' file containing - -{ - "LEDGER_FILE" : "~/finance/current.journal" -} - - To see the effect you may need to 'killall Dock', or reboot. - - *COLUMNS* The screen width used by the register command. Default: -the full terminal width. - - *NO_COLOR* If this variable exists with any value, hledger will not -use ANSI color codes in terminal output. This overrides the --color/-colour option. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: FILES, Next: LIMITATIONS, Prev: ENVIRONMENT, Up: Top - -62 FILES -******** - -Reads data from one or more files in hledger journal, timeclock, -timedot, or CSV format specified with '-f', or '$LEDGER_FILE', or -'$HOME/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps -'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). - - -File: hledger.info, Node: LIMITATIONS, Next: TROUBLESHOOTING, Prev: FILES, Up: Top - -63 LIMITATIONS -************** - -The need to precede add-on command options with '--' when invoked from -hledger is awkward. - - When input data contains non-ascii characters, a suitable system -locale must be configured (or there will be an unhelpful error). Eg on -POSIX, set LANG to something other than C. - - In a Microsoft Windows CMD window, non-ascii characters and colours -are not supported. - - On Windows, non-ascii characters may not display correctly when -running a hledger built in CMD in MSYS/CYGWIN, or vice-versa. - - In a Cygwin/MSYS/Mintty window, the tab key is not supported in -hledger add. - - Not all of Ledger's journal file syntax is supported. See file -format differences. - - On large data files, hledger is slower and uses more memory than -Ledger. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: TROUBLESHOOTING, Prev: LIMITATIONS, Up: Top - -64 TROUBLESHOOTING -****************** - -Here are some issues you might encounter when you run hledger (and -remember you can also seek help from the IRC channel, mail list or bug -tracker): - - *Successfully installed, but "No command 'hledger' found"* -stack and cabal install binaries into a special directory, which should -be added to your PATH environment variable. Eg on unix-like systems, -that is ~/.local/bin and ~/.cabal/bin respectively. - - *I set a custom LEDGER_FILE, but hledger is still using the default -file* -'LEDGER_FILE' should be a real environment variable, not just a shell -variable. The command 'env | grep LEDGER_FILE' should show it. You may -need to use 'export'. Here's an explanation. - - *Getting errors like "Illegal byte sequence" or "Invalid or -incomplete multibyte or wide character" or "commitAndReleaseBuffer: -invalid argument (invalid character)"* -Programs compiled with GHC (hledger, haskell build tools, etc.) need to -have a UTF-8-aware locale configured in the environment, otherwise they -will fail with these kinds of errors when they encounter non-ascii -characters. - - To fix it, set the LANG environment variable to some locale which -supports UTF-8. The locale you choose must be installed on your system. - - Here's an example of setting LANG temporarily, on Ubuntu GNU/Linux: - -$ file my.journal -my.journal: UTF-8 Unicode text # the file is UTF8-encoded -$ echo $LANG -C # LANG is set to the default locale, which does not support UTF8 -$ locale -a # which locales are installed ? -C -en_US.utf8 # here's a UTF8-aware one we can use -POSIX -$ LANG=en_US.utf8 hledger -f my.journal print # ensure it is used for this command - - If available, 'C.UTF-8' will also work. If your preferred locale -isn't listed by 'locale -a', you might need to install it. Eg on -Ubuntu/Debian: - -$ apt-get install language-pack-fr -$ locale -a -C -en_US.utf8 -fr_BE.utf8 -fr_CA.utf8 -fr_CH.utf8 -fr_FR.utf8 -fr_LU.utf8 -POSIX -$ LANG=fr_FR.utf8 hledger -f my.journal print - - Here's how you could set it permanently, if you use a bash shell: - -$ echo "export LANG=en_US.utf8" >>~/.bash_profile -$ bash --login - - Exact spelling and capitalisation may be important. Note the -difference on MacOS ('UTF-8', not 'utf8'). Some platforms (eg ubuntu) -allow variant spellings, but others (eg macos) require it to be exact: - -$ locale -a | grep -iE en_us.*utf -en_US.UTF-8 -$ LANG=en_US.UTF-8 hledger -f my.journal print - - -Tag Table: -Node: Top68 -Node: COMMON TASKS3279 -Ref: #common-tasks3396 -Node: Getting help3603 -Ref: #getting-help3743 -Node: Constructing command lines4296 -Ref: #constructing-command-lines4475 -Node: Starting a journal file5172 -Ref: #starting-a-journal-file5357 -Node: Setting opening balances6545 -Ref: #setting-opening-balances6728 -Node: Recording transactions9869 -Ref: #recording-transactions10036 -Node: Reconciling10592 -Ref: #reconciling10722 -Node: Reporting12979 -Ref: #reporting13106 -Node: Migrating to a new file17105 -Ref: #migrating-to-a-new-file17256 -Node: OPTIONS17555 -Ref: #options17682 -Node: General options17682 -Ref: #general-options17817 -Node: Command options21218 -Ref: #command-options21363 -Node: Command arguments21763 -Ref: #command-arguments21904 -Node: 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Valuation49353 -Ref: #valuation49464 -Node: -B Cost50153 -Ref: #b-cost50253 -Node: -V Value50386 -Ref: #v-value50528 -Node: -X Value in specified commodity50723 -Ref: #x-value-in-specified-commodity50918 -Node: Valuation date51067 -Ref: #valuation-date51231 -Node: Market prices51653 -Ref: #market-prices51829 -Node: --infer-value market prices from transactions52771 -Ref: #infer-value-market-prices-from-transactions53016 -Node: Valuation commodity54298 -Ref: #valuation-commodity54503 -Node: Simple valuation examples55729 -Ref: #simple-valuation-examples55927 -Node: --value Flexible valuation56586 -Ref: #value-flexible-valuation56790 -Node: More valuation examples58737 -Ref: #more-valuation-examples58942 -Node: Effect of valuation on reports60947 -Ref: #effect-of-valuation-on-reports61131 -Node: COMMANDS68150 -Ref: #commands68259 -Node: accounts68941 -Ref: #accounts69049 -Node: activity69748 -Ref: #activity69851 -Node: add70234 -Ref: #add70328 -Node: aregister73121 -Ref: #aregister73226 -Node: aregister and custom posting dates74599 -Ref: #aregister-and-custom-posting-dates74770 -Ref: #output-format-175361 -Node: balance75766 -Ref: #balance75876 -Node: Classic balance report77356 -Ref: #classic-balance-report77527 -Node: Customising the classic balance report78851 -Ref: #customising-the-classic-balance-report79077 -Node: Colour support81153 -Ref: #colour-support81318 -Node: Flat mode81414 -Ref: #flat-mode81560 -Node: Depth limited balance reports81973 -Ref: #depth-limited-balance-reports82156 -Node: Percentages82612 -Ref: #percentages82767 -Node: Sorting by amount83904 -Ref: #sorting-by-amount84068 -Node: Multicolumn balance report84562 -Ref: #multicolumn-balance-report84746 -Node: Budget report90343 -Ref: #budget-report90484 -Node: Budget report start date95773 -Ref: #budget-report-start-date95936 -Node: Nested budgets97268 -Ref: #nested-budgets97411 -Ref: #output-format-2100892 -Node: balancesheet101053 -Ref: #balancesheet101182 -Node: balancesheetequity102694 -Ref: #balancesheetequity102836 -Node: cashflow103912 -Ref: #cashflow104027 -Node: check105243 -Ref: #check105339 -Node: Basic checks105944 -Ref: #basic-checks106058 -Node: Strict checks106551 -Ref: #strict-checks106688 -Node: Other checks106931 -Ref: #other-checks107067 -Node: Add-on checks107365 -Ref: #add-on-checks107481 -Node: close107934 -Ref: #close108027 -Node: close usage109549 -Ref: #close-usage109638 -Node: codes112451 -Ref: #codes112550 -Node: commodities113262 -Ref: #commodities113380 -Node: descriptions113462 -Ref: #descriptions113581 -Node: diff113885 -Ref: #diff113982 -Node: files115029 -Ref: #files115120 -Node: help115267 -Ref: #help115358 -Node: import116439 -Ref: #import116544 -Node: Importing balance assignments117466 -Ref: #importing-balance-assignments117643 -Node: Commodity display styles118292 -Ref: #commodity-display-styles118459 -Node: incomestatement118588 -Ref: #incomestatement118712 -Node: notes120057 -Ref: #notes120161 -Node: payees120529 -Ref: #payees120626 -Node: prices121046 -Ref: #prices121143 -Node: print121484 -Ref: #print121585 -Node: print-unique126381 -Ref: #print-unique126498 -Node: register126783 -Ref: #register126901 -Node: Custom register output131350 -Ref: #custom-register-output131475 -Node: register-match132812 -Ref: #register-match132937 -Node: rewrite133288 -Ref: #rewrite133394 -Node: Re-write rules in a file135249 -Ref: #re-write-rules-in-a-file135379 -Node: Diff output format136589 -Ref: #diff-output-format136754 -Node: rewrite vs print --auto137846 -Ref: #rewrite-vs.-print---auto138021 -Node: roi138577 -Ref: #roi138666 -Node: stats150876 -Ref: #stats150966 -Node: tags151754 -Ref: #tags151843 -Node: test152362 -Ref: #test152461 -Node: Add-on commands153208 -Ref: #add-on-commands153336 -Node: ui154695 -Ref: #ui154779 -Node: web154833 -Ref: #web154932 -Node: iadd155048 -Ref: #iadd155155 -Node: interest155237 -Ref: #interest155360 -Node: stockquotes155455 -Ref: #stockquotes155571 -Node: ENVIRONMENT155816 -Ref: #environment155937 -Node: FILES156922 -Ref: #files-1157027 -Node: LIMITATIONS157240 -Ref: #limitations157361 -Node: TROUBLESHOOTING158104 -Ref: #troubleshooting158219 - -End Tag Table - - -Local Variables: -coding: utf-8 -End: +hledger(1) +********** + +A command-line accounting tool for both power users and folks new to +accounting. + + 'hledger' + + 'hledger [-f FILE] COMMAND [OPTIONS] [ARGS]' + + 'hledger [-f FILE] ADDONCMD -- [OPTIONS] [ARGS]' + + hledger is a reliable, cross-platform set of programs for tracking +money, time, or any other commodity, using double-entry accounting and a +simple, editable file format. hledger is inspired by and largely +compatible with ledger(1). + + This is hledger's command-line interface (there are also terminal and +web interfaces). Its basic function is to read a plain text file +describing financial transactions (in accounting terms, a general +journal) and print useful reports on standard output, or export them as +CSV. hledger can also read some other file formats such as CSV files, +translating them to journal format. Additionally, hledger lists other +hledger-* executables found in the user's $PATH and can invoke them as +subcommands. + + hledger reads data from one or more files in hledger journal, +timeclock, timedot, or CSV format specified with '-f', or +'$LEDGER_FILE', or '$HOME/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps +'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). If using '$LEDGER_FILE', note this +must be a real environment variable, not a shell variable. You can +specify standard input with '-f-'. + + Transactions are dated movements of money between two (or more) named +accounts, and are recorded with journal entries like this: + +2015/10/16 bought food + expenses:food $10 + assets:cash + + For more about this format, see hledger_journal(5). + + Most users use a text editor to edit the journal, usually with an +editor mode such as ledger-mode for added convenience. hledger's +interactive add command is another way to record new transactions. +hledger never changes existing transactions. + + To get started, you can either save some entries like the above in +'~/.hledger.journal', or run 'hledger add' and follow the prompts. Then +try some commands like 'hledger print' or 'hledger balance'. Run +'hledger' with no arguments for a list of commands. + +* Menu: + +* COMMON TASKS:: +* OPTIONS:: +* COMMANDS:: +* ENVIRONMENT:: +* FILES:: +* LIMITATIONS:: +* TROUBLESHOOTING:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: COMMON TASKS, Next: OPTIONS, Prev: Top, Up: Top + +1 COMMON TASKS +************** + +Here are some quick examples of how to do some basic tasks with hledger. +For more details, see the reference section below, the +hledger_journal(5) manual, or the more extensive docs at +https://hledger.org. + +* Menu: + +* Getting help:: +* Constructing command lines:: +* Starting a journal file:: +* Setting opening balances:: +* Recording transactions:: +* Reconciling:: +* Reporting:: +* Migrating to a new file:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Getting help, Next: Constructing command lines, Up: COMMON TASKS + +1.1 Getting help +================ + +$ hledger # show available commands +$ hledger --help # show common options +$ hledger CMD --help # show common and command options, and command help +$ hledger help # show available manuals/topics +$ hledger help hledger # show hledger manual as info/man/text (auto-chosen) +$ hledger help journal --man # show the journal manual as a man page +$ hledger help --help # show more detailed help for the help command + + Find more docs, chat, mail list, reddit, issue tracker: +https://hledger.org#help-feedback + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Constructing command lines, Next: Starting a journal file, Prev: Getting help, Up: COMMON TASKS + +1.2 Constructing command lines +============================== + +hledger has an extensive and powerful command line interface. We strive +to keep it simple and ergonomic, but you may run into one of the +confusing real world details described in OPTIONS, below. If that +happens, here are some tips that may help: + + * command-specific options must go after the command (it's fine to + put all options there) ('hledger CMD OPTS ARGS') + * running add-on executables directly simplifies command line parsing + ('hledger-ui OPTS ARGS') + * enclose "problematic" args in single quotes + * if needed, also add a backslash to hide regular expression + metacharacters from the shell + * to see how a misbehaving command is being parsed, add '--debug=2'. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Starting a journal file, Next: Setting opening balances, Prev: Constructing command lines, Up: COMMON TASKS + +1.3 Starting a journal file +=========================== + +hledger looks for your accounting data in a journal file, +'$HOME/.hledger.journal' by default: + +$ hledger stats +The hledger journal file "/Users/simon/.hledger.journal" was not found. +Please create it first, eg with "hledger add" or a text editor. +Or, specify an existing journal file with -f or LEDGER_FILE. + + You can override this by setting the 'LEDGER_FILE' environment +variable. It's a good practice to keep this important file under +version control, and to start a new file each year. So you could do +something like this: + +$ mkdir ~/finance +$ cd ~/finance +$ git init +Initialized empty Git repository in /Users/simon/finance/.git/ +$ touch 2020.journal +$ echo "export LEDGER_FILE=$HOME/finance/2020.journal" >> ~/.bashrc +$ source ~/.bashrc +$ hledger stats +Main file : /Users/simon/finance/2020.journal +Included files : +Transactions span : to (0 days) +Last transaction : none +Transactions : 0 (0.0 per day) +Transactions last 30 days: 0 (0.0 per day) +Transactions last 7 days : 0 (0.0 per day) +Payees/descriptions : 0 +Accounts : 0 (depth 0) +Commodities : 0 () +Market prices : 0 () + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Setting opening balances, Next: Recording transactions, Prev: Starting a journal file, Up: COMMON TASKS + +1.4 Setting opening balances +============================ + +Pick a starting date for which you can look up the balances of some +real-world assets (bank accounts, wallet..) and liabilities (credit +cards..). + + To avoid a lot of data entry, you may want to start with just one or +two accounts, like your checking account or cash wallet; and pick a +recent starting date, like today or the start of the week. You can +always come back later and add more accounts and older transactions, eg +going back to january 1st. + + Add an opening balances transaction to the journal, declaring the +balances on this date. Here are two ways to do it: + + * The first way: open the journal in any text editor and save an + entry like this: + + 2020-01-01 * opening balances + assets:bank:checking $1000 = $1000 + assets:bank:savings $2000 = $2000 + assets:cash $100 = $100 + liabilities:creditcard $-50 = $-50 + equity:opening/closing balances + + These are start-of-day balances, ie whatever was in the account at + the end of the previous day. + + The * after the date is an optional status flag. Here it means + "cleared & confirmed". + + The currency symbols are optional, but usually a good idea as + you'll be dealing with multiple currencies sooner or later. + + The = amounts are optional balance assertions, providing extra + error checking. + + * The second way: run 'hledger add' and follow the prompts to record + a similar transaction: + + $ hledger add + Adding transactions to journal file /Users/simon/finance/2020.journal + Any command line arguments will be used as defaults. + Use tab key to complete, readline keys to edit, enter to accept defaults. + An optional (CODE) may follow transaction dates. + An optional ; COMMENT may follow descriptions or amounts. + If you make a mistake, enter < at any prompt to go one step backward. + To end a transaction, enter . when prompted. + To quit, enter . at a date prompt or press control-d or control-c. + Date [2020-02-07]: 2020-01-01 + Description: * opening balances + Account 1: assets:bank:checking + Amount 1: $1000 + Account 2: assets:bank:savings + Amount 2 [$-1000]: $2000 + Account 3: assets:cash + Amount 3 [$-3000]: $100 + Account 4: liabilities:creditcard + Amount 4 [$-3100]: $-50 + Account 5: equity:opening/closing balances + Amount 5 [$-3050]: + Account 6 (or . or enter to finish this transaction): . + 2020-01-01 * opening balances + assets:bank:checking $1000 + assets:bank:savings $2000 + assets:cash $100 + liabilities:creditcard $-50 + equity:opening/closing balances $-3050 + + Save this transaction to the journal ? [y]: + Saved. + Starting the next transaction (. or ctrl-D/ctrl-C to quit) + Date [2020-01-01]: . + + If you're using version control, this could be a good time to commit +the journal. Eg: + +$ git commit -m 'initial balances' 2020.journal + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Recording transactions, Next: Reconciling, Prev: Setting opening balances, Up: COMMON TASKS + +1.5 Recording transactions +========================== + +As you spend or receive money, you can record these transactions using +one of the methods above (text editor, hledger add) or by using the +hledger-iadd or hledger-web add-ons, or by using the import command to +convert CSV data downloaded from your bank. + + Here are some simple transactions, see the hledger_journal(5) manual +and hledger.org for more ideas: + +2020/1/10 * gift received + assets:cash $20 + income:gifts + +2020.1.12 * farmers market + expenses:food $13 + assets:cash + +2020-01-15 paycheck + income:salary + assets:bank:checking $1000 + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Reconciling, Next: Reporting, Prev: Recording transactions, Up: COMMON TASKS + +1.6 Reconciling +=============== + +Periodically you should reconcile - compare your hledger-reported +balances against external sources of truth, like bank statements or your +bank's website - to be sure that your ledger accurately represents the +real-world balances (and, that the real-world institutions have not made +a mistake!). This gets easy and fast with (1) practice and (2) +frequency. If you do it daily, it can take 2-10 minutes. If you let it +pile up, expect it to take longer as you hunt down errors and +discrepancies. + + A typical workflow: + + 1. Reconcile cash. Count what's in your wallet. Compare with what + hledger reports ('hledger bal cash'). If they are different, try + to remember the missing transaction, or look for the error in the + already-recorded transactions. A register report can be helpful + ('hledger reg cash'). If you can't find the error, add an + adjustment transaction. Eg if you have $105 after the above, and + can't explain the missing $2, it could be: + + 2020-01-16 * adjust cash + assets:cash $-2 = $105 + expenses:misc + + 2. Reconcile checking. Log in to your bank's website. Compare + today's (cleared) balance with hledger's cleared balance ('hledger + bal checking -C'). If they are different, track down the error or + record the missing transaction(s) or add an adjustment transaction, + similar to the above. Unlike the cash case, you can usually + compare the transaction history and running balance from your bank + with the one reported by 'hledger reg checking -C'. This will be + easier if you generally record transaction dates quite similar to + your bank's clearing dates. + + 3. Repeat for other asset/liability accounts. + + Tip: instead of the register command, use hledger-ui to see a +live-updating register while you edit the journal: 'hledger-ui --watch +--register checking -C' + + After reconciling, it could be a good time to mark the reconciled +transactions' status as "cleared and confirmed", if you want to track +that, by adding the '*' marker. Eg in the paycheck transaction above, +insert '*' between '2020-01-15' and 'paycheck' + + If you're using version control, this can be another good time to +commit: + +$ git commit -m 'txns' 2020.journal + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Reporting, Next: Migrating to a new file, Prev: Reconciling, Up: COMMON TASKS + +1.7 Reporting +============= + +Here are some basic reports. + + Show all transactions: + +$ hledger print +2020-01-01 * opening balances + assets:bank:checking $1000 + assets:bank:savings $2000 + assets:cash $100 + liabilities:creditcard $-50 + equity:opening/closing balances $-3050 + +2020-01-10 * gift received + assets:cash $20 + income:gifts + +2020-01-12 * farmers market + expenses:food $13 + assets:cash + +2020-01-15 * paycheck + income:salary + assets:bank:checking $1000 + +2020-01-16 * adjust cash + assets:cash $-2 = $105 + expenses:misc + + Show account names, and their hierarchy: + +$ hledger accounts --tree +assets + bank + checking + savings + cash +equity + opening/closing balances +expenses + food + misc +income + gifts + salary +liabilities + creditcard + + Show all account totals: + +$ hledger balance + $4105 assets + $4000 bank + $2000 checking + $2000 savings + $105 cash + $-3050 equity:opening/closing balances + $15 expenses + $13 food + $2 misc + $-1020 income + $-20 gifts + $-1000 salary + $-50 liabilities:creditcard +-------------------- + 0 + + Show only asset and liability balances, as a flat list, limited to +depth 2: + +$ hledger bal assets liabilities --flat -2 + $4000 assets:bank + $105 assets:cash + $-50 liabilities:creditcard +-------------------- + $4055 + + Show the same thing without negative numbers, formatted as a simple +balance sheet: + +$ hledger bs --flat -2 +Balance Sheet 2020-01-16 + + || 2020-01-16 +========================++============ + Assets || +------------------------++------------ + assets:bank || $4000 + assets:cash || $105 +------------------------++------------ + || $4105 +========================++============ + Liabilities || +------------------------++------------ + liabilities:creditcard || $50 +------------------------++------------ + || $50 +========================++============ + Net: || $4055 + + The final total is your "net worth" on the end date. (Or use 'bse' +for a full balance sheet with equity.) + + Show income and expense totals, formatted as an income statement: + +hledger is +Income Statement 2020-01-01-2020-01-16 + + || 2020-01-01-2020-01-16 +===============++======================= + Revenues || +---------------++----------------------- + income:gifts || $20 + income:salary || $1000 +---------------++----------------------- + || $1020 +===============++======================= + Expenses || +---------------++----------------------- + expenses:food || $13 + expenses:misc || $2 +---------------++----------------------- + || $15 +===============++======================= + Net: || $1005 + + The final total is your net income during this period. + + Show transactions affecting your wallet, with running total: + +$ hledger register cash +2020-01-01 opening balances assets:cash $100 $100 +2020-01-10 gift received assets:cash $20 $120 +2020-01-12 farmers market assets:cash $-13 $107 +2020-01-16 adjust cash assets:cash $-2 $105 + + Show weekly posting counts as a bar chart: + +$ hledger activity -W +2019-12-30 ***** +2020-01-06 **** +2020-01-13 **** + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Migrating to a new file, Prev: Reporting, Up: COMMON TASKS + +1.8 Migrating to a new file +=========================== + +At the end of the year, you may want to continue your journal in a new +file, so that old transactions don't slow down or clutter your reports, +and to help ensure the integrity of your accounting history. See the +close command. + + If using version control, don't forget to 'git add' the new file. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: OPTIONS, Next: COMMANDS, Prev: COMMON TASKS, Up: Top + +2 OPTIONS +********* + +* Menu: + +* General options:: +* Command options:: +* Command arguments:: +* Queries:: +* Special characters in arguments and queries:: +* Unicode characters:: +* Input files:: +* Strict mode:: +* Output destination:: +* Output format:: +* Regular expressions:: +* Smart dates:: +* Report start & end date:: +* Report intervals:: +* Period expressions:: +* Depth limiting:: +* Pivoting:: +* Valuation:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: General options, Next: Command options, Up: OPTIONS + +2.1 General options +=================== + +To see general usage help, including general options which are supported +by most hledger commands, run 'hledger -h'. + + General help options: + +'-h --help' + + show general usage (or after COMMAND, command usage) +'--version' + + show version +'--debug[=N]' + + show debug output (levels 1-9, default: 1) + + General input options: + +'-f FILE --file=FILE' + + use a different input file. For stdin, use - (default: + '$LEDGER_FILE' or '$HOME/.hledger.journal') +'--rules-file=RULESFILE' + + Conversion rules file to use when reading CSV (default: FILE.rules) +'--separator=CHAR' + + Field separator to expect when reading CSV (default: ',') +'--alias=OLD=NEW' + + rename accounts named OLD to NEW +'--anon' + + anonymize accounts and payees +'--pivot FIELDNAME' + + use some other field or tag for the account name +'-I --ignore-assertions' + + disable balance assertion checks (note: does not disable balance + assignments) +'-s --strict' + + do extra error checking (check that all posted accounts are + declared) + + General reporting options: + +'-b --begin=DATE' + + include postings/txns on or after this date +'-e --end=DATE' + + include postings/txns before this date +'-D --daily' + + multiperiod/multicolumn report by day +'-W --weekly' + + multiperiod/multicolumn report by week +'-M --monthly' + + multiperiod/multicolumn report by month +'-Q --quarterly' + + multiperiod/multicolumn report by quarter +'-Y --yearly' + + multiperiod/multicolumn report by year +'-p --period=PERIODEXP' + + set start date, end date, and/or reporting interval all at once + using period expressions syntax +'--date2' + + match the secondary date instead (see command help for other + effects) +'-U --unmarked' + + include only unmarked postings/txns (can combine with -P or -C) +'-P --pending' + + include only pending postings/txns +'-C --cleared' + + include only cleared postings/txns +'-R --real' + + include only non-virtual postings +'-NUM --depth=NUM' + + hide/aggregate accounts or postings more than NUM levels deep +'-E --empty' + + show items with zero amount, normally hidden (and vice-versa in + hledger-ui/hledger-web) +'-B --cost' + + convert amounts to their cost/selling amount at transaction time +'-V --market' + + convert amounts to their market value in default valuation + commodities +'-X --exchange=COMM' + + convert amounts to their market value in commodity COMM +'--value' + + convert amounts to cost or market value, more flexibly than + -B/-V/-X +'--infer-value' + + with -V/-X/-value, also infer market prices from transactions +'--auto' + + apply automated posting rules to modify transactions. +'--forecast' + + generate future transactions from periodic transaction rules, for + the next 6 months or till report end date. In hledger-ui, also + make ordinary future transactions visible. +'--color=WHEN (or --colour=WHEN)' + + Should color-supporting commands use ANSI color codes in text + output. 'auto' (default): whenever stdout seems to be a + color-supporting terminal. 'always' or 'yes': always, useful eg + when piping output into 'less -R'. 'never' or 'no': never. A + NO_COLOR environment variable overrides this. + + When a reporting option appears more than once in the command line, +the last one takes precedence. + + Some reporting options can also be written as query arguments. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Command options, Next: Command arguments, Prev: General options, Up: OPTIONS + +2.2 Command options +=================== + +To see options for a particular command, including command-specific +options, run: 'hledger COMMAND -h'. + + Command-specific options must be written after the command name, eg: +'hledger print -x'. + + Additionally, if the command is an add-on, you may need to put its +options after a double-hyphen, eg: 'hledger ui -- --watch'. Or, you can +run the add-on executable directly: 'hledger-ui --watch'. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Command arguments, Next: Queries, Prev: Command options, Up: OPTIONS + +2.3 Command arguments +===================== + +Most hledger commands accept arguments after the command name, which are +often a query, filtering the data in some way. + + You can save a set of command line options/arguments in a file, and +then reuse them by writing '@FILENAME' as a command line argument. Eg: +'hledger bal @foo.args'. (To prevent this, eg if you have an argument +that begins with a literal '@', precede it with '--', eg: 'hledger bal +-- @ARG'). + + Inside the argument file, each line should contain just one option or +argument. Avoid the use of spaces, except inside quotes (or you'll see +a confusing error). Between a flag and its argument, use = (or +nothing). Bad: + +assets depth:2 +-X USD + + Good: + +assets +depth:2 +-X=USD + + For special characters (see below), use one less level of quoting +than you would at the command prompt. Bad: + +-X"$" + + Good: + +-X$ + + See also: Save frequently used options. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Queries, Next: Special characters in arguments and queries, Prev: Command arguments, Up: OPTIONS + +2.4 Queries +=========== + +One of hledger's strengths is being able to quickly report on precise +subsets of your data. Most commands accept an optional query +expression, written as arguments after the command name, to filter the +data by date, account name or other criteria. The syntax is similar to +a web search: one or more space-separated search terms, quotes to +enclose whitespace, prefixes to match specific fields, a not: prefix to +negate the match. + + We do not yet support arbitrary boolean combinations of search terms; +instead most commands show transactions/postings/accounts which match +(or negatively match): + + * any of the description terms AND + * any of the account terms AND + * any of the status terms AND + * all the other terms. + + The print command instead shows transactions which: + + * match any of the description terms AND + * have any postings matching any of the positive account terms AND + * have no postings matching any of the negative account terms AND + * match all the other terms. + + The following kinds of search terms can be used. Remember these can +also be prefixed with *'not:'*, eg to exclude a particular subaccount. + +*'REGEX', 'acct:REGEX'* + + match account names by this regular expression. (With no prefix, + 'acct:' is assumed.) same as above + +*'amt:N, amt:N, amt:>=N'* + + match postings with a single-commodity amount that is equal to, + less than, or greater than N. (Multi-commodity amounts are not + tested, and will always match.) The comparison has two modes: if N + is preceded by a + or - sign (or is 0), the two signed numbers are + compared. Otherwise, the absolute magnitudes are compared, + ignoring sign. +*'code:REGEX'* + + match by transaction code (eg check number) +*'cur:REGEX'* + + match postings or transactions including any amounts whose + currency/commodity symbol is fully matched by REGEX. (For a partial + match, use '.*REGEX.*'). Note, to match characters which are + regex-significant, like the dollar sign ('$'), you need to prepend + '\'. And when using the command line you need to add one more + level of quoting to hide it from the shell, so eg do: 'hledger + print cur:'\$'' or 'hledger print cur:\\$'. +*'desc:REGEX'* + + match transaction descriptions. +*'date:PERIODEXPR'* + + match dates within the specified period. PERIODEXPR is a period + expression (with no report interval). Examples: 'date:2016', + 'date:thismonth', 'date:2000/2/1-2/15', 'date:lastweek-'. If the + '--date2' command line flag is present, this matches secondary + dates instead. +*'date2:PERIODEXPR'* + + match secondary dates within the specified period. +*'depth:N'* + + match (or display, depending on command) accounts at or above this + depth +*'note:REGEX'* + + match transaction notes (part of description right of '|', or whole + description when there's no '|') +*'payee:REGEX'* + + match transaction payee/payer names (part of description left of + '|', or whole description when there's no '|') +*'real:, real:0'* + + match real or virtual postings respectively +*'status:, status:!, status:*'* + + match unmarked, pending, or cleared transactions respectively +*'tag:REGEX[=REGEX]'* + + match by tag name, and optionally also by tag value. Note a tag: + query is considered to match a transaction if it matches any of the + postings. Also remember that postings inherit the tags of their + parent transaction. + + The following special search term is used automatically in +hledger-web, only: + +*'inacct:ACCTNAME'* + + tells hledger-web to show the transaction register for this + account. Can be filtered further with 'acct' etc. + + Some of these can also be expressed as command-line options (eg +'depth:2' is equivalent to '--depth 2'). Generally you can mix options +and query arguments, and the resulting query will be their intersection +(perhaps excluding the '-p/--period' option). + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Special characters in arguments and queries, Next: Unicode characters, Prev: Queries, Up: OPTIONS + +2.5 Special characters in arguments and queries +=============================================== + +In shell command lines, option and argument values which contain +"problematic" characters, ie spaces, and also characters significant to +your shell such as '<', '>', '(', ')', '|' and '$', should be escaped by +enclosing them in quotes or by writing backslashes before the +characters. Eg: + + 'hledger register -p 'last year' "accounts receivable +(receivable|payable)" amt:\>100'. + +* Menu: + +* More escaping:: +* Even more escaping:: +* Less escaping:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: More escaping, Next: Even more escaping, Up: Special characters in arguments and queries + +2.5.1 More escaping +------------------- + +Characters significant both to the shell and in regular expressions may +need one extra level of escaping. These include parentheses, the pipe +symbol and the dollar sign. Eg, to match the dollar symbol, bash users +should do: + + 'hledger balance cur:'\$'' + + or: + + 'hledger balance cur:\\$' + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Even more escaping, Next: Less escaping, Prev: More escaping, Up: Special characters in arguments and queries + +2.5.2 Even more escaping +------------------------ + +When hledger runs an add-on executable (eg you type 'hledger ui', +hledger runs 'hledger-ui'), it de-escapes command-line options and +arguments once, so you might need to _triple_-escape. Eg in bash, +running the ui command and matching the dollar sign, it's: + + 'hledger ui cur:'\\$'' + + or: + + 'hledger ui cur:\\\\$' + + If you asked why _four_ slashes above, this may help: + +unescaped: '$' +escaped: '\$' +double-escaped: '\\$' +triple-escaped: '\\\\$' + + (The number of backslashes in fish shell is left as an exercise for +the reader.) + + You can always avoid the extra escaping for add-ons by running the +add-on directly: + + 'hledger-ui cur:\\$' + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Less escaping, Prev: Even more escaping, Up: Special characters in arguments and queries + +2.5.3 Less escaping +------------------- + +Inside an argument file, or in the search field of hledger-ui or +hledger-web, or at a GHCI prompt, you need one less level of escaping +than at the command line. And backslashes may work better than quotes. +Eg: + + 'ghci> :main balance cur:\$' + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Unicode characters, Next: Input files, Prev: Special characters in arguments and queries, Up: OPTIONS + +2.6 Unicode characters +====================== + +hledger is expected to handle non-ascii characters correctly: + + * they should be parsed correctly in input files and on the command + line, by all hledger tools (add, iadd, hledger-web's + search/add/edit forms, etc.) + + * they should be displayed correctly by all hledger tools, and + on-screen alignment should be preserved. + + This requires a well-configured environment. Here are some tips: + + * A system locale must be configured, and it must be one that can + decode the characters being used. In bash, you can set a locale + like this: 'export LANG=en_US.UTF-8'. There are some more details + in Troubleshooting. This step is essential - without it, hledger + will quit on encountering a non-ascii character (as with all + GHC-compiled programs). + + * your terminal software (eg Terminal.app, iTerm, CMD.exe, xterm..) + must support unicode + + * the terminal must be using a font which includes the required + unicode glyphs + + * the terminal should be configured to display wide characters as + double width (for report alignment) + + * on Windows, for best results you should run hledger in the same + kind of environment in which it was built. Eg hledger built in the + standard CMD.EXE environment (like the binaries on our download + page) might show display problems when run in a cygwin or msys + terminal, and vice versa. (See eg #961). + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Input files, Next: Strict mode, Prev: Unicode characters, Up: OPTIONS + +2.7 Input files +=============== + +hledger reads transactions from a data file (and the add command writes +to it). By default this file is '$HOME/.hledger.journal' (or on +Windows, something like 'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). You can +override this with the '$LEDGER_FILE' environment variable: + +$ setenv LEDGER_FILE ~/finance/2016.journal +$ hledger stats + + or with the '-f/--file' option: + +$ hledger -f /some/file stats + + The file name '-' (hyphen) means standard input: + +$ cat some.journal | hledger -f- + + Usually the data file is in hledger's journal format, but it can be +in any of the supported file formats, which currently are: + +Reader: Reads: Used for file + extensions: +-------------------------------------------------------------------------- +'journal'hledger journal files and some Ledger '.journal' '.j' + journals, for transactions '.hledger' '.ledger' +'timeclock'timeclock files, for precise time '.timeclock' + logging +'timedot'timedot files, for approximate time '.timedot' + logging +'csv' comma/semicolon/tab/other-separated '.csv' '.ssv' '.tsv' + values, for data import + + hledger detects the format automatically based on the file extensions +shown above. If it can't recognise the file extension, it assumes +'journal' format. So for non-journal files, it's important to use a +recognised file extension, so as to either read successfully or to show +relevant error messages. + + When you can't ensure the right file extension, not to worry: you can +force a specific reader/format by prefixing the file path with the +format and a colon. Eg to read a .dat file as csv: + +$ hledger -f csv:/some/csv-file.dat stats +$ echo 'i 2009/13/1 08:00:00' | hledger print -ftimeclock:- + + You can specify multiple '-f' options, to read multiple files as one +big journal. There are some limitations with this: + + * directives in one file will not affect the other files + * balance assertions will not see any account balances from previous + files + + If you need either of those things, you can + + * use a single parent file which includes the others + * or concatenate the files into one before reading, eg: 'cat + a.journal b.journal | hledger -f- CMD'. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Strict mode, Next: Output destination, Prev: Input files, Up: OPTIONS + +2.8 Strict mode +=============== + +hledger checks input files for valid data. By default, the most +important errors are detected, while still accepting easy journal files +without a lot of declarations: + + * Are the input files parseable, with valid syntax ? + * Are all transactions balanced ? + * Do all balance assertions pass ? + + With the '-s'/'--strict' flag, additional checks are performed: + + * Are all accounts posted to, declared with an 'account' directive ? + (Account error checking) + * Are all commodities declared with a 'commodity' directive ? + (Commodity error checking) + + See also: https://hledger.org/checking-for-errors.html + + _experimental._ + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Output destination, Next: Output format, Prev: Strict mode, Up: OPTIONS + +2.9 Output destination +====================== + +hledger commands send their output to the terminal by default. You can +of course redirect this, eg into a file, using standard shell syntax: + +$ hledger print > foo.txt + + Some commands (print, register, stats, the balance commands) also +provide the '-o/--output-file' option, which does the same thing without +needing the shell. Eg: + +$ hledger print -o foo.txt +$ hledger print -o - # write to stdout (the default) + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Output format, Next: Regular expressions, Prev: Output destination, Up: OPTIONS + +2.10 Output format +================== + +Some commands (print, register, the balance commands) offer a choice of +output format. In addition to the usual plain text format ('txt'), +there are CSV ('csv'), HTML ('html'), JSON ('json') and SQL ('sql'). +This is controlled by the '-O/--output-format' option: + +$ hledger print -O csv + + or, by a file extension specified with '-o/--output-file': + +$ hledger balancesheet -o foo.html # write HTML to foo.html + + The '-O' option can be used to override the file extension if needed: + +$ hledger balancesheet -o foo.txt -O html # write HTML to foo.txt + + Some notes about JSON output: + + * This feature is marked experimental, and not yet much used; you + should expect our JSON to evolve. Real-world feedback is welcome. + + * Our JSON is rather large and verbose, as it is quite a faithful + representation of hledger's internal data types. To understand the + JSON, read the Haskell type definitions, which are mostly in + https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/blob/master/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Types.hs. + + * hledger represents quantities as Decimal values storing up to 255 + significant digits, eg for repeating decimals. Such numbers can + arise in practice (from automatically-calculated transaction + prices), and would break most JSON consumers. So in JSON, we show + quantities as simple Numbers with at most 10 decimal places. We + don't limit the number of integer digits, but that part is under + your control. We hope this approach will not cause problems in + practice; if you find otherwise, please let us know. (Cf #1195) + + Notes about SQL output: + + * SQL output is also marked experimental, and much like JSON could + use real-world feedback. + + * SQL output is expected to work with sqlite, MySQL and PostgreSQL + + * SQL output is structured with the expectations that statements will + be executed in the empty database. If you already have tables + created via SQL output of hledger, you would probably want to + either clear tables of existing data (via 'delete' or 'truncate' + SQL statements) or drop tables completely as otherwise your + postings will be duped. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Regular expressions, Next: Smart dates, Prev: Output format, Up: OPTIONS + +2.11 Regular expressions +======================== + +hledger uses regular expressions in a number of places: + + * query terms, on the command line and in the hledger-web search + form: 'REGEX', 'desc:REGEX', 'cur:REGEX', 'tag:...=REGEX' + * CSV rules conditional blocks: 'if REGEX ...' + * account alias directives and options: 'alias /REGEX/ = + REPLACEMENT', '--alias /REGEX/=REPLACEMENT' + + hledger's regular expressions come from the regex-tdfa library. If +they're not doing what you expect, it's important to know exactly what +they support: + + 1. they are case insensitive + 2. they are infix matching (they do not need to match the entire thing + being matched) + 3. they are POSIX ERE (extended regular expressions) + 4. they also support GNU word boundaries ('\b', '\B', '\<', '\>') + 5. they do not support backreferences; if you write '\1', it will + match the digit '1'. Except when doing text replacement, eg in + account aliases, where backreferences can be used in the + replacement string to reference capturing groups in the search + regexp. + 6. they do not support mode modifiers ('(?s)'), character classes + ('\w', '\d'), or anything else not mentioned above. + + Some things to note: + + * In the 'alias' directive and '--alias' option, regular expressions + must be enclosed in forward slashes ('/REGEX/'). Elsewhere in + hledger, these are not required. + + * In queries, to match a regular expression metacharacter like '$' as + a literal character, prepend a backslash. Eg to search for amounts + with the dollar sign in hledger-web, write 'cur:\$'. + + * On the command line, some metacharacters like '$' have a special + meaning to the shell and so must be escaped at least once more. + See Special characters. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Smart dates, Next: Report start & end date, Prev: Regular expressions, Up: OPTIONS + +2.12 Smart dates +================ + +hledger's user interfaces accept a flexible "smart date" syntax (unlike +dates in the journal file). Smart dates allow some english words, can +be relative to today's date, and can have less-significant date parts +omitted (defaulting to 1). + + Examples: + +'2004/10/1', exact date, several separators allowed. Year +'2004-01-01', is 4+ digits, month is 1-12, day is 1-31 +'2004.9.1' +'2004' start of year +'2004/10' start of month +'10/1' month and day in current year +'21' day in current month +'october, oct' start of month in current year +'yesterday, today, -1, 0, 1 days from today +tomorrow' +'last/this/next -1, 0, 1 periods from the current period +day/week/month/quarter/year' +'20181201' 8 digit YYYYMMDD with valid year month and + day +'201812' 6 digit YYYYMM with valid year and month + + Counterexamples - malformed digit sequences might give surprising +results: + +'201813' 6 digits with an invalid month is parsed as start of + 6-digit year +'20181301' 8 digits with an invalid month is parsed as start of + 8-digit year +'20181232' 8 digits with an invalid day gives an error +'201801012' 9+ digits beginning with a valid YYYYMMDD gives an error + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Report start & end date, Next: Report intervals, Prev: Smart dates, Up: OPTIONS + +2.13 Report start & end date +============================ + +Most hledger reports show the full span of time represented by the +journal data, by default. So, the effective report start and end dates +will be the earliest and latest transaction or posting dates found in +the journal. + + Often you will want to see a shorter time span, such as the current +month. You can specify a start and/or end date using '-b/--begin', +'-e/--end', '-p/--period' or a 'date:' query (described below). All of +these accept the smart date syntax. + + Some notes: + + * As in Ledger, end dates are exclusive, so you need to write the + date _after_ the last day you want to include. + * As noted in reporting options: among start/end dates specified with + _options_, the last (i.e. right-most) option takes precedence. + * The effective report start and end dates are the intersection of + the start/end dates from options and that from 'date:' queries. + That is, 'date:2019-01 date:2019 -p'2000 to 2030'' yields January + 2019, the smallest common time span. + + Examples: + +'-b begin on St. Patrick's day 2016 +2016/3/17' +'-e 12/1' end at the start of december 1st of the current year + (11/30 will be the last date included) +'-b all transactions on or after the 1st of the current month +thismonth' +'-p all transactions in the current month +thismonth' +'date:2016/3/17..'the above written as queries instead ('..' can also be + replaced with '-') +'date:..12/1' +'date:thismonth..' +'date:thismonth' + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Report intervals, Next: Period expressions, Prev: Report start & end date, Up: OPTIONS + +2.14 Report intervals +===================== + +A report interval can be specified so that commands like register, +balance and activity will divide their reports into multiple subperiods. +The basic intervals can be selected with one of '-D/--daily', +'-W/--weekly', '-M/--monthly', '-Q/--quarterly', or '-Y/--yearly'. More +complex intervals may be specified with a period expression. Report +intervals can not be specified with a query. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Period expressions, Next: Depth limiting, Prev: Report intervals, Up: OPTIONS + +2.15 Period expressions +======================= + +The '-p/--period' option accepts period expressions, a shorthand way of +expressing a start date, end date, and/or report interval all at once. + + Here's a basic period expression specifying the first quarter of +2009. Note, hledger always treats start dates as inclusive and end +dates as exclusive: + + '-p "from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1"' + + Keywords like "from" and "to" are optional, and so are the spaces, as +long as you don't run two dates together. "to" can also be written as +".." or "-". These are equivalent to the above: + +'-p "2009/1/1 2009/4/1"' +'-p2009/1/1to2009/4/1' +'-p2009/1/1..2009/4/1' + + Dates are smart dates, so if the current year is 2009, the above can +also be written as: + +'-p "1/1 4/1"' +'-p "january-apr"' +'-p "this year to 4/1"' + + If you specify only one date, the missing start or end date will be +the earliest or latest transaction in your journal: + +'-p "from 2009/1/1"' everything after january 1, 2009 +'-p "from 2009/1"' the same +'-p "from 2009"' the same +'-p "to 2009"' everything before january 1, 2009 + + A single date with no "from" or "to" defines both the start and end +date like so: + +'-p "2009"' the year 2009; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to + 2010/1/1” +'-p "2009/1"' the month of jan; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to + 2009/2/1” +'-p "2009/1/1"' just that day; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to + 2009/1/2” + + Or you can specify a single quarter like so: + +'-p "2009Q1"' first quarter of 2009, equivalent to “2009/1/1 to + 2009/4/1” +'-p "q4"' fourth quarter of the current year + + The argument of '-p' can also begin with, or be, a report interval +expression. The basic report intervals are 'daily', 'weekly', +'monthly', 'quarterly', or 'yearly', which have the same effect as the +'-D','-W','-M','-Q', or '-Y' flags. Between report interval and +start/end dates (if any), the word 'in' is optional. Examples: + +'-p "weekly from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1"' +'-p "monthly in 2008"' +'-p "quarterly"' + + Note that 'weekly', 'monthly', 'quarterly' and 'yearly' intervals +will always start on the first day on week, month, quarter or year +accordingly, and will end on the last day of same period, even if +associated period expression specifies different explicit start and end +date. + + For example: + +'-p "weekly from starts on 2008/12/29, closest preceding +2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1"' Monday +'-p "monthly in starts on 2018/11/01 +2008/11/25"' +'-p "quarterly from starts on 2009/04/01, ends on 2009/06/30, +2009-05-05 to which are first and last days of Q2 2009 +2009-06-01"' +'-p "yearly from starts on 2009/01/01, first day of 2009 +2009-12-29"' + + The following more complex report intervals are also supported: +'biweekly', 'fortnightly', 'bimonthly', 'every +day|week|month|quarter|year', 'every N +days|weeks|months|quarters|years'. + + All of these will start on the first day of the requested period and +end on the last one, as described above. + + Examples: + +'-p "bimonthly from periods will have boundaries on 2008/01/01, +2008"' 2008/03/01, ... +'-p "every 2 weeks"' starts on closest preceding Monday +'-p "every 5 month from periods will have boundaries on 2009/03/01, +2009/03"' 2009/08/01, ... + + If you want intervals that start on arbitrary day of your choosing +and span a week, month or year, you need to use any of the following: + + 'every Nth day of week', 'every WEEKDAYNAME' (eg +'mon|tue|wed|thu|fri|sat|sun'), 'every Nth day [of month]', 'every Nth +WEEKDAYNAME [of month]', 'every MM/DD [of year]', 'every Nth MMM [of +year]', 'every MMM Nth [of year]'. + + Examples: + +'-p "every 2nd day of periods will go from Tue to Tue +week"' +'-p "every Tue"' same +'-p "every 15th day"' period boundaries will be on 15th of each + month +'-p "every 2nd period boundaries will be on second Monday of +Monday"' each month +'-p "every 11/05"' yearly periods with boundaries on 5th of Nov +'-p "every 5th Nov"' same +'-p "every Nov 5th"' same + + Show historical balances at end of 15th each month (N is exclusive +end date): + + 'hledger balance -H -p "every 16th day"' + + Group postings from start of wednesday to end of next tuesday (N is +start date and exclusive end date): + + 'hledger register checking -p "every 3rd day of week"' + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Depth limiting, Next: Pivoting, Prev: Period expressions, Up: OPTIONS + +2.16 Depth limiting +=================== + +With the '--depth N' option (short form: '-N'), commands like account, +balance and register will show only the uppermost accounts in the +account tree, down to level N. Use this when you want a summary with +less detail. This flag has the same effect as a 'depth:' query argument +(so '-2', '--depth=2' or 'depth:2' are equivalent). + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Pivoting, Next: Valuation, Prev: Depth limiting, Up: OPTIONS + +2.17 Pivoting +============= + +Normally hledger sums amounts, and organizes them in a hierarchy, based +on account name. The '--pivot FIELD' option causes it to sum and +organize hierarchy based on the value of some other field instead. +FIELD can be: 'code', 'description', 'payee', 'note', or the full name +(case insensitive) of any tag. As with account names, values containing +'colon:separated:parts' will be displayed hierarchically in reports. + + '--pivot' is a general option affecting all reports; you can think of +hledger transforming the journal before any other processing, replacing +every posting's account name with the value of the specified field on +that posting, inheriting it from the transaction or using a blank value +if it's not present. + + An example: + +2016/02/16 Member Fee Payment + assets:bank account 2 EUR + income:member fees -2 EUR ; member: John Doe + + Normal balance report showing account names: + +$ hledger balance + 2 EUR assets:bank account + -2 EUR income:member fees +-------------------- + 0 + + Pivoted balance report, using member: tag values instead: + +$ hledger balance --pivot member + 2 EUR + -2 EUR John Doe +-------------------- + 0 + + One way to show only amounts with a member: value (using a query, +described below): + +$ hledger balance --pivot member tag:member=. + -2 EUR John Doe +-------------------- + -2 EUR + + Another way (the acct: query matches against the pivoted "account +name"): + +$ hledger balance --pivot member acct:. + -2 EUR John Doe +-------------------- + -2 EUR + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Valuation, Prev: Pivoting, Up: OPTIONS + +2.18 Valuation +============== + +Instead of reporting amounts in their original commodity, hledger can +convert them to cost/sale amount (using the conversion rate recorded in +the transaction), or to market value (using some market price on a +certain date). This is controlled by the '--value=TYPE[,COMMODITY]' +option, but we also provide the simpler '-B'/'-V'/'-X' flags, and +usually one of those is all you need. + +* Menu: + +* -B Cost:: +* -V Value:: +* -X Value in specified commodity:: +* Valuation date:: +* Market prices:: +* --infer-value market prices from transactions:: +* Valuation commodity:: +* Simple valuation examples:: +* --value Flexible valuation:: +* More valuation examples:: +* Effect of valuation on reports:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: -B Cost, Next: -V Value, Up: Valuation + +2.18.1 -B: Cost +--------------- + +The '-B/--cost' flag converts amounts to their cost or sale amount at +transaction time, if they have a transaction price specified. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: -V Value, Next: -X Value in specified commodity, Prev: -B Cost, Up: Valuation + +2.18.2 -V: Value +---------------- + +The '-V/--market' flag converts amounts to market value in their default +_valuation commodity_, using the market prices in effect on the +_valuation date(s)_, if any. More on these in a minute. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: -X Value in specified commodity, Next: Valuation date, Prev: -V Value, Up: Valuation + +2.18.3 -X: Value in specified commodity +--------------------------------------- + +The '-X/--exchange=COMM' option is like '-V', except you tell it which +currency you want to convert to, and it tries to convert everything to +that. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Valuation date, Next: Market prices, Prev: -X Value in specified commodity, Up: Valuation + +2.18.4 Valuation date +--------------------- + +Since market prices can change from day to day, market value reports +have a valuation date (or more than one), which determines which market +prices will be used. + + For single period reports, if an explicit report end date is +specified, that will be used as the valuation date; otherwise the +valuation date is "today". + + For multiperiod reports, each column/period is valued on the last day +of the period, by default. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Market prices, Next: --infer-value market prices from transactions, Prev: Valuation date, Up: Valuation + +2.18.5 Market prices +-------------------- + +_(experimental)_ + + To convert a commodity A to its market value in another commodity B, +hledger looks for a suitable market price (exchange rate) as follows, in +this order of preference : + + 1. A _declared market price_ or _inferred market price_: A's latest + market price in B on or before the valuation date as declared by a + P directive, or (with the '--infer-value' flag) inferred from + transaction prices. + + 2. A _reverse market price_: the inverse of a declared or inferred + market price from B to A. + + 3. A _a forward chain of market prices_: a synthetic price formed by + combining the shortest chain of "forward" (only 1 above) market + prices, leading from A to B. + + 4. A _any chain of market prices_: a chain of any market prices, + including both forward and reverse prices (1 and 2 above), leading + from A to B. + + Amounts for which no applicable market price can be found, are not +converted. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: --infer-value market prices from transactions, Next: Valuation commodity, Prev: Market prices, Up: Valuation + +2.18.6 -infer-value: market prices from transactions +---------------------------------------------------- + +_(experimental)_ + + Normally, market value in hledger is fully controlled by, and +requires, P directives in your journal. Since adding and updating those +can be a chore, and since transactions usually take place at close to +market value, why not use the recorded transaction prices as additional +market prices (as Ledger does) ? We could produce value reports without +needing P directives at all. + + Adding the '--infer-value' flag to '-V', '-X' or '--value' enables +this. So for example, 'hledger bs -V --infer-value' will get market +prices both from P directives and from transactions. + + There is a downside: value reports can sometimes be affected in +confusing/undesired ways by your journal entries. If this happens to +you, read all of this Valuation section carefully, and try adding +'--debug' or '--debug=2' to troubleshoot. + + '--infer-value' can infer market prices from: + + * multicommodity transactions with explicit prices ('@'/'@@') + + * multicommodity transactions with implicit prices (no '@', two + commodities, unbalanced). (With these, the order of postings + matters. 'hledger print -x' can be useful for troubleshooting.) + + * but not, currently, from "more correct" multicommodity transactions + (no '@', multiple commodities, balanced). + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Valuation commodity, Next: Simple valuation examples, Prev: --infer-value market prices from transactions, Up: Valuation + +2.18.7 Valuation commodity +-------------------------- + +_(experimental)_ + + *When you specify a valuation commodity ('-X COMM' or '--value +TYPE,COMM'):* +hledger will convert all amounts to COMM, wherever it can find a +suitable market price (including by reversing or chaining prices). + + *When you leave the valuation commodity unspecified ('-V' or '--value +TYPE'):* +For each commodity A, hledger picks a default valuation commodity as +follows, in this order of preference: + + 1. The price commodity from the latest P-declared market price for A + on or before valuation date. + + 2. The price commodity from the latest P-declared market price for A + on any date. (Allows conversion to proceed when there are inferred + prices before the valuation date.) + + 3. If there are no P directives at all (any commodity or date) and the + '--infer-value' flag is used: the price commodity from the latest + transaction-inferred price for A on or before valuation date. + + This means: + + * If you have P directives, they determine which commodities '-V' + will convert, and to what. + + * If you have no P directives, and use the '--infer-value' flag, + transaction prices determine it. + + Amounts for which no valuation commodity can be found are not +converted. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Simple valuation examples, Next: --value Flexible valuation, Prev: Valuation commodity, Up: Valuation + +2.18.8 Simple valuation examples +-------------------------------- + +Here are some quick examples of '-V': + +; one euro is worth this many dollars from nov 1 +P 2016/11/01 € $1.10 + +; purchase some euros on nov 3 +2016/11/3 + assets:euros €100 + assets:checking + +; the euro is worth fewer dollars by dec 21 +P 2016/12/21 € $1.03 + + How many euros do I have ? + +$ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros + €100 assets:euros + + What are they worth at end of nov 3 ? + +$ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros -V -e 2016/11/4 + $110.00 assets:euros + + What are they worth after 2016/12/21 ? (no report end date +specified, defaults to today) + +$ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros -V + $103.00 assets:euros + + +File: hledger.info, Node: --value Flexible valuation, Next: More valuation examples, Prev: Simple valuation examples, Up: Valuation + +2.18.9 -value: Flexible valuation +--------------------------------- + +'-B', '-V' and '-X' are special cases of the more general '--value' +option: + + --value=TYPE[,COMM] TYPE is cost, then, end, now or YYYY-MM-DD. + COMM is an optional commodity symbol. + Shows amounts converted to: + - cost commodity using transaction prices (then optionally to COMM using market prices at period end(s)) + - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at posting dates + - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at period end(s) + - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using current market prices + - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at some date + + The TYPE part selects cost or value and valuation date: + +'--value=cost' + + Convert amounts to cost, using the prices recorded in transactions. +'--value=then' + + Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commodity, + using market prices on each posting's date. This is currently + supported only by the print and register commands. +'--value=end' + + Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commodity, + using market prices on the last day of the report period (or if + unspecified, the journal's end date); or in multiperiod reports, + market prices on the last day of each subperiod. +'--value=now' + + Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commodity + using current market prices (as of when report is generated). +'--value=YYYY-MM-DD' + + Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commodity + using market prices on this date. + + To select a different valuation commodity, add the optional ',COMM' +part: a comma, then the target commodity's symbol. Eg: +*'--value=now,EUR'*. hledger will do its best to convert amounts to +this commodity, deducing market prices as described above. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: More valuation examples, Next: Effect of valuation on reports, Prev: --value Flexible valuation, Up: Valuation + +2.18.10 More valuation examples +------------------------------- + +Here are some examples showing the effect of '--value', as seen with +'print': + +P 2000-01-01 A 1 B +P 2000-02-01 A 2 B +P 2000-03-01 A 3 B +P 2000-04-01 A 4 B + +2000-01-01 + (a) 1 A @ 5 B + +2000-02-01 + (a) 1 A @ 6 B + +2000-03-01 + (a) 1 A @ 7 B + + Show the cost of each posting: + +$ hledger -f- print --value=cost +2000-01-01 + (a) 5 B + +2000-02-01 + (a) 6 B + +2000-03-01 + (a) 7 B + + Show the value as of the last day of the report period (2000-02-29): + +$ hledger -f- print --value=end date:2000/01-2000/03 +2000-01-01 + (a) 2 B + +2000-02-01 + (a) 2 B + + With no report period specified, that shows the value as of the last +day of the journal (2000-03-01): + +$ hledger -f- print --value=end +2000-01-01 + (a) 3 B + +2000-02-01 + (a) 3 B + +2000-03-01 + (a) 3 B + + Show the current value (the 2000-04-01 price is still in effect +today): + +$ hledger -f- print --value=now +2000-01-01 + (a) 4 B + +2000-02-01 + (a) 4 B + +2000-03-01 + (a) 4 B + + Show the value on 2000/01/15: + +$ hledger -f- print --value=2000-01-15 +2000-01-01 + (a) 1 B + +2000-02-01 + (a) 1 B + +2000-03-01 + (a) 1 B + + You may need to explicitly set a commodity's display style, when +reverse prices are used. Eg this output might be surprising: + +P 2000-01-01 A 2B + +2000-01-01 + a 1B + b + +$ hledger print -x -X A +2000-01-01 + a 0 + b 0 + + Explanation: because there's no amount or commodity directive +specifying a display style for A, 0.5A gets the default style, which +shows no decimal digits. Because the displayed amount looks like zero, +the commodity symbol and minus sign are not displayed either. Adding a +commodity directive sets a more useful display style for A: + +P 2000-01-01 A 2B +commodity 0.00A + +2000-01-01 + a 1B + b + +$ hledger print -X A +2000-01-01 + a 0.50A + b -0.50A + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Effect of valuation on reports, Prev: More valuation examples, Up: Valuation + +2.18.11 Effect of valuation on reports +-------------------------------------- + +Here is a reference for how valuation is supposed to affect each part of +hledger's reports (and a glossary). (It's wide, you'll have to scroll +sideways.) It may be useful when troubleshooting. If you find +problems, please report them, ideally with a reproducible example. +Related: #329, #1083. + +Report '-B', '-V', '-X' '--value=then''--value=end' '--value=DATE', +type '--value=cost' '--value=now' +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- +*print* +posting cost value at value at value at value +amounts report end posting report or at + or today date journal end DATE/today +balance unchanged unchanged unchanged unchanged unchanged +assertions/assignments +*register* +starting cost value at day not value at day value +balance before supported before at +(-H) report or report or DATE/today + journal journal + start start +posting cost value at value at value at value +amounts report end posting report or at + or today date journal end DATE/today +summary summarised value at sum of value at value +posting cost period ends postings period ends at +amounts in DATE/today +with interval, +report valued at +interval interval + start +running sum/average sum/average sum/average sum/average sum/average +total/averageof displayed of displayed of of displayed of + values values displayed values displayed + values values +*balance +(bs, bse, +cf, is)* +balance sums of value at not value at value +changes costs report end supported report or at + or today of journal end DATE/today + sums of of sums of of sums + postings postings of + postings +budget like balance like balance not like like +amounts changes changes supported balances balance +(-budget) changes +grand sum of sum of not sum of sum of +total displayed displayed supported displayed displayed + values values values values +*balance +(bs, bse, +cf, is) +with +report +interval* +starting sums of value at not value at sums of +balances costs of report start supported report start postings +(-H) postings of sums of of sums of before + before all postings all postings report + report start before before start + report start report start +balance sums of same as not balance value +changes costs of -value=end supported change in at +(bal, is, postings in each period, DATE/today +bs period valued at of sums +-change, period ends of +cf postings +-change) +end sums of same as not period end value +balances costs of -value=end supported balances, at +(bal -H, postings valued at DATE/today +is -H, from before period ends of sums +bs, cf) report start of + to period postings + end +budget like balance like balance not like like +amounts changes/end changes/end supported balances balance +(-budget) balances balances changes/end + balances +row sums, sums, not sums, sums, +totals, averages of averages of supported averages of averages +row displayed displayed displayed of +averages values values values displayed +(-T, -A) values +column sums of sums of not sums of sums of +totals displayed displayed supported displayed displayed + values values values values +grand sum, average sum, average not sum, average sum, +total, of column of column supported of column average +grand totals totals totals of +average column + totals + + '--cumulative' is omitted to save space, it works like '-H' but with +a zero starting balance. + + *Glossary:* + +_cost_ + + calculated using price(s) recorded in the transaction(s). +_value_ + + market value using available market price declarations, or the + unchanged amount if no conversion rate can be found. +_report start_ + + the first day of the report period specified with -b or -p or + date:, otherwise today. +_report or journal start_ + + the first day of the report period specified with -b or -p or + date:, otherwise the earliest transaction date in the journal, + otherwise today. +_report end_ + + the last day of the report period specified with -e or -p or date:, + otherwise today. +_report or journal end_ + + the last day of the report period specified with -e or -p or date:, + otherwise the latest transaction date in the journal, otherwise + today. +_report interval_ + + a flag (-D/-W/-M/-Q/-Y) or period expression that activates the + report's multi-period mode (whether showing one or many + subperiods). + + +File: hledger.info, Node: COMMANDS, Next: ENVIRONMENT, Prev: OPTIONS, Up: Top + +3 COMMANDS +********** + +hledger provides a number of commands for producing reports and managing +your data. Run 'hledger' with no arguments to list the commands +available. + + To run a command, write its name (or its abbreviation shown in the +commands list, or any unambiguous prefix of the name) as hledger's first +argument. Eg: 'hledger balance' or 'hledger bal'. + + Here are the built-in commands: + + *Data entry (these modify the journal file):* + + * add - add transactions using guided prompts + * import - add any new transactions from other files (eg csv) + + *Data management*: + + * check - check for various kinds of issue in the data + * close (equity) - generate balance-resetting transactions + * diff - compare account transactions in two journal files + * rewrite - generate extra postings, similar to print -auto + + *Financial statements:* + + * aregister (areg) - show transactions in a particular account + * balancesheet (bs) - show assets, liabilities and net worth + * balancesheetequity (bse) - show assets, liabilities and equity + * cashflow (cf) - show changes in liquid assets + * incomestatement (is) - show revenues and expenses + * roi - show return on investments + + *Miscellaneous reports:* + + * accounts (a) - show account names + * activity - show postings-per-interval bar charts + * balance (b, bal) - show balance changes/end balances/budgets in + accounts + * codes - show transaction codes + * commodities - show commodity/currency symbols + * descriptions - show unique transaction descriptions + * files - show input file paths + * notes - show unique note segments of transaction descriptions + * payees - show unique payee segments of transaction descriptions + * prices - show market price records + * print (p, txns) - show transactions (journal entries) + * print-unique - show only transactions with unique descriptions + * register (r, reg) - show postings in one or more accounts & running + total + * register-match - show a recent posting that best matches a + description + * stats - show journal statistics + * tags - show tag names + * test - run self tests + + Next, the detailed command docs, in alphabetical order. + +* Menu: + +* accounts:: +* activity:: +* add:: +* aregister:: +* balance:: +* balancesheet:: +* balancesheetequity:: +* cashflow:: +* check:: +* close:: +* codes:: +* commodities:: +* descriptions:: +* diff:: +* files:: +* help:: +* import:: +* incomestatement:: +* notes:: +* rewrite:: +* roi:: +* stats:: +* tags:: +* test:: +* Add-on commands:: +* Add-on command flags:: +* Making add-on commands:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: accounts, Next: activity, Up: COMMANDS + +3.1 accounts +============ + +accounts, a +Show account names. + + This command lists account names, either declared with account +directives (-declared), posted to (-used), or both (the default). With +query arguments, only matched account names and account names referenced +by matched postings are shown. It shows a flat list by default. With +'--tree', it uses indentation to show the account hierarchy. In flat +mode you can add '--drop N' to omit the first few account name +components. Account names can be depth-clipped with 'depth:N' or +'--depth N' or '-N'. + + Examples: + +$ hledger accounts +assets:bank:checking +assets:bank:saving +assets:cash +expenses:food +expenses:supplies +income:gifts +income:salary +liabilities:debts + + +File: hledger.info, Node: activity, Next: add, Prev: accounts, Up: COMMANDS + +3.2 activity +============ + +activity +Show an ascii barchart of posting counts per interval. + + The activity command displays an ascii histogram showing transaction +counts by day, week, month or other reporting interval (by day is the +default). With query arguments, it counts only matched transactions. + + Examples: + +$ hledger activity --quarterly +2008-01-01 ** +2008-04-01 ******* +2008-07-01 +2008-10-01 ** + + +File: hledger.info, Node: add, Next: aregister, Prev: activity, Up: COMMANDS + +3.3 add +======= + +add +Prompt for transactions and add them to the journal. Any arguments will +be used as default inputs for the first N prompts. + + Many hledger users edit their journals directly with a text editor, +or generate them from CSV. For more interactive data entry, there is the +'add' command, which prompts interactively on the console for new +transactions, and appends them to the journal file (if there are +multiple '-f FILE' options, the first file is used.) Existing +transactions are not changed. This is the only hledger command that +writes to the journal file. + + To use it, just run 'hledger add' and follow the prompts. You can +add as many transactions as you like; when you are finished, enter '.' +or press control-d or control-c to exit. + + Features: + + * add tries to provide useful defaults, using the most similar (by + description) recent transaction (filtered by the query, if any) as + a template. + * You can also set the initial defaults with command line arguments. + * Readline-style edit keys can be used during data entry. + * The tab key will auto-complete whenever possible - accounts, + descriptions, dates ('yesterday', 'today', 'tomorrow'). If the + input area is empty, it will insert the default value. + * If the journal defines a default commodity, it will be added to any + bare numbers entered. + * A parenthesised transaction code may be entered following a date. + * Comments and tags may be entered following a description or amount. + * If you make a mistake, enter '<' at any prompt to go one step + backward. + * Input prompts are displayed in a different colour when the terminal + supports it. + + Example (see the tutorial for a detailed explanation): + +$ hledger add +Adding transactions to journal file /src/hledger/examples/sample.journal +Any command line arguments will be used as defaults. +Use tab key to complete, readline keys to edit, enter to accept defaults. +An optional (CODE) may follow transaction dates. +An optional ; COMMENT may follow descriptions or amounts. +If you make a mistake, enter < at any prompt to go one step backward. +To end a transaction, enter . when prompted. +To quit, enter . at a date prompt or press control-d or control-c. +Date [2015/05/22]: +Description: supermarket +Account 1: expenses:food +Amount 1: $10 +Account 2: assets:checking +Amount 2 [$-10.0]: +Account 3 (or . or enter to finish this transaction): . +2015/05/22 supermarket + expenses:food $10 + assets:checking $-10.0 + +Save this transaction to the journal ? [y]: +Saved. +Starting the next transaction (. or ctrl-D/ctrl-C to quit) +Date [2015/05/22]: $ + + On Microsoft Windows, the add command makes sure that no part of the +file path ends with a period, as that would cause problems (#1056). + + +File: hledger.info, Node: aregister, Next: balance, Prev: add, Up: COMMANDS + +3.4 aregister +============= + +aregister, areg +Show transactions affecting a particular account, and the account's +running balance. + + 'aregister' shows the transactions affecting a particular account +(and its subaccounts), from the point of view of that account. Each +line shows: + + * the transaction's (or posting's, see below) date + * the names of the other account(s) involved + * the net change to this account's balance + * the account's historical running balance (including balance from + transactions before the report start date). + + With 'aregister', each line represents a whole transaction - as in +hledger-ui, hledger-web, and your bank statement. By contrast, the +'register' command shows individual postings, across all accounts. You +might prefer 'aregister' for reconciling with real-world asset/liability +accounts, and 'register' for reviewing detailed revenues/expenses. + + An account must be specified as the first argument, which should be +the full account name or an account pattern (regular expression). +aregister will show transactions in this account (the first one matched) +and any of its subaccounts. + + Any additional arguments form a query which will filter the +transactions shown. + + Transactions making a net change of zero are not shown by default; +add the '-E/--empty' flag to show them. + + This command also supports the output destination and output format +options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', and 'json'. + +* Menu: + +* aregister and custom posting dates:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: aregister and custom posting dates, Up: aregister + +3.4.1 aregister and custom posting dates +---------------------------------------- + +Transactions whose date is outside the report period can still be shown, +if they have a posting to this account dated inside the report period. +(And in this case it's the posting date that is shown.) This ensures +that 'aregister' can show an accurate historical running balance, +matching the one shown by 'register -H' with the same arguments. + + To filter strictly by transaction date instead, add the '--txn-dates' +flag. If you use this flag and some of your postings have custom dates, +it's probably best to assume the running balance is wrong. + + Examples: + + Show all transactions and historical running balance in the first +account whose name contains "checking": + +$ hledger areg checking + + Show transactions and historical running balance in all asset +accounts during july: + +$ hledger areg assets date:jul + + +File: hledger.info, Node: balance, Next: balancesheet, Prev: aregister, Up: COMMANDS + +3.5 balance +=========== + +balance, bal, b +Show accounts and their balances. + + The balance command is hledger's most versatile command. Note, +despite the name, it is not always used for showing real-world account +balances; the more accounting-aware balancesheet and incomestatement may +be more convenient for that. + + By default, it displays all accounts, and each account's change in +balance during the entire period of the journal. Balance changes are +calculated by adding up the postings in each account. You can limit the +postings matched, by a query, to see fewer accounts, changes over a +different time period, changes from only cleared transactions, etc. + + If you include an account's complete history of postings in the +report, the balance change is equivalent to the account's current ending +balance. For a real-world account, typically you won't have all +transactions in the journal; instead you'll have all transactions after +a certain date, and an "opening balances" transaction setting the +correct starting balance on that date. Then the balance command will +show real-world account balances. In some cases the -H/-historical flag +is used to ensure this (more below). + + This command also supports the output destination and output format +options The output formats supported are (in most modes): 'txt', 'csv', +'html', and 'json'. + + The balance command can produce several styles of report: + +* Menu: + +* Classic balance report:: +* Customising the classic balance report:: +* Colour support:: +* Flat mode:: +* Depth limited balance reports:: +* Percentages:: +* Sorting by amount:: +* Multicolumn balance report:: +* Budget report:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Classic balance report, Next: Customising the classic balance report, Up: balance + +3.5.1 Classic balance report +---------------------------- + +This is the original balance report, as found in Ledger. It usually +looks like this: + +$ hledger balance + $-1 assets + $1 bank:saving + $-2 cash + $2 expenses + $1 food + $1 supplies + $-2 income + $-1 gifts + $-1 salary + $1 liabilities:debts +-------------------- + 0 + + By default, accounts are displayed hierarchically, with subaccounts +indented below their parent, with accounts at each level of the tree +sorted by declaration order if declared, then by account name. + + "Boring" accounts, which contain a single interesting subaccount and +no balance of their own, are elided into the following line for more +compact output. (Eg above, the "liabilities" account.) Use +'--no-elide' to prevent this. + + Account balances are "inclusive" - they include the balances of any +subaccounts. + + Accounts which have zero balance (and no non-zero subaccounts) are +omitted. Use '-E/--empty' to show them. + + A final total is displayed by default; use '-N/--no-total' to +suppress it, eg: + +$ hledger balance -p 2008/6 expenses --no-total + $2 expenses + $1 food + $1 supplies + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Customising the classic balance report, Next: Colour support, Prev: Classic balance report, Up: balance + +3.5.2 Customising the classic balance report +-------------------------------------------- + +You can customise the layout of classic balance reports with '--format +FMT': + +$ hledger balance --format "%20(account) %12(total)" + assets $-1 + bank:saving $1 + cash $-2 + expenses $2 + food $1 + supplies $1 + income $-2 + gifts $-1 + salary $-1 + liabilities:debts $1 +--------------------------------- + 0 + + The FMT format string (plus a newline) specifies the formatting +applied to each account/balance pair. It may contain any suitable text, +with data fields interpolated like so: + + '%[MIN][.MAX](FIELDNAME)' + + * MIN pads with spaces to at least this width (optional) + + * MAX truncates at this width (optional) + + * FIELDNAME must be enclosed in parentheses, and can be one of: + + * 'depth_spacer' - a number of spaces equal to the account's + depth, or if MIN is specified, MIN * depth spaces. + * 'account' - the account's name + * 'total' - the account's balance/posted total, right justified + + Also, FMT can begin with an optional prefix to control how +multi-commodity amounts are rendered: + + * '%_' - render on multiple lines, bottom-aligned (the default) + * '%^' - render on multiple lines, top-aligned + * '%,' - render on one line, comma-separated + + There are some quirks. Eg in one-line mode, '%(depth_spacer)' has no +effect, instead '%(account)' has indentation built in. Experimentation +may be needed to get pleasing results. + + Some example formats: + + * '%(total)' - the account's total + * '%-20.20(account)' - the account's name, left justified, padded to + 20 characters and clipped at 20 characters + * '%,%-50(account) %25(total)' - account name padded to 50 + characters, total padded to 20 characters, with multiple + commodities rendered on one line + * '%20(total) %2(depth_spacer)%-(account)' - the default format for + the single-column balance report + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Colour support, Next: Flat mode, Prev: Customising the classic balance report, Up: balance + +3.5.3 Colour support +-------------------- + +In terminal output, when colour is enabled, the balance command shows +negative amounts in red. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Flat mode, Next: Depth limited balance reports, Prev: Colour support, Up: balance + +3.5.4 Flat mode +--------------- + +To see a flat list instead of the default hierarchical display, use +'--flat'. In this mode, accounts (unless depth-clipped) show their full +names and "exclusive" balance, excluding any subaccount balances. In +this mode, you can also use '--drop N' to omit the first few account +name components. + +$ hledger balance -p 2008/6 expenses -N --flat --drop 1 + $1 food + $1 supplies + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Depth limited balance reports, Next: Percentages, Prev: Flat mode, Up: balance + +3.5.5 Depth limited balance reports +----------------------------------- + +With '--depth N' or 'depth:N' or just '-N', balance reports show +accounts only to the specified numeric depth. This is very useful to +summarise a complex set of accounts and get an overview. + +$ hledger balance -N -1 + $-1 assets + $2 expenses + $-2 income + $1 liabilities + + Flat-mode balance reports, which normally show exclusive balances, +show inclusive balances at the depth limit. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Percentages, Next: Sorting by amount, Prev: Depth limited balance reports, Up: balance + +3.5.6 Percentages +----------------- + +With '-%' or '--percent', balance reports show each account's value +expressed as a percentage of the column's total. This is useful to get +an overview of the relative sizes of account balances. For example to +obtain an overview of expenses: + +$ hledger balance expenses -% + 100.0 % expenses + 50.0 % food + 50.0 % supplies +-------------------- + 100.0 % + + Note that '--tree' does not have an effect on '-%'. The percentages +are always relative to the total sum of each column, they are never +relative to the parent account. + + Since the percentages are relative to the columns sum, it is usually +not useful to calculate percentages if the signs of the amounts are +mixed. Although the results are technically correct, they are most +likely useless. Especially in a balance report that sums up to zero (eg +'hledger balance -B') all percentage values will be zero. + + This flag does not work if the report contains any mixed commodity +accounts. If there are mixed commodity accounts in the report be sure +to use '-V' or '-B' to coerce the report into using a single commodity. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Sorting by amount, Next: Multicolumn balance report, Prev: Percentages, Up: balance + +3.5.7 Sorting by amount +----------------------- + +With '-S'/'--sort-amount', accounts with the largest (most positive) +balances are shown first. For example, 'hledger bal expenses -MAS' +shows your biggest averaged monthly expenses first. + + Revenues and liability balances are typically negative, however, so +'-S' shows these in reverse order. To work around this, you can add +'--invert' to flip the signs. Or, use one of the sign-flipping reports +like 'balancesheet' or 'incomestatement', which also support '-S'. Eg: +'hledger is -MAS'. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Multicolumn balance report, Next: Budget report, Prev: Sorting by amount, Up: balance + +3.5.8 Multicolumn balance report +-------------------------------- + +Multicolumn or tabular balance reports are a very useful hledger +feature, and usually the preferred style. They share many of the above +features, but they show the report as a table, with columns representing +time periods. This mode is activated by providing a reporting interval. + + There are three types of multicolumn balance report, showing +different information: + + 1. By default: each column shows the sum of postings in that period, + ie the account's change of balance in that period. This is useful + eg for a monthly income statement: + + $ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E + Balance changes in 2008: + + || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 + ===================++================================= + expenses:food || 0 $1 0 0 + expenses:supplies || 0 $1 0 0 + income:gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 + income:salary || $-1 0 0 0 + -------------------++--------------------------------- + || $-1 $1 0 0 + + 2. With '--cumulative': each column shows the ending balance for that + period, accumulating the changes across periods, starting from 0 at + the report start date: + + $ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E --cumulative + Ending balances (cumulative) in 2008: + + || 2008/03/31 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 + ===================++================================================= + expenses:food || 0 $1 $1 $1 + expenses:supplies || 0 $1 $1 $1 + income:gifts || 0 $-1 $-1 $-1 + income:salary || $-1 $-1 $-1 $-1 + -------------------++------------------------------------------------- + || $-1 0 0 0 + + 3. With '--historical/-H': each column shows the actual historical + ending balance for that period, accumulating the changes across + periods, starting from the actual balance at the report start date. + This is useful eg for a multi-period balance sheet, and when you + are showing only the data after a certain start date: + + $ hledger balance ^assets ^liabilities --quarterly --historical --begin 2008/4/1 + Ending balances (historical) in 2008/04/01-2008/12/31: + + || 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 + ======================++===================================== + assets:bank:checking || $1 $1 0 + assets:bank:saving || $1 $1 $1 + assets:cash || $-2 $-2 $-2 + liabilities:debts || 0 0 $1 + ----------------------++------------------------------------- + || 0 0 0 + + Note that '--cumulative' or '--historical/-H' disable +'--row-total/-T', since summing end balances generally does not make +sense. + + Multicolumn balance reports display accounts in flat mode by default; +to see the hierarchy, use '--tree'. + + With a reporting interval (like '--quarterly' above), the report +start/end dates will be adjusted if necessary so that they encompass the +displayed report periods. This is so that the first and last periods +will be "full" and comparable to the others. + + The '-E/--empty' flag does two things in multicolumn balance reports: +first, the report will show all columns within the specified report +period (without -E, leading and trailing columns with all zeroes are not +shown). Second, all accounts which existed at the report start date +will be considered, not just the ones with activity during the report +period (use -E to include low-activity accounts which would otherwise +would be omitted). + + The '-T/--row-total' flag adds an additional column showing the total +for each row. + + The '-A/--average' flag adds a column showing the average value in +each row. + + Here's an example of all three: + +$ hledger balance -Q income expenses --tree -ETA +Balance changes in 2008: + + || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 Total Average +============++=================================================== + expenses || 0 $2 0 0 $2 $1 + food || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 + supplies || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 + income || $-1 $-1 0 0 $-2 $-1 + gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 $-1 0 + salary || $-1 0 0 0 $-1 0 +------------++--------------------------------------------------- + || $-1 $1 0 0 0 0 + +(Average is rounded to the dollar here since all journal amounts are) + + The '--transpose' flag can be used to exchange the rows and columns +of a multicolumn report. + + When showing multicommodity amounts, multicolumn balance reports will +elide any amounts which have more than two commodities, since otherwise +columns could get very wide. The '--no-elide' flag disables this. +Hiding totals with the '-N/--no-total' flag can also help reduce the +width of multicommodity reports. + + When the report is still too wide, a good workaround is to pipe it +into 'less -RS' (-R for colour, -S to chop long lines). Eg: 'hledger +bal -D --color=yes | less -RS'. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Budget report, Prev: Multicolumn balance report, Up: balance + +3.5.9 Budget report +------------------- + +With '--budget', extra columns are displayed showing budget goals for +each account and period, if any. Budget goals are defined by periodic +transactions. This is very useful for comparing planned and actual +income, expenses, time usage, etc. -budget is most often combined with +a report interval. + + For example, you can take average monthly expenses in the common +expense categories to construct a minimal monthly budget: + +;; Budget +~ monthly + income $2000 + expenses:food $400 + expenses:bus $50 + expenses:movies $30 + assets:bank:checking + +;; Two months worth of expenses +2017-11-01 + income $1950 + expenses:food $396 + expenses:bus $49 + expenses:movies $30 + expenses:supplies $20 + assets:bank:checking + +2017-12-01 + income $2100 + expenses:food $412 + expenses:bus $53 + expenses:gifts $100 + assets:bank:checking + + You can now see a monthly budget report: + +$ hledger balance -M --budget +Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: + + || Nov Dec +======================++==================================================== + assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $565 [ 118% of $480] + expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $53 [ 106% of $50] + expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $412 [ 103% of $400] + expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] 0 [ 0% of $30] + income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $2100 [ 105% of $2000] +----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- + || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] + + This is different from a normal balance report in several ways: + + * Only accounts with budget goals during the report period are shown, + by default. + + * In each column, in square brackets after the actual amount, budget + goal amounts are shown, and the actual/goal percentage. (Note: + budget goals should be in the same commodity as the actual amount.) + + * All parent accounts are always shown, even in flat mode. Eg + assets, assets:bank, and expenses above. + + * Amounts always include all subaccounts, budgeted or unbudgeted, + even in flat mode. + + This means that the numbers displayed will not always add up! Eg +above, the 'expenses' actual amount includes the gifts and supplies +transactions, but the 'expenses:gifts' and 'expenses:supplies' accounts +are not shown, as they have no budget amounts declared. + + This can be confusing. When you need to make things clearer, use the +'-E/--empty' flag, which will reveal all accounts including unbudgeted +ones, giving the full picture. Eg: + +$ hledger balance -M --budget --empty +Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: + + || Nov Dec +======================++==================================================== + assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $565 [ 118% of $480] + expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $53 [ 106% of $50] + expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $412 [ 103% of $400] + expenses:gifts || 0 $100 + expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] 0 [ 0% of $30] + expenses:supplies || $20 0 + income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $2100 [ 105% of $2000] +----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- + || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] + + You can roll over unspent budgets to next period with '--cumulative': + +$ hledger balance -M --budget --cumulative +Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: + + || Nov Dec +======================++==================================================== + assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] + assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] + assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] + expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $1060 [ 110% of $960] + expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $102 [ 102% of $100] + expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $808 [ 101% of $800] + expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] $30 [ 50% of $60] + income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $4050 [ 101% of $4000] +----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- + || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] + + For more examples and notes, see Budgeting. + +* Menu: + +* Budget report start date:: +* Nested budgets:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Budget report start date, Next: Nested budgets, Up: Budget report + +3.5.9.1 Budget report start date +................................ + +This might be a bug, but for now: when making budget reports, it's a +good idea to explicitly set the report's start date to the first day of +a reporting period, because a periodic rule like '~ monthly' generates +its transactions on the 1st of each month, and if your journal has no +regular transactions on the 1st, the default report start date could +exclude that budget goal, which can be a little surprising. Eg here the +default report period is just the day of 2020-01-15: + +~ monthly in 2020 + (expenses:food) $500 + +2020-01-15 + expenses:food $400 + assets:checking + +$ hledger bal expenses --budget +Budget performance in 2020-01-15: + + || 2020-01-15 +==============++============ + || $400 +--------------++------------ + || $400 + + To avoid this, specify the budget report's period, or at least the +start date, with '-b'/'-e'/'-p'/'date:', to ensure it includes the +budget goal transactions (periodic transactions) that you want. Eg, +adding '-b 2020/1/1' to the above: + +$ hledger bal expenses --budget -b 2020/1/1 +Budget performance in 2020-01-01..2020-01-15: + + || 2020-01-01..2020-01-15 +===============++======================== + expenses:food || $400 [80% of $500] +---------------++------------------------ + || $400 [80% of $500] + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Nested budgets, Prev: Budget report start date, Up: Budget report + +3.5.9.2 Nested budgets +...................... + +You can add budgets to any account in your account hierarchy. If you +have budgets on both parent account and some of its children, then +budget(s) of the child account(s) would be added to the budget of their +parent, much like account balances behave. + + In the most simple case this means that once you add a budget to any +account, all its parents would have budget as well. + + To illustrate this, consider the following budget: + +~ monthly from 2019/01 + expenses:personal $1,000.00 + expenses:personal:electronics $100.00 + liabilities + + With this, monthly budget for electronics is defined to be $100 and +budget for personal expenses is an additional $1000, which implicitly +means that budget for both 'expenses:personal' and 'expenses' is $1100. + + Transactions in 'expenses:personal:electronics' will be counted both +towards its $100 budget and $1100 of 'expenses:personal' , and +transactions in any other subaccount of 'expenses:personal' would be +counted towards only towards the budget of 'expenses:personal'. + + For example, let's consider these transactions: + +~ monthly from 2019/01 + expenses:personal $1,000.00 + expenses:personal:electronics $100.00 + liabilities + +2019/01/01 Google home hub + expenses:personal:electronics $90.00 + liabilities $-90.00 + +2019/01/02 Phone screen protector + expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades $10.00 + liabilities + +2019/01/02 Weekly train ticket + expenses:personal:train tickets $153.00 + liabilities + +2019/01/03 Flowers + expenses:personal $30.00 + liabilities + + As you can see, we have transactions in +'expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades' and 'expenses:personal:train +tickets', and since both of these accounts are without explicitly +defined budget, these transactions would be counted towards budgets of +'expenses:personal:electronics' and 'expenses:personal' accordingly: + +$ hledger balance --budget -M +Budget performance in 2019/01: + + || Jan +===============================++=============================== + expenses || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] + expenses:personal || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] + expenses:personal:electronics || $100.00 [ 100% of $100.00] + liabilities || $-283.00 [ 26% of $-1100.00] +-------------------------------++------------------------------- + || 0 [ 0] + + And with '--empty', we can get a better picture of budget allocation +and consumption: + +$ hledger balance --budget -M --empty +Budget performance in 2019/01: + + || Jan +========================================++=============================== + expenses || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] + expenses:personal || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] + expenses:personal:electronics || $100.00 [ 100% of $100.00] + expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades || $10.00 + expenses:personal:train tickets || $153.00 + liabilities || $-283.00 [ 26% of $-1100.00] +----------------------------------------++------------------------------- + || 0 [ 0] + + +File: hledger.info, Node: balancesheet, Next: balancesheetequity, Prev: balance, Up: COMMANDS + +3.6 balancesheet +================ + +balancesheet, bs +This command displays a balance sheet, showing historical ending +balances of asset and liability accounts. (To see equity as well, use +the balancesheetequity command.) Amounts are shown with normal positive +sign, as in conventional financial statements. + + The asset and liability accounts shown are those accounts declared +with the 'Asset' or 'Cash' or 'Liability' type, or otherwise all +accounts under a top-level 'asset' or 'liability' account (case +insensitive, plurals allowed). + + Example: + +$ hledger balancesheet +Balance Sheet + +Assets: + $-1 assets + $1 bank:saving + $-2 cash +-------------------- + $-1 + +Liabilities: + $1 liabilities:debts +-------------------- + $1 + +Total: +-------------------- + 0 + + With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for +each report period. As with multicolumn balance reports, you can alter +the report mode with '--change'/'--cumulative'/'--historical'. Normally +balancesheet shows historical ending balances, which is what you need +for a balance sheet; note this means it ignores report begin dates (and +'-T/--row-total', since summing end balances generally does not make +sense). Instead of absolute values percentages can be displayed with +'-%'. + + This command also supports the output destination and output format +options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', 'html', and +(experimental) 'json'. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: balancesheetequity, Next: cashflow, Prev: balancesheet, Up: COMMANDS + +3.7 balancesheetequity +====================== + +balancesheetequity, bse +This command displays a balance sheet, showing historical ending +balances of asset, liability and equity accounts. Amounts are shown +with normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. + + The asset, liability and equity accounts shown are those accounts +declared with the 'Asset', 'Cash', 'Liability' or 'Equity' type, or +otherwise all accounts under a top-level 'asset', 'liability' or +'equity' account (case insensitive, plurals allowed). + + Example: + +$ hledger balancesheetequity +Balance Sheet With Equity + +Assets: + $-2 assets + $1 bank:saving + $-3 cash +-------------------- + $-2 + +Liabilities: + $1 liabilities:debts +-------------------- + $1 + +Equity: + $1 equity:owner +-------------------- + $1 + +Total: +-------------------- + 0 + + This command also supports the output destination and output format +options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', 'html', and +(experimental) 'json'. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: cashflow, Next: check, Prev: balancesheetequity, Up: COMMANDS + +3.8 cashflow +============ + +cashflow, cf +This command displays a cashflow statement, showing the inflows and +outflows affecting "cash" (ie, liquid) assets. Amounts are shown with +normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. + + The "cash" accounts shown are those accounts declared with the 'Cash' +type, or otherwise all accounts under a top-level 'asset' account (case +insensitive, plural allowed) which do not have 'fixed', 'investment', +'receivable' or 'A/R' in their name. + + Example: + +$ hledger cashflow +Cashflow Statement + +Cash flows: + $-1 assets + $1 bank:saving + $-2 cash +-------------------- + $-1 + +Total: +-------------------- + $-1 + + With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for +each report period. Normally cashflow shows changes in assets per +period, though as with multicolumn balance reports you can alter the +report mode with '--change'/'--cumulative'/'--historical'. Instead of +absolute values percentages can be displayed with '-%'. + + This command also supports the output destination and output format +options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', 'html', and +(experimental) 'json'. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: check, Next: close, Prev: cashflow, Up: COMMANDS + +3.9 check +========= + +check +Check for various kinds of errors in your data. _experimental_ + + hledger provides a number of built-in error checks to help prevent +problems in your data. Some of these are run automatically; or, you can +use this 'check' command to run them on demand, with no output and a +zero exit code if all is well. Some examples: + +hledger check # basic checks +hledger check -s # basic + strict checks +hledger check ordereddates uniqueleafnames # basic + specified checks + + Here are the checks currently available: + +* Menu: + +* Basic checks:: +* Strict checks:: +* Other checks:: +* Add-on checks:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Basic checks, Next: Strict checks, Up: check + +3.9.1 Basic checks +------------------ + +These are always run by this command and other commands: + + * *parseable* - data files are well-formed and can be successfully + parsed + + * *autobalanced* - all transactions are balanced, inferring missing + amounts where necessary, and possibly converting commodities using + transaction prices or automatically-inferred transaction prices + + * *assertions* - all balance assertions in the journal are passing. + (This check can be disabled with '-I'/'--ignore-assertions'.) + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Strict checks, Next: Other checks, Prev: Basic checks, Up: check + +3.9.2 Strict checks +------------------- + +These are always run by this and other commands when '-s'/'--strict' is +used (strict mode): + + * *accounts* - all account names used by transactions have been + declared + + * *commodities* - all commodity symbols used have been declared + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Other checks, Next: Add-on checks, Prev: Strict checks, Up: check + +3.9.3 Other checks +------------------ + +These checks can be run by specifying their names as arguments to the +check command: + + * *ordereddates* - transactions are ordered by date (similar to the + old 'check-dates' command) + + * *uniqueleafnames* - all account leaf names are unique (similar to + the old 'check-dupes' command) + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Add-on checks, Prev: Other checks, Up: check + +3.9.4 Add-on checks +------------------- + +Some checks are not yet integrated with this command, but are available +as add-on commands in +https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/tree/master/bin: + + * *hledger-check-tagfiles* - all tag values containing / (a forward + slash) exist as file paths + + * *hledger-check-fancyassertions* - more complex balance assertions + are passing + + You could make your own similar scripts to perform custom checks; +Cookbook -> Scripting may be helpful. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: close, Next: codes, Prev: check, Up: COMMANDS + +3.10 close +========== + +close, equity +Prints a "closing balances" transaction and an "opening balances" +transaction that bring account balances to and from zero, respectively. +These can be added to your journal file(s), eg to bring asset/liability +balances forward into a new journal file, or to close out +revenues/expenses to retained earnings at the end of a period. + + You can print just one of these transactions by using the '--close' +or '--open' flag. You can customise their descriptions with the +'--close-desc' and '--open-desc' options. + + One amountless posting to "equity:opening/closing balances" is added +to balance the transactions, by default. You can customise this account +name with '--close-acct' and '--open-acct'; if you specify only one of +these, it will be used for both. + + With '--x/--explicit', the equity posting's amount will be shown. +And if it involves multiple commodities, a posting for each commodity +will be shown, as with the print command. + + With '--interleaved', the equity postings are shown next to the +postings they balance, which makes troubleshooting easier. + + By default, transaction prices in the journal are ignored when +generating the closing/opening transactions. With '--show-costs', this +cost information is preserved ('balance -B' reports will be unchanged +after the transition). Separate postings are generated for each cost in +each commodity. Note this can generate very large journal entries, if +you have many foreign currency or investment transactions. + +* Menu: + +* close usage:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: close usage, Up: close + +3.10.1 close usage +------------------ + +If you split your journal files by time (eg yearly), you will typically +run this command at the end of the year, and save the closing +transaction as last entry of the old file, and the opening transaction +as the first entry of the new file. This makes the files self +contained, so that correct balances are reported no matter which of them +are loaded. Ie, if you load just one file, the balances are initialised +correctly; or if you load several files, the redundant closing/opening +transactions cancel each other out. (They will show up in print or +register reports; you can exclude them with a query like +'not:desc:'(opening|closing) balances''.) + + If you're running a business, you might also use this command to +"close the books" at the end of an accounting period, transferring +income statement account balances to retained earnings. (You may want +to change the equity account name to something like "equity:retained +earnings".) + + By default, the closing transaction is dated yesterday, the balances +are calculated as of end of yesterday, and the opening transaction is +dated today. To close on some other date, use: 'hledger close -e +OPENINGDATE'. Eg, to close/open on the 2018/2019 boundary, use '-e +2019'. You can also use -p or 'date:PERIOD' (any starting date is +ignored). + + Both transactions will include balance assertions for the +closed/reopened accounts. You probably shouldn't use status or realness +filters (like -C or -R or 'status:') with this command, or the generated +balance assertions will depend on these flags. Likewise, if you run +this command with -auto, the balance assertions will probably always +require -auto. + + Examples: + + Carrying asset/liability balances into a new file for 2019: + +$ hledger close -f 2018.journal -e 2019 assets liabilities --open + # (copy/paste the output to the start of your 2019 journal file) +$ hledger close -f 2018.journal -e 2019 assets liabilities --close + # (copy/paste the output to the end of your 2018 journal file) + + Now: + +$ hledger bs -f 2019.journal # one file - balances are correct +$ hledger bs -f 2018.journal -f 2019.journal # two files - balances still correct +$ hledger bs -f 2018.journal not:desc:closing # to see year-end balances, must exclude closing txn + + Transactions spanning the closing date can complicate matters, +breaking balance assertions: + +2018/12/30 a purchase made in 2018, clearing the following year + expenses:food 5 + assets:bank:checking -5 ; [2019/1/2] + + Here's one way to resolve that: + +; in 2018.journal: +2018/12/30 a purchase made in 2018, clearing the following year + expenses:food 5 + liabilities:pending + +; in 2019.journal: +2019/1/2 clearance of last year's pending transactions + liabilities:pending 5 = 0 + assets:checking + + +File: hledger.info, Node: codes, Next: commodities, Prev: close, Up: COMMANDS + +3.11 codes +========== + +codes +List the codes seen in transactions, in the order parsed. + + This command prints the value of each transaction's code field, in +the order transactions were parsed. The transaction code is an optional +value written in parentheses between the date and description, often +used to store a cheque number, order number or similar. + + Transactions aren't required to have a code, and missing or empty +codes will not be shown by default. With the '-E'/'--empty' flag, they +will be printed as blank lines. + + You can add a query to select a subset of transactions. + + Examples: + +1/1 (123) + (a) 1 + +1/1 () + (a) 1 + +1/1 + (a) 1 + +1/1 (126) + (a) 1 + +$ hledger codes +123 +124 +126 + +$ hledger codes -E +123 +124 + + +126 + + +File: hledger.info, Node: commodities, Next: descriptions, Prev: codes, Up: COMMANDS + +3.12 commodities +================ + +commodities +List all commodity/currency symbols used or declared in the journal. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: descriptions, Next: diff, Prev: commodities, Up: COMMANDS + +3.13 descriptions +================= + +descriptions +List the unique descriptions that appear in transactions. + + This command lists the unique descriptions that appear in +transactions, in alphabetic order. You can add a query to select a +subset of transactions. + + Example: + +$ hledger descriptions +Store Name +Gas Station | Petrol +Person A + + +File: hledger.info, Node: diff, Next: files, Prev: descriptions, Up: COMMANDS + +3.14 diff +========= + +diff +Compares a particular account's transactions in two input files. It +shows any transactions to this account which are in one file but not in +the other. + + More precisely, for each posting affecting this account in either +file, it looks for a corresponding posting in the other file which posts +the same amount to the same account (ignoring date, description, etc.) +Since postings not transactions are compared, this also works when +multiple bank transactions have been combined into a single journal +entry. + + This is useful eg if you have downloaded an account's transactions +from your bank (eg as CSV data). When hledger and your bank disagree +about the account balance, you can compare the bank data with your +journal to find out the cause. + + Examples: + +$ hledger diff -f $LEDGER_FILE -f bank.csv assets:bank:giro +These transactions are in the first file only: + +2014/01/01 Opening Balances + assets:bank:giro EUR ... + ... + equity:opening balances EUR -... + +These transactions are in the second file only: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: files, Next: help, Prev: diff, Up: COMMANDS + +3.15 files +========== + +files +List all files included in the journal. With a REGEX argument, only +file names matching the regular expression (case sensitive) are shown. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: help, Next: import, Prev: files, Up: COMMANDS + +3.16 help +========= + +help +Show any of the hledger manuals. + + The 'help' command displays any of the main hledger manuals, in one +of several ways. Run it with no argument to list the manuals, or +provide a full or partial manual name to select one. + + hledger manuals are available in several formats. hledger help will +use the first of these display methods that it finds: info, man, $PAGER, +less, stdout (or when non-interactive, just stdout). You can force a +particular viewer with the '--info', '--man', '--pager', '--cat' flags. + + Examples: + +$ hledger help +Please choose a manual by typing "hledger help MANUAL" (a substring is ok). +Manuals: hledger hledger-ui hledger-web journal csv timeclock timedot + +$ hledger help h --man + +hledger(1) hledger User Manuals hledger(1) + +NAME + hledger - a command-line accounting tool + +SYNOPSIS + hledger [-f FILE] COMMAND [OPTIONS] [ARGS] + hledger [-f FILE] ADDONCMD -- [OPTIONS] [ARGS] + hledger + +DESCRIPTION + hledger is a cross-platform program for tracking money, time, or any +... + + +File: hledger.info, Node: import, Next: incomestatement, Prev: help, Up: COMMANDS + +3.17 import +=========== + +import +Read new transactions added to each FILE since last run, and add them to +the main journal file. Or with -dry-run, just print the transactions +that would be added. Or with -catchup, just mark all of the FILEs' +transactions as imported, without actually importing any. + + The input files are specified as arguments - no need to write -f +before each one. So eg to add new transactions from all CSV files to +the main journal, it's just: 'hledger import *.csv' + + New transactions are detected in the same way as print -new: by +assuming transactions are always added to the input files in increasing +date order, and by saving '.latest.FILE' state files. + + The -dry-run output is in journal format, so you can filter it, eg to +see only uncategorised transactions: + +$ hledger import --dry ... | hledger -f- print unknown --ignore-assertions + +* Menu: + +* Importing balance assignments:: +* Commodity display styles:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Importing balance assignments, Next: Commodity display styles, Up: import + +3.17.1 Importing balance assignments +------------------------------------ + +Entries added by import will have their posting amounts made explicit +(like 'hledger print -x'). This means that any balance assignments in +imported files must be evaluated; but, imported files don't get to see +the main file's account balances. As a result, importing entries with +balance assignments (eg from an institution that provides only balances +and not posting amounts) will probably generate incorrect posting +amounts. To avoid this problem, use print instead of import: + +$ hledger print IMPORTFILE [--new] >> $LEDGER_FILE + + (If you think import should leave amounts implicit like print does, +please test it and send a pull request.) + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Commodity display styles, Prev: Importing balance assignments, Up: import + +3.17.2 Commodity display styles +------------------------------- + +Imported amounts will be formatted according to the canonical commodity +styles (declared or inferred) in the main journal file. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: incomestatement, Next: notes, Prev: import, Up: COMMANDS + +3.18 incomestatement +==================== + +incomestatement, is + + This command displays an income statement, showing revenues and +expenses during one or more periods. Amounts are shown with normal +positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. + + The revenue and expense accounts shown are those accounts declared +with the 'Revenue' or 'Expense' type, or otherwise all accounts under a +top-level 'revenue' or 'income' or 'expense' account (case insensitive, +plurals allowed). + + Example: + +$ hledger incomestatement +Income Statement + +Revenues: + $-2 income + $-1 gifts + $-1 salary +-------------------- + $-2 + +Expenses: + $2 expenses + $1 food + $1 supplies +-------------------- + $2 + +Total: +-------------------- + 0 + + With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for +each report period. Normally incomestatement shows revenues/expenses +per period, though as with multicolumn balance reports you can alter the +report mode with '--change'/'--cumulative'/'--historical'. Instead of +absolute values percentages can be displayed with '-%'. + + This command also supports the output destination and output format +options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', 'html', and +(experimental) 'json'. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: notes, Next: rewrite, Prev: incomestatement, Up: COMMANDS + +3.19 notes +========== + +notes +List the unique notes that appear in transactions. + + This command lists the unique notes that appear in transactions, in +alphabetic order. You can add a query to select a subset of +transactions. The note is the part of the transaction description after +a | character (or if there is no |, the whole description). + + Example: + +$ hledger notes +Petrol +Snacks + + +File: hledger.info, Node: rewrite, Next: roi, Prev: notes, Up: COMMANDS + +3.20 rewrite +============ + +rewrite +Print all transactions, rewriting the postings of matched transactions. +For now the only rewrite available is adding new postings, like print +-auto. + + This is a start at a generic rewriter of transaction entries. It +reads the default journal and prints the transactions, like print, but +adds one or more specified postings to any transactions matching QUERY. +The posting amounts can be fixed, or a multiplier of the existing +transaction's first posting amount. + + Examples: + +$ hledger-rewrite.hs ^income --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33 ; income tax' --add-posting '(reserve:gifts) $100' +$ hledger-rewrite.hs expenses:gifts --add-posting '(reserve:gifts) *-1"' +$ hledger-rewrite.hs -f rewrites.hledger + + rewrites.hledger may consist of entries like: + += ^income amt:<0 date:2017 + (liabilities:tax) *0.33 ; tax on income + (reserve:grocery) *0.25 ; reserve 25% for grocery + (reserve:) *0.25 ; reserve 25% for grocery + + Note the single quotes to protect the dollar sign from bash, and the +two spaces between account and amount. + + More: + +$ hledger rewrite -- [QUERY] --add-posting "ACCT AMTEXPR" ... +$ hledger rewrite -- ^income --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' +$ hledger rewrite -- expenses:gifts --add-posting '(budget:gifts) *-1"' +$ hledger rewrite -- ^income --add-posting '(budget:foreign currency) *0.25 JPY; diversify' + + Argument for '--add-posting' option is a usual posting of transaction +with an exception for amount specification. More precisely, you can use +''*'' (star symbol) before the amount to indicate that that this is a +factor for an amount of original matched posting. If the amount +includes a commodity name, the new posting amount will be in the new +commodity; otherwise, it will be in the matched posting amount's +commodity. + +* Menu: + +* Re-write rules in a file:: +* Diff output format:: +* rewrite vs print --auto:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Re-write rules in a file, Next: Diff output format, Up: rewrite + +3.20.1 Re-write rules in a file +------------------------------- + +During the run this tool will execute so called "Automated Transactions" +found in any journal it process. I.e instead of specifying this +operations in command line you can put them in a journal file. + +$ rewrite-rules.journal + + Make contents look like this: + += ^income + (liabilities:tax) *.33 + += expenses:gifts + budget:gifts *-1 + assets:budget *1 + + Note that ''='' (equality symbol) that is used instead of date in +transactions you usually write. It indicates the query by which you +want to match the posting to add new ones. + +$ hledger rewrite -- -f input.journal -f rewrite-rules.journal > rewritten-tidy-output.journal + + This is something similar to the commands pipeline: + +$ hledger rewrite -- -f input.journal '^income' --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' \ + | hledger rewrite -- -f - expenses:gifts --add-posting 'budget:gifts *-1' \ + --add-posting 'assets:budget *1' \ + > rewritten-tidy-output.journal + + It is important to understand that relative order of such entries in +journal is important. You can re-use result of previously added +postings. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Diff output format, Next: rewrite vs print --auto, Prev: Re-write rules in a file, Up: rewrite + +3.20.2 Diff output format +------------------------- + +To use this tool for batch modification of your journal files you may +find useful output in form of unified diff. + +$ hledger rewrite -- --diff -f examples/sample.journal '^income' --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' + + Output might look like: + +--- /tmp/examples/sample.journal ++++ /tmp/examples/sample.journal +@@ -18,3 +18,4 @@ + 2008/01/01 income +- assets:bank:checking $1 ++ assets:bank:checking $1 + income:salary ++ (liabilities:tax) 0 +@@ -22,3 +23,4 @@ + 2008/06/01 gift +- assets:bank:checking $1 ++ assets:bank:checking $1 + income:gifts ++ (liabilities:tax) 0 + + If you'll pass this through 'patch' tool you'll get transactions +containing the posting that matches your query be updated. Note that +multiple files might be update according to list of input files +specified via '--file' options and 'include' directives inside of these +files. + + Be careful. Whole transaction being re-formatted in a style of +output from 'hledger print'. + + See also: + + https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/issues/99 + + +File: hledger.info, Node: rewrite vs print --auto, Prev: Diff output format, Up: rewrite + +3.20.3 rewrite vs. print -auto +------------------------------ + +This command predates print -auto, and currently does much the same +thing, but with these differences: + + * with multiple files, rewrite lets rules in any file affect all + other files. print -auto uses standard directive scoping; rules + affect only child files. + + * rewrite's query limits which transactions can be rewritten; all are + printed. print -auto's query limits which transactions are + printed. + + * rewrite applies rules specified on command line or in the journal. + print -auto applies rules specified in the journal. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: roi, Next: stats, Prev: rewrite, Up: COMMANDS + +3.21 roi +======== + +roi +Shows the time-weighted (TWR) and money-weighted (IRR) rate of return on +your investments. + + This command assumes that you have account(s) that hold nothing but +your investments and whenever you record current appraisal/valuation of +these investments you offset unrealized profit and loss into account(s) +that, again, hold nothing but unrealized profit and loss. + + Any transactions affecting balance of investment account(s) and not +originating from unrealized profit and loss account(s) are assumed to be +your investments or withdrawals. + + At a minimum, you need to supply a query (which could be just an +account name) to select your investments with '--inv', and another query +to identify your profit and loss transactions with '--pnl'. + + This command will compute and display the internalized rate of return +(IRR) and time-weighted rate of return (TWR) for your investments for +the time period requested. Both rates of return are annualized before +display, regardless of the length of reporting interval. + + Note, in some cases this report can fail, for these reasons: + + * Error (NotBracketed): No solution for Internal Rate of Return + (IRR). Possible causes: IRR is huge (>1000000%), balance of + investment becomes negative at some point in time. + * Error (SearchFailed): Failed to find solution for Internal Rate of + Return (IRR). Either search does not converge to a solution, or + converges too slowly. + + Examples: + + * Using roi to report unrealised gains: + https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/blob/master/examples/roi-unrealised.ledger + + More background: + + "ROI" stands for "return on investment". Traditionally this was +computed as a difference between current value of investment and its +initial value, expressed in percentage of the initial value. + + However, this approach is only practical in simple cases, where +investments receives no in-flows or out-flows of money, and where rate +of growth is fixed over time. For more complex scenarios you need +different ways to compute rate of return, and this command implements +two of them: IRR and TWR. + + Internal rate of return, or "IRR" (also called "money-weighted rate +of return") takes into account effects of in-flows and out-flows. +Naively, if you are withdrawing from your investment, your future gains +would be smaller (in absolute numbers), and will be a smaller percentage +of your initial investment, and if you are adding to your investment, +you will receive bigger absolute gains (but probably at the same rate of +return). IRR is a way to compute rate of return for each period between +in-flow or out-flow of money, and then combine them in a way that gives +you an annual rate of return that investment is expected to generate. + + As mentioned before, in-flows and out-flows would be any cash that +you personally put in or withdraw, and for the "roi" command, these are +transactions that involve account(s) matching '--inv' argument and NOT +involve account(s) matching '--pnl' argument. + + Presumably, you will also record changes in the value of your +investment, and balance them against "profit and loss" (or "unrealized +gains") account. Note that in order for IRR to compute the precise +effect of your in-flows and out-flows on the rate of return, you will +need to record the value of your investement on or close to the days +when in- or out-flows occur. + + Implementation of IRR in hledger should match the 'XIRR' formula in +Excel. + + Second way to compute rate of return that 'roi' command implements is +called "time-weighted rate of return" or "TWR". Like IRR, it will also +break the history of your investment into periods between in-flows and +out-flows to compute rate of return per each period and then a compound +rate of return. However, internal workings of TWR are quite different. + + In technical terms, IRR uses the same approach as computation of net +present value, and tries to find a discount rate that makes net present +value of all the cash flows of your investment to add up to zero. This +could be hard to wrap your head around, especially if you haven't done +discounted cash flow analysis before. + + TWR represents your investment as an imaginary "unit fund" where +in-flows/ out-flows lead to buying or selling "units" of your investment +and changes in its value change the value of "investment unit". Change +in "unit price" over the reporting period gives you rate of return of +your investment. + + References: * Explanation of rate of return * Explanation of IRR * +Explanation of TWR * Examples of computing IRR and TWR and discussion of +the limitations of both metrics + + More examples: + + Lets say that we found an investment in Snake Oil that is proising to +give us 10% annually: + +2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil + assets:cash -$100 + investment:snake oil + +2019-12-24 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil = $110 + equity:unrealized gains + + For now, basic computation of the rate of return, as well as IRR and +TWR, gives us the expected 10%: + +$ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+--------+ +| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | ++===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++========+========+ +| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 110 | 10 || 10.00% | 10.00% | ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+--------+ + + However, lets say that shorty after investing in the Snake Oil we +started to have second thoughs, so we prompty withdrew $90, leaving only +$10 in. Before Christmas, though, we started to get the "fear of +mission out", so we put the $90 back in. So for most of the year, our +investment was just $10 dollars, and it gave us just $1 in growth: + +2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil + assets:cash -$100 + investment:snake oil + +2019-01-02 Buyers remorse + assets:cash $90 + investment:snake oil + +2019-12-30 Fear of missing out + assets:cash -$90 + investment:snake oil + +2019-12-31 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil = $101 + equity:unrealized gains + + Now IRR and TWR are drastically different: + +$ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++-------+-------+ +| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | ++===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++=======+=======+ +| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 101 | 1 || 9.32% | 1.00% | ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++-------+-------+ + + Here, IRR tells us that we made close to 10% on the $10 dollars that +we had in the account most of the time. And TWR is ... just 1%? Why? + + Based on the transactions in our journal, TWR "think" that we are +buying back $90 worst of Snake Oil at the same price that it had at the +beginning of they year, and then after that our $100 investment gets $1 +increase in value, or 1% of $100. Let's take a closer look at what is +happening here by asking for quarterly reports instead of annual: + +$ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+-------+ +| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | ++===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++========+=======+ +| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | +| 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | +| 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | +| 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10 | 90 | 101 | 1 || 37.80% | 4.03% | ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+-------+ + + Now both IRR and TWR are thrown off by the fact that all of the +growth for our investment happens in Q4 2019. This happes because IRR +computation is still yielding 9.32% and TWR is still 1%, but this time +these are rates for three month period instead of twelve, so in order to +get an annual rate they should be multiplied by four! + + Let's try to keep a better record of how Snake Oil grew in value: + +2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil + assets:cash -$100 + investment:snake oil + +2019-01-02 Buyers remorse + assets:cash $90 + investment:snake oil + +2019-02-28 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil + equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 + +2019-06-30 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil + equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 + +2019-09-30 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil + equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 + +2019-12-30 Fear of missing out + assets:cash -$90 + investment:snake oil + +2019-12-31 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil + equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 + + Would our quartery report look better now? Almost: + +$ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ +| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | ++===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++========+========+ +| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10.25 | 0.25 || 9.53% | 10.53% | +| 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10.25 | 0 | 10.50 | 0.25 || 10.15% | 10.15% | +| 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10.50 | 0 | 10.75 | 0.25 || 9.79% | 9.78% | +| 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10.75 | 90 | 101.00 | 0.25 || 8.05% | 1.00% | ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ + + Something is still wrong with TWR computation for Q4, and if you have +been paying attention you know what it is already: big $90 buy-back is +recorded prior to the only transaction that captures the change of value +of Snake Oil that happened in this time period. Lets combine +transactions from 30th and 31st of Dec into one: + +2019-12-30 Fear of missing out and growth of Snake Oil + assets:cash -$90 + investment:snake oil + equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 + + Now growth of investment properly affects its price at the time of +buy-back: + +$ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ +| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | ++===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++========+========+ +| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10.25 | 0.25 || 9.53% | 10.53% | +| 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10.25 | 0 | 10.50 | 0.25 || 10.15% | 10.15% | +| 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10.50 | 0 | 10.75 | 0.25 || 9.79% | 9.78% | +| 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10.75 | 90 | 101.00 | 0.25 || 8.05% | 9.57% | ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ + + And for annual report, TWR now reports the exact profitability of our +investment: + +$ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++-------+--------+ +| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | ++===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++=======+========+ +| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 101.00 | 1.00 || 9.32% | 10.00% | ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++-------+--------+ + + +File: hledger.info, Node: stats, Next: tags, Prev: roi, Up: COMMANDS + +3.22 stats +========== + +stats +Show some journal statistics. + + The stats command displays summary information for the whole journal, +or a matched part of it. With a reporting interval, it shows a report +for each report period. + + Example: + +$ hledger stats +Main journal file : /src/hledger/examples/sample.journal +Included journal files : +Transactions span : 2008-01-01 to 2009-01-01 (366 days) +Last transaction : 2008-12-31 (2333 days ago) +Transactions : 5 (0.0 per day) +Transactions last 30 days: 0 (0.0 per day) +Transactions last 7 days : 0 (0.0 per day) +Payees/descriptions : 5 +Accounts : 8 (depth 3) +Commodities : 1 ($) +Market prices : 12 ($) + + This command also supports output destination and output format +selection. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: tags, Next: test, Prev: stats, Up: COMMANDS + +3.23 tags +========= + +tags +List the unique tag names used in the journal. With a TAGREGEX +argument, only tag names matching the regular expression (case +insensitive) are shown. With QUERY arguments, only transactions +matching the query are considered. + + With the -values flag, the tags' unique values are listed instead. + + With -parsed flag, all tags or values are shown in the order they are +parsed from the input data, including duplicates. + + With -E/-empty, any blank/empty values will also be shown, otherwise +they are omitted. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: test, Next: Add-on commands, Prev: tags, Up: COMMANDS + +3.24 test +========= + +test +Run built-in unit tests. + + This command runs the unit tests built in to hledger and hledger-lib, +printing the results on stdout. If any test fails, the exit code will +be non-zero. + + This is mainly used by hledger developers, but you can also use it to +sanity-check the installed hledger executable on your platform. All +tests are expected to pass - if you ever see a failure, please report as +a bug! + + This command also accepts tasty test runner options, written after a +- (double hyphen). Eg to run only the tests in Hledger.Data.Amount, +with ANSI colour codes disabled: + +$ hledger test -- -pData.Amount --color=never + + For help on these, see https://github.com/feuerbach/tasty#options +('-- --help' currently doesn't show them). + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Add-on commands, Next: Add-on command flags, Prev: test, Up: COMMANDS + +3.25 Add-on commands +==================== + +Any programs or scripts in your PATH named named 'hledger-SOMETHING' +will also appear in the commands list (with a '+' mark). These are +called add-on commands. + + These offical add-ons are maintained and released along with hledger: + + * ui an efficient terminal interface for hledger (TUI) + * web a simple web interface for hledger (WUI) + + These add-ons are maintained separately: + + * iadd a more interactive alternative for the add command + * interest generates interest transactions according to various + schemes + * stockquotes downloads market prices for your commodities from + AlphaVantage _(experimental)_ + + Additional experimental add-ons, which may not be in a working state, +can be found in the bin/ directory in the hledger repo. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Add-on command flags, Next: Making add-on commands, Prev: Add-on commands, Up: COMMANDS + +3.26 Add-on command flags +========================= + +In a hledger command line, add-on command flags must have a double dash +('--') preceding them. Eg you must write: + +$ hledger web -- --serve + + and not: + +$ hledger web --serve + + (because the '--serve' flag belongs to 'hledger-web', not 'hledger'). + + The '-h/--help' and '--version' flags work without '--', with their +position deciding which program they refer to. Eg 'hledger -h web' +shows hledger's help, 'hledger web -h' shows hledger-web's help. + + If you have any trouble with this, remember you can always run the +add-on program directly, eg: + +$ hledger-web --serve + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Making add-on commands, Prev: Add-on command flags, Up: COMMANDS + +3.27 Making add-on commands +=========================== + +Add-on commands are programs or scripts in your PATH + + * whose name starts with 'hledger-' + * whose name ends with a recognised file extension: + '.bat','.com','.exe', '.hs','.lhs','.pl','.py','.rb','.rkt','.sh' + or none + * and (on unix, mac) which are executable by the current user. + + Add-ons are a relatively easy way to add local features or experiment +with new ideas. They can be written in any language, but haskell +scripts have a big advantage: they can use the same hledger library +functions that built-in commands use for command-line options, parsing +and reporting. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: ENVIRONMENT, Next: FILES, Prev: COMMANDS, Up: Top + +4 ENVIRONMENT +************* + +*LEDGER_FILE* The journal file path when not specified with '-f'. +Default: '~/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps +'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). + + A typical value is '~/DIR/YYYY.journal', where DIR is a +version-controlled finance directory and YYYY is the current year. Or +'~/DIR/current.journal', where current.journal is a symbolic link to +YYYY.journal. + + On Mac computers, you can set this and other environment variables in +a more thorough way that also affects applications started from the GUI +(say, an Emacs dock icon). Eg on MacOS Catalina I have a +'~/.MacOSX/environment.plist' file containing + +{ + "LEDGER_FILE" : "~/finance/current.journal" +} + + To see the effect you may need to 'killall Dock', or reboot. + + *COLUMNS* The screen width used by the register command. Default: +the full terminal width. + + *NO_COLOR* If this variable exists with any value, hledger will not +use ANSI color codes in terminal output. This overrides the +-color/-colour option. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: FILES, Next: LIMITATIONS, Prev: ENVIRONMENT, Up: Top + +5 FILES +******* + +Reads data from one or more files in hledger journal, timeclock, +timedot, or CSV format specified with '-f', or '$LEDGER_FILE', or +'$HOME/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps +'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). + + +File: hledger.info, Node: LIMITATIONS, Next: TROUBLESHOOTING, Prev: FILES, Up: Top + +6 LIMITATIONS +************* + +The need to precede add-on command options with '--' when invoked from +hledger is awkward. + + When input data contains non-ascii characters, a suitable system +locale must be configured (or there will be an unhelpful error). Eg on +POSIX, set LANG to something other than C. + + In a Microsoft Windows CMD window, non-ascii characters and colours +are not supported. + + On Windows, non-ascii characters may not display correctly when +running a hledger built in CMD in MSYS/CYGWIN, or vice-versa. + + In a Cygwin/MSYS/Mintty window, the tab key is not supported in +hledger add. + + Not all of Ledger's journal file syntax is supported. See file +format differences. + + On large data files, hledger is slower and uses more memory than +Ledger. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: TROUBLESHOOTING, Prev: LIMITATIONS, Up: Top + +7 TROUBLESHOOTING +***************** + +Here are some issues you might encounter when you run hledger (and +remember you can also seek help from the IRC channel, mail list or bug +tracker): + + *Successfully installed, but "No command 'hledger' found"* +stack and cabal install binaries into a special directory, which should +be added to your PATH environment variable. Eg on unix-like systems, +that is ~/.local/bin and ~/.cabal/bin respectively. + + *I set a custom LEDGER_FILE, but hledger is still using the default +file* +'LEDGER_FILE' should be a real environment variable, not just a shell +variable. The command 'env | grep LEDGER_FILE' should show it. You may +need to use 'export'. Here's an explanation. + + *Getting errors like "Illegal byte sequence" or "Invalid or +incomplete multibyte or wide character" or "commitAndReleaseBuffer: +invalid argument (invalid character)"* +Programs compiled with GHC (hledger, haskell build tools, etc.) need to +have a UTF-8-aware locale configured in the environment, otherwise they +will fail with these kinds of errors when they encounter non-ascii +characters. + + To fix it, set the LANG environment variable to some locale which +supports UTF-8. The locale you choose must be installed on your system. + + Here's an example of setting LANG temporarily, on Ubuntu GNU/Linux: + +$ file my.journal +my.journal: UTF-8 Unicode text # the file is UTF8-encoded +$ echo $LANG +C # LANG is set to the default locale, which does not support UTF8 +$ locale -a # which locales are installed ? +C +en_US.utf8 # here's a UTF8-aware one we can use +POSIX +$ LANG=en_US.utf8 hledger -f my.journal print # ensure it is used for this command + + If available, 'C.UTF-8' will also work. If your preferred locale +isn't listed by 'locale -a', you might need to install it. Eg on +Ubuntu/Debian: + +$ apt-get install language-pack-fr +$ locale -a +C +en_US.utf8 +fr_BE.utf8 +fr_CA.utf8 +fr_CH.utf8 +fr_FR.utf8 +fr_LU.utf8 +POSIX +$ LANG=fr_FR.utf8 hledger -f my.journal print + + Here's how you could set it permanently, if you use a bash shell: + +$ echo "export LANG=en_US.utf8" >>~/.bash_profile +$ bash --login + + Exact spelling and capitalisation may be important. Note the +difference on MacOS ('UTF-8', not 'utf8'). Some platforms (eg ubuntu) +allow variant spellings, but others (eg macos) require it to be exact: + +$ locale -a | grep -iE en_us.*utf +en_US.UTF-8 +$ LANG=en_US.UTF-8 hledger -f my.journal print + + +Tag Table: +Node: Top68 +Node: COMMON TASKS2337 +Ref: #common-tasks2449 +Node: Getting help2856 +Ref: #getting-help2988 +Node: Constructing command lines3541 +Ref: #constructing-command-lines3733 +Node: Starting a journal file4430 +Ref: #starting-a-journal-file4628 +Node: Setting opening balances5816 +Ref: #setting-opening-balances6012 +Node: Recording transactions9153 +Ref: #recording-transactions9333 +Node: Reconciling9889 +Ref: #reconciling10032 +Node: Reporting12289 +Ref: #reporting12429 +Node: Migrating to a new file16428 +Ref: #migrating-to-a-new-file16576 +Node: OPTIONS16875 +Ref: #options16982 +Node: General options17368 +Ref: #general-options17493 +Node: Command options20894 +Ref: #command-options21045 +Node: Command arguments21445 +Ref: #command-arguments21592 +Node: Queries22472 +Ref: #queries22627 +Node: Special characters in arguments and queries26589 +Ref: #special-characters-in-arguments-and-queries26817 +Node: More escaping27268 +Ref: #more-escaping27430 +Node: Even more escaping27726 +Ref: #even-more-escaping27920 +Node: Less escaping28594 +Ref: #less-escaping28756 +Node: Unicode characters29001 +Ref: #unicode-characters29183 +Node: Input files30595 +Ref: #input-files30731 +Node: Strict mode33030 +Ref: #strict-mode33166 +Node: Output destination33814 +Ref: #output-destination33966 +Node: Output format34391 +Ref: #output-format34543 +Node: Regular expressions36710 +Ref: #regular-expressions36867 +Node: Smart dates38603 +Ref: #smart-dates38754 +Node: Report start & end date40115 +Ref: #report-start-end-date40287 +Node: Report intervals41784 +Ref: #report-intervals41949 +Node: Period expressions42339 +Ref: #period-expressions42499 +Node: Depth limiting46942 +Ref: #depth-limiting47086 +Node: Pivoting47418 +Ref: #pivoting47541 +Node: Valuation49217 +Ref: #valuation49319 +Node: -B Cost50008 +Ref: #b-cost50112 +Node: -V Value50245 +Ref: #v-value50391 +Node: -X Value in specified commodity50586 +Ref: #x-value-in-specified-commodity50785 +Node: Valuation date50934 +Ref: #valuation-date51102 +Node: Market prices51524 +Ref: #market-prices51704 +Node: --infer-value market prices from transactions52646 +Ref: #infer-value-market-prices-from-transactions52895 +Node: Valuation commodity54177 +Ref: #valuation-commodity54386 +Node: Simple valuation examples55612 +Ref: #simple-valuation-examples55814 +Node: --value Flexible valuation56473 +Ref: #value-flexible-valuation56681 +Node: More valuation examples58628 +Ref: #more-valuation-examples58837 +Node: Effect of valuation on reports60842 +Ref: #effect-of-valuation-on-reports61030 +Node: COMMANDS68049 +Ref: #commands68157 +Node: accounts70722 +Ref: #accounts70820 +Node: activity71519 +Ref: #activity71629 +Node: add72012 +Ref: #add72113 +Node: aregister74906 +Ref: #aregister75018 +Node: aregister and custom posting dates76512 +Ref: #aregister-and-custom-posting-dates76676 +Node: balance77497 +Ref: #balance77614 +Node: Classic balance report79240 +Ref: #classic-balance-report79413 +Node: Customising the classic balance report80737 +Ref: #customising-the-classic-balance-report80965 +Node: Colour support83041 +Ref: #colour-support83208 +Node: Flat mode83304 +Ref: #flat-mode83452 +Node: Depth limited balance reports83865 +Ref: #depth-limited-balance-reports84050 +Node: Percentages84506 +Ref: #percentages84663 +Node: Sorting by amount85800 +Ref: #sorting-by-amount85966 +Node: Multicolumn balance report86460 +Ref: #multicolumn-balance-report86646 +Node: Budget report92243 +Ref: #budget-report92377 +Node: Budget report start date97666 +Ref: #budget-report-start-date97831 +Node: Nested budgets99163 +Ref: #nested-budgets99308 +Node: balancesheet102748 +Ref: #balancesheet102884 +Node: balancesheetequity104396 +Ref: #balancesheetequity104545 +Node: cashflow105621 +Ref: #cashflow105743 +Node: check106959 +Ref: #check107062 +Node: Basic checks107667 +Ref: #basic-checks107783 +Node: Strict checks108276 +Ref: #strict-checks108415 +Node: Other checks108658 +Ref: #other-checks108796 +Node: Add-on checks109094 +Ref: #add-on-checks109212 +Node: close109665 +Ref: #close109767 +Node: close usage111289 +Ref: #close-usage111382 +Node: codes114195 +Ref: #codes114303 +Node: commodities115015 +Ref: #commodities115142 +Node: descriptions115224 +Ref: #descriptions115352 +Node: diff115656 +Ref: #diff115762 +Node: files116809 +Ref: #files116909 +Node: help117056 +Ref: #help117156 +Node: import118237 +Ref: #import118351 +Node: Importing balance assignments119273 +Ref: #importing-balance-assignments119454 +Node: Commodity display styles120103 +Ref: #commodity-display-styles120274 +Node: incomestatement120403 +Ref: #incomestatement120536 +Node: notes121881 +Ref: #notes121995 +Node: rewrite122363 +Ref: #rewrite122469 +Node: Re-write rules in a file124375 +Ref: #re-write-rules-in-a-file124536 +Node: Diff output format125685 +Ref: #diff-output-format125866 +Node: rewrite vs print --auto126958 +Ref: #rewrite-vs.-print---auto127116 +Node: roi127672 +Ref: #roi127770 +Node: stats139980 +Ref: #stats140079 +Node: tags140867 +Ref: #tags140965 +Node: test141484 +Ref: #test141592 +Node: Add-on commands142339 +Ref: #add-on-commands142485 +Node: Add-on command flags143249 +Ref: #add-on-command-flags143423 +Node: Making add-on commands144003 +Ref: #making-add-on-commands144157 +Node: ENVIRONMENT144750 +Ref: #environment144862 +Node: FILES145847 +Ref: #files-1145950 +Node: LIMITATIONS146163 +Ref: #limitations146282 +Node: TROUBLESHOOTING147025 +Ref: #troubleshooting147138 + +End Tag Table diff --git a/embeddedfiles/hledger.txt b/embeddedfiles/hledger.txt --- a/embeddedfiles/hledger.txt +++ b/embeddedfiles/hledger.txt @@ -1,3845 +1,3649 @@ -hledger(1) hledger User Manuals hledger(1) - - - -NAME - hledger - a command-line accounting tool - -SYNOPSIS - hledger [-f FILE] COMMAND [OPTIONS] [ARGS] - hledger [-f FILE] ADDONCMD -- [OPTIONS] [ARGS] - hledger - -DESCRIPTION - hledger is a reliable, cross-platform set of programs for tracking - money, time, or any other commodity, using double-entry accounting and - a simple, editable file format. hledger is inspired by and largely - compatible with ledger(1). - - This is hledger's command-line interface (there are also terminal and - web interfaces). Its basic function is to read a plain text file de- - scribing financial transactions (in accounting terms, a general jour- - nal) and print useful reports on standard output, or export them as - CSV. hledger can also read some other file formats such as CSV files, - translating them to journal format. Additionally, hledger lists other - hledger-* executables found in the user's $PATH and can invoke them as - subcommands. - - hledger reads data from one or more files in hledger journal, time- - clock, timedot, or CSV format specified with -f, or $LEDGER_FILE, or - $HOME/.hledger.journal (on windows, perhaps - C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal). If using $LEDGER_FILE, note this must - be a real environment variable, not a shell variable. You can specify - standard input with -f-. - - Transactions are dated movements of money between two (or more) named - accounts, and are recorded with journal entries like this: - - 2015/10/16 bought food - expenses:food $10 - assets:cash - - For more about this format, see hledger_journal(5). - - Most users use a text editor to edit the journal, usually with an edi- - tor mode such as ledger-mode for added convenience. hledger's interac- - tive add command is another way to record new transactions. hledger - never changes existing transactions. - - To get started, you can either save some entries like the above in - ~/.hledger.journal, or run hledger add and follow the prompts. Then - try some commands like hledger print or hledger balance. Run hledger - with no arguments for a list of commands. - -COMMON TASKS - Here are some quick examples of how to do some basic tasks with - hledger. For more details, see the reference section below, the - hledger_journal(5) manual, or the more extensive docs at - https://hledger.org. - - Getting help - $ hledger # show available commands - $ hledger --help # show common options - $ hledger CMD --help # show common and command options, and command help - $ hledger help # show available manuals/topics - $ hledger help hledger # show hledger manual as info/man/text (auto-chosen) - $ hledger help journal --man # show the journal manual as a man page - $ hledger help --help # show more detailed help for the help command - - Find more docs, chat, mail list, reddit, issue tracker: - https://hledger.org#help-feedback - - Constructing command lines - hledger has an extensive and powerful command line interface. We - strive to keep it simple and ergonomic, but you may run into one of the - confusing real world details described in OPTIONS, below. If that hap- - pens, here are some tips that may help: - - o command-specific options must go after the command (it's fine to put - all options there) (hledger CMD OPTS ARGS) - - o running add-on executables directly simplifies command line parsing - (hledger-ui OPTS ARGS) - - o enclose "problematic" args in single quotes - - o if needed, also add a backslash to hide regular expression metachar- - acters from the shell - - o to see how a misbehaving command is being parsed, add --debug=2. - - Starting a journal file - hledger looks for your accounting data in a journal file, - $HOME/.hledger.journal by default: - - $ hledger stats - The hledger journal file "/Users/simon/.hledger.journal" was not found. - Please create it first, eg with "hledger add" or a text editor. - Or, specify an existing journal file with -f or LEDGER_FILE. - - You can override this by setting the LEDGER_FILE environment variable. - It's a good practice to keep this important file under version control, - and to start a new file each year. So you could do something like - this: - - $ mkdir ~/finance - $ cd ~/finance - $ git init - Initialized empty Git repository in /Users/simon/finance/.git/ - $ touch 2020.journal - $ echo "export LEDGER_FILE=$HOME/finance/2020.journal" >> ~/.bashrc - $ source ~/.bashrc - $ hledger stats - Main file : /Users/simon/finance/2020.journal - Included files : - Transactions span : to (0 days) - Last transaction : none - Transactions : 0 (0.0 per day) - Transactions last 30 days: 0 (0.0 per day) - Transactions last 7 days : 0 (0.0 per day) - Payees/descriptions : 0 - Accounts : 0 (depth 0) - Commodities : 0 () - Market prices : 0 () - - Setting opening balances - Pick a starting date for which you can look up the balances of some - real-world assets (bank accounts, wallet..) and liabilities (credit - cards..). - - To avoid a lot of data entry, you may want to start with just one or - two accounts, like your checking account or cash wallet; and pick a re- - cent starting date, like today or the start of the week. You can al- - ways come back later and add more accounts and older transactions, eg - going back to january 1st. - - Add an opening balances transaction to the journal, declaring the bal- - ances on this date. Here are two ways to do it: - - o The first way: open the journal in any text editor and save an entry - like this: - - 2020-01-01 * opening balances - assets:bank:checking $1000 = $1000 - assets:bank:savings $2000 = $2000 - assets:cash $100 = $100 - liabilities:creditcard $-50 = $-50 - equity:opening/closing balances - - These are start-of-day balances, ie whatever was in the account at - the end of the previous day. - - The * after the date is an optional status flag. Here it means - "cleared & confirmed". - - The currency symbols are optional, but usually a good idea as you'll - be dealing with multiple currencies sooner or later. - - The = amounts are optional balance assertions, providing extra error - checking. - - o The second way: run hledger add and follow the prompts to record a - similar transaction: - - $ hledger add - Adding transactions to journal file /Users/simon/finance/2020.journal - Any command line arguments will be used as defaults. - Use tab key to complete, readline keys to edit, enter to accept defaults. - An optional (CODE) may follow transaction dates. - An optional ; COMMENT may follow descriptions or amounts. - If you make a mistake, enter < at any prompt to go one step backward. - To end a transaction, enter . when prompted. - To quit, enter . at a date prompt or press control-d or control-c. - Date [2020-02-07]: 2020-01-01 - Description: * opening balances - Account 1: assets:bank:checking - Amount 1: $1000 - Account 2: assets:bank:savings - Amount 2 [$-1000]: $2000 - Account 3: assets:cash - Amount 3 [$-3000]: $100 - Account 4: liabilities:creditcard - Amount 4 [$-3100]: $-50 - Account 5: equity:opening/closing balances - Amount 5 [$-3050]: - Account 6 (or . or enter to finish this transaction): . - 2020-01-01 * opening balances - assets:bank:checking $1000 - assets:bank:savings $2000 - assets:cash $100 - liabilities:creditcard $-50 - equity:opening/closing balances $-3050 - - Save this transaction to the journal ? [y]: - Saved. - Starting the next transaction (. or ctrl-D/ctrl-C to quit) - Date [2020-01-01]: . - - If you're using version control, this could be a good time to commit - the journal. Eg: - - $ git commit -m 'initial balances' 2020.journal - - Recording transactions - As you spend or receive money, you can record these transactions using - one of the methods above (text editor, hledger add) or by using the - hledger-iadd or hledger-web add-ons, or by using the import command to - convert CSV data downloaded from your bank. - - Here are some simple transactions, see the hledger_journal(5) manual - and hledger.org for more ideas: - - 2020/1/10 * gift received - assets:cash $20 - income:gifts - - 2020.1.12 * farmers market - expenses:food $13 - assets:cash - - 2020-01-15 paycheck - income:salary - assets:bank:checking $1000 - - Reconciling - Periodically you should reconcile - compare your hledger-reported bal- - ances against external sources of truth, like bank statements or your - bank's website - to be sure that your ledger accurately represents the - real-world balances (and, that the real-world institutions have not - made a mistake!). This gets easy and fast with (1) practice and (2) - frequency. If you do it daily, it can take 2-10 minutes. If you let - it pile up, expect it to take longer as you hunt down errors and dis- - crepancies. - - A typical workflow: - - 1. Reconcile cash. Count what's in your wallet. Compare with what - hledger reports (hledger bal cash). If they are different, try to - remember the missing transaction, or look for the error in the al- - ready-recorded transactions. A register report can be helpful - (hledger reg cash). If you can't find the error, add an adjustment - transaction. Eg if you have $105 after the above, and can't explain - the missing $2, it could be: - - 2020-01-16 * adjust cash - assets:cash $-2 = $105 - expenses:misc - - 2. Reconcile checking. Log in to your bank's website. Compare today's - (cleared) balance with hledger's cleared balance (hledger bal check- - ing -C). If they are different, track down the error or record the - missing transaction(s) or add an adjustment transaction, similar to - the above. Unlike the cash case, you can usually compare the trans- - action history and running balance from your bank with the one re- - ported by hledger reg checking -C. This will be easier if you gen- - erally record transaction dates quite similar to your bank's clear- - ing dates. - - 3. Repeat for other asset/liability accounts. - - Tip: instead of the register command, use hledger-ui to see a live-up- - dating register while you edit the journal: hledger-ui --watch --regis- - ter checking -C - - After reconciling, it could be a good time to mark the reconciled - transactions' status as "cleared and confirmed", if you want to track - that, by adding the * marker. Eg in the paycheck transaction above, - insert * between 2020-01-15 and paycheck - - If you're using version control, this can be another good time to com- - mit: - - $ git commit -m 'txns' 2020.journal - - Reporting - Here are some basic reports. - - Show all transactions: - - $ hledger print - 2020-01-01 * opening balances - assets:bank:checking $1000 - assets:bank:savings $2000 - assets:cash $100 - liabilities:creditcard $-50 - equity:opening/closing balances $-3050 - - 2020-01-10 * gift received - assets:cash $20 - income:gifts - - 2020-01-12 * farmers market - expenses:food $13 - assets:cash - - 2020-01-15 * paycheck - income:salary - assets:bank:checking $1000 - - 2020-01-16 * adjust cash - assets:cash $-2 = $105 - expenses:misc - - Show account names, and their hierarchy: - - $ hledger accounts --tree - assets - bank - checking - savings - cash - equity - opening/closing balances - expenses - food - misc - income - gifts - salary - liabilities - creditcard - - Show all account totals: - - $ hledger balance - $4105 assets - $4000 bank - $2000 checking - $2000 savings - $105 cash - $-3050 equity:opening/closing balances - $15 expenses - $13 food - $2 misc - $-1020 income - $-20 gifts - $-1000 salary - $-50 liabilities:creditcard - -------------------- - 0 - - Show only asset and liability balances, as a flat list, limited to - depth 2: - - $ hledger bal assets liabilities --flat -2 - $4000 assets:bank - $105 assets:cash - $-50 liabilities:creditcard - -------------------- - $4055 - - Show the same thing without negative numbers, formatted as a simple - balance sheet: - - $ hledger bs --flat -2 - Balance Sheet 2020-01-16 - - || 2020-01-16 - ========================++============ - Assets || - ------------------------++------------ - assets:bank || $4000 - assets:cash || $105 - ------------------------++------------ - || $4105 - ========================++============ - Liabilities || - ------------------------++------------ - liabilities:creditcard || $50 - ------------------------++------------ - || $50 - ========================++============ - Net: || $4055 - - The final total is your "net worth" on the end date. (Or use bse for a - full balance sheet with equity.) - - Show income and expense totals, formatted as an income statement: - - hledger is - Income Statement 2020-01-01-2020-01-16 - - || 2020-01-01-2020-01-16 - ===============++======================= - Revenues || - ---------------++----------------------- - income:gifts || $20 - income:salary || $1000 - ---------------++----------------------- - || $1020 - ===============++======================= - Expenses || - ---------------++----------------------- - expenses:food || $13 - expenses:misc || $2 - ---------------++----------------------- - || $15 - ===============++======================= - Net: || $1005 - - The final total is your net income during this period. - - Show transactions affecting your wallet, with running total: - - $ hledger register cash - 2020-01-01 opening balances assets:cash $100 $100 - 2020-01-10 gift received assets:cash $20 $120 - 2020-01-12 farmers market assets:cash $-13 $107 - 2020-01-16 adjust cash assets:cash $-2 $105 - - Show weekly posting counts as a bar chart: - - $ hledger activity -W - 2019-12-30 ***** - 2020-01-06 **** - 2020-01-13 **** - - Migrating to a new file - At the end of the year, you may want to continue your journal in a new - file, so that old transactions don't slow down or clutter your reports, - and to help ensure the integrity of your accounting history. See the - close command. - - If using version control, don't forget to git add the new file. - -OPTIONS - General options - To see general usage help, including general options which are sup- - ported by most hledger commands, run hledger -h. - - General help options: - - -h --help - show general usage (or after COMMAND, command usage) - - --version - show version - - --debug[=N] - show debug output (levels 1-9, default: 1) - - General input options: - - -f FILE --file=FILE - use a different input file. For stdin, use - (default: - $LEDGER_FILE or $HOME/.hledger.journal) - - --rules-file=RULESFILE - Conversion rules file to use when reading CSV (default: - FILE.rules) - - --separator=CHAR - Field separator to expect when reading CSV (default: ',') - - --alias=OLD=NEW - rename accounts named OLD to NEW - - --anon anonymize accounts and payees - - --pivot FIELDNAME - use some other field or tag for the account name - - -I --ignore-assertions - disable balance assertion checks (note: does not disable balance - assignments) - - -s --strict - do extra error checking (check that all posted accounts are de- - clared) - - General reporting options: - - -b --begin=DATE - include postings/txns on or after this date - - -e --end=DATE - include postings/txns before this date - - -D --daily - multiperiod/multicolumn report by day - - -W --weekly - multiperiod/multicolumn report by week - - -M --monthly - multiperiod/multicolumn report by month - - -Q --quarterly - multiperiod/multicolumn report by quarter - - -Y --yearly - multiperiod/multicolumn report by year - - -p --period=PERIODEXP - set start date, end date, and/or reporting interval all at once - using period expressions syntax - - --date2 - match the secondary date instead (see command help for other ef- - fects) - - -U --unmarked - include only unmarked postings/txns (can combine with -P or -C) - - -P --pending - include only pending postings/txns - - -C --cleared - include only cleared postings/txns - - -R --real - include only non-virtual postings - - -NUM --depth=NUM - hide/aggregate accounts or postings more than NUM levels deep - - -E --empty - show items with zero amount, normally hidden (and vice-versa in - hledger-ui/hledger-web) - - -B --cost - convert amounts to their cost/selling amount at transaction time - - -V --market - convert amounts to their market value in default valuation com- - modities - - -X --exchange=COMM - convert amounts to their market value in commodity COMM - - --value - convert amounts to cost or market value, more flexibly than - -B/-V/-X - - --infer-value - with -V/-X/--value, also infer market prices from transactions - - --auto apply automated posting rules to modify transactions. - - --forecast - generate future transactions from periodic transaction rules, - for the next 6 months or till report end date. In hledger-ui, - also make ordinary future transactions visible. - - --color=WHEN (or --colour=WHEN) - Should color-supporting commands use ANSI color codes in text - output. 'auto' (default): whenever stdout seems to be a color- - supporting terminal. 'always' or 'yes': always, useful eg when - piping output into 'less -R'. 'never' or 'no': never. A - NO_COLOR environment variable overrides this. - - When a reporting option appears more than once in the command line, the - last one takes precedence. - - Some reporting options can also be written as query arguments. - - Command options - To see options for a particular command, including command-specific op- - tions, run: hledger COMMAND -h. - - Command-specific options must be written after the command name, eg: - hledger print -x. - - Additionally, if the command is an add-on, you may need to put its op- - tions after a double-hyphen, eg: hledger ui -- --watch. Or, you can - run the add-on executable directly: hledger-ui --watch. - - Command arguments - Most hledger commands accept arguments after the command name, which - are often a query, filtering the data in some way. - - You can save a set of command line options/arguments in a file, and - then reuse them by writing @FILENAME as a command line argument. Eg: - hledger bal @foo.args. (To prevent this, eg if you have an argument - that begins with a literal @, precede it with --, eg: hledger bal -- - @ARG). - - Inside the argument file, each line should contain just one option or - argument. Avoid the use of spaces, except inside quotes (or you'll see - a confusing error). Between a flag and its argument, use = (or noth- - ing). Bad: - - assets depth:2 - -X USD - - Good: - - assets - depth:2 - -X=USD - - For special characters (see below), use one less level of quoting than - you would at the command prompt. Bad: - - -X"$" - - Good: - - -X$ - - See also: Save frequently used options. - - Queries - One of hledger's strengths is being able to quickly report on precise - subsets of your data. Most commands accept an optional query expres- - sion, written as arguments after the command name, to filter the data - by date, account name or other criteria. The syntax is similar to a - web search: one or more space-separated search terms, quotes to enclose - whitespace, prefixes to match specific fields, a not: prefix to negate - the match. - - We do not yet support arbitrary boolean combinations of search terms; - instead most commands show transactions/postings/accounts which match - (or negatively match): - - o any of the description terms AND - - o any of the account terms AND - - o any of the status terms AND - - o all the other terms. - - The print command instead shows transactions which: - - o match any of the description terms AND - - o have any postings matching any of the positive account terms AND - - o have no postings matching any of the negative account terms AND - - o match all the other terms. - - The following kinds of search terms can be used. Remember these can - also be prefixed with not:, eg to exclude a particular subaccount. - - REGEX, acct:REGEX - match account names by this regular expression. (With no pre- - fix, acct: is assumed.) same as above - - amt:N, amt:N, amt:>=N - match postings with a single-commodity amount that is equal to, - less than, or greater than N. (Multi-commodity amounts are not - tested, and will always match.) The comparison has two modes: if - N is preceded by a + or - sign (or is 0), the two signed numbers - are compared. Otherwise, the absolute magnitudes are compared, - ignoring sign. - - code:REGEX - match by transaction code (eg check number) - - cur:REGEX - match postings or transactions including any amounts whose cur- - rency/commodity symbol is fully matched by REGEX. (For a par- - tial match, use .*REGEX.*). Note, to match characters which are - regex-significant, like the dollar sign ($), you need to prepend - \. And when using the command line you need to add one more - level of quoting to hide it from the shell, so eg do: hledger - print cur:'\$' or hledger print cur:\\$. - - desc:REGEX - match transaction descriptions. - - date:PERIODEXPR - match dates within the specified period. PERIODEXPR is a period - expression (with no report interval). Examples: date:2016, - date:thismonth, date:2000/2/1-2/15, date:lastweek-. If the - --date2 command line flag is present, this matches secondary - dates instead. - - date2:PERIODEXPR - match secondary dates within the specified period. - - depth:N - match (or display, depending on command) accounts at or above - this depth - - note:REGEX - match transaction notes (part of description right of |, or - whole description when there's no |) - - payee:REGEX - match transaction payee/payer names (part of description left of - |, or whole description when there's no |) - - real:, real:0 - match real or virtual postings respectively - - status:, status:!, status:* - match unmarked, pending, or cleared transactions respectively - - tag:REGEX[=REGEX] - match by tag name, and optionally also by tag value. Note a - tag: query is considered to match a transaction if it matches - any of the postings. Also remember that postings inherit the - tags of their parent transaction. - - The following special search term is used automatically in hledger-web, - only: - - inacct:ACCTNAME - tells hledger-web to show the transaction register for this ac- - count. Can be filtered further with acct etc. - - Some of these can also be expressed as command-line options (eg depth:2 - is equivalent to --depth 2). Generally you can mix options and query - arguments, and the resulting query will be their intersection (perhaps - excluding the -p/--period option). - - Special characters in arguments and queries - In shell command lines, option and argument values which contain "prob- - lematic" characters, ie spaces, and also characters significant to your - shell such as <, >, (, ), | and $, should be escaped by enclosing them - in quotes or by writing backslashes before the characters. Eg: - - hledger register -p 'last year' "accounts receivable (receiv- - able|payable)" amt:\>100. - - More escaping - Characters significant both to the shell and in regular expressions may - need one extra level of escaping. These include parentheses, the pipe - symbol and the dollar sign. Eg, to match the dollar symbol, bash users - should do: - - hledger balance cur:'\$' - - or: - - hledger balance cur:\\$ - - Even more escaping - When hledger runs an add-on executable (eg you type hledger ui, hledger - runs hledger-ui), it de-escapes command-line options and arguments - once, so you might need to triple-escape. Eg in bash, running the ui - command and matching the dollar sign, it's: - - hledger ui cur:'\\$' - - or: - - hledger ui cur:\\\\$ - - If you asked why four slashes above, this may help: - - unescaped: $ - escaped: \$ - double-escaped: \\$ - triple-escaped: \\\\$ - - (The number of backslashes in fish shell is left as an exercise for the - reader.) - - You can always avoid the extra escaping for add-ons by running the add- - on directly: - - hledger-ui cur:\\$ - - Less escaping - Inside an argument file, or in the search field of hledger-ui or - hledger-web, or at a GHCI prompt, you need one less level of escaping - than at the command line. And backslashes may work better than quotes. - Eg: - - ghci> :main balance cur:\$ - - Unicode characters - hledger is expected to handle non-ascii characters correctly: - - o they should be parsed correctly in input files and on the command - line, by all hledger tools (add, iadd, hledger-web's search/add/edit - forms, etc.) - - o they should be displayed correctly by all hledger tools, and on- - screen alignment should be preserved. - - This requires a well-configured environment. Here are some tips: - - o A system locale must be configured, and it must be one that can de- - code the characters being used. In bash, you can set a locale like - this: export LANG=en_US.UTF-8. There are some more details in Trou- - bleshooting. This step is essential - without it, hledger will quit - on encountering a non-ascii character (as with all GHC-compiled pro- - grams). - - o your terminal software (eg Terminal.app, iTerm, CMD.exe, xterm..) - must support unicode - - o the terminal must be using a font which includes the required unicode - glyphs - - o the terminal should be configured to display wide characters as dou- - ble width (for report alignment) - - o on Windows, for best results you should run hledger in the same kind - of environment in which it was built. Eg hledger built in the stan- - dard CMD.EXE environment (like the binaries on our download page) - might show display problems when run in a cygwin or msys terminal, - and vice versa. (See eg #961). - - Input files - hledger reads transactions from a data file (and the add command writes - to it). By default this file is $HOME/.hledger.journal (or on Windows, - something like C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal). You can override this - with the $LEDGER_FILE environment variable: - - $ setenv LEDGER_FILE ~/finance/2016.journal - $ hledger stats - - or with the -f/--file option: - - $ hledger -f /some/file stats - - The file name - (hyphen) means standard input: - - $ cat some.journal | hledger -f- - - Usually the data file is in hledger's journal format, but it can be in - any of the supported file formats, which currently are: - - Reader: Reads: Used for file exten- - sions: - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - journal hledger journal files and some Ledger .journal .j .hledger - journals, for transactions .ledger - time- timeclock files, for precise time log- .timeclock - clock ging - timedot timedot files, for approximate time .timedot - logging - csv comma/semicolon/tab/other-separated .csv .ssv .tsv - values, for data import - - hledger detects the format automatically based on the file extensions - shown above. If it can't recognise the file extension, it assumes - journal format. So for non-journal files, it's important to use a - recognised file extension, so as to either read successfully or to show - relevant error messages. - - When you can't ensure the right file extension, not to worry: you can - force a specific reader/format by prefixing the file path with the for- - mat and a colon. Eg to read a .dat file as csv: - - $ hledger -f csv:/some/csv-file.dat stats - $ echo 'i 2009/13/1 08:00:00' | hledger print -ftimeclock:- - - You can specify multiple -f options, to read multiple files as one big - journal. There are some limitations with this: - - o directives in one file will not affect the other files - - o balance assertions will not see any account balances from previous - files - - If you need either of those things, you can - - o use a single parent file which includes the others - - o or concatenate the files into one before reading, eg: cat a.journal - b.journal | hledger -f- CMD. - - Strict mode - hledger checks input files for valid data. By default, the most impor- - tant errors are detected, while still accepting easy journal files - without a lot of declarations: - - o Are the input files parseable, with valid syntax ? - - o Are all transactions balanced ? - - o Do all balance assertions pass ? - - With the -s/--strict flag, additional checks are performed: - - o Are all accounts posted to, declared with an account directive ? - (Account error checking) - - o Are all commodities declared with a commodity directive ? (Commodity - error checking) - - See also: https://hledger.org/checking-for-errors.html - - experimental. - - Output destination - hledger commands send their output to the terminal by default. You can - of course redirect this, eg into a file, using standard shell syntax: - - $ hledger print > foo.txt - - Some commands (print, register, stats, the balance commands) also pro- - vide the -o/--output-file option, which does the same thing without - needing the shell. Eg: - - $ hledger print -o foo.txt - $ hledger print -o - # write to stdout (the default) - - Output format - Some commands (print, register, the balance commands) offer a choice of - output format. In addition to the usual plain text format (txt), there - are CSV (csv), HTML (html), JSON (json) and SQL (sql). This is con- - trolled by the -O/--output-format option: - - $ hledger print -O csv - - or, by a file extension specified with -o/--output-file: - - $ hledger balancesheet -o foo.html # write HTML to foo.html - - The -O option can be used to override the file extension if needed: - - $ hledger balancesheet -o foo.txt -O html # write HTML to foo.txt - - Some notes about JSON output: - - o This feature is marked experimental, and not yet much used; you - should expect our JSON to evolve. Real-world feedback is welcome. - - o Our JSON is rather large and verbose, as it is quite a faithful rep- - resentation of hledger's internal data types. To understand the - JSON, read the Haskell type definitions, which are mostly in - https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/blob/master/hledger- - lib/Hledger/Data/Types.hs. - - o hledger represents quantities as Decimal values storing up to 255 - significant digits, eg for repeating decimals. Such numbers can - arise in practice (from automatically-calculated transaction prices), - and would break most JSON consumers. So in JSON, we show quantities - as simple Numbers with at most 10 decimal places. We don't limit the - number of integer digits, but that part is under your control. We - hope this approach will not cause problems in practice; if you find - otherwise, please let us know. (Cf #1195) - - Notes about SQL output: - - o SQL output is also marked experimental, and much like JSON could use - real-world feedback. - - o SQL output is expected to work with sqlite, MySQL and PostgreSQL - - o SQL output is structured with the expectations that statements will - be executed in the empty database. If you already have tables cre- - ated via SQL output of hledger, you would probably want to either - clear tables of existing data (via delete or truncate SQL statements) - or drop tables completely as otherwise your postings will be duped. - - Regular expressions - hledger uses regular expressions in a number of places: - - o query terms, on the command line and in the hledger-web search form: - REGEX, desc:REGEX, cur:REGEX, tag:...=REGEX - - o CSV rules conditional blocks: if REGEX ... - - o account alias directives and options: alias /REGEX/ = REPLACEMENT, - --alias /REGEX/=REPLACEMENT - - hledger's regular expressions come from the regex-tdfa library. If - they're not doing what you expect, it's important to know exactly what - they support: - - 1. they are case insensitive - - 2. they are infix matching (they do not need to match the entire thing - being matched) - - 3. they are POSIX ERE (extended regular expressions) - - 4. they also support GNU word boundaries (\b, \B, \<, \>) - - 5. they do not support backreferences; if you write \1, it will match - the digit 1. Except when doing text replacement, eg in account - aliases, where backreferences can be used in the replacement string - to reference capturing groups in the search regexp. - - 6. they do not support mode modifiers ((?s)), character classes (\w, - \d), or anything else not mentioned above. - - Some things to note: - - o In the alias directive and --alias option, regular expressions must - be enclosed in forward slashes (/REGEX/). Elsewhere in hledger, - these are not required. - - o In queries, to match a regular expression metacharacter like $ as a - literal character, prepend a backslash. Eg to search for amounts - with the dollar sign in hledger-web, write cur:\$. - - o On the command line, some metacharacters like $ have a special mean- - ing to the shell and so must be escaped at least once more. See Spe- - cial characters. - - Smart dates - hledger's user interfaces accept a flexible "smart date" syntax (unlike - dates in the journal file). Smart dates allow some english words, can - be relative to today's date, and can have less-significant date parts - omitted (defaulting to 1). - - Examples: - - 2004/10/1, 2004-01-01, exact date, several separators allowed. Year - 2004.9.1 is 4+ digits, month is 1-12, day is 1-31 - 2004 start of year - 2004/10 start of month - 10/1 month and day in current year - 21 day in current month - october, oct start of month in current year - - yesterday, today, tomor- -1, 0, 1 days from today - row - last/this/next -1, 0, 1 periods from the current period - day/week/month/quar- - ter/year - 20181201 8 digit YYYYMMDD with valid year month and day - 201812 6 digit YYYYMM with valid year and month - - Counterexamples - malformed digit sequences might give surprising re- - sults: - - 201813 6 digits with an invalid month is parsed as start of - 6-digit year - 20181301 8 digits with an invalid month is parsed as start of - 8-digit year - 20181232 8 digits with an invalid day gives an error - 201801012 9+ digits beginning with a valid YYYYMMDD gives an error - - Report start & end date - Most hledger reports show the full span of time represented by the - journal data, by default. So, the effective report start and end dates - will be the earliest and latest transaction or posting dates found in - the journal. - - Often you will want to see a shorter time span, such as the current - month. You can specify a start and/or end date using -b/--begin, - -e/--end, -p/--period or a date: query (described below). All of these - accept the smart date syntax. - - Some notes: - - o As in Ledger, end dates are exclusive, so you need to write the date - after the last day you want to include. - - o As noted in reporting options: among start/end dates specified with - options, the last (i.e. right-most) option takes precedence. - - o The effective report start and end dates are the intersection of the - start/end dates from options and that from date: queries. That is, - date:2019-01 date:2019 -p'2000 to 2030' yields January 2019, the - smallest common time span. - - Examples: - - -b 2016/3/17 begin on St. Patrick's day 2016 - -e 12/1 end at the start of december 1st of the current year - (11/30 will be the last date included) - -b thismonth all transactions on or after the 1st of the current month - -p thismonth all transactions in the current month - date:2016/3/17.. the above written as queries instead (.. can also be re- - placed with -) - date:..12/1 - date:thismonth.. - date:thismonth - - Report intervals - A report interval can be specified so that commands like register, bal- - ance and activity will divide their reports into multiple subperiods. - The basic intervals can be selected with one of -D/--daily, - -W/--weekly, -M/--monthly, -Q/--quarterly, or -Y/--yearly. More com- - plex intervals may be specified with a period expression. Report in- - tervals can not be specified with a query. - - Period expressions - The -p/--period option accepts period expressions, a shorthand way of - expressing a start date, end date, and/or report interval all at once. - - Here's a basic period expression specifying the first quarter of 2009. - Note, hledger always treats start dates as inclusive and end dates as - exclusive: - - -p "from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1" - - Keywords like "from" and "to" are optional, and so are the spaces, as - long as you don't run two dates together. "to" can also be written as - ".." or "-". These are equivalent to the above: - - -p "2009/1/1 2009/4/1" - -p2009/1/1to2009/4/1 - -p2009/1/1..2009/4/1 - - Dates are smart dates, so if the current year is 2009, the above can - also be written as: - - -p "1/1 4/1" - -p "january-apr" - -p "this year to 4/1" - - If you specify only one date, the missing start or end date will be the - earliest or latest transaction in your journal: - - -p "from 2009/1/1" everything after january - 1, 2009 - -p "from 2009/1" the same - -p "from 2009" the same - -p "to 2009" everything before january - 1, 2009 - - A single date with no "from" or "to" defines both the start and end - date like so: - - -p "2009" the year 2009; equivalent - to "2009/1/1 to 2010/1/1" - -p "2009/1" the month of jan; equiva- - lent to "2009/1/1 to - 2009/2/1" - -p "2009/1/1" just that day; equivalent - to "2009/1/1 to 2009/1/2" - - Or you can specify a single quarter like so: - - -p "2009Q1" first quarter of 2009, - equivalent to "2009/1/1 to - 2009/4/1" - -p "q4" fourth quarter of the cur- - rent year - - The argument of -p can also begin with, or be, a report interval ex- - pression. The basic report intervals are daily, weekly, monthly, quar- - terly, or yearly, which have the same effect as the -D,-W,-M,-Q, or -Y - flags. Between report interval and start/end dates (if any), the word - in is optional. Examples: - - -p "weekly from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1" - -p "monthly in 2008" - -p "quarterly" - - Note that weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly intervals will always - start on the first day on week, month, quarter or year accordingly, and - will end on the last day of same period, even if associated period ex- - pression specifies different explicit start and end date. - - For example: - - -p "weekly from 2009/1/1 starts on 2008/12/29, closest preceding Mon- - to 2009/4/1" day - -p "monthly in starts on 2018/11/01 - 2008/11/25" - -p "quarterly from starts on 2009/04/01, ends on 2009/06/30, - 2009-05-05 to 2009-06-01" which are first and last days of Q2 2009 - -p "yearly from starts on 2009/01/01, first day of 2009 - 2009-12-29" - - The following more complex report intervals are also supported: bi- - weekly, fortnightly, bimonthly, every day|week|month|quarter|year, ev- - ery N days|weeks|months|quarters|years. - - All of these will start on the first day of the requested period and - end on the last one, as described above. - - Examples: - - -p "bimonthly from 2008" periods will have boundaries on 2008/01/01, - 2008/03/01, ... - -p "every 2 weeks" starts on closest preceding Monday - -p "every 5 month from periods will have boundaries on 2009/03/01, - 2009/03" 2009/08/01, ... - - If you want intervals that start on arbitrary day of your choosing and - span a week, month or year, you need to use any of the following: - - every Nth day of week, every WEEKDAYNAME (eg - mon|tue|wed|thu|fri|sat|sun), every Nth day [of month], every Nth WEEK- - DAYNAME [of month], every MM/DD [of year], every Nth MMM [of year], ev- - ery MMM Nth [of year]. - - Examples: - - -p "every 2nd day of periods will go from Tue to Tue - week" - -p "every Tue" same - -p "every 15th day" period boundaries will be on 15th of each - month - -p "every 2nd Monday" period boundaries will be on second Monday of - each month - -p "every 11/05" yearly periods with boundaries on 5th of Nov - -p "every 5th Nov" same - -p "every Nov 5th" same - - Show historical balances at end of 15th each month (N is exclusive end - date): - - hledger balance -H -p "every 16th day" - - Group postings from start of wednesday to end of next tuesday (N is - start date and exclusive end date): - - hledger register checking -p "every 3rd day of week" - - Depth limiting - With the --depth N option (short form: -N), commands like account, bal- - ance and register will show only the uppermost accounts in the account - tree, down to level N. Use this when you want a summary with less de- - tail. This flag has the same effect as a depth: query argument (so -2, - --depth=2 or depth:2 are equivalent). - - Pivoting - Normally hledger sums amounts, and organizes them in a hierarchy, based - on account name. The --pivot FIELD option causes it to sum and orga- - nize hierarchy based on the value of some other field instead. FIELD - can be: code, description, payee, note, or the full name (case insensi- - tive) of any tag. As with account names, values containing colon:sepa- - rated:parts will be displayed hierarchically in reports. - - --pivot is a general option affecting all reports; you can think of - hledger transforming the journal before any other processing, replacing - every posting's account name with the value of the specified field on - that posting, inheriting it from the transaction or using a blank value - if it's not present. - - An example: - - 2016/02/16 Member Fee Payment - assets:bank account 2 EUR - income:member fees -2 EUR ; member: John Doe - - Normal balance report showing account names: - - $ hledger balance - 2 EUR assets:bank account - -2 EUR income:member fees - -------------------- - 0 - - Pivoted balance report, using member: tag values instead: - - $ hledger balance --pivot member - 2 EUR - -2 EUR John Doe - -------------------- - 0 - - One way to show only amounts with a member: value (using a query, de- - scribed below): - - $ hledger balance --pivot member tag:member=. - -2 EUR John Doe - -------------------- - -2 EUR - - Another way (the acct: query matches against the pivoted "account - name"): - - $ hledger balance --pivot member acct:. - -2 EUR John Doe - -------------------- - -2 EUR - - Valuation - Instead of reporting amounts in their original commodity, hledger can - convert them to cost/sale amount (using the conversion rate recorded in - the transaction), or to market value (using some market price on a cer- - tain date). This is controlled by the --value=TYPE[,COMMODITY] option, - but we also provide the simpler -B/-V/-X flags, and usually one of - those is all you need. - - -B: Cost - The -B/--cost flag converts amounts to their cost or sale amount at - transaction time, if they have a transaction price specified. - - -V: Value - The -V/--market flag converts amounts to market value in their default - valuation commodity, using the market prices in effect on the valuation - date(s), if any. More on these in a minute. - - -X: Value in specified commodity - The -X/--exchange=COMM option is like -V, except you tell it which cur- - rency you want to convert to, and it tries to convert everything to - that. - - Valuation date - Since market prices can change from day to day, market value reports - have a valuation date (or more than one), which determines which market - prices will be used. - - For single period reports, if an explicit report end date is specified, - that will be used as the valuation date; otherwise the valuation date - is "today". - - For multiperiod reports, each column/period is valued on the last day - of the period, by default. - - Market prices - (experimental) - - To convert a commodity A to its market value in another commodity B, - hledger looks for a suitable market price (exchange rate) as follows, - in this order of preference : - - 1. A declared market price or inferred market price: A's latest market - price in B on or before the valuation date as declared by a P direc- - tive, or (with the --infer-value flag) inferred from transaction - prices. - - 2. A reverse market price: the inverse of a declared or inferred market - price from B to A. - - 3. A a forward chain of market prices: a synthetic price formed by com- - bining the shortest chain of "forward" (only 1 above) market prices, - leading from A to B. - - 4. A any chain of market prices: a chain of any market prices, includ- - ing both forward and reverse prices (1 and 2 above), leading from A - to B. - - Amounts for which no applicable market price can be found, are not con- - verted. - - --infer-value: market prices from transactions - (experimental) - - Normally, market value in hledger is fully controlled by, and requires, - P directives in your journal. Since adding and updating those can be a - chore, and since transactions usually take place at close to market - value, why not use the recorded transaction prices as additional market - prices (as Ledger does) ? We could produce value reports without need- - ing P directives at all. - - Adding the --infer-value flag to -V, -X or --value enables this. So - for example, hledger bs -V --infer-value will get market prices both - from P directives and from transactions. - - There is a downside: value reports can sometimes be affected in confus- - ing/undesired ways by your journal entries. If this happens to you, - read all of this Valuation section carefully, and try adding --debug or - --debug=2 to troubleshoot. - - --infer-value can infer market prices from: - - o multicommodity transactions with explicit prices (@/@@) - - o multicommodity transactions with implicit prices (no @, two commodi- - ties, unbalanced). (With these, the order of postings matters. - hledger print -x can be useful for troubleshooting.) - - o but not, currently, from "more correct" multicommodity transactions - (no @, multiple commodities, balanced). - - Valuation commodity - (experimental) - - When you specify a valuation commodity (-X COMM or --value TYPE,COMM): - hledger will convert all amounts to COMM, wherever it can find a suit- - able market price (including by reversing or chaining prices). - - When you leave the valuation commodity unspecified (-V or --value - TYPE): - For each commodity A, hledger picks a default valuation commodity as - follows, in this order of preference: - - 1. The price commodity from the latest P-declared market price for A on - or before valuation date. - - 2. The price commodity from the latest P-declared market price for A on - any date. (Allows conversion to proceed when there are inferred - prices before the valuation date.) - - 3. If there are no P directives at all (any commodity or date) and the - --infer-value flag is used: the price commodity from the latest - transaction-inferred price for A on or before valuation date. - - This means: - - o If you have P directives, they determine which commodities -V will - convert, and to what. - - o If you have no P directives, and use the --infer-value flag, transac- - tion prices determine it. - - Amounts for which no valuation commodity can be found are not con- - verted. - - Simple valuation examples - Here are some quick examples of -V: - - ; one euro is worth this many dollars from nov 1 - P 2016/11/01 EUR $1.10 - - ; purchase some euros on nov 3 - 2016/11/3 - assets:euros EUR100 - assets:checking - - ; the euro is worth fewer dollars by dec 21 - P 2016/12/21 EUR $1.03 - - How many euros do I have ? - - $ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros - EUR100 assets:euros - - What are they worth at end of nov 3 ? - - $ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros -V -e 2016/11/4 - $110.00 assets:euros - - What are they worth after 2016/12/21 ? (no report end date specified, - defaults to today) - - $ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros -V - $103.00 assets:euros - - --value: Flexible valuation - -B, -V and -X are special cases of the more general --value option: - - --value=TYPE[,COMM] TYPE is cost, then, end, now or YYYY-MM-DD. - COMM is an optional commodity symbol. - Shows amounts converted to: - - cost commodity using transaction prices (then optionally to COMM using market prices at period end(s)) - - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at posting dates - - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at period end(s) - - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using current market prices - - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at some date - - The TYPE part selects cost or value and valuation date: - - --value=cost - Convert amounts to cost, using the prices recorded in transac- - tions. - - --value=then - Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commod- - ity, using market prices on each posting's date. This is cur- - rently supported only by the print and register commands. - - --value=end - Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commod- - ity, using market prices on the last day of the report period - (or if unspecified, the journal's end date); or in multiperiod - reports, market prices on the last day of each subperiod. - - --value=now - Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commod- - ity using current market prices (as of when report is gener- - ated). - - --value=YYYY-MM-DD - Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commod- - ity using market prices on this date. - - To select a different valuation commodity, add the optional ,COMM part: - a comma, then the target commodity's symbol. Eg: --value=now,EUR. - hledger will do its best to convert amounts to this commodity, deducing - market prices as described above. - - More valuation examples - Here are some examples showing the effect of --value, as seen with - print: - - P 2000-01-01 A 1 B - P 2000-02-01 A 2 B - P 2000-03-01 A 3 B - P 2000-04-01 A 4 B - - 2000-01-01 - (a) 1 A @ 5 B - - 2000-02-01 - (a) 1 A @ 6 B - - 2000-03-01 - (a) 1 A @ 7 B - - Show the cost of each posting: - - $ hledger -f- print --value=cost - 2000-01-01 - (a) 5 B - - 2000-02-01 - (a) 6 B - - 2000-03-01 - (a) 7 B - - Show the value as of the last day of the report period (2000-02-29): - - $ hledger -f- print --value=end date:2000/01-2000/03 - 2000-01-01 - (a) 2 B - - 2000-02-01 - (a) 2 B - - With no report period specified, that shows the value as of the last - day of the journal (2000-03-01): - - $ hledger -f- print --value=end - 2000-01-01 - (a) 3 B - - 2000-02-01 - (a) 3 B - - 2000-03-01 - (a) 3 B - - Show the current value (the 2000-04-01 price is still in effect today): - - $ hledger -f- print --value=now - 2000-01-01 - (a) 4 B - - 2000-02-01 - (a) 4 B - - 2000-03-01 - (a) 4 B - - Show the value on 2000/01/15: - - $ hledger -f- print --value=2000-01-15 - 2000-01-01 - (a) 1 B - - 2000-02-01 - (a) 1 B - - 2000-03-01 - (a) 1 B - - You may need to explicitly set a commodity's display style, when re- - verse prices are used. Eg this output might be surprising: - - P 2000-01-01 A 2B - - 2000-01-01 - a 1B - b - - $ hledger print -x -X A - 2000-01-01 - a 0 - b 0 - - Explanation: because there's no amount or commodity directive specify- - ing a display style for A, 0.5A gets the default style, which shows no - decimal digits. Because the displayed amount looks like zero, the com- - modity symbol and minus sign are not displayed either. Adding a com- - modity directive sets a more useful display style for A: - - P 2000-01-01 A 2B - commodity 0.00A - - 2000-01-01 - a 1B - b - - $ hledger print -X A - 2000-01-01 - a 0.50A - b -0.50A - - Effect of valuation on reports - Here is a reference for how valuation is supposed to affect each part - of hledger's reports (and a glossary). (It's wide, you'll have to - scroll sideways.) It may be useful when troubleshooting. If you find - problems, please report them, ideally with a reproducible example. Re- - lated: #329, #1083. - - Report type -B, -V, -X --value=then --value=end --value=DATE, - --value=cost --value=now - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - print - posting cost value at re- value at value at re- value at - amounts port end or posting date port or jour- DATE/today - today nal end - balance as- unchanged unchanged unchanged unchanged unchanged - ser- - tions/as- - signments - - register - starting cost value at day not sup- value at day value at - balance before report ported before report DATE/today - (-H) or journal or journal - start start - posting cost value at re- value at value at re- value at - amounts port end or posting date port or jour- DATE/today - today nal end - summary summarised value at pe- sum of post- value at pe- value at - posting cost riod ends ings in in- riod ends DATE/today - amounts terval, val- - with report ued at in- - interval terval start - running to- sum/average sum/average sum/average sum/average sum/average - tal/average of displayed of displayed of displayed of displayed of displayed - values values values values values - - balance - (bs, bse, - cf, is) - balance sums of costs value at re- not sup- value at re- value at - changes port end or ported port or jour- DATE/today of - today of sums nal end of sums of post- - of postings sums of post- ings - ings - budget like balance like balance not sup- like balances like balance - amounts changes changes ported changes - (--budget) - grand total sum of dis- sum of dis- not sup- sum of dis- sum of dis- - played values played values ported played values played values - - balance - (bs, bse, - cf, is) - with report - interval - starting sums of costs value at re- not sup- value at re- sums of post- - balances of postings port start of ported port start of ings before - (-H) before report sums of all sums of all report start - start postings be- postings be- - fore report fore report - start start - - - - - - - balance sums of costs same as not sup- balance value at - changes of postings --value=end ported change in DATE/today of - (bal, is, in period each period, sums of post- - bs valued at pe- ings - --change, riod ends - cf - --change) - end bal- sums of costs same as not sup- period end value at - ances (bal of postings --value=end ported balances, DATE/today of - -H, is --H, from before valued at pe- sums of post- - bs, cf) report start riod ends ings - to period end - budget like balance like balance not sup- like balances like balance - amounts changes/end changes/end ported changes/end - (--budget) balances balances balances - row totals, sums, aver- sums, aver- not sup- sums, aver- sums, aver- - row aver- ages of dis- ages of dis- ported ages of dis- ages of dis- - ages (-T, played values played values played values played values - -A) - column to- sums of dis- sums of dis- not sup- sums of dis- sums of dis- - tals played values played values ported played values played values - grand to- sum, average sum, average not sup- sum, average sum, average - tal, grand of column to- of column to- ported of column to- of column to- - average tals tals tals tals - - - --cumulative is omitted to save space, it works like -H but with a zero - starting balance. - - Glossary: - - cost calculated using price(s) recorded in the transaction(s). - - value market value using available market price declarations, or the - unchanged amount if no conversion rate can be found. - - report start - the first day of the report period specified with -b or -p or - date:, otherwise today. - - report or journal start - the first day of the report period specified with -b or -p or - date:, otherwise the earliest transaction date in the journal, - otherwise today. - - report end - the last day of the report period specified with -e or -p or - date:, otherwise today. - - report or journal end - the last day of the report period specified with -e or -p or - date:, otherwise the latest transaction date in the journal, - otherwise today. - - report interval - a flag (-D/-W/-M/-Q/-Y) or period expression that activates the - report's multi-period mode (whether showing one or many subperi- - ods). - -COMMANDS - hledger provides a number of subcommands; hledger with no arguments - shows a list. - - If you install additional hledger-* packages, or if you put programs or - scripts named hledger-NAME in your PATH, these will also be listed as - subcommands. - - Run a subcommand by writing its name as first argument (eg hledger in- - comestatement). You can also write one of the standard short aliases - displayed in parentheses in the command list (hledger b), or any any - unambiguous prefix of a command name (hledger inc). - - Here are all the builtin commands in alphabetical order. See also - hledger for a more organised command list, and hledger CMD -h for de- - tailed command help. - - accounts - accounts, a - Show account names. - - This command lists account names, either declared with account direc- - tives (--declared), posted to (--used), or both (the default). With - query arguments, only matched account names and account names refer- - enced by matched postings are shown. It shows a flat list by default. - With --tree, it uses indentation to show the account hierarchy. In - flat mode you can add --drop N to omit the first few account name com- - ponents. Account names can be depth-clipped with depth:N or --depth N - or -N. - - Examples: - - $ hledger accounts - assets:bank:checking - assets:bank:saving - assets:cash - expenses:food - expenses:supplies - income:gifts - income:salary - liabilities:debts - - activity - activity - Show an ascii barchart of posting counts per interval. - - The activity command displays an ascii histogram showing transaction - counts by day, week, month or other reporting interval (by day is the - default). With query arguments, it counts only matched transactions. - - Examples: - - $ hledger activity --quarterly - 2008-01-01 ** - 2008-04-01 ******* - 2008-07-01 - 2008-10-01 ** - - add - add - Prompt for transactions and add them to the journal. Any arguments - will be used as default inputs for the first N prompts. - - Many hledger users edit their journals directly with a text editor, or - generate them from CSV. For more interactive data entry, there is the - add command, which prompts interactively on the console for new trans- - actions, and appends them to the journal file (if there are multiple -f - FILE options, the first file is used.) Existing transactions are not - changed. This is the only hledger command that writes to the journal - file. - - To use it, just run hledger add and follow the prompts. You can add as - many transactions as you like; when you are finished, enter . or press - control-d or control-c to exit. - - Features: - - o add tries to provide useful defaults, using the most similar (by de- - scription) recent transaction (filtered by the query, if any) as a - template. - - o You can also set the initial defaults with command line arguments. - - o Readline-style edit keys can be used during data entry. - - o The tab key will auto-complete whenever possible - accounts, descrip- - tions, dates (yesterday, today, tomorrow). If the input area is - empty, it will insert the default value. - - o If the journal defines a default commodity, it will be added to any - bare numbers entered. - - o A parenthesised transaction code may be entered following a date. - - o Comments and tags may be entered following a description or amount. - - o If you make a mistake, enter < at any prompt to go one step backward. - - o Input prompts are displayed in a different colour when the terminal - supports it. - - Example (see the tutorial for a detailed explanation): - - $ hledger add - Adding transactions to journal file /src/hledger/examples/sample.journal - Any command line arguments will be used as defaults. - Use tab key to complete, readline keys to edit, enter to accept defaults. - An optional (CODE) may follow transaction dates. - An optional ; COMMENT may follow descriptions or amounts. - If you make a mistake, enter < at any prompt to go one step backward. - To end a transaction, enter . when prompted. - To quit, enter . at a date prompt or press control-d or control-c. - Date [2015/05/22]: - Description: supermarket - Account 1: expenses:food - Amount 1: $10 - Account 2: assets:checking - Amount 2 [$-10.0]: - Account 3 (or . or enter to finish this transaction): . - 2015/05/22 supermarket - expenses:food $10 - assets:checking $-10.0 - - Save this transaction to the journal ? [y]: - Saved. - Starting the next transaction (. or ctrl-D/ctrl-C to quit) - Date [2015/05/22]: $ - - On Microsoft Windows, the add command makes sure that no part of the - file path ends with a period, as that would cause problems (#1056). - - aregister - aregister, areg - Show transactions affecting a particular account, and the account's - running balance. - - aregister shows the transactions affecting a particular account (and - its subaccounts), from the point of view of that account. Each line - shows: - - o the transaction's (or posting's, see below) date - - o the names of the other account(s) involved - - o the net change to this account's balance - - o the account's historical running balance (including balance from - transactions before the report start date). - - With aregister, each line represents a whole transaction - as in - hledger-ui, hledger-web, and your bank statement. By contrast, the - register command shows individual postings, across all accounts. You - might prefer aregister for reconciling with real-world asset/liability - accounts, and register for reviewing detailed revenues/expenses. - - An account must be specified as the first argument, which should be the - full account name or an account pattern (regular expression). aregis- - ter will show transactions in this account (the first one matched) and - any of its subaccounts. - - Any additional arguments form a query which will filter the transac- - tions shown. - - Transactions making a net change of zero are not shown by default; add - the -E/--empty flag to show them. - - aregister and custom posting dates - Transactions whose date is outside the report period can still be - shown, if they have a posting to this account dated inside the report - period. (And in this case it's the posting date that is shown.) This - ensures that aregister can show an accurate historical running balance, - matching the one shown by register -H with the same arguments. - - To filter strictly by transaction date instead, add the --txn-dates - flag. If you use this flag and some of your postings have custom - dates, it's probably best to assume the running balance is wrong. - - Output format - This command also supports the output destination and output format op- - tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, and json. - - Examples: - - Show all transactions and historical running balance in the first ac- - count whose name contains "checking": - - $ hledger areg checking - - Show transactions and historical running balance in all asset accounts - during july: - - $ hledger areg assets date:jul - - balance - balance, bal, b - Show accounts and their balances. - - The balance command is hledger's most versatile command. Note, despite - the name, it is not always used for showing real-world account bal- - ances; the more accounting-aware balancesheet and incomestatement may - be more convenient for that. - - By default, it displays all accounts, and each account's change in bal- - ance during the entire period of the journal. Balance changes are cal- - culated by adding up the postings in each account. You can limit the - postings matched, by a query, to see fewer accounts, changes over a - different time period, changes from only cleared transactions, etc. - - If you include an account's complete history of postings in the report, - the balance change is equivalent to the account's current ending bal- - ance. For a real-world account, typically you won't have all transac- - tions in the journal; instead you'll have all transactions after a cer- - tain date, and an "opening balances" transaction setting the correct - starting balance on that date. Then the balance command will show - real-world account balances. In some cases the -H/--historical flag is - used to ensure this (more below). - - The balance command can produce several styles of report: - - Classic balance report - This is the original balance report, as found in Ledger. It usually - looks like this: - - $ hledger balance - $-1 assets - $1 bank:saving - $-2 cash - $2 expenses - $1 food - $1 supplies - $-2 income - $-1 gifts - $-1 salary - $1 liabilities:debts - -------------------- - 0 - - By default, accounts are displayed hierarchically, with subaccounts in- - dented below their parent, with accounts at each level of the tree - sorted by declaration order if declared, then by account name. - - "Boring" accounts, which contain a single interesting subaccount and no - balance of their own, are elided into the following line for more com- - pact output. (Eg above, the "liabilities" account.) Use --no-elide to - prevent this. - - Account balances are "inclusive" - they include the balances of any - subaccounts. - - Accounts which have zero balance (and no non-zero subaccounts) are - omitted. Use -E/--empty to show them. - - A final total is displayed by default; use -N/--no-total to suppress - it, eg: - - $ hledger balance -p 2008/6 expenses --no-total - $2 expenses - $1 food - $1 supplies - - Customising the classic balance report - You can customise the layout of classic balance reports with --format - FMT: - - $ hledger balance --format "%20(account) %12(total)" - assets $-1 - bank:saving $1 - cash $-2 - expenses $2 - food $1 - supplies $1 - income $-2 - gifts $-1 - salary $-1 - liabilities:debts $1 - --------------------------------- - 0 - - The FMT format string (plus a newline) specifies the formatting applied - to each account/balance pair. It may contain any suitable text, with - data fields interpolated like so: - - %[MIN][.MAX](FIELDNAME) - - o MIN pads with spaces to at least this width (optional) - - o MAX truncates at this width (optional) - - o FIELDNAME must be enclosed in parentheses, and can be one of: - - o depth_spacer - a number of spaces equal to the account's depth, or - if MIN is specified, MIN * depth spaces. - - o account - the account's name - - o total - the account's balance/posted total, right justified - - Also, FMT can begin with an optional prefix to control how multi-com- - modity amounts are rendered: - - o %_ - render on multiple lines, bottom-aligned (the default) - - o %^ - render on multiple lines, top-aligned - - o %, - render on one line, comma-separated - - There are some quirks. Eg in one-line mode, %(depth_spacer) has no ef- - fect, instead %(account) has indentation built in. Experimentation may - be needed to get pleasing results. - - Some example formats: - - o %(total) - the account's total - - o %-20.20(account) - the account's name, left justified, padded to 20 - characters and clipped at 20 characters - - o %,%-50(account) %25(total) - account name padded to 50 characters, - total padded to 20 characters, with multiple commodities rendered on - one line - - o %20(total) %2(depth_spacer)%-(account) - the default format for the - single-column balance report - - Colour support - In terminal output, when colour is enabled, the balance command shows - negative amounts in red. - - Flat mode - To see a flat list instead of the default hierarchical display, use - --flat. In this mode, accounts (unless depth-clipped) show their full - names and "exclusive" balance, excluding any subaccount balances. In - this mode, you can also use --drop N to omit the first few account name - components. - - $ hledger balance -p 2008/6 expenses -N --flat --drop 1 - $1 food - $1 supplies - - Depth limited balance reports - With --depth N or depth:N or just -N, balance reports show accounts - only to the specified numeric depth. This is very useful to summarise - a complex set of accounts and get an overview. - - $ hledger balance -N -1 - $-1 assets - $2 expenses - $-2 income - $1 liabilities - - Flat-mode balance reports, which normally show exclusive balances, show - inclusive balances at the depth limit. - - Percentages - With -% or --percent, balance reports show each account's value ex- - pressed as a percentage of the column's total. This is useful to get - an overview of the relative sizes of account balances. For example to - obtain an overview of expenses: - - $ hledger balance expenses -% - 100.0 % expenses - 50.0 % food - 50.0 % supplies - -------------------- - 100.0 % - - Note that --tree does not have an effect on -%. The percentages are - always relative to the total sum of each column, they are never rela- - tive to the parent account. - - Since the percentages are relative to the columns sum, it is usually - not useful to calculate percentages if the signs of the amounts are - mixed. Although the results are technically correct, they are most - likely useless. Especially in a balance report that sums up to zero - (eg hledger balance -B) all percentage values will be zero. - - This flag does not work if the report contains any mixed commodity ac- - counts. If there are mixed commodity accounts in the report be sure to - use -V or -B to coerce the report into using a single commodity. - - Sorting by amount - With -S/--sort-amount, accounts with the largest (most positive) bal- - ances are shown first. For example, hledger bal expenses -MAS shows - your biggest averaged monthly expenses first. - - Revenues and liability balances are typically negative, however, so -S - shows these in reverse order. To work around this, you can add --in- - vert to flip the signs. Or, use one of the sign-flipping reports like - balancesheet or incomestatement, which also support -S. Eg: hledger is - -MAS. - - Multicolumn balance report - Multicolumn or tabular balance reports are a very useful hledger fea- - ture, and usually the preferred style. They share many of the above - features, but they show the report as a table, with columns represent- - ing time periods. This mode is activated by providing a reporting in- - terval. - - There are three types of multicolumn balance report, showing different - information: - - 1. By default: each column shows the sum of postings in that period, ie - the account's change of balance in that period. This is useful eg - for a monthly income statement: - - $ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E - Balance changes in 2008: - - || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 - ===================++================================= - expenses:food || 0 $1 0 0 - expenses:supplies || 0 $1 0 0 - income:gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 - income:salary || $-1 0 0 0 - -------------------++--------------------------------- - || $-1 $1 0 0 - - 2. With --cumulative: each column shows the ending balance for that pe- - riod, accumulating the changes across periods, starting from 0 at - the report start date: - - $ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E --cumulative - Ending balances (cumulative) in 2008: - - || 2008/03/31 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 - ===================++================================================= - expenses:food || 0 $1 $1 $1 - expenses:supplies || 0 $1 $1 $1 - income:gifts || 0 $-1 $-1 $-1 - income:salary || $-1 $-1 $-1 $-1 - -------------------++------------------------------------------------- - || $-1 0 0 0 - - 3. With --historical/-H: each column shows the actual historical ending - balance for that period, accumulating the changes across periods, - starting from the actual balance at the report start date. This is - useful eg for a multi-period balance sheet, and when you are showing - only the data after a certain start date: - - $ hledger balance ^assets ^liabilities --quarterly --historical --begin 2008/4/1 - Ending balances (historical) in 2008/04/01-2008/12/31: - - || 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 - ======================++===================================== - assets:bank:checking || $1 $1 0 - assets:bank:saving || $1 $1 $1 - assets:cash || $-2 $-2 $-2 - liabilities:debts || 0 0 $1 - ----------------------++------------------------------------- - || 0 0 0 - - Note that --cumulative or --historical/-H disable --row-total/-T, since - summing end balances generally does not make sense. - - Multicolumn balance reports display accounts in flat mode by default; - to see the hierarchy, use --tree. - - With a reporting interval (like --quarterly above), the report - start/end dates will be adjusted if necessary so that they encompass - the displayed report periods. This is so that the first and last peri- - ods will be "full" and comparable to the others. - - The -E/--empty flag does two things in multicolumn balance reports: - first, the report will show all columns within the specified report pe- - riod (without -E, leading and trailing columns with all zeroes are not - shown). Second, all accounts which existed at the report start date - will be considered, not just the ones with activity during the report - period (use -E to include low-activity accounts which would otherwise - would be omitted). - - The -T/--row-total flag adds an additional column showing the total for - each row. - - The -A/--average flag adds a column showing the average value in each - row. - - Here's an example of all three: - - $ hledger balance -Q income expenses --tree -ETA - Balance changes in 2008: - - || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 Total Average - ============++=================================================== - expenses || 0 $2 0 0 $2 $1 - food || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 - supplies || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 - income || $-1 $-1 0 0 $-2 $-1 - gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 $-1 0 - salary || $-1 0 0 0 $-1 0 - ------------++--------------------------------------------------- - || $-1 $1 0 0 0 0 - - (Average is rounded to the dollar here since all journal amounts are) - - The --transpose flag can be used to exchange the rows and columns of a - multicolumn report. - - When showing multicommodity amounts, multicolumn balance reports will - elide any amounts which have more than two commodities, since otherwise - columns could get very wide. The --no-elide flag disables this. Hid- - ing totals with the -N/--no-total flag can also help reduce the width - of multicommodity reports. - - When the report is still too wide, a good workaround is to pipe it into - less -RS (-R for colour, -S to chop long lines). Eg: hledger bal -D - --color=yes | less -RS. - - Budget report - With --budget, extra columns are displayed showing budget goals for - each account and period, if any. Budget goals are defined by periodic - transactions. This is very useful for comparing planned and actual in- - come, expenses, time usage, etc. --budget is most often combined with - a report interval. - - For example, you can take average monthly expenses in the common ex- - pense categories to construct a minimal monthly budget: - - ;; Budget - ~ monthly - income $2000 - expenses:food $400 - expenses:bus $50 - expenses:movies $30 - assets:bank:checking - - ;; Two months worth of expenses - 2017-11-01 - income $1950 - expenses:food $396 - expenses:bus $49 - expenses:movies $30 - expenses:supplies $20 - assets:bank:checking - - 2017-12-01 - income $2100 - expenses:food $412 - expenses:bus $53 - expenses:gifts $100 - assets:bank:checking - - You can now see a monthly budget report: - - $ hledger balance -M --budget - Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: - - || Nov Dec - ======================++==================================================== - assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $565 [ 118% of $480] - expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $53 [ 106% of $50] - expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $412 [ 103% of $400] - expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] 0 [ 0% of $30] - income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $2100 [ 105% of $2000] - ----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] - - This is different from a normal balance report in several ways: - - o Only accounts with budget goals during the report period are shown, - by default. - - o In each column, in square brackets after the actual amount, budget - goal amounts are shown, and the actual/goal percentage. (Note: bud- - get goals should be in the same commodity as the actual amount.) - - o All parent accounts are always shown, even in flat mode. Eg assets, - assets:bank, and expenses above. - - o Amounts always include all subaccounts, budgeted or unbudgeted, even - in flat mode. - - This means that the numbers displayed will not always add up! Eg above, - the expenses actual amount includes the gifts and supplies transac- - tions, but the expenses:gifts and expenses:supplies accounts are not - shown, as they have no budget amounts declared. - - This can be confusing. When you need to make things clearer, use the - -E/--empty flag, which will reveal all accounts including unbudgeted - ones, giving the full picture. Eg: - - $ hledger balance -M --budget --empty - Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: - - || Nov Dec - ======================++==================================================== - assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $565 [ 118% of $480] - expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $53 [ 106% of $50] - expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $412 [ 103% of $400] - expenses:gifts || 0 $100 - expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] 0 [ 0% of $30] - expenses:supplies || $20 0 - income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $2100 [ 105% of $2000] - ----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] - - You can roll over unspent budgets to next period with --cumulative: - - $ hledger balance -M --budget --cumulative - Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: - - || Nov Dec - ======================++==================================================== - assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] - assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] - assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] - expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $1060 [ 110% of $960] - expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $102 [ 102% of $100] - expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $808 [ 101% of $800] - expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] $30 [ 50% of $60] - income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $4050 [ 101% of $4000] - ----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] - - For more examples and notes, see Budgeting. - - Budget report start date - This might be a bug, but for now: when making budget reports, it's a - good idea to explicitly set the report's start date to the first day of - a reporting period, because a periodic rule like ~ monthly generates - its transactions on the 1st of each month, and if your journal has no - regular transactions on the 1st, the default report start date could - exclude that budget goal, which can be a little surprising. Eg here - the default report period is just the day of 2020-01-15: - - ~ monthly in 2020 - (expenses:food) $500 - - 2020-01-15 - expenses:food $400 - assets:checking - - $ hledger bal expenses --budget - Budget performance in 2020-01-15: - - || 2020-01-15 - ==============++============ - || $400 - --------------++------------ - || $400 - - To avoid this, specify the budget report's period, or at least the - start date, with -b/-e/-p/date:, to ensure it includes the budget goal - transactions (periodic transactions) that you want. Eg, adding -b - 2020/1/1 to the above: - - $ hledger bal expenses --budget -b 2020/1/1 - Budget performance in 2020-01-01..2020-01-15: - - || 2020-01-01..2020-01-15 - ===============++======================== - expenses:food || $400 [80% of $500] - ---------------++------------------------ - || $400 [80% of $500] - - Nested budgets - You can add budgets to any account in your account hierarchy. If you - have budgets on both parent account and some of its children, then bud- - get(s) of the child account(s) would be added to the budget of their - parent, much like account balances behave. - - In the most simple case this means that once you add a budget to any - account, all its parents would have budget as well. - - To illustrate this, consider the following budget: - - ~ monthly from 2019/01 - expenses:personal $1,000.00 - expenses:personal:electronics $100.00 - liabilities - - With this, monthly budget for electronics is defined to be $100 and - budget for personal expenses is an additional $1000, which implicitly - means that budget for both expenses:personal and expenses is $1100. - - Transactions in expenses:personal:electronics will be counted both to- - wards its $100 budget and $1100 of expenses:personal , and transactions - in any other subaccount of expenses:personal would be counted towards - only towards the budget of expenses:personal. - - For example, let's consider these transactions: - - ~ monthly from 2019/01 - expenses:personal $1,000.00 - expenses:personal:electronics $100.00 - liabilities - - 2019/01/01 Google home hub - expenses:personal:electronics $90.00 - liabilities $-90.00 - - 2019/01/02 Phone screen protector - expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades $10.00 - liabilities - - 2019/01/02 Weekly train ticket - expenses:personal:train tickets $153.00 - liabilities - - 2019/01/03 Flowers - expenses:personal $30.00 - liabilities - - As you can see, we have transactions in expenses:personal:electron- - ics:upgrades and expenses:personal:train tickets, and since both of - these accounts are without explicitly defined budget, these transac- - tions would be counted towards budgets of expenses:personal:electronics - and expenses:personal accordingly: - - $ hledger balance --budget -M - Budget performance in 2019/01: - - || Jan - ===============================++=============================== - expenses || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] - expenses:personal || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] - expenses:personal:electronics || $100.00 [ 100% of $100.00] - liabilities || $-283.00 [ 26% of $-1100.00] - -------------------------------++------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] - - And with --empty, we can get a better picture of budget allocation and - consumption: - - $ hledger balance --budget -M --empty - Budget performance in 2019/01: - - || Jan - ========================================++=============================== - expenses || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] - expenses:personal || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] - expenses:personal:electronics || $100.00 [ 100% of $100.00] - expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades || $10.00 - expenses:personal:train tickets || $153.00 - liabilities || $-283.00 [ 26% of $-1100.00] - ----------------------------------------++------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] - - Output format - This command also supports the output destination and output format op- - tions The output formats supported are (in most modes): txt, csv, html, - and json. - - balancesheet - balancesheet, bs - This command displays a balance sheet, showing historical ending bal- - ances of asset and liability accounts. (To see equity as well, use the - balancesheetequity command.) Amounts are shown with normal positive - sign, as in conventional financial statements. - - The asset and liability accounts shown are those accounts declared with - the Asset or Cash or Liability type, or otherwise all accounts under a - top-level asset or liability account (case insensitive, plurals al- - lowed). - - Example: - - $ hledger balancesheet - Balance Sheet - - Assets: - $-1 assets - $1 bank:saving - $-2 cash - -------------------- - $-1 - - Liabilities: - $1 liabilities:debts - -------------------- - $1 - - Total: - -------------------- - 0 - - With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for each - report period. As with multicolumn balance reports, you can alter the - report mode with --change/--cumulative/--historical. Normally bal- - ancesheet shows historical ending balances, which is what you need for - a balance sheet; note this means it ignores report begin dates (and - -T/--row-total, since summing end balances generally does not make - sense). Instead of absolute values percentages can be displayed with - -%. - - This command also supports the output destination and output format op- - tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experimen- - tal) json. - - balancesheetequity - balancesheetequity, bse - This command displays a balance sheet, showing historical ending bal- - ances of asset, liability and equity accounts. Amounts are shown with - normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. - - The asset, liability and equity accounts shown are those accounts de- - clared with the Asset, Cash, Liability or Equity type, or otherwise all - accounts under a top-level asset, liability or equity account (case in- - sensitive, plurals allowed). - - Example: - - $ hledger balancesheetequity - Balance Sheet With Equity - - Assets: - $-2 assets - $1 bank:saving - $-3 cash - -------------------- - $-2 - - Liabilities: - $1 liabilities:debts - -------------------- - $1 - - Equity: - $1 equity:owner - -------------------- - $1 - - Total: - -------------------- - 0 - - This command also supports the output destination and output format op- - tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experimen- - tal) json. - - cashflow - cashflow, cf - This command displays a cashflow statement, showing the inflows and - outflows affecting "cash" (ie, liquid) assets. Amounts are shown with - normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. - - The "cash" accounts shown are those accounts declared with the Cash - type, or otherwise all accounts under a top-level asset account (case - insensitive, plural allowed) which do not have fixed, investment, re- - ceivable or A/R in their name. - - Example: - - $ hledger cashflow - Cashflow Statement - - Cash flows: - $-1 assets - $1 bank:saving - $-2 cash - -------------------- - $-1 - - Total: - -------------------- - $-1 - - With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for each - report period. Normally cashflow shows changes in assets per period, - though as with multicolumn balance reports you can alter the report - mode with --change/--cumulative/--historical. Instead of absolute val- - ues percentages can be displayed with -%. - - This command also supports the output destination and output format op- - tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experimen- - tal) json. - - check - check - Check for various kinds of errors in your data. experimental - - hledger provides a number of built-in error checks to help prevent - problems in your data. Some of these are run automatically; or, you - can use this check command to run them on demand, with no output and a - zero exit code if all is well. Some examples: - - hledger check # basic checks - hledger check -s # basic + strict checks - hledger check ordereddates uniqueleafnames # basic + specified checks - - Here are the checks currently available: - - Basic checks - These are always run by this command and other commands: - - o parseable - data files are well-formed and can be successfully parsed - - o autobalanced - all transactions are balanced, inferring missing - amounts where necessary, and possibly converting commodities using - transaction prices or automatically-inferred transaction prices - - o assertions - all balance assertions in the journal are passing. - (This check can be disabled with -I/--ignore-assertions.) - - Strict checks - These are always run by this and other commands when -s/--strict is - used (strict mode): - - o accounts - all account names used by transactions have been declared - - o commodities - all commodity symbols used have been declared - - Other checks - These checks can be run by specifying their names as arguments to the - check command: - - o ordereddates - transactions are ordered by date (similar to the old - check-dates command) - - o uniqueleafnames - all account leaf names are unique (similar to the - old check-dupes command) - - Add-on checks - Some checks are not yet integrated with this command, but are available - as add-on commands in https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/tree/mas- - ter/bin: - - o hledger-check-tagfiles - all tag values containing / (a forward - slash) exist as file paths - - o hledger-check-fancyassertions - more complex balance assertions are - passing - - You could make your own similar scripts to perform custom checks; Cook- - book -> Scripting may be helpful. - - close - close, equity - Prints a "closing balances" transaction and an "opening balances" - transaction that bring account balances to and from zero, respectively. - These can be added to your journal file(s), eg to bring asset/liability - balances forward into a new journal file, or to close out revenues/ex- - penses to retained earnings at the end of a period. - - You can print just one of these transactions by using the --close or - --open flag. You can customise their descriptions with the --close- - desc and --open-desc options. - - One amountless posting to "equity:opening/closing balances" is added to - balance the transactions, by default. You can customise this account - name with --close-acct and --open-acct; if you specify only one of - these, it will be used for both. - - With --x/--explicit, the equity posting's amount will be shown. And if - it involves multiple commodities, a posting for each commodity will be - shown, as with the print command. - - With --interleaved, the equity postings are shown next to the postings - they balance, which makes troubleshooting easier. - - By default, transaction prices in the journal are ignored when generat- - ing the closing/opening transactions. With --show-costs, this cost in- - formation is preserved (balance -B reports will be unchanged after the - transition). Separate postings are generated for each cost in each - commodity. Note this can generate very large journal entries, if you - have many foreign currency or investment transactions. - - close usage - If you split your journal files by time (eg yearly), you will typically - run this command at the end of the year, and save the closing transac- - tion as last entry of the old file, and the opening transaction as the - first entry of the new file. This makes the files self contained, so - that correct balances are reported no matter which of them are loaded. - Ie, if you load just one file, the balances are initialised correctly; - or if you load several files, the redundant closing/opening transac- - tions cancel each other out. (They will show up in print or register - reports; you can exclude them with a query like not:desc:'(open- - ing|closing) balances'.) - - If you're running a business, you might also use this command to "close - the books" at the end of an accounting period, transferring income - statement account balances to retained earnings. (You may want to - change the equity account name to something like "equity:retained earn- - ings".) - - By default, the closing transaction is dated yesterday, the balances - are calculated as of end of yesterday, and the opening transaction is - dated today. To close on some other date, use: hledger close -e OPEN- - INGDATE. Eg, to close/open on the 2018/2019 boundary, use -e 2019. - You can also use -p or date:PERIOD (any starting date is ignored). - - Both transactions will include balance assertions for the closed/re- - opened accounts. You probably shouldn't use status or realness filters - (like -C or -R or status:) with this command, or the generated balance - assertions will depend on these flags. Likewise, if you run this com- - mand with --auto, the balance assertions will probably always require - --auto. - - Examples: - - Carrying asset/liability balances into a new file for 2019: - - $ hledger close -f 2018.journal -e 2019 assets liabilities --open - # (copy/paste the output to the start of your 2019 journal file) - $ hledger close -f 2018.journal -e 2019 assets liabilities --close - # (copy/paste the output to the end of your 2018 journal file) - - Now: - - $ hledger bs -f 2019.journal # one file - balances are correct - $ hledger bs -f 2018.journal -f 2019.journal # two files - balances still correct - $ hledger bs -f 2018.journal not:desc:closing # to see year-end balances, must exclude closing txn - - Transactions spanning the closing date can complicate matters, breaking - balance assertions: - - 2018/12/30 a purchase made in 2018, clearing the following year - expenses:food 5 - assets:bank:checking -5 ; [2019/1/2] - - Here's one way to resolve that: - - ; in 2018.journal: - 2018/12/30 a purchase made in 2018, clearing the following year - expenses:food 5 - liabilities:pending - - ; in 2019.journal: - 2019/1/2 clearance of last year's pending transactions - liabilities:pending 5 = 0 - assets:checking - - codes - codes - List the codes seen in transactions, in the order parsed. - - This command prints the value of each transaction's code field, in the - order transactions were parsed. The transaction code is an optional - value written in parentheses between the date and description, often - used to store a cheque number, order number or similar. - - Transactions aren't required to have a code, and missing or empty codes - will not be shown by default. With the -E/--empty flag, they will be - printed as blank lines. - - You can add a query to select a subset of transactions. - - Examples: - - 1/1 (123) - (a) 1 - - 1/1 () - (a) 1 - - 1/1 - (a) 1 - - 1/1 (126) - (a) 1 - - $ hledger codes - 123 - 124 - 126 - - $ hledger codes -E - 123 - 124 - - - 126 - - commodities - commodities - List all commodity/currency symbols used or declared in the journal. - - descriptions - descriptions - List the unique descriptions that appear in transactions. - - This command lists the unique descriptions that appear in transactions, - in alphabetic order. You can add a query to select a subset of trans- - actions. - - Example: - - $ hledger descriptions - Store Name - Gas Station | Petrol - Person A - - diff - diff - Compares a particular account's transactions in two input files. It - shows any transactions to this account which are in one file but not in - the other. - - More precisely, for each posting affecting this account in either file, - it looks for a corresponding posting in the other file which posts the - same amount to the same account (ignoring date, description, etc.) - Since postings not transactions are compared, this also works when mul- - tiple bank transactions have been combined into a single journal entry. - - This is useful eg if you have downloaded an account's transactions from - your bank (eg as CSV data). When hledger and your bank disagree about - the account balance, you can compare the bank data with your journal to - find out the cause. - - Examples: - - $ hledger diff -f $LEDGER_FILE -f bank.csv assets:bank:giro - These transactions are in the first file only: - - 2014/01/01 Opening Balances - assets:bank:giro EUR ... - ... - equity:opening balances EUR -... - - These transactions are in the second file only: - - files - files - List all files included in the journal. With a REGEX argument, only - file names matching the regular expression (case sensitive) are shown. - - help - help - Show any of the hledger manuals. - - The help command displays any of the main hledger manuals, in one of - several ways. Run it with no argument to list the manuals, or provide - a full or partial manual name to select one. - - hledger manuals are available in several formats. hledger help will - use the first of these display methods that it finds: info, man, - $PAGER, less, stdout (or when non-interactive, just stdout). You can - force a particular viewer with the --info, --man, --pager, --cat flags. - - Examples: - - $ hledger help - Please choose a manual by typing "hledger help MANUAL" (a substring is ok). - Manuals: hledger hledger-ui hledger-web journal csv timeclock timedot - - $ hledger help h --man - - hledger(1) hledger User Manuals hledger(1) - - NAME - hledger - a command-line accounting tool - - SYNOPSIS - hledger [-f FILE] COMMAND [OPTIONS] [ARGS] - hledger [-f FILE] ADDONCMD -- [OPTIONS] [ARGS] - hledger - - DESCRIPTION - hledger is a cross-platform program for tracking money, time, or any - ... - - import - import - Read new transactions added to each FILE since last run, and add them - to the main journal file. Or with --dry-run, just print the transac- - tions that would be added. Or with --catchup, just mark all of the - FILEs' transactions as imported, without actually importing any. - - The input files are specified as arguments - no need to write -f before - each one. So eg to add new transactions from all CSV files to the main - journal, it's just: hledger import *.csv - - New transactions are detected in the same way as print --new: by assum- - ing transactions are always added to the input files in increasing date - order, and by saving .latest.FILE state files. - - The --dry-run output is in journal format, so you can filter it, eg to - see only uncategorised transactions: - - $ hledger import --dry ... | hledger -f- print unknown --ignore-assertions - - Importing balance assignments - Entries added by import will have their posting amounts made explicit - (like hledger print -x). This means that any balance assignments in - imported files must be evaluated; but, imported files don't get to see - the main file's account balances. As a result, importing entries with - balance assignments (eg from an institution that provides only balances - and not posting amounts) will probably generate incorrect posting - amounts. To avoid this problem, use print instead of import: - - $ hledger print IMPORTFILE [--new] >> $LEDGER_FILE - - (If you think import should leave amounts implicit like print does, - please test it and send a pull request.) - - Commodity display styles - Imported amounts will be formatted according to the canonical commodity - styles (declared or inferred) in the main journal file. - - incomestatement - incomestatement, is - This command displays an income statement, showing revenues and ex- - penses during one or more periods. Amounts are shown with normal posi- - tive sign, as in conventional financial statements. - - The revenue and expense accounts shown are those accounts declared with - the Revenue or Expense type, or otherwise all accounts under a top- - level revenue or income or expense account (case insensitive, plurals - allowed). - - Example: - - $ hledger incomestatement - Income Statement - - Revenues: - $-2 income - $-1 gifts - $-1 salary - -------------------- - $-2 - - Expenses: - $2 expenses - $1 food - $1 supplies - -------------------- - $2 - - Total: - -------------------- - 0 - - With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for each - report period. Normally incomestatement shows revenues/expenses per - period, though as with multicolumn balance reports you can alter the - report mode with --change/--cumulative/--historical. Instead of abso- - lute values percentages can be displayed with -%. - - This command also supports the output destination and output format op- - tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experimen- - tal) json. - - notes - notes - List the unique notes that appear in transactions. - - This command lists the unique notes that appear in transactions, in al- - phabetic order. You can add a query to select a subset of transac- - tions. The note is the part of the transaction description after a | - character (or if there is no |, the whole description). - - Example: - - $ hledger notes - Petrol - Snacks - - payees - payees - List the unique payee/payer names that appear in transactions. - - This command lists the unique payee/payer names that appear in transac- - tions, in alphabetic order. You can add a query to select a subset of - transactions. The payee/payer is the part of the transaction descrip- - tion before a | character (or if there is no |, the whole description). - - Example: - - $ hledger payees - Store Name - Gas Station - Person A - - prices - prices - Print market price directives from the journal. With --costs, also - print synthetic market prices based on transaction prices. With --in- - verted-costs, also print inverse prices based on transaction prices. - Prices (and postings providing prices) can be filtered by a query. - Price amounts are always displayed with their full precision. - - print - print, txns, p - Show transaction journal entries, sorted by date. - - The print command displays full journal entries (transactions) from the - journal file in date order, tidily formatted. With --date2, transac- - tions are sorted by secondary date instead. - - print's output is always a valid hledger journal. - It preserves all transaction information, but it does not preserve di- - rectives or inter-transaction comments - - $ hledger print - 2008/01/01 income - assets:bank:checking $1 - income:salary $-1 - - 2008/06/01 gift - assets:bank:checking $1 - income:gifts $-1 - - 2008/06/02 save - assets:bank:saving $1 - assets:bank:checking $-1 - - 2008/06/03 * eat & shop - expenses:food $1 - expenses:supplies $1 - assets:cash $-2 - - 2008/12/31 * pay off - liabilities:debts $1 - assets:bank:checking $-1 - - Normally, the journal entry's explicit or implicit amount style is pre- - served. For example, when an amount is omitted in the journal, it will - not appear in the output. Similarly, when a transaction price is im- - plied but not written, it will not appear in the output. You can use - the -x/--explicit flag to make all amounts and transaction prices ex- - plicit, which can be useful for troubleshooting or for making your - journal more readable and robust against data entry errors. -x is also - implied by using any of -B,-V,-X,--value. - - Note, -x/--explicit will cause postings with a multi-commodity amount - (these can arise when a multi-commodity transaction has an implicit - amount) to be split into multiple single-commodity postings, keeping - the output parseable. - - With -B/--cost, amounts with transaction prices are converted to cost - using that price. This can be used for troubleshooting. - - With -m/--match and a STR argument, print will show at most one trans- - action: the one one whose description is most similar to STR, and is - most recent. STR should contain at least two characters. If there is - no similar-enough match, no transaction will be shown. - - With --new, for each FILE being read, hledger reads (and writes) a spe- - cial state file (.latest.FILE in the same directory), containing the - latest transaction date(s) that were seen last time FILE was read. - When this file is found, only transactions with newer dates (and new - transactions on the latest date) are printed. This is useful for ig- - noring already-seen entries in import data, such as downloaded CSV - files. Eg: - - $ hledger -f bank1.csv print --new - (shows transactions added since last print --new on this file) - - This assumes that transactions added to FILE always have same or in- - creasing dates, and that transactions on the same day do not get re- - ordered. See also the import command. - - This command also supports the output destination and output format op- - tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, and (experimental) - json and sql. - - Here's an example of print's CSV output: - - $ hledger print -Ocsv - "txnidx","date","date2","status","code","description","comment","account","amount","commodity","credit","debit","posting-status","posting-comment" - "1","2008/01/01","","","","income","","assets:bank:checking","1","$","","1","","" - "1","2008/01/01","","","","income","","income:salary","-1","$","1","","","" - "2","2008/06/01","","","","gift","","assets:bank:checking","1","$","","1","","" - "2","2008/06/01","","","","gift","","income:gifts","-1","$","1","","","" - "3","2008/06/02","","","","save","","assets:bank:saving","1","$","","1","","" - "3","2008/06/02","","","","save","","assets:bank:checking","-1","$","1","","","" - "4","2008/06/03","","*","","eat & shop","","expenses:food","1","$","","1","","" - "4","2008/06/03","","*","","eat & shop","","expenses:supplies","1","$","","1","","" - "4","2008/06/03","","*","","eat & shop","","assets:cash","-2","$","2","","","" - "5","2008/12/31","","*","","pay off","","liabilities:debts","1","$","","1","","" - "5","2008/12/31","","*","","pay off","","assets:bank:checking","-1","$","1","","","" - - o There is one CSV record per posting, with the parent transaction's - fields repeated. - - o The "txnidx" (transaction index) field shows which postings belong to - the same transaction. (This number might change if transactions are - reordered within the file, files are parsed/included in a different - order, etc.) - - o The amount is separated into "commodity" (the symbol) and "amount" - (numeric quantity) fields. - - o The numeric amount is repeated in either the "credit" or "debit" col- - umn, for convenience. (Those names are not accurate in the account- - ing sense; it just puts negative amounts under credit and zero or - greater amounts under debit.) - - print-unique - print-unique - Print transactions which do not reuse an already-seen description. - - Example: - - $ cat unique.journal - 1/1 test - (acct:one) 1 - 2/2 test - (acct:two) 2 - $ LEDGER_FILE=unique.journal hledger print-unique - (-f option not supported) - 2015/01/01 test - (acct:one) 1 - - register - register, reg, r - Show postings and their running total. - - The register command displays matched postings, across all accounts, in - date order, with their running total or running historical balance. - (See also the aregister command, which shows matched transactions in a - specific account.) - - register normally shows line per posting, but note that multi-commodity - amounts will occupy multiple lines (one line per commodity). - - It is typically used with a query selecting a particular account, to - see that account's activity: - - $ hledger register checking - 2008/01/01 income assets:bank:checking $1 $1 - 2008/06/01 gift assets:bank:checking $1 $2 - 2008/06/02 save assets:bank:checking $-1 $1 - 2008/12/31 pay off assets:bank:checking $-1 0 - - With --date2, it shows and sorts by secondary date instead. - - The --historical/-H flag adds the balance from any undisplayed prior - postings to the running total. This is useful when you want to see - only recent activity, with a historically accurate running balance: - - $ hledger register checking -b 2008/6 --historical - 2008/06/01 gift assets:bank:checking $1 $2 - 2008/06/02 save assets:bank:checking $-1 $1 - 2008/12/31 pay off assets:bank:checking $-1 0 - - The --depth option limits the amount of sub-account detail displayed. - - The --average/-A flag shows the running average posting amount instead - of the running total (so, the final number displayed is the average for - the whole report period). This flag implies --empty (see below). It - is affected by --historical. It works best when showing just one ac- - count and one commodity. - - The --related/-r flag shows the other postings in the transactions of - the postings which would normally be shown. - - The --invert flag negates all amounts. For example, it can be used on - an income account where amounts are normally displayed as negative num- - bers. It's also useful to show postings on the checking account to- - gether with the related account: - - $ hledger register --related --invert assets:checking - - With a reporting interval, register shows summary postings, one per in- - terval, aggregating the postings to each account: - - $ hledger register --monthly income - 2008/01 income:salary $-1 $-1 - 2008/06 income:gifts $-1 $-2 - - Periods with no activity, and summary postings with a zero amount, are - not shown by default; use the --empty/-E flag to see them: - - $ hledger register --monthly income -E - 2008/01 income:salary $-1 $-1 - 2008/02 0 $-1 - 2008/03 0 $-1 - 2008/04 0 $-1 - 2008/05 0 $-1 - 2008/06 income:gifts $-1 $-2 - 2008/07 0 $-2 - 2008/08 0 $-2 - 2008/09 0 $-2 - 2008/10 0 $-2 - 2008/11 0 $-2 - 2008/12 0 $-2 - - Often, you'll want to see just one line per interval. The --depth op- - tion helps with this, causing subaccounts to be aggregated: - - $ hledger register --monthly assets --depth 1h - 2008/01 assets $1 $1 - 2008/06 assets $-1 0 - 2008/12 assets $-1 $-1 - - Note when using report intervals, if you specify start/end dates these - will be adjusted outward if necessary to contain a whole number of in- - tervals. This ensures that the first and last intervals are full - length and comparable to the others in the report. - - Custom register output - register uses the full terminal width by default, except on windows. - You can override this by setting the COLUMNS environment variable (not - a bash shell variable) or by using the --width/-w option. - - The description and account columns normally share the space equally - (about half of (width - 40) each). You can adjust this by adding a de- - scription width as part of --width's argument, comma-separated: --width - W,D . Here's a diagram (won't display correctly in --help): - - <--------------------------------- width (W) ----------------------------------> - date (10) description (D) account (W-41-D) amount (12) balance (12) - DDDDDDDDDD dddddddddddddddddddd aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa AAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAA - - and some examples: - - $ hledger reg # use terminal width (or 80 on windows) - $ hledger reg -w 100 # use width 100 - $ COLUMNS=100 hledger reg # set with one-time environment variable - $ export COLUMNS=100; hledger reg # set till session end (or window resize) - $ hledger reg -w 100,40 # set overall width 100, description width 40 - $ hledger reg -w $COLUMNS,40 # use terminal width, & description width 40 - - This command also supports the output destination and output format op- - tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, and (experimental) - json. - - register-match - register-match - Print the one posting whose transaction description is closest to DESC, - in the style of the register command. If there are multiple equally - good matches, it shows the most recent. Query options (options, not - arguments) can be used to restrict the search space. Helps ledger-au- - tosync detect already-seen transactions when importing. - - rewrite - rewrite - Print all transactions, rewriting the postings of matched transactions. - For now the only rewrite available is adding new postings, like print - --auto. - - This is a start at a generic rewriter of transaction entries. It reads - the default journal and prints the transactions, like print, but adds - one or more specified postings to any transactions matching QUERY. The - posting amounts can be fixed, or a multiplier of the existing transac- - tion's first posting amount. - - Examples: - - $ hledger-rewrite.hs ^income --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33 ; income tax' --add-posting '(reserve:gifts) $100' - $ hledger-rewrite.hs expenses:gifts --add-posting '(reserve:gifts) *-1"' - $ hledger-rewrite.hs -f rewrites.hledger - - rewrites.hledger may consist of entries like: - - = ^income amt:<0 date:2017 - (liabilities:tax) *0.33 ; tax on income - (reserve:grocery) *0.25 ; reserve 25% for grocery - (reserve:) *0.25 ; reserve 25% for grocery - - Note the single quotes to protect the dollar sign from bash, and the - two spaces between account and amount. - - More: - - $ hledger rewrite -- [QUERY] --add-posting "ACCT AMTEXPR" ... - $ hledger rewrite -- ^income --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' - $ hledger rewrite -- expenses:gifts --add-posting '(budget:gifts) *-1"' - $ hledger rewrite -- ^income --add-posting '(budget:foreign currency) *0.25 JPY; diversify' - - Argument for --add-posting option is a usual posting of transaction - with an exception for amount specification. More precisely, you can - use '*' (star symbol) before the amount to indicate that that this is a - factor for an amount of original matched posting. If the amount in- - cludes a commodity name, the new posting amount will be in the new com- - modity; otherwise, it will be in the matched posting amount's commod- - ity. - - Re-write rules in a file - During the run this tool will execute so called "Automated Transac- - tions" found in any journal it process. I.e instead of specifying this - operations in command line you can put them in a journal file. - - $ rewrite-rules.journal - - Make contents look like this: - - = ^income - (liabilities:tax) *.33 - - = expenses:gifts - budget:gifts *-1 - assets:budget *1 - - Note that '=' (equality symbol) that is used instead of date in trans- - actions you usually write. It indicates the query by which you want to - match the posting to add new ones. - - $ hledger rewrite -- -f input.journal -f rewrite-rules.journal > rewritten-tidy-output.journal - - This is something similar to the commands pipeline: - - $ hledger rewrite -- -f input.journal '^income' --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' \ - | hledger rewrite -- -f - expenses:gifts --add-posting 'budget:gifts *-1' \ - --add-posting 'assets:budget *1' \ - > rewritten-tidy-output.journal - - It is important to understand that relative order of such entries in - journal is important. You can re-use result of previously added post- - ings. - - Diff output format - To use this tool for batch modification of your journal files you may - find useful output in form of unified diff. - - $ hledger rewrite -- --diff -f examples/sample.journal '^income' --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' - - Output might look like: - - --- /tmp/examples/sample.journal - +++ /tmp/examples/sample.journal - @@ -18,3 +18,4 @@ - 2008/01/01 income - - assets:bank:checking $1 - + assets:bank:checking $1 - income:salary - + (liabilities:tax) 0 - @@ -22,3 +23,4 @@ - 2008/06/01 gift - - assets:bank:checking $1 - + assets:bank:checking $1 - income:gifts - + (liabilities:tax) 0 - - If you'll pass this through patch tool you'll get transactions contain- - ing the posting that matches your query be updated. Note that multiple - files might be update according to list of input files specified via - --file options and include directives inside of these files. - - Be careful. Whole transaction being re-formatted in a style of output - from hledger print. - - See also: - - https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/issues/99 - - rewrite vs. print --auto - This command predates print --auto, and currently does much the same - thing, but with these differences: - - o with multiple files, rewrite lets rules in any file affect all other - files. print --auto uses standard directive scoping; rules affect - only child files. - - o rewrite's query limits which transactions can be rewritten; all are - printed. print --auto's query limits which transactions are printed. - - o rewrite applies rules specified on command line or in the journal. - print --auto applies rules specified in the journal. - - roi - roi - Shows the time-weighted (TWR) and money-weighted (IRR) rate of return - on your investments. - - This command assumes that you have account(s) that hold nothing but - your investments and whenever you record current appraisal/valuation of - these investments you offset unrealized profit and loss into account(s) - that, again, hold nothing but unrealized profit and loss. - - Any transactions affecting balance of investment account(s) and not - originating from unrealized profit and loss account(s) are assumed to - be your investments or withdrawals. - - At a minimum, you need to supply a query (which could be just an ac- - count name) to select your investments with --inv, and another query to - identify your profit and loss transactions with --pnl. - - This command will compute and display the internalized rate of return - (IRR) and time-weighted rate of return (TWR) for your investments for - the time period requested. Both rates of return are annualized before - display, regardless of the length of reporting interval. - - Note, in some cases this report can fail, for these reasons: - - o Error (NotBracketed): No solution for Internal Rate of Return (IRR). - Possible causes: IRR is huge (>1000000%), balance of investment be- - comes negative at some point in time. - - o Error (SearchFailed): Failed to find solution for Internal Rate of - Return (IRR). Either search does not converge to a solution, or con- - verges too slowly. - - Examples: - - o Using roi to report unrealised gains: https://github.com/simon- - michael/hledger/blob/master/examples/roi-unrealised.ledger - - More background: - - "ROI" stands for "return on investment". Traditionally this was com- - puted as a difference between current value of investment and its ini- - tial value, expressed in percentage of the initial value. - - However, this approach is only practical in simple cases, where invest- - ments receives no in-flows or out-flows of money, and where rate of - growth is fixed over time. For more complex scenarios you need differ- - ent ways to compute rate of return, and this command implements two of - them: IRR and TWR. - - Internal rate of return, or "IRR" (also called "money-weighted rate of - return") takes into account effects of in-flows and out-flows. - Naively, if you are withdrawing from your investment, your future gains - would be smaller (in absolute numbers), and will be a smaller percent- - age of your initial investment, and if you are adding to your invest- - ment, you will receive bigger absolute gains (but probably at the same - rate of return). IRR is a way to compute rate of return for each pe- - riod between in-flow or out-flow of money, and then combine them in a - way that gives you an annual rate of return that investment is expected - to generate. - - As mentioned before, in-flows and out-flows would be any cash that you - personally put in or withdraw, and for the "roi" command, these are - transactions that involve account(s) matching --inv argument and NOT - involve account(s) matching --pnl argument. - - Presumably, you will also record changes in the value of your invest- - ment, and balance them against "profit and loss" (or "unrealized - gains") account. Note that in order for IRR to compute the precise ef- - fect of your in-flows and out-flows on the rate of return, you will - need to record the value of your investement on or close to the days - when in- or out-flows occur. - - Implementation of IRR in hledger should match the XIRR formula in Ex- - cel. - - Second way to compute rate of return that roi command implements is - called "time-weighted rate of return" or "TWR". Like IRR, it will also - break the history of your investment into periods between in-flows and - out-flows to compute rate of return per each period and then a compound - rate of return. However, internal workings of TWR are quite different. - - In technical terms, IRR uses the same approach as computation of net - present value, and tries to find a discount rate that makes net present - value of all the cash flows of your investment to add up to zero. This - could be hard to wrap your head around, especially if you haven't done - discounted cash flow analysis before. - - TWR represents your investment as an imaginary "unit fund" where in- - flows/ out-flows lead to buying or selling "units" of your investment - and changes in its value change the value of "investment unit". Change - in "unit price" over the reporting period gives you rate of return of - your investment. - - References: * Explanation of rate of return * Explanation of IRR * Ex- - planation of TWR * Examples of computing IRR and TWR and discussion of - the limitations of both metrics - - More examples: - - Lets say that we found an investment in Snake Oil that is proising to - give us 10% annually: - - 2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil - assets:cash -$100 - investment:snake oil - - 2019-12-24 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil = $110 - equity:unrealized gains - - For now, basic computation of the rate of return, as well as IRR and - TWR, gives us the expected 10%: - - $ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+--------+ - | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | - +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++========+========+ - | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 110 | 10 || 10.00% | 10.00% | - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+--------+ - - However, lets say that shorty after investing in the Snake Oil we - started to have second thoughs, so we prompty withdrew $90, leaving - only $10 in. Before Christmas, though, we started to get the "fear of - mission out", so we put the $90 back in. So for most of the year, our - investment was just $10 dollars, and it gave us just $1 in growth: - - 2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil - assets:cash -$100 - investment:snake oil - - 2019-01-02 Buyers remorse - assets:cash $90 - investment:snake oil - - 2019-12-30 Fear of missing out - assets:cash -$90 - investment:snake oil - - 2019-12-31 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil = $101 - equity:unrealized gains - - Now IRR and TWR are drastically different: - - $ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++-------+-------+ - | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | - +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++=======+=======+ - | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 101 | 1 || 9.32% | 1.00% | - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++-------+-------+ - - Here, IRR tells us that we made close to 10% on the $10 dollars that we - had in the account most of the time. And TWR is ... just 1%? Why? - - Based on the transactions in our journal, TWR "think" that we are buy- - ing back $90 worst of Snake Oil at the same price that it had at the - beginning of they year, and then after that our $100 investment gets $1 - increase in value, or 1% of $100. Let's take a closer look at what is - happening here by asking for quarterly reports instead of annual: - - $ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+-------+ - | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | - +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++========+=======+ - | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | - | 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | - | 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | - | 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10 | 90 | 101 | 1 || 37.80% | 4.03% | - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+-------+ - - Now both IRR and TWR are thrown off by the fact that all of the growth - for our investment happens in Q4 2019. This happes because IRR compu- - tation is still yielding 9.32% and TWR is still 1%, but this time these - are rates for three month period instead of twelve, so in order to get - an annual rate they should be multiplied by four! - - Let's try to keep a better record of how Snake Oil grew in value: - - 2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil - assets:cash -$100 - investment:snake oil - - 2019-01-02 Buyers remorse - assets:cash $90 - investment:snake oil - - 2019-02-28 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil - equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 - - 2019-06-30 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil - equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 - - 2019-09-30 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil - equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 - - 2019-12-30 Fear of missing out - assets:cash -$90 - investment:snake oil - - 2019-12-31 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil - equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 - - Would our quartery report look better now? Almost: - - $ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ - | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | - +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++========+========+ - | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10.25 | 0.25 || 9.53% | 10.53% | - | 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10.25 | 0 | 10.50 | 0.25 || 10.15% | 10.15% | - | 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10.50 | 0 | 10.75 | 0.25 || 9.79% | 9.78% | - | 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10.75 | 90 | 101.00 | 0.25 || 8.05% | 1.00% | - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ - - Something is still wrong with TWR computation for Q4, and if you have - been paying attention you know what it is already: big $90 buy-back is - recorded prior to the only transaction that captures the change of - value of Snake Oil that happened in this time period. Lets combine - transactions from 30th and 31st of Dec into one: - - 2019-12-30 Fear of missing out and growth of Snake Oil - assets:cash -$90 - investment:snake oil - equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 - - Now growth of investment properly affects its price at the time of buy- - back: - - $ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ - | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | - +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++========+========+ - | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10.25 | 0.25 || 9.53% | 10.53% | - | 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10.25 | 0 | 10.50 | 0.25 || 10.15% | 10.15% | - | 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10.50 | 0 | 10.75 | 0.25 || 9.79% | 9.78% | - | 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10.75 | 90 | 101.00 | 0.25 || 8.05% | 9.57% | - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ - - And for annual report, TWR now reports the exact profitability of our - investment: - - $ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++-------+--------+ - | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | - +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++=======+========+ - | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 101.00 | 1.00 || 9.32% | 10.00% | - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++-------+--------+ - - stats - stats - Show some journal statistics. - - The stats command displays summary information for the whole journal, - or a matched part of it. With a reporting interval, it shows a report - for each report period. - - Example: - - $ hledger stats - Main journal file : /src/hledger/examples/sample.journal - Included journal files : - Transactions span : 2008-01-01 to 2009-01-01 (366 days) - Last transaction : 2008-12-31 (2333 days ago) - Transactions : 5 (0.0 per day) - Transactions last 30 days: 0 (0.0 per day) - Transactions last 7 days : 0 (0.0 per day) - Payees/descriptions : 5 - Accounts : 8 (depth 3) - Commodities : 1 ($) - Market prices : 12 ($) - - This command also supports output destination and output format selec- - tion. - - tags - tags - List the unique tag names used in the journal. With a TAGREGEX argu- - ment, only tag names matching the regular expression (case insensitive) - are shown. With QUERY arguments, only transactions matching the query - are considered. - - With the --values flag, the tags' unique values are listed instead. - - With --parsed flag, all tags or values are shown in the order they are - parsed from the input data, including duplicates. - - With -E/--empty, any blank/empty values will also be shown, otherwise - they are omitted. - - test - test - Run built-in unit tests. - - This command runs the unit tests built in to hledger and hledger-lib, - printing the results on stdout. If any test fails, the exit code will - be non-zero. - - This is mainly used by hledger developers, but you can also use it to - sanity-check the installed hledger executable on your platform. All - tests are expected to pass - if you ever see a failure, please report - as a bug! - - This command also accepts tasty test runner options, written after a -- - (double hyphen). Eg to run only the tests in Hledger.Data.Amount, with - ANSI colour codes disabled: - - $ hledger test -- -pData.Amount --color=never - - For help on these, see https://github.com/feuerbach/tasty#options (-- - --help currently doesn't show them). - - Add-on commands - hledger also searches for external add-on commands, and will include - these in the commands list. These are programs or scripts in your PATH - whose name starts with hledger- and ends with a recognised file exten- - sion (currently: no extension, bat,com,exe, hs,lhs,pl,py,rb,rkt,sh). - - Add-ons can be invoked like any hledger command, but there are a few - things to be aware of. Eg if the hledger-web add-on is installed, - - o hledger -h web shows hledger's help, while hledger web -h shows - hledger-web's help. - - o Flags specific to the add-on must have a preceding -- to hide them - from hledger. So hledger web --serve --port 9000 will be rejected; - you must use hledger web -- --serve --port 9000. - - o You can always run add-ons directly if preferred: hledger-web --serve - --port 9000. - - Add-ons are a relatively easy way to add local features or experiment - with new ideas. They can be written in any language, but haskell - scripts have a big advantage: they can use the same hledger (and - haskell) library functions that built-in commands do, for command-line - options, journal parsing, reporting, etc. - - Two important add-ons are the hledger-ui and hledger-web user inter- - faces. These are maintained and released along with hledger: - - ui - hledger-ui provides an efficient terminal interface. - - web - hledger-web provides a simple web interface. - - Third party add-ons, maintained separately from hledger, include: - - iadd - hledger-iadd is a more interactive, terminal UI replacement for the add - command. - - interest - hledger-interest generates interest transactions for an account accord- - ing to various schemes. - - stockquotes - hledger-stockquotes downloads market prices for the commodities in your - journal from AlphaVantage. - - A few more experimental or old add-ons can be found in hledger's bin/ - directory. These are typically prototypes and not guaranteed to work. - -ENVIRONMENT - LEDGER_FILE The journal file path when not specified with -f. Default: - ~/.hledger.journal (on windows, perhaps C:/Users/USER/.hledger.jour- - nal). - - A typical value is ~/DIR/YYYY.journal, where DIR is a version-con- - trolled finance directory and YYYY is the current year. Or ~/DIR/cur- - rent.journal, where current.journal is a symbolic link to YYYY.journal. - - On Mac computers, you can set this and other environment variables in a - more thorough way that also affects applications started from the GUI - (say, an Emacs dock icon). Eg on MacOS Catalina I have a ~/.MacOSX/en- - vironment.plist file containing - - { - "LEDGER_FILE" : "~/finance/current.journal" - } - - To see the effect you may need to killall Dock, or reboot. - - COLUMNS The screen width used by the register command. Default: the - full terminal width. - - NO_COLOR If this variable exists with any value, hledger will not use - ANSI color codes in terminal output. This overrides the - --color/--colour option. - -FILES - Reads data from one or more files in hledger journal, timeclock, time- - dot, or CSV format specified with -f, or $LEDGER_FILE, or - $HOME/.hledger.journal (on windows, perhaps - C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal). - -LIMITATIONS - The need to precede add-on command options with -- when invoked from - hledger is awkward. - - When input data contains non-ascii characters, a suitable system locale - must be configured (or there will be an unhelpful error). Eg on POSIX, - set LANG to something other than C. - - In a Microsoft Windows CMD window, non-ascii characters and colours are - not supported. - - On Windows, non-ascii characters may not display correctly when running - a hledger built in CMD in MSYS/CYGWIN, or vice-versa. - - In a Cygwin/MSYS/Mintty window, the tab key is not supported in hledger - add. - - Not all of Ledger's journal file syntax is supported. See file format - differences. - - On large data files, hledger is slower and uses more memory than - Ledger. - -TROUBLESHOOTING - Here are some issues you might encounter when you run hledger (and re- - member you can also seek help from the IRC channel, mail list or bug - tracker): - - Successfully installed, but "No command 'hledger' found" - stack and cabal install binaries into a special directory, which should - be added to your PATH environment variable. Eg on unix-like systems, - that is ~/.local/bin and ~/.cabal/bin respectively. - - I set a custom LEDGER_FILE, but hledger is still using the default file - LEDGER_FILE should be a real environment variable, not just a shell - variable. The command env | grep LEDGER_FILE should show it. You may - need to use export. Here's an explanation. - - Getting errors like "Illegal byte sequence" or "Invalid or incomplete - multibyte or wide character" or "commitAndReleaseBuffer: invalid argu- - ment (invalid character)" - Programs compiled with GHC (hledger, haskell build tools, etc.) need to - have a UTF-8-aware locale configured in the environment, otherwise they - will fail with these kinds of errors when they encounter non-ascii - characters. - - To fix it, set the LANG environment variable to some locale which sup- - ports UTF-8. The locale you choose must be installed on your system. - - Here's an example of setting LANG temporarily, on Ubuntu GNU/Linux: - - $ file my.journal - my.journal: UTF-8 Unicode text # the file is UTF8-encoded - $ echo $LANG - C # LANG is set to the default locale, which does not support UTF8 - $ locale -a # which locales are installed ? - C - en_US.utf8 # here's a UTF8-aware one we can use - POSIX - $ LANG=en_US.utf8 hledger -f my.journal print # ensure it is used for this command - - If available, C.UTF-8 will also work. If your preferred locale isn't - listed by locale -a, you might need to install it. Eg on Ubuntu/De- - bian: - - $ apt-get install language-pack-fr - $ locale -a - C - en_US.utf8 - fr_BE.utf8 - fr_CA.utf8 - fr_CH.utf8 - fr_FR.utf8 - fr_LU.utf8 - POSIX - $ LANG=fr_FR.utf8 hledger -f my.journal print - - Here's how you could set it permanently, if you use a bash shell: - - $ echo "export LANG=en_US.utf8" >>~/.bash_profile - $ bash --login - - Exact spelling and capitalisation may be important. Note the differ- - ence on MacOS (UTF-8, not utf8). Some platforms (eg ubuntu) allow - variant spellings, but others (eg macos) require it to be exact: - - $ locale -a | grep -iE en_us.*utf - en_US.UTF-8 - $ LANG=en_US.UTF-8 hledger -f my.journal print - - - -REPORTING BUGS - Report bugs at http://bugs.hledger.org (or on the #hledger IRC channel - or hledger mail list) - - -AUTHORS - Simon Michael and contributors - - -COPYRIGHT - Copyright (C) 2007-2020 Simon Michael. - Released under GNU GPL v3 or later. - - -SEE ALSO - hledger(1), hledger-ui(1), hledger-web(1), hledger_csv(5), - hledger_journal(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5), ledger(1) - - - -hledger 1.20.1 December 2020 hledger(1) +HLEDGER(1) hledger User Manuals HLEDGER(1) + + + +NAME + A command-line accounting tool for both power users and folks new to + accounting. + +SYNOPSIS + hledger + + hledger [-f FILE] COMMAND [OPTIONS] [ARGS] + + hledger [-f FILE] ADDONCMD -- [OPTIONS] [ARGS] + +DESCRIPTION + hledger is a reliable, cross-platform set of programs for tracking + money, time, or any other commodity, using double-entry accounting and + a simple, editable file format. hledger is inspired by and largely + compatible with ledger(1). + + This is hledger's command-line interface (there are also terminal and + web interfaces). Its basic function is to read a plain text file de- + scribing financial transactions (in accounting terms, a general jour- + nal) and print useful reports on standard output, or export them as + CSV. hledger can also read some other file formats such as CSV files, + translating them to journal format. Additionally, hledger lists other + hledger-* executables found in the user's $PATH and can invoke them as + subcommands. + + hledger reads data from one or more files in hledger journal, time- + clock, timedot, or CSV format specified with -f, or $LEDGER_FILE, or + $HOME/.hledger.journal (on windows, perhaps + C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal). If using $LEDGER_FILE, note this must + be a real environment variable, not a shell variable. You can specify + standard input with -f-. + + Transactions are dated movements of money between two (or more) named + accounts, and are recorded with journal entries like this: + + 2015/10/16 bought food + expenses:food $10 + assets:cash + + For more about this format, see hledger_journal(5). + + Most users use a text editor to edit the journal, usually with an edi- + tor mode such as ledger-mode for added convenience. hledger's interac- + tive add command is another way to record new transactions. hledger + never changes existing transactions. + + To get started, you can either save some entries like the above in + ~/.hledger.journal, or run hledger add and follow the prompts. Then + try some commands like hledger print or hledger balance. Run hledger + with no arguments for a list of commands. + +COMMON TASKS + Here are some quick examples of how to do some basic tasks with + hledger. For more details, see the reference section below, the + hledger_journal(5) manual, or the more extensive docs at + https://hledger.org. + + Getting help + $ hledger # show available commands + $ hledger --help # show common options + $ hledger CMD --help # show common and command options, and command help + $ hledger help # show available manuals/topics + $ hledger help hledger # show hledger manual as info/man/text (auto-chosen) + $ hledger help journal --man # show the journal manual as a man page + $ hledger help --help # show more detailed help for the help command + + Find more docs, chat, mail list, reddit, issue tracker: + https://hledger.org#help-feedback + + Constructing command lines + hledger has an extensive and powerful command line interface. We + strive to keep it simple and ergonomic, but you may run into one of the + confusing real world details described in OPTIONS, below. If that hap- + pens, here are some tips that may help: + + o command-specific options must go after the command (it's fine to put + all options there) (hledger CMD OPTS ARGS) + + o running add-on executables directly simplifies command line parsing + (hledger-ui OPTS ARGS) + + o enclose "problematic" args in single quotes + + o if needed, also add a backslash to hide regular expression metachar- + acters from the shell + + o to see how a misbehaving command is being parsed, add --debug=2. + + Starting a journal file + hledger looks for your accounting data in a journal file, + $HOME/.hledger.journal by default: + + $ hledger stats + The hledger journal file "/Users/simon/.hledger.journal" was not found. + Please create it first, eg with "hledger add" or a text editor. + Or, specify an existing journal file with -f or LEDGER_FILE. + + You can override this by setting the LEDGER_FILE environment variable. + It's a good practice to keep this important file under version control, + and to start a new file each year. So you could do something like + this: + + $ mkdir ~/finance + $ cd ~/finance + $ git init + Initialized empty Git repository in /Users/simon/finance/.git/ + $ touch 2020.journal + $ echo "export LEDGER_FILE=$HOME/finance/2020.journal" >> ~/.bashrc + $ source ~/.bashrc + $ hledger stats + Main file : /Users/simon/finance/2020.journal + Included files : + Transactions span : to (0 days) + Last transaction : none + Transactions : 0 (0.0 per day) + Transactions last 30 days: 0 (0.0 per day) + Transactions last 7 days : 0 (0.0 per day) + Payees/descriptions : 0 + Accounts : 0 (depth 0) + Commodities : 0 () + Market prices : 0 () + + Setting opening balances + Pick a starting date for which you can look up the balances of some + real-world assets (bank accounts, wallet..) and liabilities (credit + cards..). + + To avoid a lot of data entry, you may want to start with just one or + two accounts, like your checking account or cash wallet; and pick a re- + cent starting date, like today or the start of the week. You can al- + ways come back later and add more accounts and older transactions, eg + going back to january 1st. + + Add an opening balances transaction to the journal, declaring the bal- + ances on this date. Here are two ways to do it: + + o The first way: open the journal in any text editor and save an entry + like this: + + 2020-01-01 * opening balances + assets:bank:checking $1000 = $1000 + assets:bank:savings $2000 = $2000 + assets:cash $100 = $100 + liabilities:creditcard $-50 = $-50 + equity:opening/closing balances + + These are start-of-day balances, ie whatever was in the account at + the end of the previous day. + + The * after the date is an optional status flag. Here it means + "cleared & confirmed". + + The currency symbols are optional, but usually a good idea as you'll + be dealing with multiple currencies sooner or later. + + The = amounts are optional balance assertions, providing extra error + checking. + + o The second way: run hledger add and follow the prompts to record a + similar transaction: + + $ hledger add + Adding transactions to journal file /Users/simon/finance/2020.journal + Any command line arguments will be used as defaults. + Use tab key to complete, readline keys to edit, enter to accept defaults. + An optional (CODE) may follow transaction dates. + An optional ; COMMENT may follow descriptions or amounts. + If you make a mistake, enter < at any prompt to go one step backward. + To end a transaction, enter . when prompted. + To quit, enter . at a date prompt or press control-d or control-c. + Date [2020-02-07]: 2020-01-01 + Description: * opening balances + Account 1: assets:bank:checking + Amount 1: $1000 + Account 2: assets:bank:savings + Amount 2 [$-1000]: $2000 + Account 3: assets:cash + Amount 3 [$-3000]: $100 + Account 4: liabilities:creditcard + Amount 4 [$-3100]: $-50 + Account 5: equity:opening/closing balances + Amount 5 [$-3050]: + Account 6 (or . or enter to finish this transaction): . + 2020-01-01 * opening balances + assets:bank:checking $1000 + assets:bank:savings $2000 + assets:cash $100 + liabilities:creditcard $-50 + equity:opening/closing balances $-3050 + + Save this transaction to the journal ? [y]: + Saved. + Starting the next transaction (. or ctrl-D/ctrl-C to quit) + Date [2020-01-01]: . + + If you're using version control, this could be a good time to commit + the journal. Eg: + + $ git commit -m 'initial balances' 2020.journal + + Recording transactions + As you spend or receive money, you can record these transactions using + one of the methods above (text editor, hledger add) or by using the + hledger-iadd or hledger-web add-ons, or by using the import command to + convert CSV data downloaded from your bank. + + Here are some simple transactions, see the hledger_journal(5) manual + and hledger.org for more ideas: + + 2020/1/10 * gift received + assets:cash $20 + income:gifts + + 2020.1.12 * farmers market + expenses:food $13 + assets:cash + + 2020-01-15 paycheck + income:salary + assets:bank:checking $1000 + + Reconciling + Periodically you should reconcile - compare your hledger-reported bal- + ances against external sources of truth, like bank statements or your + bank's website - to be sure that your ledger accurately represents the + real-world balances (and, that the real-world institutions have not + made a mistake!). This gets easy and fast with (1) practice and (2) + frequency. If you do it daily, it can take 2-10 minutes. If you let + it pile up, expect it to take longer as you hunt down errors and dis- + crepancies. + + A typical workflow: + + 1. Reconcile cash. Count what's in your wallet. Compare with what + hledger reports (hledger bal cash). If they are different, try to + remember the missing transaction, or look for the error in the al- + ready-recorded transactions. A register report can be helpful + (hledger reg cash). If you can't find the error, add an adjustment + transaction. Eg if you have $105 after the above, and can't explain + the missing $2, it could be: + + 2020-01-16 * adjust cash + assets:cash $-2 = $105 + expenses:misc + + 2. Reconcile checking. Log in to your bank's website. Compare today's + (cleared) balance with hledger's cleared balance (hledger bal check- + ing -C). If they are different, track down the error or record the + missing transaction(s) or add an adjustment transaction, similar to + the above. Unlike the cash case, you can usually compare the trans- + action history and running balance from your bank with the one re- + ported by hledger reg checking -C. This will be easier if you gen- + erally record transaction dates quite similar to your bank's clear- + ing dates. + + 3. Repeat for other asset/liability accounts. + + Tip: instead of the register command, use hledger-ui to see a live-up- + dating register while you edit the journal: hledger-ui --watch --regis- + ter checking -C + + After reconciling, it could be a good time to mark the reconciled + transactions' status as "cleared and confirmed", if you want to track + that, by adding the * marker. Eg in the paycheck transaction above, + insert * between 2020-01-15 and paycheck + + If you're using version control, this can be another good time to com- + mit: + + $ git commit -m 'txns' 2020.journal + + Reporting + Here are some basic reports. + + Show all transactions: + + $ hledger print + 2020-01-01 * opening balances + assets:bank:checking $1000 + assets:bank:savings $2000 + assets:cash $100 + liabilities:creditcard $-50 + equity:opening/closing balances $-3050 + + 2020-01-10 * gift received + assets:cash $20 + income:gifts + + 2020-01-12 * farmers market + expenses:food $13 + assets:cash + + 2020-01-15 * paycheck + income:salary + assets:bank:checking $1000 + + 2020-01-16 * adjust cash + assets:cash $-2 = $105 + expenses:misc + + Show account names, and their hierarchy: + + $ hledger accounts --tree + assets + bank + checking + savings + cash + equity + opening/closing balances + expenses + food + misc + income + gifts + salary + liabilities + creditcard + + Show all account totals: + + $ hledger balance + $4105 assets + $4000 bank + $2000 checking + $2000 savings + $105 cash + $-3050 equity:opening/closing balances + $15 expenses + $13 food + $2 misc + $-1020 income + $-20 gifts + $-1000 salary + $-50 liabilities:creditcard + -------------------- + 0 + + Show only asset and liability balances, as a flat list, limited to + depth 2: + + $ hledger bal assets liabilities --flat -2 + $4000 assets:bank + $105 assets:cash + $-50 liabilities:creditcard + -------------------- + $4055 + + Show the same thing without negative numbers, formatted as a simple + balance sheet: + + $ hledger bs --flat -2 + Balance Sheet 2020-01-16 + + || 2020-01-16 + ========================++============ + Assets || + ------------------------++------------ + assets:bank || $4000 + assets:cash || $105 + ------------------------++------------ + || $4105 + ========================++============ + Liabilities || + ------------------------++------------ + liabilities:creditcard || $50 + ------------------------++------------ + || $50 + ========================++============ + Net: || $4055 + + The final total is your "net worth" on the end date. (Or use bse for a + full balance sheet with equity.) + + Show income and expense totals, formatted as an income statement: + + hledger is + Income Statement 2020-01-01-2020-01-16 + + || 2020-01-01-2020-01-16 + ===============++======================= + Revenues || + ---------------++----------------------- + income:gifts || $20 + income:salary || $1000 + ---------------++----------------------- + || $1020 + ===============++======================= + Expenses || + ---------------++----------------------- + expenses:food || $13 + expenses:misc || $2 + ---------------++----------------------- + || $15 + ===============++======================= + Net: || $1005 + + The final total is your net income during this period. + + Show transactions affecting your wallet, with running total: + + $ hledger register cash + 2020-01-01 opening balances assets:cash $100 $100 + 2020-01-10 gift received assets:cash $20 $120 + 2020-01-12 farmers market assets:cash $-13 $107 + 2020-01-16 adjust cash assets:cash $-2 $105 + + Show weekly posting counts as a bar chart: + + $ hledger activity -W + 2019-12-30 ***** + 2020-01-06 **** + 2020-01-13 **** + + Migrating to a new file + At the end of the year, you may want to continue your journal in a new + file, so that old transactions don't slow down or clutter your reports, + and to help ensure the integrity of your accounting history. See the + close command. + + If using version control, don't forget to git add the new file. + +OPTIONS + General options + To see general usage help, including general options which are sup- + ported by most hledger commands, run hledger -h. + + General help options: + + -h --help + show general usage (or after COMMAND, command usage) + + --version + show version + + --debug[=N] + show debug output (levels 1-9, default: 1) + + General input options: + + -f FILE --file=FILE + use a different input file. For stdin, use - (default: + $LEDGER_FILE or $HOME/.hledger.journal) + + --rules-file=RULESFILE + Conversion rules file to use when reading CSV (default: + FILE.rules) + + --separator=CHAR + Field separator to expect when reading CSV (default: ',') + + --alias=OLD=NEW + rename accounts named OLD to NEW + + --anon anonymize accounts and payees + + --pivot FIELDNAME + use some other field or tag for the account name + + -I --ignore-assertions + disable balance assertion checks (note: does not disable balance + assignments) + + -s --strict + do extra error checking (check that all posted accounts are de- + clared) + + General reporting options: + + -b --begin=DATE + include postings/txns on or after this date + + -e --end=DATE + include postings/txns before this date + + -D --daily + multiperiod/multicolumn report by day + + -W --weekly + multiperiod/multicolumn report by week + + -M --monthly + multiperiod/multicolumn report by month + + -Q --quarterly + multiperiod/multicolumn report by quarter + + -Y --yearly + multiperiod/multicolumn report by year + + -p --period=PERIODEXP + set start date, end date, and/or reporting interval all at once + using period expressions syntax + + --date2 + match the secondary date instead (see command help for other ef- + fects) + + -U --unmarked + include only unmarked postings/txns (can combine with -P or -C) + + -P --pending + include only pending postings/txns + + -C --cleared + include only cleared postings/txns + + -R --real + include only non-virtual postings + + -NUM --depth=NUM + hide/aggregate accounts or postings more than NUM levels deep + + -E --empty + show items with zero amount, normally hidden (and vice-versa in + hledger-ui/hledger-web) + + -B --cost + convert amounts to their cost/selling amount at transaction time + + -V --market + convert amounts to their market value in default valuation com- + modities + + -X --exchange=COMM + convert amounts to their market value in commodity COMM + + --value + convert amounts to cost or market value, more flexibly than + -B/-V/-X + + --infer-value + with -V/-X/--value, also infer market prices from transactions + + --auto apply automated posting rules to modify transactions. + + --forecast + generate future transactions from periodic transaction rules, + for the next 6 months or till report end date. In hledger-ui, + also make ordinary future transactions visible. + + --color=WHEN (or --colour=WHEN) + Should color-supporting commands use ANSI color codes in text + output. 'auto' (default): whenever stdout seems to be a color- + supporting terminal. 'always' or 'yes': always, useful eg when + piping output into 'less -R'. 'never' or 'no': never. A + NO_COLOR environment variable overrides this. + + When a reporting option appears more than once in the command line, the + last one takes precedence. + + Some reporting options can also be written as query arguments. + + Command options + To see options for a particular command, including command-specific op- + tions, run: hledger COMMAND -h. + + Command-specific options must be written after the command name, eg: + hledger print -x. + + Additionally, if the command is an add-on, you may need to put its op- + tions after a double-hyphen, eg: hledger ui -- --watch. Or, you can + run the add-on executable directly: hledger-ui --watch. + + Command arguments + Most hledger commands accept arguments after the command name, which + are often a query, filtering the data in some way. + + You can save a set of command line options/arguments in a file, and + then reuse them by writing @FILENAME as a command line argument. Eg: + hledger bal @foo.args. (To prevent this, eg if you have an argument + that begins with a literal @, precede it with --, eg: hledger bal -- + @ARG). + + Inside the argument file, each line should contain just one option or + argument. Avoid the use of spaces, except inside quotes (or you'll see + a confusing error). Between a flag and its argument, use = (or noth- + ing). Bad: + + assets depth:2 + -X USD + + Good: + + assets + depth:2 + -X=USD + + For special characters (see below), use one less level of quoting than + you would at the command prompt. Bad: + + -X"$" + + Good: + + -X$ + + See also: Save frequently used options. + + Queries + One of hledger's strengths is being able to quickly report on precise + subsets of your data. Most commands accept an optional query expres- + sion, written as arguments after the command name, to filter the data + by date, account name or other criteria. The syntax is similar to a + web search: one or more space-separated search terms, quotes to enclose + whitespace, prefixes to match specific fields, a not: prefix to negate + the match. + + We do not yet support arbitrary boolean combinations of search terms; + instead most commands show transactions/postings/accounts which match + (or negatively match): + + o any of the description terms AND + + o any of the account terms AND + + o any of the status terms AND + + o all the other terms. + + The print command instead shows transactions which: + + o match any of the description terms AND + + o have any postings matching any of the positive account terms AND + + o have no postings matching any of the negative account terms AND + + o match all the other terms. + + The following kinds of search terms can be used. Remember these can + also be prefixed with not:, eg to exclude a particular subaccount. + + REGEX, acct:REGEX + match account names by this regular expression. (With no pre- + fix, acct: is assumed.) same as above + + amt:N, amt:N, amt:>=N + match postings with a single-commodity amount that is equal to, + less than, or greater than N. (Multi-commodity amounts are not + tested, and will always match.) The comparison has two modes: if + N is preceded by a + or - sign (or is 0), the two signed numbers + are compared. Otherwise, the absolute magnitudes are compared, + ignoring sign. + + code:REGEX + match by transaction code (eg check number) + + cur:REGEX + match postings or transactions including any amounts whose cur- + rency/commodity symbol is fully matched by REGEX. (For a par- + tial match, use .*REGEX.*). Note, to match characters which are + regex-significant, like the dollar sign ($), you need to prepend + \. And when using the command line you need to add one more + level of quoting to hide it from the shell, so eg do: hledger + print cur:'\$' or hledger print cur:\\$. + + desc:REGEX + match transaction descriptions. + + date:PERIODEXPR + match dates within the specified period. PERIODEXPR is a period + expression (with no report interval). Examples: date:2016, + date:thismonth, date:2000/2/1-2/15, date:lastweek-. If the + --date2 command line flag is present, this matches secondary + dates instead. + + date2:PERIODEXPR + match secondary dates within the specified period. + + depth:N + match (or display, depending on command) accounts at or above + this depth + + note:REGEX + match transaction notes (part of description right of |, or + whole description when there's no |) + + payee:REGEX + match transaction payee/payer names (part of description left of + |, or whole description when there's no |) + + real:, real:0 + match real or virtual postings respectively + + status:, status:!, status:* + match unmarked, pending, or cleared transactions respectively + + tag:REGEX[=REGEX] + match by tag name, and optionally also by tag value. Note a + tag: query is considered to match a transaction if it matches + any of the postings. Also remember that postings inherit the + tags of their parent transaction. + + The following special search term is used automatically in hledger-web, + only: + + inacct:ACCTNAME + tells hledger-web to show the transaction register for this ac- + count. Can be filtered further with acct etc. + + Some of these can also be expressed as command-line options (eg depth:2 + is equivalent to --depth 2). Generally you can mix options and query + arguments, and the resulting query will be their intersection (perhaps + excluding the -p/--period option). + + Special characters in arguments and queries + In shell command lines, option and argument values which contain "prob- + lematic" characters, ie spaces, and also characters significant to your + shell such as <, >, (, ), | and $, should be escaped by enclosing them + in quotes or by writing backslashes before the characters. Eg: + + hledger register -p 'last year' "accounts receivable (receiv- + able|payable)" amt:\>100. + + More escaping + Characters significant both to the shell and in regular expressions may + need one extra level of escaping. These include parentheses, the pipe + symbol and the dollar sign. Eg, to match the dollar symbol, bash users + should do: + + hledger balance cur:'\$' + + or: + + hledger balance cur:\\$ + + Even more escaping + When hledger runs an add-on executable (eg you type hledger ui, hledger + runs hledger-ui), it de-escapes command-line options and arguments + once, so you might need to triple-escape. Eg in bash, running the ui + command and matching the dollar sign, it's: + + hledger ui cur:'\\$' + + or: + + hledger ui cur:\\\\$ + + If you asked why four slashes above, this may help: + + unescaped: $ + escaped: \$ + double-escaped: \\$ + triple-escaped: \\\\$ + + (The number of backslashes in fish shell is left as an exercise for the + reader.) + + You can always avoid the extra escaping for add-ons by running the add- + on directly: + + hledger-ui cur:\\$ + + Less escaping + Inside an argument file, or in the search field of hledger-ui or + hledger-web, or at a GHCI prompt, you need one less level of escaping + than at the command line. And backslashes may work better than quotes. + Eg: + + ghci> :main balance cur:\$ + + Unicode characters + hledger is expected to handle non-ascii characters correctly: + + o they should be parsed correctly in input files and on the command + line, by all hledger tools (add, iadd, hledger-web's search/add/edit + forms, etc.) + + o they should be displayed correctly by all hledger tools, and on- + screen alignment should be preserved. + + This requires a well-configured environment. Here are some tips: + + o A system locale must be configured, and it must be one that can de- + code the characters being used. In bash, you can set a locale like + this: export LANG=en_US.UTF-8. There are some more details in Trou- + bleshooting. This step is essential - without it, hledger will quit + on encountering a non-ascii character (as with all GHC-compiled pro- + grams). + + o your terminal software (eg Terminal.app, iTerm, CMD.exe, xterm..) + must support unicode + + o the terminal must be using a font which includes the required unicode + glyphs + + o the terminal should be configured to display wide characters as dou- + ble width (for report alignment) + + o on Windows, for best results you should run hledger in the same kind + of environment in which it was built. Eg hledger built in the stan- + dard CMD.EXE environment (like the binaries on our download page) + might show display problems when run in a cygwin or msys terminal, + and vice versa. (See eg #961). + + Input files + hledger reads transactions from a data file (and the add command writes + to it). By default this file is $HOME/.hledger.journal (or on Windows, + something like C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal). You can override this + with the $LEDGER_FILE environment variable: + + $ setenv LEDGER_FILE ~/finance/2016.journal + $ hledger stats + + or with the -f/--file option: + + $ hledger -f /some/file stats + + The file name - (hyphen) means standard input: + + $ cat some.journal | hledger -f- + + Usually the data file is in hledger's journal format, but it can be in + any of the supported file formats, which currently are: + + Reader: Reads: Used for file exten- + sions: + ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + journal hledger journal files and some Ledger .journal .j .hledger + journals, for transactions .ledger + time- timeclock files, for precise time log- .timeclock + clock ging + timedot timedot files, for approximate time .timedot + logging + csv comma/semicolon/tab/other-separated .csv .ssv .tsv + values, for data import + + hledger detects the format automatically based on the file extensions + shown above. If it can't recognise the file extension, it assumes + journal format. So for non-journal files, it's important to use a + recognised file extension, so as to either read successfully or to show + relevant error messages. + + When you can't ensure the right file extension, not to worry: you can + force a specific reader/format by prefixing the file path with the for- + mat and a colon. Eg to read a .dat file as csv: + + $ hledger -f csv:/some/csv-file.dat stats + $ echo 'i 2009/13/1 08:00:00' | hledger print -ftimeclock:- + + You can specify multiple -f options, to read multiple files as one big + journal. There are some limitations with this: + + o directives in one file will not affect the other files + + o balance assertions will not see any account balances from previous + files + + If you need either of those things, you can + + o use a single parent file which includes the others + + o or concatenate the files into one before reading, eg: cat a.journal + b.journal | hledger -f- CMD. + + Strict mode + hledger checks input files for valid data. By default, the most impor- + tant errors are detected, while still accepting easy journal files + without a lot of declarations: + + o Are the input files parseable, with valid syntax ? + + o Are all transactions balanced ? + + o Do all balance assertions pass ? + + With the -s/--strict flag, additional checks are performed: + + o Are all accounts posted to, declared with an account directive ? + (Account error checking) + + o Are all commodities declared with a commodity directive ? (Commodity + error checking) + + See also: https://hledger.org/checking-for-errors.html + + experimental. + + Output destination + hledger commands send their output to the terminal by default. You can + of course redirect this, eg into a file, using standard shell syntax: + + $ hledger print > foo.txt + + Some commands (print, register, stats, the balance commands) also pro- + vide the -o/--output-file option, which does the same thing without + needing the shell. Eg: + + $ hledger print -o foo.txt + $ hledger print -o - # write to stdout (the default) + + Output format + Some commands (print, register, the balance commands) offer a choice of + output format. In addition to the usual plain text format (txt), there + are CSV (csv), HTML (html), JSON (json) and SQL (sql). This is con- + trolled by the -O/--output-format option: + + $ hledger print -O csv + + or, by a file extension specified with -o/--output-file: + + $ hledger balancesheet -o foo.html # write HTML to foo.html + + The -O option can be used to override the file extension if needed: + + $ hledger balancesheet -o foo.txt -O html # write HTML to foo.txt + + Some notes about JSON output: + + o This feature is marked experimental, and not yet much used; you + should expect our JSON to evolve. Real-world feedback is welcome. + + o Our JSON is rather large and verbose, as it is quite a faithful rep- + resentation of hledger's internal data types. To understand the + JSON, read the Haskell type definitions, which are mostly in + https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/blob/master/hledger- + lib/Hledger/Data/Types.hs. + + o hledger represents quantities as Decimal values storing up to 255 + significant digits, eg for repeating decimals. Such numbers can + arise in practice (from automatically-calculated transaction prices), + and would break most JSON consumers. So in JSON, we show quantities + as simple Numbers with at most 10 decimal places. We don't limit the + number of integer digits, but that part is under your control. We + hope this approach will not cause problems in practice; if you find + otherwise, please let us know. (Cf #1195) + + Notes about SQL output: + + o SQL output is also marked experimental, and much like JSON could use + real-world feedback. + + o SQL output is expected to work with sqlite, MySQL and PostgreSQL + + o SQL output is structured with the expectations that statements will + be executed in the empty database. If you already have tables cre- + ated via SQL output of hledger, you would probably want to either + clear tables of existing data (via delete or truncate SQL statements) + or drop tables completely as otherwise your postings will be duped. + + Regular expressions + hledger uses regular expressions in a number of places: + + o query terms, on the command line and in the hledger-web search form: + REGEX, desc:REGEX, cur:REGEX, tag:...=REGEX + + o CSV rules conditional blocks: if REGEX ... + + o account alias directives and options: alias /REGEX/ = REPLACEMENT, + --alias /REGEX/=REPLACEMENT + + hledger's regular expressions come from the regex-tdfa library. If + they're not doing what you expect, it's important to know exactly what + they support: + + 1. they are case insensitive + + 2. they are infix matching (they do not need to match the entire thing + being matched) + + 3. they are POSIX ERE (extended regular expressions) + + 4. they also support GNU word boundaries (\b, \B, \<, \>) + + 5. they do not support backreferences; if you write \1, it will match + the digit 1. Except when doing text replacement, eg in account + aliases, where backreferences can be used in the replacement string + to reference capturing groups in the search regexp. + + 6. they do not support mode modifiers ((?s)), character classes (\w, + \d), or anything else not mentioned above. + + Some things to note: + + o In the alias directive and --alias option, regular expressions must + be enclosed in forward slashes (/REGEX/). Elsewhere in hledger, + these are not required. + + o In queries, to match a regular expression metacharacter like $ as a + literal character, prepend a backslash. Eg to search for amounts + with the dollar sign in hledger-web, write cur:\$. + + o On the command line, some metacharacters like $ have a special mean- + ing to the shell and so must be escaped at least once more. See Spe- + cial characters. + + Smart dates + hledger's user interfaces accept a flexible "smart date" syntax (unlike + dates in the journal file). Smart dates allow some english words, can + be relative to today's date, and can have less-significant date parts + omitted (defaulting to 1). + + Examples: + + 2004/10/1, 2004-01-01, exact date, several separators allowed. Year + 2004.9.1 is 4+ digits, month is 1-12, day is 1-31 + 2004 start of year + 2004/10 start of month + 10/1 month and day in current year + 21 day in current month + october, oct start of month in current year + yesterday, today, tomor- -1, 0, 1 days from today + row + last/this/next -1, 0, 1 periods from the current period + day/week/month/quar- + ter/year + 20181201 8 digit YYYYMMDD with valid year month and day + 201812 6 digit YYYYMM with valid year and month + + Counterexamples - malformed digit sequences might give surprising re- + sults: + + 201813 6 digits with an invalid month is parsed as start of + 6-digit year + 20181301 8 digits with an invalid month is parsed as start of + 8-digit year + 20181232 8 digits with an invalid day gives an error + 201801012 9+ digits beginning with a valid YYYYMMDD gives an error + + Report start & end date + Most hledger reports show the full span of time represented by the + journal data, by default. So, the effective report start and end dates + will be the earliest and latest transaction or posting dates found in + the journal. + + Often you will want to see a shorter time span, such as the current + month. You can specify a start and/or end date using -b/--begin, + -e/--end, -p/--period or a date: query (described below). All of these + accept the smart date syntax. + + Some notes: + + o As in Ledger, end dates are exclusive, so you need to write the date + after the last day you want to include. + + o As noted in reporting options: among start/end dates specified with + options, the last (i.e. right-most) option takes precedence. + + o The effective report start and end dates are the intersection of the + start/end dates from options and that from date: queries. That is, + date:2019-01 date:2019 -p'2000 to 2030' yields January 2019, the + smallest common time span. + + Examples: + + -b 2016/3/17 begin on St. Patrick's day 2016 + -e 12/1 end at the start of december 1st of the current year + (11/30 will be the last date included) + -b thismonth all transactions on or after the 1st of the current month + -p thismonth all transactions in the current month + date:2016/3/17.. the above written as queries instead (.. can also be re- + placed with -) + date:..12/1 + date:thismonth.. + date:thismonth + + Report intervals + A report interval can be specified so that commands like register, bal- + ance and activity will divide their reports into multiple subperiods. + The basic intervals can be selected with one of -D/--daily, + -W/--weekly, -M/--monthly, -Q/--quarterly, or -Y/--yearly. More com- + plex intervals may be specified with a period expression. Report in- + tervals can not be specified with a query. + + Period expressions + The -p/--period option accepts period expressions, a shorthand way of + expressing a start date, end date, and/or report interval all at once. + + Here's a basic period expression specifying the first quarter of 2009. + Note, hledger always treats start dates as inclusive and end dates as + exclusive: + + -p "from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1" + + Keywords like "from" and "to" are optional, and so are the spaces, as + long as you don't run two dates together. "to" can also be written as + ".." or "-". These are equivalent to the above: + + -p "2009/1/1 2009/4/1" + -p2009/1/1to2009/4/1 + -p2009/1/1..2009/4/1 + + Dates are smart dates, so if the current year is 2009, the above can + also be written as: + + -p "1/1 4/1" + -p "january-apr" + -p "this year to 4/1" + + If you specify only one date, the missing start or end date will be the + earliest or latest transaction in your journal: + + -p "from 2009/1/1" everything after january + 1, 2009 + -p "from 2009/1" the same + -p "from 2009" the same + -p "to 2009" everything before january + 1, 2009 + + A single date with no "from" or "to" defines both the start and end + date like so: + + -p "2009" the year 2009; equivalent + to "2009/1/1 to 2010/1/1" + -p "2009/1" the month of jan; equiva- + lent to "2009/1/1 to + 2009/2/1" + -p "2009/1/1" just that day; equivalent + to "2009/1/1 to 2009/1/2" + + Or you can specify a single quarter like so: + + -p "2009Q1" first quarter of 2009, + equivalent to "2009/1/1 to + 2009/4/1" + -p "q4" fourth quarter of the cur- + rent year + + The argument of -p can also begin with, or be, a report interval ex- + pression. The basic report intervals are daily, weekly, monthly, quar- + terly, or yearly, which have the same effect as the -D,-W,-M,-Q, or -Y + flags. Between report interval and start/end dates (if any), the word + in is optional. Examples: + + -p "weekly from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1" + -p "monthly in 2008" + -p "quarterly" + + Note that weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly intervals will always + start on the first day on week, month, quarter or year accordingly, and + will end on the last day of same period, even if associated period ex- + pression specifies different explicit start and end date. + + For example: + + -p "weekly from 2009/1/1 starts on 2008/12/29, closest preceding Mon- + to 2009/4/1" day + -p "monthly in starts on 2018/11/01 + 2008/11/25" + -p "quarterly from starts on 2009/04/01, ends on 2009/06/30, + 2009-05-05 to 2009-06-01" which are first and last days of Q2 2009 + -p "yearly from starts on 2009/01/01, first day of 2009 + 2009-12-29" + + The following more complex report intervals are also supported: bi- + weekly, fortnightly, bimonthly, every day|week|month|quarter|year, ev- + ery N days|weeks|months|quarters|years. + + All of these will start on the first day of the requested period and + end on the last one, as described above. + + Examples: + + -p "bimonthly from 2008" periods will have boundaries on 2008/01/01, + 2008/03/01, ... + -p "every 2 weeks" starts on closest preceding Monday + -p "every 5 month from periods will have boundaries on 2009/03/01, + 2009/03" 2009/08/01, ... + + If you want intervals that start on arbitrary day of your choosing and + span a week, month or year, you need to use any of the following: + + every Nth day of week, every WEEKDAYNAME (eg + mon|tue|wed|thu|fri|sat|sun), every Nth day [of month], every Nth WEEK- + DAYNAME [of month], every MM/DD [of year], every Nth MMM [of year], ev- + ery MMM Nth [of year]. + + Examples: + + -p "every 2nd day of periods will go from Tue to Tue + week" + -p "every Tue" same + -p "every 15th day" period boundaries will be on 15th of each + month + -p "every 2nd Monday" period boundaries will be on second Monday of + each month + -p "every 11/05" yearly periods with boundaries on 5th of Nov + -p "every 5th Nov" same + -p "every Nov 5th" same + + Show historical balances at end of 15th each month (N is exclusive end + date): + + hledger balance -H -p "every 16th day" + + Group postings from start of wednesday to end of next tuesday (N is + start date and exclusive end date): + + hledger register checking -p "every 3rd day of week" + + Depth limiting + With the --depth N option (short form: -N), commands like account, bal- + ance and register will show only the uppermost accounts in the account + tree, down to level N. Use this when you want a summary with less de- + tail. This flag has the same effect as a depth: query argument (so -2, + --depth=2 or depth:2 are equivalent). + + Pivoting + Normally hledger sums amounts, and organizes them in a hierarchy, based + on account name. The --pivot FIELD option causes it to sum and orga- + nize hierarchy based on the value of some other field instead. FIELD + can be: code, description, payee, note, or the full name (case insensi- + tive) of any tag. As with account names, values containing colon:sepa- + rated:parts will be displayed hierarchically in reports. + + --pivot is a general option affecting all reports; you can think of + hledger transforming the journal before any other processing, replacing + every posting's account name with the value of the specified field on + that posting, inheriting it from the transaction or using a blank value + if it's not present. + + An example: + + 2016/02/16 Member Fee Payment + assets:bank account 2 EUR + income:member fees -2 EUR ; member: John Doe + + Normal balance report showing account names: + + $ hledger balance + 2 EUR assets:bank account + -2 EUR income:member fees + -------------------- + 0 + + Pivoted balance report, using member: tag values instead: + + $ hledger balance --pivot member + 2 EUR + -2 EUR John Doe + -------------------- + 0 + + One way to show only amounts with a member: value (using a query, de- + scribed below): + + $ hledger balance --pivot member tag:member=. + -2 EUR John Doe + -------------------- + -2 EUR + + Another way (the acct: query matches against the pivoted "account + name"): + + $ hledger balance --pivot member acct:. + -2 EUR John Doe + -------------------- + -2 EUR + + Valuation + Instead of reporting amounts in their original commodity, hledger can + convert them to cost/sale amount (using the conversion rate recorded in + the transaction), or to market value (using some market price on a cer- + tain date). This is controlled by the --value=TYPE[,COMMODITY] option, + but we also provide the simpler -B/-V/-X flags, and usually one of + those is all you need. + + -B: Cost + The -B/--cost flag converts amounts to their cost or sale amount at + transaction time, if they have a transaction price specified. + + -V: Value + The -V/--market flag converts amounts to market value in their default + valuation commodity, using the market prices in effect on the valuation + date(s), if any. More on these in a minute. + + -X: Value in specified commodity + The -X/--exchange=COMM option is like -V, except you tell it which cur- + rency you want to convert to, and it tries to convert everything to + that. + + Valuation date + Since market prices can change from day to day, market value reports + have a valuation date (or more than one), which determines which market + prices will be used. + + For single period reports, if an explicit report end date is specified, + that will be used as the valuation date; otherwise the valuation date + is "today". + + For multiperiod reports, each column/period is valued on the last day + of the period, by default. + + Market prices + (experimental) + + To convert a commodity A to its market value in another commodity B, + hledger looks for a suitable market price (exchange rate) as follows, + in this order of preference : + + 1. A declared market price or inferred market price: A's latest market + price in B on or before the valuation date as declared by a P direc- + tive, or (with the --infer-value flag) inferred from transaction + prices. + + 2. A reverse market price: the inverse of a declared or inferred market + price from B to A. + + 3. A a forward chain of market prices: a synthetic price formed by com- + bining the shortest chain of "forward" (only 1 above) market prices, + leading from A to B. + + 4. A any chain of market prices: a chain of any market prices, includ- + ing both forward and reverse prices (1 and 2 above), leading from A + to B. + + Amounts for which no applicable market price can be found, are not con- + verted. + + --infer-value: market prices from transactions + (experimental) + + Normally, market value in hledger is fully controlled by, and requires, + P directives in your journal. Since adding and updating those can be a + chore, and since transactions usually take place at close to market + value, why not use the recorded transaction prices as additional market + prices (as Ledger does) ? We could produce value reports without need- + ing P directives at all. + + Adding the --infer-value flag to -V, -X or --value enables this. So + for example, hledger bs -V --infer-value will get market prices both + from P directives and from transactions. + + There is a downside: value reports can sometimes be affected in confus- + ing/undesired ways by your journal entries. If this happens to you, + read all of this Valuation section carefully, and try adding --debug or + --debug=2 to troubleshoot. + + --infer-value can infer market prices from: + + o multicommodity transactions with explicit prices (@/@@) + + o multicommodity transactions with implicit prices (no @, two commodi- + ties, unbalanced). (With these, the order of postings matters. + hledger print -x can be useful for troubleshooting.) + + o but not, currently, from "more correct" multicommodity transactions + (no @, multiple commodities, balanced). + + Valuation commodity + (experimental) + + When you specify a valuation commodity (-X COMM or --value TYPE,COMM): + hledger will convert all amounts to COMM, wherever it can find a suit- + able market price (including by reversing or chaining prices). + + When you leave the valuation commodity unspecified (-V or --value + TYPE): + For each commodity A, hledger picks a default valuation commodity as + follows, in this order of preference: + + 1. The price commodity from the latest P-declared market price for A on + or before valuation date. + + 2. The price commodity from the latest P-declared market price for A on + any date. (Allows conversion to proceed when there are inferred + prices before the valuation date.) + + 3. If there are no P directives at all (any commodity or date) and the + --infer-value flag is used: the price commodity from the latest + transaction-inferred price for A on or before valuation date. + + This means: + + o If you have P directives, they determine which commodities -V will + convert, and to what. + + o If you have no P directives, and use the --infer-value flag, transac- + tion prices determine it. + + Amounts for which no valuation commodity can be found are not con- + verted. + + Simple valuation examples + Here are some quick examples of -V: + + ; one euro is worth this many dollars from nov 1 + P 2016/11/01 EUR $1.10 + + ; purchase some euros on nov 3 + 2016/11/3 + assets:euros EUR100 + assets:checking + + ; the euro is worth fewer dollars by dec 21 + P 2016/12/21 EUR $1.03 + + How many euros do I have ? + + $ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros + EUR100 assets:euros + + What are they worth at end of nov 3 ? + + $ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros -V -e 2016/11/4 + $110.00 assets:euros + + What are they worth after 2016/12/21 ? (no report end date specified, + defaults to today) + + $ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros -V + $103.00 assets:euros + + --value: Flexible valuation + -B, -V and -X are special cases of the more general --value option: + + --value=TYPE[,COMM] TYPE is cost, then, end, now or YYYY-MM-DD. + COMM is an optional commodity symbol. + Shows amounts converted to: + - cost commodity using transaction prices (then optionally to COMM using market prices at period end(s)) + - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at posting dates + - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at period end(s) + - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using current market prices + - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at some date + + The TYPE part selects cost or value and valuation date: + + --value=cost + Convert amounts to cost, using the prices recorded in transac- + tions. + + --value=then + Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commod- + ity, using market prices on each posting's date. This is cur- + rently supported only by the print and register commands. + + --value=end + Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commod- + ity, using market prices on the last day of the report period + (or if unspecified, the journal's end date); or in multiperiod + reports, market prices on the last day of each subperiod. + + --value=now + Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commod- + ity using current market prices (as of when report is gener- + ated). + + --value=YYYY-MM-DD + Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commod- + ity using market prices on this date. + + To select a different valuation commodity, add the optional ,COMM part: + a comma, then the target commodity's symbol. Eg: --value=now,EUR. + hledger will do its best to convert amounts to this commodity, deducing + market prices as described above. + + More valuation examples + Here are some examples showing the effect of --value, as seen with + print: + + P 2000-01-01 A 1 B + P 2000-02-01 A 2 B + P 2000-03-01 A 3 B + P 2000-04-01 A 4 B + + 2000-01-01 + (a) 1 A @ 5 B + + 2000-02-01 + (a) 1 A @ 6 B + + 2000-03-01 + (a) 1 A @ 7 B + + Show the cost of each posting: + + $ hledger -f- print --value=cost + 2000-01-01 + (a) 5 B + + 2000-02-01 + (a) 6 B + + 2000-03-01 + (a) 7 B + + Show the value as of the last day of the report period (2000-02-29): + + $ hledger -f- print --value=end date:2000/01-2000/03 + 2000-01-01 + (a) 2 B + + 2000-02-01 + (a) 2 B + + With no report period specified, that shows the value as of the last + day of the journal (2000-03-01): + + $ hledger -f- print --value=end + 2000-01-01 + (a) 3 B + + 2000-02-01 + (a) 3 B + + 2000-03-01 + (a) 3 B + + Show the current value (the 2000-04-01 price is still in effect today): + + $ hledger -f- print --value=now + 2000-01-01 + (a) 4 B + + 2000-02-01 + (a) 4 B + + 2000-03-01 + (a) 4 B + + Show the value on 2000/01/15: + + $ hledger -f- print --value=2000-01-15 + 2000-01-01 + (a) 1 B + + 2000-02-01 + (a) 1 B + + 2000-03-01 + (a) 1 B + + You may need to explicitly set a commodity's display style, when re- + verse prices are used. Eg this output might be surprising: + + P 2000-01-01 A 2B + + 2000-01-01 + a 1B + b + + $ hledger print -x -X A + 2000-01-01 + a 0 + b 0 + + Explanation: because there's no amount or commodity directive specify- + ing a display style for A, 0.5A gets the default style, which shows no + decimal digits. Because the displayed amount looks like zero, the com- + modity symbol and minus sign are not displayed either. Adding a com- + modity directive sets a more useful display style for A: + + P 2000-01-01 A 2B + commodity 0.00A + + 2000-01-01 + a 1B + b + + $ hledger print -X A + 2000-01-01 + a 0.50A + b -0.50A + + Effect of valuation on reports + Here is a reference for how valuation is supposed to affect each part + of hledger's reports (and a glossary). (It's wide, you'll have to + scroll sideways.) It may be useful when troubleshooting. If you find + problems, please report them, ideally with a reproducible example. Re- + lated: #329, #1083. + + Report type -B, -V, -X --value=then --value=end --value=DATE, + --value=cost --value=now + -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + print + posting cost value at re- value at value at re- value at + amounts port end or posting date port or jour- DATE/today + today nal end + balance as- unchanged unchanged unchanged unchanged unchanged + ser- + tions/as- + signments + + register + starting cost value at day not sup- value at day value at + balance before report ported before report DATE/today + (-H) or journal or journal + start start + posting cost value at re- value at value at re- value at + amounts port end or posting date port or jour- DATE/today + today nal end + summary summarised value at pe- sum of post- value at pe- value at + posting cost riod ends ings in in- riod ends DATE/today + amounts terval, val- + with report ued at in- + interval terval start + running to- sum/average sum/average sum/average sum/average sum/average + tal/average of displayed of displayed of displayed of displayed of displayed + values values values values values + + balance + (bs, bse, + cf, is) + balance sums of costs value at re- not sup- value at re- value at + changes port end or ported port or jour- DATE/today of + today of sums nal end of sums of post- + of postings sums of post- ings + ings + budget like balance like balance not sup- like balances like balance + amounts changes changes ported changes + (--budget) + grand total sum of dis- sum of dis- not sup- sum of dis- sum of dis- + played values played values ported played values played values + + balance + (bs, bse, + cf, is) + with report + interval + starting sums of costs value at re- not sup- value at re- sums of post- + balances of postings port start of ported port start of ings before + (-H) before report sums of all sums of all report start + start postings be- postings be- + fore report fore report + start start + + + + balance sums of costs same as not sup- balance value at + changes of postings --value=end ported change in DATE/today of + (bal, is, in period each period, sums of post- + bs valued at pe- ings + --change, riod ends + cf + --change) + end bal- sums of costs same as not sup- period end value at + ances (bal of postings --value=end ported balances, DATE/today of + -H, is --H, from before valued at pe- sums of post- + bs, cf) report start riod ends ings + to period end + budget like balance like balance not sup- like balances like balance + amounts changes/end changes/end ported changes/end + (--budget) balances balances balances + row totals, sums, aver- sums, aver- not sup- sums, aver- sums, aver- + row aver- ages of dis- ages of dis- ported ages of dis- ages of dis- + ages (-T, played values played values played values played values + -A) + column to- sums of dis- sums of dis- not sup- sums of dis- sums of dis- + tals played values played values ported played values played values + grand to- sum, average sum, average not sup- sum, average sum, average + tal, grand of column to- of column to- ported of column to- of column to- + average tals tals tals tals + + + --cumulative is omitted to save space, it works like -H but with a zero + starting balance. + + Glossary: + + cost calculated using price(s) recorded in the transaction(s). + + value market value using available market price declarations, or the + unchanged amount if no conversion rate can be found. + + report start + the first day of the report period specified with -b or -p or + date:, otherwise today. + + report or journal start + the first day of the report period specified with -b or -p or + date:, otherwise the earliest transaction date in the journal, + otherwise today. + + report end + the last day of the report period specified with -e or -p or + date:, otherwise today. + + report or journal end + the last day of the report period specified with -e or -p or + date:, otherwise the latest transaction date in the journal, + otherwise today. + + report interval + a flag (-D/-W/-M/-Q/-Y) or period expression that activates the + report's multi-period mode (whether showing one or many subperi- + ods). + +COMMANDS + hledger provides a number of commands for producing reports and manag- + ing your data. Run hledger with no arguments to list the commands + available. + + To run a command, write its name (or its abbreviation shown in the com- + mands list, or any unambiguous prefix of the name) as hledger's first + argument. Eg: hledger balance or hledger bal. + + Here are the built-in commands: + + Data entry (these modify the journal file): + + o add - add transactions using guided prompts + + o import - add any new transactions from other files (eg csv) + + Data management: + + o check - check for various kinds of issue in the data + + o close (equity) - generate balance-resetting transactions + + o diff - compare account transactions in two journal files + + o rewrite - generate extra postings, similar to print --auto + + Financial statements: + + o aregister (areg) - show transactions in a particular account + + o balancesheet (bs) - show assets, liabilities and net worth + + o balancesheetequity (bse) - show assets, liabilities and equity + + o cashflow (cf) - show changes in liquid assets + + o incomestatement (is) - show revenues and expenses + + o roi - show return on investments + + Miscellaneous reports: + + o accounts (a) - show account names + + o activity - show postings-per-interval bar charts + + o balance (b, bal) - show balance changes/end balances/budgets in ac- + counts + + o codes - show transaction codes + + o commodities - show commodity/currency symbols + + o descriptions - show unique transaction descriptions + + o files - show input file paths + + o notes - show unique note segments of transaction descriptions + + o payees - show unique payee segments of transaction descriptions + + o prices - show market price records + + o print (p, txns) - show transactions (journal entries) + + o print-unique - show only transactions with unique descriptions + + o register (r, reg) - show postings in one or more accounts & running + total + + o register-match - show a recent posting that best matches a descrip- + tion + + o stats - show journal statistics + + o tags - show tag names + + o test - run self tests + + Next, the detailed command docs, in alphabetical order. + + accounts + accounts, a + Show account names. + + This command lists account names, either declared with account direc- + tives (--declared), posted to (--used), or both (the default). With + query arguments, only matched account names and account names refer- + enced by matched postings are shown. It shows a flat list by default. + With --tree, it uses indentation to show the account hierarchy. In + flat mode you can add --drop N to omit the first few account name com- + ponents. Account names can be depth-clipped with depth:N or --depth N + or -N. + + Examples: + + $ hledger accounts + assets:bank:checking + assets:bank:saving + assets:cash + expenses:food + expenses:supplies + income:gifts + income:salary + liabilities:debts + + activity + activity + Show an ascii barchart of posting counts per interval. + + The activity command displays an ascii histogram showing transaction + counts by day, week, month or other reporting interval (by day is the + default). With query arguments, it counts only matched transactions. + + Examples: + + $ hledger activity --quarterly + 2008-01-01 ** + 2008-04-01 ******* + 2008-07-01 + 2008-10-01 ** + + add + add + Prompt for transactions and add them to the journal. Any arguments + will be used as default inputs for the first N prompts. + + Many hledger users edit their journals directly with a text editor, or + generate them from CSV. For more interactive data entry, there is the + add command, which prompts interactively on the console for new trans- + actions, and appends them to the journal file (if there are multiple -f + FILE options, the first file is used.) Existing transactions are not + changed. This is the only hledger command that writes to the journal + file. + + To use it, just run hledger add and follow the prompts. You can add as + many transactions as you like; when you are finished, enter . or press + control-d or control-c to exit. + + Features: + + o add tries to provide useful defaults, using the most similar (by de- + scription) recent transaction (filtered by the query, if any) as a + template. + + o You can also set the initial defaults with command line arguments. + + o Readline-style edit keys can be used during data entry. + + o The tab key will auto-complete whenever possible - accounts, descrip- + tions, dates (yesterday, today, tomorrow). If the input area is + empty, it will insert the default value. + + o If the journal defines a default commodity, it will be added to any + bare numbers entered. + + o A parenthesised transaction code may be entered following a date. + + o Comments and tags may be entered following a description or amount. + + o If you make a mistake, enter < at any prompt to go one step backward. + + o Input prompts are displayed in a different colour when the terminal + supports it. + + Example (see the tutorial for a detailed explanation): + + $ hledger add + Adding transactions to journal file /src/hledger/examples/sample.journal + Any command line arguments will be used as defaults. + Use tab key to complete, readline keys to edit, enter to accept defaults. + An optional (CODE) may follow transaction dates. + An optional ; COMMENT may follow descriptions or amounts. + If you make a mistake, enter < at any prompt to go one step backward. + To end a transaction, enter . when prompted. + To quit, enter . at a date prompt or press control-d or control-c. + Date [2015/05/22]: + Description: supermarket + Account 1: expenses:food + Amount 1: $10 + Account 2: assets:checking + Amount 2 [$-10.0]: + Account 3 (or . or enter to finish this transaction): . + 2015/05/22 supermarket + expenses:food $10 + assets:checking $-10.0 + + Save this transaction to the journal ? [y]: + Saved. + Starting the next transaction (. or ctrl-D/ctrl-C to quit) + Date [2015/05/22]: $ + + On Microsoft Windows, the add command makes sure that no part of the + file path ends with a period, as that would cause problems (#1056). + + aregister + aregister, areg + Show transactions affecting a particular account, and the account's + running balance. + + aregister shows the transactions affecting a particular account (and + its subaccounts), from the point of view of that account. Each line + shows: + + o the transaction's (or posting's, see below) date + + o the names of the other account(s) involved + + o the net change to this account's balance + + o the account's historical running balance (including balance from + transactions before the report start date). + + With aregister, each line represents a whole transaction - as in + hledger-ui, hledger-web, and your bank statement. By contrast, the + register command shows individual postings, across all accounts. You + might prefer aregister for reconciling with real-world asset/liability + accounts, and register for reviewing detailed revenues/expenses. + + An account must be specified as the first argument, which should be the + full account name or an account pattern (regular expression). aregis- + ter will show transactions in this account (the first one matched) and + any of its subaccounts. + + Any additional arguments form a query which will filter the transac- + tions shown. + + Transactions making a net change of zero are not shown by default; add + the -E/--empty flag to show them. + + This command also supports the output destination and output format op- + tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, and json. + + aregister and custom posting dates + Transactions whose date is outside the report period can still be + shown, if they have a posting to this account dated inside the report + period. (And in this case it's the posting date that is shown.) This + ensures that aregister can show an accurate historical running balance, + matching the one shown by register -H with the same arguments. + + To filter strictly by transaction date instead, add the --txn-dates + flag. If you use this flag and some of your postings have custom + dates, it's probably best to assume the running balance is wrong. + + Examples: + + Show all transactions and historical running balance in the first ac- + count whose name contains "checking": + + $ hledger areg checking + + Show transactions and historical running balance in all asset accounts + during july: + + $ hledger areg assets date:jul + + balance + balance, bal, b + Show accounts and their balances. + + The balance command is hledger's most versatile command. Note, despite + the name, it is not always used for showing real-world account bal- + ances; the more accounting-aware balancesheet and incomestatement may + be more convenient for that. + + By default, it displays all accounts, and each account's change in bal- + ance during the entire period of the journal. Balance changes are cal- + culated by adding up the postings in each account. You can limit the + postings matched, by a query, to see fewer accounts, changes over a + different time period, changes from only cleared transactions, etc. + + If you include an account's complete history of postings in the report, + the balance change is equivalent to the account's current ending bal- + ance. For a real-world account, typically you won't have all transac- + tions in the journal; instead you'll have all transactions after a cer- + tain date, and an "opening balances" transaction setting the correct + starting balance on that date. Then the balance command will show + real-world account balances. In some cases the -H/--historical flag is + used to ensure this (more below). + + This command also supports the output destination and output format op- + tions The output formats supported are (in most modes): txt, csv, html, + and json. + + The balance command can produce several styles of report: + + Classic balance report + This is the original balance report, as found in Ledger. It usually + looks like this: + + $ hledger balance + $-1 assets + $1 bank:saving + $-2 cash + $2 expenses + $1 food + $1 supplies + $-2 income + $-1 gifts + $-1 salary + $1 liabilities:debts + -------------------- + 0 + + By default, accounts are displayed hierarchically, with subaccounts in- + dented below their parent, with accounts at each level of the tree + sorted by declaration order if declared, then by account name. + + "Boring" accounts, which contain a single interesting subaccount and no + balance of their own, are elided into the following line for more com- + pact output. (Eg above, the "liabilities" account.) Use --no-elide to + prevent this. + + Account balances are "inclusive" - they include the balances of any + subaccounts. + + Accounts which have zero balance (and no non-zero subaccounts) are + omitted. Use -E/--empty to show them. + + A final total is displayed by default; use -N/--no-total to suppress + it, eg: + + $ hledger balance -p 2008/6 expenses --no-total + $2 expenses + $1 food + $1 supplies + + Customising the classic balance report + You can customise the layout of classic balance reports with --format + FMT: + + $ hledger balance --format "%20(account) %12(total)" + assets $-1 + bank:saving $1 + cash $-2 + expenses $2 + food $1 + supplies $1 + income $-2 + gifts $-1 + salary $-1 + liabilities:debts $1 + --------------------------------- + 0 + + The FMT format string (plus a newline) specifies the formatting applied + to each account/balance pair. It may contain any suitable text, with + data fields interpolated like so: + + %[MIN][.MAX](FIELDNAME) + + o MIN pads with spaces to at least this width (optional) + + o MAX truncates at this width (optional) + + o FIELDNAME must be enclosed in parentheses, and can be one of: + + o depth_spacer - a number of spaces equal to the account's depth, or + if MIN is specified, MIN * depth spaces. + + o account - the account's name + + o total - the account's balance/posted total, right justified + + Also, FMT can begin with an optional prefix to control how multi-com- + modity amounts are rendered: + + o %_ - render on multiple lines, bottom-aligned (the default) + + o %^ - render on multiple lines, top-aligned + + o %, - render on one line, comma-separated + + There are some quirks. Eg in one-line mode, %(depth_spacer) has no ef- + fect, instead %(account) has indentation built in. Experimentation may + be needed to get pleasing results. + + Some example formats: + + o %(total) - the account's total + + o %-20.20(account) - the account's name, left justified, padded to 20 + characters and clipped at 20 characters + + o %,%-50(account) %25(total) - account name padded to 50 characters, + total padded to 20 characters, with multiple commodities rendered on + one line + + o %20(total) %2(depth_spacer)%-(account) - the default format for the + single-column balance report + + Colour support + In terminal output, when colour is enabled, the balance command shows + negative amounts in red. + + Flat mode + To see a flat list instead of the default hierarchical display, use + --flat. In this mode, accounts (unless depth-clipped) show their full + names and "exclusive" balance, excluding any subaccount balances. In + this mode, you can also use --drop N to omit the first few account name + components. + + $ hledger balance -p 2008/6 expenses -N --flat --drop 1 + $1 food + $1 supplies + + Depth limited balance reports + With --depth N or depth:N or just -N, balance reports show accounts + only to the specified numeric depth. This is very useful to summarise + a complex set of accounts and get an overview. + + $ hledger balance -N -1 + $-1 assets + $2 expenses + $-2 income + $1 liabilities + + Flat-mode balance reports, which normally show exclusive balances, show + inclusive balances at the depth limit. + + Percentages + With -% or --percent, balance reports show each account's value ex- + pressed as a percentage of the column's total. This is useful to get + an overview of the relative sizes of account balances. For example to + obtain an overview of expenses: + + $ hledger balance expenses -% + 100.0 % expenses + 50.0 % food + 50.0 % supplies + -------------------- + 100.0 % + + Note that --tree does not have an effect on -%. The percentages are + always relative to the total sum of each column, they are never rela- + tive to the parent account. + + Since the percentages are relative to the columns sum, it is usually + not useful to calculate percentages if the signs of the amounts are + mixed. Although the results are technically correct, they are most + likely useless. Especially in a balance report that sums up to zero + (eg hledger balance -B) all percentage values will be zero. + + This flag does not work if the report contains any mixed commodity ac- + counts. If there are mixed commodity accounts in the report be sure to + use -V or -B to coerce the report into using a single commodity. + + Sorting by amount + With -S/--sort-amount, accounts with the largest (most positive) bal- + ances are shown first. For example, hledger bal expenses -MAS shows + your biggest averaged monthly expenses first. + + Revenues and liability balances are typically negative, however, so -S + shows these in reverse order. To work around this, you can add --in- + vert to flip the signs. Or, use one of the sign-flipping reports like + balancesheet or incomestatement, which also support -S. Eg: hledger is + -MAS. + + Multicolumn balance report + Multicolumn or tabular balance reports are a very useful hledger fea- + ture, and usually the preferred style. They share many of the above + features, but they show the report as a table, with columns represent- + ing time periods. This mode is activated by providing a reporting in- + terval. + + There are three types of multicolumn balance report, showing different + information: + + 1. By default: each column shows the sum of postings in that period, ie + the account's change of balance in that period. This is useful eg + for a monthly income statement: + + $ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E + Balance changes in 2008: + + || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 + ===================++================================= + expenses:food || 0 $1 0 0 + expenses:supplies || 0 $1 0 0 + income:gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 + income:salary || $-1 0 0 0 + -------------------++--------------------------------- + || $-1 $1 0 0 + + 2. With --cumulative: each column shows the ending balance for that pe- + riod, accumulating the changes across periods, starting from 0 at + the report start date: + + $ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E --cumulative + Ending balances (cumulative) in 2008: + + || 2008/03/31 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 + ===================++================================================= + expenses:food || 0 $1 $1 $1 + expenses:supplies || 0 $1 $1 $1 + income:gifts || 0 $-1 $-1 $-1 + income:salary || $-1 $-1 $-1 $-1 + -------------------++------------------------------------------------- + || $-1 0 0 0 + + 3. With --historical/-H: each column shows the actual historical ending + balance for that period, accumulating the changes across periods, + starting from the actual balance at the report start date. This is + useful eg for a multi-period balance sheet, and when you are showing + only the data after a certain start date: + + $ hledger balance ^assets ^liabilities --quarterly --historical --begin 2008/4/1 + Ending balances (historical) in 2008/04/01-2008/12/31: + + || 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 + ======================++===================================== + assets:bank:checking || $1 $1 0 + assets:bank:saving || $1 $1 $1 + assets:cash || $-2 $-2 $-2 + liabilities:debts || 0 0 $1 + ----------------------++------------------------------------- + || 0 0 0 + + Note that --cumulative or --historical/-H disable --row-total/-T, since + summing end balances generally does not make sense. + + Multicolumn balance reports display accounts in flat mode by default; + to see the hierarchy, use --tree. + + With a reporting interval (like --quarterly above), the report + start/end dates will be adjusted if necessary so that they encompass + the displayed report periods. This is so that the first and last peri- + ods will be "full" and comparable to the others. + + The -E/--empty flag does two things in multicolumn balance reports: + first, the report will show all columns within the specified report pe- + riod (without -E, leading and trailing columns with all zeroes are not + shown). Second, all accounts which existed at the report start date + will be considered, not just the ones with activity during the report + period (use -E to include low-activity accounts which would otherwise + would be omitted). + + The -T/--row-total flag adds an additional column showing the total for + each row. + + The -A/--average flag adds a column showing the average value in each + row. + + Here's an example of all three: + + $ hledger balance -Q income expenses --tree -ETA + Balance changes in 2008: + + || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 Total Average + ============++=================================================== + expenses || 0 $2 0 0 $2 $1 + food || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 + supplies || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 + income || $-1 $-1 0 0 $-2 $-1 + gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 $-1 0 + salary || $-1 0 0 0 $-1 0 + ------------++--------------------------------------------------- + || $-1 $1 0 0 0 0 + + (Average is rounded to the dollar here since all journal amounts are) + + The --transpose flag can be used to exchange the rows and columns of a + multicolumn report. + + When showing multicommodity amounts, multicolumn balance reports will + elide any amounts which have more than two commodities, since otherwise + columns could get very wide. The --no-elide flag disables this. Hid- + ing totals with the -N/--no-total flag can also help reduce the width + of multicommodity reports. + + When the report is still too wide, a good workaround is to pipe it into + less -RS (-R for colour, -S to chop long lines). Eg: hledger bal -D + --color=yes | less -RS. + + Budget report + With --budget, extra columns are displayed showing budget goals for + each account and period, if any. Budget goals are defined by periodic + transactions. This is very useful for comparing planned and actual in- + come, expenses, time usage, etc. --budget is most often combined with + a report interval. + + For example, you can take average monthly expenses in the common ex- + pense categories to construct a minimal monthly budget: + + ;; Budget + ~ monthly + income $2000 + expenses:food $400 + expenses:bus $50 + expenses:movies $30 + assets:bank:checking + + ;; Two months worth of expenses + 2017-11-01 + income $1950 + expenses:food $396 + expenses:bus $49 + expenses:movies $30 + expenses:supplies $20 + assets:bank:checking + + 2017-12-01 + income $2100 + expenses:food $412 + expenses:bus $53 + expenses:gifts $100 + assets:bank:checking + + You can now see a monthly budget report: + + $ hledger balance -M --budget + Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: + + || Nov Dec + ======================++==================================================== + assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $565 [ 118% of $480] + expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $53 [ 106% of $50] + expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $412 [ 103% of $400] + expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] 0 [ 0% of $30] + income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $2100 [ 105% of $2000] + ----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- + || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] + + This is different from a normal balance report in several ways: + + o Only accounts with budget goals during the report period are shown, + by default. + + o In each column, in square brackets after the actual amount, budget + goal amounts are shown, and the actual/goal percentage. (Note: bud- + get goals should be in the same commodity as the actual amount.) + + o All parent accounts are always shown, even in flat mode. Eg assets, + assets:bank, and expenses above. + + o Amounts always include all subaccounts, budgeted or unbudgeted, even + in flat mode. + + This means that the numbers displayed will not always add up! Eg above, + the expenses actual amount includes the gifts and supplies transac- + tions, but the expenses:gifts and expenses:supplies accounts are not + shown, as they have no budget amounts declared. + + This can be confusing. When you need to make things clearer, use the + -E/--empty flag, which will reveal all accounts including unbudgeted + ones, giving the full picture. Eg: + + $ hledger balance -M --budget --empty + Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: + + || Nov Dec + ======================++==================================================== + assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $565 [ 118% of $480] + expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $53 [ 106% of $50] + expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $412 [ 103% of $400] + expenses:gifts || 0 $100 + expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] 0 [ 0% of $30] + expenses:supplies || $20 0 + income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $2100 [ 105% of $2000] + ----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- + || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] + + You can roll over unspent budgets to next period with --cumulative: + + $ hledger balance -M --budget --cumulative + Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: + + || Nov Dec + ======================++==================================================== + assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] + assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] + assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] + expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $1060 [ 110% of $960] + expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $102 [ 102% of $100] + expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $808 [ 101% of $800] + expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] $30 [ 50% of $60] + income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $4050 [ 101% of $4000] + ----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- + || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] + + For more examples and notes, see Budgeting. + + Budget report start date + This might be a bug, but for now: when making budget reports, it's a + good idea to explicitly set the report's start date to the first day of + a reporting period, because a periodic rule like ~ monthly generates + its transactions on the 1st of each month, and if your journal has no + regular transactions on the 1st, the default report start date could + exclude that budget goal, which can be a little surprising. Eg here + the default report period is just the day of 2020-01-15: + + ~ monthly in 2020 + (expenses:food) $500 + + 2020-01-15 + expenses:food $400 + assets:checking + + $ hledger bal expenses --budget + Budget performance in 2020-01-15: + + || 2020-01-15 + ==============++============ + || $400 + --------------++------------ + || $400 + + To avoid this, specify the budget report's period, or at least the + start date, with -b/-e/-p/date:, to ensure it includes the budget goal + transactions (periodic transactions) that you want. Eg, adding -b + 2020/1/1 to the above: + + $ hledger bal expenses --budget -b 2020/1/1 + Budget performance in 2020-01-01..2020-01-15: + + || 2020-01-01..2020-01-15 + ===============++======================== + expenses:food || $400 [80% of $500] + ---------------++------------------------ + || $400 [80% of $500] + + Nested budgets + You can add budgets to any account in your account hierarchy. If you + have budgets on both parent account and some of its children, then bud- + get(s) of the child account(s) would be added to the budget of their + parent, much like account balances behave. + + In the most simple case this means that once you add a budget to any + account, all its parents would have budget as well. + + To illustrate this, consider the following budget: + + ~ monthly from 2019/01 + expenses:personal $1,000.00 + expenses:personal:electronics $100.00 + liabilities + + With this, monthly budget for electronics is defined to be $100 and + budget for personal expenses is an additional $1000, which implicitly + means that budget for both expenses:personal and expenses is $1100. + + Transactions in expenses:personal:electronics will be counted both to- + wards its $100 budget and $1100 of expenses:personal , and transactions + in any other subaccount of expenses:personal would be counted towards + only towards the budget of expenses:personal. + + For example, let's consider these transactions: + + ~ monthly from 2019/01 + expenses:personal $1,000.00 + expenses:personal:electronics $100.00 + liabilities + + 2019/01/01 Google home hub + expenses:personal:electronics $90.00 + liabilities $-90.00 + + 2019/01/02 Phone screen protector + expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades $10.00 + liabilities + + 2019/01/02 Weekly train ticket + expenses:personal:train tickets $153.00 + liabilities + + 2019/01/03 Flowers + expenses:personal $30.00 + liabilities + + As you can see, we have transactions in expenses:personal:electron- + ics:upgrades and expenses:personal:train tickets, and since both of + these accounts are without explicitly defined budget, these transac- + tions would be counted towards budgets of expenses:personal:electronics + and expenses:personal accordingly: + + $ hledger balance --budget -M + Budget performance in 2019/01: + + || Jan + ===============================++=============================== + expenses || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] + expenses:personal || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] + expenses:personal:electronics || $100.00 [ 100% of $100.00] + liabilities || $-283.00 [ 26% of $-1100.00] + -------------------------------++------------------------------- + || 0 [ 0] + + And with --empty, we can get a better picture of budget allocation and + consumption: + + $ hledger balance --budget -M --empty + Budget performance in 2019/01: + + || Jan + ========================================++=============================== + expenses || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] + expenses:personal || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] + expenses:personal:electronics || $100.00 [ 100% of $100.00] + expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades || $10.00 + expenses:personal:train tickets || $153.00 + liabilities || $-283.00 [ 26% of $-1100.00] + ----------------------------------------++------------------------------- + || 0 [ 0] + + balancesheet + balancesheet, bs + This command displays a balance sheet, showing historical ending bal- + ances of asset and liability accounts. (To see equity as well, use the + balancesheetequity command.) Amounts are shown with normal positive + sign, as in conventional financial statements. + + The asset and liability accounts shown are those accounts declared with + the Asset or Cash or Liability type, or otherwise all accounts under a + top-level asset or liability account (case insensitive, plurals al- + lowed). + + Example: + + $ hledger balancesheet + Balance Sheet + + Assets: + $-1 assets + $1 bank:saving + $-2 cash + -------------------- + $-1 + + Liabilities: + $1 liabilities:debts + -------------------- + $1 + + Total: + -------------------- + 0 + + With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for each + report period. As with multicolumn balance reports, you can alter the + report mode with --change/--cumulative/--historical. Normally bal- + ancesheet shows historical ending balances, which is what you need for + a balance sheet; note this means it ignores report begin dates (and + -T/--row-total, since summing end balances generally does not make + sense). Instead of absolute values percentages can be displayed with + -%. + + This command also supports the output destination and output format op- + tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experimen- + tal) json. + + balancesheetequity + balancesheetequity, bse + This command displays a balance sheet, showing historical ending bal- + ances of asset, liability and equity accounts. Amounts are shown with + normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. + + The asset, liability and equity accounts shown are those accounts de- + clared with the Asset, Cash, Liability or Equity type, or otherwise all + accounts under a top-level asset, liability or equity account (case in- + sensitive, plurals allowed). + + Example: + + $ hledger balancesheetequity + Balance Sheet With Equity + + Assets: + $-2 assets + $1 bank:saving + $-3 cash + -------------------- + $-2 + + Liabilities: + $1 liabilities:debts + -------------------- + $1 + + Equity: + $1 equity:owner + -------------------- + $1 + + Total: + -------------------- + 0 + + This command also supports the output destination and output format op- + tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experimen- + tal) json. + + cashflow + cashflow, cf + This command displays a cashflow statement, showing the inflows and + outflows affecting "cash" (ie, liquid) assets. Amounts are shown with + normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. + + The "cash" accounts shown are those accounts declared with the Cash + type, or otherwise all accounts under a top-level asset account (case + insensitive, plural allowed) which do not have fixed, investment, re- + ceivable or A/R in their name. + + Example: + + $ hledger cashflow + Cashflow Statement + + Cash flows: + $-1 assets + $1 bank:saving + $-2 cash + -------------------- + $-1 + + Total: + -------------------- + $-1 + + With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for each + report period. Normally cashflow shows changes in assets per period, + though as with multicolumn balance reports you can alter the report + mode with --change/--cumulative/--historical. Instead of absolute val- + ues percentages can be displayed with -%. + + This command also supports the output destination and output format op- + tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experimen- + tal) json. + + check + check + Check for various kinds of errors in your data. experimental + + hledger provides a number of built-in error checks to help prevent + problems in your data. Some of these are run automatically; or, you + can use this check command to run them on demand, with no output and a + zero exit code if all is well. Some examples: + + hledger check # basic checks + hledger check -s # basic + strict checks + hledger check ordereddates uniqueleafnames # basic + specified checks + + Here are the checks currently available: + + Basic checks + These are always run by this command and other commands: + + o parseable - data files are well-formed and can be successfully parsed + + o autobalanced - all transactions are balanced, inferring missing + amounts where necessary, and possibly converting commodities using + transaction prices or automatically-inferred transaction prices + + o assertions - all balance assertions in the journal are passing. + (This check can be disabled with -I/--ignore-assertions.) + + Strict checks + These are always run by this and other commands when -s/--strict is + used (strict mode): + + o accounts - all account names used by transactions have been declared + + o commodities - all commodity symbols used have been declared + + Other checks + These checks can be run by specifying their names as arguments to the + check command: + + o ordereddates - transactions are ordered by date (similar to the old + check-dates command) + + o uniqueleafnames - all account leaf names are unique (similar to the + old check-dupes command) + + Add-on checks + Some checks are not yet integrated with this command, but are available + as add-on commands in https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/tree/mas- + ter/bin: + + o hledger-check-tagfiles - all tag values containing / (a forward + slash) exist as file paths + + o hledger-check-fancyassertions - more complex balance assertions are + passing + + You could make your own similar scripts to perform custom checks; Cook- + book -> Scripting may be helpful. + + close + close, equity + Prints a "closing balances" transaction and an "opening balances" + transaction that bring account balances to and from zero, respectively. + These can be added to your journal file(s), eg to bring asset/liability + balances forward into a new journal file, or to close out revenues/ex- + penses to retained earnings at the end of a period. + + You can print just one of these transactions by using the --close or + --open flag. You can customise their descriptions with the --close- + desc and --open-desc options. + + One amountless posting to "equity:opening/closing balances" is added to + balance the transactions, by default. You can customise this account + name with --close-acct and --open-acct; if you specify only one of + these, it will be used for both. + + With --x/--explicit, the equity posting's amount will be shown. And if + it involves multiple commodities, a posting for each commodity will be + shown, as with the print command. + + With --interleaved, the equity postings are shown next to the postings + they balance, which makes troubleshooting easier. + + By default, transaction prices in the journal are ignored when generat- + ing the closing/opening transactions. With --show-costs, this cost in- + formation is preserved (balance -B reports will be unchanged after the + transition). Separate postings are generated for each cost in each + commodity. Note this can generate very large journal entries, if you + have many foreign currency or investment transactions. + + close usage + If you split your journal files by time (eg yearly), you will typically + run this command at the end of the year, and save the closing transac- + tion as last entry of the old file, and the opening transaction as the + first entry of the new file. This makes the files self contained, so + that correct balances are reported no matter which of them are loaded. + Ie, if you load just one file, the balances are initialised correctly; + or if you load several files, the redundant closing/opening transac- + tions cancel each other out. (They will show up in print or register + reports; you can exclude them with a query like not:desc:'(open- + ing|closing) balances'.) + + If you're running a business, you might also use this command to "close + the books" at the end of an accounting period, transferring income + statement account balances to retained earnings. (You may want to + change the equity account name to something like "equity:retained earn- + ings".) + + By default, the closing transaction is dated yesterday, the balances + are calculated as of end of yesterday, and the opening transaction is + dated today. To close on some other date, use: hledger close -e OPEN- + INGDATE. Eg, to close/open on the 2018/2019 boundary, use -e 2019. + You can also use -p or date:PERIOD (any starting date is ignored). + + Both transactions will include balance assertions for the closed/re- + opened accounts. You probably shouldn't use status or realness filters + (like -C or -R or status:) with this command, or the generated balance + assertions will depend on these flags. Likewise, if you run this com- + mand with --auto, the balance assertions will probably always require + --auto. + + Examples: + + Carrying asset/liability balances into a new file for 2019: + + $ hledger close -f 2018.journal -e 2019 assets liabilities --open + # (copy/paste the output to the start of your 2019 journal file) + $ hledger close -f 2018.journal -e 2019 assets liabilities --close + # (copy/paste the output to the end of your 2018 journal file) + + Now: + + $ hledger bs -f 2019.journal # one file - balances are correct + $ hledger bs -f 2018.journal -f 2019.journal # two files - balances still correct + $ hledger bs -f 2018.journal not:desc:closing # to see year-end balances, must exclude closing txn + + Transactions spanning the closing date can complicate matters, breaking + balance assertions: + + 2018/12/30 a purchase made in 2018, clearing the following year + expenses:food 5 + assets:bank:checking -5 ; [2019/1/2] + + Here's one way to resolve that: + + ; in 2018.journal: + 2018/12/30 a purchase made in 2018, clearing the following year + expenses:food 5 + liabilities:pending + + ; in 2019.journal: + 2019/1/2 clearance of last year's pending transactions + liabilities:pending 5 = 0 + assets:checking + + codes + codes + List the codes seen in transactions, in the order parsed. + + This command prints the value of each transaction's code field, in the + order transactions were parsed. The transaction code is an optional + value written in parentheses between the date and description, often + used to store a cheque number, order number or similar. + + Transactions aren't required to have a code, and missing or empty codes + will not be shown by default. With the -E/--empty flag, they will be + printed as blank lines. + + You can add a query to select a subset of transactions. + + Examples: + + 1/1 (123) + (a) 1 + + 1/1 () + (a) 1 + + 1/1 + (a) 1 + + 1/1 (126) + (a) 1 + + $ hledger codes + 123 + 124 + 126 + + $ hledger codes -E + 123 + 124 + + + 126 + + commodities + commodities + List all commodity/currency symbols used or declared in the journal. + + descriptions + descriptions + List the unique descriptions that appear in transactions. + + This command lists the unique descriptions that appear in transactions, + in alphabetic order. You can add a query to select a subset of trans- + actions. + + Example: + + $ hledger descriptions + Store Name + Gas Station | Petrol + Person A + + diff + diff + Compares a particular account's transactions in two input files. It + shows any transactions to this account which are in one file but not in + the other. + + More precisely, for each posting affecting this account in either file, + it looks for a corresponding posting in the other file which posts the + same amount to the same account (ignoring date, description, etc.) + Since postings not transactions are compared, this also works when mul- + tiple bank transactions have been combined into a single journal entry. + + This is useful eg if you have downloaded an account's transactions from + your bank (eg as CSV data). When hledger and your bank disagree about + the account balance, you can compare the bank data with your journal to + find out the cause. + + Examples: + + $ hledger diff -f $LEDGER_FILE -f bank.csv assets:bank:giro + These transactions are in the first file only: + + 2014/01/01 Opening Balances + assets:bank:giro EUR ... + ... + equity:opening balances EUR -... + + These transactions are in the second file only: + + files + files + List all files included in the journal. With a REGEX argument, only + file names matching the regular expression (case sensitive) are shown. + + help + help + Show any of the hledger manuals. + + The help command displays any of the main hledger manuals, in one of + several ways. Run it with no argument to list the manuals, or provide + a full or partial manual name to select one. + + hledger manuals are available in several formats. hledger help will + use the first of these display methods that it finds: info, man, + $PAGER, less, stdout (or when non-interactive, just stdout). You can + force a particular viewer with the --info, --man, --pager, --cat flags. + + Examples: + + $ hledger help + Please choose a manual by typing "hledger help MANUAL" (a substring is ok). + Manuals: hledger hledger-ui hledger-web journal csv timeclock timedot + + $ hledger help h --man + + hledger(1) hledger User Manuals hledger(1) + + NAME + hledger - a command-line accounting tool + + SYNOPSIS + hledger [-f FILE] COMMAND [OPTIONS] [ARGS] + hledger [-f FILE] ADDONCMD -- [OPTIONS] [ARGS] + hledger + + DESCRIPTION + hledger is a cross-platform program for tracking money, time, or any + ... + + import + import + Read new transactions added to each FILE since last run, and add them + to the main journal file. Or with --dry-run, just print the transac- + tions that would be added. Or with --catchup, just mark all of the + FILEs' transactions as imported, without actually importing any. + + The input files are specified as arguments - no need to write -f before + each one. So eg to add new transactions from all CSV files to the main + journal, it's just: hledger import *.csv + + New transactions are detected in the same way as print --new: by assum- + ing transactions are always added to the input files in increasing date + order, and by saving .latest.FILE state files. + + The --dry-run output is in journal format, so you can filter it, eg to + see only uncategorised transactions: + + $ hledger import --dry ... | hledger -f- print unknown --ignore-assertions + + Importing balance assignments + Entries added by import will have their posting amounts made explicit + (like hledger print -x). This means that any balance assignments in + imported files must be evaluated; but, imported files don't get to see + the main file's account balances. As a result, importing entries with + balance assignments (eg from an institution that provides only balances + and not posting amounts) will probably generate incorrect posting + amounts. To avoid this problem, use print instead of import: + + $ hledger print IMPORTFILE [--new] >> $LEDGER_FILE + + (If you think import should leave amounts implicit like print does, + please test it and send a pull request.) + + Commodity display styles + Imported amounts will be formatted according to the canonical commodity + styles (declared or inferred) in the main journal file. + + incomestatement + incomestatement, is + This command displays an income statement, showing revenues and ex- + penses during one or more periods. Amounts are shown with normal posi- + tive sign, as in conventional financial statements. + + The revenue and expense accounts shown are those accounts declared with + the Revenue or Expense type, or otherwise all accounts under a top- + level revenue or income or expense account (case insensitive, plurals + allowed). + + Example: + + $ hledger incomestatement + Income Statement + + Revenues: + $-2 income + $-1 gifts + $-1 salary + -------------------- + $-2 + + Expenses: + $2 expenses + $1 food + $1 supplies + -------------------- + $2 + + Total: + -------------------- + 0 + + With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for each + report period. Normally incomestatement shows revenues/expenses per + period, though as with multicolumn balance reports you can alter the + report mode with --change/--cumulative/--historical. Instead of abso- + lute values percentages can be displayed with -%. + + This command also supports the output destination and output format op- + tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experimen- + tal) json. + + notes + notes + List the unique notes that appear in transactions. + + This command lists the unique notes that appear in transactions, in al- + phabetic order. You can add a query to select a subset of transac- + tions. The note is the part of the transaction description after a | + character (or if there is no |, the whole description). + + Example: + + $ hledger notes + Petrol + Snacks + + rewrite + rewrite + Print all transactions, rewriting the postings of matched transactions. + For now the only rewrite available is adding new postings, like print + --auto. + + This is a start at a generic rewriter of transaction entries. It reads + the default journal and prints the transactions, like print, but adds + one or more specified postings to any transactions matching QUERY. The + posting amounts can be fixed, or a multiplier of the existing transac- + tion's first posting amount. + + Examples: + + $ hledger-rewrite.hs ^income --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33 ; income tax' --add-posting '(reserve:gifts) $100' + $ hledger-rewrite.hs expenses:gifts --add-posting '(reserve:gifts) *-1"' + $ hledger-rewrite.hs -f rewrites.hledger + + rewrites.hledger may consist of entries like: + + = ^income amt:<0 date:2017 + (liabilities:tax) *0.33 ; tax on income + (reserve:grocery) *0.25 ; reserve 25% for grocery + (reserve:) *0.25 ; reserve 25% for grocery + + Note the single quotes to protect the dollar sign from bash, and the + two spaces between account and amount. + + More: + + $ hledger rewrite -- [QUERY] --add-posting "ACCT AMTEXPR" ... + $ hledger rewrite -- ^income --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' + $ hledger rewrite -- expenses:gifts --add-posting '(budget:gifts) *-1"' + $ hledger rewrite -- ^income --add-posting '(budget:foreign currency) *0.25 JPY; diversify' + + Argument for --add-posting option is a usual posting of transaction + with an exception for amount specification. More precisely, you can + use '*' (star symbol) before the amount to indicate that that this is a + factor for an amount of original matched posting. If the amount in- + cludes a commodity name, the new posting amount will be in the new com- + modity; otherwise, it will be in the matched posting amount's commod- + ity. + + Re-write rules in a file + During the run this tool will execute so called "Automated Transac- + tions" found in any journal it process. I.e instead of specifying this + operations in command line you can put them in a journal file. + + $ rewrite-rules.journal + + Make contents look like this: + + = ^income + (liabilities:tax) *.33 + + = expenses:gifts + budget:gifts *-1 + assets:budget *1 + + Note that '=' (equality symbol) that is used instead of date in trans- + actions you usually write. It indicates the query by which you want to + match the posting to add new ones. + + $ hledger rewrite -- -f input.journal -f rewrite-rules.journal > rewritten-tidy-output.journal + + This is something similar to the commands pipeline: + + $ hledger rewrite -- -f input.journal '^income' --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' \ + | hledger rewrite -- -f - expenses:gifts --add-posting 'budget:gifts *-1' \ + --add-posting 'assets:budget *1' \ + > rewritten-tidy-output.journal + + It is important to understand that relative order of such entries in + journal is important. You can re-use result of previously added post- + ings. + + Diff output format + To use this tool for batch modification of your journal files you may + find useful output in form of unified diff. + + $ hledger rewrite -- --diff -f examples/sample.journal '^income' --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' + + Output might look like: + + --- /tmp/examples/sample.journal + +++ /tmp/examples/sample.journal + @@ -18,3 +18,4 @@ + 2008/01/01 income + - assets:bank:checking $1 + + assets:bank:checking $1 + income:salary + + (liabilities:tax) 0 + @@ -22,3 +23,4 @@ + 2008/06/01 gift + - assets:bank:checking $1 + + assets:bank:checking $1 + income:gifts + + (liabilities:tax) 0 + + If you'll pass this through patch tool you'll get transactions contain- + ing the posting that matches your query be updated. Note that multiple + files might be update according to list of input files specified via + --file options and include directives inside of these files. + + Be careful. Whole transaction being re-formatted in a style of output + from hledger print. + + See also: + + https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/issues/99 + + rewrite vs. print --auto + This command predates print --auto, and currently does much the same + thing, but with these differences: + + o with multiple files, rewrite lets rules in any file affect all other + files. print --auto uses standard directive scoping; rules affect + only child files. + + o rewrite's query limits which transactions can be rewritten; all are + printed. print --auto's query limits which transactions are printed. + + o rewrite applies rules specified on command line or in the journal. + print --auto applies rules specified in the journal. + + roi + roi + Shows the time-weighted (TWR) and money-weighted (IRR) rate of return + on your investments. + + This command assumes that you have account(s) that hold nothing but + your investments and whenever you record current appraisal/valuation of + these investments you offset unrealized profit and loss into account(s) + that, again, hold nothing but unrealized profit and loss. + + Any transactions affecting balance of investment account(s) and not + originating from unrealized profit and loss account(s) are assumed to + be your investments or withdrawals. + + At a minimum, you need to supply a query (which could be just an ac- + count name) to select your investments with --inv, and another query to + identify your profit and loss transactions with --pnl. + + This command will compute and display the internalized rate of return + (IRR) and time-weighted rate of return (TWR) for your investments for + the time period requested. Both rates of return are annualized before + display, regardless of the length of reporting interval. + + Note, in some cases this report can fail, for these reasons: + + o Error (NotBracketed): No solution for Internal Rate of Return (IRR). + Possible causes: IRR is huge (>1000000%), balance of investment be- + comes negative at some point in time. + + o Error (SearchFailed): Failed to find solution for Internal Rate of + Return (IRR). Either search does not converge to a solution, or con- + verges too slowly. + + Examples: + + o Using roi to report unrealised gains: https://github.com/simon- + michael/hledger/blob/master/examples/roi-unrealised.ledger + + More background: + + "ROI" stands for "return on investment". Traditionally this was com- + puted as a difference between current value of investment and its ini- + tial value, expressed in percentage of the initial value. + + However, this approach is only practical in simple cases, where invest- + ments receives no in-flows or out-flows of money, and where rate of + growth is fixed over time. For more complex scenarios you need differ- + ent ways to compute rate of return, and this command implements two of + them: IRR and TWR. + + Internal rate of return, or "IRR" (also called "money-weighted rate of + return") takes into account effects of in-flows and out-flows. + Naively, if you are withdrawing from your investment, your future gains + would be smaller (in absolute numbers), and will be a smaller percent- + age of your initial investment, and if you are adding to your invest- + ment, you will receive bigger absolute gains (but probably at the same + rate of return). IRR is a way to compute rate of return for each pe- + riod between in-flow or out-flow of money, and then combine them in a + way that gives you an annual rate of return that investment is expected + to generate. + + As mentioned before, in-flows and out-flows would be any cash that you + personally put in or withdraw, and for the "roi" command, these are + transactions that involve account(s) matching --inv argument and NOT + involve account(s) matching --pnl argument. + + Presumably, you will also record changes in the value of your invest- + ment, and balance them against "profit and loss" (or "unrealized + gains") account. Note that in order for IRR to compute the precise ef- + fect of your in-flows and out-flows on the rate of return, you will + need to record the value of your investement on or close to the days + when in- or out-flows occur. + + Implementation of IRR in hledger should match the XIRR formula in Ex- + cel. + + Second way to compute rate of return that roi command implements is + called "time-weighted rate of return" or "TWR". Like IRR, it will also + break the history of your investment into periods between in-flows and + out-flows to compute rate of return per each period and then a compound + rate of return. However, internal workings of TWR are quite different. + + In technical terms, IRR uses the same approach as computation of net + present value, and tries to find a discount rate that makes net present + value of all the cash flows of your investment to add up to zero. This + could be hard to wrap your head around, especially if you haven't done + discounted cash flow analysis before. + + TWR represents your investment as an imaginary "unit fund" where in- + flows/ out-flows lead to buying or selling "units" of your investment + and changes in its value change the value of "investment unit". Change + in "unit price" over the reporting period gives you rate of return of + your investment. + + References: * Explanation of rate of return * Explanation of IRR * Ex- + planation of TWR * Examples of computing IRR and TWR and discussion of + the limitations of both metrics + + More examples: + + Lets say that we found an investment in Snake Oil that is proising to + give us 10% annually: + + 2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil + assets:cash -$100 + investment:snake oil + + 2019-12-24 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil = $110 + equity:unrealized gains + + For now, basic computation of the rate of return, as well as IRR and + TWR, gives us the expected 10%: + + $ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+--------+ + | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | + +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++========+========+ + | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 110 | 10 || 10.00% | 10.00% | + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+--------+ + + However, lets say that shorty after investing in the Snake Oil we + started to have second thoughs, so we prompty withdrew $90, leaving + only $10 in. Before Christmas, though, we started to get the "fear of + mission out", so we put the $90 back in. So for most of the year, our + investment was just $10 dollars, and it gave us just $1 in growth: + + 2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil + assets:cash -$100 + investment:snake oil + + 2019-01-02 Buyers remorse + assets:cash $90 + investment:snake oil + + 2019-12-30 Fear of missing out + assets:cash -$90 + investment:snake oil + + 2019-12-31 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil = $101 + equity:unrealized gains + + Now IRR and TWR are drastically different: + + $ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++-------+-------+ + | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | + +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++=======+=======+ + | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 101 | 1 || 9.32% | 1.00% | + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++-------+-------+ + + Here, IRR tells us that we made close to 10% on the $10 dollars that we + had in the account most of the time. And TWR is ... just 1%? Why? + + Based on the transactions in our journal, TWR "think" that we are buy- + ing back $90 worst of Snake Oil at the same price that it had at the + beginning of they year, and then after that our $100 investment gets $1 + increase in value, or 1% of $100. Let's take a closer look at what is + happening here by asking for quarterly reports instead of annual: + + $ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+-------+ + | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | + +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++========+=======+ + | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | + | 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | + | 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | + | 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10 | 90 | 101 | 1 || 37.80% | 4.03% | + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+-------+ + + Now both IRR and TWR are thrown off by the fact that all of the growth + for our investment happens in Q4 2019. This happes because IRR compu- + tation is still yielding 9.32% and TWR is still 1%, but this time these + are rates for three month period instead of twelve, so in order to get + an annual rate they should be multiplied by four! + + Let's try to keep a better record of how Snake Oil grew in value: + + 2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil + assets:cash -$100 + investment:snake oil + + 2019-01-02 Buyers remorse + assets:cash $90 + investment:snake oil + + 2019-02-28 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil + equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 + + 2019-06-30 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil + equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 + + 2019-09-30 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil + equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 + + 2019-12-30 Fear of missing out + assets:cash -$90 + investment:snake oil + + 2019-12-31 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil + equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 + + Would our quartery report look better now? Almost: + + $ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ + | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | + +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++========+========+ + | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10.25 | 0.25 || 9.53% | 10.53% | + | 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10.25 | 0 | 10.50 | 0.25 || 10.15% | 10.15% | + | 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10.50 | 0 | 10.75 | 0.25 || 9.79% | 9.78% | + | 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10.75 | 90 | 101.00 | 0.25 || 8.05% | 1.00% | + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ + + Something is still wrong with TWR computation for Q4, and if you have + been paying attention you know what it is already: big $90 buy-back is + recorded prior to the only transaction that captures the change of + value of Snake Oil that happened in this time period. Lets combine + transactions from 30th and 31st of Dec into one: + + 2019-12-30 Fear of missing out and growth of Snake Oil + assets:cash -$90 + investment:snake oil + equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 + + Now growth of investment properly affects its price at the time of buy- + back: + + $ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ + | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | + +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++========+========+ + | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10.25 | 0.25 || 9.53% | 10.53% | + | 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10.25 | 0 | 10.50 | 0.25 || 10.15% | 10.15% | + | 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10.50 | 0 | 10.75 | 0.25 || 9.79% | 9.78% | + | 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10.75 | 90 | 101.00 | 0.25 || 8.05% | 9.57% | + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ + + And for annual report, TWR now reports the exact profitability of our + investment: + + $ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++-------+--------+ + | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | + +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++=======+========+ + | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 101.00 | 1.00 || 9.32% | 10.00% | + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++-------+--------+ + + stats + stats + Show some journal statistics. + + The stats command displays summary information for the whole journal, + or a matched part of it. With a reporting interval, it shows a report + for each report period. + + Example: + + $ hledger stats + Main journal file : /src/hledger/examples/sample.journal + Included journal files : + Transactions span : 2008-01-01 to 2009-01-01 (366 days) + Last transaction : 2008-12-31 (2333 days ago) + Transactions : 5 (0.0 per day) + Transactions last 30 days: 0 (0.0 per day) + Transactions last 7 days : 0 (0.0 per day) + Payees/descriptions : 5 + Accounts : 8 (depth 3) + Commodities : 1 ($) + Market prices : 12 ($) + + This command also supports output destination and output format selec- + tion. + + tags + tags + List the unique tag names used in the journal. With a TAGREGEX argu- + ment, only tag names matching the regular expression (case insensitive) + are shown. With QUERY arguments, only transactions matching the query + are considered. + + With the --values flag, the tags' unique values are listed instead. + + With --parsed flag, all tags or values are shown in the order they are + parsed from the input data, including duplicates. + + With -E/--empty, any blank/empty values will also be shown, otherwise + they are omitted. + + test + test + Run built-in unit tests. + + This command runs the unit tests built in to hledger and hledger-lib, + printing the results on stdout. If any test fails, the exit code will + be non-zero. + + This is mainly used by hledger developers, but you can also use it to + sanity-check the installed hledger executable on your platform. All + tests are expected to pass - if you ever see a failure, please report + as a bug! + + This command also accepts tasty test runner options, written after a -- + (double hyphen). Eg to run only the tests in Hledger.Data.Amount, with + ANSI colour codes disabled: + + $ hledger test -- -pData.Amount --color=never + + For help on these, see https://github.com/feuerbach/tasty#options (-- + --help currently doesn't show them). + + Add-on commands + Any programs or scripts in your PATH named named hledger-SOMETHING will + also appear in the commands list (with a + mark). These are called + add-on commands. + + These offical add-ons are maintained and released along with hledger: + + o ui an efficient terminal interface for hledger (TUI) + + o web a simple web interface for hledger (WUI) + + These add-ons are maintained separately: + + o iadd a more interactive alternative for the add command + + o interest generates interest transactions according to various schemes + + o stockquotes downloads market prices for your commodities from Alpha- + Vantage (experimental) + + Additional experimental add-ons, which may not be in a working state, + can be found in the bin/ directory in the hledger repo. + + Add-on command flags + In a hledger command line, add-on command flags must have a double dash + (--) preceding them. Eg you must write: + + $ hledger web -- --serve + + and not: + + $ hledger web --serve + + (because the --serve flag belongs to hledger-web, not hledger). + + The -h/--help and --version flags work without --, with their position + deciding which program they refer to. Eg hledger -h web shows + hledger's help, hledger web -h shows hledger-web's help. + + If you have any trouble with this, remember you can always run the add- + on program directly, eg: + + $ hledger-web --serve + + Making add-on commands + Add-on commands are programs or scripts in your PATH + + o whose name starts with hledger- + + o whose name ends with a recognised file extension: .bat,.com,.exe, + .hs,.lhs,.pl,.py,.rb,.rkt,.sh or none + + o and (on unix, mac) which are executable by the current user. + + Add-ons are a relatively easy way to add local features or experiment + with new ideas. They can be written in any language, but haskell + scripts have a big advantage: they can use the same hledger library + functions that built-in commands use for command-line options, parsing + and reporting. + +ENVIRONMENT + LEDGER_FILE The journal file path when not specified with -f. Default: + ~/.hledger.journal (on windows, perhaps C:/Users/USER/.hledger.jour- + nal). + + A typical value is ~/DIR/YYYY.journal, where DIR is a version-con- + trolled finance directory and YYYY is the current year. Or ~/DIR/cur- + rent.journal, where current.journal is a symbolic link to YYYY.journal. + + On Mac computers, you can set this and other environment variables in a + more thorough way that also affects applications started from the GUI + (say, an Emacs dock icon). Eg on MacOS Catalina I have a ~/.MacOSX/en- + vironment.plist file containing + + { + "LEDGER_FILE" : "~/finance/current.journal" + } + + To see the effect you may need to killall Dock, or reboot. + + COLUMNS The screen width used by the register command. Default: the + full terminal width. + + NO_COLOR If this variable exists with any value, hledger will not use + ANSI color codes in terminal output. This overrides the + --color/--colour option. + +FILES + Reads data from one or more files in hledger journal, timeclock, time- + dot, or CSV format specified with -f, or $LEDGER_FILE, or + $HOME/.hledger.journal (on windows, perhaps + C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal). + +LIMITATIONS + The need to precede add-on command options with -- when invoked from + hledger is awkward. + + When input data contains non-ascii characters, a suitable system locale + must be configured (or there will be an unhelpful error). Eg on POSIX, + set LANG to something other than C. + + In a Microsoft Windows CMD window, non-ascii characters and colours are + not supported. + + On Windows, non-ascii characters may not display correctly when running + a hledger built in CMD in MSYS/CYGWIN, or vice-versa. + + In a Cygwin/MSYS/Mintty window, the tab key is not supported in hledger + add. + + Not all of Ledger's journal file syntax is supported. See file format + differences. + + On large data files, hledger is slower and uses more memory than + Ledger. + +TROUBLESHOOTING + Here are some issues you might encounter when you run hledger (and re- + member you can also seek help from the IRC channel, mail list or bug + tracker): + + Successfully installed, but "No command 'hledger' found" + stack and cabal install binaries into a special directory, which should + be added to your PATH environment variable. Eg on unix-like systems, + that is ~/.local/bin and ~/.cabal/bin respectively. + + I set a custom LEDGER_FILE, but hledger is still using the default file + LEDGER_FILE should be a real environment variable, not just a shell + variable. The command env | grep LEDGER_FILE should show it. You may + need to use export. Here's an explanation. + + Getting errors like "Illegal byte sequence" or "Invalid or incomplete + multibyte or wide character" or "commitAndReleaseBuffer: invalid argu- + ment (invalid character)" + Programs compiled with GHC (hledger, haskell build tools, etc.) need to + have a UTF-8-aware locale configured in the environment, otherwise they + will fail with these kinds of errors when they encounter non-ascii + characters. + + To fix it, set the LANG environment variable to some locale which sup- + ports UTF-8. The locale you choose must be installed on your system. + + Here's an example of setting LANG temporarily, on Ubuntu GNU/Linux: + + $ file my.journal + my.journal: UTF-8 Unicode text # the file is UTF8-encoded + $ echo $LANG + C # LANG is set to the default locale, which does not support UTF8 + $ locale -a # which locales are installed ? + C + en_US.utf8 # here's a UTF8-aware one we can use + POSIX + $ LANG=en_US.utf8 hledger -f my.journal print # ensure it is used for this command + + If available, C.UTF-8 will also work. If your preferred locale isn't + listed by locale -a, you might need to install it. Eg on Ubuntu/De- + bian: + + $ apt-get install language-pack-fr + $ locale -a + C + en_US.utf8 + fr_BE.utf8 + fr_CA.utf8 + fr_CH.utf8 + fr_FR.utf8 + fr_LU.utf8 + POSIX + $ LANG=fr_FR.utf8 hledger -f my.journal print + + Here's how you could set it permanently, if you use a bash shell: + + $ echo "export LANG=en_US.utf8" >>~/.bash_profile + $ bash --login + + Exact spelling and capitalisation may be important. Note the differ- + ence on MacOS (UTF-8, not utf8). Some platforms (eg ubuntu) allow + variant spellings, but others (eg macos) require it to be exact: + + $ locale -a | grep -iE en_us.*utf + en_US.UTF-8 + $ LANG=en_US.UTF-8 hledger -f my.journal print + + + +REPORTING BUGS + Report bugs at http://bugs.hledger.org (or on the #hledger IRC channel + or hledger mail list) + + +AUTHORS + Simon Michael and contributors + + +COPYRIGHT + Copyright (C) 2007-2020 Simon Michael. + Released under GNU GPL v3 or later. + + +SEE ALSO + hledger(1), hledger-ui(1), hledger-web(1), ledger(1) + + hledger_journal(5), hledger_csv(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_time- + dot(5) + + + +hledger-1.20.1 December 2020 HLEDGER(1) diff --git a/embeddedfiles/hledger_csv.5 b/embeddedfiles/hledger_csv.5 --- a/embeddedfiles/hledger_csv.5 +++ b/embeddedfiles/hledger_csv.5 @@ -1,12 +1,12 @@ .\"t -.TH "hledger_csv" "5" "December 2020" "hledger 1.20.1" "hledger User Manuals" +.TH "HLEDGER_CSV" "5" "December 2020" "hledger-lib-1.20.1 " "hledger User Manuals" .SH NAME .PP -CSV - how hledger reads CSV data, and the CSV rules file format +How hledger reads CSV data, and the CSV rules file format. .SH DESCRIPTION .PP hledger can read CSV files (Character Separated Value - usually comma, @@ -1295,6 +1295,6 @@ Released under GNU GPL v3 or later. .SH SEE ALSO -hledger(1), hledger\-ui(1), hledger\-web(1), -hledger_csv(5), hledger_journal(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5), -ledger(1) +hledger(1), hledger\-ui(1), hledger\-web(1), ledger(1) + +hledger_journal(5), hledger_csv(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5) diff --git a/embeddedfiles/hledger_csv.info b/embeddedfiles/hledger_csv.info --- a/embeddedfiles/hledger_csv.info +++ b/embeddedfiles/hledger_csv.info @@ -3,10 +3,10 @@  File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Top, Next: EXAMPLES, Up: (dir) -hledger_csv(5) hledger 1.20.1 -***************************** +hledger_csv(5) +************** -CSV - how hledger reads CSV data, and the CSV rules file format +How hledger reads CSV data, and the CSV rules file format. hledger can read CSV files (Character Separated Value - usually comma, semicolon, or tab) containing dated records as if they were @@ -60,37 +60,11 @@ * Menu: * EXAMPLES:: -* Basic:: -* Bank of Ireland:: -* Amazon:: -* Paypal:: * CSV RULES:: -* skip:: -* fields:: -* field assignment:: -* separator:: -* if block:: -* if table:: -* end:: -* date-format:: -* decimal-mark:: -* newest-first:: -* include:: -* balance-type:: * TIPS:: -* Rapid feedback:: -* Valid CSV:: -* File Extension:: -* Reading multiple CSV files:: -* Valid transactions:: -* Deduplicating importing:: -* Setting amounts:: -* Setting currency/commodity:: -* Referencing other fields:: -* How CSV rules are evaluated::  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: EXAMPLES, Next: Basic, Prev: Top, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: EXAMPLES, Next: CSV RULES, Prev: Top, Up: Top 1 EXAMPLES ********** @@ -99,11 +73,18 @@ collection at: https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/tree/master/examples/csv +* Menu: + +* Basic:: +* Bank of Ireland:: +* Amazon:: +* Paypal:: +  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Basic, Next: Bank of Ireland, Prev: EXAMPLES, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Basic, Next: Bank of Ireland, Up: EXAMPLES -2 Basic -******* +1.1 Basic +========= At minimum, the rules file must identify the date and amount fields, and often it also specifies the date format and how many header lines there @@ -125,10 +106,10 @@ Default account names are chosen, since we didn't set them.  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Bank of Ireland, Next: Amazon, Prev: Basic, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Bank of Ireland, Next: Amazon, Prev: Basic, Up: EXAMPLES -3 Bank of Ireland -***************** +1.2 Bank of Ireland +=================== Here's a CSV with two amount fields (Debit and Credit), and a balance field, which we can use to add balance assertions, which is not @@ -178,10 +159,10 @@ imported into a journal file.  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Amazon, Next: Paypal, Prev: Bank of Ireland, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Amazon, Next: Paypal, Prev: Bank of Ireland, Up: EXAMPLES -4 Amazon -******** +1.3 Amazon +========== Here we convert amazon.com order history, and use an if block to generate a third posting if there's a fee. (In practice you'd probably @@ -236,10 +217,10 @@ expenses:fees $1.00  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Paypal, Next: CSV RULES, Prev: Amazon, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Paypal, Prev: Amazon, Up: EXAMPLES -5 Paypal -******** +1.4 Paypal +========== Here's a real-world rules file for (customised) Paypal CSV, with some Paypal-specific rules, and a second rules file included: @@ -390,19 +371,34 @@ expenses:banking:paypal $0.59 ; business:  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: CSV RULES, Next: skip, Prev: Paypal, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: CSV RULES, Next: TIPS, Prev: EXAMPLES, Up: Top -6 CSV RULES +2 CSV RULES *********** The following kinds of rule can appear in the rules file, in any order. Blank lines and lines beginning with '#' or ';' are ignored. +* Menu: + +* skip:: +* fields:: +* field assignment:: +* separator:: +* if block:: +* if table:: +* end:: +* date-format:: +* decimal-mark:: +* newest-first:: +* include:: +* balance-type:: +  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: skip, Next: fields, Prev: CSV RULES, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: skip, Next: fields, Up: CSV RULES -7 'skip' -******** +2.1 'skip' +========== skip N @@ -415,10 +411,10 @@ ignore certain CSV records (described below).  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: fields, Next: field assignment, Prev: skip, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: fields, Next: field assignment, Prev: skip, Up: CSV RULES -8 'fields' -********** +2.2 'fields' +============ fields FIELDNAME1, FIELDNAME2, ... @@ -457,8 +453,8 @@  File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Transaction field names, Next: Posting field names, Up: fields -8.1 Transaction field names -=========================== +2.2.1 Transaction field names +----------------------------- 'date', 'date2', 'status', 'code', 'description', 'comment' can be used to form the transaction's first line. @@ -466,8 +462,8 @@  File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Posting field names, Prev: Transaction field names, Up: fields -8.2 Posting field names -======================= +2.2.2 Posting field names +------------------------- * Menu: @@ -480,8 +476,8 @@  File: hledger_csv.info, Node: account, Next: amount, Up: Posting field names -8.2.1 account -------------- +2.2.2.1 account +............... 'accountN', where N is 1 to 99, causes a posting to be generated, with that account name. @@ -498,8 +494,8 @@  File: hledger_csv.info, Node: amount, Next: currency, Prev: account, Up: Posting field names -8.2.2 amount ------------- +2.2.2.2 amount +.............. 'amountN' sets posting N's amount. If the CSV uses separate fields for inflows and outflows, you can use 'amountN-in' and 'amountN-out' @@ -525,8 +521,8 @@  File: hledger_csv.info, Node: currency, Next: balance, Prev: amount, Up: Posting field names -8.2.3 currency --------------- +2.2.2.3 currency +................ If the CSV has the currency symbol in a separate field (ie, not part of the amount field), you can use 'currencyN' to prepend it to posting N's @@ -535,8 +531,8 @@  File: hledger_csv.info, Node: balance, Next: comment, Prev: currency, Up: Posting field names -8.2.4 balance -------------- +2.2.2.4 balance +............... 'balanceN' sets a balance assertion amount (or if the posting amount is left empty, a balance assignment) on posting N. @@ -550,8 +546,8 @@  File: hledger_csv.info, Node: comment, Prev: balance, Up: Posting field names -8.2.5 comment -------------- +2.2.2.5 comment +............... Finally, 'commentN' sets a comment on the Nth posting. Comments can also contain tags, as usual. @@ -559,10 +555,10 @@ See TIPS below for more about setting amounts and currency.  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: field assignment, Next: separator, Prev: fields, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: field assignment, Next: separator, Prev: fields, Up: CSV RULES -9 field assignment -****************** +2.3 field assignment +==================== HLEDGERFIELDNAME FIELDVALUE @@ -584,10 +580,10 @@ referencing other fields.  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: separator, Next: if block, Prev: field assignment, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: separator, Next: if block, Prev: field assignment, Up: CSV RULES -10 'separator' -************** +2.4 'separator' +=============== You can use the 'separator' rule to read other kinds of character-separated data. The argument is any single separator @@ -609,10 +605,10 @@ inferred automatically, and you won't need this rule.  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: if block, Next: if table, Prev: separator, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: if block, Next: if table, Prev: separator, Up: CSV RULES -11 'if' block -************* +2.5 'if' block +============== if MATCHER RULE @@ -639,8 +635,8 @@  File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Matching the whole record, Next: Matching individual fields, Up: if block -11.1 Matching the whole record -============================== +2.5.1 Matching the whole record +------------------------------- Each MATCHER can be a record matcher, which looks like this: @@ -662,8 +658,8 @@  File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Matching individual fields, Next: Combining matchers, Prev: Matching the whole record, Up: if block -11.2 Matching individual fields -=============================== +2.5.2 Matching individual fields +-------------------------------- Or, MATCHER can be a field matcher, like this: @@ -676,8 +672,8 @@  File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Combining matchers, Next: Rules applied on successful match, Prev: Matching individual fields, Up: if block -11.3 Combining matchers -======================= +2.5.3 Combining matchers +------------------------ A single matcher can be written on the same line as the "if"; or multiple matchers can be written on the following lines, non-indented. @@ -693,8 +689,8 @@  File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Rules applied on successful match, Prev: Combining matchers, Up: if block -11.4 Rules applied on successful match -====================================== +2.5.4 Rules applied on successful match +--------------------------------------- After the patterns there should be one or more rules to apply, all indented by at least one space. Three kinds of rule are allowed in @@ -719,10 +715,10 @@ comment XXX deductible ? check it  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: if table, Next: end, Prev: if block, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: if table, Next: end, Prev: if block, Up: CSV RULES -12 'if' table -************* +2.6 'if' table +============== if,CSVFIELDNAME1,CSVFIELDNAME2,...,CSVFIELDNAMEn MATCHER1,VALUE11,VALUE12,...,VALUE1n @@ -780,10 +776,10 @@ 2020/01/12.*Plumbing LLC,expenses:house:upkeep,emergency plumbing call-out  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: end, Next: date-format, Prev: if table, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: end, Next: date-format, Prev: if table, Up: CSV RULES -13 'end' -******** +2.7 'end' +========= This rule can be used inside if blocks (only), to make hledger stop reading this CSV file and move on to the next input file, or to command @@ -794,10 +790,10 @@ end  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: date-format, Next: decimal-mark, Prev: end, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: date-format, Next: decimal-mark, Prev: end, Up: CSV RULES -14 'date-format' -**************** +2.8 'date-format' +================= date-format DATEFMT @@ -825,10 +821,10 @@ https://hackage.haskell.org/package/time/docs/Data-Time-Format.html#v:formatTime  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: decimal-mark, Next: newest-first, Prev: date-format, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: decimal-mark, Next: newest-first, Prev: date-format, Up: CSV RULES -15 'decimal-mark' -***************** +2.9 'decimal-mark' +================== decimal-mark . @@ -843,10 +839,10 @@ misparsed numbers.  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: newest-first, Next: include, Prev: decimal-mark, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: newest-first, Next: include, Prev: decimal-mark, Up: CSV RULES -16 'newest-first' -***************** +2.10 'newest-first' +=================== hledger always sorts the generated transactions by date. Transactions on the same date should appear in the same order as their CSV records, @@ -865,10 +861,10 @@ newest-first  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: include, Next: balance-type, Prev: newest-first, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: include, Next: balance-type, Prev: newest-first, Up: CSV RULES -17 'include' -************ +2.11 'include' +============== include RULESFILE @@ -879,19 +875,19 @@ # someaccount.csv.rules -# someaccount-specific rules +## someaccount-specific rules fields date,description,amount account1 assets:someaccount account2 expenses:misc -# common rules +## common rules include categorisation.rules  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: balance-type, Next: TIPS, Prev: include, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: balance-type, Prev: include, Up: CSV RULES -18 'balance-type' -***************** +2.12 'balance-type' +=================== Balance assertions generated by assigning to balanceN are of the simple '=' type by default, which is a single-commodity, subaccount-excluding @@ -911,16 +907,29 @@ ==* multi commodity, include subaccounts  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: TIPS, Next: Rapid feedback, Prev: balance-type, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: TIPS, Prev: CSV RULES, Up: Top -19 TIPS -******* +3 TIPS +****** +* Menu: + +* Rapid feedback:: +* Valid CSV:: +* File Extension:: +* Reading multiple CSV files:: +* Valid transactions:: +* Deduplicating importing:: +* Setting amounts:: +* Setting currency/commodity:: +* Referencing other fields:: +* How CSV rules are evaluated:: +  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Rapid feedback, Next: Valid CSV, Prev: TIPS, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Rapid feedback, Next: Valid CSV, Up: TIPS -20 Rapid feedback -***************** +3.1 Rapid feedback +================== It's a good idea to get rapid feedback while creating/troubleshooting CSV rules. Here's a good way, using entr from @@ -934,10 +943,10 @@ output.  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Valid CSV, Next: File Extension, Prev: Rapid feedback, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Valid CSV, Next: File Extension, Prev: Rapid feedback, Up: TIPS -21 Valid CSV -************ +3.2 Valid CSV +============= hledger accepts CSV conforming to RFC 4180. When CSV values are enclosed in quotes, note: @@ -946,10 +955,10 @@ * spaces outside the quotes are not allowed  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: File Extension, Next: Reading multiple CSV files, Prev: Valid CSV, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: File Extension, Next: Reading multiple CSV files, Prev: Valid CSV, Up: TIPS -22 File Extension -***************** +3.3 File Extension +================== To help hledger identify the format and show the right error messages, CSV/SSV/TSV files should normally be named with a '.csv', '.ssv' or @@ -966,10 +975,10 @@ See also: Input files in the hledger manual.  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Reading multiple CSV files, Next: Valid transactions, Prev: File Extension, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Reading multiple CSV files, Next: Valid transactions, Prev: File Extension, Up: TIPS -23 Reading multiple CSV files -***************************** +3.4 Reading multiple CSV files +============================== If you use multiple '-f' options to read multiple CSV files at once, hledger will look for a correspondingly-named rules file for each CSV @@ -977,10 +986,10 @@ used for all the CSV files.  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Valid transactions, Next: Deduplicating importing, Prev: Reading multiple CSV files, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Valid transactions, Next: Deduplicating importing, Prev: Reading multiple CSV files, Up: TIPS -24 Valid transactions -********************* +3.5 Valid transactions +====================== After reading a CSV file, hledger post-processes and validates the generated journal entries as it would for a journal file - balancing @@ -996,10 +1005,10 @@ $ hledger -f file.csv print | hledger -f- print  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Deduplicating importing, Next: Setting amounts, Prev: Valid transactions, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Deduplicating importing, Next: Setting amounts, Prev: Valid transactions, Up: TIPS -25 Deduplicating, importing -*************************** +3.6 Deduplicating, importing +============================ When you download a CSV file periodically, eg to get your latest bank transactions, the new file may overlap with the old one, containing some @@ -1026,10 +1035,10 @@ * https://plaintextaccounting.org -> data import/conversion  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Setting amounts, Next: Setting currency/commodity, Prev: Deduplicating importing, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Setting amounts, Next: Setting currency/commodity, Prev: Deduplicating importing, Up: TIPS -26 Setting amounts -****************** +3.7 Setting amounts +=================== A posting amount can be set in one of these ways: @@ -1055,10 +1064,10 @@ * If an amount value begins with a plus sign, that will be removed  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Setting currency/commodity, Next: Referencing other fields, Prev: Setting amounts, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Setting currency/commodity, Next: Referencing other fields, Prev: Setting amounts, Up: TIPS -27 Setting currency/commodity -***************************** +3.8 Setting currency/commodity +============================== If the currency/commodity symbol is included in the CSV's amount field(s): @@ -1103,10 +1112,10 @@ that would trigger the prepending effect, which we don't want here.  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Referencing other fields, Next: How CSV rules are evaluated, Prev: Setting currency/commodity, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: Referencing other fields, Next: How CSV rules are evaluated, Prev: Setting currency/commodity, Up: TIPS -28 Referencing other fields -*************************** +3.9 Referencing other fields +============================ In field assignments, you can interpolate only CSV fields, not hledger fields. In the example below, there's both a CSV field and a hledger @@ -1140,10 +1149,10 @@ comment C  -File: hledger_csv.info, Node: How CSV rules are evaluated, Prev: Referencing other fields, Up: Top +File: hledger_csv.info, Node: How CSV rules are evaluated, Prev: Referencing other fields, Up: TIPS -29 How CSV rules are evaluated -****************************** +3.10 How CSV rules are evaluated +================================ Here's how to think of CSV rules being evaluated (if you really need to). First, @@ -1183,90 +1192,85 @@  Tag Table: Node: Top72 -Node: EXAMPLES3257 -Ref: #examples3359 -Node: Basic3505 -Ref: #basic3613 -Node: Bank of Ireland4155 -Ref: #bank-of-ireland4281 -Node: Amazon5743 -Ref: #amazon5852 -Node: Paypal7571 -Ref: #paypal7674 -Node: CSV RULES15318 -Ref: #csv-rules15425 -Node: skip15559 -Ref: #skip15660 -Node: fields16035 -Ref: #fields16147 -Node: Transaction field names17312 -Ref: #transaction-field-names17468 -Node: Posting field names17579 -Ref: #posting-field-names17727 -Node: account17797 -Ref: #account17909 -Node: amount18446 -Ref: #amount18573 -Node: currency19680 -Ref: #currency19811 -Node: balance20017 -Ref: #balance20147 -Node: comment20464 -Ref: #comment20577 -Node: field assignment20740 -Ref: #field-assignment20873 -Node: separator21691 -Ref: #separator21818 -Node: if block22358 -Ref: #if-block22475 -Node: Matching the whole record22876 -Ref: #matching-the-whole-record23049 -Node: Matching individual fields23853 -Ref: #matching-individual-fields24055 -Node: Combining matchers24279 -Ref: #combining-matchers24473 -Node: Rules applied on successful match24786 -Ref: #rules-applied-on-successful-match24975 -Node: if table25629 -Ref: #if-table25740 -Node: end27478 -Ref: #end27582 -Node: date-format27806 -Ref: #date-format27930 -Node: decimal-mark28679 -Ref: #decimal-mark28814 -Node: newest-first29153 -Ref: #newest-first29284 -Node: include29967 -Ref: #include30088 -Node: balance-type30530 -Ref: #balance-type30653 -Node: TIPS31353 -Ref: #tips31463 -Node: Rapid feedback31463 -Ref: #rapid-feedback31590 -Node: Valid CSV32050 -Ref: #valid-csv32177 -Node: File Extension32369 -Ref: #file-extension32518 -Node: Reading multiple CSV files32947 -Ref: #reading-multiple-csv-files33129 -Node: Valid transactions33370 -Ref: #valid-transactions33545 -Node: Deduplicating importing34173 -Ref: #deduplicating-importing34349 -Node: Setting amounts35382 -Ref: #setting-amounts35548 -Node: Setting currency/commodity36535 -Ref: #setting-currencycommodity36724 -Node: Referencing other fields37898 -Ref: #referencing-other-fields38095 -Node: How CSV rules are evaluated38992 -Ref: #how-csv-rules-are-evaluated39160 +Node: EXAMPLES2756 +Ref: #examples2862 +Node: Basic3070 +Ref: #basic3170 +Node: Bank of Ireland3712 +Ref: #bank-of-ireland3847 +Node: Amazon5309 +Ref: #amazon5427 +Node: Paypal7146 +Ref: #paypal7240 +Node: CSV RULES14884 +Ref: #csv-rules14993 +Node: skip15305 +Ref: #skip15398 +Node: fields15773 +Ref: #fields15895 +Node: Transaction field names17060 +Ref: #transaction-field-names17220 +Node: Posting field names17331 +Ref: #posting-field-names17483 +Node: account17553 +Ref: #account17669 +Node: amount18206 +Ref: #amount18337 +Node: currency19444 +Ref: #currency19579 +Node: balance19785 +Ref: #balance19919 +Node: comment20236 +Ref: #comment20353 +Node: field assignment20516 +Ref: #field-assignment20659 +Node: separator21477 +Ref: #separator21612 +Node: if block22152 +Ref: #if-block22277 +Node: Matching the whole record22678 +Ref: #matching-the-whole-record22853 +Node: Matching individual fields23657 +Ref: #matching-individual-fields23861 +Node: Combining matchers24085 +Ref: #combining-matchers24281 +Node: Rules applied on successful match24594 +Ref: #rules-applied-on-successful-match24785 +Node: if table25439 +Ref: #if-table25558 +Node: end27296 +Ref: #end27408 +Node: date-format27632 +Ref: #date-format27764 +Node: decimal-mark28513 +Ref: #decimal-mark28656 +Node: newest-first28995 +Ref: #newest-first29136 +Node: include29819 +Ref: #include29950 +Node: balance-type30394 +Ref: #balance-type30514 +Node: TIPS31214 +Ref: #tips31296 +Node: Rapid feedback31552 +Ref: #rapid-feedback31669 +Node: Valid CSV32129 +Ref: #valid-csv32259 +Node: File Extension32451 +Ref: #file-extension32603 +Node: Reading multiple CSV files33032 +Ref: #reading-multiple-csv-files33217 +Node: Valid transactions33458 +Ref: #valid-transactions33636 +Node: Deduplicating importing34264 +Ref: #deduplicating-importing34443 +Node: Setting amounts35476 +Ref: #setting-amounts35645 +Node: Setting currency/commodity36632 +Ref: #setting-currencycommodity36824 +Node: Referencing other fields37998 +Ref: #referencing-other-fields38198 +Node: How CSV rules are evaluated39095 +Ref: #how-csv-rules-are-evaluated39268  End Tag Table - - -Local Variables: -coding: utf-8 -End: diff --git a/embeddedfiles/hledger_csv.txt b/embeddedfiles/hledger_csv.txt --- a/embeddedfiles/hledger_csv.txt +++ b/embeddedfiles/hledger_csv.txt @@ -1,10 +1,10 @@ -hledger_csv(5) hledger User Manuals hledger_csv(5) +HLEDGER_CSV(5) hledger User Manuals HLEDGER_CSV(5) NAME - CSV - how hledger reads CSV data, and the CSV rules file format + How hledger reads CSV data, and the CSV rules file format. DESCRIPTION hledger can read CSV files (Character Separated Value - usually comma, @@ -951,9 +951,11 @@ SEE ALSO - hledger(1), hledger-ui(1), hledger-web(1), hledger_csv(5), - hledger_journal(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5), ledger(1) + hledger(1), hledger-ui(1), hledger-web(1), ledger(1) + hledger_journal(5), hledger_csv(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_time- + dot(5) -hledger 1.20.1 December 2020 hledger_csv(5) + +hledger-lib-1.20.1 December 2020 HLEDGER_CSV(5) diff --git a/embeddedfiles/hledger_journal.5 b/embeddedfiles/hledger_journal.5 --- a/embeddedfiles/hledger_journal.5 +++ b/embeddedfiles/hledger_journal.5 @@ -1,13 +1,12 @@ .\"t -.TH "hledger_journal" "5" "December 2020" "hledger 1.20.1" "hledger User Manuals" +.TH "HLEDGER_JOURNAL" "5" "December 2020" "hledger-lib-1.20.1 " "hledger User Manuals" .SH NAME .PP -Journal - hledger\[aq]s default file format, representing a General -Journal +hledger\[aq]s default file format, representing a General Journal. .SH DESCRIPTION .PP hledger\[aq]s usual data source is a plain text file containing journal @@ -34,7 +33,6 @@ for Vim, and hledger-vscode for Visual Studio Code, make this easier, adding colour, formatting, tab completion, and useful commands. See Editor configuration at hledger.org for the full list. -.SH FILE FORMAT .PP Here\[aq]s a description of each part of the file format (and hledger\[aq]s data model). @@ -42,7 +40,7 @@ related concepts have been grouped together for easy reference, or linked before they are introduced, so feel free to skip over anything that looks unnecessary right now. -.SS Transactions +.SH TRANSACTIONS .PP Transactions are the main unit of information in a journal file. They represent events, typically a movement of some quantity of @@ -75,7 +73,7 @@ income:salary $-1 \f[R] .fi -.SS Dates +.SH DATES .SS Simple dates .PP Dates in the journal file use \f[I]simple dates\f[R] format: @@ -181,7 +179,7 @@ \f[C]0123456789/-.=\f[R] characters in this way. With this syntax, DATE infers its year from the transaction and DATE2 infers its year from DATE. -.SS Status +.SH STATUS .PP Transactions, or individual postings within a transaction, can have a status mark, which is a single character before the transaction @@ -268,7 +266,7 @@ at your bank, \f[C]-U\f[R] to see things which will probably hit your bank soon (like uncashed checks), and no flags to see the most up-to-date state of your finances. -.SS Description +.SH DESCRIPTION .PP A transaction\[aq]s description is the rest of the line following the date and status mark (or until a comment begins). @@ -283,7 +281,7 @@ additional note field on the right (after the first \f[C]|\f[R]). This may be worthwhile if you need to do more precise querying and pivoting by payee or by note. -.SS Comments +.SH COMMENTS .PP Lines in the journal beginning with a semicolon (\f[C];\f[R]) or hash (\f[C]#\f[R]) or star (\f[C]*\f[R]) are comments, and will be ignored. @@ -324,7 +322,7 @@ .PP You can also comment larger regions of a file using \f[C]comment\f[R] and \f[C]end comment\f[R] directives. -.SS Tags +.SH TAGS .PP Tags are a way to add extra labels or labelled data to postings and transactions, which you can then search or pivot on. @@ -383,7 +381,7 @@ .PP Tags are like Ledger\[aq]s metadata feature, except hledger\[aq]s tag values are simple strings. -.SS Postings +.SH POSTINGS .PP A posting is an addition of some amount to, or removal of some amount from, an account. @@ -454,7 +452,7 @@ postings\f[R]. You can exclude virtual postings from reports with the \f[C]-R/--real\f[R] flag or \f[C]real:1\f[R] query. -.SS Account names +.SH ACCOUNT NAMES .PP Account names typically have several parts separated by a full colon, from which hledger derives a hierarchical chart of accounts. @@ -468,7 +466,7 @@ spaces\f[R] (or newline). .PP Account names can be aliased. -.SS Amounts +.SH AMOUNTS .PP After the account name, there is usually an amount. (Important: between account name and amount, there must be \f[B]two or @@ -637,7 +635,7 @@ number, eg 0.5 displayed with zero decimal places is \[dq]0\[dq]). (Guaranteed since hledger 1.17.1; in older versions this could vary if hledger was built with Decimal < 0.5.1.) -.SS Transaction prices +.SH TRANSACTION PRICES .PP Within a transaction, you can note an amount\[aq]s price in another commodity. @@ -734,7 +732,7 @@ \[Eu]100 assets:euros \f[R] .fi -.SS Lot prices and lot dates +.SH LOT PRICES, LOT DATES .PP Ledger allows another kind of price, lot price (four variants: \f[C]{UNITPRICE}\f[R], \f[C]{{TOTALPRICE}}\f[R], @@ -745,7 +743,7 @@ currently ignores them. A transaction price, lot price and/or lot date may appear in any order, after the posting amount and before the balance assertion if any. -.SS Balance assertions +.SH BALANCE ASSERTIONS .PP hledger supports Ledger-style balance assertions in journal files. These look like, for example, \f[C]= EXPECTEDBALANCE\f[R] following a @@ -901,7 +899,7 @@ Eg a commodity directive may limit the display precision, but this will not affect balance assertions. Balance assertion failure messages show exact amounts. -.SS Balance assignments +.SH BALANCE ASSIGNMENTS .PP Ledger-style balance assignments are also supported. These are like balance assertions, but with no posting amount on the @@ -958,7 +956,7 @@ (a) $1 \[at] \[Eu]2 = $1 \[at] \[Eu]2 \f[R] .fi -.SS Directives +.SH DIRECTIVES .PP A directive is a line in the journal beginning with a special keyword, that influences how the journal is processed. @@ -1850,7 +1848,7 @@ hledger-web. If account aliases are present, they are applied after the default parent account. -.SS Periodic transactions +.SH PERIODIC TRANSACTIONS .PP Periodic transaction rules describe transactions that recur. They allow hledger to generate temporary future transactions to help @@ -2004,7 +2002,7 @@ .PP See also: Budgeting and Forecasting. .PP -.SS Auto postings +.SH AUTO POSTINGS .PP \[dq]Automated postings\[dq] or \[dq]auto postings\[dq] are extra postings which get added automatically to transactions which match @@ -2150,6 +2148,6 @@ Released under GNU GPL v3 or later. .SH SEE ALSO -hledger(1), hledger\-ui(1), hledger\-web(1), -hledger_csv(5), hledger_journal(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5), -ledger(1) +hledger(1), hledger\-ui(1), hledger\-web(1), ledger(1) + +hledger_journal(5), hledger_csv(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5) diff --git a/embeddedfiles/hledger_journal.info b/embeddedfiles/hledger_journal.info --- a/embeddedfiles/hledger_journal.info +++ b/embeddedfiles/hledger_journal.info @@ -2,12 +2,12 @@ stdin.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Top, Next: Transactions, Up: (dir) +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Top, Next: TRANSACTIONS, Up: (dir) -hledger_journal(5) hledger 1.20.1 -********************************* +hledger_journal(5) +****************** -Journal - hledger's default file format, representing a General Journal +hledger's default file format, representing a General Journal. hledger's usual data source is a plain text file containing journal entries in hledger journal format. This file represents a standard @@ -40,27 +40,27 @@ * Menu: -* Transactions:: -* Dates:: -* Status:: -* Description:: -* Comments:: -* Tags:: -* Postings:: -* Account names:: -* Amounts:: -* Transaction prices:: -* Lot prices and lot dates:: -* Balance assertions:: -* Balance assignments:: -* Directives:: -* Periodic transactions:: -* Auto postings:: +* TRANSACTIONS:: +* DATES:: +* STATUS:: +* DESCRIPTION:: +* COMMENTS:: +* TAGS:: +* POSTINGS:: +* ACCOUNT NAMES:: +* AMOUNTS:: +* TRANSACTION PRICES:: +* LOT PRICES LOT DATES:: +* BALANCE ASSERTIONS:: +* BALANCE ASSIGNMENTS:: +* DIRECTIVES:: +* PERIODIC TRANSACTIONS:: +* AUTO POSTINGS::  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Transactions, Next: Dates, Prev: Top, Up: Top +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: TRANSACTIONS, Next: DATES, Prev: Top, Up: Top -1 Transactions +1 TRANSACTIONS ************** Transactions are the main unit of information in a journal file. They @@ -87,9 +87,9 @@ income:salary $-1  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Dates, Next: Status, Prev: Transactions, Up: Top +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: DATES, Next: STATUS, Prev: TRANSACTIONS, Up: Top -2 Dates +2 DATES ******* * Menu: @@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ * Posting dates::  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Simple dates, Next: Secondary dates, Up: Dates +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Simple dates, Next: Secondary dates, Up: DATES 2.1 Simple dates ================ @@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ dates documented in the hledger manual.)  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Secondary dates, Next: Posting dates, Prev: Simple dates, Up: Dates +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Secondary dates, Next: Posting dates, Prev: Simple dates, Up: DATES 2.2 Secondary dates =================== @@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ 2010-02-19 movie ticket assets:checking $-10 $-10  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Posting dates, Prev: Secondary dates, Up: Dates +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Posting dates, Prev: Secondary dates, Up: DATES 2.3 Posting dates ================= @@ -186,9 +186,9 @@ transaction and DATE2 infers its year from DATE.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Status, Next: Description, Prev: Dates, Up: Top +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: STATUS, Next: DESCRIPTION, Prev: DATES, Up: Top -3 Status +3 STATUS ******** Transactions, or individual postings within a transaction, can have a @@ -236,9 +236,9 @@ your finances.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Description, Next: Comments, Prev: Status, Up: Top +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: DESCRIPTION, Next: COMMENTS, Prev: STATUS, Up: Top -4 Description +4 DESCRIPTION ************* A transaction's description is the rest of the line following the date @@ -252,7 +252,7 @@ * Payee and note::  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Payee and note, Up: Description +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Payee and note, Up: DESCRIPTION 4.1 Payee and note ================== @@ -264,9 +264,9 @@ precise querying and pivoting by payee or by note.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Comments, Next: Tags, Prev: Description, Up: Top +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: COMMENTS, Next: TAGS, Prev: DESCRIPTION, Up: Top -5 Comments +5 COMMENTS ********** Lines in the journal beginning with a semicolon (';') or hash ('#') or @@ -304,9 +304,9 @@ 'end comment' directives.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Tags, Next: Postings, Prev: Comments, Up: Top +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: TAGS, Next: POSTINGS, Prev: COMMENTS, Up: Top -6 Tags +6 TAGS ****** Tags are a way to add extra labels or labelled data to postings and @@ -347,9 +347,9 @@ are simple strings.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Postings, Next: Account names, Prev: Tags, Up: Top +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: POSTINGS, Next: ACCOUNT NAMES, Prev: TAGS, Up: Top -7 Postings +7 POSTINGS ********** A posting is an addition of some amount to, or removal of some amount @@ -379,7 +379,7 @@ * Virtual postings::  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Virtual postings, Up: Postings +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Virtual postings, Up: POSTINGS 7.1 Virtual postings ==================== @@ -414,9 +414,9 @@ '-R/--real' flag or 'real:1' query.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Account names, Next: Amounts, Prev: Postings, Up: Top +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: ACCOUNT NAMES, Next: AMOUNTS, Prev: POSTINGS, Up: Top -8 Account names +8 ACCOUNT NAMES *************** Account names typically have several parts separated by a full colon, @@ -432,9 +432,9 @@ Account names can be aliased.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Amounts, Next: Transaction prices, Prev: Account names, Up: Top +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: AMOUNTS, Next: TRANSACTION PRICES, Prev: ACCOUNT NAMES, Up: Top -9 Amounts +9 AMOUNTS ********* After the account name, there is usually an amount. (Important: between @@ -488,7 +488,7 @@ * Rounding::  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Digit group marks, Next: Commodity display style, Up: Amounts +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Digit group marks, Next: Commodity display style, Up: AMOUNTS 9.1 Digit group marks ===================== @@ -521,7 +521,7 @@ commodity 1 000 000.9455  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Commodity display style, Next: Rounding, Prev: Digit group marks, Up: Amounts +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Commodity display style, Next: Rounding, Prev: Digit group marks, Up: AMOUNTS 9.2 Commodity display style =========================== @@ -566,7 +566,7 @@ style.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Rounding, Prev: Commodity display style, Up: Amounts +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Rounding, Prev: Commodity display style, Up: AMOUNTS 9.3 Rounding ============ @@ -579,9 +579,9 @@ this could vary if hledger was built with Decimal < 0.5.1.)  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Transaction prices, Next: Lot prices and lot dates, Prev: Amounts, Up: Top +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: TRANSACTION PRICES, Next: LOT PRICES LOT DATES, Prev: AMOUNTS, Up: Top -10 Transaction prices +10 TRANSACTION PRICES ********************* Within a transaction, you can note an amount's price in another @@ -646,10 +646,10 @@ €100 assets:euros  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Lot prices and lot dates, Next: Balance assertions, Prev: Transaction prices, Up: Top +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: LOT PRICES LOT DATES, Next: BALANCE ASSERTIONS, Prev: TRANSACTION PRICES, Up: Top -11 Lot prices and lot dates -*************************** +11 LOT PRICES, LOT DATES +************************ Ledger allows another kind of price, lot price (four variants: '{UNITPRICE}', '{{TOTALPRICE}}', '{=FIXEDUNITPRICE}', @@ -661,9 +661,9 @@ assertion if any.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Balance assertions, Next: Balance assignments, Prev: Lot prices and lot dates, Up: Top +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: BALANCE ASSERTIONS, Next: BALANCE ASSIGNMENTS, Prev: LOT PRICES LOT DATES, Up: Top -12 Balance assertions +12 BALANCE ASSERTIONS ********************* hledger supports Ledger-style balance assertions in journal files. @@ -699,7 +699,7 @@ * Assertions and precision::  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Assertions and ordering, Next: Assertions and included files, Up: Balance assertions +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Assertions and ordering, Next: Assertions and included files, Up: BALANCE ASSERTIONS 12.1 Assertions and ordering ============================ @@ -718,7 +718,7 @@ can assert intra-day balances.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Assertions and included files, Next: Assertions and multiple -f options, Prev: Assertions and ordering, Up: Balance assertions +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Assertions and included files, Next: Assertions and multiple -f options, Prev: Assertions and ordering, Up: BALANCE ASSERTIONS 12.2 Assertions and included files ================================== @@ -730,7 +730,7 @@ you'll have to put the assertion in the right file.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Assertions and multiple -f options, Next: Assertions and commodities, Prev: Assertions and included files, Up: Balance assertions +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Assertions and multiple -f options, Next: Assertions and commodities, Prev: Assertions and included files, Up: BALANCE ASSERTIONS 12.3 Assertions and multiple -f options ======================================= @@ -739,7 +739,7 @@ -f options. Use include or concatenate the files instead.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Assertions and commodities, Next: Assertions and prices, Prev: Assertions and multiple -f options, Up: Balance assertions +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Assertions and commodities, Next: Assertions and prices, Prev: Assertions and multiple -f options, Up: BALANCE ASSERTIONS 12.4 Assertions and commodities =============================== @@ -787,7 +787,7 @@ a:euro 0 == 1€  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Assertions and prices, Next: Assertions and subaccounts, Prev: Assertions and commodities, Up: Balance assertions +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Assertions and prices, Next: Assertions and subaccounts, Prev: Assertions and commodities, Up: BALANCE ASSERTIONS 12.5 Assertions and prices ========================== @@ -805,7 +805,7 @@ _assignments_ do use them (see below).  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Assertions and subaccounts, Next: Assertions and virtual postings, Prev: Assertions and prices, Up: Balance assertions +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Assertions and subaccounts, Next: Assertions and virtual postings, Prev: Assertions and prices, Up: BALANCE ASSERTIONS 12.6 Assertions and subaccounts =============================== @@ -822,7 +822,7 @@ checking 1 ==* 11  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Assertions and virtual postings, Next: Assertions and precision, Prev: Assertions and subaccounts, Up: Balance assertions +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Assertions and virtual postings, Next: Assertions and precision, Prev: Assertions and subaccounts, Up: BALANCE ASSERTIONS 12.7 Assertions and virtual postings ==================================== @@ -832,7 +832,7 @@ query.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Assertions and precision, Prev: Assertions and virtual postings, Up: Balance assertions +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Assertions and precision, Prev: Assertions and virtual postings, Up: BALANCE ASSERTIONS 12.8 Assertions and precision ============================= @@ -843,9 +843,9 @@ assertion failure messages show exact amounts.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Balance assignments, Next: Directives, Prev: Balance assertions, Up: Top +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: BALANCE ASSIGNMENTS, Next: DIRECTIVES, Prev: BALANCE ASSERTIONS, Up: Top -13 Balance assignments +13 BALANCE ASSIGNMENTS ********************** Ledger-style balance assignments are also supported. These are like @@ -880,7 +880,7 @@ * Balance assignments and prices::  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Balance assignments and prices, Up: Balance assignments +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Balance assignments and prices, Up: BALANCE ASSIGNMENTS 13.1 Balance assignments and prices =================================== @@ -896,9 +896,9 @@ (a) $1 @ €2 = $1 @ €2  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Directives, Next: Periodic transactions, Prev: Balance assignments, Up: Top +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: DIRECTIVES, Next: PERIODIC TRANSACTIONS, Prev: BALANCE ASSIGNMENTS, Up: Top -14 Directives +14 DIRECTIVES ************* A directive is a line in the journal beginning with a special keyword, @@ -997,7 +997,7 @@ * Default parent account::  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Directives and multiple files, Next: Comment blocks, Up: Directives +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Directives and multiple files, Next: Comment blocks, Up: DIRECTIVES 14.1 Directives and multiple files ================================== @@ -1017,7 +1017,7 @@ directives do not affect parent or sibling files (see below).  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Comment blocks, Next: Including other files, Prev: Directives and multiple files, Up: Directives +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Comment blocks, Next: Including other files, Prev: Directives and multiple files, Up: DIRECTIVES 14.2 Comment blocks =================== @@ -1027,7 +1027,7 @@ file) ends it. See also comments.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Including other files, Next: Default year, Prev: Comment blocks, Up: Directives +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Including other files, Next: Default year, Prev: Comment blocks, Up: DIRECTIVES 14.3 Including other files ========================== @@ -1058,7 +1058,7 @@ files): 'include timedot:~/notes/2020*.md'.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Default year, Next: Declaring commodities, Prev: Including other files, Up: Directives +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Default year, Next: Declaring commodities, Prev: Including other files, Up: DIRECTIVES 14.4 Default year ================= @@ -1084,7 +1084,7 @@ assets  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Declaring commodities, Next: Default commodity, Prev: Default year, Up: Directives +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Declaring commodities, Next: Default commodity, Prev: Default year, Up: DIRECTIVES 14.5 Declaring commodities ========================== @@ -1152,7 +1152,7 @@ checking, see the notes there for more details.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Default commodity, Next: Declaring market prices, Prev: Declaring commodities, Up: Directives +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Default commodity, Next: Declaring market prices, Prev: Declaring commodities, Up: DIRECTIVES 14.6 Default commodity ====================== @@ -1179,7 +1179,7 @@ b  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Declaring market prices, Next: Declaring accounts, Prev: Default commodity, Up: Directives +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Declaring market prices, Next: Declaring accounts, Prev: Default commodity, Up: DIRECTIVES 14.7 Declaring market prices ============================ @@ -1209,7 +1209,7 @@ amount values in another commodity. See Valuation.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Declaring accounts, Next: Rewriting accounts, Prev: Declaring market prices, Up: Directives +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Declaring accounts, Next: Rewriting accounts, Prev: Declaring market prices, Up: DIRECTIVES 14.8 Declaring accounts ======================= @@ -1471,7 +1471,7 @@ between 'a:b' and 'a:c').  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Rewriting accounts, Next: Default parent account, Prev: Declaring accounts, Up: Directives +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Rewriting accounts, Next: Default parent account, Prev: Declaring accounts, Up: DIRECTIVES 14.9 Rewriting accounts ======================= @@ -1629,7 +1629,7 @@ end aliases  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Default parent account, Prev: Rewriting accounts, Up: Directives +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Default parent account, Prev: Rewriting accounts, Up: DIRECTIVES 14.10 Default parent account ============================ @@ -1670,9 +1670,9 @@ parent account.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Periodic transactions, Next: Auto postings, Prev: Directives, Up: Top +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: PERIODIC TRANSACTIONS, Next: AUTO POSTINGS, Prev: DIRECTIVES, Up: Top -15 Periodic transactions +15 PERIODIC TRANSACTIONS ************************ Periodic transaction rules describe transactions that recur. They allow @@ -1717,7 +1717,7 @@ * Budgeting with periodic transactions::  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Periodic rule syntax, Next: Two spaces between period expression and description!, Up: Periodic transactions +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Periodic rule syntax, Next: Two spaces between period expression and description!, Up: PERIODIC TRANSACTIONS 15.1 Periodic rule syntax ========================= @@ -1740,7 +1740,7 @@ will be relative to Y/1/1.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Two spaces between period expression and description!, Next: Forecasting with periodic transactions, Prev: Periodic rule syntax, Up: Periodic transactions +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Two spaces between period expression and description!, Next: Forecasting with periodic transactions, Prev: Periodic rule syntax, Up: PERIODIC TRANSACTIONS 15.2 Two spaces between period expression and description! ========================================================== @@ -1765,7 +1765,7 @@ expression.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Forecasting with periodic transactions, Next: Budgeting with periodic transactions, Prev: Two spaces between period expression and description!, Up: Periodic transactions +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Forecasting with periodic transactions, Next: Budgeting with periodic transactions, Prev: Two spaces between period expression and description!, Up: PERIODIC TRANSACTIONS 15.3 Forecasting with periodic transactions =========================================== @@ -1811,7 +1811,7 @@ '--forecast=2020'.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Budgeting with periodic transactions, Prev: Forecasting with periodic transactions, Up: Periodic transactions +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Budgeting with periodic transactions, Prev: Forecasting with periodic transactions, Up: PERIODIC TRANSACTIONS 15.4 Budgeting with periodic transactions ========================================= @@ -1826,9 +1826,9 @@ See also: Budgeting and Forecasting.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Auto postings, Prev: Periodic transactions, Up: Top +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: AUTO POSTINGS, Prev: PERIODIC TRANSACTIONS, Up: Top -16 Auto postings +16 AUTO POSTINGS **************** "Automated postings" or "auto postings" are extra postings which get @@ -1904,7 +1904,7 @@ * Auto posting tags::  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Auto postings and multiple files, Next: Auto postings and dates, Up: Auto postings +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Auto postings and multiple files, Next: Auto postings and dates, Up: AUTO POSTINGS 16.1 Auto postings and multiple files ===================================== @@ -1914,7 +1914,7 @@ sibling files (when multiple '-f'/'--file' are used - see #1212).  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Auto postings and dates, Next: Auto postings and transaction balancing / inferred amounts / balance assertions, Prev: Auto postings and multiple files, Up: Auto postings +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Auto postings and dates, Next: Auto postings and transaction balancing / inferred amounts / balance assertions, Prev: Auto postings and multiple files, Up: AUTO POSTINGS 16.2 Auto postings and dates ============================ @@ -1924,7 +1924,7 @@ used in the generated posting.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Auto postings and transaction balancing / inferred amounts / balance assertions, Next: Auto posting tags, Prev: Auto postings and dates, Up: Auto postings +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Auto postings and transaction balancing / inferred amounts / balance assertions, Next: Auto posting tags, Prev: Auto postings and dates, Up: AUTO POSTINGS 16.3 Auto postings and transaction balancing / inferred amounts / ================================================================= @@ -1940,7 +1940,7 @@ for background.  -File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Auto posting tags, Prev: Auto postings and transaction balancing / inferred amounts / balance assertions, Up: Auto postings +File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Auto posting tags, Prev: Auto postings and transaction balancing / inferred amounts / balance assertions, Up: AUTO POSTINGS 16.4 Auto posting tags ====================== @@ -1964,142 +1964,137 @@  Tag Table: Node: Top76 -Node: Transactions2154 -Ref: #transactions2272 -Node: Dates3286 -Ref: #dates3393 -Node: Simple dates3458 -Ref: #simple-dates3580 -Node: Secondary dates4089 -Ref: #secondary-dates4239 -Node: Posting dates5575 -Ref: #posting-dates5700 -Node: Status7072 -Ref: #status7180 -Node: Description8888 -Ref: #description9009 -Node: Payee and note9329 -Ref: #payee-and-note9439 -Node: Comments9774 -Ref: #comments9887 -Node: Tags11081 -Ref: #tags11183 -Node: Postings12576 -Ref: #postings12691 -Node: Virtual postings13717 -Ref: #virtual-postings13830 -Node: Account names15135 -Ref: #account-names15263 -Node: Amounts15750 -Ref: #amounts15876 -Node: Digit group marks17000 -Ref: #digit-group-marks17147 -Node: Commodity display style18085 -Ref: #commodity-display-style18261 -Node: Rounding19804 -Ref: #rounding19924 -Node: Transaction prices20336 -Ref: #transaction-prices20497 -Node: Lot prices and lot dates22928 -Ref: #lot-prices-and-lot-dates23112 -Node: Balance assertions23600 -Ref: #balance-assertions23773 -Node: Assertions and ordering24806 -Ref: #assertions-and-ordering24990 -Node: Assertions and included files25690 -Ref: #assertions-and-included-files25929 -Node: Assertions and multiple -f options26262 -Ref: #assertions-and-multiple--f-options26514 -Node: Assertions and commodities26646 -Ref: #assertions-and-commodities26874 -Node: Assertions and prices28031 -Ref: #assertions-and-prices28241 -Node: Assertions and subaccounts28681 -Ref: #assertions-and-subaccounts28906 -Node: Assertions and virtual postings29230 -Ref: #assertions-and-virtual-postings29468 -Node: Assertions and precision29610 -Ref: #assertions-and-precision29799 -Node: Balance assignments30066 -Ref: #balance-assignments30227 -Node: Balance assignments and prices31391 -Ref: #balance-assignments-and-prices31559 -Node: Directives31783 -Ref: #directives31929 -Node: Directives and multiple files37427 -Ref: #directives-and-multiple-files37606 -Node: Comment blocks38270 -Ref: #comment-blocks38449 -Node: Including other files38625 -Ref: #including-other-files38801 -Node: Default year39725 -Ref: #default-year39890 -Node: Declaring commodities40297 -Ref: #declaring-commodities40476 -Node: Commodity error checking42320 -Ref: #commodity-error-checking42476 -Node: Default commodity42733 -Ref: #default-commodity42915 -Node: Declaring market prices43804 -Ref: #declaring-market-prices43995 -Node: Declaring accounts44852 -Ref: #declaring-accounts45034 -Node: Account error checking46236 -Ref: #account-error-checking46408 -Node: Account comments47587 -Ref: #account-comments47777 -Node: Account subdirectives48201 -Ref: #account-subdirectives48392 -Node: Account types48705 -Ref: #account-types48885 -Node: Declaring account types49621 -Ref: #declaring-account-types49806 -Node: Auto-detected account types50456 -Ref: #auto-detected-account-types50703 -Node: Interference from auto-detected account types51600 -Ref: #interference-from-auto-detected-account-types51883 -Node: Old account type syntax52366 -Ref: #old-account-type-syntax52569 -Node: Account display order52869 -Ref: #account-display-order53035 -Node: Rewriting accounts54186 -Ref: #rewriting-accounts54367 -Node: Basic aliases55124 -Ref: #basic-aliases55266 -Node: Regex aliases55970 -Ref: #regex-aliases56138 -Node: Combining aliases56857 -Ref: #combining-aliases57046 -Node: Aliases and multiple files58322 -Ref: #aliases-and-multiple-files58527 -Node: end aliases59106 -Ref: #end-aliases59259 -Node: Default parent account59360 -Ref: #default-parent-account59524 -Node: Periodic transactions60408 -Ref: #periodic-transactions60570 -Node: Periodic rule syntax62487 -Ref: #periodic-rule-syntax62689 -Node: Two spaces between period expression and description!63393 -Ref: #two-spaces-between-period-expression-and-description63708 -Node: Forecasting with periodic transactions64392 -Ref: #forecasting-with-periodic-transactions64693 -Node: Budgeting with periodic transactions66748 -Ref: #budgeting-with-periodic-transactions66983 -Node: Auto postings67392 -Ref: #auto-postings67519 -Node: Auto postings and multiple files69698 -Ref: #auto-postings-and-multiple-files69898 -Node: Auto postings and dates70107 -Ref: #auto-postings-and-dates70377 -Node: Auto postings and transaction balancing / inferred amounts / balance assertions70552 -Ref: #auto-postings-and-transaction-balancing-inferred-amounts-balance-assertions70899 -Node: Auto posting tags71241 -Ref: #auto-posting-tags71452 +Node: TRANSACTIONS2111 +Ref: #transactions2229 +Node: DATES3243 +Ref: #dates3350 +Node: Simple dates3415 +Ref: #simple-dates3537 +Node: Secondary dates4046 +Ref: #secondary-dates4196 +Node: Posting dates5532 +Ref: #posting-dates5657 +Node: STATUS7029 +Ref: #status7137 +Node: DESCRIPTION8845 +Ref: #description8966 +Node: Payee and note9286 +Ref: #payee-and-note9396 +Node: COMMENTS9731 +Ref: #comments9844 +Node: TAGS11038 +Ref: #tags11140 +Node: POSTINGS12533 +Ref: #postings12648 +Node: Virtual postings13674 +Ref: #virtual-postings13787 +Node: ACCOUNT NAMES15092 +Ref: #account-names15220 +Node: AMOUNTS15707 +Ref: #amounts15833 +Node: Digit group marks16957 +Ref: #digit-group-marks17104 +Node: Commodity display style18042 +Ref: #commodity-display-style18218 +Node: Rounding19761 +Ref: #rounding19881 +Node: TRANSACTION PRICES20293 +Ref: #transaction-prices20450 +Node: LOT PRICES LOT DATES22881 +Ref: #lot-prices-lot-dates23055 +Node: BALANCE ASSERTIONS23543 +Ref: #balance-assertions23712 +Node: Assertions and ordering24745 +Ref: #assertions-and-ordering24929 +Node: Assertions and included files25629 +Ref: #assertions-and-included-files25868 +Node: Assertions and multiple -f options26201 +Ref: #assertions-and-multiple--f-options26453 +Node: Assertions and commodities26585 +Ref: #assertions-and-commodities26813 +Node: Assertions and prices27970 +Ref: #assertions-and-prices28180 +Node: Assertions and subaccounts28620 +Ref: #assertions-and-subaccounts28845 +Node: Assertions and virtual postings29169 +Ref: #assertions-and-virtual-postings29407 +Node: Assertions and precision29549 +Ref: #assertions-and-precision29738 +Node: BALANCE ASSIGNMENTS30005 +Ref: #balance-assignments30166 +Node: Balance assignments and prices31330 +Ref: #balance-assignments-and-prices31498 +Node: DIRECTIVES31722 +Ref: #directives31868 +Node: Directives and multiple files37366 +Ref: #directives-and-multiple-files37545 +Node: Comment blocks38209 +Ref: #comment-blocks38388 +Node: Including other files38564 +Ref: #including-other-files38740 +Node: Default year39664 +Ref: #default-year39829 +Node: Declaring commodities40236 +Ref: #declaring-commodities40415 +Node: Commodity error checking42259 +Ref: #commodity-error-checking42415 +Node: Default commodity42672 +Ref: #default-commodity42854 +Node: Declaring market prices43743 +Ref: #declaring-market-prices43934 +Node: Declaring accounts44791 +Ref: #declaring-accounts44973 +Node: Account error checking46175 +Ref: #account-error-checking46347 +Node: Account comments47526 +Ref: #account-comments47716 +Node: Account subdirectives48140 +Ref: #account-subdirectives48331 +Node: Account types48644 +Ref: #account-types48824 +Node: Declaring account types49560 +Ref: #declaring-account-types49745 +Node: Auto-detected account types50395 +Ref: #auto-detected-account-types50642 +Node: Interference from auto-detected account types51539 +Ref: #interference-from-auto-detected-account-types51822 +Node: Old account type syntax52305 +Ref: #old-account-type-syntax52508 +Node: Account display order52808 +Ref: #account-display-order52974 +Node: Rewriting accounts54125 +Ref: #rewriting-accounts54306 +Node: Basic aliases55063 +Ref: #basic-aliases55205 +Node: Regex aliases55909 +Ref: #regex-aliases56077 +Node: Combining aliases56796 +Ref: #combining-aliases56985 +Node: Aliases and multiple files58261 +Ref: #aliases-and-multiple-files58466 +Node: end aliases59045 +Ref: #end-aliases59198 +Node: Default parent account59299 +Ref: #default-parent-account59463 +Node: PERIODIC TRANSACTIONS60347 +Ref: #periodic-transactions60509 +Node: Periodic rule syntax62426 +Ref: #periodic-rule-syntax62628 +Node: Two spaces between period expression and description!63332 +Ref: #two-spaces-between-period-expression-and-description63647 +Node: Forecasting with periodic transactions64331 +Ref: #forecasting-with-periodic-transactions64632 +Node: Budgeting with periodic transactions66687 +Ref: #budgeting-with-periodic-transactions66922 +Node: AUTO POSTINGS67331 +Ref: #auto-postings67458 +Node: Auto postings and multiple files69637 +Ref: #auto-postings-and-multiple-files69837 +Node: Auto postings and dates70046 +Ref: #auto-postings-and-dates70316 +Node: Auto postings and transaction balancing / inferred amounts / balance assertions70491 +Ref: #auto-postings-and-transaction-balancing-inferred-amounts-balance-assertions70838 +Node: Auto posting tags71180 +Ref: #auto-posting-tags71391  End Tag Table - - -Local Variables: -coding: utf-8 -End: diff --git a/embeddedfiles/hledger_journal.txt b/embeddedfiles/hledger_journal.txt --- a/embeddedfiles/hledger_journal.txt +++ b/embeddedfiles/hledger_journal.txt @@ -1,10 +1,10 @@ -hledger_journal(5) hledger User Manuals hledger_journal(5) +HLEDGER_JOURNAL(5) hledger User Manuals HLEDGER_JOURNAL(5) NAME - Journal - hledger's default file format, representing a General Journal + hledger's default file format, representing a General Journal. DESCRIPTION hledger's usual data source is a plain text file containing journal en- @@ -31,14 +31,13 @@ formatting, tab completion, and useful commands. See Editor configura- tion at hledger.org for the full list. -FILE FORMAT Here's a description of each part of the file format (and hledger's data model). These are mostly in the order you'll use them, but in some cases related concepts have been grouped together for easy refer- ence, or linked before they are introduced, so feel free to skip over anything that looks unnecessary right now. - Transactions +TRANSACTIONS Transactions are the main unit of information in a journal file. They represent events, typically a movement of some quantity of commodities between two or more named accounts. @@ -66,7 +65,7 @@ assets:bank:checking $1 income:salary $-1 - Dates +DATES Simple dates Dates in the journal file use simple dates format: YYYY-MM-DD or YYYY/MM/DD or YYYY.MM.DD, with leading zeros optional. The year may be @@ -139,7 +138,7 @@ With this syntax, DATE infers its year from the transaction and DATE2 infers its year from DATE. - Status +STATUS Transactions, or individual postings within a transaction, can have a status mark, which is a single character before the transaction de- scription or posting account name, separated from it by a space, indi- @@ -183,7 +182,7 @@ cashed checks), and no flags to see the most up-to-date state of your finances. - Description +DESCRIPTION A transaction's description is the rest of the line following the date and status mark (or until a comment begins). Sometimes called the "narration" in traditional bookkeeping, it can be used for whatever you @@ -197,7 +196,7 @@ ter the first |). This may be worthwhile if you need to do more pre- cise querying and pivoting by payee or by note. - Comments +COMMENTS Lines in the journal beginning with a semicolon (;) or hash (#) or star (*) are comments, and will be ignored. (Star comments cause org-mode nodes to be ignored, allowing emacs users to fold and navigate their @@ -232,7 +231,7 @@ You can also comment larger regions of a file using comment and end comment directives. - Tags +TAGS Tags are a way to add extra labels or labelled data to postings and transactions, which you can then search or pivot on. @@ -272,7 +271,7 @@ Tags are like Ledger's metadata feature, except hledger's tag values are simple strings. - Postings +POSTINGS A posting is an addition of some amount to, or removal of some amount from, an account. Each posting line begins with at least one space or tab (2 or 4 spaces is common), followed by: @@ -326,7 +325,7 @@ postings. You can exclude virtual postings from reports with the -R/--real flag or real:1 query. - Account names +ACCOUNT NAMES Account names typically have several parts separated by a full colon, from which hledger derives a hierarchical chart of accounts. They can be anything you like, but in finance there are traditionally five top- @@ -338,7 +337,7 @@ Account names can be aliased. - Amounts +AMOUNTS After the account name, there is usually an amount. (Important: be- tween account name and amount, there must be two or more spaces.) @@ -460,7 +459,7 @@ places is "0"). (Guaranteed since hledger 1.17.1; in older versions this could vary if hledger was built with Decimal < 0.5.1.) - Transaction prices +TRANSACTION PRICES Within a transaction, you can note an amount's price in another commod- ity. This can be used to document the cost (in a purchase) or selling price (in a sale). For example, transaction prices are useful to @@ -521,7 +520,7 @@ EUR-100 assets:dollars # <- the dollars' selling price EUR100 assets:euros - Lot prices and lot dates +LOT PRICES, LOT DATES Ledger allows another kind of price, lot price (four variants: {UNIT- PRICE}, {{TOTALPRICE}}, {=FIXEDUNITPRICE}, {{=FIXEDTOTALPRICE}}), and/or a lot date ([DATE]) to be specified. These are normally used to @@ -530,7 +529,7 @@ transaction price, lot price and/or lot date may appear in any order, after the posting amount and before the balance assertion if any. - Balance assertions +BALANCE ASSERTIONS hledger supports Ledger-style balance assertions in journal files. These look like, for example, = EXPECTEDBALANCE following a posting's amount. Eg here we assert the expected dollar balance in accounts a @@ -653,7 +652,7 @@ limit the display precision, but this will not affect balance asser- tions. Balance assertion failure messages show exact amounts. - Balance assignments +BALANCE ASSIGNMENTS Ledger-style balance assignments are also supported. These are like balance assertions, but with no posting amount on the left side of the equals sign; instead it is calculated automatically so as to satisfy @@ -692,7 +691,7 @@ 2019-01-01 (a) $1 @ EUR2 = $1 @ EUR2 - Directives +DIRECTIVES A directive is a line in the journal beginning with a special keyword, that influences how the journal is processed. hledger's directives are based on a subset of Ledger's, but there are many differences (and also @@ -729,8 +728,6 @@ play style: amounts of that commodity in reports - - D declare a commodity to be default commodity: used for commodityless following commod- amounts, and its number no- ityless entries un- @@ -743,6 +740,8 @@ play style: amounts of that commodity in reports + + include include entries/directives what the included from another file directives affect P declare a market price for a amounts of that @@ -1075,7 +1074,6 @@ ^(debts?|lia- Liability bilit(y|ies))(:|$) ^equity(:|$) Equity - ^(income|revenue)s?(:|$) Revenue ^expenses?(:|$) Expense @@ -1312,7 +1310,7 @@ account aliases are present, they are applied after the default parent account. - Periodic transactions +PERIODIC TRANSACTIONS Periodic transaction rules describe transactions that recur. They al- low hledger to generate temporary future transactions to help with forecasting, so you don't have to write out each one in the journal, @@ -1443,7 +1441,7 @@ See also: Budgeting and Forecasting. - Auto postings +AUTO POSTINGS "Automated postings" or "auto postings" are extra postings which get added automatically to transactions which match certain queries, de- fined by "auto posting rules", when you use the --auto flag. @@ -1570,9 +1568,11 @@ SEE ALSO - hledger(1), hledger-ui(1), hledger-web(1), hledger_csv(5), - hledger_journal(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5), ledger(1) + hledger(1), hledger-ui(1), hledger-web(1), ledger(1) + hledger_journal(5), hledger_csv(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_time- + dot(5) -hledger 1.20.1 December 2020 hledger_journal(5) + +hledger-lib-1.20.1 December 2020 HLEDGER_JOURNAL(5) diff --git a/embeddedfiles/hledger_timeclock.5 b/embeddedfiles/hledger_timeclock.5 --- a/embeddedfiles/hledger_timeclock.5 +++ b/embeddedfiles/hledger_timeclock.5 @@ -1,11 +1,11 @@ -.TH "hledger_timeclock" "5" "December 2020" "hledger 1.20.1" "hledger User Manuals" +.TH "HLEDGER_TIMECLOCK" "5" "December 2020" "hledger-lib-1.20.1 " "hledger User Manuals" .SH NAME .PP -Timeclock - the time logging format of timeclock.el, as read by hledger +The time logging format of timeclock.el, as read by hledger. .SH DESCRIPTION .PP hledger can read timeclock files. @@ -85,6 +85,6 @@ Released under GNU GPL v3 or later. .SH SEE ALSO -hledger(1), hledger\-ui(1), hledger\-web(1), -hledger_csv(5), hledger_journal(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5), -ledger(1) +hledger(1), hledger\-ui(1), hledger\-web(1), ledger(1) + +hledger_journal(5), hledger_csv(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5) diff --git a/embeddedfiles/hledger_timeclock.info b/embeddedfiles/hledger_timeclock.info --- a/embeddedfiles/hledger_timeclock.info +++ b/embeddedfiles/hledger_timeclock.info @@ -4,10 +4,10 @@  File: hledger_timeclock.info, Node: Top, Up: (dir) -hledger_timeclock(5) hledger 1.20.1 -*********************************** +hledger_timeclock(5) +******************** -Timeclock - the time logging format of timeclock.el, as read by hledger +The time logging format of timeclock.el, as read by hledger. hledger can read timeclock files. As with Ledger, these are (a subset of) timeclock.el's format, containing clock-in and clock-out @@ -61,8 +61,3 @@ Node: Top78  End Tag Table - - -Local Variables: -coding: utf-8 -End: diff --git a/embeddedfiles/hledger_timeclock.txt b/embeddedfiles/hledger_timeclock.txt --- a/embeddedfiles/hledger_timeclock.txt +++ b/embeddedfiles/hledger_timeclock.txt @@ -1,10 +1,10 @@ -hledger_timeclock(5) hledger User Manuals hledger_timeclock(5) +HLEDGER_TIMECLOCK(5) hledger User Manuals HLEDGER_TIMECLOCK(5) NAME - Timeclock - the time logging format of timeclock.el, as read by hledger + The time logging format of timeclock.el, as read by hledger. DESCRIPTION hledger can read timeclock files. As with Ledger, these are (a subset @@ -70,9 +70,11 @@ SEE ALSO - hledger(1), hledger-ui(1), hledger-web(1), hledger_csv(5), - hledger_journal(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5), ledger(1) + hledger(1), hledger-ui(1), hledger-web(1), ledger(1) + hledger_journal(5), hledger_csv(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_time- + dot(5) -hledger 1.20.1 December 2020 hledger_timeclock(5) + +hledger-lib-1.20.1 December 2020 HLEDGER_TIMECLOCK(5) diff --git a/embeddedfiles/hledger_timedot.5 b/embeddedfiles/hledger_timedot.5 --- a/embeddedfiles/hledger_timedot.5 +++ b/embeddedfiles/hledger_timedot.5 @@ -1,11 +1,11 @@ -.TH "hledger_timedot" "5" "December 2020" "hledger 1.20.1" "hledger User Manuals" +.TH "HLEDGER_TIMEDOT" "5" "December 2020" "hledger-lib-1.20.1 " "hledger User Manuals" .SH NAME .PP -Timedot - hledger\[aq]s human-friendly time logging format +hledger\[aq]s human-friendly time logging format. .SH DESCRIPTION .PP Timedot is a plain text format for logging dated, categorised quantities @@ -194,6 +194,6 @@ Released under GNU GPL v3 or later. .SH SEE ALSO -hledger(1), hledger\-ui(1), hledger\-web(1), -hledger_csv(5), hledger_journal(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5), -ledger(1) +hledger(1), hledger\-ui(1), hledger\-web(1), ledger(1) + +hledger_journal(5), hledger_csv(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5) diff --git a/embeddedfiles/hledger_timedot.info b/embeddedfiles/hledger_timedot.info --- a/embeddedfiles/hledger_timedot.info +++ b/embeddedfiles/hledger_timedot.info @@ -4,10 +4,10 @@  File: hledger_timedot.info, Node: Top, Up: (dir) -hledger_timedot(5) hledger 1.20.1 -********************************* +hledger_timedot(5) +****************** -Timedot - hledger's human-friendly time logging format +hledger's human-friendly time logging format. Timedot is a plain text format for logging dated, categorised quantities (of time, usually), supported by hledger. It is convenient @@ -143,8 +143,3 @@ Node: Top76  End Tag Table - - -Local Variables: -coding: utf-8 -End: diff --git a/embeddedfiles/hledger_timedot.txt b/embeddedfiles/hledger_timedot.txt --- a/embeddedfiles/hledger_timedot.txt +++ b/embeddedfiles/hledger_timedot.txt @@ -1,10 +1,10 @@ -hledger_timedot(5) hledger User Manuals hledger_timedot(5) +HLEDGER_TIMEDOT(5) hledger User Manuals HLEDGER_TIMEDOT(5) NAME - Timedot - hledger's human-friendly time logging format + hledger's human-friendly time logging format. DESCRIPTION Timedot is a plain text format for logging dated, categorised quanti- @@ -153,9 +153,11 @@ SEE ALSO - hledger(1), hledger-ui(1), hledger-web(1), hledger_csv(5), - hledger_journal(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5), ledger(1) + hledger(1), hledger-ui(1), hledger-web(1), ledger(1) + hledger_journal(5), hledger_csv(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_time- + dot(5) -hledger 1.20.1 December 2020 hledger_timedot(5) + +hledger-lib-1.20.1 December 2020 HLEDGER_TIMEDOT(5) diff --git a/hledger.1 b/hledger.1 --- a/hledger.1 +++ b/hledger.1 @@ -1,23 +1,20 @@ .\"t -.TH "hledger" "1" "December 2020" "hledger 1.20.1" "hledger User Manuals" +.TH "HLEDGER" "1" "December 2020" "hledger-1.20.1 " "hledger User Manuals" .SH NAME .PP -hledger - a command-line accounting tool +A command-line accounting tool for both power users and folks new to +accounting. .SH SYNOPSIS .PP +\f[C]hledger\f[R] +.PP \f[C]hledger [-f FILE] COMMAND [OPTIONS] [ARGS]\f[R] -.PD 0 -.P -.PD +.PP \f[C]hledger [-f FILE] ADDONCMD -- [OPTIONS] [ARGS]\f[R] -.PD 0 -.P -.PD -\f[C]hledger\f[R] .SH DESCRIPTION .PP hledger is a reliable, cross-platform set of programs for tracking @@ -2466,22 +2463,85 @@ report\[aq]s multi-period mode (whether showing one or many subperiods). .SH COMMANDS .PP -hledger provides a number of subcommands; \f[C]hledger\f[R] with no -arguments shows a list. +hledger provides a number of commands for producing reports and managing +your data. +Run \f[C]hledger\f[R] with no arguments to list the commands available. .PP -If you install additional \f[C]hledger-*\f[R] packages, or if you put -programs or scripts named \f[C]hledger-NAME\f[R] in your PATH, these -will also be listed as subcommands. +To run a command, write its name (or its abbreviation shown in the +commands list, or any unambiguous prefix of the name) as hledger\[aq]s +first argument. +Eg: \f[C]hledger balance\f[R] or \f[C]hledger bal\f[R]. .PP -Run a subcommand by writing its name as first argument (eg -\f[C]hledger incomestatement\f[R]). -You can also write one of the standard short aliases displayed in -parentheses in the command list (\f[C]hledger b\f[R]), or any any -unambiguous prefix of a command name (\f[C]hledger inc\f[R]). +Here are the built-in commands: .PP -Here are all the builtin commands in alphabetical order. -See also \f[C]hledger\f[R] for a more organised command list, and -\f[C]hledger CMD -h\f[R] for detailed command help. +\f[B]Data entry (these modify the journal file):\f[R] +.IP \[bu] 2 +add - add transactions using guided prompts +.IP \[bu] 2 +import - add any new transactions from other files (eg csv) +.PP +\f[B]Data management\f[R]: +.IP \[bu] 2 +check - check for various kinds of issue in the data +.IP \[bu] 2 +close (equity) - generate balance-resetting transactions +.IP \[bu] 2 +diff - compare account transactions in two journal files +.IP \[bu] 2 +rewrite - generate extra postings, similar to print --auto +.PP +\f[B]Financial statements:\f[R] +.IP \[bu] 2 +aregister (areg) - show transactions in a particular account +.IP \[bu] 2 +balancesheet (bs) - show assets, liabilities and net worth +.IP \[bu] 2 +balancesheetequity (bse) - show assets, liabilities and equity +.IP \[bu] 2 +cashflow (cf) - show changes in liquid assets +.IP \[bu] 2 +incomestatement (is) - show revenues and expenses +.IP \[bu] 2 +roi - show return on investments +.PP +\f[B]Miscellaneous reports:\f[R] +.IP \[bu] 2 +accounts (a) - show account names +.IP \[bu] 2 +activity - show postings-per-interval bar charts +.IP \[bu] 2 +balance (b, bal) - show balance changes/end balances/budgets in accounts +.IP \[bu] 2 +codes - show transaction codes +.IP \[bu] 2 +commodities - show commodity/currency symbols +.IP \[bu] 2 +descriptions - show unique transaction descriptions +.IP \[bu] 2 +files - show input file paths +.IP \[bu] 2 +notes - show unique note segments of transaction descriptions +.IP \[bu] 2 +payees - show unique payee segments of transaction descriptions +.IP \[bu] 2 +prices - show market price records +.IP \[bu] 2 +print (p, txns) - show transactions (journal entries) +.IP \[bu] 2 +print-unique - show only transactions with unique descriptions +.IP \[bu] 2 +register (r, reg) - show postings in one or more accounts & running +total +.IP \[bu] 2 +register-match - show a recent posting that best matches a description +.IP \[bu] 2 +stats - show journal statistics +.IP \[bu] 2 +tags - show tag names +.IP \[bu] 2 +test - run self tests +.PP +Next, the detailed command docs, in alphabetical order. .SS accounts .PP accounts, a @@ -2664,6 +2724,10 @@ .PP Transactions making a net change of zero are not shown by default; add the \f[C]-E/--empty\f[R] flag to show them. +.PP +This command also supports the output destination and output format +options The output formats supported are \f[C]txt\f[R], \f[C]csv\f[R], +and \f[C]json\f[R]. .SS aregister and custom posting dates .PP Transactions whose date is outside the report period can still be shown, @@ -2677,12 +2741,7 @@ \f[C]--txn-dates\f[R] flag. If you use this flag and some of your postings have custom dates, it\[aq]s probably best to assume the running balance is wrong. -.SS Output format .PP -This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are \f[C]txt\f[R], \f[C]csv\f[R], -and \f[C]json\f[R]. -.PP Examples: .PP Show all transactions and historical running balance in the first @@ -2734,6 +2793,10 @@ In some cases the -H/--historical flag is used to ensure this (more below). .PP +This command also supports the output destination and output format +options The output formats supported are (in most modes): \f[C]txt\f[R], +\f[C]csv\f[R], \f[C]html\f[R], and \f[C]json\f[R]. +.PP The balance command can produce several styles of report: .SS Classic balance report .PP @@ -3378,11 +3441,6 @@ || 0 [ 0] \f[R] .fi -.SS Output format -.PP -This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are (in most modes): \f[C]txt\f[R], -\f[C]csv\f[R], \f[C]html\f[R], and \f[C]json\f[R]. .SS balancesheet .PP balancesheet, bs @@ -4047,371 +4105,6 @@ Snacks \f[R] .fi -.SS payees -.PP -payees -.PD 0 -.P -.PD -List the unique payee/payer names that appear in transactions. -.PP -This command lists the unique payee/payer names that appear in -transactions, in alphabetic order. -You can add a query to select a subset of transactions. -The payee/payer is the part of the transaction description before a | -character (or if there is no |, the whole description). -.PP -Example: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger payees -Store Name -Gas Station -Person A -\f[R] -.fi -.SS prices -.PP -prices -.PD 0 -.P -.PD -Print market price directives from the journal. -With --costs, also print synthetic market prices based on transaction -prices. -With --inverted-costs, also print inverse prices based on transaction -prices. -Prices (and postings providing prices) can be filtered by a query. -Price amounts are always displayed with their full precision. -.SS print -.PP -print, txns, p -.PD 0 -.P -.PD -Show transaction journal entries, sorted by date. -.PP -The print command displays full journal entries (transactions) from the -journal file in date order, tidily formatted. -With --date2, transactions are sorted by secondary date instead. -.PP -print\[aq]s output is always a valid hledger journal. -.PD 0 -.P -.PD -It preserves all transaction information, but it does not preserve -directives or inter-transaction comments -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger print -2008/01/01 income - assets:bank:checking $1 - income:salary $-1 - -2008/06/01 gift - assets:bank:checking $1 - income:gifts $-1 - -2008/06/02 save - assets:bank:saving $1 - assets:bank:checking $-1 - -2008/06/03 * eat & shop - expenses:food $1 - expenses:supplies $1 - assets:cash $-2 - -2008/12/31 * pay off - liabilities:debts $1 - assets:bank:checking $-1 -\f[R] -.fi -.PP -Normally, the journal entry\[aq]s explicit or implicit amount style is -preserved. -For example, when an amount is omitted in the journal, it will not -appear in the output. -Similarly, when a transaction price is implied but not written, it will -not appear in the output. -You can use the \f[C]-x\f[R]/\f[C]--explicit\f[R] flag to make all -amounts and transaction prices explicit, which can be useful for -troubleshooting or for making your journal more readable and robust -against data entry errors. -\f[C]-x\f[R] is also implied by using any of -\f[C]-B\f[R],\f[C]-V\f[R],\f[C]-X\f[R],\f[C]--value\f[R]. -.PP -Note, \f[C]-x\f[R]/\f[C]--explicit\f[R] will cause postings with a -multi-commodity amount (these can arise when a multi-commodity -transaction has an implicit amount) to be split into multiple -single-commodity postings, keeping the output parseable. -.PP -With \f[C]-B\f[R]/\f[C]--cost\f[R], amounts with transaction prices are -converted to cost using that price. -This can be used for troubleshooting. -.PP -With \f[C]-m\f[R]/\f[C]--match\f[R] and a STR argument, print will show -at most one transaction: the one one whose description is most similar -to STR, and is most recent. -STR should contain at least two characters. -If there is no similar-enough match, no transaction will be shown. -.PP -With \f[C]--new\f[R], for each FILE being read, hledger reads (and -writes) a special state file (\f[C].latest.FILE\f[R] in the same -directory), containing the latest transaction date(s) that were seen -last time FILE was read. -When this file is found, only transactions with newer dates (and new -transactions on the latest date) are printed. -This is useful for ignoring already-seen entries in import data, such as -downloaded CSV files. -Eg: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger -f bank1.csv print --new -(shows transactions added since last print --new on this file) -\f[R] -.fi -.PP -This assumes that transactions added to FILE always have same or -increasing dates, and that transactions on the same day do not get -reordered. -See also the import command. -.PP -This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are \f[C]txt\f[R], \f[C]csv\f[R], -and (experimental) \f[C]json\f[R] and \f[C]sql\f[R]. -.PP -Here\[aq]s an example of print\[aq]s CSV output: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger print -Ocsv -\[dq]txnidx\[dq],\[dq]date\[dq],\[dq]date2\[dq],\[dq]status\[dq],\[dq]code\[dq],\[dq]description\[dq],\[dq]comment\[dq],\[dq]account\[dq],\[dq]amount\[dq],\[dq]commodity\[dq],\[dq]credit\[dq],\[dq]debit\[dq],\[dq]posting-status\[dq],\[dq]posting-comment\[dq] -\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]2008/01/01\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]income\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]assets:bank:checking\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]$\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq] -\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]2008/01/01\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]income\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]income:salary\[dq],\[dq]-1\[dq],\[dq]$\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq] -\[dq]2\[dq],\[dq]2008/06/01\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]gift\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]assets:bank:checking\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]$\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq] -\[dq]2\[dq],\[dq]2008/06/01\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]gift\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]income:gifts\[dq],\[dq]-1\[dq],\[dq]$\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq] -\[dq]3\[dq],\[dq]2008/06/02\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]save\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]assets:bank:saving\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]$\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq] -\[dq]3\[dq],\[dq]2008/06/02\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]save\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]assets:bank:checking\[dq],\[dq]-1\[dq],\[dq]$\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq] -\[dq]4\[dq],\[dq]2008/06/03\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]*\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]eat & shop\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]expenses:food\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]$\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq] -\[dq]4\[dq],\[dq]2008/06/03\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]*\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]eat & shop\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]expenses:supplies\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]$\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq] -\[dq]4\[dq],\[dq]2008/06/03\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]*\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]eat & shop\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]assets:cash\[dq],\[dq]-2\[dq],\[dq]$\[dq],\[dq]2\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq] -\[dq]5\[dq],\[dq]2008/12/31\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]*\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]pay off\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]liabilities:debts\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]$\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq] -\[dq]5\[dq],\[dq]2008/12/31\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]*\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]pay off\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]assets:bank:checking\[dq],\[dq]-1\[dq],\[dq]$\[dq],\[dq]1\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq],\[dq]\[dq] -\f[R] -.fi -.IP \[bu] 2 -There is one CSV record per posting, with the parent transaction\[aq]s -fields repeated. -.IP \[bu] 2 -The \[dq]txnidx\[dq] (transaction index) field shows which postings -belong to the same transaction. -(This number might change if transactions are reordered within the file, -files are parsed/included in a different order, etc.) -.IP \[bu] 2 -The amount is separated into \[dq]commodity\[dq] (the symbol) and -\[dq]amount\[dq] (numeric quantity) fields. -.IP \[bu] 2 -The numeric amount is repeated in either the \[dq]credit\[dq] or -\[dq]debit\[dq] column, for convenience. -(Those names are not accurate in the accounting sense; it just puts -negative amounts under credit and zero or greater amounts under debit.) -.SS print-unique -.PP -print-unique -.PD 0 -.P -.PD -Print transactions which do not reuse an already-seen description. -.PP -Example: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ cat unique.journal -1/1 test - (acct:one) 1 -2/2 test - (acct:two) 2 -$ LEDGER_FILE=unique.journal hledger print-unique -(-f option not supported) -2015/01/01 test - (acct:one) 1 -\f[R] -.fi -.SS register -.PP -register, reg, r -.PD 0 -.P -.PD -Show postings and their running total. -.PP -The register command displays matched postings, across all accounts, in -date order, with their running total or running historical balance. -(See also the \f[C]aregister\f[R] command, which shows matched -transactions in a specific account.) -.PP -register normally shows line per posting, but note that multi-commodity -amounts will occupy multiple lines (one line per commodity). -.PP -It is typically used with a query selecting a particular account, to see -that account\[aq]s activity: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger register checking -2008/01/01 income assets:bank:checking $1 $1 -2008/06/01 gift assets:bank:checking $1 $2 -2008/06/02 save assets:bank:checking $-1 $1 -2008/12/31 pay off assets:bank:checking $-1 0 -\f[R] -.fi -.PP -With --date2, it shows and sorts by secondary date instead. -.PP -The \f[C]--historical\f[R]/\f[C]-H\f[R] flag adds the balance from any -undisplayed prior postings to the running total. -This is useful when you want to see only recent activity, with a -historically accurate running balance: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger register checking -b 2008/6 --historical -2008/06/01 gift assets:bank:checking $1 $2 -2008/06/02 save assets:bank:checking $-1 $1 -2008/12/31 pay off assets:bank:checking $-1 0 -\f[R] -.fi -.PP -The \f[C]--depth\f[R] option limits the amount of sub-account detail -displayed. -.PP -The \f[C]--average\f[R]/\f[C]-A\f[R] flag shows the running average -posting amount instead of the running total (so, the final number -displayed is the average for the whole report period). -This flag implies \f[C]--empty\f[R] (see below). -It is affected by \f[C]--historical\f[R]. -It works best when showing just one account and one commodity. -.PP -The \f[C]--related\f[R]/\f[C]-r\f[R] flag shows the \f[I]other\f[R] -postings in the transactions of the postings which would normally be -shown. -.PP -The \f[C]--invert\f[R] flag negates all amounts. -For example, it can be used on an income account where amounts are -normally displayed as negative numbers. -It\[aq]s also useful to show postings on the checking account together -with the related account: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger register --related --invert assets:checking -\f[R] -.fi -.PP -With a reporting interval, register shows summary postings, one per -interval, aggregating the postings to each account: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger register --monthly income -2008/01 income:salary $-1 $-1 -2008/06 income:gifts $-1 $-2 -\f[R] -.fi -.PP -Periods with no activity, and summary postings with a zero amount, are -not shown by default; use the \f[C]--empty\f[R]/\f[C]-E\f[R] flag to see -them: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger register --monthly income -E -2008/01 income:salary $-1 $-1 -2008/02 0 $-1 -2008/03 0 $-1 -2008/04 0 $-1 -2008/05 0 $-1 -2008/06 income:gifts $-1 $-2 -2008/07 0 $-2 -2008/08 0 $-2 -2008/09 0 $-2 -2008/10 0 $-2 -2008/11 0 $-2 -2008/12 0 $-2 -\f[R] -.fi -.PP -Often, you\[aq]ll want to see just one line per interval. -The \f[C]--depth\f[R] option helps with this, causing subaccounts to be -aggregated: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger register --monthly assets --depth 1h -2008/01 assets $1 $1 -2008/06 assets $-1 0 -2008/12 assets $-1 $-1 -\f[R] -.fi -.PP -Note when using report intervals, if you specify start/end dates these -will be adjusted outward if necessary to contain a whole number of -intervals. -This ensures that the first and last intervals are full length and -comparable to the others in the report. -.SS Custom register output -.PP -register uses the full terminal width by default, except on windows. -You can override this by setting the \f[C]COLUMNS\f[R] environment -variable (not a bash shell variable) or by using the -\f[C]--width\f[R]/\f[C]-w\f[R] option. -.PP -The description and account columns normally share the space equally -(about half of (width - 40) each). -You can adjust this by adding a description width as part of ---width\[aq]s argument, comma-separated: \f[C]--width W,D\f[R] . -Here\[aq]s a diagram (won\[aq]t display correctly in --help): -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -<--------------------------------- width (W) ----------------------------------> -date (10) description (D) account (W-41-D) amount (12) balance (12) -DDDDDDDDDD dddddddddddddddddddd aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa AAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAA -\f[R] -.fi -.PP -and some examples: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger reg # use terminal width (or 80 on windows) -$ hledger reg -w 100 # use width 100 -$ COLUMNS=100 hledger reg # set with one-time environment variable -$ export COLUMNS=100; hledger reg # set till session end (or window resize) -$ hledger reg -w 100,40 # set overall width 100, description width 40 -$ hledger reg -w $COLUMNS,40 # use terminal width, & description width 40 -\f[R] -.fi -.PP -This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are \f[C]txt\f[R], \f[C]csv\f[R], -and (experimental) \f[C]json\f[R]. -.SS register-match -.PP -register-match -.PD 0 -.P -.PD -Print the one posting whose transaction description is closest to DESC, -in the style of the register command. -If there are multiple equally good matches, it shows the most recent. -Query options (options, not arguments) can be used to restrict the -search space. -Helps ledger-autosync detect already-seen transactions when importing. .SS rewrite .PP rewrite @@ -4979,62 +4672,82 @@ (\f[C]-- --help\f[R] currently doesn\[aq]t show them). .SS Add-on commands .PP -hledger also searches for external add-on commands, and will include -these in the commands list. -These are programs or scripts in your PATH whose name starts with -\f[C]hledger-\f[R] and ends with a recognised file extension (currently: -no extension, \f[C]bat\f[R],\f[C]com\f[R],\f[C]exe\f[R], -\f[C]hs\f[R],\f[C]lhs\f[R],\f[C]pl\f[R],\f[C]py\f[R],\f[C]rb\f[R],\f[C]rkt\f[R],\f[C]sh\f[R]). +Any programs or scripts in your PATH named named +\f[C]hledger-SOMETHING\f[R] will also appear in the commands list (with +a \f[C]+\f[R] mark). +These are called add-on commands. .PP -Add-ons can be invoked like any hledger command, but there are a few -things to be aware of. -Eg if the \f[C]hledger-web\f[R] add-on is installed, -.IP \[bu] 2 -\f[C]hledger -h web\f[R] shows hledger\[aq]s help, while -\f[C]hledger web -h\f[R] shows hledger-web\[aq]s help. +These offical add-ons are maintained and released along with hledger: .IP \[bu] 2 -Flags specific to the add-on must have a preceding \f[C]--\f[R] to hide -them from hledger. -So \f[C]hledger web --serve --port 9000\f[R] will be rejected; you must -use \f[C]hledger web -- --serve --port 9000\f[R]. +ui an efficient terminal interface for hledger (TUI) .IP \[bu] 2 -You can always run add-ons directly if preferred: -\f[C]hledger-web --serve --port 9000\f[R]. +web a simple web interface for hledger (WUI) .PP -Add-ons are a relatively easy way to add local features or experiment -with new ideas. -They can be written in any language, but haskell scripts have a big -advantage: they can use the same hledger (and haskell) library functions -that built-in commands do, for command-line options, journal parsing, -reporting, etc. +These add-ons are maintained separately: +.IP \[bu] 2 +iadd a more interactive alternative for the add command +.IP \[bu] 2 +interest generates interest transactions according to various schemes +.IP \[bu] 2 +stockquotes downloads market prices for your commodities from +AlphaVantage \f[I](experimental)\f[R] .PP -Two important add-ons are the hledger-ui and hledger-web user -interfaces. -These are maintained and released along with hledger: -.SS ui +Additional experimental add-ons, which may not be in a working state, +can be found in the bin/ directory in the hledger repo. +.SS Add-on command flags .PP -hledger-ui provides an efficient terminal interface. -.SS web +In a hledger command line, add-on command flags must have a double dash +(\f[C]--\f[R]) preceding them. +Eg you must write: +.IP +.nf +\f[C] +$ hledger web -- --serve +\f[R] +.fi .PP -hledger-web provides a simple web interface. +and not: +.IP +.nf +\f[C] +$ hledger web --serve +\f[R] +.fi .PP -Third party add-ons, maintained separately from hledger, include: -.SS iadd +(because the \f[C]--serve\f[R] flag belongs to \f[C]hledger-web\f[R], +not \f[C]hledger\f[R]). .PP -hledger-iadd is a more interactive, terminal UI replacement for the add -command. -.SS interest +The \f[C]-h/--help\f[R] and \f[C]--version\f[R] flags work without +\f[C]--\f[R], with their position deciding which program they refer to. +Eg \f[C]hledger -h web\f[R] shows hledger\[aq]s help, +\f[C]hledger web -h\f[R] shows hledger-web\[aq]s help. .PP -hledger-interest generates interest transactions for an account -according to various schemes. -.SS stockquotes +If you have any trouble with this, remember you can always run the +add-on program directly, eg: +.IP +.nf +\f[C] +$ hledger-web --serve +\f[R] +.fi +.SS Making add-on commands .PP -hledger-stockquotes downloads market prices for the commodities in your -journal from AlphaVantage. +Add-on commands are programs or scripts in your PATH +.IP \[bu] 2 +whose name starts with \f[C]hledger-\f[R] +.IP \[bu] 2 +whose name ends with a recognised file extension: +\f[C].bat\f[R],\f[C].com\f[R],\f[C].exe\f[R], +\f[C].hs\f[R],\f[C].lhs\f[R],\f[C].pl\f[R],\f[C].py\f[R],\f[C].rb\f[R],\f[C].rkt\f[R],\f[C].sh\f[R] +or none +.IP \[bu] 2 +and (on unix, mac) which are executable by the current user. .PP -A few more experimental or old add-ons can be found in hledger\[aq]s -bin/ directory. -These are typically prototypes and not guaranteed to work. +Add-ons are a relatively easy way to add local features or experiment +with new ideas. +They can be written in any language, but haskell scripts have a big +advantage: they can use the same hledger library functions that built-in +commands use for command-line options, parsing and reporting. .SH ENVIRONMENT .PP \f[B]LEDGER_FILE\f[R] The journal file path when not specified with @@ -5214,6 +4927,6 @@ Released under GNU GPL v3 or later. .SH SEE ALSO -hledger(1), hledger\-ui(1), hledger\-web(1), -hledger_csv(5), hledger_journal(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5), -ledger(1) +hledger(1), hledger\-ui(1), hledger\-web(1), ledger(1) + +hledger_journal(5), hledger_csv(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5) diff --git a/hledger.cabal b/hledger.cabal --- a/hledger.cabal +++ b/hledger.cabal @@ -4,10 +4,10 @@ -- -- see: https://github.com/sol/hpack -- --- hash: 20896919c6db3e1b4f1fbe1c68d8bb622009b2afa1c43a993a9e89be0848828a +-- hash: dca1e9c2b2f3e690ccfc6a9b754ad06c5c7d43f1c0bd5ee04d6e1937ede8d08b name: hledger -version: 1.20.1 +version: 1.20.2 synopsis: Command-line interface for the hledger accounting system description: The command-line interface for the hledger accounting system. Its basic function is to read a plain text file describing @@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ other-modules: Paths_hledger ghc-options: -Wall -fno-warn-unused-do-bind -fno-warn-name-shadowing -fno-warn-missing-signatures -fno-warn-type-defaults -fno-warn-orphans -optP-Wno-nonportable-include-path - cpp-options: -DVERSION="1.20.1" + cpp-options: -DVERSION="1.20.2" build-depends: Decimal >=0.5.1 , Diff @@ -167,13 +167,12 @@ , filepath , hashable >=1.2.4 , haskeline >=0.6 - , hledger-lib >=1.20.1 && <1.21 + , hledger-lib >=1.20.2 && <1.21 , lucid , math-functions >=0.3.3.0 , megaparsec >=7.0.0 && <9.1 , mtl >=2.2.1 , old-time - , parsec >=3 , process , regex-tdfa , safe >=0.2 @@ -202,7 +201,7 @@ hs-source-dirs: app ghc-options: -Wall -fno-warn-unused-do-bind -fno-warn-name-shadowing -fno-warn-missing-signatures -fno-warn-type-defaults -fno-warn-orphans -optP-Wno-nonportable-include-path - cpp-options: -DVERSION="1.20.1" + cpp-options: -DVERSION="1.20.2" build-depends: Decimal >=0.5.1 , aeson >=1 @@ -218,12 +217,11 @@ , filepath , haskeline >=0.6 , hledger - , hledger-lib >=1.20.1 && <1.21 + , hledger-lib >=1.20.2 && <1.21 , math-functions >=0.3.3.0 , megaparsec >=7.0.0 && <9.1 , mtl >=2.2.1 , old-time - , parsec >=3 , process , regex-tdfa , safe >=0.2 @@ -253,7 +251,7 @@ hs-source-dirs: test ghc-options: -Wall -fno-warn-unused-do-bind -fno-warn-name-shadowing -fno-warn-missing-signatures -fno-warn-type-defaults -fno-warn-orphans -optP-Wno-nonportable-include-path - cpp-options: -DVERSION="1.20.1" + cpp-options: -DVERSION="1.20.2" build-depends: Decimal >=0.5.1 , aeson >=1 @@ -269,12 +267,11 @@ , filepath , haskeline >=0.6 , hledger - , hledger-lib >=1.20.1 && <1.21 + , hledger-lib >=1.20.2 && <1.21 , math-functions >=0.3.3.0 , megaparsec >=7.0.0 && <9.1 , mtl >=2.2.1 , old-time - , parsec >=3 , process , regex-tdfa , safe >=0.2 @@ -318,13 +315,12 @@ , filepath , haskeline >=0.6 , hledger - , hledger-lib >=1.20.1 && <1.21 + , hledger-lib >=1.20.2 && <1.21 , html , math-functions >=0.3.3.0 , megaparsec >=7.0.0 && <9.1 , mtl >=2.2.1 , old-time - , parsec >=3 , process , regex-tdfa , safe >=0.2 diff --git a/hledger.info b/hledger.info --- a/hledger.info +++ b/hledger.info @@ -3,4705 +3,4393 @@  File: hledger.info, Node: Top, Next: COMMON TASKS, Up: (dir) -hledger(1) hledger 1.20.1 -************************* - -hledger - a command-line accounting tool - - 'hledger [-f FILE] COMMAND [OPTIONS] [ARGS]' -'hledger [-f FILE] ADDONCMD -- [OPTIONS] [ARGS]' -'hledger' - - hledger is a reliable, cross-platform set of programs for tracking -money, time, or any other commodity, using double-entry accounting and a -simple, editable file format. hledger is inspired by and largely -compatible with ledger(1). - - This is hledger's command-line interface (there are also terminal and -web interfaces). Its basic function is to read a plain text file -describing financial transactions (in accounting terms, a general -journal) and print useful reports on standard output, or export them as -CSV. hledger can also read some other file formats such as CSV files, -translating them to journal format. Additionally, hledger lists other -hledger-* executables found in the user's $PATH and can invoke them as -subcommands. - - hledger reads data from one or more files in hledger journal, -timeclock, timedot, or CSV format specified with '-f', or -'$LEDGER_FILE', or '$HOME/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps -'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). If using '$LEDGER_FILE', note this -must be a real environment variable, not a shell variable. You can -specify standard input with '-f-'. - - Transactions are dated movements of money between two (or more) named -accounts, and are recorded with journal entries like this: - -2015/10/16 bought food - expenses:food $10 - assets:cash - - For more about this format, see hledger_journal(5). - - Most users use a text editor to edit the journal, usually with an -editor mode such as ledger-mode for added convenience. hledger's -interactive add command is another way to record new transactions. -hledger never changes existing transactions. - - To get started, you can either save some entries like the above in -'~/.hledger.journal', or run 'hledger add' and follow the prompts. Then -try some commands like 'hledger print' or 'hledger balance'. Run -'hledger' with no arguments for a list of commands. - -* Menu: - -* COMMON TASKS:: -* Getting help:: -* Constructing command lines:: -* Starting a journal file:: -* Setting opening balances:: -* Recording transactions:: -* Reconciling:: -* Reporting:: -* Migrating to a new file:: -* OPTIONS:: -* General options:: -* Command options:: -* Command arguments:: -* Queries:: -* Special characters in arguments and queries:: -* Unicode characters:: -* Input files:: -* Strict mode:: -* Output destination:: -* Output format:: -* Regular expressions:: -* Smart dates:: -* Report start & end date:: -* Report intervals:: -* Period expressions:: -* Depth limiting:: -* Pivoting:: -* Valuation:: -* COMMANDS:: -* accounts:: -* activity:: -* add:: -* aregister:: -* balance:: -* balancesheet:: -* balancesheetequity:: -* cashflow:: -* check:: -* close:: -* codes:: -* commodities:: -* descriptions:: -* diff:: -* files:: -* help:: -* import:: -* incomestatement:: -* notes:: -* payees:: -* prices:: -* print:: -* print-unique:: -* register:: -* register-match:: -* rewrite:: -* roi:: -* stats:: -* tags:: -* test:: -* Add-on commands:: -* ENVIRONMENT:: -* FILES:: -* LIMITATIONS:: -* TROUBLESHOOTING:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: COMMON TASKS, Next: Getting help, Prev: Top, Up: Top - -1 COMMON TASKS -************** - -Here are some quick examples of how to do some basic tasks with hledger. -For more details, see the reference section below, the -hledger_journal(5) manual, or the more extensive docs at -https://hledger.org. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Getting help, Next: Constructing command lines, Prev: COMMON TASKS, Up: Top - -2 Getting help -************** - -$ hledger # show available commands -$ hledger --help # show common options -$ hledger CMD --help # show common and command options, and command help -$ hledger help # show available manuals/topics -$ hledger help hledger # show hledger manual as info/man/text (auto-chosen) -$ hledger help journal --man # show the journal manual as a man page -$ hledger help --help # show more detailed help for the help command - - Find more docs, chat, mail list, reddit, issue tracker: -https://hledger.org#help-feedback - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Constructing command lines, Next: Starting a journal file, Prev: Getting help, Up: Top - -3 Constructing command lines -**************************** - -hledger has an extensive and powerful command line interface. We strive -to keep it simple and ergonomic, but you may run into one of the -confusing real world details described in OPTIONS, below. If that -happens, here are some tips that may help: - - * command-specific options must go after the command (it's fine to - put all options there) ('hledger CMD OPTS ARGS') - * running add-on executables directly simplifies command line parsing - ('hledger-ui OPTS ARGS') - * enclose "problematic" args in single quotes - * if needed, also add a backslash to hide regular expression - metacharacters from the shell - * to see how a misbehaving command is being parsed, add '--debug=2'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Starting a journal file, Next: Setting opening balances, Prev: Constructing command lines, Up: Top - -4 Starting a journal file -************************* - -hledger looks for your accounting data in a journal file, -'$HOME/.hledger.journal' by default: - -$ hledger stats -The hledger journal file "/Users/simon/.hledger.journal" was not found. -Please create it first, eg with "hledger add" or a text editor. -Or, specify an existing journal file with -f or LEDGER_FILE. - - You can override this by setting the 'LEDGER_FILE' environment -variable. It's a good practice to keep this important file under -version control, and to start a new file each year. So you could do -something like this: - -$ mkdir ~/finance -$ cd ~/finance -$ git init -Initialized empty Git repository in /Users/simon/finance/.git/ -$ touch 2020.journal -$ echo "export LEDGER_FILE=$HOME/finance/2020.journal" >> ~/.bashrc -$ source ~/.bashrc -$ hledger stats -Main file : /Users/simon/finance/2020.journal -Included files : -Transactions span : to (0 days) -Last transaction : none -Transactions : 0 (0.0 per day) -Transactions last 30 days: 0 (0.0 per day) -Transactions last 7 days : 0 (0.0 per day) -Payees/descriptions : 0 -Accounts : 0 (depth 0) -Commodities : 0 () -Market prices : 0 () - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Setting opening balances, Next: Recording transactions, Prev: Starting a journal file, Up: Top - -5 Setting opening balances -************************** - -Pick a starting date for which you can look up the balances of some -real-world assets (bank accounts, wallet..) and liabilities (credit -cards..). - - To avoid a lot of data entry, you may want to start with just one or -two accounts, like your checking account or cash wallet; and pick a -recent starting date, like today or the start of the week. You can -always come back later and add more accounts and older transactions, eg -going back to january 1st. - - Add an opening balances transaction to the journal, declaring the -balances on this date. Here are two ways to do it: - - * The first way: open the journal in any text editor and save an - entry like this: - - 2020-01-01 * opening balances - assets:bank:checking $1000 = $1000 - assets:bank:savings $2000 = $2000 - assets:cash $100 = $100 - liabilities:creditcard $-50 = $-50 - equity:opening/closing balances - - These are start-of-day balances, ie whatever was in the account at - the end of the previous day. - - The * after the date is an optional status flag. Here it means - "cleared & confirmed". - - The currency symbols are optional, but usually a good idea as - you'll be dealing with multiple currencies sooner or later. - - The = amounts are optional balance assertions, providing extra - error checking. - - * The second way: run 'hledger add' and follow the prompts to record - a similar transaction: - - $ hledger add - Adding transactions to journal file /Users/simon/finance/2020.journal - Any command line arguments will be used as defaults. - Use tab key to complete, readline keys to edit, enter to accept defaults. - An optional (CODE) may follow transaction dates. - An optional ; COMMENT may follow descriptions or amounts. - If you make a mistake, enter < at any prompt to go one step backward. - To end a transaction, enter . when prompted. - To quit, enter . at a date prompt or press control-d or control-c. - Date [2020-02-07]: 2020-01-01 - Description: * opening balances - Account 1: assets:bank:checking - Amount 1: $1000 - Account 2: assets:bank:savings - Amount 2 [$-1000]: $2000 - Account 3: assets:cash - Amount 3 [$-3000]: $100 - Account 4: liabilities:creditcard - Amount 4 [$-3100]: $-50 - Account 5: equity:opening/closing balances - Amount 5 [$-3050]: - Account 6 (or . or enter to finish this transaction): . - 2020-01-01 * opening balances - assets:bank:checking $1000 - assets:bank:savings $2000 - assets:cash $100 - liabilities:creditcard $-50 - equity:opening/closing balances $-3050 - - Save this transaction to the journal ? [y]: - Saved. - Starting the next transaction (. or ctrl-D/ctrl-C to quit) - Date [2020-01-01]: . - - If you're using version control, this could be a good time to commit -the journal. Eg: - -$ git commit -m 'initial balances' 2020.journal - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Recording transactions, Next: Reconciling, Prev: Setting opening balances, Up: Top - -6 Recording transactions -************************ - -As you spend or receive money, you can record these transactions using -one of the methods above (text editor, hledger add) or by using the -hledger-iadd or hledger-web add-ons, or by using the import command to -convert CSV data downloaded from your bank. - - Here are some simple transactions, see the hledger_journal(5) manual -and hledger.org for more ideas: - -2020/1/10 * gift received - assets:cash $20 - income:gifts - -2020.1.12 * farmers market - expenses:food $13 - assets:cash - -2020-01-15 paycheck - income:salary - assets:bank:checking $1000 - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Reconciling, Next: Reporting, Prev: Recording transactions, Up: Top - -7 Reconciling -************* - -Periodically you should reconcile - compare your hledger-reported -balances against external sources of truth, like bank statements or your -bank's website - to be sure that your ledger accurately represents the -real-world balances (and, that the real-world institutions have not made -a mistake!). This gets easy and fast with (1) practice and (2) -frequency. If you do it daily, it can take 2-10 minutes. If you let it -pile up, expect it to take longer as you hunt down errors and -discrepancies. - - A typical workflow: - - 1. Reconcile cash. Count what's in your wallet. Compare with what - hledger reports ('hledger bal cash'). If they are different, try - to remember the missing transaction, or look for the error in the - already-recorded transactions. A register report can be helpful - ('hledger reg cash'). If you can't find the error, add an - adjustment transaction. Eg if you have $105 after the above, and - can't explain the missing $2, it could be: - - 2020-01-16 * adjust cash - assets:cash $-2 = $105 - expenses:misc - - 2. Reconcile checking. Log in to your bank's website. Compare - today's (cleared) balance with hledger's cleared balance ('hledger - bal checking -C'). If they are different, track down the error or - record the missing transaction(s) or add an adjustment transaction, - similar to the above. Unlike the cash case, you can usually - compare the transaction history and running balance from your bank - with the one reported by 'hledger reg checking -C'. This will be - easier if you generally record transaction dates quite similar to - your bank's clearing dates. - - 3. Repeat for other asset/liability accounts. - - Tip: instead of the register command, use hledger-ui to see a -live-updating register while you edit the journal: 'hledger-ui --watch ---register checking -C' - - After reconciling, it could be a good time to mark the reconciled -transactions' status as "cleared and confirmed", if you want to track -that, by adding the '*' marker. Eg in the paycheck transaction above, -insert '*' between '2020-01-15' and 'paycheck' - - If you're using version control, this can be another good time to -commit: - -$ git commit -m 'txns' 2020.journal - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Reporting, Next: Migrating to a new file, Prev: Reconciling, Up: Top - -8 Reporting -*********** - -Here are some basic reports. - - Show all transactions: - -$ hledger print -2020-01-01 * opening balances - assets:bank:checking $1000 - assets:bank:savings $2000 - assets:cash $100 - liabilities:creditcard $-50 - equity:opening/closing balances $-3050 - -2020-01-10 * gift received - assets:cash $20 - income:gifts - -2020-01-12 * farmers market - expenses:food $13 - assets:cash - -2020-01-15 * paycheck - income:salary - assets:bank:checking $1000 - -2020-01-16 * adjust cash - assets:cash $-2 = $105 - expenses:misc - - Show account names, and their hierarchy: - -$ hledger accounts --tree -assets - bank - checking - savings - cash -equity - opening/closing balances -expenses - food - misc -income - gifts - salary -liabilities - creditcard - - Show all account totals: - -$ hledger balance - $4105 assets - $4000 bank - $2000 checking - $2000 savings - $105 cash - $-3050 equity:opening/closing balances - $15 expenses - $13 food - $2 misc - $-1020 income - $-20 gifts - $-1000 salary - $-50 liabilities:creditcard --------------------- - 0 - - Show only asset and liability balances, as a flat list, limited to -depth 2: - -$ hledger bal assets liabilities --flat -2 - $4000 assets:bank - $105 assets:cash - $-50 liabilities:creditcard --------------------- - $4055 - - Show the same thing without negative numbers, formatted as a simple -balance sheet: - -$ hledger bs --flat -2 -Balance Sheet 2020-01-16 - - || 2020-01-16 -========================++============ - Assets || -------------------------++------------ - assets:bank || $4000 - assets:cash || $105 -------------------------++------------ - || $4105 -========================++============ - Liabilities || -------------------------++------------ - liabilities:creditcard || $50 -------------------------++------------ - || $50 -========================++============ - Net: || $4055 - - The final total is your "net worth" on the end date. (Or use 'bse' -for a full balance sheet with equity.) - - Show income and expense totals, formatted as an income statement: - -hledger is -Income Statement 2020-01-01-2020-01-16 - - || 2020-01-01-2020-01-16 -===============++======================= - Revenues || ----------------++----------------------- - income:gifts || $20 - income:salary || $1000 ----------------++----------------------- - || $1020 -===============++======================= - Expenses || ----------------++----------------------- - expenses:food || $13 - expenses:misc || $2 ----------------++----------------------- - || $15 -===============++======================= - Net: || $1005 - - The final total is your net income during this period. - - Show transactions affecting your wallet, with running total: - -$ hledger register cash -2020-01-01 opening balances assets:cash $100 $100 -2020-01-10 gift received assets:cash $20 $120 -2020-01-12 farmers market assets:cash $-13 $107 -2020-01-16 adjust cash assets:cash $-2 $105 - - Show weekly posting counts as a bar chart: - -$ hledger activity -W -2019-12-30 ***** -2020-01-06 **** -2020-01-13 **** - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Migrating to a new file, Next: OPTIONS, Prev: Reporting, Up: Top - -9 Migrating to a new file -************************* - -At the end of the year, you may want to continue your journal in a new -file, so that old transactions don't slow down or clutter your reports, -and to help ensure the integrity of your accounting history. See the -close command. - - If using version control, don't forget to 'git add' the new file. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: OPTIONS, Next: General options, Prev: Migrating to a new file, Up: Top - -10 OPTIONS -********** - - -File: hledger.info, Node: General options, Next: Command options, Prev: OPTIONS, Up: Top - -11 General options -****************** - -To see general usage help, including general options which are supported -by most hledger commands, run 'hledger -h'. - - General help options: - -'-h --help' - - show general usage (or after COMMAND, command usage) -'--version' - - show version -'--debug[=N]' - - show debug output (levels 1-9, default: 1) - - General input options: - -'-f FILE --file=FILE' - - use a different input file. For stdin, use - (default: - '$LEDGER_FILE' or '$HOME/.hledger.journal') -'--rules-file=RULESFILE' - - Conversion rules file to use when reading CSV (default: FILE.rules) -'--separator=CHAR' - - Field separator to expect when reading CSV (default: ',') -'--alias=OLD=NEW' - - rename accounts named OLD to NEW -'--anon' - - anonymize accounts and payees -'--pivot FIELDNAME' - - use some other field or tag for the account name -'-I --ignore-assertions' - - disable balance assertion checks (note: does not disable balance - assignments) -'-s --strict' - - do extra error checking (check that all posted accounts are - declared) - - General reporting options: - -'-b --begin=DATE' - - include postings/txns on or after this date -'-e --end=DATE' - - include postings/txns before this date -'-D --daily' - - multiperiod/multicolumn report by day -'-W --weekly' - - multiperiod/multicolumn report by week -'-M --monthly' - - multiperiod/multicolumn report by month -'-Q --quarterly' - - multiperiod/multicolumn report by quarter -'-Y --yearly' - - multiperiod/multicolumn report by year -'-p --period=PERIODEXP' - - set start date, end date, and/or reporting interval all at once - using period expressions syntax -'--date2' - - match the secondary date instead (see command help for other - effects) -'-U --unmarked' - - include only unmarked postings/txns (can combine with -P or -C) -'-P --pending' - - include only pending postings/txns -'-C --cleared' - - include only cleared postings/txns -'-R --real' - - include only non-virtual postings -'-NUM --depth=NUM' - - hide/aggregate accounts or postings more than NUM levels deep -'-E --empty' - - show items with zero amount, normally hidden (and vice-versa in - hledger-ui/hledger-web) -'-B --cost' - - convert amounts to their cost/selling amount at transaction time -'-V --market' - - convert amounts to their market value in default valuation - commodities -'-X --exchange=COMM' - - convert amounts to their market value in commodity COMM -'--value' - - convert amounts to cost or market value, more flexibly than - -B/-V/-X -'--infer-value' - - with -V/-X/-value, also infer market prices from transactions -'--auto' - - apply automated posting rules to modify transactions. -'--forecast' - - generate future transactions from periodic transaction rules, for - the next 6 months or till report end date. In hledger-ui, also - make ordinary future transactions visible. -'--color=WHEN (or --colour=WHEN)' - - Should color-supporting commands use ANSI color codes in text - output. 'auto' (default): whenever stdout seems to be a - color-supporting terminal. 'always' or 'yes': always, useful eg - when piping output into 'less -R'. 'never' or 'no': never. A - NO_COLOR environment variable overrides this. - - When a reporting option appears more than once in the command line, -the last one takes precedence. - - Some reporting options can also be written as query arguments. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Command options, Next: Command arguments, Prev: General options, Up: Top - -12 Command options -****************** - -To see options for a particular command, including command-specific -options, run: 'hledger COMMAND -h'. - - Command-specific options must be written after the command name, eg: -'hledger print -x'. - - Additionally, if the command is an add-on, you may need to put its -options after a double-hyphen, eg: 'hledger ui -- --watch'. Or, you can -run the add-on executable directly: 'hledger-ui --watch'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Command arguments, Next: Queries, Prev: Command options, Up: Top - -13 Command arguments -******************** - -Most hledger commands accept arguments after the command name, which are -often a query, filtering the data in some way. - - You can save a set of command line options/arguments in a file, and -then reuse them by writing '@FILENAME' as a command line argument. Eg: -'hledger bal @foo.args'. (To prevent this, eg if you have an argument -that begins with a literal '@', precede it with '--', eg: 'hledger bal --- @ARG'). - - Inside the argument file, each line should contain just one option or -argument. Avoid the use of spaces, except inside quotes (or you'll see -a confusing error). Between a flag and its argument, use = (or -nothing). Bad: - -assets depth:2 --X USD - - Good: - -assets -depth:2 --X=USD - - For special characters (see below), use one less level of quoting -than you would at the command prompt. Bad: - --X"$" - - Good: - --X$ - - See also: Save frequently used options. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Queries, Next: Special characters in arguments and queries, Prev: Command arguments, Up: Top - -14 Queries -********** - -One of hledger's strengths is being able to quickly report on precise -subsets of your data. Most commands accept an optional query -expression, written as arguments after the command name, to filter the -data by date, account name or other criteria. The syntax is similar to -a web search: one or more space-separated search terms, quotes to -enclose whitespace, prefixes to match specific fields, a not: prefix to -negate the match. - - We do not yet support arbitrary boolean combinations of search terms; -instead most commands show transactions/postings/accounts which match -(or negatively match): - - * any of the description terms AND - * any of the account terms AND - * any of the status terms AND - * all the other terms. - - The print command instead shows transactions which: - - * match any of the description terms AND - * have any postings matching any of the positive account terms AND - * have no postings matching any of the negative account terms AND - * match all the other terms. - - The following kinds of search terms can be used. Remember these can -also be prefixed with *'not:'*, eg to exclude a particular subaccount. - -*'REGEX', 'acct:REGEX'* - - match account names by this regular expression. (With no prefix, - 'acct:' is assumed.) same as above - -*'amt:N, amt:N, amt:>=N'* - - match postings with a single-commodity amount that is equal to, - less than, or greater than N. (Multi-commodity amounts are not - tested, and will always match.) The comparison has two modes: if N - is preceded by a + or - sign (or is 0), the two signed numbers are - compared. Otherwise, the absolute magnitudes are compared, - ignoring sign. -*'code:REGEX'* - - match by transaction code (eg check number) -*'cur:REGEX'* - - match postings or transactions including any amounts whose - currency/commodity symbol is fully matched by REGEX. (For a partial - match, use '.*REGEX.*'). Note, to match characters which are - regex-significant, like the dollar sign ('$'), you need to prepend - '\'. And when using the command line you need to add one more - level of quoting to hide it from the shell, so eg do: 'hledger - print cur:'\$'' or 'hledger print cur:\\$'. -*'desc:REGEX'* - - match transaction descriptions. -*'date:PERIODEXPR'* - - match dates within the specified period. PERIODEXPR is a period - expression (with no report interval). Examples: 'date:2016', - 'date:thismonth', 'date:2000/2/1-2/15', 'date:lastweek-'. If the - '--date2' command line flag is present, this matches secondary - dates instead. -*'date2:PERIODEXPR'* - - match secondary dates within the specified period. -*'depth:N'* - - match (or display, depending on command) accounts at or above this - depth -*'note:REGEX'* - - match transaction notes (part of description right of '|', or whole - description when there's no '|') -*'payee:REGEX'* - - match transaction payee/payer names (part of description left of - '|', or whole description when there's no '|') -*'real:, real:0'* - - match real or virtual postings respectively -*'status:, status:!, status:*'* - - match unmarked, pending, or cleared transactions respectively -*'tag:REGEX[=REGEX]'* - - match by tag name, and optionally also by tag value. Note a tag: - query is considered to match a transaction if it matches any of the - postings. Also remember that postings inherit the tags of their - parent transaction. - - The following special search term is used automatically in -hledger-web, only: - -*'inacct:ACCTNAME'* - - tells hledger-web to show the transaction register for this - account. Can be filtered further with 'acct' etc. - - Some of these can also be expressed as command-line options (eg -'depth:2' is equivalent to '--depth 2'). Generally you can mix options -and query arguments, and the resulting query will be their intersection -(perhaps excluding the '-p/--period' option). - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Special characters in arguments and queries, Next: Unicode characters, Prev: Queries, Up: Top - -15 Special characters in arguments and queries -********************************************** - -In shell command lines, option and argument values which contain -"problematic" characters, ie spaces, and also characters significant to -your shell such as '<', '>', '(', ')', '|' and '$', should be escaped by -enclosing them in quotes or by writing backslashes before the -characters. Eg: - - 'hledger register -p 'last year' "accounts receivable -(receivable|payable)" amt:\>100'. - -* Menu: - -* More escaping:: -* Even more escaping:: -* Less escaping:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: More escaping, Next: Even more escaping, Up: Special characters in arguments and queries - -15.1 More escaping -================== - -Characters significant both to the shell and in regular expressions may -need one extra level of escaping. These include parentheses, the pipe -symbol and the dollar sign. Eg, to match the dollar symbol, bash users -should do: - - 'hledger balance cur:'\$'' - - or: - - 'hledger balance cur:\\$' - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Even more escaping, Next: Less escaping, Prev: More escaping, Up: Special characters in arguments and queries - -15.2 Even more escaping -======================= - -When hledger runs an add-on executable (eg you type 'hledger ui', -hledger runs 'hledger-ui'), it de-escapes command-line options and -arguments once, so you might need to _triple_-escape. Eg in bash, -running the ui command and matching the dollar sign, it's: - - 'hledger ui cur:'\\$'' - - or: - - 'hledger ui cur:\\\\$' - - If you asked why _four_ slashes above, this may help: - -unescaped: '$' -escaped: '\$' -double-escaped: '\\$' -triple-escaped: '\\\\$' - - (The number of backslashes in fish shell is left as an exercise for -the reader.) - - You can always avoid the extra escaping for add-ons by running the -add-on directly: - - 'hledger-ui cur:\\$' - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Less escaping, Prev: Even more escaping, Up: Special characters in arguments and queries - -15.3 Less escaping -================== - -Inside an argument file, or in the search field of hledger-ui or -hledger-web, or at a GHCI prompt, you need one less level of escaping -than at the command line. And backslashes may work better than quotes. -Eg: - - 'ghci> :main balance cur:\$' - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Unicode characters, Next: Input files, Prev: Special characters in arguments and queries, Up: Top - -16 Unicode characters -********************* - -hledger is expected to handle non-ascii characters correctly: - - * they should be parsed correctly in input files and on the command - line, by all hledger tools (add, iadd, hledger-web's - search/add/edit forms, etc.) - - * they should be displayed correctly by all hledger tools, and - on-screen alignment should be preserved. - - This requires a well-configured environment. Here are some tips: - - * A system locale must be configured, and it must be one that can - decode the characters being used. In bash, you can set a locale - like this: 'export LANG=en_US.UTF-8'. There are some more details - in Troubleshooting. This step is essential - without it, hledger - will quit on encountering a non-ascii character (as with all - GHC-compiled programs). - - * your terminal software (eg Terminal.app, iTerm, CMD.exe, xterm..) - must support unicode - - * the terminal must be using a font which includes the required - unicode glyphs - - * the terminal should be configured to display wide characters as - double width (for report alignment) - - * on Windows, for best results you should run hledger in the same - kind of environment in which it was built. Eg hledger built in the - standard CMD.EXE environment (like the binaries on our download - page) might show display problems when run in a cygwin or msys - terminal, and vice versa. (See eg #961). - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Input files, Next: Strict mode, Prev: Unicode characters, Up: Top - -17 Input files -************** - -hledger reads transactions from a data file (and the add command writes -to it). By default this file is '$HOME/.hledger.journal' (or on -Windows, something like 'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). You can -override this with the '$LEDGER_FILE' environment variable: - -$ setenv LEDGER_FILE ~/finance/2016.journal -$ hledger stats - - or with the '-f/--file' option: - -$ hledger -f /some/file stats - - The file name '-' (hyphen) means standard input: - -$ cat some.journal | hledger -f- - - Usually the data file is in hledger's journal format, but it can be -in any of the supported file formats, which currently are: - -Reader: Reads: Used for file - extensions: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -'journal'hledger journal files and some Ledger '.journal' '.j' - journals, for transactions '.hledger' '.ledger' -'timeclock'timeclock files, for precise time '.timeclock' - logging -'timedot'timedot files, for approximate time '.timedot' - logging -'csv' comma/semicolon/tab/other-separated '.csv' '.ssv' '.tsv' - values, for data import - - hledger detects the format automatically based on the file extensions -shown above. If it can't recognise the file extension, it assumes -'journal' format. So for non-journal files, it's important to use a -recognised file extension, so as to either read successfully or to show -relevant error messages. - - When you can't ensure the right file extension, not to worry: you can -force a specific reader/format by prefixing the file path with the -format and a colon. Eg to read a .dat file as csv: - -$ hledger -f csv:/some/csv-file.dat stats -$ echo 'i 2009/13/1 08:00:00' | hledger print -ftimeclock:- - - You can specify multiple '-f' options, to read multiple files as one -big journal. There are some limitations with this: - - * directives in one file will not affect the other files - * balance assertions will not see any account balances from previous - files - - If you need either of those things, you can - - * use a single parent file which includes the others - * or concatenate the files into one before reading, eg: 'cat - a.journal b.journal | hledger -f- CMD'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Strict mode, Next: Output destination, Prev: Input files, Up: Top - -18 Strict mode -************** - -hledger checks input files for valid data. By default, the most -important errors are detected, while still accepting easy journal files -without a lot of declarations: - - * Are the input files parseable, with valid syntax ? - * Are all transactions balanced ? - * Do all balance assertions pass ? - - With the '-s'/'--strict' flag, additional checks are performed: - - * Are all accounts posted to, declared with an 'account' directive ? - (Account error checking) - * Are all commodities declared with a 'commodity' directive ? - (Commodity error checking) - - See also: https://hledger.org/checking-for-errors.html - - _experimental._ - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Output destination, Next: Output format, Prev: Strict mode, Up: Top - -19 Output destination -********************* - -hledger commands send their output to the terminal by default. You can -of course redirect this, eg into a file, using standard shell syntax: - -$ hledger print > foo.txt - - Some commands (print, register, stats, the balance commands) also -provide the '-o/--output-file' option, which does the same thing without -needing the shell. Eg: - -$ hledger print -o foo.txt -$ hledger print -o - # write to stdout (the default) - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Output format, Next: Regular expressions, Prev: Output destination, Up: Top - -20 Output format -**************** - -Some commands (print, register, the balance commands) offer a choice of -output format. In addition to the usual plain text format ('txt'), -there are CSV ('csv'), HTML ('html'), JSON ('json') and SQL ('sql'). -This is controlled by the '-O/--output-format' option: - -$ hledger print -O csv - - or, by a file extension specified with '-o/--output-file': - -$ hledger balancesheet -o foo.html # write HTML to foo.html - - The '-O' option can be used to override the file extension if needed: - -$ hledger balancesheet -o foo.txt -O html # write HTML to foo.txt - - Some notes about JSON output: - - * This feature is marked experimental, and not yet much used; you - should expect our JSON to evolve. Real-world feedback is welcome. - - * Our JSON is rather large and verbose, as it is quite a faithful - representation of hledger's internal data types. To understand the - JSON, read the Haskell type definitions, which are mostly in - https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/blob/master/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Types.hs. - - * hledger represents quantities as Decimal values storing up to 255 - significant digits, eg for repeating decimals. Such numbers can - arise in practice (from automatically-calculated transaction - prices), and would break most JSON consumers. So in JSON, we show - quantities as simple Numbers with at most 10 decimal places. We - don't limit the number of integer digits, but that part is under - your control. We hope this approach will not cause problems in - practice; if you find otherwise, please let us know. (Cf #1195) - - Notes about SQL output: - - * SQL output is also marked experimental, and much like JSON could - use real-world feedback. - - * SQL output is expected to work with sqlite, MySQL and PostgreSQL - - * SQL output is structured with the expectations that statements will - be executed in the empty database. If you already have tables - created via SQL output of hledger, you would probably want to - either clear tables of existing data (via 'delete' or 'truncate' - SQL statements) or drop tables completely as otherwise your - postings will be duped. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Regular expressions, Next: Smart dates, Prev: Output format, Up: Top - -21 Regular expressions -********************** - -hledger uses regular expressions in a number of places: - - * query terms, on the command line and in the hledger-web search - form: 'REGEX', 'desc:REGEX', 'cur:REGEX', 'tag:...=REGEX' - * CSV rules conditional blocks: 'if REGEX ...' - * account alias directives and options: 'alias /REGEX/ = - REPLACEMENT', '--alias /REGEX/=REPLACEMENT' - - hledger's regular expressions come from the regex-tdfa library. If -they're not doing what you expect, it's important to know exactly what -they support: - - 1. they are case insensitive - 2. they are infix matching (they do not need to match the entire thing - being matched) - 3. they are POSIX ERE (extended regular expressions) - 4. they also support GNU word boundaries ('\b', '\B', '\<', '\>') - 5. they do not support backreferences; if you write '\1', it will - match the digit '1'. Except when doing text replacement, eg in - account aliases, where backreferences can be used in the - replacement string to reference capturing groups in the search - regexp. - 6. they do not support mode modifiers ('(?s)'), character classes - ('\w', '\d'), or anything else not mentioned above. - - Some things to note: - - * In the 'alias' directive and '--alias' option, regular expressions - must be enclosed in forward slashes ('/REGEX/'). Elsewhere in - hledger, these are not required. - - * In queries, to match a regular expression metacharacter like '$' as - a literal character, prepend a backslash. Eg to search for amounts - with the dollar sign in hledger-web, write 'cur:\$'. - - * On the command line, some metacharacters like '$' have a special - meaning to the shell and so must be escaped at least once more. - See Special characters. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Smart dates, Next: Report start & end date, Prev: Regular expressions, Up: Top - -22 Smart dates -************** - -hledger's user interfaces accept a flexible "smart date" syntax (unlike -dates in the journal file). Smart dates allow some english words, can -be relative to today's date, and can have less-significant date parts -omitted (defaulting to 1). - - Examples: - -'2004/10/1', exact date, several separators allowed. Year -'2004-01-01', is 4+ digits, month is 1-12, day is 1-31 -'2004.9.1' -'2004' start of year -'2004/10' start of month -'10/1' month and day in current year -'21' day in current month -'october, oct' start of month in current year -'yesterday, today, -1, 0, 1 days from today -tomorrow' -'last/this/next -1, 0, 1 periods from the current period -day/week/month/quarter/year' -'20181201' 8 digit YYYYMMDD with valid year month and - day -'201812' 6 digit YYYYMM with valid year and month - - Counterexamples - malformed digit sequences might give surprising -results: - -'201813' 6 digits with an invalid month is parsed as start of - 6-digit year -'20181301' 8 digits with an invalid month is parsed as start of - 8-digit year -'20181232' 8 digits with an invalid day gives an error -'201801012' 9+ digits beginning with a valid YYYYMMDD gives an error - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Report start & end date, Next: Report intervals, Prev: Smart dates, Up: Top - -23 Report start & end date -************************** - -Most hledger reports show the full span of time represented by the -journal data, by default. So, the effective report start and end dates -will be the earliest and latest transaction or posting dates found in -the journal. - - Often you will want to see a shorter time span, such as the current -month. You can specify a start and/or end date using '-b/--begin', -'-e/--end', '-p/--period' or a 'date:' query (described below). All of -these accept the smart date syntax. - - Some notes: - - * As in Ledger, end dates are exclusive, so you need to write the - date _after_ the last day you want to include. - * As noted in reporting options: among start/end dates specified with - _options_, the last (i.e. right-most) option takes precedence. - * The effective report start and end dates are the intersection of - the start/end dates from options and that from 'date:' queries. - That is, 'date:2019-01 date:2019 -p'2000 to 2030'' yields January - 2019, the smallest common time span. - - Examples: - -'-b begin on St. Patrick's day 2016 -2016/3/17' -'-e 12/1' end at the start of december 1st of the current year - (11/30 will be the last date included) -'-b all transactions on or after the 1st of the current month -thismonth' -'-p all transactions in the current month -thismonth' -'date:2016/3/17..'the above written as queries instead ('..' can also be - replaced with '-') -'date:..12/1' -'date:thismonth..' -'date:thismonth' - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Report intervals, Next: Period expressions, Prev: Report start & end date, Up: Top - -24 Report intervals -******************* - -A report interval can be specified so that commands like register, -balance and activity will divide their reports into multiple subperiods. -The basic intervals can be selected with one of '-D/--daily', -'-W/--weekly', '-M/--monthly', '-Q/--quarterly', or '-Y/--yearly'. More -complex intervals may be specified with a period expression. Report -intervals can not be specified with a query. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Period expressions, Next: Depth limiting, Prev: Report intervals, Up: Top - -25 Period expressions -********************* - -The '-p/--period' option accepts period expressions, a shorthand way of -expressing a start date, end date, and/or report interval all at once. - - Here's a basic period expression specifying the first quarter of -2009. Note, hledger always treats start dates as inclusive and end -dates as exclusive: - - '-p "from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1"' - - Keywords like "from" and "to" are optional, and so are the spaces, as -long as you don't run two dates together. "to" can also be written as -".." or "-". These are equivalent to the above: - -'-p "2009/1/1 2009/4/1"' -'-p2009/1/1to2009/4/1' -'-p2009/1/1..2009/4/1' - - Dates are smart dates, so if the current year is 2009, the above can -also be written as: - -'-p "1/1 4/1"' -'-p "january-apr"' -'-p "this year to 4/1"' - - If you specify only one date, the missing start or end date will be -the earliest or latest transaction in your journal: - -'-p "from 2009/1/1"' everything after january 1, 2009 -'-p "from 2009/1"' the same -'-p "from 2009"' the same -'-p "to 2009"' everything before january 1, 2009 - - A single date with no "from" or "to" defines both the start and end -date like so: - -'-p "2009"' the year 2009; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to 2010/1/1” -'-p "2009/1"' the month of jan; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to 2009/2/1” -'-p "2009/1/1"' just that day; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to 2009/1/2” - - Or you can specify a single quarter like so: - -'-p "2009Q1"' first quarter of 2009, equivalent to “2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1” -'-p "q4"' fourth quarter of the current year - - The argument of '-p' can also begin with, or be, a report interval -expression. The basic report intervals are 'daily', 'weekly', -'monthly', 'quarterly', or 'yearly', which have the same effect as the -'-D','-W','-M','-Q', or '-Y' flags. Between report interval and -start/end dates (if any), the word 'in' is optional. Examples: - -'-p "weekly from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1"' -'-p "monthly in 2008"' -'-p "quarterly"' - - Note that 'weekly', 'monthly', 'quarterly' and 'yearly' intervals -will always start on the first day on week, month, quarter or year -accordingly, and will end on the last day of same period, even if -associated period expression specifies different explicit start and end -date. - - For example: - -'-p "weekly from starts on 2008/12/29, closest preceding -2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1"' Monday -'-p "monthly in starts on 2018/11/01 -2008/11/25"' -'-p "quarterly from starts on 2009/04/01, ends on 2009/06/30, -2009-05-05 to which are first and last days of Q2 2009 -2009-06-01"' -'-p "yearly from starts on 2009/01/01, first day of 2009 -2009-12-29"' - - The following more complex report intervals are also supported: -'biweekly', 'fortnightly', 'bimonthly', 'every -day|week|month|quarter|year', 'every N -days|weeks|months|quarters|years'. - - All of these will start on the first day of the requested period and -end on the last one, as described above. - - Examples: - -'-p "bimonthly from periods will have boundaries on 2008/01/01, -2008"' 2008/03/01, ... -'-p "every 2 weeks"' starts on closest preceding Monday -'-p "every 5 month from periods will have boundaries on 2009/03/01, -2009/03"' 2009/08/01, ... - - If you want intervals that start on arbitrary day of your choosing -and span a week, month or year, you need to use any of the following: - - 'every Nth day of week', 'every WEEKDAYNAME' (eg -'mon|tue|wed|thu|fri|sat|sun'), 'every Nth day [of month]', 'every Nth -WEEKDAYNAME [of month]', 'every MM/DD [of year]', 'every Nth MMM [of -year]', 'every MMM Nth [of year]'. - - Examples: - -'-p "every 2nd day of periods will go from Tue to Tue -week"' -'-p "every Tue"' same -'-p "every 15th day"' period boundaries will be on 15th of each - month -'-p "every 2nd period boundaries will be on second Monday of -Monday"' each month -'-p "every 11/05"' yearly periods with boundaries on 5th of Nov -'-p "every 5th Nov"' same -'-p "every Nov 5th"' same - - Show historical balances at end of 15th each month (N is exclusive -end date): - - 'hledger balance -H -p "every 16th day"' - - Group postings from start of wednesday to end of next tuesday (N is -start date and exclusive end date): - - 'hledger register checking -p "every 3rd day of week"' - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Depth limiting, Next: Pivoting, Prev: Period expressions, Up: Top - -26 Depth limiting -***************** - -With the '--depth N' option (short form: '-N'), commands like account, -balance and register will show only the uppermost accounts in the -account tree, down to level N. Use this when you want a summary with -less detail. This flag has the same effect as a 'depth:' query argument -(so '-2', '--depth=2' or 'depth:2' are equivalent). - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Pivoting, Next: Valuation, Prev: Depth limiting, Up: Top - -27 Pivoting -*********** - -Normally hledger sums amounts, and organizes them in a hierarchy, based -on account name. The '--pivot FIELD' option causes it to sum and -organize hierarchy based on the value of some other field instead. -FIELD can be: 'code', 'description', 'payee', 'note', or the full name -(case insensitive) of any tag. As with account names, values containing -'colon:separated:parts' will be displayed hierarchically in reports. - - '--pivot' is a general option affecting all reports; you can think of -hledger transforming the journal before any other processing, replacing -every posting's account name with the value of the specified field on -that posting, inheriting it from the transaction or using a blank value -if it's not present. - - An example: - -2016/02/16 Member Fee Payment - assets:bank account 2 EUR - income:member fees -2 EUR ; member: John Doe - - Normal balance report showing account names: - -$ hledger balance - 2 EUR assets:bank account - -2 EUR income:member fees --------------------- - 0 - - Pivoted balance report, using member: tag values instead: - -$ hledger balance --pivot member - 2 EUR - -2 EUR John Doe --------------------- - 0 - - One way to show only amounts with a member: value (using a query, -described below): - -$ hledger balance --pivot member tag:member=. - -2 EUR John Doe --------------------- - -2 EUR - - Another way (the acct: query matches against the pivoted "account -name"): - -$ hledger balance --pivot member acct:. - -2 EUR John Doe --------------------- - -2 EUR - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Valuation, Next: COMMANDS, Prev: Pivoting, Up: Top - -28 Valuation -************ - -Instead of reporting amounts in their original commodity, hledger can -convert them to cost/sale amount (using the conversion rate recorded in -the transaction), or to market value (using some market price on a -certain date). This is controlled by the '--value=TYPE[,COMMODITY]' -option, but we also provide the simpler '-B'/'-V'/'-X' flags, and -usually one of those is all you need. - -* Menu: - -* -B Cost:: -* -V Value:: -* -X Value in specified commodity:: -* Valuation date:: -* Market prices:: -* --infer-value market prices from transactions:: -* Valuation commodity:: -* Simple valuation examples:: -* --value Flexible valuation:: -* More valuation examples:: -* Effect of valuation on reports:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: -B Cost, Next: -V Value, Up: Valuation - -28.1 -B: Cost -============= - -The '-B/--cost' flag converts amounts to their cost or sale amount at -transaction time, if they have a transaction price specified. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: -V Value, Next: -X Value in specified commodity, Prev: -B Cost, Up: Valuation - -28.2 -V: Value -============== - -The '-V/--market' flag converts amounts to market value in their default -_valuation commodity_, using the market prices in effect on the -_valuation date(s)_, if any. More on these in a minute. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: -X Value in specified commodity, Next: Valuation date, Prev: -V Value, Up: Valuation - -28.3 -X: Value in specified commodity -===================================== - -The '-X/--exchange=COMM' option is like '-V', except you tell it which -currency you want to convert to, and it tries to convert everything to -that. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Valuation date, Next: Market prices, Prev: -X Value in specified commodity, Up: Valuation - -28.4 Valuation date -=================== - -Since market prices can change from day to day, market value reports -have a valuation date (or more than one), which determines which market -prices will be used. - - For single period reports, if an explicit report end date is -specified, that will be used as the valuation date; otherwise the -valuation date is "today". - - For multiperiod reports, each column/period is valued on the last day -of the period, by default. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Market prices, Next: --infer-value market prices from transactions, Prev: Valuation date, Up: Valuation - -28.5 Market prices -================== - -_(experimental)_ - - To convert a commodity A to its market value in another commodity B, -hledger looks for a suitable market price (exchange rate) as follows, in -this order of preference : - - 1. A _declared market price_ or _inferred market price_: A's latest - market price in B on or before the valuation date as declared by a - P directive, or (with the '--infer-value' flag) inferred from - transaction prices. - - 2. A _reverse market price_: the inverse of a declared or inferred - market price from B to A. - - 3. A _a forward chain of market prices_: a synthetic price formed by - combining the shortest chain of "forward" (only 1 above) market - prices, leading from A to B. - - 4. A _any chain of market prices_: a chain of any market prices, - including both forward and reverse prices (1 and 2 above), leading - from A to B. - - Amounts for which no applicable market price can be found, are not -converted. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: --infer-value market prices from transactions, Next: Valuation commodity, Prev: Market prices, Up: Valuation - -28.6 -infer-value: market prices from transactions -================================================== - -_(experimental)_ - - Normally, market value in hledger is fully controlled by, and -requires, P directives in your journal. Since adding and updating those -can be a chore, and since transactions usually take place at close to -market value, why not use the recorded transaction prices as additional -market prices (as Ledger does) ? We could produce value reports without -needing P directives at all. - - Adding the '--infer-value' flag to '-V', '-X' or '--value' enables -this. So for example, 'hledger bs -V --infer-value' will get market -prices both from P directives and from transactions. - - There is a downside: value reports can sometimes be affected in -confusing/undesired ways by your journal entries. If this happens to -you, read all of this Valuation section carefully, and try adding -'--debug' or '--debug=2' to troubleshoot. - - '--infer-value' can infer market prices from: - - * multicommodity transactions with explicit prices ('@'/'@@') - - * multicommodity transactions with implicit prices (no '@', two - commodities, unbalanced). (With these, the order of postings - matters. 'hledger print -x' can be useful for troubleshooting.) - - * but not, currently, from "more correct" multicommodity transactions - (no '@', multiple commodities, balanced). - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Valuation commodity, Next: Simple valuation examples, Prev: --infer-value market prices from transactions, Up: Valuation - -28.7 Valuation commodity -======================== - -_(experimental)_ - - *When you specify a valuation commodity ('-X COMM' or '--value -TYPE,COMM'):* -hledger will convert all amounts to COMM, wherever it can find a -suitable market price (including by reversing or chaining prices). - - *When you leave the valuation commodity unspecified ('-V' or '--value -TYPE'):* -For each commodity A, hledger picks a default valuation commodity as -follows, in this order of preference: - - 1. The price commodity from the latest P-declared market price for A - on or before valuation date. - - 2. The price commodity from the latest P-declared market price for A - on any date. (Allows conversion to proceed when there are inferred - prices before the valuation date.) - - 3. If there are no P directives at all (any commodity or date) and the - '--infer-value' flag is used: the price commodity from the latest - transaction-inferred price for A on or before valuation date. - - This means: - - * If you have P directives, they determine which commodities '-V' - will convert, and to what. - - * If you have no P directives, and use the '--infer-value' flag, - transaction prices determine it. - - Amounts for which no valuation commodity can be found are not -converted. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Simple valuation examples, Next: --value Flexible valuation, Prev: Valuation commodity, Up: Valuation - -28.8 Simple valuation examples -============================== - -Here are some quick examples of '-V': - -; one euro is worth this many dollars from nov 1 -P 2016/11/01 € $1.10 - -; purchase some euros on nov 3 -2016/11/3 - assets:euros €100 - assets:checking - -; the euro is worth fewer dollars by dec 21 -P 2016/12/21 € $1.03 - - How many euros do I have ? - -$ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros - €100 assets:euros - - What are they worth at end of nov 3 ? - -$ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros -V -e 2016/11/4 - $110.00 assets:euros - - What are they worth after 2016/12/21 ? (no report end date -specified, defaults to today) - -$ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros -V - $103.00 assets:euros - - -File: hledger.info, Node: --value Flexible valuation, Next: More valuation examples, Prev: Simple valuation examples, Up: Valuation - -28.9 -value: Flexible valuation -=============================== - -'-B', '-V' and '-X' are special cases of the more general '--value' -option: - - --value=TYPE[,COMM] TYPE is cost, then, end, now or YYYY-MM-DD. - COMM is an optional commodity symbol. - Shows amounts converted to: - - cost commodity using transaction prices (then optionally to COMM using market prices at period end(s)) - - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at posting dates - - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at period end(s) - - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using current market prices - - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at some date - - The TYPE part selects cost or value and valuation date: - -'--value=cost' - - Convert amounts to cost, using the prices recorded in transactions. -'--value=then' - - Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commodity, - using market prices on each posting's date. This is currently - supported only by the print and register commands. -'--value=end' - - Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commodity, - using market prices on the last day of the report period (or if - unspecified, the journal's end date); or in multiperiod reports, - market prices on the last day of each subperiod. -'--value=now' - - Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commodity - using current market prices (as of when report is generated). -'--value=YYYY-MM-DD' - - Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commodity - using market prices on this date. - - To select a different valuation commodity, add the optional ',COMM' -part: a comma, then the target commodity's symbol. Eg: -*'--value=now,EUR'*. hledger will do its best to convert amounts to -this commodity, deducing market prices as described above. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: More valuation examples, Next: Effect of valuation on reports, Prev: --value Flexible valuation, Up: Valuation - -28.10 More valuation examples -============================= - -Here are some examples showing the effect of '--value', as seen with -'print': - -P 2000-01-01 A 1 B -P 2000-02-01 A 2 B -P 2000-03-01 A 3 B -P 2000-04-01 A 4 B - -2000-01-01 - (a) 1 A @ 5 B - -2000-02-01 - (a) 1 A @ 6 B - -2000-03-01 - (a) 1 A @ 7 B - - Show the cost of each posting: - -$ hledger -f- print --value=cost -2000-01-01 - (a) 5 B - -2000-02-01 - (a) 6 B - -2000-03-01 - (a) 7 B - - Show the value as of the last day of the report period (2000-02-29): - -$ hledger -f- print --value=end date:2000/01-2000/03 -2000-01-01 - (a) 2 B - -2000-02-01 - (a) 2 B - - With no report period specified, that shows the value as of the last -day of the journal (2000-03-01): - -$ hledger -f- print --value=end -2000-01-01 - (a) 3 B - -2000-02-01 - (a) 3 B - -2000-03-01 - (a) 3 B - - Show the current value (the 2000-04-01 price is still in effect -today): - -$ hledger -f- print --value=now -2000-01-01 - (a) 4 B - -2000-02-01 - (a) 4 B - -2000-03-01 - (a) 4 B - - Show the value on 2000/01/15: - -$ hledger -f- print --value=2000-01-15 -2000-01-01 - (a) 1 B - -2000-02-01 - (a) 1 B - -2000-03-01 - (a) 1 B - - You may need to explicitly set a commodity's display style, when -reverse prices are used. Eg this output might be surprising: - -P 2000-01-01 A 2B - -2000-01-01 - a 1B - b - -$ hledger print -x -X A -2000-01-01 - a 0 - b 0 - - Explanation: because there's no amount or commodity directive -specifying a display style for A, 0.5A gets the default style, which -shows no decimal digits. Because the displayed amount looks like zero, -the commodity symbol and minus sign are not displayed either. Adding a -commodity directive sets a more useful display style for A: - -P 2000-01-01 A 2B -commodity 0.00A - -2000-01-01 - a 1B - b - -$ hledger print -X A -2000-01-01 - a 0.50A - b -0.50A - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Effect of valuation on reports, Prev: More valuation examples, Up: Valuation - -28.11 Effect of valuation on reports -==================================== - -Here is a reference for how valuation is supposed to affect each part of -hledger's reports (and a glossary). (It's wide, you'll have to scroll -sideways.) It may be useful when troubleshooting. If you find -problems, please report them, ideally with a reproducible example. -Related: #329, #1083. - -Report '-B', '-V', '-X' '--value=then''--value=end' '--value=DATE', -type '--value=cost' '--value=now' --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -*print* -posting cost value at value at value at value -amounts report end posting report or at - or today date journal end DATE/today -balance unchanged unchanged unchanged unchanged unchanged -assertions/assignments -*register* -starting cost value at day not value at day value -balance before supported before at -(-H) report or report or DATE/today - journal journal - start start -posting cost value at value at value at value -amounts report end posting report or at - or today date journal end DATE/today -summary summarised value at sum of value at value -posting cost period ends postings period ends at -amounts in DATE/today -with interval, -report valued at -interval interval - start -running sum/average sum/average sum/average sum/average sum/average -total/averageof displayed of displayed of of displayed of - values values displayed values displayed - values values -*balance -(bs, bse, -cf, is)* -balance sums of value at not value at value -changes costs report end supported report or at - or today of journal end DATE/today - sums of of sums of of sums - postings postings of - postings -budget like balance like balance not like like -amounts changes changes supported balances balance -(-budget) changes -grand sum of sum of not sum of sum of -total displayed displayed supported displayed displayed - values values values values -*balance -(bs, bse, -cf, is) -with -report -interval* -starting sums of value at not value at sums of -balances costs of report start supported report start postings -(-H) postings of sums of of sums of before - before all postings all postings report - report start before before start - report start report start -balance sums of same as not balance value -changes costs of -value=end supported change in at -(bal, is, postings in each period, DATE/today -bs period valued at of sums --change, period ends of -cf postings --change) -end sums of same as not period end value -balances costs of -value=end supported balances, at -(bal -H, postings valued at DATE/today -is -H, from before period ends of sums -bs, cf) report start of - to period postings - end -budget like balance like balance not like like -amounts changes/end changes/end supported balances balance -(-budget) balances balances changes/end - balances -row sums, sums, not sums, sums, -totals, averages of averages of supported averages of averages -row displayed displayed displayed of -averages values values values displayed -(-T, -A) values -column sums of sums of not sums of sums of -totals displayed displayed supported displayed displayed - values values values values -grand sum, average sum, average not sum, average sum, -total, of column of column supported of column average -grand totals totals totals of -average column - totals - - '--cumulative' is omitted to save space, it works like '-H' but with -a zero starting balance. - - *Glossary:* - -_cost_ - - calculated using price(s) recorded in the transaction(s). -_value_ - - market value using available market price declarations, or the - unchanged amount if no conversion rate can be found. -_report start_ - - the first day of the report period specified with -b or -p or - date:, otherwise today. -_report or journal start_ - - the first day of the report period specified with -b or -p or - date:, otherwise the earliest transaction date in the journal, - otherwise today. -_report end_ - - the last day of the report period specified with -e or -p or date:, - otherwise today. -_report or journal end_ - - the last day of the report period specified with -e or -p or date:, - otherwise the latest transaction date in the journal, otherwise - today. -_report interval_ - - a flag (-D/-W/-M/-Q/-Y) or period expression that activates the - report's multi-period mode (whether showing one or many - subperiods). - - -File: hledger.info, Node: COMMANDS, Next: accounts, Prev: Valuation, Up: Top - -29 COMMANDS -*********** - -hledger provides a number of subcommands; 'hledger' with no arguments -shows a list. - - If you install additional 'hledger-*' packages, or if you put -programs or scripts named 'hledger-NAME' in your PATH, these will also -be listed as subcommands. - - Run a subcommand by writing its name as first argument (eg 'hledger -incomestatement'). You can also write one of the standard short aliases -displayed in parentheses in the command list ('hledger b'), or any any -unambiguous prefix of a command name ('hledger inc'). - - Here are all the builtin commands in alphabetical order. See also -'hledger' for a more organised command list, and 'hledger CMD -h' for -detailed command help. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: accounts, Next: activity, Prev: COMMANDS, Up: Top - -30 accounts -*********** - -accounts, a -Show account names. - - This command lists account names, either declared with account -directives (-declared), posted to (-used), or both (the default). With -query arguments, only matched account names and account names referenced -by matched postings are shown. It shows a flat list by default. With -'--tree', it uses indentation to show the account hierarchy. In flat -mode you can add '--drop N' to omit the first few account name -components. Account names can be depth-clipped with 'depth:N' or -'--depth N' or '-N'. - - Examples: - -$ hledger accounts -assets:bank:checking -assets:bank:saving -assets:cash -expenses:food -expenses:supplies -income:gifts -income:salary -liabilities:debts - - -File: hledger.info, Node: activity, Next: add, Prev: accounts, Up: Top - -31 activity -*********** - -activity -Show an ascii barchart of posting counts per interval. - - The activity command displays an ascii histogram showing transaction -counts by day, week, month or other reporting interval (by day is the -default). With query arguments, it counts only matched transactions. - - Examples: - -$ hledger activity --quarterly -2008-01-01 ** -2008-04-01 ******* -2008-07-01 -2008-10-01 ** - - -File: hledger.info, Node: add, Next: aregister, Prev: activity, Up: Top - -32 add -****** - -add -Prompt for transactions and add them to the journal. Any arguments will -be used as default inputs for the first N prompts. - - Many hledger users edit their journals directly with a text editor, -or generate them from CSV. For more interactive data entry, there is the -'add' command, which prompts interactively on the console for new -transactions, and appends them to the journal file (if there are -multiple '-f FILE' options, the first file is used.) Existing -transactions are not changed. This is the only hledger command that -writes to the journal file. - - To use it, just run 'hledger add' and follow the prompts. You can -add as many transactions as you like; when you are finished, enter '.' -or press control-d or control-c to exit. - - Features: - - * add tries to provide useful defaults, using the most similar (by - description) recent transaction (filtered by the query, if any) as - a template. - * You can also set the initial defaults with command line arguments. - * Readline-style edit keys can be used during data entry. - * The tab key will auto-complete whenever possible - accounts, - descriptions, dates ('yesterday', 'today', 'tomorrow'). If the - input area is empty, it will insert the default value. - * If the journal defines a default commodity, it will be added to any - bare numbers entered. - * A parenthesised transaction code may be entered following a date. - * Comments and tags may be entered following a description or amount. - * If you make a mistake, enter '<' at any prompt to go one step - backward. - * Input prompts are displayed in a different colour when the terminal - supports it. - - Example (see the tutorial for a detailed explanation): - -$ hledger add -Adding transactions to journal file /src/hledger/examples/sample.journal -Any command line arguments will be used as defaults. -Use tab key to complete, readline keys to edit, enter to accept defaults. -An optional (CODE) may follow transaction dates. -An optional ; COMMENT may follow descriptions or amounts. -If you make a mistake, enter < at any prompt to go one step backward. -To end a transaction, enter . when prompted. -To quit, enter . at a date prompt or press control-d or control-c. -Date [2015/05/22]: -Description: supermarket -Account 1: expenses:food -Amount 1: $10 -Account 2: assets:checking -Amount 2 [$-10.0]: -Account 3 (or . or enter to finish this transaction): . -2015/05/22 supermarket - expenses:food $10 - assets:checking $-10.0 - -Save this transaction to the journal ? [y]: -Saved. -Starting the next transaction (. or ctrl-D/ctrl-C to quit) -Date [2015/05/22]: $ - - On Microsoft Windows, the add command makes sure that no part of the -file path ends with a period, as that would cause problems (#1056). - - -File: hledger.info, Node: aregister, Next: balance, Prev: add, Up: Top - -33 aregister -************ - -aregister, areg -Show transactions affecting a particular account, and the account's -running balance. - - 'aregister' shows the transactions affecting a particular account -(and its subaccounts), from the point of view of that account. Each -line shows: - - * the transaction's (or posting's, see below) date - * the names of the other account(s) involved - * the net change to this account's balance - * the account's historical running balance (including balance from - transactions before the report start date). - - With 'aregister', each line represents a whole transaction - as in -hledger-ui, hledger-web, and your bank statement. By contrast, the -'register' command shows individual postings, across all accounts. You -might prefer 'aregister' for reconciling with real-world asset/liability -accounts, and 'register' for reviewing detailed revenues/expenses. - - An account must be specified as the first argument, which should be -the full account name or an account pattern (regular expression). -aregister will show transactions in this account (the first one matched) -and any of its subaccounts. - - Any additional arguments form a query which will filter the -transactions shown. - - Transactions making a net change of zero are not shown by default; -add the '-E/--empty' flag to show them. - -* Menu: - -* aregister and custom posting dates:: -* Output format:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: aregister and custom posting dates, Next: , Up: aregister - -33.1 aregister and custom posting dates -======================================= - -Transactions whose date is outside the report period can still be shown, -if they have a posting to this account dated inside the report period. -(And in this case it's the posting date that is shown.) This ensures -that 'aregister' can show an accurate historical running balance, -matching the one shown by 'register -H' with the same arguments. - - To filter strictly by transaction date instead, add the '--txn-dates' -flag. If you use this flag and some of your postings have custom dates, -it's probably best to assume the running balance is wrong. - -33.2 Output format -================== - -This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', and 'json'. - - Examples: - - Show all transactions and historical running balance in the first -account whose name contains "checking": - -$ hledger areg checking - - Show transactions and historical running balance in all asset -accounts during july: - -$ hledger areg assets date:jul - - -File: hledger.info, Node: balance, Next: balancesheet, Prev: aregister, Up: Top - -34 balance -********** - -balance, bal, b -Show accounts and their balances. - - The balance command is hledger's most versatile command. Note, -despite the name, it is not always used for showing real-world account -balances; the more accounting-aware balancesheet and incomestatement may -be more convenient for that. - - By default, it displays all accounts, and each account's change in -balance during the entire period of the journal. Balance changes are -calculated by adding up the postings in each account. You can limit the -postings matched, by a query, to see fewer accounts, changes over a -different time period, changes from only cleared transactions, etc. - - If you include an account's complete history of postings in the -report, the balance change is equivalent to the account's current ending -balance. For a real-world account, typically you won't have all -transactions in the journal; instead you'll have all transactions after -a certain date, and an "opening balances" transaction setting the -correct starting balance on that date. Then the balance command will -show real-world account balances. In some cases the -H/-historical flag -is used to ensure this (more below). - - The balance command can produce several styles of report: - -* Menu: - -* Classic balance report:: -* Customising the classic balance report:: -* Colour support:: -* Flat mode:: -* Depth limited balance reports:: -* Percentages:: -* Sorting by amount:: -* Multicolumn balance report:: -* Budget report:: -* Output format:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Classic balance report, Next: Customising the classic balance report, Up: balance - -34.1 Classic balance report -=========================== - -This is the original balance report, as found in Ledger. It usually -looks like this: - -$ hledger balance - $-1 assets - $1 bank:saving - $-2 cash - $2 expenses - $1 food - $1 supplies - $-2 income - $-1 gifts - $-1 salary - $1 liabilities:debts --------------------- - 0 - - By default, accounts are displayed hierarchically, with subaccounts -indented below their parent, with accounts at each level of the tree -sorted by declaration order if declared, then by account name. - - "Boring" accounts, which contain a single interesting subaccount and -no balance of their own, are elided into the following line for more -compact output. (Eg above, the "liabilities" account.) Use -'--no-elide' to prevent this. - - Account balances are "inclusive" - they include the balances of any -subaccounts. - - Accounts which have zero balance (and no non-zero subaccounts) are -omitted. Use '-E/--empty' to show them. - - A final total is displayed by default; use '-N/--no-total' to -suppress it, eg: - -$ hledger balance -p 2008/6 expenses --no-total - $2 expenses - $1 food - $1 supplies - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Customising the classic balance report, Next: Colour support, Prev: Classic balance report, Up: balance - -34.2 Customising the classic balance report -=========================================== - -You can customise the layout of classic balance reports with '--format -FMT': - -$ hledger balance --format "%20(account) %12(total)" - assets $-1 - bank:saving $1 - cash $-2 - expenses $2 - food $1 - supplies $1 - income $-2 - gifts $-1 - salary $-1 - liabilities:debts $1 ---------------------------------- - 0 - - The FMT format string (plus a newline) specifies the formatting -applied to each account/balance pair. It may contain any suitable text, -with data fields interpolated like so: - - '%[MIN][.MAX](FIELDNAME)' - - * MIN pads with spaces to at least this width (optional) - - * MAX truncates at this width (optional) - - * FIELDNAME must be enclosed in parentheses, and can be one of: - - * 'depth_spacer' - a number of spaces equal to the account's - depth, or if MIN is specified, MIN * depth spaces. - * 'account' - the account's name - * 'total' - the account's balance/posted total, right justified - - Also, FMT can begin with an optional prefix to control how -multi-commodity amounts are rendered: - - * '%_' - render on multiple lines, bottom-aligned (the default) - * '%^' - render on multiple lines, top-aligned - * '%,' - render on one line, comma-separated - - There are some quirks. Eg in one-line mode, '%(depth_spacer)' has no -effect, instead '%(account)' has indentation built in. Experimentation -may be needed to get pleasing results. - - Some example formats: - - * '%(total)' - the account's total - * '%-20.20(account)' - the account's name, left justified, padded to - 20 characters and clipped at 20 characters - * '%,%-50(account) %25(total)' - account name padded to 50 - characters, total padded to 20 characters, with multiple - commodities rendered on one line - * '%20(total) %2(depth_spacer)%-(account)' - the default format for - the single-column balance report - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Colour support, Next: Flat mode, Prev: Customising the classic balance report, Up: balance - -34.3 Colour support -=================== - -In terminal output, when colour is enabled, the balance command shows -negative amounts in red. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Flat mode, Next: Depth limited balance reports, Prev: Colour support, Up: balance - -34.4 Flat mode -============== - -To see a flat list instead of the default hierarchical display, use -'--flat'. In this mode, accounts (unless depth-clipped) show their full -names and "exclusive" balance, excluding any subaccount balances. In -this mode, you can also use '--drop N' to omit the first few account -name components. - -$ hledger balance -p 2008/6 expenses -N --flat --drop 1 - $1 food - $1 supplies - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Depth limited balance reports, Next: Percentages, Prev: Flat mode, Up: balance - -34.5 Depth limited balance reports -================================== - -With '--depth N' or 'depth:N' or just '-N', balance reports show -accounts only to the specified numeric depth. This is very useful to -summarise a complex set of accounts and get an overview. - -$ hledger balance -N -1 - $-1 assets - $2 expenses - $-2 income - $1 liabilities - - Flat-mode balance reports, which normally show exclusive balances, -show inclusive balances at the depth limit. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Percentages, Next: Sorting by amount, Prev: Depth limited balance reports, Up: balance - -34.6 Percentages -================ - -With '-%' or '--percent', balance reports show each account's value -expressed as a percentage of the column's total. This is useful to get -an overview of the relative sizes of account balances. For example to -obtain an overview of expenses: - -$ hledger balance expenses -% - 100.0 % expenses - 50.0 % food - 50.0 % supplies --------------------- - 100.0 % - - Note that '--tree' does not have an effect on '-%'. The percentages -are always relative to the total sum of each column, they are never -relative to the parent account. - - Since the percentages are relative to the columns sum, it is usually -not useful to calculate percentages if the signs of the amounts are -mixed. Although the results are technically correct, they are most -likely useless. Especially in a balance report that sums up to zero (eg -'hledger balance -B') all percentage values will be zero. - - This flag does not work if the report contains any mixed commodity -accounts. If there are mixed commodity accounts in the report be sure -to use '-V' or '-B' to coerce the report into using a single commodity. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Sorting by amount, Next: Multicolumn balance report, Prev: Percentages, Up: balance - -34.7 Sorting by amount -====================== - -With '-S'/'--sort-amount', accounts with the largest (most positive) -balances are shown first. For example, 'hledger bal expenses -MAS' -shows your biggest averaged monthly expenses first. - - Revenues and liability balances are typically negative, however, so -'-S' shows these in reverse order. To work around this, you can add -'--invert' to flip the signs. Or, use one of the sign-flipping reports -like 'balancesheet' or 'incomestatement', which also support '-S'. Eg: -'hledger is -MAS'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Multicolumn balance report, Next: Budget report, Prev: Sorting by amount, Up: balance - -34.8 Multicolumn balance report -=============================== - -Multicolumn or tabular balance reports are a very useful hledger -feature, and usually the preferred style. They share many of the above -features, but they show the report as a table, with columns representing -time periods. This mode is activated by providing a reporting interval. - - There are three types of multicolumn balance report, showing -different information: - - 1. By default: each column shows the sum of postings in that period, - ie the account's change of balance in that period. This is useful - eg for a monthly income statement: - - $ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E - Balance changes in 2008: - - || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 - ===================++================================= - expenses:food || 0 $1 0 0 - expenses:supplies || 0 $1 0 0 - income:gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 - income:salary || $-1 0 0 0 - -------------------++--------------------------------- - || $-1 $1 0 0 - - 2. With '--cumulative': each column shows the ending balance for that - period, accumulating the changes across periods, starting from 0 at - the report start date: - - $ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E --cumulative - Ending balances (cumulative) in 2008: - - || 2008/03/31 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 - ===================++================================================= - expenses:food || 0 $1 $1 $1 - expenses:supplies || 0 $1 $1 $1 - income:gifts || 0 $-1 $-1 $-1 - income:salary || $-1 $-1 $-1 $-1 - -------------------++------------------------------------------------- - || $-1 0 0 0 - - 3. With '--historical/-H': each column shows the actual historical - ending balance for that period, accumulating the changes across - periods, starting from the actual balance at the report start date. - This is useful eg for a multi-period balance sheet, and when you - are showing only the data after a certain start date: - - $ hledger balance ^assets ^liabilities --quarterly --historical --begin 2008/4/1 - Ending balances (historical) in 2008/04/01-2008/12/31: - - || 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 - ======================++===================================== - assets:bank:checking || $1 $1 0 - assets:bank:saving || $1 $1 $1 - assets:cash || $-2 $-2 $-2 - liabilities:debts || 0 0 $1 - ----------------------++------------------------------------- - || 0 0 0 - - Note that '--cumulative' or '--historical/-H' disable -'--row-total/-T', since summing end balances generally does not make -sense. - - Multicolumn balance reports display accounts in flat mode by default; -to see the hierarchy, use '--tree'. - - With a reporting interval (like '--quarterly' above), the report -start/end dates will be adjusted if necessary so that they encompass the -displayed report periods. This is so that the first and last periods -will be "full" and comparable to the others. - - The '-E/--empty' flag does two things in multicolumn balance reports: -first, the report will show all columns within the specified report -period (without -E, leading and trailing columns with all zeroes are not -shown). Second, all accounts which existed at the report start date -will be considered, not just the ones with activity during the report -period (use -E to include low-activity accounts which would otherwise -would be omitted). - - The '-T/--row-total' flag adds an additional column showing the total -for each row. - - The '-A/--average' flag adds a column showing the average value in -each row. - - Here's an example of all three: - -$ hledger balance -Q income expenses --tree -ETA -Balance changes in 2008: - - || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 Total Average -============++=================================================== - expenses || 0 $2 0 0 $2 $1 - food || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 - supplies || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 - income || $-1 $-1 0 0 $-2 $-1 - gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 $-1 0 - salary || $-1 0 0 0 $-1 0 -------------++--------------------------------------------------- - || $-1 $1 0 0 0 0 - -(Average is rounded to the dollar here since all journal amounts are) - - The '--transpose' flag can be used to exchange the rows and columns -of a multicolumn report. - - When showing multicommodity amounts, multicolumn balance reports will -elide any amounts which have more than two commodities, since otherwise -columns could get very wide. The '--no-elide' flag disables this. -Hiding totals with the '-N/--no-total' flag can also help reduce the -width of multicommodity reports. - - When the report is still too wide, a good workaround is to pipe it -into 'less -RS' (-R for colour, -S to chop long lines). Eg: 'hledger -bal -D --color=yes | less -RS'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Budget report, Next: , Prev: Multicolumn balance report, Up: balance - -34.9 Budget report -================== - -With '--budget', extra columns are displayed showing budget goals for -each account and period, if any. Budget goals are defined by periodic -transactions. This is very useful for comparing planned and actual -income, expenses, time usage, etc. -budget is most often combined with -a report interval. - - For example, you can take average monthly expenses in the common -expense categories to construct a minimal monthly budget: - -;; Budget -~ monthly - income $2000 - expenses:food $400 - expenses:bus $50 - expenses:movies $30 - assets:bank:checking - -;; Two months worth of expenses -2017-11-01 - income $1950 - expenses:food $396 - expenses:bus $49 - expenses:movies $30 - expenses:supplies $20 - assets:bank:checking - -2017-12-01 - income $2100 - expenses:food $412 - expenses:bus $53 - expenses:gifts $100 - assets:bank:checking - - You can now see a monthly budget report: - -$ hledger balance -M --budget -Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: - - || Nov Dec -======================++==================================================== - assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $565 [ 118% of $480] - expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $53 [ 106% of $50] - expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $412 [ 103% of $400] - expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] 0 [ 0% of $30] - income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $2100 [ 105% of $2000] -----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] - - This is different from a normal balance report in several ways: - - * Only accounts with budget goals during the report period are shown, - by default. - - * In each column, in square brackets after the actual amount, budget - goal amounts are shown, and the actual/goal percentage. (Note: - budget goals should be in the same commodity as the actual amount.) - - * All parent accounts are always shown, even in flat mode. Eg - assets, assets:bank, and expenses above. - - * Amounts always include all subaccounts, budgeted or unbudgeted, - even in flat mode. - - This means that the numbers displayed will not always add up! Eg -above, the 'expenses' actual amount includes the gifts and supplies -transactions, but the 'expenses:gifts' and 'expenses:supplies' accounts -are not shown, as they have no budget amounts declared. - - This can be confusing. When you need to make things clearer, use the -'-E/--empty' flag, which will reveal all accounts including unbudgeted -ones, giving the full picture. Eg: - -$ hledger balance -M --budget --empty -Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: - - || Nov Dec -======================++==================================================== - assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $565 [ 118% of $480] - expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $53 [ 106% of $50] - expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $412 [ 103% of $400] - expenses:gifts || 0 $100 - expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] 0 [ 0% of $30] - expenses:supplies || $20 0 - income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $2100 [ 105% of $2000] -----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] - - You can roll over unspent budgets to next period with '--cumulative': - -$ hledger balance -M --budget --cumulative -Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: - - || Nov Dec -======================++==================================================== - assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] - assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] - assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] - expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $1060 [ 110% of $960] - expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $102 [ 102% of $100] - expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $808 [ 101% of $800] - expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] $30 [ 50% of $60] - income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $4050 [ 101% of $4000] -----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] - - For more examples and notes, see Budgeting. - -* Menu: - -* Budget report start date:: -* Nested budgets:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Budget report start date, Next: Nested budgets, Up: Budget report - -34.9.1 Budget report start date -------------------------------- - -This might be a bug, but for now: when making budget reports, it's a -good idea to explicitly set the report's start date to the first day of -a reporting period, because a periodic rule like '~ monthly' generates -its transactions on the 1st of each month, and if your journal has no -regular transactions on the 1st, the default report start date could -exclude that budget goal, which can be a little surprising. Eg here the -default report period is just the day of 2020-01-15: - -~ monthly in 2020 - (expenses:food) $500 - -2020-01-15 - expenses:food $400 - assets:checking - -$ hledger bal expenses --budget -Budget performance in 2020-01-15: - - || 2020-01-15 -==============++============ - || $400 ---------------++------------ - || $400 - - To avoid this, specify the budget report's period, or at least the -start date, with '-b'/'-e'/'-p'/'date:', to ensure it includes the -budget goal transactions (periodic transactions) that you want. Eg, -adding '-b 2020/1/1' to the above: - -$ hledger bal expenses --budget -b 2020/1/1 -Budget performance in 2020-01-01..2020-01-15: - - || 2020-01-01..2020-01-15 -===============++======================== - expenses:food || $400 [80% of $500] ----------------++------------------------ - || $400 [80% of $500] - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Nested budgets, Prev: Budget report start date, Up: Budget report - -34.9.2 Nested budgets ---------------------- - -You can add budgets to any account in your account hierarchy. If you -have budgets on both parent account and some of its children, then -budget(s) of the child account(s) would be added to the budget of their -parent, much like account balances behave. - - In the most simple case this means that once you add a budget to any -account, all its parents would have budget as well. - - To illustrate this, consider the following budget: - -~ monthly from 2019/01 - expenses:personal $1,000.00 - expenses:personal:electronics $100.00 - liabilities - - With this, monthly budget for electronics is defined to be $100 and -budget for personal expenses is an additional $1000, which implicitly -means that budget for both 'expenses:personal' and 'expenses' is $1100. - - Transactions in 'expenses:personal:electronics' will be counted both -towards its $100 budget and $1100 of 'expenses:personal' , and -transactions in any other subaccount of 'expenses:personal' would be -counted towards only towards the budget of 'expenses:personal'. - - For example, let's consider these transactions: - -~ monthly from 2019/01 - expenses:personal $1,000.00 - expenses:personal:electronics $100.00 - liabilities - -2019/01/01 Google home hub - expenses:personal:electronics $90.00 - liabilities $-90.00 - -2019/01/02 Phone screen protector - expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades $10.00 - liabilities - -2019/01/02 Weekly train ticket - expenses:personal:train tickets $153.00 - liabilities - -2019/01/03 Flowers - expenses:personal $30.00 - liabilities - - As you can see, we have transactions in -'expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades' and 'expenses:personal:train -tickets', and since both of these accounts are without explicitly -defined budget, these transactions would be counted towards budgets of -'expenses:personal:electronics' and 'expenses:personal' accordingly: - -$ hledger balance --budget -M -Budget performance in 2019/01: - - || Jan -===============================++=============================== - expenses || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] - expenses:personal || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] - expenses:personal:electronics || $100.00 [ 100% of $100.00] - liabilities || $-283.00 [ 26% of $-1100.00] --------------------------------++------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] - - And with '--empty', we can get a better picture of budget allocation -and consumption: - -$ hledger balance --budget -M --empty -Budget performance in 2019/01: - - || Jan -========================================++=============================== - expenses || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] - expenses:personal || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] - expenses:personal:electronics || $100.00 [ 100% of $100.00] - expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades || $10.00 - expenses:personal:train tickets || $153.00 - liabilities || $-283.00 [ 26% of $-1100.00] -----------------------------------------++------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] - -34.10 Output format -=================== - -This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are (in most modes): 'txt', 'csv', -'html', and 'json'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: balancesheet, Next: balancesheetequity, Prev: balance, Up: Top - -35 balancesheet -*************** - -balancesheet, bs -This command displays a balance sheet, showing historical ending -balances of asset and liability accounts. (To see equity as well, use -the balancesheetequity command.) Amounts are shown with normal positive -sign, as in conventional financial statements. - - The asset and liability accounts shown are those accounts declared -with the 'Asset' or 'Cash' or 'Liability' type, or otherwise all -accounts under a top-level 'asset' or 'liability' account (case -insensitive, plurals allowed). - - Example: - -$ hledger balancesheet -Balance Sheet - -Assets: - $-1 assets - $1 bank:saving - $-2 cash --------------------- - $-1 - -Liabilities: - $1 liabilities:debts --------------------- - $1 - -Total: --------------------- - 0 - - With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for -each report period. As with multicolumn balance reports, you can alter -the report mode with '--change'/'--cumulative'/'--historical'. Normally -balancesheet shows historical ending balances, which is what you need -for a balance sheet; note this means it ignores report begin dates (and -'-T/--row-total', since summing end balances generally does not make -sense). Instead of absolute values percentages can be displayed with -'-%'. - - This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', 'html', and -(experimental) 'json'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: balancesheetequity, Next: cashflow, Prev: balancesheet, Up: Top - -36 balancesheetequity -********************* - -balancesheetequity, bse -This command displays a balance sheet, showing historical ending -balances of asset, liability and equity accounts. Amounts are shown -with normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. - - The asset, liability and equity accounts shown are those accounts -declared with the 'Asset', 'Cash', 'Liability' or 'Equity' type, or -otherwise all accounts under a top-level 'asset', 'liability' or -'equity' account (case insensitive, plurals allowed). - - Example: - -$ hledger balancesheetequity -Balance Sheet With Equity - -Assets: - $-2 assets - $1 bank:saving - $-3 cash --------------------- - $-2 - -Liabilities: - $1 liabilities:debts --------------------- - $1 - -Equity: - $1 equity:owner --------------------- - $1 - -Total: --------------------- - 0 - - This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', 'html', and -(experimental) 'json'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: cashflow, Next: check, Prev: balancesheetequity, Up: Top - -37 cashflow -*********** - -cashflow, cf -This command displays a cashflow statement, showing the inflows and -outflows affecting "cash" (ie, liquid) assets. Amounts are shown with -normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. - - The "cash" accounts shown are those accounts declared with the 'Cash' -type, or otherwise all accounts under a top-level 'asset' account (case -insensitive, plural allowed) which do not have 'fixed', 'investment', -'receivable' or 'A/R' in their name. - - Example: - -$ hledger cashflow -Cashflow Statement - -Cash flows: - $-1 assets - $1 bank:saving - $-2 cash --------------------- - $-1 - -Total: --------------------- - $-1 - - With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for -each report period. Normally cashflow shows changes in assets per -period, though as with multicolumn balance reports you can alter the -report mode with '--change'/'--cumulative'/'--historical'. Instead of -absolute values percentages can be displayed with '-%'. - - This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', 'html', and -(experimental) 'json'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: check, Next: close, Prev: cashflow, Up: Top - -38 check -******** - -check -Check for various kinds of errors in your data. _experimental_ - - hledger provides a number of built-in error checks to help prevent -problems in your data. Some of these are run automatically; or, you can -use this 'check' command to run them on demand, with no output and a -zero exit code if all is well. Some examples: - -hledger check # basic checks -hledger check -s # basic + strict checks -hledger check ordereddates uniqueleafnames # basic + specified checks - - Here are the checks currently available: - -* Menu: - -* Basic checks:: -* Strict checks:: -* Other checks:: -* Add-on checks:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Basic checks, Next: Strict checks, Up: check - -38.1 Basic checks -================= - -These are always run by this command and other commands: - - * *parseable* - data files are well-formed and can be successfully - parsed - - * *autobalanced* - all transactions are balanced, inferring missing - amounts where necessary, and possibly converting commodities using - transaction prices or automatically-inferred transaction prices - - * *assertions* - all balance assertions in the journal are passing. - (This check can be disabled with '-I'/'--ignore-assertions'.) - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Strict checks, Next: Other checks, Prev: Basic checks, Up: check - -38.2 Strict checks -================== - -These are always run by this and other commands when '-s'/'--strict' is -used (strict mode): - - * *accounts* - all account names used by transactions have been - declared - - * *commodities* - all commodity symbols used have been declared - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Other checks, Next: Add-on checks, Prev: Strict checks, Up: check - -38.3 Other checks -================= - -These checks can be run by specifying their names as arguments to the -check command: - - * *ordereddates* - transactions are ordered by date (similar to the - old 'check-dates' command) - - * *uniqueleafnames* - all account leaf names are unique (similar to - the old 'check-dupes' command) - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Add-on checks, Prev: Other checks, Up: check - -38.4 Add-on checks -================== - -Some checks are not yet integrated with this command, but are available -as add-on commands in -https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/tree/master/bin: - - * *hledger-check-tagfiles* - all tag values containing / (a forward - slash) exist as file paths - - * *hledger-check-fancyassertions* - more complex balance assertions - are passing - - You could make your own similar scripts to perform custom checks; -Cookbook -> Scripting may be helpful. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: close, Next: codes, Prev: check, Up: Top - -39 close -******** - -close, equity -Prints a "closing balances" transaction and an "opening balances" -transaction that bring account balances to and from zero, respectively. -These can be added to your journal file(s), eg to bring asset/liability -balances forward into a new journal file, or to close out -revenues/expenses to retained earnings at the end of a period. - - You can print just one of these transactions by using the '--close' -or '--open' flag. You can customise their descriptions with the -'--close-desc' and '--open-desc' options. - - One amountless posting to "equity:opening/closing balances" is added -to balance the transactions, by default. You can customise this account -name with '--close-acct' and '--open-acct'; if you specify only one of -these, it will be used for both. - - With '--x/--explicit', the equity posting's amount will be shown. -And if it involves multiple commodities, a posting for each commodity -will be shown, as with the print command. - - With '--interleaved', the equity postings are shown next to the -postings they balance, which makes troubleshooting easier. - - By default, transaction prices in the journal are ignored when -generating the closing/opening transactions. With '--show-costs', this -cost information is preserved ('balance -B' reports will be unchanged -after the transition). Separate postings are generated for each cost in -each commodity. Note this can generate very large journal entries, if -you have many foreign currency or investment transactions. - -* Menu: - -* close usage:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: close usage, Up: close - -39.1 close usage -================ - -If you split your journal files by time (eg yearly), you will typically -run this command at the end of the year, and save the closing -transaction as last entry of the old file, and the opening transaction -as the first entry of the new file. This makes the files self -contained, so that correct balances are reported no matter which of them -are loaded. Ie, if you load just one file, the balances are initialised -correctly; or if you load several files, the redundant closing/opening -transactions cancel each other out. (They will show up in print or -register reports; you can exclude them with a query like -'not:desc:'(opening|closing) balances''.) - - If you're running a business, you might also use this command to -"close the books" at the end of an accounting period, transferring -income statement account balances to retained earnings. (You may want -to change the equity account name to something like "equity:retained -earnings".) - - By default, the closing transaction is dated yesterday, the balances -are calculated as of end of yesterday, and the opening transaction is -dated today. To close on some other date, use: 'hledger close -e -OPENINGDATE'. Eg, to close/open on the 2018/2019 boundary, use '-e -2019'. You can also use -p or 'date:PERIOD' (any starting date is -ignored). - - Both transactions will include balance assertions for the -closed/reopened accounts. You probably shouldn't use status or realness -filters (like -C or -R or 'status:') with this command, or the generated -balance assertions will depend on these flags. Likewise, if you run -this command with -auto, the balance assertions will probably always -require -auto. - - Examples: - - Carrying asset/liability balances into a new file for 2019: - -$ hledger close -f 2018.journal -e 2019 assets liabilities --open - # (copy/paste the output to the start of your 2019 journal file) -$ hledger close -f 2018.journal -e 2019 assets liabilities --close - # (copy/paste the output to the end of your 2018 journal file) - - Now: - -$ hledger bs -f 2019.journal # one file - balances are correct -$ hledger bs -f 2018.journal -f 2019.journal # two files - balances still correct -$ hledger bs -f 2018.journal not:desc:closing # to see year-end balances, must exclude closing txn - - Transactions spanning the closing date can complicate matters, -breaking balance assertions: - -2018/12/30 a purchase made in 2018, clearing the following year - expenses:food 5 - assets:bank:checking -5 ; [2019/1/2] - - Here's one way to resolve that: - -; in 2018.journal: -2018/12/30 a purchase made in 2018, clearing the following year - expenses:food 5 - liabilities:pending - -; in 2019.journal: -2019/1/2 clearance of last year's pending transactions - liabilities:pending 5 = 0 - assets:checking - - -File: hledger.info, Node: codes, Next: commodities, Prev: close, Up: Top - -40 codes -******** - -codes -List the codes seen in transactions, in the order parsed. - - This command prints the value of each transaction's code field, in -the order transactions were parsed. The transaction code is an optional -value written in parentheses between the date and description, often -used to store a cheque number, order number or similar. - - Transactions aren't required to have a code, and missing or empty -codes will not be shown by default. With the '-E'/'--empty' flag, they -will be printed as blank lines. - - You can add a query to select a subset of transactions. - - Examples: - -1/1 (123) - (a) 1 - -1/1 () - (a) 1 - -1/1 - (a) 1 - -1/1 (126) - (a) 1 - -$ hledger codes -123 -124 -126 - -$ hledger codes -E -123 -124 - - -126 - - -File: hledger.info, Node: commodities, Next: descriptions, Prev: codes, Up: Top - -41 commodities -************** - -commodities -List all commodity/currency symbols used or declared in the journal. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: descriptions, Next: diff, Prev: commodities, Up: Top - -42 descriptions -*************** - -descriptions -List the unique descriptions that appear in transactions. - - This command lists the unique descriptions that appear in -transactions, in alphabetic order. You can add a query to select a -subset of transactions. - - Example: - -$ hledger descriptions -Store Name -Gas Station | Petrol -Person A - - -File: hledger.info, Node: diff, Next: files, Prev: descriptions, Up: Top - -43 diff -******* - -diff -Compares a particular account's transactions in two input files. It -shows any transactions to this account which are in one file but not in -the other. - - More precisely, for each posting affecting this account in either -file, it looks for a corresponding posting in the other file which posts -the same amount to the same account (ignoring date, description, etc.) -Since postings not transactions are compared, this also works when -multiple bank transactions have been combined into a single journal -entry. - - This is useful eg if you have downloaded an account's transactions -from your bank (eg as CSV data). When hledger and your bank disagree -about the account balance, you can compare the bank data with your -journal to find out the cause. - - Examples: - -$ hledger diff -f $LEDGER_FILE -f bank.csv assets:bank:giro -These transactions are in the first file only: - -2014/01/01 Opening Balances - assets:bank:giro EUR ... - ... - equity:opening balances EUR -... - -These transactions are in the second file only: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: files, Next: help, Prev: diff, Up: Top - -44 files -******** - -files -List all files included in the journal. With a REGEX argument, only -file names matching the regular expression (case sensitive) are shown. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: help, Next: import, Prev: files, Up: Top - -45 help -******* - -help -Show any of the hledger manuals. - - The 'help' command displays any of the main hledger manuals, in one -of several ways. Run it with no argument to list the manuals, or -provide a full or partial manual name to select one. - - hledger manuals are available in several formats. hledger help will -use the first of these display methods that it finds: info, man, $PAGER, -less, stdout (or when non-interactive, just stdout). You can force a -particular viewer with the '--info', '--man', '--pager', '--cat' flags. - - Examples: - -$ hledger help -Please choose a manual by typing "hledger help MANUAL" (a substring is ok). -Manuals: hledger hledger-ui hledger-web journal csv timeclock timedot - -$ hledger help h --man - -hledger(1) hledger User Manuals hledger(1) - -NAME - hledger - a command-line accounting tool - -SYNOPSIS - hledger [-f FILE] COMMAND [OPTIONS] [ARGS] - hledger [-f FILE] ADDONCMD -- [OPTIONS] [ARGS] - hledger - -DESCRIPTION - hledger is a cross-platform program for tracking money, time, or any -... - - -File: hledger.info, Node: import, Next: incomestatement, Prev: help, Up: Top - -46 import -********* - -import -Read new transactions added to each FILE since last run, and add them to -the main journal file. Or with -dry-run, just print the transactions -that would be added. Or with -catchup, just mark all of the FILEs' -transactions as imported, without actually importing any. - - The input files are specified as arguments - no need to write -f -before each one. So eg to add new transactions from all CSV files to -the main journal, it's just: 'hledger import *.csv' - - New transactions are detected in the same way as print -new: by -assuming transactions are always added to the input files in increasing -date order, and by saving '.latest.FILE' state files. - - The -dry-run output is in journal format, so you can filter it, eg to -see only uncategorised transactions: - -$ hledger import --dry ... | hledger -f- print unknown --ignore-assertions - -* Menu: - -* Importing balance assignments:: -* Commodity display styles:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Importing balance assignments, Next: Commodity display styles, Up: import - -46.1 Importing balance assignments -================================== - -Entries added by import will have their posting amounts made explicit -(like 'hledger print -x'). This means that any balance assignments in -imported files must be evaluated; but, imported files don't get to see -the main file's account balances. As a result, importing entries with -balance assignments (eg from an institution that provides only balances -and not posting amounts) will probably generate incorrect posting -amounts. To avoid this problem, use print instead of import: - -$ hledger print IMPORTFILE [--new] >> $LEDGER_FILE - - (If you think import should leave amounts implicit like print does, -please test it and send a pull request.) - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Commodity display styles, Prev: Importing balance assignments, Up: import - -46.2 Commodity display styles -============================= - -Imported amounts will be formatted according to the canonical commodity -styles (declared or inferred) in the main journal file. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: incomestatement, Next: notes, Prev: import, Up: Top - -47 incomestatement -****************** - -incomestatement, is - - This command displays an income statement, showing revenues and -expenses during one or more periods. Amounts are shown with normal -positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. - - The revenue and expense accounts shown are those accounts declared -with the 'Revenue' or 'Expense' type, or otherwise all accounts under a -top-level 'revenue' or 'income' or 'expense' account (case insensitive, -plurals allowed). - - Example: - -$ hledger incomestatement -Income Statement - -Revenues: - $-2 income - $-1 gifts - $-1 salary --------------------- - $-2 - -Expenses: - $2 expenses - $1 food - $1 supplies --------------------- - $2 - -Total: --------------------- - 0 - - With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for -each report period. Normally incomestatement shows revenues/expenses -per period, though as with multicolumn balance reports you can alter the -report mode with '--change'/'--cumulative'/'--historical'. Instead of -absolute values percentages can be displayed with '-%'. - - This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', 'html', and -(experimental) 'json'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: notes, Next: payees, Prev: incomestatement, Up: Top - -48 notes -******** - -notes -List the unique notes that appear in transactions. - - This command lists the unique notes that appear in transactions, in -alphabetic order. You can add a query to select a subset of -transactions. The note is the part of the transaction description after -a | character (or if there is no |, the whole description). - - Example: - -$ hledger notes -Petrol -Snacks - - -File: hledger.info, Node: payees, Next: prices, Prev: notes, Up: Top - -49 payees -********* - -payees -List the unique payee/payer names that appear in transactions. - - This command lists the unique payee/payer names that appear in -transactions, in alphabetic order. You can add a query to select a -subset of transactions. The payee/payer is the part of the transaction -description before a | character (or if there is no |, the whole -description). - - Example: - -$ hledger payees -Store Name -Gas Station -Person A - - -File: hledger.info, Node: prices, Next: print, Prev: payees, Up: Top - -50 prices -********* - -prices -Print market price directives from the journal. With -costs, also print -synthetic market prices based on transaction prices. With --inverted-costs, also print inverse prices based on transaction prices. -Prices (and postings providing prices) can be filtered by a query. -Price amounts are always displayed with their full precision. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: print, Next: print-unique, Prev: prices, Up: Top - -51 print -******** - -print, txns, p -Show transaction journal entries, sorted by date. - - The print command displays full journal entries (transactions) from -the journal file in date order, tidily formatted. With -date2, -transactions are sorted by secondary date instead. - - print's output is always a valid hledger journal. -It preserves all transaction information, but it does not preserve -directives or inter-transaction comments - -$ hledger print -2008/01/01 income - assets:bank:checking $1 - income:salary $-1 - -2008/06/01 gift - assets:bank:checking $1 - income:gifts $-1 - -2008/06/02 save - assets:bank:saving $1 - assets:bank:checking $-1 - -2008/06/03 * eat & shop - expenses:food $1 - expenses:supplies $1 - assets:cash $-2 - -2008/12/31 * pay off - liabilities:debts $1 - assets:bank:checking $-1 - - Normally, the journal entry's explicit or implicit amount style is -preserved. For example, when an amount is omitted in the journal, it -will not appear in the output. Similarly, when a transaction price is -implied but not written, it will not appear in the output. You can use -the '-x'/'--explicit' flag to make all amounts and transaction prices -explicit, which can be useful for troubleshooting or for making your -journal more readable and robust against data entry errors. '-x' is -also implied by using any of '-B','-V','-X','--value'. - - Note, '-x'/'--explicit' will cause postings with a multi-commodity -amount (these can arise when a multi-commodity transaction has an -implicit amount) to be split into multiple single-commodity postings, -keeping the output parseable. - - With '-B'/'--cost', amounts with transaction prices are converted to -cost using that price. This can be used for troubleshooting. - - With '-m'/'--match' and a STR argument, print will show at most one -transaction: the one one whose description is most similar to STR, and -is most recent. STR should contain at least two characters. If there -is no similar-enough match, no transaction will be shown. - - With '--new', for each FILE being read, hledger reads (and writes) a -special state file ('.latest.FILE' in the same directory), containing -the latest transaction date(s) that were seen last time FILE was read. -When this file is found, only transactions with newer dates (and new -transactions on the latest date) are printed. This is useful for -ignoring already-seen entries in import data, such as downloaded CSV -files. Eg: - -$ hledger -f bank1.csv print --new -(shows transactions added since last print --new on this file) - - This assumes that transactions added to FILE always have same or -increasing dates, and that transactions on the same day do not get -reordered. See also the import command. - - This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', and -(experimental) 'json' and 'sql'. - - Here's an example of print's CSV output: - -$ hledger print -Ocsv -"txnidx","date","date2","status","code","description","comment","account","amount","commodity","credit","debit","posting-status","posting-comment" -"1","2008/01/01","","","","income","","assets:bank:checking","1","$","","1","","" -"1","2008/01/01","","","","income","","income:salary","-1","$","1","","","" -"2","2008/06/01","","","","gift","","assets:bank:checking","1","$","","1","","" -"2","2008/06/01","","","","gift","","income:gifts","-1","$","1","","","" -"3","2008/06/02","","","","save","","assets:bank:saving","1","$","","1","","" -"3","2008/06/02","","","","save","","assets:bank:checking","-1","$","1","","","" -"4","2008/06/03","","*","","eat & shop","","expenses:food","1","$","","1","","" -"4","2008/06/03","","*","","eat & shop","","expenses:supplies","1","$","","1","","" -"4","2008/06/03","","*","","eat & shop","","assets:cash","-2","$","2","","","" -"5","2008/12/31","","*","","pay off","","liabilities:debts","1","$","","1","","" -"5","2008/12/31","","*","","pay off","","assets:bank:checking","-1","$","1","","","" - - * There is one CSV record per posting, with the parent transaction's - fields repeated. - * The "txnidx" (transaction index) field shows which postings belong - to the same transaction. (This number might change if transactions - are reordered within the file, files are parsed/included in a - different order, etc.) - * The amount is separated into "commodity" (the symbol) and "amount" - (numeric quantity) fields. - * The numeric amount is repeated in either the "credit" or "debit" - column, for convenience. (Those names are not accurate in the - accounting sense; it just puts negative amounts under credit and - zero or greater amounts under debit.) - - -File: hledger.info, Node: print-unique, Next: register, Prev: print, Up: Top - -52 print-unique -*************** - -print-unique -Print transactions which do not reuse an already-seen description. - - Example: - -$ cat unique.journal -1/1 test - (acct:one) 1 -2/2 test - (acct:two) 2 -$ LEDGER_FILE=unique.journal hledger print-unique -(-f option not supported) -2015/01/01 test - (acct:one) 1 - - -File: hledger.info, Node: register, Next: register-match, Prev: print-unique, Up: Top - -53 register -*********** - -register, reg, r -Show postings and their running total. - - The register command displays matched postings, across all accounts, -in date order, with their running total or running historical balance. -(See also the 'aregister' command, which shows matched transactions in a -specific account.) - - register normally shows line per posting, but note that -multi-commodity amounts will occupy multiple lines (one line per -commodity). - - It is typically used with a query selecting a particular account, to -see that account's activity: - -$ hledger register checking -2008/01/01 income assets:bank:checking $1 $1 -2008/06/01 gift assets:bank:checking $1 $2 -2008/06/02 save assets:bank:checking $-1 $1 -2008/12/31 pay off assets:bank:checking $-1 0 - - With -date2, it shows and sorts by secondary date instead. - - The '--historical'/'-H' flag adds the balance from any undisplayed -prior postings to the running total. This is useful when you want to -see only recent activity, with a historically accurate running balance: - -$ hledger register checking -b 2008/6 --historical -2008/06/01 gift assets:bank:checking $1 $2 -2008/06/02 save assets:bank:checking $-1 $1 -2008/12/31 pay off assets:bank:checking $-1 0 - - The '--depth' option limits the amount of sub-account detail -displayed. - - The '--average'/'-A' flag shows the running average posting amount -instead of the running total (so, the final number displayed is the -average for the whole report period). This flag implies '--empty' (see -below). It is affected by '--historical'. It works best when showing -just one account and one commodity. - - The '--related'/'-r' flag shows the _other_ postings in the -transactions of the postings which would normally be shown. - - The '--invert' flag negates all amounts. For example, it can be used -on an income account where amounts are normally displayed as negative -numbers. It's also useful to show postings on the checking account -together with the related account: - -$ hledger register --related --invert assets:checking - - With a reporting interval, register shows summary postings, one per -interval, aggregating the postings to each account: - -$ hledger register --monthly income -2008/01 income:salary $-1 $-1 -2008/06 income:gifts $-1 $-2 - - Periods with no activity, and summary postings with a zero amount, -are not shown by default; use the '--empty'/'-E' flag to see them: - -$ hledger register --monthly income -E -2008/01 income:salary $-1 $-1 -2008/02 0 $-1 -2008/03 0 $-1 -2008/04 0 $-1 -2008/05 0 $-1 -2008/06 income:gifts $-1 $-2 -2008/07 0 $-2 -2008/08 0 $-2 -2008/09 0 $-2 -2008/10 0 $-2 -2008/11 0 $-2 -2008/12 0 $-2 - - Often, you'll want to see just one line per interval. The '--depth' -option helps with this, causing subaccounts to be aggregated: - -$ hledger register --monthly assets --depth 1h -2008/01 assets $1 $1 -2008/06 assets $-1 0 -2008/12 assets $-1 $-1 - - Note when using report intervals, if you specify start/end dates -these will be adjusted outward if necessary to contain a whole number of -intervals. This ensures that the first and last intervals are full -length and comparable to the others in the report. - -* Menu: - -* Custom register output:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Custom register output, Up: register - -53.1 Custom register output -=========================== - -register uses the full terminal width by default, except on windows. -You can override this by setting the 'COLUMNS' environment variable (not -a bash shell variable) or by using the '--width'/'-w' option. - - The description and account columns normally share the space equally -(about half of (width - 40) each). You can adjust this by adding a -description width as part of -width's argument, comma-separated: -'--width W,D' . Here's a diagram (won't display correctly in -help): - -<--------------------------------- width (W) ----------------------------------> -date (10) description (D) account (W-41-D) amount (12) balance (12) -DDDDDDDDDD dddddddddddddddddddd aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa AAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAA - - and some examples: - -$ hledger reg # use terminal width (or 80 on windows) -$ hledger reg -w 100 # use width 100 -$ COLUMNS=100 hledger reg # set with one-time environment variable -$ export COLUMNS=100; hledger reg # set till session end (or window resize) -$ hledger reg -w 100,40 # set overall width 100, description width 40 -$ hledger reg -w $COLUMNS,40 # use terminal width, & description width 40 - - This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', and -(experimental) 'json'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: register-match, Next: rewrite, Prev: register, Up: Top - -54 register-match -***************** - -register-match -Print the one posting whose transaction description is closest to DESC, -in the style of the register command. If there are multiple equally -good matches, it shows the most recent. Query options (options, not -arguments) can be used to restrict the search space. Helps -ledger-autosync detect already-seen transactions when importing. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: rewrite, Next: roi, Prev: register-match, Up: Top - -55 rewrite -********** - -rewrite -Print all transactions, rewriting the postings of matched transactions. -For now the only rewrite available is adding new postings, like print --auto. - - This is a start at a generic rewriter of transaction entries. It -reads the default journal and prints the transactions, like print, but -adds one or more specified postings to any transactions matching QUERY. -The posting amounts can be fixed, or a multiplier of the existing -transaction's first posting amount. - - Examples: - -$ hledger-rewrite.hs ^income --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33 ; income tax' --add-posting '(reserve:gifts) $100' -$ hledger-rewrite.hs expenses:gifts --add-posting '(reserve:gifts) *-1"' -$ hledger-rewrite.hs -f rewrites.hledger - - rewrites.hledger may consist of entries like: - -= ^income amt:<0 date:2017 - (liabilities:tax) *0.33 ; tax on income - (reserve:grocery) *0.25 ; reserve 25% for grocery - (reserve:) *0.25 ; reserve 25% for grocery - - Note the single quotes to protect the dollar sign from bash, and the -two spaces between account and amount. - - More: - -$ hledger rewrite -- [QUERY] --add-posting "ACCT AMTEXPR" ... -$ hledger rewrite -- ^income --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' -$ hledger rewrite -- expenses:gifts --add-posting '(budget:gifts) *-1"' -$ hledger rewrite -- ^income --add-posting '(budget:foreign currency) *0.25 JPY; diversify' - - Argument for '--add-posting' option is a usual posting of transaction -with an exception for amount specification. More precisely, you can use -''*'' (star symbol) before the amount to indicate that that this is a -factor for an amount of original matched posting. If the amount -includes a commodity name, the new posting amount will be in the new -commodity; otherwise, it will be in the matched posting amount's -commodity. - -* Menu: - -* Re-write rules in a file:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Re-write rules in a file, Up: rewrite - -55.1 Re-write rules in a file -============================= - -During the run this tool will execute so called "Automated Transactions" -found in any journal it process. I.e instead of specifying this -operations in command line you can put them in a journal file. - -$ rewrite-rules.journal - - Make contents look like this: - -= ^income - (liabilities:tax) *.33 - -= expenses:gifts - budget:gifts *-1 - assets:budget *1 - - Note that ''='' (equality symbol) that is used instead of date in -transactions you usually write. It indicates the query by which you -want to match the posting to add new ones. - -$ hledger rewrite -- -f input.journal -f rewrite-rules.journal > rewritten-tidy-output.journal - - This is something similar to the commands pipeline: - -$ hledger rewrite -- -f input.journal '^income' --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' \ - | hledger rewrite -- -f - expenses:gifts --add-posting 'budget:gifts *-1' \ - --add-posting 'assets:budget *1' \ - > rewritten-tidy-output.journal - - It is important to understand that relative order of such entries in -journal is important. You can re-use result of previously added -postings. - -* Menu: - -* Diff output format:: -* rewrite vs print --auto:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Diff output format, Next: rewrite vs print --auto, Up: Re-write rules in a file - -55.1.1 Diff output format -------------------------- - -To use this tool for batch modification of your journal files you may -find useful output in form of unified diff. - -$ hledger rewrite -- --diff -f examples/sample.journal '^income' --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' - - Output might look like: - ---- /tmp/examples/sample.journal -+++ /tmp/examples/sample.journal -@@ -18,3 +18,4 @@ - 2008/01/01 income -- assets:bank:checking $1 -+ assets:bank:checking $1 - income:salary -+ (liabilities:tax) 0 -@@ -22,3 +23,4 @@ - 2008/06/01 gift -- assets:bank:checking $1 -+ assets:bank:checking $1 - income:gifts -+ (liabilities:tax) 0 - - If you'll pass this through 'patch' tool you'll get transactions -containing the posting that matches your query be updated. Note that -multiple files might be update according to list of input files -specified via '--file' options and 'include' directives inside of these -files. - - Be careful. Whole transaction being re-formatted in a style of -output from 'hledger print'. - - See also: - - https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/issues/99 - - -File: hledger.info, Node: rewrite vs print --auto, Prev: Diff output format, Up: Re-write rules in a file - -55.1.2 rewrite vs. print -auto ------------------------------- - -This command predates print -auto, and currently does much the same -thing, but with these differences: - - * with multiple files, rewrite lets rules in any file affect all - other files. print -auto uses standard directive scoping; rules - affect only child files. - - * rewrite's query limits which transactions can be rewritten; all are - printed. print -auto's query limits which transactions are - printed. - - * rewrite applies rules specified on command line or in the journal. - print -auto applies rules specified in the journal. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: roi, Next: stats, Prev: rewrite, Up: Top - -56 roi -****** - -roi -Shows the time-weighted (TWR) and money-weighted (IRR) rate of return on -your investments. - - This command assumes that you have account(s) that hold nothing but -your investments and whenever you record current appraisal/valuation of -these investments you offset unrealized profit and loss into account(s) -that, again, hold nothing but unrealized profit and loss. - - Any transactions affecting balance of investment account(s) and not -originating from unrealized profit and loss account(s) are assumed to be -your investments or withdrawals. - - At a minimum, you need to supply a query (which could be just an -account name) to select your investments with '--inv', and another query -to identify your profit and loss transactions with '--pnl'. - - This command will compute and display the internalized rate of return -(IRR) and time-weighted rate of return (TWR) for your investments for -the time period requested. Both rates of return are annualized before -display, regardless of the length of reporting interval. - - Note, in some cases this report can fail, for these reasons: - - * Error (NotBracketed): No solution for Internal Rate of Return - (IRR). Possible causes: IRR is huge (>1000000%), balance of - investment becomes negative at some point in time. - * Error (SearchFailed): Failed to find solution for Internal Rate of - Return (IRR). Either search does not converge to a solution, or - converges too slowly. - - Examples: - - * Using roi to report unrealised gains: - https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/blob/master/examples/roi-unrealised.ledger - - More background: - - "ROI" stands for "return on investment". Traditionally this was -computed as a difference between current value of investment and its -initial value, expressed in percentage of the initial value. - - However, this approach is only practical in simple cases, where -investments receives no in-flows or out-flows of money, and where rate -of growth is fixed over time. For more complex scenarios you need -different ways to compute rate of return, and this command implements -two of them: IRR and TWR. - - Internal rate of return, or "IRR" (also called "money-weighted rate -of return") takes into account effects of in-flows and out-flows. -Naively, if you are withdrawing from your investment, your future gains -would be smaller (in absolute numbers), and will be a smaller percentage -of your initial investment, and if you are adding to your investment, -you will receive bigger absolute gains (but probably at the same rate of -return). IRR is a way to compute rate of return for each period between -in-flow or out-flow of money, and then combine them in a way that gives -you an annual rate of return that investment is expected to generate. - - As mentioned before, in-flows and out-flows would be any cash that -you personally put in or withdraw, and for the "roi" command, these are -transactions that involve account(s) matching '--inv' argument and NOT -involve account(s) matching '--pnl' argument. - - Presumably, you will also record changes in the value of your -investment, and balance them against "profit and loss" (or "unrealized -gains") account. Note that in order for IRR to compute the precise -effect of your in-flows and out-flows on the rate of return, you will -need to record the value of your investement on or close to the days -when in- or out-flows occur. - - Implementation of IRR in hledger should match the 'XIRR' formula in -Excel. - - Second way to compute rate of return that 'roi' command implements is -called "time-weighted rate of return" or "TWR". Like IRR, it will also -break the history of your investment into periods between in-flows and -out-flows to compute rate of return per each period and then a compound -rate of return. However, internal workings of TWR are quite different. - - In technical terms, IRR uses the same approach as computation of net -present value, and tries to find a discount rate that makes net present -value of all the cash flows of your investment to add up to zero. This -could be hard to wrap your head around, especially if you haven't done -discounted cash flow analysis before. - - TWR represents your investment as an imaginary "unit fund" where -in-flows/ out-flows lead to buying or selling "units" of your investment -and changes in its value change the value of "investment unit". Change -in "unit price" over the reporting period gives you rate of return of -your investment. - - References: * Explanation of rate of return * Explanation of IRR * -Explanation of TWR * Examples of computing IRR and TWR and discussion of -the limitations of both metrics - - More examples: - - Lets say that we found an investment in Snake Oil that is proising to -give us 10% annually: - -2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil - assets:cash -$100 - investment:snake oil - -2019-12-24 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil = $110 - equity:unrealized gains - - For now, basic computation of the rate of return, as well as IRR and -TWR, gives us the expected 10%: - -$ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+--------+ -| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | -+===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++========+========+ -| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 110 | 10 || 10.00% | 10.00% | -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+--------+ - - However, lets say that shorty after investing in the Snake Oil we -started to have second thoughs, so we prompty withdrew $90, leaving only -$10 in. Before Christmas, though, we started to get the "fear of -mission out", so we put the $90 back in. So for most of the year, our -investment was just $10 dollars, and it gave us just $1 in growth: - -2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil - assets:cash -$100 - investment:snake oil - -2019-01-02 Buyers remorse - assets:cash $90 - investment:snake oil - -2019-12-30 Fear of missing out - assets:cash -$90 - investment:snake oil - -2019-12-31 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil = $101 - equity:unrealized gains - - Now IRR and TWR are drastically different: - -$ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++-------+-------+ -| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | -+===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++=======+=======+ -| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 101 | 1 || 9.32% | 1.00% | -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++-------+-------+ - - Here, IRR tells us that we made close to 10% on the $10 dollars that -we had in the account most of the time. And TWR is ... just 1%? Why? - - Based on the transactions in our journal, TWR "think" that we are -buying back $90 worst of Snake Oil at the same price that it had at the -beginning of they year, and then after that our $100 investment gets $1 -increase in value, or 1% of $100. Let's take a closer look at what is -happening here by asking for quarterly reports instead of annual: - -$ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+-------+ -| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | -+===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++========+=======+ -| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | -| 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | -| 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | -| 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10 | 90 | 101 | 1 || 37.80% | 4.03% | -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+-------+ - - Now both IRR and TWR are thrown off by the fact that all of the -growth for our investment happens in Q4 2019. This happes because IRR -computation is still yielding 9.32% and TWR is still 1%, but this time -these are rates for three month period instead of twelve, so in order to -get an annual rate they should be multiplied by four! - - Let's try to keep a better record of how Snake Oil grew in value: - -2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil - assets:cash -$100 - investment:snake oil - -2019-01-02 Buyers remorse - assets:cash $90 - investment:snake oil - -2019-02-28 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil - equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 - -2019-06-30 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil - equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 - -2019-09-30 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil - equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 - -2019-12-30 Fear of missing out - assets:cash -$90 - investment:snake oil - -2019-12-31 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil - equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 - - Would our quartery report look better now? Almost: - -$ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ -| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | -+===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++========+========+ -| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10.25 | 0.25 || 9.53% | 10.53% | -| 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10.25 | 0 | 10.50 | 0.25 || 10.15% | 10.15% | -| 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10.50 | 0 | 10.75 | 0.25 || 9.79% | 9.78% | -| 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10.75 | 90 | 101.00 | 0.25 || 8.05% | 1.00% | -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ - - Something is still wrong with TWR computation for Q4, and if you have -been paying attention you know what it is already: big $90 buy-back is -recorded prior to the only transaction that captures the change of value -of Snake Oil that happened in this time period. Lets combine -transactions from 30th and 31st of Dec into one: - -2019-12-30 Fear of missing out and growth of Snake Oil - assets:cash -$90 - investment:snake oil - equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 - - Now growth of investment properly affects its price at the time of -buy-back: - -$ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ -| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | -+===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++========+========+ -| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10.25 | 0.25 || 9.53% | 10.53% | -| 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10.25 | 0 | 10.50 | 0.25 || 10.15% | 10.15% | -| 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10.50 | 0 | 10.75 | 0.25 || 9.79% | 9.78% | -| 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10.75 | 90 | 101.00 | 0.25 || 8.05% | 9.57% | -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ - - And for annual report, TWR now reports the exact profitability of our -investment: - -$ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++-------+--------+ -| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | -+===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++=======+========+ -| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 101.00 | 1.00 || 9.32% | 10.00% | -+---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++-------+--------+ - - -File: hledger.info, Node: stats, Next: tags, Prev: roi, Up: Top - -57 stats -******** - -stats -Show some journal statistics. - - The stats command displays summary information for the whole journal, -or a matched part of it. With a reporting interval, it shows a report -for each report period. - - Example: - -$ hledger stats -Main journal file : /src/hledger/examples/sample.journal -Included journal files : -Transactions span : 2008-01-01 to 2009-01-01 (366 days) -Last transaction : 2008-12-31 (2333 days ago) -Transactions : 5 (0.0 per day) -Transactions last 30 days: 0 (0.0 per day) -Transactions last 7 days : 0 (0.0 per day) -Payees/descriptions : 5 -Accounts : 8 (depth 3) -Commodities : 1 ($) -Market prices : 12 ($) - - This command also supports output destination and output format -selection. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: tags, Next: test, Prev: stats, Up: Top - -58 tags -******* - -tags -List the unique tag names used in the journal. With a TAGREGEX -argument, only tag names matching the regular expression (case -insensitive) are shown. With QUERY arguments, only transactions -matching the query are considered. - - With the -values flag, the tags' unique values are listed instead. - - With -parsed flag, all tags or values are shown in the order they are -parsed from the input data, including duplicates. - - With -E/-empty, any blank/empty values will also be shown, otherwise -they are omitted. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: test, Next: Add-on commands, Prev: tags, Up: Top - -59 test -******* - -test -Run built-in unit tests. - - This command runs the unit tests built in to hledger and hledger-lib, -printing the results on stdout. If any test fails, the exit code will -be non-zero. - - This is mainly used by hledger developers, but you can also use it to -sanity-check the installed hledger executable on your platform. All -tests are expected to pass - if you ever see a failure, please report as -a bug! - - This command also accepts tasty test runner options, written after a -- (double hyphen). Eg to run only the tests in Hledger.Data.Amount, -with ANSI colour codes disabled: - -$ hledger test -- -pData.Amount --color=never - - For help on these, see https://github.com/feuerbach/tasty#options -('-- --help' currently doesn't show them). - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Add-on commands, Next: ENVIRONMENT, Prev: test, Up: Top - -60 Add-on commands -****************** - -hledger also searches for external add-on commands, and will include -these in the commands list. These are programs or scripts in your PATH -whose name starts with 'hledger-' and ends with a recognised file -extension (currently: no extension, 'bat','com','exe', -'hs','lhs','pl','py','rb','rkt','sh'). - - Add-ons can be invoked like any hledger command, but there are a few -things to be aware of. Eg if the 'hledger-web' add-on is installed, - - * 'hledger -h web' shows hledger's help, while 'hledger web -h' shows - hledger-web's help. - - * Flags specific to the add-on must have a preceding '--' to hide - them from hledger. So 'hledger web --serve --port 9000' will be - rejected; you must use 'hledger web -- --serve --port 9000'. - - * You can always run add-ons directly if preferred: 'hledger-web - --serve --port 9000'. - - Add-ons are a relatively easy way to add local features or experiment -with new ideas. They can be written in any language, but haskell -scripts have a big advantage: they can use the same hledger (and -haskell) library functions that built-in commands do, for command-line -options, journal parsing, reporting, etc. - - Two important add-ons are the hledger-ui and hledger-web user -interfaces. These are maintained and released along with hledger: - -* Menu: - -* ui:: -* web:: -* iadd:: -* interest:: -* stockquotes:: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: ui, Next: web, Up: Add-on commands - -60.1 ui -======= - -hledger-ui provides an efficient terminal interface. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: web, Next: iadd, Prev: ui, Up: Add-on commands - -60.2 web -======== - -hledger-web provides a simple web interface. - - Third party add-ons, maintained separately from hledger, include: - - -File: hledger.info, Node: iadd, Next: interest, Prev: web, Up: Add-on commands - -60.3 iadd -========= - -hledger-iadd is a more interactive, terminal UI replacement for the add -command. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: interest, Next: stockquotes, Prev: iadd, Up: Add-on commands - -60.4 interest -============= - -hledger-interest generates interest transactions for an account -according to various schemes. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: stockquotes, Prev: interest, Up: Add-on commands - -60.5 stockquotes -================ - -hledger-stockquotes downloads market prices for the commodities in your -journal from AlphaVantage. - - A few more experimental or old add-ons can be found in hledger's bin/ -directory. These are typically prototypes and not guaranteed to work. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: ENVIRONMENT, Next: FILES, Prev: Add-on commands, Up: Top - -61 ENVIRONMENT -************** - -*LEDGER_FILE* The journal file path when not specified with '-f'. -Default: '~/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps -'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). - - A typical value is '~/DIR/YYYY.journal', where DIR is a -version-controlled finance directory and YYYY is the current year. Or -'~/DIR/current.journal', where current.journal is a symbolic link to -YYYY.journal. - - On Mac computers, you can set this and other environment variables in -a more thorough way that also affects applications started from the GUI -(say, an Emacs dock icon). Eg on MacOS Catalina I have a -'~/.MacOSX/environment.plist' file containing - -{ - "LEDGER_FILE" : "~/finance/current.journal" -} - - To see the effect you may need to 'killall Dock', or reboot. - - *COLUMNS* The screen width used by the register command. Default: -the full terminal width. - - *NO_COLOR* If this variable exists with any value, hledger will not -use ANSI color codes in terminal output. This overrides the --color/-colour option. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: FILES, Next: LIMITATIONS, Prev: ENVIRONMENT, Up: Top - -62 FILES -******** - -Reads data from one or more files in hledger journal, timeclock, -timedot, or CSV format specified with '-f', or '$LEDGER_FILE', or -'$HOME/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps -'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). - - -File: hledger.info, Node: LIMITATIONS, Next: TROUBLESHOOTING, Prev: FILES, Up: Top - -63 LIMITATIONS -************** - -The need to precede add-on command options with '--' when invoked from -hledger is awkward. - - When input data contains non-ascii characters, a suitable system -locale must be configured (or there will be an unhelpful error). Eg on -POSIX, set LANG to something other than C. - - In a Microsoft Windows CMD window, non-ascii characters and colours -are not supported. - - On Windows, non-ascii characters may not display correctly when -running a hledger built in CMD in MSYS/CYGWIN, or vice-versa. - - In a Cygwin/MSYS/Mintty window, the tab key is not supported in -hledger add. - - Not all of Ledger's journal file syntax is supported. See file -format differences. - - On large data files, hledger is slower and uses more memory than -Ledger. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: TROUBLESHOOTING, Prev: LIMITATIONS, Up: Top - -64 TROUBLESHOOTING -****************** - -Here are some issues you might encounter when you run hledger (and -remember you can also seek help from the IRC channel, mail list or bug -tracker): - - *Successfully installed, but "No command 'hledger' found"* -stack and cabal install binaries into a special directory, which should -be added to your PATH environment variable. Eg on unix-like systems, -that is ~/.local/bin and ~/.cabal/bin respectively. - - *I set a custom LEDGER_FILE, but hledger is still using the default -file* -'LEDGER_FILE' should be a real environment variable, not just a shell -variable. The command 'env | grep LEDGER_FILE' should show it. You may -need to use 'export'. Here's an explanation. - - *Getting errors like "Illegal byte sequence" or "Invalid or -incomplete multibyte or wide character" or "commitAndReleaseBuffer: -invalid argument (invalid character)"* -Programs compiled with GHC (hledger, haskell build tools, etc.) need to -have a UTF-8-aware locale configured in the environment, otherwise they -will fail with these kinds of errors when they encounter non-ascii -characters. - - To fix it, set the LANG environment variable to some locale which -supports UTF-8. The locale you choose must be installed on your system. - - Here's an example of setting LANG temporarily, on Ubuntu GNU/Linux: - -$ file my.journal -my.journal: UTF-8 Unicode text # the file is UTF8-encoded -$ echo $LANG -C # LANG is set to the default locale, which does not support UTF8 -$ locale -a # which locales are installed ? -C -en_US.utf8 # here's a UTF8-aware one we can use -POSIX -$ LANG=en_US.utf8 hledger -f my.journal print # ensure it is used for this command - - If available, 'C.UTF-8' will also work. If your preferred locale -isn't listed by 'locale -a', you might need to install it. Eg on -Ubuntu/Debian: - -$ apt-get install language-pack-fr -$ locale -a -C -en_US.utf8 -fr_BE.utf8 -fr_CA.utf8 -fr_CH.utf8 -fr_FR.utf8 -fr_LU.utf8 -POSIX -$ LANG=fr_FR.utf8 hledger -f my.journal print - - Here's how you could set it permanently, if you use a bash shell: - -$ echo "export LANG=en_US.utf8" >>~/.bash_profile -$ bash --login - - Exact spelling and capitalisation may be important. Note the -difference on MacOS ('UTF-8', not 'utf8'). Some platforms (eg ubuntu) -allow variant spellings, but others (eg macos) require it to be exact: - -$ locale -a | grep -iE en_us.*utf -en_US.UTF-8 -$ LANG=en_US.UTF-8 hledger -f my.journal print - - -Tag Table: -Node: Top68 -Node: COMMON TASKS3279 -Ref: #common-tasks3396 -Node: Getting help3603 -Ref: #getting-help3743 -Node: Constructing command lines4296 -Ref: #constructing-command-lines4475 -Node: Starting a journal file5172 -Ref: #starting-a-journal-file5357 -Node: Setting opening balances6545 -Ref: #setting-opening-balances6728 -Node: Recording transactions9869 -Ref: #recording-transactions10036 -Node: Reconciling10592 -Ref: #reconciling10722 -Node: Reporting12979 -Ref: #reporting13106 -Node: Migrating to a new file17105 -Ref: #migrating-to-a-new-file17256 -Node: OPTIONS17555 -Ref: #options17682 -Node: General options17682 -Ref: #general-options17817 -Node: Command options21218 -Ref: #command-options21363 -Node: Command arguments21763 -Ref: #command-arguments21904 -Node: Queries22784 -Ref: #queries22933 -Node: Special characters in arguments and queries26895 -Ref: #special-characters-in-arguments-and-queries27117 -Node: More escaping27568 -Ref: #more-escaping27728 -Node: Even more escaping28024 -Ref: #even-more-escaping28216 -Node: Less escaping28890 -Ref: #less-escaping29050 -Node: Unicode characters29295 -Ref: #unicode-characters29471 -Node: Input files30883 -Ref: #input-files31013 -Node: Strict mode33312 -Ref: #strict-mode33442 -Node: Output destination34090 -Ref: #output-destination34236 -Node: Output format34661 -Ref: #output-format34805 -Node: Regular expressions36972 -Ref: #regular-expressions37121 -Node: Smart dates38857 -Ref: #smart-dates39000 -Node: Report start & end date40361 -Ref: #report-start-end-date40525 -Node: Report intervals42022 -Ref: #report-intervals42179 -Node: Period expressions42569 -Ref: #period-expressions42721 -Node: Depth limiting47094 -Ref: #depth-limiting47230 -Node: Pivoting47562 -Ref: #pivoting47677 -Node: Valuation49353 -Ref: #valuation49464 -Node: -B Cost50153 -Ref: #b-cost50253 -Node: -V Value50386 -Ref: #v-value50528 -Node: -X Value in specified commodity50723 -Ref: #x-value-in-specified-commodity50918 -Node: Valuation date51067 -Ref: #valuation-date51231 -Node: Market prices51653 -Ref: #market-prices51829 -Node: --infer-value market prices from transactions52771 -Ref: #infer-value-market-prices-from-transactions53016 -Node: Valuation commodity54298 -Ref: #valuation-commodity54503 -Node: Simple valuation examples55729 -Ref: #simple-valuation-examples55927 -Node: --value Flexible valuation56586 -Ref: #value-flexible-valuation56790 -Node: More valuation examples58737 -Ref: #more-valuation-examples58942 -Node: Effect of valuation on reports60947 -Ref: #effect-of-valuation-on-reports61131 -Node: COMMANDS68150 -Ref: #commands68259 -Node: accounts68941 -Ref: #accounts69049 -Node: activity69748 -Ref: #activity69851 -Node: add70234 -Ref: #add70328 -Node: aregister73121 -Ref: #aregister73226 -Node: aregister and custom posting dates74599 -Ref: #aregister-and-custom-posting-dates74770 -Ref: #output-format-175361 -Node: balance75766 -Ref: #balance75876 -Node: Classic balance report77356 -Ref: #classic-balance-report77527 -Node: Customising the classic balance report78851 -Ref: #customising-the-classic-balance-report79077 -Node: Colour support81153 -Ref: #colour-support81318 -Node: Flat mode81414 -Ref: #flat-mode81560 -Node: Depth limited balance reports81973 -Ref: #depth-limited-balance-reports82156 -Node: Percentages82612 -Ref: #percentages82767 -Node: Sorting by amount83904 -Ref: #sorting-by-amount84068 -Node: Multicolumn balance report84562 -Ref: #multicolumn-balance-report84746 -Node: Budget report90343 -Ref: #budget-report90484 -Node: Budget report start date95773 -Ref: #budget-report-start-date95936 -Node: Nested budgets97268 -Ref: #nested-budgets97411 -Ref: #output-format-2100892 -Node: balancesheet101053 -Ref: #balancesheet101182 -Node: balancesheetequity102694 -Ref: #balancesheetequity102836 -Node: cashflow103912 -Ref: #cashflow104027 -Node: check105243 -Ref: #check105339 -Node: Basic checks105944 -Ref: #basic-checks106058 -Node: Strict checks106551 -Ref: #strict-checks106688 -Node: Other checks106931 -Ref: #other-checks107067 -Node: Add-on checks107365 -Ref: #add-on-checks107481 -Node: close107934 -Ref: #close108027 -Node: close usage109549 -Ref: #close-usage109638 -Node: codes112451 -Ref: #codes112550 -Node: commodities113262 -Ref: #commodities113380 -Node: descriptions113462 -Ref: #descriptions113581 -Node: diff113885 -Ref: #diff113982 -Node: files115029 -Ref: #files115120 -Node: help115267 -Ref: #help115358 -Node: import116439 -Ref: #import116544 -Node: Importing balance assignments117466 -Ref: #importing-balance-assignments117643 -Node: Commodity display styles118292 -Ref: #commodity-display-styles118459 -Node: incomestatement118588 -Ref: #incomestatement118712 -Node: notes120057 -Ref: #notes120161 -Node: payees120529 -Ref: #payees120626 -Node: prices121046 -Ref: #prices121143 -Node: print121484 -Ref: #print121585 -Node: print-unique126381 -Ref: #print-unique126498 -Node: register126783 -Ref: #register126901 -Node: Custom register output131350 -Ref: #custom-register-output131475 -Node: register-match132812 -Ref: #register-match132937 -Node: rewrite133288 -Ref: #rewrite133394 -Node: Re-write rules in a file135249 -Ref: #re-write-rules-in-a-file135379 -Node: Diff output format136589 -Ref: #diff-output-format136754 -Node: rewrite vs print --auto137846 -Ref: #rewrite-vs.-print---auto138021 -Node: roi138577 -Ref: #roi138666 -Node: stats150876 -Ref: #stats150966 -Node: tags151754 -Ref: #tags151843 -Node: test152362 -Ref: #test152461 -Node: Add-on commands153208 -Ref: #add-on-commands153336 -Node: ui154695 -Ref: #ui154779 -Node: web154833 -Ref: #web154932 -Node: iadd155048 -Ref: #iadd155155 -Node: interest155237 -Ref: #interest155360 -Node: stockquotes155455 -Ref: #stockquotes155571 -Node: ENVIRONMENT155816 -Ref: #environment155937 -Node: FILES156922 -Ref: #files-1157027 -Node: LIMITATIONS157240 -Ref: #limitations157361 -Node: TROUBLESHOOTING158104 -Ref: #troubleshooting158219 - -End Tag Table - - -Local Variables: -coding: utf-8 -End: +hledger(1) +********** + +A command-line accounting tool for both power users and folks new to +accounting. + + 'hledger' + + 'hledger [-f FILE] COMMAND [OPTIONS] [ARGS]' + + 'hledger [-f FILE] ADDONCMD -- [OPTIONS] [ARGS]' + + hledger is a reliable, cross-platform set of programs for tracking +money, time, or any other commodity, using double-entry accounting and a +simple, editable file format. hledger is inspired by and largely +compatible with ledger(1). + + This is hledger's command-line interface (there are also terminal and +web interfaces). Its basic function is to read a plain text file +describing financial transactions (in accounting terms, a general +journal) and print useful reports on standard output, or export them as +CSV. hledger can also read some other file formats such as CSV files, +translating them to journal format. Additionally, hledger lists other +hledger-* executables found in the user's $PATH and can invoke them as +subcommands. + + hledger reads data from one or more files in hledger journal, +timeclock, timedot, or CSV format specified with '-f', or +'$LEDGER_FILE', or '$HOME/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps +'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). If using '$LEDGER_FILE', note this +must be a real environment variable, not a shell variable. You can +specify standard input with '-f-'. + + Transactions are dated movements of money between two (or more) named +accounts, and are recorded with journal entries like this: + +2015/10/16 bought food + expenses:food $10 + assets:cash + + For more about this format, see hledger_journal(5). + + Most users use a text editor to edit the journal, usually with an +editor mode such as ledger-mode for added convenience. hledger's +interactive add command is another way to record new transactions. +hledger never changes existing transactions. + + To get started, you can either save some entries like the above in +'~/.hledger.journal', or run 'hledger add' and follow the prompts. Then +try some commands like 'hledger print' or 'hledger balance'. Run +'hledger' with no arguments for a list of commands. + +* Menu: + +* COMMON TASKS:: +* OPTIONS:: +* COMMANDS:: +* ENVIRONMENT:: +* FILES:: +* LIMITATIONS:: +* TROUBLESHOOTING:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: COMMON TASKS, Next: OPTIONS, Prev: Top, Up: Top + +1 COMMON TASKS +************** + +Here are some quick examples of how to do some basic tasks with hledger. +For more details, see the reference section below, the +hledger_journal(5) manual, or the more extensive docs at +https://hledger.org. + +* Menu: + +* Getting help:: +* Constructing command lines:: +* Starting a journal file:: +* Setting opening balances:: +* Recording transactions:: +* Reconciling:: +* Reporting:: +* Migrating to a new file:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Getting help, Next: Constructing command lines, Up: COMMON TASKS + +1.1 Getting help +================ + +$ hledger # show available commands +$ hledger --help # show common options +$ hledger CMD --help # show common and command options, and command help +$ hledger help # show available manuals/topics +$ hledger help hledger # show hledger manual as info/man/text (auto-chosen) +$ hledger help journal --man # show the journal manual as a man page +$ hledger help --help # show more detailed help for the help command + + Find more docs, chat, mail list, reddit, issue tracker: +https://hledger.org#help-feedback + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Constructing command lines, Next: Starting a journal file, Prev: Getting help, Up: COMMON TASKS + +1.2 Constructing command lines +============================== + +hledger has an extensive and powerful command line interface. We strive +to keep it simple and ergonomic, but you may run into one of the +confusing real world details described in OPTIONS, below. If that +happens, here are some tips that may help: + + * command-specific options must go after the command (it's fine to + put all options there) ('hledger CMD OPTS ARGS') + * running add-on executables directly simplifies command line parsing + ('hledger-ui OPTS ARGS') + * enclose "problematic" args in single quotes + * if needed, also add a backslash to hide regular expression + metacharacters from the shell + * to see how a misbehaving command is being parsed, add '--debug=2'. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Starting a journal file, Next: Setting opening balances, Prev: Constructing command lines, Up: COMMON TASKS + +1.3 Starting a journal file +=========================== + +hledger looks for your accounting data in a journal file, +'$HOME/.hledger.journal' by default: + +$ hledger stats +The hledger journal file "/Users/simon/.hledger.journal" was not found. +Please create it first, eg with "hledger add" or a text editor. +Or, specify an existing journal file with -f or LEDGER_FILE. + + You can override this by setting the 'LEDGER_FILE' environment +variable. It's a good practice to keep this important file under +version control, and to start a new file each year. So you could do +something like this: + +$ mkdir ~/finance +$ cd ~/finance +$ git init +Initialized empty Git repository in /Users/simon/finance/.git/ +$ touch 2020.journal +$ echo "export LEDGER_FILE=$HOME/finance/2020.journal" >> ~/.bashrc +$ source ~/.bashrc +$ hledger stats +Main file : /Users/simon/finance/2020.journal +Included files : +Transactions span : to (0 days) +Last transaction : none +Transactions : 0 (0.0 per day) +Transactions last 30 days: 0 (0.0 per day) +Transactions last 7 days : 0 (0.0 per day) +Payees/descriptions : 0 +Accounts : 0 (depth 0) +Commodities : 0 () +Market prices : 0 () + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Setting opening balances, Next: Recording transactions, Prev: Starting a journal file, Up: COMMON TASKS + +1.4 Setting opening balances +============================ + +Pick a starting date for which you can look up the balances of some +real-world assets (bank accounts, wallet..) and liabilities (credit +cards..). + + To avoid a lot of data entry, you may want to start with just one or +two accounts, like your checking account or cash wallet; and pick a +recent starting date, like today or the start of the week. You can +always come back later and add more accounts and older transactions, eg +going back to january 1st. + + Add an opening balances transaction to the journal, declaring the +balances on this date. Here are two ways to do it: + + * The first way: open the journal in any text editor and save an + entry like this: + + 2020-01-01 * opening balances + assets:bank:checking $1000 = $1000 + assets:bank:savings $2000 = $2000 + assets:cash $100 = $100 + liabilities:creditcard $-50 = $-50 + equity:opening/closing balances + + These are start-of-day balances, ie whatever was in the account at + the end of the previous day. + + The * after the date is an optional status flag. Here it means + "cleared & confirmed". + + The currency symbols are optional, but usually a good idea as + you'll be dealing with multiple currencies sooner or later. + + The = amounts are optional balance assertions, providing extra + error checking. + + * The second way: run 'hledger add' and follow the prompts to record + a similar transaction: + + $ hledger add + Adding transactions to journal file /Users/simon/finance/2020.journal + Any command line arguments will be used as defaults. + Use tab key to complete, readline keys to edit, enter to accept defaults. + An optional (CODE) may follow transaction dates. + An optional ; COMMENT may follow descriptions or amounts. + If you make a mistake, enter < at any prompt to go one step backward. + To end a transaction, enter . when prompted. + To quit, enter . at a date prompt or press control-d or control-c. + Date [2020-02-07]: 2020-01-01 + Description: * opening balances + Account 1: assets:bank:checking + Amount 1: $1000 + Account 2: assets:bank:savings + Amount 2 [$-1000]: $2000 + Account 3: assets:cash + Amount 3 [$-3000]: $100 + Account 4: liabilities:creditcard + Amount 4 [$-3100]: $-50 + Account 5: equity:opening/closing balances + Amount 5 [$-3050]: + Account 6 (or . or enter to finish this transaction): . + 2020-01-01 * opening balances + assets:bank:checking $1000 + assets:bank:savings $2000 + assets:cash $100 + liabilities:creditcard $-50 + equity:opening/closing balances $-3050 + + Save this transaction to the journal ? [y]: + Saved. + Starting the next transaction (. or ctrl-D/ctrl-C to quit) + Date [2020-01-01]: . + + If you're using version control, this could be a good time to commit +the journal. Eg: + +$ git commit -m 'initial balances' 2020.journal + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Recording transactions, Next: Reconciling, Prev: Setting opening balances, Up: COMMON TASKS + +1.5 Recording transactions +========================== + +As you spend or receive money, you can record these transactions using +one of the methods above (text editor, hledger add) or by using the +hledger-iadd or hledger-web add-ons, or by using the import command to +convert CSV data downloaded from your bank. + + Here are some simple transactions, see the hledger_journal(5) manual +and hledger.org for more ideas: + +2020/1/10 * gift received + assets:cash $20 + income:gifts + +2020.1.12 * farmers market + expenses:food $13 + assets:cash + +2020-01-15 paycheck + income:salary + assets:bank:checking $1000 + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Reconciling, Next: Reporting, Prev: Recording transactions, Up: COMMON TASKS + +1.6 Reconciling +=============== + +Periodically you should reconcile - compare your hledger-reported +balances against external sources of truth, like bank statements or your +bank's website - to be sure that your ledger accurately represents the +real-world balances (and, that the real-world institutions have not made +a mistake!). This gets easy and fast with (1) practice and (2) +frequency. If you do it daily, it can take 2-10 minutes. If you let it +pile up, expect it to take longer as you hunt down errors and +discrepancies. + + A typical workflow: + + 1. Reconcile cash. Count what's in your wallet. Compare with what + hledger reports ('hledger bal cash'). If they are different, try + to remember the missing transaction, or look for the error in the + already-recorded transactions. A register report can be helpful + ('hledger reg cash'). If you can't find the error, add an + adjustment transaction. Eg if you have $105 after the above, and + can't explain the missing $2, it could be: + + 2020-01-16 * adjust cash + assets:cash $-2 = $105 + expenses:misc + + 2. Reconcile checking. Log in to your bank's website. Compare + today's (cleared) balance with hledger's cleared balance ('hledger + bal checking -C'). If they are different, track down the error or + record the missing transaction(s) or add an adjustment transaction, + similar to the above. Unlike the cash case, you can usually + compare the transaction history and running balance from your bank + with the one reported by 'hledger reg checking -C'. This will be + easier if you generally record transaction dates quite similar to + your bank's clearing dates. + + 3. Repeat for other asset/liability accounts. + + Tip: instead of the register command, use hledger-ui to see a +live-updating register while you edit the journal: 'hledger-ui --watch +--register checking -C' + + After reconciling, it could be a good time to mark the reconciled +transactions' status as "cleared and confirmed", if you want to track +that, by adding the '*' marker. Eg in the paycheck transaction above, +insert '*' between '2020-01-15' and 'paycheck' + + If you're using version control, this can be another good time to +commit: + +$ git commit -m 'txns' 2020.journal + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Reporting, Next: Migrating to a new file, Prev: Reconciling, Up: COMMON TASKS + +1.7 Reporting +============= + +Here are some basic reports. + + Show all transactions: + +$ hledger print +2020-01-01 * opening balances + assets:bank:checking $1000 + assets:bank:savings $2000 + assets:cash $100 + liabilities:creditcard $-50 + equity:opening/closing balances $-3050 + +2020-01-10 * gift received + assets:cash $20 + income:gifts + +2020-01-12 * farmers market + expenses:food $13 + assets:cash + +2020-01-15 * paycheck + income:salary + assets:bank:checking $1000 + +2020-01-16 * adjust cash + assets:cash $-2 = $105 + expenses:misc + + Show account names, and their hierarchy: + +$ hledger accounts --tree +assets + bank + checking + savings + cash +equity + opening/closing balances +expenses + food + misc +income + gifts + salary +liabilities + creditcard + + Show all account totals: + +$ hledger balance + $4105 assets + $4000 bank + $2000 checking + $2000 savings + $105 cash + $-3050 equity:opening/closing balances + $15 expenses + $13 food + $2 misc + $-1020 income + $-20 gifts + $-1000 salary + $-50 liabilities:creditcard +-------------------- + 0 + + Show only asset and liability balances, as a flat list, limited to +depth 2: + +$ hledger bal assets liabilities --flat -2 + $4000 assets:bank + $105 assets:cash + $-50 liabilities:creditcard +-------------------- + $4055 + + Show the same thing without negative numbers, formatted as a simple +balance sheet: + +$ hledger bs --flat -2 +Balance Sheet 2020-01-16 + + || 2020-01-16 +========================++============ + Assets || +------------------------++------------ + assets:bank || $4000 + assets:cash || $105 +------------------------++------------ + || $4105 +========================++============ + Liabilities || +------------------------++------------ + liabilities:creditcard || $50 +------------------------++------------ + || $50 +========================++============ + Net: || $4055 + + The final total is your "net worth" on the end date. (Or use 'bse' +for a full balance sheet with equity.) + + Show income and expense totals, formatted as an income statement: + +hledger is +Income Statement 2020-01-01-2020-01-16 + + || 2020-01-01-2020-01-16 +===============++======================= + Revenues || +---------------++----------------------- + income:gifts || $20 + income:salary || $1000 +---------------++----------------------- + || $1020 +===============++======================= + Expenses || +---------------++----------------------- + expenses:food || $13 + expenses:misc || $2 +---------------++----------------------- + || $15 +===============++======================= + Net: || $1005 + + The final total is your net income during this period. + + Show transactions affecting your wallet, with running total: + +$ hledger register cash +2020-01-01 opening balances assets:cash $100 $100 +2020-01-10 gift received assets:cash $20 $120 +2020-01-12 farmers market assets:cash $-13 $107 +2020-01-16 adjust cash assets:cash $-2 $105 + + Show weekly posting counts as a bar chart: + +$ hledger activity -W +2019-12-30 ***** +2020-01-06 **** +2020-01-13 **** + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Migrating to a new file, Prev: Reporting, Up: COMMON TASKS + +1.8 Migrating to a new file +=========================== + +At the end of the year, you may want to continue your journal in a new +file, so that old transactions don't slow down or clutter your reports, +and to help ensure the integrity of your accounting history. See the +close command. + + If using version control, don't forget to 'git add' the new file. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: OPTIONS, Next: COMMANDS, Prev: COMMON TASKS, Up: Top + +2 OPTIONS +********* + +* Menu: + +* General options:: +* Command options:: +* Command arguments:: +* Queries:: +* Special characters in arguments and queries:: +* Unicode characters:: +* Input files:: +* Strict mode:: +* Output destination:: +* Output format:: +* Regular expressions:: +* Smart dates:: +* Report start & end date:: +* Report intervals:: +* Period expressions:: +* Depth limiting:: +* Pivoting:: +* Valuation:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: General options, Next: Command options, Up: OPTIONS + +2.1 General options +=================== + +To see general usage help, including general options which are supported +by most hledger commands, run 'hledger -h'. + + General help options: + +'-h --help' + + show general usage (or after COMMAND, command usage) +'--version' + + show version +'--debug[=N]' + + show debug output (levels 1-9, default: 1) + + General input options: + +'-f FILE --file=FILE' + + use a different input file. For stdin, use - (default: + '$LEDGER_FILE' or '$HOME/.hledger.journal') +'--rules-file=RULESFILE' + + Conversion rules file to use when reading CSV (default: FILE.rules) +'--separator=CHAR' + + Field separator to expect when reading CSV (default: ',') +'--alias=OLD=NEW' + + rename accounts named OLD to NEW +'--anon' + + anonymize accounts and payees +'--pivot FIELDNAME' + + use some other field or tag for the account name +'-I --ignore-assertions' + + disable balance assertion checks (note: does not disable balance + assignments) +'-s --strict' + + do extra error checking (check that all posted accounts are + declared) + + General reporting options: + +'-b --begin=DATE' + + include postings/txns on or after this date +'-e --end=DATE' + + include postings/txns before this date +'-D --daily' + + multiperiod/multicolumn report by day +'-W --weekly' + + multiperiod/multicolumn report by week +'-M --monthly' + + multiperiod/multicolumn report by month +'-Q --quarterly' + + multiperiod/multicolumn report by quarter +'-Y --yearly' + + multiperiod/multicolumn report by year +'-p --period=PERIODEXP' + + set start date, end date, and/or reporting interval all at once + using period expressions syntax +'--date2' + + match the secondary date instead (see command help for other + effects) +'-U --unmarked' + + include only unmarked postings/txns (can combine with -P or -C) +'-P --pending' + + include only pending postings/txns +'-C --cleared' + + include only cleared postings/txns +'-R --real' + + include only non-virtual postings +'-NUM --depth=NUM' + + hide/aggregate accounts or postings more than NUM levels deep +'-E --empty' + + show items with zero amount, normally hidden (and vice-versa in + hledger-ui/hledger-web) +'-B --cost' + + convert amounts to their cost/selling amount at transaction time +'-V --market' + + convert amounts to their market value in default valuation + commodities +'-X --exchange=COMM' + + convert amounts to their market value in commodity COMM +'--value' + + convert amounts to cost or market value, more flexibly than + -B/-V/-X +'--infer-value' + + with -V/-X/-value, also infer market prices from transactions +'--auto' + + apply automated posting rules to modify transactions. +'--forecast' + + generate future transactions from periodic transaction rules, for + the next 6 months or till report end date. In hledger-ui, also + make ordinary future transactions visible. +'--color=WHEN (or --colour=WHEN)' + + Should color-supporting commands use ANSI color codes in text + output. 'auto' (default): whenever stdout seems to be a + color-supporting terminal. 'always' or 'yes': always, useful eg + when piping output into 'less -R'. 'never' or 'no': never. A + NO_COLOR environment variable overrides this. + + When a reporting option appears more than once in the command line, +the last one takes precedence. + + Some reporting options can also be written as query arguments. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Command options, Next: Command arguments, Prev: General options, Up: OPTIONS + +2.2 Command options +=================== + +To see options for a particular command, including command-specific +options, run: 'hledger COMMAND -h'. + + Command-specific options must be written after the command name, eg: +'hledger print -x'. + + Additionally, if the command is an add-on, you may need to put its +options after a double-hyphen, eg: 'hledger ui -- --watch'. Or, you can +run the add-on executable directly: 'hledger-ui --watch'. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Command arguments, Next: Queries, Prev: Command options, Up: OPTIONS + +2.3 Command arguments +===================== + +Most hledger commands accept arguments after the command name, which are +often a query, filtering the data in some way. + + You can save a set of command line options/arguments in a file, and +then reuse them by writing '@FILENAME' as a command line argument. Eg: +'hledger bal @foo.args'. (To prevent this, eg if you have an argument +that begins with a literal '@', precede it with '--', eg: 'hledger bal +-- @ARG'). + + Inside the argument file, each line should contain just one option or +argument. Avoid the use of spaces, except inside quotes (or you'll see +a confusing error). Between a flag and its argument, use = (or +nothing). Bad: + +assets depth:2 +-X USD + + Good: + +assets +depth:2 +-X=USD + + For special characters (see below), use one less level of quoting +than you would at the command prompt. Bad: + +-X"$" + + Good: + +-X$ + + See also: Save frequently used options. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Queries, Next: Special characters in arguments and queries, Prev: Command arguments, Up: OPTIONS + +2.4 Queries +=========== + +One of hledger's strengths is being able to quickly report on precise +subsets of your data. Most commands accept an optional query +expression, written as arguments after the command name, to filter the +data by date, account name or other criteria. The syntax is similar to +a web search: one or more space-separated search terms, quotes to +enclose whitespace, prefixes to match specific fields, a not: prefix to +negate the match. + + We do not yet support arbitrary boolean combinations of search terms; +instead most commands show transactions/postings/accounts which match +(or negatively match): + + * any of the description terms AND + * any of the account terms AND + * any of the status terms AND + * all the other terms. + + The print command instead shows transactions which: + + * match any of the description terms AND + * have any postings matching any of the positive account terms AND + * have no postings matching any of the negative account terms AND + * match all the other terms. + + The following kinds of search terms can be used. Remember these can +also be prefixed with *'not:'*, eg to exclude a particular subaccount. + +*'REGEX', 'acct:REGEX'* + + match account names by this regular expression. (With no prefix, + 'acct:' is assumed.) same as above + +*'amt:N, amt:N, amt:>=N'* + + match postings with a single-commodity amount that is equal to, + less than, or greater than N. (Multi-commodity amounts are not + tested, and will always match.) The comparison has two modes: if N + is preceded by a + or - sign (or is 0), the two signed numbers are + compared. Otherwise, the absolute magnitudes are compared, + ignoring sign. +*'code:REGEX'* + + match by transaction code (eg check number) +*'cur:REGEX'* + + match postings or transactions including any amounts whose + currency/commodity symbol is fully matched by REGEX. (For a partial + match, use '.*REGEX.*'). Note, to match characters which are + regex-significant, like the dollar sign ('$'), you need to prepend + '\'. And when using the command line you need to add one more + level of quoting to hide it from the shell, so eg do: 'hledger + print cur:'\$'' or 'hledger print cur:\\$'. +*'desc:REGEX'* + + match transaction descriptions. +*'date:PERIODEXPR'* + + match dates within the specified period. PERIODEXPR is a period + expression (with no report interval). Examples: 'date:2016', + 'date:thismonth', 'date:2000/2/1-2/15', 'date:lastweek-'. If the + '--date2' command line flag is present, this matches secondary + dates instead. +*'date2:PERIODEXPR'* + + match secondary dates within the specified period. +*'depth:N'* + + match (or display, depending on command) accounts at or above this + depth +*'note:REGEX'* + + match transaction notes (part of description right of '|', or whole + description when there's no '|') +*'payee:REGEX'* + + match transaction payee/payer names (part of description left of + '|', or whole description when there's no '|') +*'real:, real:0'* + + match real or virtual postings respectively +*'status:, status:!, status:*'* + + match unmarked, pending, or cleared transactions respectively +*'tag:REGEX[=REGEX]'* + + match by tag name, and optionally also by tag value. Note a tag: + query is considered to match a transaction if it matches any of the + postings. Also remember that postings inherit the tags of their + parent transaction. + + The following special search term is used automatically in +hledger-web, only: + +*'inacct:ACCTNAME'* + + tells hledger-web to show the transaction register for this + account. Can be filtered further with 'acct' etc. + + Some of these can also be expressed as command-line options (eg +'depth:2' is equivalent to '--depth 2'). Generally you can mix options +and query arguments, and the resulting query will be their intersection +(perhaps excluding the '-p/--period' option). + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Special characters in arguments and queries, Next: Unicode characters, Prev: Queries, Up: OPTIONS + +2.5 Special characters in arguments and queries +=============================================== + +In shell command lines, option and argument values which contain +"problematic" characters, ie spaces, and also characters significant to +your shell such as '<', '>', '(', ')', '|' and '$', should be escaped by +enclosing them in quotes or by writing backslashes before the +characters. Eg: + + 'hledger register -p 'last year' "accounts receivable +(receivable|payable)" amt:\>100'. + +* Menu: + +* More escaping:: +* Even more escaping:: +* Less escaping:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: More escaping, Next: Even more escaping, Up: Special characters in arguments and queries + +2.5.1 More escaping +------------------- + +Characters significant both to the shell and in regular expressions may +need one extra level of escaping. These include parentheses, the pipe +symbol and the dollar sign. Eg, to match the dollar symbol, bash users +should do: + + 'hledger balance cur:'\$'' + + or: + + 'hledger balance cur:\\$' + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Even more escaping, Next: Less escaping, Prev: More escaping, Up: Special characters in arguments and queries + +2.5.2 Even more escaping +------------------------ + +When hledger runs an add-on executable (eg you type 'hledger ui', +hledger runs 'hledger-ui'), it de-escapes command-line options and +arguments once, so you might need to _triple_-escape. Eg in bash, +running the ui command and matching the dollar sign, it's: + + 'hledger ui cur:'\\$'' + + or: + + 'hledger ui cur:\\\\$' + + If you asked why _four_ slashes above, this may help: + +unescaped: '$' +escaped: '\$' +double-escaped: '\\$' +triple-escaped: '\\\\$' + + (The number of backslashes in fish shell is left as an exercise for +the reader.) + + You can always avoid the extra escaping for add-ons by running the +add-on directly: + + 'hledger-ui cur:\\$' + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Less escaping, Prev: Even more escaping, Up: Special characters in arguments and queries + +2.5.3 Less escaping +------------------- + +Inside an argument file, or in the search field of hledger-ui or +hledger-web, or at a GHCI prompt, you need one less level of escaping +than at the command line. And backslashes may work better than quotes. +Eg: + + 'ghci> :main balance cur:\$' + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Unicode characters, Next: Input files, Prev: Special characters in arguments and queries, Up: OPTIONS + +2.6 Unicode characters +====================== + +hledger is expected to handle non-ascii characters correctly: + + * they should be parsed correctly in input files and on the command + line, by all hledger tools (add, iadd, hledger-web's + search/add/edit forms, etc.) + + * they should be displayed correctly by all hledger tools, and + on-screen alignment should be preserved. + + This requires a well-configured environment. Here are some tips: + + * A system locale must be configured, and it must be one that can + decode the characters being used. In bash, you can set a locale + like this: 'export LANG=en_US.UTF-8'. There are some more details + in Troubleshooting. This step is essential - without it, hledger + will quit on encountering a non-ascii character (as with all + GHC-compiled programs). + + * your terminal software (eg Terminal.app, iTerm, CMD.exe, xterm..) + must support unicode + + * the terminal must be using a font which includes the required + unicode glyphs + + * the terminal should be configured to display wide characters as + double width (for report alignment) + + * on Windows, for best results you should run hledger in the same + kind of environment in which it was built. Eg hledger built in the + standard CMD.EXE environment (like the binaries on our download + page) might show display problems when run in a cygwin or msys + terminal, and vice versa. (See eg #961). + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Input files, Next: Strict mode, Prev: Unicode characters, Up: OPTIONS + +2.7 Input files +=============== + +hledger reads transactions from a data file (and the add command writes +to it). By default this file is '$HOME/.hledger.journal' (or on +Windows, something like 'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). You can +override this with the '$LEDGER_FILE' environment variable: + +$ setenv LEDGER_FILE ~/finance/2016.journal +$ hledger stats + + or with the '-f/--file' option: + +$ hledger -f /some/file stats + + The file name '-' (hyphen) means standard input: + +$ cat some.journal | hledger -f- + + Usually the data file is in hledger's journal format, but it can be +in any of the supported file formats, which currently are: + +Reader: Reads: Used for file + extensions: +-------------------------------------------------------------------------- +'journal'hledger journal files and some Ledger '.journal' '.j' + journals, for transactions '.hledger' '.ledger' +'timeclock'timeclock files, for precise time '.timeclock' + logging +'timedot'timedot files, for approximate time '.timedot' + logging +'csv' comma/semicolon/tab/other-separated '.csv' '.ssv' '.tsv' + values, for data import + + hledger detects the format automatically based on the file extensions +shown above. If it can't recognise the file extension, it assumes +'journal' format. So for non-journal files, it's important to use a +recognised file extension, so as to either read successfully or to show +relevant error messages. + + When you can't ensure the right file extension, not to worry: you can +force a specific reader/format by prefixing the file path with the +format and a colon. Eg to read a .dat file as csv: + +$ hledger -f csv:/some/csv-file.dat stats +$ echo 'i 2009/13/1 08:00:00' | hledger print -ftimeclock:- + + You can specify multiple '-f' options, to read multiple files as one +big journal. There are some limitations with this: + + * directives in one file will not affect the other files + * balance assertions will not see any account balances from previous + files + + If you need either of those things, you can + + * use a single parent file which includes the others + * or concatenate the files into one before reading, eg: 'cat + a.journal b.journal | hledger -f- CMD'. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Strict mode, Next: Output destination, Prev: Input files, Up: OPTIONS + +2.8 Strict mode +=============== + +hledger checks input files for valid data. By default, the most +important errors are detected, while still accepting easy journal files +without a lot of declarations: + + * Are the input files parseable, with valid syntax ? + * Are all transactions balanced ? + * Do all balance assertions pass ? + + With the '-s'/'--strict' flag, additional checks are performed: + + * Are all accounts posted to, declared with an 'account' directive ? + (Account error checking) + * Are all commodities declared with a 'commodity' directive ? + (Commodity error checking) + + See also: https://hledger.org/checking-for-errors.html + + _experimental._ + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Output destination, Next: Output format, Prev: Strict mode, Up: OPTIONS + +2.9 Output destination +====================== + +hledger commands send their output to the terminal by default. You can +of course redirect this, eg into a file, using standard shell syntax: + +$ hledger print > foo.txt + + Some commands (print, register, stats, the balance commands) also +provide the '-o/--output-file' option, which does the same thing without +needing the shell. Eg: + +$ hledger print -o foo.txt +$ hledger print -o - # write to stdout (the default) + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Output format, Next: Regular expressions, Prev: Output destination, Up: OPTIONS + +2.10 Output format +================== + +Some commands (print, register, the balance commands) offer a choice of +output format. In addition to the usual plain text format ('txt'), +there are CSV ('csv'), HTML ('html'), JSON ('json') and SQL ('sql'). +This is controlled by the '-O/--output-format' option: + +$ hledger print -O csv + + or, by a file extension specified with '-o/--output-file': + +$ hledger balancesheet -o foo.html # write HTML to foo.html + + The '-O' option can be used to override the file extension if needed: + +$ hledger balancesheet -o foo.txt -O html # write HTML to foo.txt + + Some notes about JSON output: + + * This feature is marked experimental, and not yet much used; you + should expect our JSON to evolve. Real-world feedback is welcome. + + * Our JSON is rather large and verbose, as it is quite a faithful + representation of hledger's internal data types. To understand the + JSON, read the Haskell type definitions, which are mostly in + https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/blob/master/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Types.hs. + + * hledger represents quantities as Decimal values storing up to 255 + significant digits, eg for repeating decimals. Such numbers can + arise in practice (from automatically-calculated transaction + prices), and would break most JSON consumers. So in JSON, we show + quantities as simple Numbers with at most 10 decimal places. We + don't limit the number of integer digits, but that part is under + your control. We hope this approach will not cause problems in + practice; if you find otherwise, please let us know. (Cf #1195) + + Notes about SQL output: + + * SQL output is also marked experimental, and much like JSON could + use real-world feedback. + + * SQL output is expected to work with sqlite, MySQL and PostgreSQL + + * SQL output is structured with the expectations that statements will + be executed in the empty database. If you already have tables + created via SQL output of hledger, you would probably want to + either clear tables of existing data (via 'delete' or 'truncate' + SQL statements) or drop tables completely as otherwise your + postings will be duped. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Regular expressions, Next: Smart dates, Prev: Output format, Up: OPTIONS + +2.11 Regular expressions +======================== + +hledger uses regular expressions in a number of places: + + * query terms, on the command line and in the hledger-web search + form: 'REGEX', 'desc:REGEX', 'cur:REGEX', 'tag:...=REGEX' + * CSV rules conditional blocks: 'if REGEX ...' + * account alias directives and options: 'alias /REGEX/ = + REPLACEMENT', '--alias /REGEX/=REPLACEMENT' + + hledger's regular expressions come from the regex-tdfa library. If +they're not doing what you expect, it's important to know exactly what +they support: + + 1. they are case insensitive + 2. they are infix matching (they do not need to match the entire thing + being matched) + 3. they are POSIX ERE (extended regular expressions) + 4. they also support GNU word boundaries ('\b', '\B', '\<', '\>') + 5. they do not support backreferences; if you write '\1', it will + match the digit '1'. Except when doing text replacement, eg in + account aliases, where backreferences can be used in the + replacement string to reference capturing groups in the search + regexp. + 6. they do not support mode modifiers ('(?s)'), character classes + ('\w', '\d'), or anything else not mentioned above. + + Some things to note: + + * In the 'alias' directive and '--alias' option, regular expressions + must be enclosed in forward slashes ('/REGEX/'). Elsewhere in + hledger, these are not required. + + * In queries, to match a regular expression metacharacter like '$' as + a literal character, prepend a backslash. Eg to search for amounts + with the dollar sign in hledger-web, write 'cur:\$'. + + * On the command line, some metacharacters like '$' have a special + meaning to the shell and so must be escaped at least once more. + See Special characters. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Smart dates, Next: Report start & end date, Prev: Regular expressions, Up: OPTIONS + +2.12 Smart dates +================ + +hledger's user interfaces accept a flexible "smart date" syntax (unlike +dates in the journal file). Smart dates allow some english words, can +be relative to today's date, and can have less-significant date parts +omitted (defaulting to 1). + + Examples: + +'2004/10/1', exact date, several separators allowed. Year +'2004-01-01', is 4+ digits, month is 1-12, day is 1-31 +'2004.9.1' +'2004' start of year +'2004/10' start of month +'10/1' month and day in current year +'21' day in current month +'october, oct' start of month in current year +'yesterday, today, -1, 0, 1 days from today +tomorrow' +'last/this/next -1, 0, 1 periods from the current period +day/week/month/quarter/year' +'20181201' 8 digit YYYYMMDD with valid year month and + day +'201812' 6 digit YYYYMM with valid year and month + + Counterexamples - malformed digit sequences might give surprising +results: + +'201813' 6 digits with an invalid month is parsed as start of + 6-digit year +'20181301' 8 digits with an invalid month is parsed as start of + 8-digit year +'20181232' 8 digits with an invalid day gives an error +'201801012' 9+ digits beginning with a valid YYYYMMDD gives an error + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Report start & end date, Next: Report intervals, Prev: Smart dates, Up: OPTIONS + +2.13 Report start & end date +============================ + +Most hledger reports show the full span of time represented by the +journal data, by default. So, the effective report start and end dates +will be the earliest and latest transaction or posting dates found in +the journal. + + Often you will want to see a shorter time span, such as the current +month. You can specify a start and/or end date using '-b/--begin', +'-e/--end', '-p/--period' or a 'date:' query (described below). All of +these accept the smart date syntax. + + Some notes: + + * As in Ledger, end dates are exclusive, so you need to write the + date _after_ the last day you want to include. + * As noted in reporting options: among start/end dates specified with + _options_, the last (i.e. right-most) option takes precedence. + * The effective report start and end dates are the intersection of + the start/end dates from options and that from 'date:' queries. + That is, 'date:2019-01 date:2019 -p'2000 to 2030'' yields January + 2019, the smallest common time span. + + Examples: + +'-b begin on St. Patrick's day 2016 +2016/3/17' +'-e 12/1' end at the start of december 1st of the current year + (11/30 will be the last date included) +'-b all transactions on or after the 1st of the current month +thismonth' +'-p all transactions in the current month +thismonth' +'date:2016/3/17..'the above written as queries instead ('..' can also be + replaced with '-') +'date:..12/1' +'date:thismonth..' +'date:thismonth' + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Report intervals, Next: Period expressions, Prev: Report start & end date, Up: OPTIONS + +2.14 Report intervals +===================== + +A report interval can be specified so that commands like register, +balance and activity will divide their reports into multiple subperiods. +The basic intervals can be selected with one of '-D/--daily', +'-W/--weekly', '-M/--monthly', '-Q/--quarterly', or '-Y/--yearly'. More +complex intervals may be specified with a period expression. Report +intervals can not be specified with a query. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Period expressions, Next: Depth limiting, Prev: Report intervals, Up: OPTIONS + +2.15 Period expressions +======================= + +The '-p/--period' option accepts period expressions, a shorthand way of +expressing a start date, end date, and/or report interval all at once. + + Here's a basic period expression specifying the first quarter of +2009. Note, hledger always treats start dates as inclusive and end +dates as exclusive: + + '-p "from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1"' + + Keywords like "from" and "to" are optional, and so are the spaces, as +long as you don't run two dates together. "to" can also be written as +".." or "-". These are equivalent to the above: + +'-p "2009/1/1 2009/4/1"' +'-p2009/1/1to2009/4/1' +'-p2009/1/1..2009/4/1' + + Dates are smart dates, so if the current year is 2009, the above can +also be written as: + +'-p "1/1 4/1"' +'-p "january-apr"' +'-p "this year to 4/1"' + + If you specify only one date, the missing start or end date will be +the earliest or latest transaction in your journal: + +'-p "from 2009/1/1"' everything after january 1, 2009 +'-p "from 2009/1"' the same +'-p "from 2009"' the same +'-p "to 2009"' everything before january 1, 2009 + + A single date with no "from" or "to" defines both the start and end +date like so: + +'-p "2009"' the year 2009; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to + 2010/1/1” +'-p "2009/1"' the month of jan; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to + 2009/2/1” +'-p "2009/1/1"' just that day; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to + 2009/1/2” + + Or you can specify a single quarter like so: + +'-p "2009Q1"' first quarter of 2009, equivalent to “2009/1/1 to + 2009/4/1” +'-p "q4"' fourth quarter of the current year + + The argument of '-p' can also begin with, or be, a report interval +expression. The basic report intervals are 'daily', 'weekly', +'monthly', 'quarterly', or 'yearly', which have the same effect as the +'-D','-W','-M','-Q', or '-Y' flags. Between report interval and +start/end dates (if any), the word 'in' is optional. Examples: + +'-p "weekly from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1"' +'-p "monthly in 2008"' +'-p "quarterly"' + + Note that 'weekly', 'monthly', 'quarterly' and 'yearly' intervals +will always start on the first day on week, month, quarter or year +accordingly, and will end on the last day of same period, even if +associated period expression specifies different explicit start and end +date. + + For example: + +'-p "weekly from starts on 2008/12/29, closest preceding +2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1"' Monday +'-p "monthly in starts on 2018/11/01 +2008/11/25"' +'-p "quarterly from starts on 2009/04/01, ends on 2009/06/30, +2009-05-05 to which are first and last days of Q2 2009 +2009-06-01"' +'-p "yearly from starts on 2009/01/01, first day of 2009 +2009-12-29"' + + The following more complex report intervals are also supported: +'biweekly', 'fortnightly', 'bimonthly', 'every +day|week|month|quarter|year', 'every N +days|weeks|months|quarters|years'. + + All of these will start on the first day of the requested period and +end on the last one, as described above. + + Examples: + +'-p "bimonthly from periods will have boundaries on 2008/01/01, +2008"' 2008/03/01, ... +'-p "every 2 weeks"' starts on closest preceding Monday +'-p "every 5 month from periods will have boundaries on 2009/03/01, +2009/03"' 2009/08/01, ... + + If you want intervals that start on arbitrary day of your choosing +and span a week, month or year, you need to use any of the following: + + 'every Nth day of week', 'every WEEKDAYNAME' (eg +'mon|tue|wed|thu|fri|sat|sun'), 'every Nth day [of month]', 'every Nth +WEEKDAYNAME [of month]', 'every MM/DD [of year]', 'every Nth MMM [of +year]', 'every MMM Nth [of year]'. + + Examples: + +'-p "every 2nd day of periods will go from Tue to Tue +week"' +'-p "every Tue"' same +'-p "every 15th day"' period boundaries will be on 15th of each + month +'-p "every 2nd period boundaries will be on second Monday of +Monday"' each month +'-p "every 11/05"' yearly periods with boundaries on 5th of Nov +'-p "every 5th Nov"' same +'-p "every Nov 5th"' same + + Show historical balances at end of 15th each month (N is exclusive +end date): + + 'hledger balance -H -p "every 16th day"' + + Group postings from start of wednesday to end of next tuesday (N is +start date and exclusive end date): + + 'hledger register checking -p "every 3rd day of week"' + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Depth limiting, Next: Pivoting, Prev: Period expressions, Up: OPTIONS + +2.16 Depth limiting +=================== + +With the '--depth N' option (short form: '-N'), commands like account, +balance and register will show only the uppermost accounts in the +account tree, down to level N. Use this when you want a summary with +less detail. This flag has the same effect as a 'depth:' query argument +(so '-2', '--depth=2' or 'depth:2' are equivalent). + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Pivoting, Next: Valuation, Prev: Depth limiting, Up: OPTIONS + +2.17 Pivoting +============= + +Normally hledger sums amounts, and organizes them in a hierarchy, based +on account name. The '--pivot FIELD' option causes it to sum and +organize hierarchy based on the value of some other field instead. +FIELD can be: 'code', 'description', 'payee', 'note', or the full name +(case insensitive) of any tag. As with account names, values containing +'colon:separated:parts' will be displayed hierarchically in reports. + + '--pivot' is a general option affecting all reports; you can think of +hledger transforming the journal before any other processing, replacing +every posting's account name with the value of the specified field on +that posting, inheriting it from the transaction or using a blank value +if it's not present. + + An example: + +2016/02/16 Member Fee Payment + assets:bank account 2 EUR + income:member fees -2 EUR ; member: John Doe + + Normal balance report showing account names: + +$ hledger balance + 2 EUR assets:bank account + -2 EUR income:member fees +-------------------- + 0 + + Pivoted balance report, using member: tag values instead: + +$ hledger balance --pivot member + 2 EUR + -2 EUR John Doe +-------------------- + 0 + + One way to show only amounts with a member: value (using a query, +described below): + +$ hledger balance --pivot member tag:member=. + -2 EUR John Doe +-------------------- + -2 EUR + + Another way (the acct: query matches against the pivoted "account +name"): + +$ hledger balance --pivot member acct:. + -2 EUR John Doe +-------------------- + -2 EUR + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Valuation, Prev: Pivoting, Up: OPTIONS + +2.18 Valuation +============== + +Instead of reporting amounts in their original commodity, hledger can +convert them to cost/sale amount (using the conversion rate recorded in +the transaction), or to market value (using some market price on a +certain date). This is controlled by the '--value=TYPE[,COMMODITY]' +option, but we also provide the simpler '-B'/'-V'/'-X' flags, and +usually one of those is all you need. + +* Menu: + +* -B Cost:: +* -V Value:: +* -X Value in specified commodity:: +* Valuation date:: +* Market prices:: +* --infer-value market prices from transactions:: +* Valuation commodity:: +* Simple valuation examples:: +* --value Flexible valuation:: +* More valuation examples:: +* Effect of valuation on reports:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: -B Cost, Next: -V Value, Up: Valuation + +2.18.1 -B: Cost +--------------- + +The '-B/--cost' flag converts amounts to their cost or sale amount at +transaction time, if they have a transaction price specified. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: -V Value, Next: -X Value in specified commodity, Prev: -B Cost, Up: Valuation + +2.18.2 -V: Value +---------------- + +The '-V/--market' flag converts amounts to market value in their default +_valuation commodity_, using the market prices in effect on the +_valuation date(s)_, if any. More on these in a minute. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: -X Value in specified commodity, Next: Valuation date, Prev: -V Value, Up: Valuation + +2.18.3 -X: Value in specified commodity +--------------------------------------- + +The '-X/--exchange=COMM' option is like '-V', except you tell it which +currency you want to convert to, and it tries to convert everything to +that. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Valuation date, Next: Market prices, Prev: -X Value in specified commodity, Up: Valuation + +2.18.4 Valuation date +--------------------- + +Since market prices can change from day to day, market value reports +have a valuation date (or more than one), which determines which market +prices will be used. + + For single period reports, if an explicit report end date is +specified, that will be used as the valuation date; otherwise the +valuation date is "today". + + For multiperiod reports, each column/period is valued on the last day +of the period, by default. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Market prices, Next: --infer-value market prices from transactions, Prev: Valuation date, Up: Valuation + +2.18.5 Market prices +-------------------- + +_(experimental)_ + + To convert a commodity A to its market value in another commodity B, +hledger looks for a suitable market price (exchange rate) as follows, in +this order of preference : + + 1. A _declared market price_ or _inferred market price_: A's latest + market price in B on or before the valuation date as declared by a + P directive, or (with the '--infer-value' flag) inferred from + transaction prices. + + 2. A _reverse market price_: the inverse of a declared or inferred + market price from B to A. + + 3. A _a forward chain of market prices_: a synthetic price formed by + combining the shortest chain of "forward" (only 1 above) market + prices, leading from A to B. + + 4. A _any chain of market prices_: a chain of any market prices, + including both forward and reverse prices (1 and 2 above), leading + from A to B. + + Amounts for which no applicable market price can be found, are not +converted. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: --infer-value market prices from transactions, Next: Valuation commodity, Prev: Market prices, Up: Valuation + +2.18.6 -infer-value: market prices from transactions +---------------------------------------------------- + +_(experimental)_ + + Normally, market value in hledger is fully controlled by, and +requires, P directives in your journal. Since adding and updating those +can be a chore, and since transactions usually take place at close to +market value, why not use the recorded transaction prices as additional +market prices (as Ledger does) ? We could produce value reports without +needing P directives at all. + + Adding the '--infer-value' flag to '-V', '-X' or '--value' enables +this. So for example, 'hledger bs -V --infer-value' will get market +prices both from P directives and from transactions. + + There is a downside: value reports can sometimes be affected in +confusing/undesired ways by your journal entries. If this happens to +you, read all of this Valuation section carefully, and try adding +'--debug' or '--debug=2' to troubleshoot. + + '--infer-value' can infer market prices from: + + * multicommodity transactions with explicit prices ('@'/'@@') + + * multicommodity transactions with implicit prices (no '@', two + commodities, unbalanced). (With these, the order of postings + matters. 'hledger print -x' can be useful for troubleshooting.) + + * but not, currently, from "more correct" multicommodity transactions + (no '@', multiple commodities, balanced). + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Valuation commodity, Next: Simple valuation examples, Prev: --infer-value market prices from transactions, Up: Valuation + +2.18.7 Valuation commodity +-------------------------- + +_(experimental)_ + + *When you specify a valuation commodity ('-X COMM' or '--value +TYPE,COMM'):* +hledger will convert all amounts to COMM, wherever it can find a +suitable market price (including by reversing or chaining prices). + + *When you leave the valuation commodity unspecified ('-V' or '--value +TYPE'):* +For each commodity A, hledger picks a default valuation commodity as +follows, in this order of preference: + + 1. The price commodity from the latest P-declared market price for A + on or before valuation date. + + 2. The price commodity from the latest P-declared market price for A + on any date. (Allows conversion to proceed when there are inferred + prices before the valuation date.) + + 3. If there are no P directives at all (any commodity or date) and the + '--infer-value' flag is used: the price commodity from the latest + transaction-inferred price for A on or before valuation date. + + This means: + + * If you have P directives, they determine which commodities '-V' + will convert, and to what. + + * If you have no P directives, and use the '--infer-value' flag, + transaction prices determine it. + + Amounts for which no valuation commodity can be found are not +converted. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Simple valuation examples, Next: --value Flexible valuation, Prev: Valuation commodity, Up: Valuation + +2.18.8 Simple valuation examples +-------------------------------- + +Here are some quick examples of '-V': + +; one euro is worth this many dollars from nov 1 +P 2016/11/01 € $1.10 + +; purchase some euros on nov 3 +2016/11/3 + assets:euros €100 + assets:checking + +; the euro is worth fewer dollars by dec 21 +P 2016/12/21 € $1.03 + + How many euros do I have ? + +$ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros + €100 assets:euros + + What are they worth at end of nov 3 ? + +$ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros -V -e 2016/11/4 + $110.00 assets:euros + + What are they worth after 2016/12/21 ? (no report end date +specified, defaults to today) + +$ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros -V + $103.00 assets:euros + + +File: hledger.info, Node: --value Flexible valuation, Next: More valuation examples, Prev: Simple valuation examples, Up: Valuation + +2.18.9 -value: Flexible valuation +--------------------------------- + +'-B', '-V' and '-X' are special cases of the more general '--value' +option: + + --value=TYPE[,COMM] TYPE is cost, then, end, now or YYYY-MM-DD. + COMM is an optional commodity symbol. + Shows amounts converted to: + - cost commodity using transaction prices (then optionally to COMM using market prices at period end(s)) + - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at posting dates + - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at period end(s) + - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using current market prices + - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at some date + + The TYPE part selects cost or value and valuation date: + +'--value=cost' + + Convert amounts to cost, using the prices recorded in transactions. +'--value=then' + + Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commodity, + using market prices on each posting's date. This is currently + supported only by the print and register commands. +'--value=end' + + Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commodity, + using market prices on the last day of the report period (or if + unspecified, the journal's end date); or in multiperiod reports, + market prices on the last day of each subperiod. +'--value=now' + + Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commodity + using current market prices (as of when report is generated). +'--value=YYYY-MM-DD' + + Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commodity + using market prices on this date. + + To select a different valuation commodity, add the optional ',COMM' +part: a comma, then the target commodity's symbol. Eg: +*'--value=now,EUR'*. hledger will do its best to convert amounts to +this commodity, deducing market prices as described above. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: More valuation examples, Next: Effect of valuation on reports, Prev: --value Flexible valuation, Up: Valuation + +2.18.10 More valuation examples +------------------------------- + +Here are some examples showing the effect of '--value', as seen with +'print': + +P 2000-01-01 A 1 B +P 2000-02-01 A 2 B +P 2000-03-01 A 3 B +P 2000-04-01 A 4 B + +2000-01-01 + (a) 1 A @ 5 B + +2000-02-01 + (a) 1 A @ 6 B + +2000-03-01 + (a) 1 A @ 7 B + + Show the cost of each posting: + +$ hledger -f- print --value=cost +2000-01-01 + (a) 5 B + +2000-02-01 + (a) 6 B + +2000-03-01 + (a) 7 B + + Show the value as of the last day of the report period (2000-02-29): + +$ hledger -f- print --value=end date:2000/01-2000/03 +2000-01-01 + (a) 2 B + +2000-02-01 + (a) 2 B + + With no report period specified, that shows the value as of the last +day of the journal (2000-03-01): + +$ hledger -f- print --value=end +2000-01-01 + (a) 3 B + +2000-02-01 + (a) 3 B + +2000-03-01 + (a) 3 B + + Show the current value (the 2000-04-01 price is still in effect +today): + +$ hledger -f- print --value=now +2000-01-01 + (a) 4 B + +2000-02-01 + (a) 4 B + +2000-03-01 + (a) 4 B + + Show the value on 2000/01/15: + +$ hledger -f- print --value=2000-01-15 +2000-01-01 + (a) 1 B + +2000-02-01 + (a) 1 B + +2000-03-01 + (a) 1 B + + You may need to explicitly set a commodity's display style, when +reverse prices are used. Eg this output might be surprising: + +P 2000-01-01 A 2B + +2000-01-01 + a 1B + b + +$ hledger print -x -X A +2000-01-01 + a 0 + b 0 + + Explanation: because there's no amount or commodity directive +specifying a display style for A, 0.5A gets the default style, which +shows no decimal digits. Because the displayed amount looks like zero, +the commodity symbol and minus sign are not displayed either. Adding a +commodity directive sets a more useful display style for A: + +P 2000-01-01 A 2B +commodity 0.00A + +2000-01-01 + a 1B + b + +$ hledger print -X A +2000-01-01 + a 0.50A + b -0.50A + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Effect of valuation on reports, Prev: More valuation examples, Up: Valuation + +2.18.11 Effect of valuation on reports +-------------------------------------- + +Here is a reference for how valuation is supposed to affect each part of +hledger's reports (and a glossary). (It's wide, you'll have to scroll +sideways.) It may be useful when troubleshooting. If you find +problems, please report them, ideally with a reproducible example. +Related: #329, #1083. + +Report '-B', '-V', '-X' '--value=then''--value=end' '--value=DATE', +type '--value=cost' '--value=now' +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- +*print* +posting cost value at value at value at value +amounts report end posting report or at + or today date journal end DATE/today +balance unchanged unchanged unchanged unchanged unchanged +assertions/assignments +*register* +starting cost value at day not value at day value +balance before supported before at +(-H) report or report or DATE/today + journal journal + start start +posting cost value at value at value at value +amounts report end posting report or at + or today date journal end DATE/today +summary summarised value at sum of value at value +posting cost period ends postings period ends at +amounts in DATE/today +with interval, +report valued at +interval interval + start +running sum/average sum/average sum/average sum/average sum/average +total/averageof displayed of displayed of of displayed of + values values displayed values displayed + values values +*balance +(bs, bse, +cf, is)* +balance sums of value at not value at value +changes costs report end supported report or at + or today of journal end DATE/today + sums of of sums of of sums + postings postings of + postings +budget like balance like balance not like like +amounts changes changes supported balances balance +(-budget) changes +grand sum of sum of not sum of sum of +total displayed displayed supported displayed displayed + values values values values +*balance +(bs, bse, +cf, is) +with +report +interval* +starting sums of value at not value at sums of +balances costs of report start supported report start postings +(-H) postings of sums of of sums of before + before all postings all postings report + report start before before start + report start report start +balance sums of same as not balance value +changes costs of -value=end supported change in at +(bal, is, postings in each period, DATE/today +bs period valued at of sums +-change, period ends of +cf postings +-change) +end sums of same as not period end value +balances costs of -value=end supported balances, at +(bal -H, postings valued at DATE/today +is -H, from before period ends of sums +bs, cf) report start of + to period postings + end +budget like balance like balance not like like +amounts changes/end changes/end supported balances balance +(-budget) balances balances changes/end + balances +row sums, sums, not sums, sums, +totals, averages of averages of supported averages of averages +row displayed displayed displayed of +averages values values values displayed +(-T, -A) values +column sums of sums of not sums of sums of +totals displayed displayed supported displayed displayed + values values values values +grand sum, average sum, average not sum, average sum, +total, of column of column supported of column average +grand totals totals totals of +average column + totals + + '--cumulative' is omitted to save space, it works like '-H' but with +a zero starting balance. + + *Glossary:* + +_cost_ + + calculated using price(s) recorded in the transaction(s). +_value_ + + market value using available market price declarations, or the + unchanged amount if no conversion rate can be found. +_report start_ + + the first day of the report period specified with -b or -p or + date:, otherwise today. +_report or journal start_ + + the first day of the report period specified with -b or -p or + date:, otherwise the earliest transaction date in the journal, + otherwise today. +_report end_ + + the last day of the report period specified with -e or -p or date:, + otherwise today. +_report or journal end_ + + the last day of the report period specified with -e or -p or date:, + otherwise the latest transaction date in the journal, otherwise + today. +_report interval_ + + a flag (-D/-W/-M/-Q/-Y) or period expression that activates the + report's multi-period mode (whether showing one or many + subperiods). + + +File: hledger.info, Node: COMMANDS, Next: ENVIRONMENT, Prev: OPTIONS, Up: Top + +3 COMMANDS +********** + +hledger provides a number of commands for producing reports and managing +your data. Run 'hledger' with no arguments to list the commands +available. + + To run a command, write its name (or its abbreviation shown in the +commands list, or any unambiguous prefix of the name) as hledger's first +argument. Eg: 'hledger balance' or 'hledger bal'. + + Here are the built-in commands: + + *Data entry (these modify the journal file):* + + * add - add transactions using guided prompts + * import - add any new transactions from other files (eg csv) + + *Data management*: + + * check - check for various kinds of issue in the data + * close (equity) - generate balance-resetting transactions + * diff - compare account transactions in two journal files + * rewrite - generate extra postings, similar to print -auto + + *Financial statements:* + + * aregister (areg) - show transactions in a particular account + * balancesheet (bs) - show assets, liabilities and net worth + * balancesheetequity (bse) - show assets, liabilities and equity + * cashflow (cf) - show changes in liquid assets + * incomestatement (is) - show revenues and expenses + * roi - show return on investments + + *Miscellaneous reports:* + + * accounts (a) - show account names + * activity - show postings-per-interval bar charts + * balance (b, bal) - show balance changes/end balances/budgets in + accounts + * codes - show transaction codes + * commodities - show commodity/currency symbols + * descriptions - show unique transaction descriptions + * files - show input file paths + * notes - show unique note segments of transaction descriptions + * payees - show unique payee segments of transaction descriptions + * prices - show market price records + * print (p, txns) - show transactions (journal entries) + * print-unique - show only transactions with unique descriptions + * register (r, reg) - show postings in one or more accounts & running + total + * register-match - show a recent posting that best matches a + description + * stats - show journal statistics + * tags - show tag names + * test - run self tests + + Next, the detailed command docs, in alphabetical order. + +* Menu: + +* accounts:: +* activity:: +* add:: +* aregister:: +* balance:: +* balancesheet:: +* balancesheetequity:: +* cashflow:: +* check:: +* close:: +* codes:: +* commodities:: +* descriptions:: +* diff:: +* files:: +* help:: +* import:: +* incomestatement:: +* notes:: +* rewrite:: +* roi:: +* stats:: +* tags:: +* test:: +* Add-on commands:: +* Add-on command flags:: +* Making add-on commands:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: accounts, Next: activity, Up: COMMANDS + +3.1 accounts +============ + +accounts, a +Show account names. + + This command lists account names, either declared with account +directives (-declared), posted to (-used), or both (the default). With +query arguments, only matched account names and account names referenced +by matched postings are shown. It shows a flat list by default. With +'--tree', it uses indentation to show the account hierarchy. In flat +mode you can add '--drop N' to omit the first few account name +components. Account names can be depth-clipped with 'depth:N' or +'--depth N' or '-N'. + + Examples: + +$ hledger accounts +assets:bank:checking +assets:bank:saving +assets:cash +expenses:food +expenses:supplies +income:gifts +income:salary +liabilities:debts + + +File: hledger.info, Node: activity, Next: add, Prev: accounts, Up: COMMANDS + +3.2 activity +============ + +activity +Show an ascii barchart of posting counts per interval. + + The activity command displays an ascii histogram showing transaction +counts by day, week, month or other reporting interval (by day is the +default). With query arguments, it counts only matched transactions. + + Examples: + +$ hledger activity --quarterly +2008-01-01 ** +2008-04-01 ******* +2008-07-01 +2008-10-01 ** + + +File: hledger.info, Node: add, Next: aregister, Prev: activity, Up: COMMANDS + +3.3 add +======= + +add +Prompt for transactions and add them to the journal. Any arguments will +be used as default inputs for the first N prompts. + + Many hledger users edit their journals directly with a text editor, +or generate them from CSV. For more interactive data entry, there is the +'add' command, which prompts interactively on the console for new +transactions, and appends them to the journal file (if there are +multiple '-f FILE' options, the first file is used.) Existing +transactions are not changed. This is the only hledger command that +writes to the journal file. + + To use it, just run 'hledger add' and follow the prompts. You can +add as many transactions as you like; when you are finished, enter '.' +or press control-d or control-c to exit. + + Features: + + * add tries to provide useful defaults, using the most similar (by + description) recent transaction (filtered by the query, if any) as + a template. + * You can also set the initial defaults with command line arguments. + * Readline-style edit keys can be used during data entry. + * The tab key will auto-complete whenever possible - accounts, + descriptions, dates ('yesterday', 'today', 'tomorrow'). If the + input area is empty, it will insert the default value. + * If the journal defines a default commodity, it will be added to any + bare numbers entered. + * A parenthesised transaction code may be entered following a date. + * Comments and tags may be entered following a description or amount. + * If you make a mistake, enter '<' at any prompt to go one step + backward. + * Input prompts are displayed in a different colour when the terminal + supports it. + + Example (see the tutorial for a detailed explanation): + +$ hledger add +Adding transactions to journal file /src/hledger/examples/sample.journal +Any command line arguments will be used as defaults. +Use tab key to complete, readline keys to edit, enter to accept defaults. +An optional (CODE) may follow transaction dates. +An optional ; COMMENT may follow descriptions or amounts. +If you make a mistake, enter < at any prompt to go one step backward. +To end a transaction, enter . when prompted. +To quit, enter . at a date prompt or press control-d or control-c. +Date [2015/05/22]: +Description: supermarket +Account 1: expenses:food +Amount 1: $10 +Account 2: assets:checking +Amount 2 [$-10.0]: +Account 3 (or . or enter to finish this transaction): . +2015/05/22 supermarket + expenses:food $10 + assets:checking $-10.0 + +Save this transaction to the journal ? [y]: +Saved. +Starting the next transaction (. or ctrl-D/ctrl-C to quit) +Date [2015/05/22]: $ + + On Microsoft Windows, the add command makes sure that no part of the +file path ends with a period, as that would cause problems (#1056). + + +File: hledger.info, Node: aregister, Next: balance, Prev: add, Up: COMMANDS + +3.4 aregister +============= + +aregister, areg +Show transactions affecting a particular account, and the account's +running balance. + + 'aregister' shows the transactions affecting a particular account +(and its subaccounts), from the point of view of that account. Each +line shows: + + * the transaction's (or posting's, see below) date + * the names of the other account(s) involved + * the net change to this account's balance + * the account's historical running balance (including balance from + transactions before the report start date). + + With 'aregister', each line represents a whole transaction - as in +hledger-ui, hledger-web, and your bank statement. By contrast, the +'register' command shows individual postings, across all accounts. You +might prefer 'aregister' for reconciling with real-world asset/liability +accounts, and 'register' for reviewing detailed revenues/expenses. + + An account must be specified as the first argument, which should be +the full account name or an account pattern (regular expression). +aregister will show transactions in this account (the first one matched) +and any of its subaccounts. + + Any additional arguments form a query which will filter the +transactions shown. + + Transactions making a net change of zero are not shown by default; +add the '-E/--empty' flag to show them. + + This command also supports the output destination and output format +options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', and 'json'. + +* Menu: + +* aregister and custom posting dates:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: aregister and custom posting dates, Up: aregister + +3.4.1 aregister and custom posting dates +---------------------------------------- + +Transactions whose date is outside the report period can still be shown, +if they have a posting to this account dated inside the report period. +(And in this case it's the posting date that is shown.) This ensures +that 'aregister' can show an accurate historical running balance, +matching the one shown by 'register -H' with the same arguments. + + To filter strictly by transaction date instead, add the '--txn-dates' +flag. If you use this flag and some of your postings have custom dates, +it's probably best to assume the running balance is wrong. + + Examples: + + Show all transactions and historical running balance in the first +account whose name contains "checking": + +$ hledger areg checking + + Show transactions and historical running balance in all asset +accounts during july: + +$ hledger areg assets date:jul + + +File: hledger.info, Node: balance, Next: balancesheet, Prev: aregister, Up: COMMANDS + +3.5 balance +=========== + +balance, bal, b +Show accounts and their balances. + + The balance command is hledger's most versatile command. Note, +despite the name, it is not always used for showing real-world account +balances; the more accounting-aware balancesheet and incomestatement may +be more convenient for that. + + By default, it displays all accounts, and each account's change in +balance during the entire period of the journal. Balance changes are +calculated by adding up the postings in each account. You can limit the +postings matched, by a query, to see fewer accounts, changes over a +different time period, changes from only cleared transactions, etc. + + If you include an account's complete history of postings in the +report, the balance change is equivalent to the account's current ending +balance. For a real-world account, typically you won't have all +transactions in the journal; instead you'll have all transactions after +a certain date, and an "opening balances" transaction setting the +correct starting balance on that date. Then the balance command will +show real-world account balances. In some cases the -H/-historical flag +is used to ensure this (more below). + + This command also supports the output destination and output format +options The output formats supported are (in most modes): 'txt', 'csv', +'html', and 'json'. + + The balance command can produce several styles of report: + +* Menu: + +* Classic balance report:: +* Customising the classic balance report:: +* Colour support:: +* Flat mode:: +* Depth limited balance reports:: +* Percentages:: +* Sorting by amount:: +* Multicolumn balance report:: +* Budget report:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Classic balance report, Next: Customising the classic balance report, Up: balance + +3.5.1 Classic balance report +---------------------------- + +This is the original balance report, as found in Ledger. It usually +looks like this: + +$ hledger balance + $-1 assets + $1 bank:saving + $-2 cash + $2 expenses + $1 food + $1 supplies + $-2 income + $-1 gifts + $-1 salary + $1 liabilities:debts +-------------------- + 0 + + By default, accounts are displayed hierarchically, with subaccounts +indented below their parent, with accounts at each level of the tree +sorted by declaration order if declared, then by account name. + + "Boring" accounts, which contain a single interesting subaccount and +no balance of their own, are elided into the following line for more +compact output. (Eg above, the "liabilities" account.) Use +'--no-elide' to prevent this. + + Account balances are "inclusive" - they include the balances of any +subaccounts. + + Accounts which have zero balance (and no non-zero subaccounts) are +omitted. Use '-E/--empty' to show them. + + A final total is displayed by default; use '-N/--no-total' to +suppress it, eg: + +$ hledger balance -p 2008/6 expenses --no-total + $2 expenses + $1 food + $1 supplies + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Customising the classic balance report, Next: Colour support, Prev: Classic balance report, Up: balance + +3.5.2 Customising the classic balance report +-------------------------------------------- + +You can customise the layout of classic balance reports with '--format +FMT': + +$ hledger balance --format "%20(account) %12(total)" + assets $-1 + bank:saving $1 + cash $-2 + expenses $2 + food $1 + supplies $1 + income $-2 + gifts $-1 + salary $-1 + liabilities:debts $1 +--------------------------------- + 0 + + The FMT format string (plus a newline) specifies the formatting +applied to each account/balance pair. It may contain any suitable text, +with data fields interpolated like so: + + '%[MIN][.MAX](FIELDNAME)' + + * MIN pads with spaces to at least this width (optional) + + * MAX truncates at this width (optional) + + * FIELDNAME must be enclosed in parentheses, and can be one of: + + * 'depth_spacer' - a number of spaces equal to the account's + depth, or if MIN is specified, MIN * depth spaces. + * 'account' - the account's name + * 'total' - the account's balance/posted total, right justified + + Also, FMT can begin with an optional prefix to control how +multi-commodity amounts are rendered: + + * '%_' - render on multiple lines, bottom-aligned (the default) + * '%^' - render on multiple lines, top-aligned + * '%,' - render on one line, comma-separated + + There are some quirks. Eg in one-line mode, '%(depth_spacer)' has no +effect, instead '%(account)' has indentation built in. Experimentation +may be needed to get pleasing results. + + Some example formats: + + * '%(total)' - the account's total + * '%-20.20(account)' - the account's name, left justified, padded to + 20 characters and clipped at 20 characters + * '%,%-50(account) %25(total)' - account name padded to 50 + characters, total padded to 20 characters, with multiple + commodities rendered on one line + * '%20(total) %2(depth_spacer)%-(account)' - the default format for + the single-column balance report + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Colour support, Next: Flat mode, Prev: Customising the classic balance report, Up: balance + +3.5.3 Colour support +-------------------- + +In terminal output, when colour is enabled, the balance command shows +negative amounts in red. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Flat mode, Next: Depth limited balance reports, Prev: Colour support, Up: balance + +3.5.4 Flat mode +--------------- + +To see a flat list instead of the default hierarchical display, use +'--flat'. In this mode, accounts (unless depth-clipped) show their full +names and "exclusive" balance, excluding any subaccount balances. In +this mode, you can also use '--drop N' to omit the first few account +name components. + +$ hledger balance -p 2008/6 expenses -N --flat --drop 1 + $1 food + $1 supplies + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Depth limited balance reports, Next: Percentages, Prev: Flat mode, Up: balance + +3.5.5 Depth limited balance reports +----------------------------------- + +With '--depth N' or 'depth:N' or just '-N', balance reports show +accounts only to the specified numeric depth. This is very useful to +summarise a complex set of accounts and get an overview. + +$ hledger balance -N -1 + $-1 assets + $2 expenses + $-2 income + $1 liabilities + + Flat-mode balance reports, which normally show exclusive balances, +show inclusive balances at the depth limit. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Percentages, Next: Sorting by amount, Prev: Depth limited balance reports, Up: balance + +3.5.6 Percentages +----------------- + +With '-%' or '--percent', balance reports show each account's value +expressed as a percentage of the column's total. This is useful to get +an overview of the relative sizes of account balances. For example to +obtain an overview of expenses: + +$ hledger balance expenses -% + 100.0 % expenses + 50.0 % food + 50.0 % supplies +-------------------- + 100.0 % + + Note that '--tree' does not have an effect on '-%'. The percentages +are always relative to the total sum of each column, they are never +relative to the parent account. + + Since the percentages are relative to the columns sum, it is usually +not useful to calculate percentages if the signs of the amounts are +mixed. Although the results are technically correct, they are most +likely useless. Especially in a balance report that sums up to zero (eg +'hledger balance -B') all percentage values will be zero. + + This flag does not work if the report contains any mixed commodity +accounts. If there are mixed commodity accounts in the report be sure +to use '-V' or '-B' to coerce the report into using a single commodity. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Sorting by amount, Next: Multicolumn balance report, Prev: Percentages, Up: balance + +3.5.7 Sorting by amount +----------------------- + +With '-S'/'--sort-amount', accounts with the largest (most positive) +balances are shown first. For example, 'hledger bal expenses -MAS' +shows your biggest averaged monthly expenses first. + + Revenues and liability balances are typically negative, however, so +'-S' shows these in reverse order. To work around this, you can add +'--invert' to flip the signs. Or, use one of the sign-flipping reports +like 'balancesheet' or 'incomestatement', which also support '-S'. Eg: +'hledger is -MAS'. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Multicolumn balance report, Next: Budget report, Prev: Sorting by amount, Up: balance + +3.5.8 Multicolumn balance report +-------------------------------- + +Multicolumn or tabular balance reports are a very useful hledger +feature, and usually the preferred style. They share many of the above +features, but they show the report as a table, with columns representing +time periods. This mode is activated by providing a reporting interval. + + There are three types of multicolumn balance report, showing +different information: + + 1. By default: each column shows the sum of postings in that period, + ie the account's change of balance in that period. This is useful + eg for a monthly income statement: + + $ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E + Balance changes in 2008: + + || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 + ===================++================================= + expenses:food || 0 $1 0 0 + expenses:supplies || 0 $1 0 0 + income:gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 + income:salary || $-1 0 0 0 + -------------------++--------------------------------- + || $-1 $1 0 0 + + 2. With '--cumulative': each column shows the ending balance for that + period, accumulating the changes across periods, starting from 0 at + the report start date: + + $ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E --cumulative + Ending balances (cumulative) in 2008: + + || 2008/03/31 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 + ===================++================================================= + expenses:food || 0 $1 $1 $1 + expenses:supplies || 0 $1 $1 $1 + income:gifts || 0 $-1 $-1 $-1 + income:salary || $-1 $-1 $-1 $-1 + -------------------++------------------------------------------------- + || $-1 0 0 0 + + 3. With '--historical/-H': each column shows the actual historical + ending balance for that period, accumulating the changes across + periods, starting from the actual balance at the report start date. + This is useful eg for a multi-period balance sheet, and when you + are showing only the data after a certain start date: + + $ hledger balance ^assets ^liabilities --quarterly --historical --begin 2008/4/1 + Ending balances (historical) in 2008/04/01-2008/12/31: + + || 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 + ======================++===================================== + assets:bank:checking || $1 $1 0 + assets:bank:saving || $1 $1 $1 + assets:cash || $-2 $-2 $-2 + liabilities:debts || 0 0 $1 + ----------------------++------------------------------------- + || 0 0 0 + + Note that '--cumulative' or '--historical/-H' disable +'--row-total/-T', since summing end balances generally does not make +sense. + + Multicolumn balance reports display accounts in flat mode by default; +to see the hierarchy, use '--tree'. + + With a reporting interval (like '--quarterly' above), the report +start/end dates will be adjusted if necessary so that they encompass the +displayed report periods. This is so that the first and last periods +will be "full" and comparable to the others. + + The '-E/--empty' flag does two things in multicolumn balance reports: +first, the report will show all columns within the specified report +period (without -E, leading and trailing columns with all zeroes are not +shown). Second, all accounts which existed at the report start date +will be considered, not just the ones with activity during the report +period (use -E to include low-activity accounts which would otherwise +would be omitted). + + The '-T/--row-total' flag adds an additional column showing the total +for each row. + + The '-A/--average' flag adds a column showing the average value in +each row. + + Here's an example of all three: + +$ hledger balance -Q income expenses --tree -ETA +Balance changes in 2008: + + || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 Total Average +============++=================================================== + expenses || 0 $2 0 0 $2 $1 + food || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 + supplies || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 + income || $-1 $-1 0 0 $-2 $-1 + gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 $-1 0 + salary || $-1 0 0 0 $-1 0 +------------++--------------------------------------------------- + || $-1 $1 0 0 0 0 + +(Average is rounded to the dollar here since all journal amounts are) + + The '--transpose' flag can be used to exchange the rows and columns +of a multicolumn report. + + When showing multicommodity amounts, multicolumn balance reports will +elide any amounts which have more than two commodities, since otherwise +columns could get very wide. The '--no-elide' flag disables this. +Hiding totals with the '-N/--no-total' flag can also help reduce the +width of multicommodity reports. + + When the report is still too wide, a good workaround is to pipe it +into 'less -RS' (-R for colour, -S to chop long lines). Eg: 'hledger +bal -D --color=yes | less -RS'. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Budget report, Prev: Multicolumn balance report, Up: balance + +3.5.9 Budget report +------------------- + +With '--budget', extra columns are displayed showing budget goals for +each account and period, if any. Budget goals are defined by periodic +transactions. This is very useful for comparing planned and actual +income, expenses, time usage, etc. -budget is most often combined with +a report interval. + + For example, you can take average monthly expenses in the common +expense categories to construct a minimal monthly budget: + +;; Budget +~ monthly + income $2000 + expenses:food $400 + expenses:bus $50 + expenses:movies $30 + assets:bank:checking + +;; Two months worth of expenses +2017-11-01 + income $1950 + expenses:food $396 + expenses:bus $49 + expenses:movies $30 + expenses:supplies $20 + assets:bank:checking + +2017-12-01 + income $2100 + expenses:food $412 + expenses:bus $53 + expenses:gifts $100 + assets:bank:checking + + You can now see a monthly budget report: + +$ hledger balance -M --budget +Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: + + || Nov Dec +======================++==================================================== + assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $565 [ 118% of $480] + expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $53 [ 106% of $50] + expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $412 [ 103% of $400] + expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] 0 [ 0% of $30] + income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $2100 [ 105% of $2000] +----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- + || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] + + This is different from a normal balance report in several ways: + + * Only accounts with budget goals during the report period are shown, + by default. + + * In each column, in square brackets after the actual amount, budget + goal amounts are shown, and the actual/goal percentage. (Note: + budget goals should be in the same commodity as the actual amount.) + + * All parent accounts are always shown, even in flat mode. Eg + assets, assets:bank, and expenses above. + + * Amounts always include all subaccounts, budgeted or unbudgeted, + even in flat mode. + + This means that the numbers displayed will not always add up! Eg +above, the 'expenses' actual amount includes the gifts and supplies +transactions, but the 'expenses:gifts' and 'expenses:supplies' accounts +are not shown, as they have no budget amounts declared. + + This can be confusing. When you need to make things clearer, use the +'-E/--empty' flag, which will reveal all accounts including unbudgeted +ones, giving the full picture. Eg: + +$ hledger balance -M --budget --empty +Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: + + || Nov Dec +======================++==================================================== + assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $565 [ 118% of $480] + expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $53 [ 106% of $50] + expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $412 [ 103% of $400] + expenses:gifts || 0 $100 + expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] 0 [ 0% of $30] + expenses:supplies || $20 0 + income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $2100 [ 105% of $2000] +----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- + || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] + + You can roll over unspent budgets to next period with '--cumulative': + +$ hledger balance -M --budget --cumulative +Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: + + || Nov Dec +======================++==================================================== + assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] + assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] + assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] + expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $1060 [ 110% of $960] + expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $102 [ 102% of $100] + expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $808 [ 101% of $800] + expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] $30 [ 50% of $60] + income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $4050 [ 101% of $4000] +----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- + || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] + + For more examples and notes, see Budgeting. + +* Menu: + +* Budget report start date:: +* Nested budgets:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Budget report start date, Next: Nested budgets, Up: Budget report + +3.5.9.1 Budget report start date +................................ + +This might be a bug, but for now: when making budget reports, it's a +good idea to explicitly set the report's start date to the first day of +a reporting period, because a periodic rule like '~ monthly' generates +its transactions on the 1st of each month, and if your journal has no +regular transactions on the 1st, the default report start date could +exclude that budget goal, which can be a little surprising. Eg here the +default report period is just the day of 2020-01-15: + +~ monthly in 2020 + (expenses:food) $500 + +2020-01-15 + expenses:food $400 + assets:checking + +$ hledger bal expenses --budget +Budget performance in 2020-01-15: + + || 2020-01-15 +==============++============ + || $400 +--------------++------------ + || $400 + + To avoid this, specify the budget report's period, or at least the +start date, with '-b'/'-e'/'-p'/'date:', to ensure it includes the +budget goal transactions (periodic transactions) that you want. Eg, +adding '-b 2020/1/1' to the above: + +$ hledger bal expenses --budget -b 2020/1/1 +Budget performance in 2020-01-01..2020-01-15: + + || 2020-01-01..2020-01-15 +===============++======================== + expenses:food || $400 [80% of $500] +---------------++------------------------ + || $400 [80% of $500] + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Nested budgets, Prev: Budget report start date, Up: Budget report + +3.5.9.2 Nested budgets +...................... + +You can add budgets to any account in your account hierarchy. If you +have budgets on both parent account and some of its children, then +budget(s) of the child account(s) would be added to the budget of their +parent, much like account balances behave. + + In the most simple case this means that once you add a budget to any +account, all its parents would have budget as well. + + To illustrate this, consider the following budget: + +~ monthly from 2019/01 + expenses:personal $1,000.00 + expenses:personal:electronics $100.00 + liabilities + + With this, monthly budget for electronics is defined to be $100 and +budget for personal expenses is an additional $1000, which implicitly +means that budget for both 'expenses:personal' and 'expenses' is $1100. + + Transactions in 'expenses:personal:electronics' will be counted both +towards its $100 budget and $1100 of 'expenses:personal' , and +transactions in any other subaccount of 'expenses:personal' would be +counted towards only towards the budget of 'expenses:personal'. + + For example, let's consider these transactions: + +~ monthly from 2019/01 + expenses:personal $1,000.00 + expenses:personal:electronics $100.00 + liabilities + +2019/01/01 Google home hub + expenses:personal:electronics $90.00 + liabilities $-90.00 + +2019/01/02 Phone screen protector + expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades $10.00 + liabilities + +2019/01/02 Weekly train ticket + expenses:personal:train tickets $153.00 + liabilities + +2019/01/03 Flowers + expenses:personal $30.00 + liabilities + + As you can see, we have transactions in +'expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades' and 'expenses:personal:train +tickets', and since both of these accounts are without explicitly +defined budget, these transactions would be counted towards budgets of +'expenses:personal:electronics' and 'expenses:personal' accordingly: + +$ hledger balance --budget -M +Budget performance in 2019/01: + + || Jan +===============================++=============================== + expenses || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] + expenses:personal || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] + expenses:personal:electronics || $100.00 [ 100% of $100.00] + liabilities || $-283.00 [ 26% of $-1100.00] +-------------------------------++------------------------------- + || 0 [ 0] + + And with '--empty', we can get a better picture of budget allocation +and consumption: + +$ hledger balance --budget -M --empty +Budget performance in 2019/01: + + || Jan +========================================++=============================== + expenses || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] + expenses:personal || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] + expenses:personal:electronics || $100.00 [ 100% of $100.00] + expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades || $10.00 + expenses:personal:train tickets || $153.00 + liabilities || $-283.00 [ 26% of $-1100.00] +----------------------------------------++------------------------------- + || 0 [ 0] + + +File: hledger.info, Node: balancesheet, Next: balancesheetequity, Prev: balance, Up: COMMANDS + +3.6 balancesheet +================ + +balancesheet, bs +This command displays a balance sheet, showing historical ending +balances of asset and liability accounts. (To see equity as well, use +the balancesheetequity command.) Amounts are shown with normal positive +sign, as in conventional financial statements. + + The asset and liability accounts shown are those accounts declared +with the 'Asset' or 'Cash' or 'Liability' type, or otherwise all +accounts under a top-level 'asset' or 'liability' account (case +insensitive, plurals allowed). + + Example: + +$ hledger balancesheet +Balance Sheet + +Assets: + $-1 assets + $1 bank:saving + $-2 cash +-------------------- + $-1 + +Liabilities: + $1 liabilities:debts +-------------------- + $1 + +Total: +-------------------- + 0 + + With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for +each report period. As with multicolumn balance reports, you can alter +the report mode with '--change'/'--cumulative'/'--historical'. Normally +balancesheet shows historical ending balances, which is what you need +for a balance sheet; note this means it ignores report begin dates (and +'-T/--row-total', since summing end balances generally does not make +sense). Instead of absolute values percentages can be displayed with +'-%'. + + This command also supports the output destination and output format +options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', 'html', and +(experimental) 'json'. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: balancesheetequity, Next: cashflow, Prev: balancesheet, Up: COMMANDS + +3.7 balancesheetequity +====================== + +balancesheetequity, bse +This command displays a balance sheet, showing historical ending +balances of asset, liability and equity accounts. Amounts are shown +with normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. + + The asset, liability and equity accounts shown are those accounts +declared with the 'Asset', 'Cash', 'Liability' or 'Equity' type, or +otherwise all accounts under a top-level 'asset', 'liability' or +'equity' account (case insensitive, plurals allowed). + + Example: + +$ hledger balancesheetequity +Balance Sheet With Equity + +Assets: + $-2 assets + $1 bank:saving + $-3 cash +-------------------- + $-2 + +Liabilities: + $1 liabilities:debts +-------------------- + $1 + +Equity: + $1 equity:owner +-------------------- + $1 + +Total: +-------------------- + 0 + + This command also supports the output destination and output format +options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', 'html', and +(experimental) 'json'. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: cashflow, Next: check, Prev: balancesheetequity, Up: COMMANDS + +3.8 cashflow +============ + +cashflow, cf +This command displays a cashflow statement, showing the inflows and +outflows affecting "cash" (ie, liquid) assets. Amounts are shown with +normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. + + The "cash" accounts shown are those accounts declared with the 'Cash' +type, or otherwise all accounts under a top-level 'asset' account (case +insensitive, plural allowed) which do not have 'fixed', 'investment', +'receivable' or 'A/R' in their name. + + Example: + +$ hledger cashflow +Cashflow Statement + +Cash flows: + $-1 assets + $1 bank:saving + $-2 cash +-------------------- + $-1 + +Total: +-------------------- + $-1 + + With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for +each report period. Normally cashflow shows changes in assets per +period, though as with multicolumn balance reports you can alter the +report mode with '--change'/'--cumulative'/'--historical'. Instead of +absolute values percentages can be displayed with '-%'. + + This command also supports the output destination and output format +options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', 'html', and +(experimental) 'json'. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: check, Next: close, Prev: cashflow, Up: COMMANDS + +3.9 check +========= + +check +Check for various kinds of errors in your data. _experimental_ + + hledger provides a number of built-in error checks to help prevent +problems in your data. Some of these are run automatically; or, you can +use this 'check' command to run them on demand, with no output and a +zero exit code if all is well. Some examples: + +hledger check # basic checks +hledger check -s # basic + strict checks +hledger check ordereddates uniqueleafnames # basic + specified checks + + Here are the checks currently available: + +* Menu: + +* Basic checks:: +* Strict checks:: +* Other checks:: +* Add-on checks:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Basic checks, Next: Strict checks, Up: check + +3.9.1 Basic checks +------------------ + +These are always run by this command and other commands: + + * *parseable* - data files are well-formed and can be successfully + parsed + + * *autobalanced* - all transactions are balanced, inferring missing + amounts where necessary, and possibly converting commodities using + transaction prices or automatically-inferred transaction prices + + * *assertions* - all balance assertions in the journal are passing. + (This check can be disabled with '-I'/'--ignore-assertions'.) + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Strict checks, Next: Other checks, Prev: Basic checks, Up: check + +3.9.2 Strict checks +------------------- + +These are always run by this and other commands when '-s'/'--strict' is +used (strict mode): + + * *accounts* - all account names used by transactions have been + declared + + * *commodities* - all commodity symbols used have been declared + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Other checks, Next: Add-on checks, Prev: Strict checks, Up: check + +3.9.3 Other checks +------------------ + +These checks can be run by specifying their names as arguments to the +check command: + + * *ordereddates* - transactions are ordered by date (similar to the + old 'check-dates' command) + + * *uniqueleafnames* - all account leaf names are unique (similar to + the old 'check-dupes' command) + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Add-on checks, Prev: Other checks, Up: check + +3.9.4 Add-on checks +------------------- + +Some checks are not yet integrated with this command, but are available +as add-on commands in +https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/tree/master/bin: + + * *hledger-check-tagfiles* - all tag values containing / (a forward + slash) exist as file paths + + * *hledger-check-fancyassertions* - more complex balance assertions + are passing + + You could make your own similar scripts to perform custom checks; +Cookbook -> Scripting may be helpful. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: close, Next: codes, Prev: check, Up: COMMANDS + +3.10 close +========== + +close, equity +Prints a "closing balances" transaction and an "opening balances" +transaction that bring account balances to and from zero, respectively. +These can be added to your journal file(s), eg to bring asset/liability +balances forward into a new journal file, or to close out +revenues/expenses to retained earnings at the end of a period. + + You can print just one of these transactions by using the '--close' +or '--open' flag. You can customise their descriptions with the +'--close-desc' and '--open-desc' options. + + One amountless posting to "equity:opening/closing balances" is added +to balance the transactions, by default. You can customise this account +name with '--close-acct' and '--open-acct'; if you specify only one of +these, it will be used for both. + + With '--x/--explicit', the equity posting's amount will be shown. +And if it involves multiple commodities, a posting for each commodity +will be shown, as with the print command. + + With '--interleaved', the equity postings are shown next to the +postings they balance, which makes troubleshooting easier. + + By default, transaction prices in the journal are ignored when +generating the closing/opening transactions. With '--show-costs', this +cost information is preserved ('balance -B' reports will be unchanged +after the transition). Separate postings are generated for each cost in +each commodity. Note this can generate very large journal entries, if +you have many foreign currency or investment transactions. + +* Menu: + +* close usage:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: close usage, Up: close + +3.10.1 close usage +------------------ + +If you split your journal files by time (eg yearly), you will typically +run this command at the end of the year, and save the closing +transaction as last entry of the old file, and the opening transaction +as the first entry of the new file. This makes the files self +contained, so that correct balances are reported no matter which of them +are loaded. Ie, if you load just one file, the balances are initialised +correctly; or if you load several files, the redundant closing/opening +transactions cancel each other out. (They will show up in print or +register reports; you can exclude them with a query like +'not:desc:'(opening|closing) balances''.) + + If you're running a business, you might also use this command to +"close the books" at the end of an accounting period, transferring +income statement account balances to retained earnings. (You may want +to change the equity account name to something like "equity:retained +earnings".) + + By default, the closing transaction is dated yesterday, the balances +are calculated as of end of yesterday, and the opening transaction is +dated today. To close on some other date, use: 'hledger close -e +OPENINGDATE'. Eg, to close/open on the 2018/2019 boundary, use '-e +2019'. You can also use -p or 'date:PERIOD' (any starting date is +ignored). + + Both transactions will include balance assertions for the +closed/reopened accounts. You probably shouldn't use status or realness +filters (like -C or -R or 'status:') with this command, or the generated +balance assertions will depend on these flags. Likewise, if you run +this command with -auto, the balance assertions will probably always +require -auto. + + Examples: + + Carrying asset/liability balances into a new file for 2019: + +$ hledger close -f 2018.journal -e 2019 assets liabilities --open + # (copy/paste the output to the start of your 2019 journal file) +$ hledger close -f 2018.journal -e 2019 assets liabilities --close + # (copy/paste the output to the end of your 2018 journal file) + + Now: + +$ hledger bs -f 2019.journal # one file - balances are correct +$ hledger bs -f 2018.journal -f 2019.journal # two files - balances still correct +$ hledger bs -f 2018.journal not:desc:closing # to see year-end balances, must exclude closing txn + + Transactions spanning the closing date can complicate matters, +breaking balance assertions: + +2018/12/30 a purchase made in 2018, clearing the following year + expenses:food 5 + assets:bank:checking -5 ; [2019/1/2] + + Here's one way to resolve that: + +; in 2018.journal: +2018/12/30 a purchase made in 2018, clearing the following year + expenses:food 5 + liabilities:pending + +; in 2019.journal: +2019/1/2 clearance of last year's pending transactions + liabilities:pending 5 = 0 + assets:checking + + +File: hledger.info, Node: codes, Next: commodities, Prev: close, Up: COMMANDS + +3.11 codes +========== + +codes +List the codes seen in transactions, in the order parsed. + + This command prints the value of each transaction's code field, in +the order transactions were parsed. The transaction code is an optional +value written in parentheses between the date and description, often +used to store a cheque number, order number or similar. + + Transactions aren't required to have a code, and missing or empty +codes will not be shown by default. With the '-E'/'--empty' flag, they +will be printed as blank lines. + + You can add a query to select a subset of transactions. + + Examples: + +1/1 (123) + (a) 1 + +1/1 () + (a) 1 + +1/1 + (a) 1 + +1/1 (126) + (a) 1 + +$ hledger codes +123 +124 +126 + +$ hledger codes -E +123 +124 + + +126 + + +File: hledger.info, Node: commodities, Next: descriptions, Prev: codes, Up: COMMANDS + +3.12 commodities +================ + +commodities +List all commodity/currency symbols used or declared in the journal. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: descriptions, Next: diff, Prev: commodities, Up: COMMANDS + +3.13 descriptions +================= + +descriptions +List the unique descriptions that appear in transactions. + + This command lists the unique descriptions that appear in +transactions, in alphabetic order. You can add a query to select a +subset of transactions. + + Example: + +$ hledger descriptions +Store Name +Gas Station | Petrol +Person A + + +File: hledger.info, Node: diff, Next: files, Prev: descriptions, Up: COMMANDS + +3.14 diff +========= + +diff +Compares a particular account's transactions in two input files. It +shows any transactions to this account which are in one file but not in +the other. + + More precisely, for each posting affecting this account in either +file, it looks for a corresponding posting in the other file which posts +the same amount to the same account (ignoring date, description, etc.) +Since postings not transactions are compared, this also works when +multiple bank transactions have been combined into a single journal +entry. + + This is useful eg if you have downloaded an account's transactions +from your bank (eg as CSV data). When hledger and your bank disagree +about the account balance, you can compare the bank data with your +journal to find out the cause. + + Examples: + +$ hledger diff -f $LEDGER_FILE -f bank.csv assets:bank:giro +These transactions are in the first file only: + +2014/01/01 Opening Balances + assets:bank:giro EUR ... + ... + equity:opening balances EUR -... + +These transactions are in the second file only: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: files, Next: help, Prev: diff, Up: COMMANDS + +3.15 files +========== + +files +List all files included in the journal. With a REGEX argument, only +file names matching the regular expression (case sensitive) are shown. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: help, Next: import, Prev: files, Up: COMMANDS + +3.16 help +========= + +help +Show any of the hledger manuals. + + The 'help' command displays any of the main hledger manuals, in one +of several ways. Run it with no argument to list the manuals, or +provide a full or partial manual name to select one. + + hledger manuals are available in several formats. hledger help will +use the first of these display methods that it finds: info, man, $PAGER, +less, stdout (or when non-interactive, just stdout). You can force a +particular viewer with the '--info', '--man', '--pager', '--cat' flags. + + Examples: + +$ hledger help +Please choose a manual by typing "hledger help MANUAL" (a substring is ok). +Manuals: hledger hledger-ui hledger-web journal csv timeclock timedot + +$ hledger help h --man + +hledger(1) hledger User Manuals hledger(1) + +NAME + hledger - a command-line accounting tool + +SYNOPSIS + hledger [-f FILE] COMMAND [OPTIONS] [ARGS] + hledger [-f FILE] ADDONCMD -- [OPTIONS] [ARGS] + hledger + +DESCRIPTION + hledger is a cross-platform program for tracking money, time, or any +... + + +File: hledger.info, Node: import, Next: incomestatement, Prev: help, Up: COMMANDS + +3.17 import +=========== + +import +Read new transactions added to each FILE since last run, and add them to +the main journal file. Or with -dry-run, just print the transactions +that would be added. Or with -catchup, just mark all of the FILEs' +transactions as imported, without actually importing any. + + The input files are specified as arguments - no need to write -f +before each one. So eg to add new transactions from all CSV files to +the main journal, it's just: 'hledger import *.csv' + + New transactions are detected in the same way as print -new: by +assuming transactions are always added to the input files in increasing +date order, and by saving '.latest.FILE' state files. + + The -dry-run output is in journal format, so you can filter it, eg to +see only uncategorised transactions: + +$ hledger import --dry ... | hledger -f- print unknown --ignore-assertions + +* Menu: + +* Importing balance assignments:: +* Commodity display styles:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Importing balance assignments, Next: Commodity display styles, Up: import + +3.17.1 Importing balance assignments +------------------------------------ + +Entries added by import will have their posting amounts made explicit +(like 'hledger print -x'). This means that any balance assignments in +imported files must be evaluated; but, imported files don't get to see +the main file's account balances. As a result, importing entries with +balance assignments (eg from an institution that provides only balances +and not posting amounts) will probably generate incorrect posting +amounts. To avoid this problem, use print instead of import: + +$ hledger print IMPORTFILE [--new] >> $LEDGER_FILE + + (If you think import should leave amounts implicit like print does, +please test it and send a pull request.) + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Commodity display styles, Prev: Importing balance assignments, Up: import + +3.17.2 Commodity display styles +------------------------------- + +Imported amounts will be formatted according to the canonical commodity +styles (declared or inferred) in the main journal file. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: incomestatement, Next: notes, Prev: import, Up: COMMANDS + +3.18 incomestatement +==================== + +incomestatement, is + + This command displays an income statement, showing revenues and +expenses during one or more periods. Amounts are shown with normal +positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. + + The revenue and expense accounts shown are those accounts declared +with the 'Revenue' or 'Expense' type, or otherwise all accounts under a +top-level 'revenue' or 'income' or 'expense' account (case insensitive, +plurals allowed). + + Example: + +$ hledger incomestatement +Income Statement + +Revenues: + $-2 income + $-1 gifts + $-1 salary +-------------------- + $-2 + +Expenses: + $2 expenses + $1 food + $1 supplies +-------------------- + $2 + +Total: +-------------------- + 0 + + With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for +each report period. Normally incomestatement shows revenues/expenses +per period, though as with multicolumn balance reports you can alter the +report mode with '--change'/'--cumulative'/'--historical'. Instead of +absolute values percentages can be displayed with '-%'. + + This command also supports the output destination and output format +options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', 'html', and +(experimental) 'json'. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: notes, Next: rewrite, Prev: incomestatement, Up: COMMANDS + +3.19 notes +========== + +notes +List the unique notes that appear in transactions. + + This command lists the unique notes that appear in transactions, in +alphabetic order. You can add a query to select a subset of +transactions. The note is the part of the transaction description after +a | character (or if there is no |, the whole description). + + Example: + +$ hledger notes +Petrol +Snacks + + +File: hledger.info, Node: rewrite, Next: roi, Prev: notes, Up: COMMANDS + +3.20 rewrite +============ + +rewrite +Print all transactions, rewriting the postings of matched transactions. +For now the only rewrite available is adding new postings, like print +-auto. + + This is a start at a generic rewriter of transaction entries. It +reads the default journal and prints the transactions, like print, but +adds one or more specified postings to any transactions matching QUERY. +The posting amounts can be fixed, or a multiplier of the existing +transaction's first posting amount. + + Examples: + +$ hledger-rewrite.hs ^income --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33 ; income tax' --add-posting '(reserve:gifts) $100' +$ hledger-rewrite.hs expenses:gifts --add-posting '(reserve:gifts) *-1"' +$ hledger-rewrite.hs -f rewrites.hledger + + rewrites.hledger may consist of entries like: + += ^income amt:<0 date:2017 + (liabilities:tax) *0.33 ; tax on income + (reserve:grocery) *0.25 ; reserve 25% for grocery + (reserve:) *0.25 ; reserve 25% for grocery + + Note the single quotes to protect the dollar sign from bash, and the +two spaces between account and amount. + + More: + +$ hledger rewrite -- [QUERY] --add-posting "ACCT AMTEXPR" ... +$ hledger rewrite -- ^income --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' +$ hledger rewrite -- expenses:gifts --add-posting '(budget:gifts) *-1"' +$ hledger rewrite -- ^income --add-posting '(budget:foreign currency) *0.25 JPY; diversify' + + Argument for '--add-posting' option is a usual posting of transaction +with an exception for amount specification. More precisely, you can use +''*'' (star symbol) before the amount to indicate that that this is a +factor for an amount of original matched posting. If the amount +includes a commodity name, the new posting amount will be in the new +commodity; otherwise, it will be in the matched posting amount's +commodity. + +* Menu: + +* Re-write rules in a file:: +* Diff output format:: +* rewrite vs print --auto:: + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Re-write rules in a file, Next: Diff output format, Up: rewrite + +3.20.1 Re-write rules in a file +------------------------------- + +During the run this tool will execute so called "Automated Transactions" +found in any journal it process. I.e instead of specifying this +operations in command line you can put them in a journal file. + +$ rewrite-rules.journal + + Make contents look like this: + += ^income + (liabilities:tax) *.33 + += expenses:gifts + budget:gifts *-1 + assets:budget *1 + + Note that ''='' (equality symbol) that is used instead of date in +transactions you usually write. It indicates the query by which you +want to match the posting to add new ones. + +$ hledger rewrite -- -f input.journal -f rewrite-rules.journal > rewritten-tidy-output.journal + + This is something similar to the commands pipeline: + +$ hledger rewrite -- -f input.journal '^income' --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' \ + | hledger rewrite -- -f - expenses:gifts --add-posting 'budget:gifts *-1' \ + --add-posting 'assets:budget *1' \ + > rewritten-tidy-output.journal + + It is important to understand that relative order of such entries in +journal is important. You can re-use result of previously added +postings. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Diff output format, Next: rewrite vs print --auto, Prev: Re-write rules in a file, Up: rewrite + +3.20.2 Diff output format +------------------------- + +To use this tool for batch modification of your journal files you may +find useful output in form of unified diff. + +$ hledger rewrite -- --diff -f examples/sample.journal '^income' --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' + + Output might look like: + +--- /tmp/examples/sample.journal ++++ /tmp/examples/sample.journal +@@ -18,3 +18,4 @@ + 2008/01/01 income +- assets:bank:checking $1 ++ assets:bank:checking $1 + income:salary ++ (liabilities:tax) 0 +@@ -22,3 +23,4 @@ + 2008/06/01 gift +- assets:bank:checking $1 ++ assets:bank:checking $1 + income:gifts ++ (liabilities:tax) 0 + + If you'll pass this through 'patch' tool you'll get transactions +containing the posting that matches your query be updated. Note that +multiple files might be update according to list of input files +specified via '--file' options and 'include' directives inside of these +files. + + Be careful. Whole transaction being re-formatted in a style of +output from 'hledger print'. + + See also: + + https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/issues/99 + + +File: hledger.info, Node: rewrite vs print --auto, Prev: Diff output format, Up: rewrite + +3.20.3 rewrite vs. print -auto +------------------------------ + +This command predates print -auto, and currently does much the same +thing, but with these differences: + + * with multiple files, rewrite lets rules in any file affect all + other files. print -auto uses standard directive scoping; rules + affect only child files. + + * rewrite's query limits which transactions can be rewritten; all are + printed. print -auto's query limits which transactions are + printed. + + * rewrite applies rules specified on command line or in the journal. + print -auto applies rules specified in the journal. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: roi, Next: stats, Prev: rewrite, Up: COMMANDS + +3.21 roi +======== + +roi +Shows the time-weighted (TWR) and money-weighted (IRR) rate of return on +your investments. + + This command assumes that you have account(s) that hold nothing but +your investments and whenever you record current appraisal/valuation of +these investments you offset unrealized profit and loss into account(s) +that, again, hold nothing but unrealized profit and loss. + + Any transactions affecting balance of investment account(s) and not +originating from unrealized profit and loss account(s) are assumed to be +your investments or withdrawals. + + At a minimum, you need to supply a query (which could be just an +account name) to select your investments with '--inv', and another query +to identify your profit and loss transactions with '--pnl'. + + This command will compute and display the internalized rate of return +(IRR) and time-weighted rate of return (TWR) for your investments for +the time period requested. Both rates of return are annualized before +display, regardless of the length of reporting interval. + + Note, in some cases this report can fail, for these reasons: + + * Error (NotBracketed): No solution for Internal Rate of Return + (IRR). Possible causes: IRR is huge (>1000000%), balance of + investment becomes negative at some point in time. + * Error (SearchFailed): Failed to find solution for Internal Rate of + Return (IRR). Either search does not converge to a solution, or + converges too slowly. + + Examples: + + * Using roi to report unrealised gains: + https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/blob/master/examples/roi-unrealised.ledger + + More background: + + "ROI" stands for "return on investment". Traditionally this was +computed as a difference between current value of investment and its +initial value, expressed in percentage of the initial value. + + However, this approach is only practical in simple cases, where +investments receives no in-flows or out-flows of money, and where rate +of growth is fixed over time. For more complex scenarios you need +different ways to compute rate of return, and this command implements +two of them: IRR and TWR. + + Internal rate of return, or "IRR" (also called "money-weighted rate +of return") takes into account effects of in-flows and out-flows. +Naively, if you are withdrawing from your investment, your future gains +would be smaller (in absolute numbers), and will be a smaller percentage +of your initial investment, and if you are adding to your investment, +you will receive bigger absolute gains (but probably at the same rate of +return). IRR is a way to compute rate of return for each period between +in-flow or out-flow of money, and then combine them in a way that gives +you an annual rate of return that investment is expected to generate. + + As mentioned before, in-flows and out-flows would be any cash that +you personally put in or withdraw, and for the "roi" command, these are +transactions that involve account(s) matching '--inv' argument and NOT +involve account(s) matching '--pnl' argument. + + Presumably, you will also record changes in the value of your +investment, and balance them against "profit and loss" (or "unrealized +gains") account. Note that in order for IRR to compute the precise +effect of your in-flows and out-flows on the rate of return, you will +need to record the value of your investement on or close to the days +when in- or out-flows occur. + + Implementation of IRR in hledger should match the 'XIRR' formula in +Excel. + + Second way to compute rate of return that 'roi' command implements is +called "time-weighted rate of return" or "TWR". Like IRR, it will also +break the history of your investment into periods between in-flows and +out-flows to compute rate of return per each period and then a compound +rate of return. However, internal workings of TWR are quite different. + + In technical terms, IRR uses the same approach as computation of net +present value, and tries to find a discount rate that makes net present +value of all the cash flows of your investment to add up to zero. This +could be hard to wrap your head around, especially if you haven't done +discounted cash flow analysis before. + + TWR represents your investment as an imaginary "unit fund" where +in-flows/ out-flows lead to buying or selling "units" of your investment +and changes in its value change the value of "investment unit". Change +in "unit price" over the reporting period gives you rate of return of +your investment. + + References: * Explanation of rate of return * Explanation of IRR * +Explanation of TWR * Examples of computing IRR and TWR and discussion of +the limitations of both metrics + + More examples: + + Lets say that we found an investment in Snake Oil that is proising to +give us 10% annually: + +2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil + assets:cash -$100 + investment:snake oil + +2019-12-24 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil = $110 + equity:unrealized gains + + For now, basic computation of the rate of return, as well as IRR and +TWR, gives us the expected 10%: + +$ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+--------+ +| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | ++===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++========+========+ +| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 110 | 10 || 10.00% | 10.00% | ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+--------+ + + However, lets say that shorty after investing in the Snake Oil we +started to have second thoughs, so we prompty withdrew $90, leaving only +$10 in. Before Christmas, though, we started to get the "fear of +mission out", so we put the $90 back in. So for most of the year, our +investment was just $10 dollars, and it gave us just $1 in growth: + +2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil + assets:cash -$100 + investment:snake oil + +2019-01-02 Buyers remorse + assets:cash $90 + investment:snake oil + +2019-12-30 Fear of missing out + assets:cash -$90 + investment:snake oil + +2019-12-31 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil = $101 + equity:unrealized gains + + Now IRR and TWR are drastically different: + +$ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++-------+-------+ +| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | ++===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++=======+=======+ +| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 101 | 1 || 9.32% | 1.00% | ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++-------+-------+ + + Here, IRR tells us that we made close to 10% on the $10 dollars that +we had in the account most of the time. And TWR is ... just 1%? Why? + + Based on the transactions in our journal, TWR "think" that we are +buying back $90 worst of Snake Oil at the same price that it had at the +beginning of they year, and then after that our $100 investment gets $1 +increase in value, or 1% of $100. Let's take a closer look at what is +happening here by asking for quarterly reports instead of annual: + +$ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+-------+ +| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | ++===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++========+=======+ +| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | +| 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | +| 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | +| 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10 | 90 | 101 | 1 || 37.80% | 4.03% | ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+-------+ + + Now both IRR and TWR are thrown off by the fact that all of the +growth for our investment happens in Q4 2019. This happes because IRR +computation is still yielding 9.32% and TWR is still 1%, but this time +these are rates for three month period instead of twelve, so in order to +get an annual rate they should be multiplied by four! + + Let's try to keep a better record of how Snake Oil grew in value: + +2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil + assets:cash -$100 + investment:snake oil + +2019-01-02 Buyers remorse + assets:cash $90 + investment:snake oil + +2019-02-28 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil + equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 + +2019-06-30 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil + equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 + +2019-09-30 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil + equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 + +2019-12-30 Fear of missing out + assets:cash -$90 + investment:snake oil + +2019-12-31 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil + equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 + + Would our quartery report look better now? Almost: + +$ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ +| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | ++===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++========+========+ +| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10.25 | 0.25 || 9.53% | 10.53% | +| 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10.25 | 0 | 10.50 | 0.25 || 10.15% | 10.15% | +| 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10.50 | 0 | 10.75 | 0.25 || 9.79% | 9.78% | +| 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10.75 | 90 | 101.00 | 0.25 || 8.05% | 1.00% | ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ + + Something is still wrong with TWR computation for Q4, and if you have +been paying attention you know what it is already: big $90 buy-back is +recorded prior to the only transaction that captures the change of value +of Snake Oil that happened in this time period. Lets combine +transactions from 30th and 31st of Dec into one: + +2019-12-30 Fear of missing out and growth of Snake Oil + assets:cash -$90 + investment:snake oil + equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 + + Now growth of investment properly affects its price at the time of +buy-back: + +$ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ +| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | ++===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++========+========+ +| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10.25 | 0.25 || 9.53% | 10.53% | +| 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10.25 | 0 | 10.50 | 0.25 || 10.15% | 10.15% | +| 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10.50 | 0 | 10.75 | 0.25 || 9.79% | 9.78% | +| 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10.75 | 90 | 101.00 | 0.25 || 8.05% | 9.57% | ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ + + And for annual report, TWR now reports the exact profitability of our +investment: + +$ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++-------+--------+ +| || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | ++===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++=======+========+ +| 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 101.00 | 1.00 || 9.32% | 10.00% | ++---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++-------+--------+ + + +File: hledger.info, Node: stats, Next: tags, Prev: roi, Up: COMMANDS + +3.22 stats +========== + +stats +Show some journal statistics. + + The stats command displays summary information for the whole journal, +or a matched part of it. With a reporting interval, it shows a report +for each report period. + + Example: + +$ hledger stats +Main journal file : /src/hledger/examples/sample.journal +Included journal files : +Transactions span : 2008-01-01 to 2009-01-01 (366 days) +Last transaction : 2008-12-31 (2333 days ago) +Transactions : 5 (0.0 per day) +Transactions last 30 days: 0 (0.0 per day) +Transactions last 7 days : 0 (0.0 per day) +Payees/descriptions : 5 +Accounts : 8 (depth 3) +Commodities : 1 ($) +Market prices : 12 ($) + + This command also supports output destination and output format +selection. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: tags, Next: test, Prev: stats, Up: COMMANDS + +3.23 tags +========= + +tags +List the unique tag names used in the journal. With a TAGREGEX +argument, only tag names matching the regular expression (case +insensitive) are shown. With QUERY arguments, only transactions +matching the query are considered. + + With the -values flag, the tags' unique values are listed instead. + + With -parsed flag, all tags or values are shown in the order they are +parsed from the input data, including duplicates. + + With -E/-empty, any blank/empty values will also be shown, otherwise +they are omitted. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: test, Next: Add-on commands, Prev: tags, Up: COMMANDS + +3.24 test +========= + +test +Run built-in unit tests. + + This command runs the unit tests built in to hledger and hledger-lib, +printing the results on stdout. If any test fails, the exit code will +be non-zero. + + This is mainly used by hledger developers, but you can also use it to +sanity-check the installed hledger executable on your platform. All +tests are expected to pass - if you ever see a failure, please report as +a bug! + + This command also accepts tasty test runner options, written after a +- (double hyphen). Eg to run only the tests in Hledger.Data.Amount, +with ANSI colour codes disabled: + +$ hledger test -- -pData.Amount --color=never + + For help on these, see https://github.com/feuerbach/tasty#options +('-- --help' currently doesn't show them). + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Add-on commands, Next: Add-on command flags, Prev: test, Up: COMMANDS + +3.25 Add-on commands +==================== + +Any programs or scripts in your PATH named named 'hledger-SOMETHING' +will also appear in the commands list (with a '+' mark). These are +called add-on commands. + + These offical add-ons are maintained and released along with hledger: + + * ui an efficient terminal interface for hledger (TUI) + * web a simple web interface for hledger (WUI) + + These add-ons are maintained separately: + + * iadd a more interactive alternative for the add command + * interest generates interest transactions according to various + schemes + * stockquotes downloads market prices for your commodities from + AlphaVantage _(experimental)_ + + Additional experimental add-ons, which may not be in a working state, +can be found in the bin/ directory in the hledger repo. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Add-on command flags, Next: Making add-on commands, Prev: Add-on commands, Up: COMMANDS + +3.26 Add-on command flags +========================= + +In a hledger command line, add-on command flags must have a double dash +('--') preceding them. Eg you must write: + +$ hledger web -- --serve + + and not: + +$ hledger web --serve + + (because the '--serve' flag belongs to 'hledger-web', not 'hledger'). + + The '-h/--help' and '--version' flags work without '--', with their +position deciding which program they refer to. Eg 'hledger -h web' +shows hledger's help, 'hledger web -h' shows hledger-web's help. + + If you have any trouble with this, remember you can always run the +add-on program directly, eg: + +$ hledger-web --serve + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Making add-on commands, Prev: Add-on command flags, Up: COMMANDS + +3.27 Making add-on commands +=========================== + +Add-on commands are programs or scripts in your PATH + + * whose name starts with 'hledger-' + * whose name ends with a recognised file extension: + '.bat','.com','.exe', '.hs','.lhs','.pl','.py','.rb','.rkt','.sh' + or none + * and (on unix, mac) which are executable by the current user. + + Add-ons are a relatively easy way to add local features or experiment +with new ideas. They can be written in any language, but haskell +scripts have a big advantage: they can use the same hledger library +functions that built-in commands use for command-line options, parsing +and reporting. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: ENVIRONMENT, Next: FILES, Prev: COMMANDS, Up: Top + +4 ENVIRONMENT +************* + +*LEDGER_FILE* The journal file path when not specified with '-f'. +Default: '~/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps +'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). + + A typical value is '~/DIR/YYYY.journal', where DIR is a +version-controlled finance directory and YYYY is the current year. Or +'~/DIR/current.journal', where current.journal is a symbolic link to +YYYY.journal. + + On Mac computers, you can set this and other environment variables in +a more thorough way that also affects applications started from the GUI +(say, an Emacs dock icon). Eg on MacOS Catalina I have a +'~/.MacOSX/environment.plist' file containing + +{ + "LEDGER_FILE" : "~/finance/current.journal" +} + + To see the effect you may need to 'killall Dock', or reboot. + + *COLUMNS* The screen width used by the register command. Default: +the full terminal width. + + *NO_COLOR* If this variable exists with any value, hledger will not +use ANSI color codes in terminal output. This overrides the +-color/-colour option. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: FILES, Next: LIMITATIONS, Prev: ENVIRONMENT, Up: Top + +5 FILES +******* + +Reads data from one or more files in hledger journal, timeclock, +timedot, or CSV format specified with '-f', or '$LEDGER_FILE', or +'$HOME/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps +'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). + + +File: hledger.info, Node: LIMITATIONS, Next: TROUBLESHOOTING, Prev: FILES, Up: Top + +6 LIMITATIONS +************* + +The need to precede add-on command options with '--' when invoked from +hledger is awkward. + + When input data contains non-ascii characters, a suitable system +locale must be configured (or there will be an unhelpful error). Eg on +POSIX, set LANG to something other than C. + + In a Microsoft Windows CMD window, non-ascii characters and colours +are not supported. + + On Windows, non-ascii characters may not display correctly when +running a hledger built in CMD in MSYS/CYGWIN, or vice-versa. + + In a Cygwin/MSYS/Mintty window, the tab key is not supported in +hledger add. + + Not all of Ledger's journal file syntax is supported. See file +format differences. + + On large data files, hledger is slower and uses more memory than +Ledger. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: TROUBLESHOOTING, Prev: LIMITATIONS, Up: Top + +7 TROUBLESHOOTING +***************** + +Here are some issues you might encounter when you run hledger (and +remember you can also seek help from the IRC channel, mail list or bug +tracker): + + *Successfully installed, but "No command 'hledger' found"* +stack and cabal install binaries into a special directory, which should +be added to your PATH environment variable. Eg on unix-like systems, +that is ~/.local/bin and ~/.cabal/bin respectively. + + *I set a custom LEDGER_FILE, but hledger is still using the default +file* +'LEDGER_FILE' should be a real environment variable, not just a shell +variable. The command 'env | grep LEDGER_FILE' should show it. You may +need to use 'export'. Here's an explanation. + + *Getting errors like "Illegal byte sequence" or "Invalid or +incomplete multibyte or wide character" or "commitAndReleaseBuffer: +invalid argument (invalid character)"* +Programs compiled with GHC (hledger, haskell build tools, etc.) need to +have a UTF-8-aware locale configured in the environment, otherwise they +will fail with these kinds of errors when they encounter non-ascii +characters. + + To fix it, set the LANG environment variable to some locale which +supports UTF-8. The locale you choose must be installed on your system. + + Here's an example of setting LANG temporarily, on Ubuntu GNU/Linux: + +$ file my.journal +my.journal: UTF-8 Unicode text # the file is UTF8-encoded +$ echo $LANG +C # LANG is set to the default locale, which does not support UTF8 +$ locale -a # which locales are installed ? +C +en_US.utf8 # here's a UTF8-aware one we can use +POSIX +$ LANG=en_US.utf8 hledger -f my.journal print # ensure it is used for this command + + If available, 'C.UTF-8' will also work. If your preferred locale +isn't listed by 'locale -a', you might need to install it. Eg on +Ubuntu/Debian: + +$ apt-get install language-pack-fr +$ locale -a +C +en_US.utf8 +fr_BE.utf8 +fr_CA.utf8 +fr_CH.utf8 +fr_FR.utf8 +fr_LU.utf8 +POSIX +$ LANG=fr_FR.utf8 hledger -f my.journal print + + Here's how you could set it permanently, if you use a bash shell: + +$ echo "export LANG=en_US.utf8" >>~/.bash_profile +$ bash --login + + Exact spelling and capitalisation may be important. Note the +difference on MacOS ('UTF-8', not 'utf8'). Some platforms (eg ubuntu) +allow variant spellings, but others (eg macos) require it to be exact: + +$ locale -a | grep -iE en_us.*utf +en_US.UTF-8 +$ LANG=en_US.UTF-8 hledger -f my.journal print + + +Tag Table: +Node: Top68 +Node: COMMON TASKS2337 +Ref: #common-tasks2449 +Node: Getting help2856 +Ref: #getting-help2988 +Node: Constructing command lines3541 +Ref: #constructing-command-lines3733 +Node: Starting a journal file4430 +Ref: #starting-a-journal-file4628 +Node: Setting opening balances5816 +Ref: #setting-opening-balances6012 +Node: Recording transactions9153 +Ref: #recording-transactions9333 +Node: Reconciling9889 +Ref: #reconciling10032 +Node: Reporting12289 +Ref: #reporting12429 +Node: Migrating to a new file16428 +Ref: #migrating-to-a-new-file16576 +Node: OPTIONS16875 +Ref: #options16982 +Node: General options17368 +Ref: #general-options17493 +Node: Command options20894 +Ref: #command-options21045 +Node: Command arguments21445 +Ref: #command-arguments21592 +Node: Queries22472 +Ref: #queries22627 +Node: Special characters in arguments and queries26589 +Ref: #special-characters-in-arguments-and-queries26817 +Node: More escaping27268 +Ref: #more-escaping27430 +Node: Even more escaping27726 +Ref: #even-more-escaping27920 +Node: Less escaping28594 +Ref: #less-escaping28756 +Node: Unicode characters29001 +Ref: #unicode-characters29183 +Node: Input files30595 +Ref: #input-files30731 +Node: Strict mode33030 +Ref: #strict-mode33166 +Node: Output destination33814 +Ref: #output-destination33966 +Node: Output format34391 +Ref: #output-format34543 +Node: Regular expressions36710 +Ref: #regular-expressions36867 +Node: Smart dates38603 +Ref: #smart-dates38754 +Node: Report start & end date40115 +Ref: #report-start-end-date40287 +Node: Report intervals41784 +Ref: #report-intervals41949 +Node: Period expressions42339 +Ref: #period-expressions42499 +Node: Depth limiting46942 +Ref: #depth-limiting47086 +Node: Pivoting47418 +Ref: #pivoting47541 +Node: Valuation49217 +Ref: #valuation49319 +Node: -B Cost50008 +Ref: #b-cost50112 +Node: -V Value50245 +Ref: #v-value50391 +Node: -X Value in specified commodity50586 +Ref: #x-value-in-specified-commodity50785 +Node: Valuation date50934 +Ref: #valuation-date51102 +Node: Market prices51524 +Ref: #market-prices51704 +Node: --infer-value market prices from transactions52646 +Ref: #infer-value-market-prices-from-transactions52895 +Node: Valuation commodity54177 +Ref: #valuation-commodity54386 +Node: Simple valuation examples55612 +Ref: #simple-valuation-examples55814 +Node: --value Flexible valuation56473 +Ref: #value-flexible-valuation56681 +Node: More valuation examples58628 +Ref: #more-valuation-examples58837 +Node: Effect of valuation on reports60842 +Ref: #effect-of-valuation-on-reports61030 +Node: COMMANDS68049 +Ref: #commands68157 +Node: accounts70722 +Ref: #accounts70820 +Node: activity71519 +Ref: #activity71629 +Node: add72012 +Ref: #add72113 +Node: aregister74906 +Ref: #aregister75018 +Node: aregister and custom posting dates76512 +Ref: #aregister-and-custom-posting-dates76676 +Node: balance77497 +Ref: #balance77614 +Node: Classic balance report79240 +Ref: #classic-balance-report79413 +Node: Customising the classic balance report80737 +Ref: #customising-the-classic-balance-report80965 +Node: Colour support83041 +Ref: #colour-support83208 +Node: Flat mode83304 +Ref: #flat-mode83452 +Node: Depth limited balance reports83865 +Ref: #depth-limited-balance-reports84050 +Node: Percentages84506 +Ref: #percentages84663 +Node: Sorting by amount85800 +Ref: #sorting-by-amount85966 +Node: Multicolumn balance report86460 +Ref: #multicolumn-balance-report86646 +Node: Budget report92243 +Ref: #budget-report92377 +Node: Budget report start date97666 +Ref: #budget-report-start-date97831 +Node: Nested budgets99163 +Ref: #nested-budgets99308 +Node: balancesheet102748 +Ref: #balancesheet102884 +Node: balancesheetequity104396 +Ref: #balancesheetequity104545 +Node: cashflow105621 +Ref: #cashflow105743 +Node: check106959 +Ref: #check107062 +Node: Basic checks107667 +Ref: #basic-checks107783 +Node: Strict checks108276 +Ref: #strict-checks108415 +Node: Other checks108658 +Ref: #other-checks108796 +Node: Add-on checks109094 +Ref: #add-on-checks109212 +Node: close109665 +Ref: #close109767 +Node: close usage111289 +Ref: #close-usage111382 +Node: codes114195 +Ref: #codes114303 +Node: commodities115015 +Ref: #commodities115142 +Node: descriptions115224 +Ref: #descriptions115352 +Node: diff115656 +Ref: #diff115762 +Node: files116809 +Ref: #files116909 +Node: help117056 +Ref: #help117156 +Node: import118237 +Ref: #import118351 +Node: Importing balance assignments119273 +Ref: #importing-balance-assignments119454 +Node: Commodity display styles120103 +Ref: #commodity-display-styles120274 +Node: incomestatement120403 +Ref: #incomestatement120536 +Node: notes121881 +Ref: #notes121995 +Node: rewrite122363 +Ref: #rewrite122469 +Node: Re-write rules in a file124375 +Ref: #re-write-rules-in-a-file124536 +Node: Diff output format125685 +Ref: #diff-output-format125866 +Node: rewrite vs print --auto126958 +Ref: #rewrite-vs.-print---auto127116 +Node: roi127672 +Ref: #roi127770 +Node: stats139980 +Ref: #stats140079 +Node: tags140867 +Ref: #tags140965 +Node: test141484 +Ref: #test141592 +Node: Add-on commands142339 +Ref: #add-on-commands142485 +Node: Add-on command flags143249 +Ref: #add-on-command-flags143423 +Node: Making add-on commands144003 +Ref: #making-add-on-commands144157 +Node: ENVIRONMENT144750 +Ref: #environment144862 +Node: FILES145847 +Ref: #files-1145950 +Node: LIMITATIONS146163 +Ref: #limitations146282 +Node: TROUBLESHOOTING147025 +Ref: #troubleshooting147138 + +End Tag Table diff --git a/hledger.txt b/hledger.txt --- a/hledger.txt +++ b/hledger.txt @@ -1,3845 +1,3649 @@ -hledger(1) hledger User Manuals hledger(1) - - - -NAME - hledger - a command-line accounting tool - -SYNOPSIS - hledger [-f FILE] COMMAND [OPTIONS] [ARGS] - hledger [-f FILE] ADDONCMD -- [OPTIONS] [ARGS] - hledger - -DESCRIPTION - hledger is a reliable, cross-platform set of programs for tracking - money, time, or any other commodity, using double-entry accounting and - a simple, editable file format. hledger is inspired by and largely - compatible with ledger(1). - - This is hledger's command-line interface (there are also terminal and - web interfaces). Its basic function is to read a plain text file de- - scribing financial transactions (in accounting terms, a general jour- - nal) and print useful reports on standard output, or export them as - CSV. hledger can also read some other file formats such as CSV files, - translating them to journal format. Additionally, hledger lists other - hledger-* executables found in the user's $PATH and can invoke them as - subcommands. - - hledger reads data from one or more files in hledger journal, time- - clock, timedot, or CSV format specified with -f, or $LEDGER_FILE, or - $HOME/.hledger.journal (on windows, perhaps - C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal). If using $LEDGER_FILE, note this must - be a real environment variable, not a shell variable. You can specify - standard input with -f-. - - Transactions are dated movements of money between two (or more) named - accounts, and are recorded with journal entries like this: - - 2015/10/16 bought food - expenses:food $10 - assets:cash - - For more about this format, see hledger_journal(5). - - Most users use a text editor to edit the journal, usually with an edi- - tor mode such as ledger-mode for added convenience. hledger's interac- - tive add command is another way to record new transactions. hledger - never changes existing transactions. - - To get started, you can either save some entries like the above in - ~/.hledger.journal, or run hledger add and follow the prompts. Then - try some commands like hledger print or hledger balance. Run hledger - with no arguments for a list of commands. - -COMMON TASKS - Here are some quick examples of how to do some basic tasks with - hledger. For more details, see the reference section below, the - hledger_journal(5) manual, or the more extensive docs at - https://hledger.org. - - Getting help - $ hledger # show available commands - $ hledger --help # show common options - $ hledger CMD --help # show common and command options, and command help - $ hledger help # show available manuals/topics - $ hledger help hledger # show hledger manual as info/man/text (auto-chosen) - $ hledger help journal --man # show the journal manual as a man page - $ hledger help --help # show more detailed help for the help command - - Find more docs, chat, mail list, reddit, issue tracker: - https://hledger.org#help-feedback - - Constructing command lines - hledger has an extensive and powerful command line interface. We - strive to keep it simple and ergonomic, but you may run into one of the - confusing real world details described in OPTIONS, below. If that hap- - pens, here are some tips that may help: - - o command-specific options must go after the command (it's fine to put - all options there) (hledger CMD OPTS ARGS) - - o running add-on executables directly simplifies command line parsing - (hledger-ui OPTS ARGS) - - o enclose "problematic" args in single quotes - - o if needed, also add a backslash to hide regular expression metachar- - acters from the shell - - o to see how a misbehaving command is being parsed, add --debug=2. - - Starting a journal file - hledger looks for your accounting data in a journal file, - $HOME/.hledger.journal by default: - - $ hledger stats - The hledger journal file "/Users/simon/.hledger.journal" was not found. - Please create it first, eg with "hledger add" or a text editor. - Or, specify an existing journal file with -f or LEDGER_FILE. - - You can override this by setting the LEDGER_FILE environment variable. - It's a good practice to keep this important file under version control, - and to start a new file each year. So you could do something like - this: - - $ mkdir ~/finance - $ cd ~/finance - $ git init - Initialized empty Git repository in /Users/simon/finance/.git/ - $ touch 2020.journal - $ echo "export LEDGER_FILE=$HOME/finance/2020.journal" >> ~/.bashrc - $ source ~/.bashrc - $ hledger stats - Main file : /Users/simon/finance/2020.journal - Included files : - Transactions span : to (0 days) - Last transaction : none - Transactions : 0 (0.0 per day) - Transactions last 30 days: 0 (0.0 per day) - Transactions last 7 days : 0 (0.0 per day) - Payees/descriptions : 0 - Accounts : 0 (depth 0) - Commodities : 0 () - Market prices : 0 () - - Setting opening balances - Pick a starting date for which you can look up the balances of some - real-world assets (bank accounts, wallet..) and liabilities (credit - cards..). - - To avoid a lot of data entry, you may want to start with just one or - two accounts, like your checking account or cash wallet; and pick a re- - cent starting date, like today or the start of the week. You can al- - ways come back later and add more accounts and older transactions, eg - going back to january 1st. - - Add an opening balances transaction to the journal, declaring the bal- - ances on this date. Here are two ways to do it: - - o The first way: open the journal in any text editor and save an entry - like this: - - 2020-01-01 * opening balances - assets:bank:checking $1000 = $1000 - assets:bank:savings $2000 = $2000 - assets:cash $100 = $100 - liabilities:creditcard $-50 = $-50 - equity:opening/closing balances - - These are start-of-day balances, ie whatever was in the account at - the end of the previous day. - - The * after the date is an optional status flag. Here it means - "cleared & confirmed". - - The currency symbols are optional, but usually a good idea as you'll - be dealing with multiple currencies sooner or later. - - The = amounts are optional balance assertions, providing extra error - checking. - - o The second way: run hledger add and follow the prompts to record a - similar transaction: - - $ hledger add - Adding transactions to journal file /Users/simon/finance/2020.journal - Any command line arguments will be used as defaults. - Use tab key to complete, readline keys to edit, enter to accept defaults. - An optional (CODE) may follow transaction dates. - An optional ; COMMENT may follow descriptions or amounts. - If you make a mistake, enter < at any prompt to go one step backward. - To end a transaction, enter . when prompted. - To quit, enter . at a date prompt or press control-d or control-c. - Date [2020-02-07]: 2020-01-01 - Description: * opening balances - Account 1: assets:bank:checking - Amount 1: $1000 - Account 2: assets:bank:savings - Amount 2 [$-1000]: $2000 - Account 3: assets:cash - Amount 3 [$-3000]: $100 - Account 4: liabilities:creditcard - Amount 4 [$-3100]: $-50 - Account 5: equity:opening/closing balances - Amount 5 [$-3050]: - Account 6 (or . or enter to finish this transaction): . - 2020-01-01 * opening balances - assets:bank:checking $1000 - assets:bank:savings $2000 - assets:cash $100 - liabilities:creditcard $-50 - equity:opening/closing balances $-3050 - - Save this transaction to the journal ? [y]: - Saved. - Starting the next transaction (. or ctrl-D/ctrl-C to quit) - Date [2020-01-01]: . - - If you're using version control, this could be a good time to commit - the journal. Eg: - - $ git commit -m 'initial balances' 2020.journal - - Recording transactions - As you spend or receive money, you can record these transactions using - one of the methods above (text editor, hledger add) or by using the - hledger-iadd or hledger-web add-ons, or by using the import command to - convert CSV data downloaded from your bank. - - Here are some simple transactions, see the hledger_journal(5) manual - and hledger.org for more ideas: - - 2020/1/10 * gift received - assets:cash $20 - income:gifts - - 2020.1.12 * farmers market - expenses:food $13 - assets:cash - - 2020-01-15 paycheck - income:salary - assets:bank:checking $1000 - - Reconciling - Periodically you should reconcile - compare your hledger-reported bal- - ances against external sources of truth, like bank statements or your - bank's website - to be sure that your ledger accurately represents the - real-world balances (and, that the real-world institutions have not - made a mistake!). This gets easy and fast with (1) practice and (2) - frequency. If you do it daily, it can take 2-10 minutes. If you let - it pile up, expect it to take longer as you hunt down errors and dis- - crepancies. - - A typical workflow: - - 1. Reconcile cash. Count what's in your wallet. Compare with what - hledger reports (hledger bal cash). If they are different, try to - remember the missing transaction, or look for the error in the al- - ready-recorded transactions. A register report can be helpful - (hledger reg cash). If you can't find the error, add an adjustment - transaction. Eg if you have $105 after the above, and can't explain - the missing $2, it could be: - - 2020-01-16 * adjust cash - assets:cash $-2 = $105 - expenses:misc - - 2. Reconcile checking. Log in to your bank's website. Compare today's - (cleared) balance with hledger's cleared balance (hledger bal check- - ing -C). If they are different, track down the error or record the - missing transaction(s) or add an adjustment transaction, similar to - the above. Unlike the cash case, you can usually compare the trans- - action history and running balance from your bank with the one re- - ported by hledger reg checking -C. This will be easier if you gen- - erally record transaction dates quite similar to your bank's clear- - ing dates. - - 3. Repeat for other asset/liability accounts. - - Tip: instead of the register command, use hledger-ui to see a live-up- - dating register while you edit the journal: hledger-ui --watch --regis- - ter checking -C - - After reconciling, it could be a good time to mark the reconciled - transactions' status as "cleared and confirmed", if you want to track - that, by adding the * marker. Eg in the paycheck transaction above, - insert * between 2020-01-15 and paycheck - - If you're using version control, this can be another good time to com- - mit: - - $ git commit -m 'txns' 2020.journal - - Reporting - Here are some basic reports. - - Show all transactions: - - $ hledger print - 2020-01-01 * opening balances - assets:bank:checking $1000 - assets:bank:savings $2000 - assets:cash $100 - liabilities:creditcard $-50 - equity:opening/closing balances $-3050 - - 2020-01-10 * gift received - assets:cash $20 - income:gifts - - 2020-01-12 * farmers market - expenses:food $13 - assets:cash - - 2020-01-15 * paycheck - income:salary - assets:bank:checking $1000 - - 2020-01-16 * adjust cash - assets:cash $-2 = $105 - expenses:misc - - Show account names, and their hierarchy: - - $ hledger accounts --tree - assets - bank - checking - savings - cash - equity - opening/closing balances - expenses - food - misc - income - gifts - salary - liabilities - creditcard - - Show all account totals: - - $ hledger balance - $4105 assets - $4000 bank - $2000 checking - $2000 savings - $105 cash - $-3050 equity:opening/closing balances - $15 expenses - $13 food - $2 misc - $-1020 income - $-20 gifts - $-1000 salary - $-50 liabilities:creditcard - -------------------- - 0 - - Show only asset and liability balances, as a flat list, limited to - depth 2: - - $ hledger bal assets liabilities --flat -2 - $4000 assets:bank - $105 assets:cash - $-50 liabilities:creditcard - -------------------- - $4055 - - Show the same thing without negative numbers, formatted as a simple - balance sheet: - - $ hledger bs --flat -2 - Balance Sheet 2020-01-16 - - || 2020-01-16 - ========================++============ - Assets || - ------------------------++------------ - assets:bank || $4000 - assets:cash || $105 - ------------------------++------------ - || $4105 - ========================++============ - Liabilities || - ------------------------++------------ - liabilities:creditcard || $50 - ------------------------++------------ - || $50 - ========================++============ - Net: || $4055 - - The final total is your "net worth" on the end date. (Or use bse for a - full balance sheet with equity.) - - Show income and expense totals, formatted as an income statement: - - hledger is - Income Statement 2020-01-01-2020-01-16 - - || 2020-01-01-2020-01-16 - ===============++======================= - Revenues || - ---------------++----------------------- - income:gifts || $20 - income:salary || $1000 - ---------------++----------------------- - || $1020 - ===============++======================= - Expenses || - ---------------++----------------------- - expenses:food || $13 - expenses:misc || $2 - ---------------++----------------------- - || $15 - ===============++======================= - Net: || $1005 - - The final total is your net income during this period. - - Show transactions affecting your wallet, with running total: - - $ hledger register cash - 2020-01-01 opening balances assets:cash $100 $100 - 2020-01-10 gift received assets:cash $20 $120 - 2020-01-12 farmers market assets:cash $-13 $107 - 2020-01-16 adjust cash assets:cash $-2 $105 - - Show weekly posting counts as a bar chart: - - $ hledger activity -W - 2019-12-30 ***** - 2020-01-06 **** - 2020-01-13 **** - - Migrating to a new file - At the end of the year, you may want to continue your journal in a new - file, so that old transactions don't slow down or clutter your reports, - and to help ensure the integrity of your accounting history. See the - close command. - - If using version control, don't forget to git add the new file. - -OPTIONS - General options - To see general usage help, including general options which are sup- - ported by most hledger commands, run hledger -h. - - General help options: - - -h --help - show general usage (or after COMMAND, command usage) - - --version - show version - - --debug[=N] - show debug output (levels 1-9, default: 1) - - General input options: - - -f FILE --file=FILE - use a different input file. For stdin, use - (default: - $LEDGER_FILE or $HOME/.hledger.journal) - - --rules-file=RULESFILE - Conversion rules file to use when reading CSV (default: - FILE.rules) - - --separator=CHAR - Field separator to expect when reading CSV (default: ',') - - --alias=OLD=NEW - rename accounts named OLD to NEW - - --anon anonymize accounts and payees - - --pivot FIELDNAME - use some other field or tag for the account name - - -I --ignore-assertions - disable balance assertion checks (note: does not disable balance - assignments) - - -s --strict - do extra error checking (check that all posted accounts are de- - clared) - - General reporting options: - - -b --begin=DATE - include postings/txns on or after this date - - -e --end=DATE - include postings/txns before this date - - -D --daily - multiperiod/multicolumn report by day - - -W --weekly - multiperiod/multicolumn report by week - - -M --monthly - multiperiod/multicolumn report by month - - -Q --quarterly - multiperiod/multicolumn report by quarter - - -Y --yearly - multiperiod/multicolumn report by year - - -p --period=PERIODEXP - set start date, end date, and/or reporting interval all at once - using period expressions syntax - - --date2 - match the secondary date instead (see command help for other ef- - fects) - - -U --unmarked - include only unmarked postings/txns (can combine with -P or -C) - - -P --pending - include only pending postings/txns - - -C --cleared - include only cleared postings/txns - - -R --real - include only non-virtual postings - - -NUM --depth=NUM - hide/aggregate accounts or postings more than NUM levels deep - - -E --empty - show items with zero amount, normally hidden (and vice-versa in - hledger-ui/hledger-web) - - -B --cost - convert amounts to their cost/selling amount at transaction time - - -V --market - convert amounts to their market value in default valuation com- - modities - - -X --exchange=COMM - convert amounts to their market value in commodity COMM - - --value - convert amounts to cost or market value, more flexibly than - -B/-V/-X - - --infer-value - with -V/-X/--value, also infer market prices from transactions - - --auto apply automated posting rules to modify transactions. - - --forecast - generate future transactions from periodic transaction rules, - for the next 6 months or till report end date. In hledger-ui, - also make ordinary future transactions visible. - - --color=WHEN (or --colour=WHEN) - Should color-supporting commands use ANSI color codes in text - output. 'auto' (default): whenever stdout seems to be a color- - supporting terminal. 'always' or 'yes': always, useful eg when - piping output into 'less -R'. 'never' or 'no': never. A - NO_COLOR environment variable overrides this. - - When a reporting option appears more than once in the command line, the - last one takes precedence. - - Some reporting options can also be written as query arguments. - - Command options - To see options for a particular command, including command-specific op- - tions, run: hledger COMMAND -h. - - Command-specific options must be written after the command name, eg: - hledger print -x. - - Additionally, if the command is an add-on, you may need to put its op- - tions after a double-hyphen, eg: hledger ui -- --watch. Or, you can - run the add-on executable directly: hledger-ui --watch. - - Command arguments - Most hledger commands accept arguments after the command name, which - are often a query, filtering the data in some way. - - You can save a set of command line options/arguments in a file, and - then reuse them by writing @FILENAME as a command line argument. Eg: - hledger bal @foo.args. (To prevent this, eg if you have an argument - that begins with a literal @, precede it with --, eg: hledger bal -- - @ARG). - - Inside the argument file, each line should contain just one option or - argument. Avoid the use of spaces, except inside quotes (or you'll see - a confusing error). Between a flag and its argument, use = (or noth- - ing). Bad: - - assets depth:2 - -X USD - - Good: - - assets - depth:2 - -X=USD - - For special characters (see below), use one less level of quoting than - you would at the command prompt. Bad: - - -X"$" - - Good: - - -X$ - - See also: Save frequently used options. - - Queries - One of hledger's strengths is being able to quickly report on precise - subsets of your data. Most commands accept an optional query expres- - sion, written as arguments after the command name, to filter the data - by date, account name or other criteria. The syntax is similar to a - web search: one or more space-separated search terms, quotes to enclose - whitespace, prefixes to match specific fields, a not: prefix to negate - the match. - - We do not yet support arbitrary boolean combinations of search terms; - instead most commands show transactions/postings/accounts which match - (or negatively match): - - o any of the description terms AND - - o any of the account terms AND - - o any of the status terms AND - - o all the other terms. - - The print command instead shows transactions which: - - o match any of the description terms AND - - o have any postings matching any of the positive account terms AND - - o have no postings matching any of the negative account terms AND - - o match all the other terms. - - The following kinds of search terms can be used. Remember these can - also be prefixed with not:, eg to exclude a particular subaccount. - - REGEX, acct:REGEX - match account names by this regular expression. (With no pre- - fix, acct: is assumed.) same as above - - amt:N, amt:N, amt:>=N - match postings with a single-commodity amount that is equal to, - less than, or greater than N. (Multi-commodity amounts are not - tested, and will always match.) The comparison has two modes: if - N is preceded by a + or - sign (or is 0), the two signed numbers - are compared. Otherwise, the absolute magnitudes are compared, - ignoring sign. - - code:REGEX - match by transaction code (eg check number) - - cur:REGEX - match postings or transactions including any amounts whose cur- - rency/commodity symbol is fully matched by REGEX. (For a par- - tial match, use .*REGEX.*). Note, to match characters which are - regex-significant, like the dollar sign ($), you need to prepend - \. And when using the command line you need to add one more - level of quoting to hide it from the shell, so eg do: hledger - print cur:'\$' or hledger print cur:\\$. - - desc:REGEX - match transaction descriptions. - - date:PERIODEXPR - match dates within the specified period. PERIODEXPR is a period - expression (with no report interval). Examples: date:2016, - date:thismonth, date:2000/2/1-2/15, date:lastweek-. If the - --date2 command line flag is present, this matches secondary - dates instead. - - date2:PERIODEXPR - match secondary dates within the specified period. - - depth:N - match (or display, depending on command) accounts at or above - this depth - - note:REGEX - match transaction notes (part of description right of |, or - whole description when there's no |) - - payee:REGEX - match transaction payee/payer names (part of description left of - |, or whole description when there's no |) - - real:, real:0 - match real or virtual postings respectively - - status:, status:!, status:* - match unmarked, pending, or cleared transactions respectively - - tag:REGEX[=REGEX] - match by tag name, and optionally also by tag value. Note a - tag: query is considered to match a transaction if it matches - any of the postings. Also remember that postings inherit the - tags of their parent transaction. - - The following special search term is used automatically in hledger-web, - only: - - inacct:ACCTNAME - tells hledger-web to show the transaction register for this ac- - count. Can be filtered further with acct etc. - - Some of these can also be expressed as command-line options (eg depth:2 - is equivalent to --depth 2). Generally you can mix options and query - arguments, and the resulting query will be their intersection (perhaps - excluding the -p/--period option). - - Special characters in arguments and queries - In shell command lines, option and argument values which contain "prob- - lematic" characters, ie spaces, and also characters significant to your - shell such as <, >, (, ), | and $, should be escaped by enclosing them - in quotes or by writing backslashes before the characters. Eg: - - hledger register -p 'last year' "accounts receivable (receiv- - able|payable)" amt:\>100. - - More escaping - Characters significant both to the shell and in regular expressions may - need one extra level of escaping. These include parentheses, the pipe - symbol and the dollar sign. Eg, to match the dollar symbol, bash users - should do: - - hledger balance cur:'\$' - - or: - - hledger balance cur:\\$ - - Even more escaping - When hledger runs an add-on executable (eg you type hledger ui, hledger - runs hledger-ui), it de-escapes command-line options and arguments - once, so you might need to triple-escape. Eg in bash, running the ui - command and matching the dollar sign, it's: - - hledger ui cur:'\\$' - - or: - - hledger ui cur:\\\\$ - - If you asked why four slashes above, this may help: - - unescaped: $ - escaped: \$ - double-escaped: \\$ - triple-escaped: \\\\$ - - (The number of backslashes in fish shell is left as an exercise for the - reader.) - - You can always avoid the extra escaping for add-ons by running the add- - on directly: - - hledger-ui cur:\\$ - - Less escaping - Inside an argument file, or in the search field of hledger-ui or - hledger-web, or at a GHCI prompt, you need one less level of escaping - than at the command line. And backslashes may work better than quotes. - Eg: - - ghci> :main balance cur:\$ - - Unicode characters - hledger is expected to handle non-ascii characters correctly: - - o they should be parsed correctly in input files and on the command - line, by all hledger tools (add, iadd, hledger-web's search/add/edit - forms, etc.) - - o they should be displayed correctly by all hledger tools, and on- - screen alignment should be preserved. - - This requires a well-configured environment. Here are some tips: - - o A system locale must be configured, and it must be one that can de- - code the characters being used. In bash, you can set a locale like - this: export LANG=en_US.UTF-8. There are some more details in Trou- - bleshooting. This step is essential - without it, hledger will quit - on encountering a non-ascii character (as with all GHC-compiled pro- - grams). - - o your terminal software (eg Terminal.app, iTerm, CMD.exe, xterm..) - must support unicode - - o the terminal must be using a font which includes the required unicode - glyphs - - o the terminal should be configured to display wide characters as dou- - ble width (for report alignment) - - o on Windows, for best results you should run hledger in the same kind - of environment in which it was built. Eg hledger built in the stan- - dard CMD.EXE environment (like the binaries on our download page) - might show display problems when run in a cygwin or msys terminal, - and vice versa. (See eg #961). - - Input files - hledger reads transactions from a data file (and the add command writes - to it). By default this file is $HOME/.hledger.journal (or on Windows, - something like C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal). You can override this - with the $LEDGER_FILE environment variable: - - $ setenv LEDGER_FILE ~/finance/2016.journal - $ hledger stats - - or with the -f/--file option: - - $ hledger -f /some/file stats - - The file name - (hyphen) means standard input: - - $ cat some.journal | hledger -f- - - Usually the data file is in hledger's journal format, but it can be in - any of the supported file formats, which currently are: - - Reader: Reads: Used for file exten- - sions: - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - journal hledger journal files and some Ledger .journal .j .hledger - journals, for transactions .ledger - time- timeclock files, for precise time log- .timeclock - clock ging - timedot timedot files, for approximate time .timedot - logging - csv comma/semicolon/tab/other-separated .csv .ssv .tsv - values, for data import - - hledger detects the format automatically based on the file extensions - shown above. If it can't recognise the file extension, it assumes - journal format. So for non-journal files, it's important to use a - recognised file extension, so as to either read successfully or to show - relevant error messages. - - When you can't ensure the right file extension, not to worry: you can - force a specific reader/format by prefixing the file path with the for- - mat and a colon. Eg to read a .dat file as csv: - - $ hledger -f csv:/some/csv-file.dat stats - $ echo 'i 2009/13/1 08:00:00' | hledger print -ftimeclock:- - - You can specify multiple -f options, to read multiple files as one big - journal. There are some limitations with this: - - o directives in one file will not affect the other files - - o balance assertions will not see any account balances from previous - files - - If you need either of those things, you can - - o use a single parent file which includes the others - - o or concatenate the files into one before reading, eg: cat a.journal - b.journal | hledger -f- CMD. - - Strict mode - hledger checks input files for valid data. By default, the most impor- - tant errors are detected, while still accepting easy journal files - without a lot of declarations: - - o Are the input files parseable, with valid syntax ? - - o Are all transactions balanced ? - - o Do all balance assertions pass ? - - With the -s/--strict flag, additional checks are performed: - - o Are all accounts posted to, declared with an account directive ? - (Account error checking) - - o Are all commodities declared with a commodity directive ? (Commodity - error checking) - - See also: https://hledger.org/checking-for-errors.html - - experimental. - - Output destination - hledger commands send their output to the terminal by default. You can - of course redirect this, eg into a file, using standard shell syntax: - - $ hledger print > foo.txt - - Some commands (print, register, stats, the balance commands) also pro- - vide the -o/--output-file option, which does the same thing without - needing the shell. Eg: - - $ hledger print -o foo.txt - $ hledger print -o - # write to stdout (the default) - - Output format - Some commands (print, register, the balance commands) offer a choice of - output format. In addition to the usual plain text format (txt), there - are CSV (csv), HTML (html), JSON (json) and SQL (sql). This is con- - trolled by the -O/--output-format option: - - $ hledger print -O csv - - or, by a file extension specified with -o/--output-file: - - $ hledger balancesheet -o foo.html # write HTML to foo.html - - The -O option can be used to override the file extension if needed: - - $ hledger balancesheet -o foo.txt -O html # write HTML to foo.txt - - Some notes about JSON output: - - o This feature is marked experimental, and not yet much used; you - should expect our JSON to evolve. Real-world feedback is welcome. - - o Our JSON is rather large and verbose, as it is quite a faithful rep- - resentation of hledger's internal data types. To understand the - JSON, read the Haskell type definitions, which are mostly in - https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/blob/master/hledger- - lib/Hledger/Data/Types.hs. - - o hledger represents quantities as Decimal values storing up to 255 - significant digits, eg for repeating decimals. Such numbers can - arise in practice (from automatically-calculated transaction prices), - and would break most JSON consumers. So in JSON, we show quantities - as simple Numbers with at most 10 decimal places. We don't limit the - number of integer digits, but that part is under your control. We - hope this approach will not cause problems in practice; if you find - otherwise, please let us know. (Cf #1195) - - Notes about SQL output: - - o SQL output is also marked experimental, and much like JSON could use - real-world feedback. - - o SQL output is expected to work with sqlite, MySQL and PostgreSQL - - o SQL output is structured with the expectations that statements will - be executed in the empty database. If you already have tables cre- - ated via SQL output of hledger, you would probably want to either - clear tables of existing data (via delete or truncate SQL statements) - or drop tables completely as otherwise your postings will be duped. - - Regular expressions - hledger uses regular expressions in a number of places: - - o query terms, on the command line and in the hledger-web search form: - REGEX, desc:REGEX, cur:REGEX, tag:...=REGEX - - o CSV rules conditional blocks: if REGEX ... - - o account alias directives and options: alias /REGEX/ = REPLACEMENT, - --alias /REGEX/=REPLACEMENT - - hledger's regular expressions come from the regex-tdfa library. If - they're not doing what you expect, it's important to know exactly what - they support: - - 1. they are case insensitive - - 2. they are infix matching (they do not need to match the entire thing - being matched) - - 3. they are POSIX ERE (extended regular expressions) - - 4. they also support GNU word boundaries (\b, \B, \<, \>) - - 5. they do not support backreferences; if you write \1, it will match - the digit 1. Except when doing text replacement, eg in account - aliases, where backreferences can be used in the replacement string - to reference capturing groups in the search regexp. - - 6. they do not support mode modifiers ((?s)), character classes (\w, - \d), or anything else not mentioned above. - - Some things to note: - - o In the alias directive and --alias option, regular expressions must - be enclosed in forward slashes (/REGEX/). Elsewhere in hledger, - these are not required. - - o In queries, to match a regular expression metacharacter like $ as a - literal character, prepend a backslash. Eg to search for amounts - with the dollar sign in hledger-web, write cur:\$. - - o On the command line, some metacharacters like $ have a special mean- - ing to the shell and so must be escaped at least once more. See Spe- - cial characters. - - Smart dates - hledger's user interfaces accept a flexible "smart date" syntax (unlike - dates in the journal file). Smart dates allow some english words, can - be relative to today's date, and can have less-significant date parts - omitted (defaulting to 1). - - Examples: - - 2004/10/1, 2004-01-01, exact date, several separators allowed. Year - 2004.9.1 is 4+ digits, month is 1-12, day is 1-31 - 2004 start of year - 2004/10 start of month - 10/1 month and day in current year - 21 day in current month - october, oct start of month in current year - - yesterday, today, tomor- -1, 0, 1 days from today - row - last/this/next -1, 0, 1 periods from the current period - day/week/month/quar- - ter/year - 20181201 8 digit YYYYMMDD with valid year month and day - 201812 6 digit YYYYMM with valid year and month - - Counterexamples - malformed digit sequences might give surprising re- - sults: - - 201813 6 digits with an invalid month is parsed as start of - 6-digit year - 20181301 8 digits with an invalid month is parsed as start of - 8-digit year - 20181232 8 digits with an invalid day gives an error - 201801012 9+ digits beginning with a valid YYYYMMDD gives an error - - Report start & end date - Most hledger reports show the full span of time represented by the - journal data, by default. So, the effective report start and end dates - will be the earliest and latest transaction or posting dates found in - the journal. - - Often you will want to see a shorter time span, such as the current - month. You can specify a start and/or end date using -b/--begin, - -e/--end, -p/--period or a date: query (described below). All of these - accept the smart date syntax. - - Some notes: - - o As in Ledger, end dates are exclusive, so you need to write the date - after the last day you want to include. - - o As noted in reporting options: among start/end dates specified with - options, the last (i.e. right-most) option takes precedence. - - o The effective report start and end dates are the intersection of the - start/end dates from options and that from date: queries. That is, - date:2019-01 date:2019 -p'2000 to 2030' yields January 2019, the - smallest common time span. - - Examples: - - -b 2016/3/17 begin on St. Patrick's day 2016 - -e 12/1 end at the start of december 1st of the current year - (11/30 will be the last date included) - -b thismonth all transactions on or after the 1st of the current month - -p thismonth all transactions in the current month - date:2016/3/17.. the above written as queries instead (.. can also be re- - placed with -) - date:..12/1 - date:thismonth.. - date:thismonth - - Report intervals - A report interval can be specified so that commands like register, bal- - ance and activity will divide their reports into multiple subperiods. - The basic intervals can be selected with one of -D/--daily, - -W/--weekly, -M/--monthly, -Q/--quarterly, or -Y/--yearly. More com- - plex intervals may be specified with a period expression. Report in- - tervals can not be specified with a query. - - Period expressions - The -p/--period option accepts period expressions, a shorthand way of - expressing a start date, end date, and/or report interval all at once. - - Here's a basic period expression specifying the first quarter of 2009. - Note, hledger always treats start dates as inclusive and end dates as - exclusive: - - -p "from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1" - - Keywords like "from" and "to" are optional, and so are the spaces, as - long as you don't run two dates together. "to" can also be written as - ".." or "-". These are equivalent to the above: - - -p "2009/1/1 2009/4/1" - -p2009/1/1to2009/4/1 - -p2009/1/1..2009/4/1 - - Dates are smart dates, so if the current year is 2009, the above can - also be written as: - - -p "1/1 4/1" - -p "january-apr" - -p "this year to 4/1" - - If you specify only one date, the missing start or end date will be the - earliest or latest transaction in your journal: - - -p "from 2009/1/1" everything after january - 1, 2009 - -p "from 2009/1" the same - -p "from 2009" the same - -p "to 2009" everything before january - 1, 2009 - - A single date with no "from" or "to" defines both the start and end - date like so: - - -p "2009" the year 2009; equivalent - to "2009/1/1 to 2010/1/1" - -p "2009/1" the month of jan; equiva- - lent to "2009/1/1 to - 2009/2/1" - -p "2009/1/1" just that day; equivalent - to "2009/1/1 to 2009/1/2" - - Or you can specify a single quarter like so: - - -p "2009Q1" first quarter of 2009, - equivalent to "2009/1/1 to - 2009/4/1" - -p "q4" fourth quarter of the cur- - rent year - - The argument of -p can also begin with, or be, a report interval ex- - pression. The basic report intervals are daily, weekly, monthly, quar- - terly, or yearly, which have the same effect as the -D,-W,-M,-Q, or -Y - flags. Between report interval and start/end dates (if any), the word - in is optional. Examples: - - -p "weekly from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1" - -p "monthly in 2008" - -p "quarterly" - - Note that weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly intervals will always - start on the first day on week, month, quarter or year accordingly, and - will end on the last day of same period, even if associated period ex- - pression specifies different explicit start and end date. - - For example: - - -p "weekly from 2009/1/1 starts on 2008/12/29, closest preceding Mon- - to 2009/4/1" day - -p "monthly in starts on 2018/11/01 - 2008/11/25" - -p "quarterly from starts on 2009/04/01, ends on 2009/06/30, - 2009-05-05 to 2009-06-01" which are first and last days of Q2 2009 - -p "yearly from starts on 2009/01/01, first day of 2009 - 2009-12-29" - - The following more complex report intervals are also supported: bi- - weekly, fortnightly, bimonthly, every day|week|month|quarter|year, ev- - ery N days|weeks|months|quarters|years. - - All of these will start on the first day of the requested period and - end on the last one, as described above. - - Examples: - - -p "bimonthly from 2008" periods will have boundaries on 2008/01/01, - 2008/03/01, ... - -p "every 2 weeks" starts on closest preceding Monday - -p "every 5 month from periods will have boundaries on 2009/03/01, - 2009/03" 2009/08/01, ... - - If you want intervals that start on arbitrary day of your choosing and - span a week, month or year, you need to use any of the following: - - every Nth day of week, every WEEKDAYNAME (eg - mon|tue|wed|thu|fri|sat|sun), every Nth day [of month], every Nth WEEK- - DAYNAME [of month], every MM/DD [of year], every Nth MMM [of year], ev- - ery MMM Nth [of year]. - - Examples: - - -p "every 2nd day of periods will go from Tue to Tue - week" - -p "every Tue" same - -p "every 15th day" period boundaries will be on 15th of each - month - -p "every 2nd Monday" period boundaries will be on second Monday of - each month - -p "every 11/05" yearly periods with boundaries on 5th of Nov - -p "every 5th Nov" same - -p "every Nov 5th" same - - Show historical balances at end of 15th each month (N is exclusive end - date): - - hledger balance -H -p "every 16th day" - - Group postings from start of wednesday to end of next tuesday (N is - start date and exclusive end date): - - hledger register checking -p "every 3rd day of week" - - Depth limiting - With the --depth N option (short form: -N), commands like account, bal- - ance and register will show only the uppermost accounts in the account - tree, down to level N. Use this when you want a summary with less de- - tail. This flag has the same effect as a depth: query argument (so -2, - --depth=2 or depth:2 are equivalent). - - Pivoting - Normally hledger sums amounts, and organizes them in a hierarchy, based - on account name. The --pivot FIELD option causes it to sum and orga- - nize hierarchy based on the value of some other field instead. FIELD - can be: code, description, payee, note, or the full name (case insensi- - tive) of any tag. As with account names, values containing colon:sepa- - rated:parts will be displayed hierarchically in reports. - - --pivot is a general option affecting all reports; you can think of - hledger transforming the journal before any other processing, replacing - every posting's account name with the value of the specified field on - that posting, inheriting it from the transaction or using a blank value - if it's not present. - - An example: - - 2016/02/16 Member Fee Payment - assets:bank account 2 EUR - income:member fees -2 EUR ; member: John Doe - - Normal balance report showing account names: - - $ hledger balance - 2 EUR assets:bank account - -2 EUR income:member fees - -------------------- - 0 - - Pivoted balance report, using member: tag values instead: - - $ hledger balance --pivot member - 2 EUR - -2 EUR John Doe - -------------------- - 0 - - One way to show only amounts with a member: value (using a query, de- - scribed below): - - $ hledger balance --pivot member tag:member=. - -2 EUR John Doe - -------------------- - -2 EUR - - Another way (the acct: query matches against the pivoted "account - name"): - - $ hledger balance --pivot member acct:. - -2 EUR John Doe - -------------------- - -2 EUR - - Valuation - Instead of reporting amounts in their original commodity, hledger can - convert them to cost/sale amount (using the conversion rate recorded in - the transaction), or to market value (using some market price on a cer- - tain date). This is controlled by the --value=TYPE[,COMMODITY] option, - but we also provide the simpler -B/-V/-X flags, and usually one of - those is all you need. - - -B: Cost - The -B/--cost flag converts amounts to their cost or sale amount at - transaction time, if they have a transaction price specified. - - -V: Value - The -V/--market flag converts amounts to market value in their default - valuation commodity, using the market prices in effect on the valuation - date(s), if any. More on these in a minute. - - -X: Value in specified commodity - The -X/--exchange=COMM option is like -V, except you tell it which cur- - rency you want to convert to, and it tries to convert everything to - that. - - Valuation date - Since market prices can change from day to day, market value reports - have a valuation date (or more than one), which determines which market - prices will be used. - - For single period reports, if an explicit report end date is specified, - that will be used as the valuation date; otherwise the valuation date - is "today". - - For multiperiod reports, each column/period is valued on the last day - of the period, by default. - - Market prices - (experimental) - - To convert a commodity A to its market value in another commodity B, - hledger looks for a suitable market price (exchange rate) as follows, - in this order of preference : - - 1. A declared market price or inferred market price: A's latest market - price in B on or before the valuation date as declared by a P direc- - tive, or (with the --infer-value flag) inferred from transaction - prices. - - 2. A reverse market price: the inverse of a declared or inferred market - price from B to A. - - 3. A a forward chain of market prices: a synthetic price formed by com- - bining the shortest chain of "forward" (only 1 above) market prices, - leading from A to B. - - 4. A any chain of market prices: a chain of any market prices, includ- - ing both forward and reverse prices (1 and 2 above), leading from A - to B. - - Amounts for which no applicable market price can be found, are not con- - verted. - - --infer-value: market prices from transactions - (experimental) - - Normally, market value in hledger is fully controlled by, and requires, - P directives in your journal. Since adding and updating those can be a - chore, and since transactions usually take place at close to market - value, why not use the recorded transaction prices as additional market - prices (as Ledger does) ? We could produce value reports without need- - ing P directives at all. - - Adding the --infer-value flag to -V, -X or --value enables this. So - for example, hledger bs -V --infer-value will get market prices both - from P directives and from transactions. - - There is a downside: value reports can sometimes be affected in confus- - ing/undesired ways by your journal entries. If this happens to you, - read all of this Valuation section carefully, and try adding --debug or - --debug=2 to troubleshoot. - - --infer-value can infer market prices from: - - o multicommodity transactions with explicit prices (@/@@) - - o multicommodity transactions with implicit prices (no @, two commodi- - ties, unbalanced). (With these, the order of postings matters. - hledger print -x can be useful for troubleshooting.) - - o but not, currently, from "more correct" multicommodity transactions - (no @, multiple commodities, balanced). - - Valuation commodity - (experimental) - - When you specify a valuation commodity (-X COMM or --value TYPE,COMM): - hledger will convert all amounts to COMM, wherever it can find a suit- - able market price (including by reversing or chaining prices). - - When you leave the valuation commodity unspecified (-V or --value - TYPE): - For each commodity A, hledger picks a default valuation commodity as - follows, in this order of preference: - - 1. The price commodity from the latest P-declared market price for A on - or before valuation date. - - 2. The price commodity from the latest P-declared market price for A on - any date. (Allows conversion to proceed when there are inferred - prices before the valuation date.) - - 3. If there are no P directives at all (any commodity or date) and the - --infer-value flag is used: the price commodity from the latest - transaction-inferred price for A on or before valuation date. - - This means: - - o If you have P directives, they determine which commodities -V will - convert, and to what. - - o If you have no P directives, and use the --infer-value flag, transac- - tion prices determine it. - - Amounts for which no valuation commodity can be found are not con- - verted. - - Simple valuation examples - Here are some quick examples of -V: - - ; one euro is worth this many dollars from nov 1 - P 2016/11/01 EUR $1.10 - - ; purchase some euros on nov 3 - 2016/11/3 - assets:euros EUR100 - assets:checking - - ; the euro is worth fewer dollars by dec 21 - P 2016/12/21 EUR $1.03 - - How many euros do I have ? - - $ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros - EUR100 assets:euros - - What are they worth at end of nov 3 ? - - $ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros -V -e 2016/11/4 - $110.00 assets:euros - - What are they worth after 2016/12/21 ? (no report end date specified, - defaults to today) - - $ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros -V - $103.00 assets:euros - - --value: Flexible valuation - -B, -V and -X are special cases of the more general --value option: - - --value=TYPE[,COMM] TYPE is cost, then, end, now or YYYY-MM-DD. - COMM is an optional commodity symbol. - Shows amounts converted to: - - cost commodity using transaction prices (then optionally to COMM using market prices at period end(s)) - - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at posting dates - - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at period end(s) - - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using current market prices - - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at some date - - The TYPE part selects cost or value and valuation date: - - --value=cost - Convert amounts to cost, using the prices recorded in transac- - tions. - - --value=then - Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commod- - ity, using market prices on each posting's date. This is cur- - rently supported only by the print and register commands. - - --value=end - Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commod- - ity, using market prices on the last day of the report period - (or if unspecified, the journal's end date); or in multiperiod - reports, market prices on the last day of each subperiod. - - --value=now - Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commod- - ity using current market prices (as of when report is gener- - ated). - - --value=YYYY-MM-DD - Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commod- - ity using market prices on this date. - - To select a different valuation commodity, add the optional ,COMM part: - a comma, then the target commodity's symbol. Eg: --value=now,EUR. - hledger will do its best to convert amounts to this commodity, deducing - market prices as described above. - - More valuation examples - Here are some examples showing the effect of --value, as seen with - print: - - P 2000-01-01 A 1 B - P 2000-02-01 A 2 B - P 2000-03-01 A 3 B - P 2000-04-01 A 4 B - - 2000-01-01 - (a) 1 A @ 5 B - - 2000-02-01 - (a) 1 A @ 6 B - - 2000-03-01 - (a) 1 A @ 7 B - - Show the cost of each posting: - - $ hledger -f- print --value=cost - 2000-01-01 - (a) 5 B - - 2000-02-01 - (a) 6 B - - 2000-03-01 - (a) 7 B - - Show the value as of the last day of the report period (2000-02-29): - - $ hledger -f- print --value=end date:2000/01-2000/03 - 2000-01-01 - (a) 2 B - - 2000-02-01 - (a) 2 B - - With no report period specified, that shows the value as of the last - day of the journal (2000-03-01): - - $ hledger -f- print --value=end - 2000-01-01 - (a) 3 B - - 2000-02-01 - (a) 3 B - - 2000-03-01 - (a) 3 B - - Show the current value (the 2000-04-01 price is still in effect today): - - $ hledger -f- print --value=now - 2000-01-01 - (a) 4 B - - 2000-02-01 - (a) 4 B - - 2000-03-01 - (a) 4 B - - Show the value on 2000/01/15: - - $ hledger -f- print --value=2000-01-15 - 2000-01-01 - (a) 1 B - - 2000-02-01 - (a) 1 B - - 2000-03-01 - (a) 1 B - - You may need to explicitly set a commodity's display style, when re- - verse prices are used. Eg this output might be surprising: - - P 2000-01-01 A 2B - - 2000-01-01 - a 1B - b - - $ hledger print -x -X A - 2000-01-01 - a 0 - b 0 - - Explanation: because there's no amount or commodity directive specify- - ing a display style for A, 0.5A gets the default style, which shows no - decimal digits. Because the displayed amount looks like zero, the com- - modity symbol and minus sign are not displayed either. Adding a com- - modity directive sets a more useful display style for A: - - P 2000-01-01 A 2B - commodity 0.00A - - 2000-01-01 - a 1B - b - - $ hledger print -X A - 2000-01-01 - a 0.50A - b -0.50A - - Effect of valuation on reports - Here is a reference for how valuation is supposed to affect each part - of hledger's reports (and a glossary). (It's wide, you'll have to - scroll sideways.) It may be useful when troubleshooting. If you find - problems, please report them, ideally with a reproducible example. Re- - lated: #329, #1083. - - Report type -B, -V, -X --value=then --value=end --value=DATE, - --value=cost --value=now - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - print - posting cost value at re- value at value at re- value at - amounts port end or posting date port or jour- DATE/today - today nal end - balance as- unchanged unchanged unchanged unchanged unchanged - ser- - tions/as- - signments - - register - starting cost value at day not sup- value at day value at - balance before report ported before report DATE/today - (-H) or journal or journal - start start - posting cost value at re- value at value at re- value at - amounts port end or posting date port or jour- DATE/today - today nal end - summary summarised value at pe- sum of post- value at pe- value at - posting cost riod ends ings in in- riod ends DATE/today - amounts terval, val- - with report ued at in- - interval terval start - running to- sum/average sum/average sum/average sum/average sum/average - tal/average of displayed of displayed of displayed of displayed of displayed - values values values values values - - balance - (bs, bse, - cf, is) - balance sums of costs value at re- not sup- value at re- value at - changes port end or ported port or jour- DATE/today of - today of sums nal end of sums of post- - of postings sums of post- ings - ings - budget like balance like balance not sup- like balances like balance - amounts changes changes ported changes - (--budget) - grand total sum of dis- sum of dis- not sup- sum of dis- sum of dis- - played values played values ported played values played values - - balance - (bs, bse, - cf, is) - with report - interval - starting sums of costs value at re- not sup- value at re- sums of post- - balances of postings port start of ported port start of ings before - (-H) before report sums of all sums of all report start - start postings be- postings be- - fore report fore report - start start - - - - - - - balance sums of costs same as not sup- balance value at - changes of postings --value=end ported change in DATE/today of - (bal, is, in period each period, sums of post- - bs valued at pe- ings - --change, riod ends - cf - --change) - end bal- sums of costs same as not sup- period end value at - ances (bal of postings --value=end ported balances, DATE/today of - -H, is --H, from before valued at pe- sums of post- - bs, cf) report start riod ends ings - to period end - budget like balance like balance not sup- like balances like balance - amounts changes/end changes/end ported changes/end - (--budget) balances balances balances - row totals, sums, aver- sums, aver- not sup- sums, aver- sums, aver- - row aver- ages of dis- ages of dis- ported ages of dis- ages of dis- - ages (-T, played values played values played values played values - -A) - column to- sums of dis- sums of dis- not sup- sums of dis- sums of dis- - tals played values played values ported played values played values - grand to- sum, average sum, average not sup- sum, average sum, average - tal, grand of column to- of column to- ported of column to- of column to- - average tals tals tals tals - - - --cumulative is omitted to save space, it works like -H but with a zero - starting balance. - - Glossary: - - cost calculated using price(s) recorded in the transaction(s). - - value market value using available market price declarations, or the - unchanged amount if no conversion rate can be found. - - report start - the first day of the report period specified with -b or -p or - date:, otherwise today. - - report or journal start - the first day of the report period specified with -b or -p or - date:, otherwise the earliest transaction date in the journal, - otherwise today. - - report end - the last day of the report period specified with -e or -p or - date:, otherwise today. - - report or journal end - the last day of the report period specified with -e or -p or - date:, otherwise the latest transaction date in the journal, - otherwise today. - - report interval - a flag (-D/-W/-M/-Q/-Y) or period expression that activates the - report's multi-period mode (whether showing one or many subperi- - ods). - -COMMANDS - hledger provides a number of subcommands; hledger with no arguments - shows a list. - - If you install additional hledger-* packages, or if you put programs or - scripts named hledger-NAME in your PATH, these will also be listed as - subcommands. - - Run a subcommand by writing its name as first argument (eg hledger in- - comestatement). You can also write one of the standard short aliases - displayed in parentheses in the command list (hledger b), or any any - unambiguous prefix of a command name (hledger inc). - - Here are all the builtin commands in alphabetical order. See also - hledger for a more organised command list, and hledger CMD -h for de- - tailed command help. - - accounts - accounts, a - Show account names. - - This command lists account names, either declared with account direc- - tives (--declared), posted to (--used), or both (the default). With - query arguments, only matched account names and account names refer- - enced by matched postings are shown. It shows a flat list by default. - With --tree, it uses indentation to show the account hierarchy. In - flat mode you can add --drop N to omit the first few account name com- - ponents. Account names can be depth-clipped with depth:N or --depth N - or -N. - - Examples: - - $ hledger accounts - assets:bank:checking - assets:bank:saving - assets:cash - expenses:food - expenses:supplies - income:gifts - income:salary - liabilities:debts - - activity - activity - Show an ascii barchart of posting counts per interval. - - The activity command displays an ascii histogram showing transaction - counts by day, week, month or other reporting interval (by day is the - default). With query arguments, it counts only matched transactions. - - Examples: - - $ hledger activity --quarterly - 2008-01-01 ** - 2008-04-01 ******* - 2008-07-01 - 2008-10-01 ** - - add - add - Prompt for transactions and add them to the journal. Any arguments - will be used as default inputs for the first N prompts. - - Many hledger users edit their journals directly with a text editor, or - generate them from CSV. For more interactive data entry, there is the - add command, which prompts interactively on the console for new trans- - actions, and appends them to the journal file (if there are multiple -f - FILE options, the first file is used.) Existing transactions are not - changed. This is the only hledger command that writes to the journal - file. - - To use it, just run hledger add and follow the prompts. You can add as - many transactions as you like; when you are finished, enter . or press - control-d or control-c to exit. - - Features: - - o add tries to provide useful defaults, using the most similar (by de- - scription) recent transaction (filtered by the query, if any) as a - template. - - o You can also set the initial defaults with command line arguments. - - o Readline-style edit keys can be used during data entry. - - o The tab key will auto-complete whenever possible - accounts, descrip- - tions, dates (yesterday, today, tomorrow). If the input area is - empty, it will insert the default value. - - o If the journal defines a default commodity, it will be added to any - bare numbers entered. - - o A parenthesised transaction code may be entered following a date. - - o Comments and tags may be entered following a description or amount. - - o If you make a mistake, enter < at any prompt to go one step backward. - - o Input prompts are displayed in a different colour when the terminal - supports it. - - Example (see the tutorial for a detailed explanation): - - $ hledger add - Adding transactions to journal file /src/hledger/examples/sample.journal - Any command line arguments will be used as defaults. - Use tab key to complete, readline keys to edit, enter to accept defaults. - An optional (CODE) may follow transaction dates. - An optional ; COMMENT may follow descriptions or amounts. - If you make a mistake, enter < at any prompt to go one step backward. - To end a transaction, enter . when prompted. - To quit, enter . at a date prompt or press control-d or control-c. - Date [2015/05/22]: - Description: supermarket - Account 1: expenses:food - Amount 1: $10 - Account 2: assets:checking - Amount 2 [$-10.0]: - Account 3 (or . or enter to finish this transaction): . - 2015/05/22 supermarket - expenses:food $10 - assets:checking $-10.0 - - Save this transaction to the journal ? [y]: - Saved. - Starting the next transaction (. or ctrl-D/ctrl-C to quit) - Date [2015/05/22]: $ - - On Microsoft Windows, the add command makes sure that no part of the - file path ends with a period, as that would cause problems (#1056). - - aregister - aregister, areg - Show transactions affecting a particular account, and the account's - running balance. - - aregister shows the transactions affecting a particular account (and - its subaccounts), from the point of view of that account. Each line - shows: - - o the transaction's (or posting's, see below) date - - o the names of the other account(s) involved - - o the net change to this account's balance - - o the account's historical running balance (including balance from - transactions before the report start date). - - With aregister, each line represents a whole transaction - as in - hledger-ui, hledger-web, and your bank statement. By contrast, the - register command shows individual postings, across all accounts. You - might prefer aregister for reconciling with real-world asset/liability - accounts, and register for reviewing detailed revenues/expenses. - - An account must be specified as the first argument, which should be the - full account name or an account pattern (regular expression). aregis- - ter will show transactions in this account (the first one matched) and - any of its subaccounts. - - Any additional arguments form a query which will filter the transac- - tions shown. - - Transactions making a net change of zero are not shown by default; add - the -E/--empty flag to show them. - - aregister and custom posting dates - Transactions whose date is outside the report period can still be - shown, if they have a posting to this account dated inside the report - period. (And in this case it's the posting date that is shown.) This - ensures that aregister can show an accurate historical running balance, - matching the one shown by register -H with the same arguments. - - To filter strictly by transaction date instead, add the --txn-dates - flag. If you use this flag and some of your postings have custom - dates, it's probably best to assume the running balance is wrong. - - Output format - This command also supports the output destination and output format op- - tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, and json. - - Examples: - - Show all transactions and historical running balance in the first ac- - count whose name contains "checking": - - $ hledger areg checking - - Show transactions and historical running balance in all asset accounts - during july: - - $ hledger areg assets date:jul - - balance - balance, bal, b - Show accounts and their balances. - - The balance command is hledger's most versatile command. Note, despite - the name, it is not always used for showing real-world account bal- - ances; the more accounting-aware balancesheet and incomestatement may - be more convenient for that. - - By default, it displays all accounts, and each account's change in bal- - ance during the entire period of the journal. Balance changes are cal- - culated by adding up the postings in each account. You can limit the - postings matched, by a query, to see fewer accounts, changes over a - different time period, changes from only cleared transactions, etc. - - If you include an account's complete history of postings in the report, - the balance change is equivalent to the account's current ending bal- - ance. For a real-world account, typically you won't have all transac- - tions in the journal; instead you'll have all transactions after a cer- - tain date, and an "opening balances" transaction setting the correct - starting balance on that date. Then the balance command will show - real-world account balances. In some cases the -H/--historical flag is - used to ensure this (more below). - - The balance command can produce several styles of report: - - Classic balance report - This is the original balance report, as found in Ledger. It usually - looks like this: - - $ hledger balance - $-1 assets - $1 bank:saving - $-2 cash - $2 expenses - $1 food - $1 supplies - $-2 income - $-1 gifts - $-1 salary - $1 liabilities:debts - -------------------- - 0 - - By default, accounts are displayed hierarchically, with subaccounts in- - dented below their parent, with accounts at each level of the tree - sorted by declaration order if declared, then by account name. - - "Boring" accounts, which contain a single interesting subaccount and no - balance of their own, are elided into the following line for more com- - pact output. (Eg above, the "liabilities" account.) Use --no-elide to - prevent this. - - Account balances are "inclusive" - they include the balances of any - subaccounts. - - Accounts which have zero balance (and no non-zero subaccounts) are - omitted. Use -E/--empty to show them. - - A final total is displayed by default; use -N/--no-total to suppress - it, eg: - - $ hledger balance -p 2008/6 expenses --no-total - $2 expenses - $1 food - $1 supplies - - Customising the classic balance report - You can customise the layout of classic balance reports with --format - FMT: - - $ hledger balance --format "%20(account) %12(total)" - assets $-1 - bank:saving $1 - cash $-2 - expenses $2 - food $1 - supplies $1 - income $-2 - gifts $-1 - salary $-1 - liabilities:debts $1 - --------------------------------- - 0 - - The FMT format string (plus a newline) specifies the formatting applied - to each account/balance pair. It may contain any suitable text, with - data fields interpolated like so: - - %[MIN][.MAX](FIELDNAME) - - o MIN pads with spaces to at least this width (optional) - - o MAX truncates at this width (optional) - - o FIELDNAME must be enclosed in parentheses, and can be one of: - - o depth_spacer - a number of spaces equal to the account's depth, or - if MIN is specified, MIN * depth spaces. - - o account - the account's name - - o total - the account's balance/posted total, right justified - - Also, FMT can begin with an optional prefix to control how multi-com- - modity amounts are rendered: - - o %_ - render on multiple lines, bottom-aligned (the default) - - o %^ - render on multiple lines, top-aligned - - o %, - render on one line, comma-separated - - There are some quirks. Eg in one-line mode, %(depth_spacer) has no ef- - fect, instead %(account) has indentation built in. Experimentation may - be needed to get pleasing results. - - Some example formats: - - o %(total) - the account's total - - o %-20.20(account) - the account's name, left justified, padded to 20 - characters and clipped at 20 characters - - o %,%-50(account) %25(total) - account name padded to 50 characters, - total padded to 20 characters, with multiple commodities rendered on - one line - - o %20(total) %2(depth_spacer)%-(account) - the default format for the - single-column balance report - - Colour support - In terminal output, when colour is enabled, the balance command shows - negative amounts in red. - - Flat mode - To see a flat list instead of the default hierarchical display, use - --flat. In this mode, accounts (unless depth-clipped) show their full - names and "exclusive" balance, excluding any subaccount balances. In - this mode, you can also use --drop N to omit the first few account name - components. - - $ hledger balance -p 2008/6 expenses -N --flat --drop 1 - $1 food - $1 supplies - - Depth limited balance reports - With --depth N or depth:N or just -N, balance reports show accounts - only to the specified numeric depth. This is very useful to summarise - a complex set of accounts and get an overview. - - $ hledger balance -N -1 - $-1 assets - $2 expenses - $-2 income - $1 liabilities - - Flat-mode balance reports, which normally show exclusive balances, show - inclusive balances at the depth limit. - - Percentages - With -% or --percent, balance reports show each account's value ex- - pressed as a percentage of the column's total. This is useful to get - an overview of the relative sizes of account balances. For example to - obtain an overview of expenses: - - $ hledger balance expenses -% - 100.0 % expenses - 50.0 % food - 50.0 % supplies - -------------------- - 100.0 % - - Note that --tree does not have an effect on -%. The percentages are - always relative to the total sum of each column, they are never rela- - tive to the parent account. - - Since the percentages are relative to the columns sum, it is usually - not useful to calculate percentages if the signs of the amounts are - mixed. Although the results are technically correct, they are most - likely useless. Especially in a balance report that sums up to zero - (eg hledger balance -B) all percentage values will be zero. - - This flag does not work if the report contains any mixed commodity ac- - counts. If there are mixed commodity accounts in the report be sure to - use -V or -B to coerce the report into using a single commodity. - - Sorting by amount - With -S/--sort-amount, accounts with the largest (most positive) bal- - ances are shown first. For example, hledger bal expenses -MAS shows - your biggest averaged monthly expenses first. - - Revenues and liability balances are typically negative, however, so -S - shows these in reverse order. To work around this, you can add --in- - vert to flip the signs. Or, use one of the sign-flipping reports like - balancesheet or incomestatement, which also support -S. Eg: hledger is - -MAS. - - Multicolumn balance report - Multicolumn or tabular balance reports are a very useful hledger fea- - ture, and usually the preferred style. They share many of the above - features, but they show the report as a table, with columns represent- - ing time periods. This mode is activated by providing a reporting in- - terval. - - There are three types of multicolumn balance report, showing different - information: - - 1. By default: each column shows the sum of postings in that period, ie - the account's change of balance in that period. This is useful eg - for a monthly income statement: - - $ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E - Balance changes in 2008: - - || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 - ===================++================================= - expenses:food || 0 $1 0 0 - expenses:supplies || 0 $1 0 0 - income:gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 - income:salary || $-1 0 0 0 - -------------------++--------------------------------- - || $-1 $1 0 0 - - 2. With --cumulative: each column shows the ending balance for that pe- - riod, accumulating the changes across periods, starting from 0 at - the report start date: - - $ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E --cumulative - Ending balances (cumulative) in 2008: - - || 2008/03/31 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 - ===================++================================================= - expenses:food || 0 $1 $1 $1 - expenses:supplies || 0 $1 $1 $1 - income:gifts || 0 $-1 $-1 $-1 - income:salary || $-1 $-1 $-1 $-1 - -------------------++------------------------------------------------- - || $-1 0 0 0 - - 3. With --historical/-H: each column shows the actual historical ending - balance for that period, accumulating the changes across periods, - starting from the actual balance at the report start date. This is - useful eg for a multi-period balance sheet, and when you are showing - only the data after a certain start date: - - $ hledger balance ^assets ^liabilities --quarterly --historical --begin 2008/4/1 - Ending balances (historical) in 2008/04/01-2008/12/31: - - || 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 - ======================++===================================== - assets:bank:checking || $1 $1 0 - assets:bank:saving || $1 $1 $1 - assets:cash || $-2 $-2 $-2 - liabilities:debts || 0 0 $1 - ----------------------++------------------------------------- - || 0 0 0 - - Note that --cumulative or --historical/-H disable --row-total/-T, since - summing end balances generally does not make sense. - - Multicolumn balance reports display accounts in flat mode by default; - to see the hierarchy, use --tree. - - With a reporting interval (like --quarterly above), the report - start/end dates will be adjusted if necessary so that they encompass - the displayed report periods. This is so that the first and last peri- - ods will be "full" and comparable to the others. - - The -E/--empty flag does two things in multicolumn balance reports: - first, the report will show all columns within the specified report pe- - riod (without -E, leading and trailing columns with all zeroes are not - shown). Second, all accounts which existed at the report start date - will be considered, not just the ones with activity during the report - period (use -E to include low-activity accounts which would otherwise - would be omitted). - - The -T/--row-total flag adds an additional column showing the total for - each row. - - The -A/--average flag adds a column showing the average value in each - row. - - Here's an example of all three: - - $ hledger balance -Q income expenses --tree -ETA - Balance changes in 2008: - - || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 Total Average - ============++=================================================== - expenses || 0 $2 0 0 $2 $1 - food || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 - supplies || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 - income || $-1 $-1 0 0 $-2 $-1 - gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 $-1 0 - salary || $-1 0 0 0 $-1 0 - ------------++--------------------------------------------------- - || $-1 $1 0 0 0 0 - - (Average is rounded to the dollar here since all journal amounts are) - - The --transpose flag can be used to exchange the rows and columns of a - multicolumn report. - - When showing multicommodity amounts, multicolumn balance reports will - elide any amounts which have more than two commodities, since otherwise - columns could get very wide. The --no-elide flag disables this. Hid- - ing totals with the -N/--no-total flag can also help reduce the width - of multicommodity reports. - - When the report is still too wide, a good workaround is to pipe it into - less -RS (-R for colour, -S to chop long lines). Eg: hledger bal -D - --color=yes | less -RS. - - Budget report - With --budget, extra columns are displayed showing budget goals for - each account and period, if any. Budget goals are defined by periodic - transactions. This is very useful for comparing planned and actual in- - come, expenses, time usage, etc. --budget is most often combined with - a report interval. - - For example, you can take average monthly expenses in the common ex- - pense categories to construct a minimal monthly budget: - - ;; Budget - ~ monthly - income $2000 - expenses:food $400 - expenses:bus $50 - expenses:movies $30 - assets:bank:checking - - ;; Two months worth of expenses - 2017-11-01 - income $1950 - expenses:food $396 - expenses:bus $49 - expenses:movies $30 - expenses:supplies $20 - assets:bank:checking - - 2017-12-01 - income $2100 - expenses:food $412 - expenses:bus $53 - expenses:gifts $100 - assets:bank:checking - - You can now see a monthly budget report: - - $ hledger balance -M --budget - Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: - - || Nov Dec - ======================++==================================================== - assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $565 [ 118% of $480] - expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $53 [ 106% of $50] - expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $412 [ 103% of $400] - expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] 0 [ 0% of $30] - income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $2100 [ 105% of $2000] - ----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] - - This is different from a normal balance report in several ways: - - o Only accounts with budget goals during the report period are shown, - by default. - - o In each column, in square brackets after the actual amount, budget - goal amounts are shown, and the actual/goal percentage. (Note: bud- - get goals should be in the same commodity as the actual amount.) - - o All parent accounts are always shown, even in flat mode. Eg assets, - assets:bank, and expenses above. - - o Amounts always include all subaccounts, budgeted or unbudgeted, even - in flat mode. - - This means that the numbers displayed will not always add up! Eg above, - the expenses actual amount includes the gifts and supplies transac- - tions, but the expenses:gifts and expenses:supplies accounts are not - shown, as they have no budget amounts declared. - - This can be confusing. When you need to make things clearer, use the - -E/--empty flag, which will reveal all accounts including unbudgeted - ones, giving the full picture. Eg: - - $ hledger balance -M --budget --empty - Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: - - || Nov Dec - ======================++==================================================== - assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $565 [ 118% of $480] - expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $53 [ 106% of $50] - expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $412 [ 103% of $400] - expenses:gifts || 0 $100 - expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] 0 [ 0% of $30] - expenses:supplies || $20 0 - income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $2100 [ 105% of $2000] - ----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] - - You can roll over unspent budgets to next period with --cumulative: - - $ hledger balance -M --budget --cumulative - Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: - - || Nov Dec - ======================++==================================================== - assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] - assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] - assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] - expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $1060 [ 110% of $960] - expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $102 [ 102% of $100] - expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $808 [ 101% of $800] - expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] $30 [ 50% of $60] - income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $4050 [ 101% of $4000] - ----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] - - For more examples and notes, see Budgeting. - - Budget report start date - This might be a bug, but for now: when making budget reports, it's a - good idea to explicitly set the report's start date to the first day of - a reporting period, because a periodic rule like ~ monthly generates - its transactions on the 1st of each month, and if your journal has no - regular transactions on the 1st, the default report start date could - exclude that budget goal, which can be a little surprising. Eg here - the default report period is just the day of 2020-01-15: - - ~ monthly in 2020 - (expenses:food) $500 - - 2020-01-15 - expenses:food $400 - assets:checking - - $ hledger bal expenses --budget - Budget performance in 2020-01-15: - - || 2020-01-15 - ==============++============ - || $400 - --------------++------------ - || $400 - - To avoid this, specify the budget report's period, or at least the - start date, with -b/-e/-p/date:, to ensure it includes the budget goal - transactions (periodic transactions) that you want. Eg, adding -b - 2020/1/1 to the above: - - $ hledger bal expenses --budget -b 2020/1/1 - Budget performance in 2020-01-01..2020-01-15: - - || 2020-01-01..2020-01-15 - ===============++======================== - expenses:food || $400 [80% of $500] - ---------------++------------------------ - || $400 [80% of $500] - - Nested budgets - You can add budgets to any account in your account hierarchy. If you - have budgets on both parent account and some of its children, then bud- - get(s) of the child account(s) would be added to the budget of their - parent, much like account balances behave. - - In the most simple case this means that once you add a budget to any - account, all its parents would have budget as well. - - To illustrate this, consider the following budget: - - ~ monthly from 2019/01 - expenses:personal $1,000.00 - expenses:personal:electronics $100.00 - liabilities - - With this, monthly budget for electronics is defined to be $100 and - budget for personal expenses is an additional $1000, which implicitly - means that budget for both expenses:personal and expenses is $1100. - - Transactions in expenses:personal:electronics will be counted both to- - wards its $100 budget and $1100 of expenses:personal , and transactions - in any other subaccount of expenses:personal would be counted towards - only towards the budget of expenses:personal. - - For example, let's consider these transactions: - - ~ monthly from 2019/01 - expenses:personal $1,000.00 - expenses:personal:electronics $100.00 - liabilities - - 2019/01/01 Google home hub - expenses:personal:electronics $90.00 - liabilities $-90.00 - - 2019/01/02 Phone screen protector - expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades $10.00 - liabilities - - 2019/01/02 Weekly train ticket - expenses:personal:train tickets $153.00 - liabilities - - 2019/01/03 Flowers - expenses:personal $30.00 - liabilities - - As you can see, we have transactions in expenses:personal:electron- - ics:upgrades and expenses:personal:train tickets, and since both of - these accounts are without explicitly defined budget, these transac- - tions would be counted towards budgets of expenses:personal:electronics - and expenses:personal accordingly: - - $ hledger balance --budget -M - Budget performance in 2019/01: - - || Jan - ===============================++=============================== - expenses || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] - expenses:personal || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] - expenses:personal:electronics || $100.00 [ 100% of $100.00] - liabilities || $-283.00 [ 26% of $-1100.00] - -------------------------------++------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] - - And with --empty, we can get a better picture of budget allocation and - consumption: - - $ hledger balance --budget -M --empty - Budget performance in 2019/01: - - || Jan - ========================================++=============================== - expenses || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] - expenses:personal || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] - expenses:personal:electronics || $100.00 [ 100% of $100.00] - expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades || $10.00 - expenses:personal:train tickets || $153.00 - liabilities || $-283.00 [ 26% of $-1100.00] - ----------------------------------------++------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] - - Output format - This command also supports the output destination and output format op- - tions The output formats supported are (in most modes): txt, csv, html, - and json. - - balancesheet - balancesheet, bs - This command displays a balance sheet, showing historical ending bal- - ances of asset and liability accounts. (To see equity as well, use the - balancesheetequity command.) Amounts are shown with normal positive - sign, as in conventional financial statements. - - The asset and liability accounts shown are those accounts declared with - the Asset or Cash or Liability type, or otherwise all accounts under a - top-level asset or liability account (case insensitive, plurals al- - lowed). - - Example: - - $ hledger balancesheet - Balance Sheet - - Assets: - $-1 assets - $1 bank:saving - $-2 cash - -------------------- - $-1 - - Liabilities: - $1 liabilities:debts - -------------------- - $1 - - Total: - -------------------- - 0 - - With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for each - report period. As with multicolumn balance reports, you can alter the - report mode with --change/--cumulative/--historical. Normally bal- - ancesheet shows historical ending balances, which is what you need for - a balance sheet; note this means it ignores report begin dates (and - -T/--row-total, since summing end balances generally does not make - sense). Instead of absolute values percentages can be displayed with - -%. - - This command also supports the output destination and output format op- - tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experimen- - tal) json. - - balancesheetequity - balancesheetequity, bse - This command displays a balance sheet, showing historical ending bal- - ances of asset, liability and equity accounts. Amounts are shown with - normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. - - The asset, liability and equity accounts shown are those accounts de- - clared with the Asset, Cash, Liability or Equity type, or otherwise all - accounts under a top-level asset, liability or equity account (case in- - sensitive, plurals allowed). - - Example: - - $ hledger balancesheetequity - Balance Sheet With Equity - - Assets: - $-2 assets - $1 bank:saving - $-3 cash - -------------------- - $-2 - - Liabilities: - $1 liabilities:debts - -------------------- - $1 - - Equity: - $1 equity:owner - -------------------- - $1 - - Total: - -------------------- - 0 - - This command also supports the output destination and output format op- - tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experimen- - tal) json. - - cashflow - cashflow, cf - This command displays a cashflow statement, showing the inflows and - outflows affecting "cash" (ie, liquid) assets. Amounts are shown with - normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. - - The "cash" accounts shown are those accounts declared with the Cash - type, or otherwise all accounts under a top-level asset account (case - insensitive, plural allowed) which do not have fixed, investment, re- - ceivable or A/R in their name. - - Example: - - $ hledger cashflow - Cashflow Statement - - Cash flows: - $-1 assets - $1 bank:saving - $-2 cash - -------------------- - $-1 - - Total: - -------------------- - $-1 - - With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for each - report period. Normally cashflow shows changes in assets per period, - though as with multicolumn balance reports you can alter the report - mode with --change/--cumulative/--historical. Instead of absolute val- - ues percentages can be displayed with -%. - - This command also supports the output destination and output format op- - tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experimen- - tal) json. - - check - check - Check for various kinds of errors in your data. experimental - - hledger provides a number of built-in error checks to help prevent - problems in your data. Some of these are run automatically; or, you - can use this check command to run them on demand, with no output and a - zero exit code if all is well. Some examples: - - hledger check # basic checks - hledger check -s # basic + strict checks - hledger check ordereddates uniqueleafnames # basic + specified checks - - Here are the checks currently available: - - Basic checks - These are always run by this command and other commands: - - o parseable - data files are well-formed and can be successfully parsed - - o autobalanced - all transactions are balanced, inferring missing - amounts where necessary, and possibly converting commodities using - transaction prices or automatically-inferred transaction prices - - o assertions - all balance assertions in the journal are passing. - (This check can be disabled with -I/--ignore-assertions.) - - Strict checks - These are always run by this and other commands when -s/--strict is - used (strict mode): - - o accounts - all account names used by transactions have been declared - - o commodities - all commodity symbols used have been declared - - Other checks - These checks can be run by specifying their names as arguments to the - check command: - - o ordereddates - transactions are ordered by date (similar to the old - check-dates command) - - o uniqueleafnames - all account leaf names are unique (similar to the - old check-dupes command) - - Add-on checks - Some checks are not yet integrated with this command, but are available - as add-on commands in https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/tree/mas- - ter/bin: - - o hledger-check-tagfiles - all tag values containing / (a forward - slash) exist as file paths - - o hledger-check-fancyassertions - more complex balance assertions are - passing - - You could make your own similar scripts to perform custom checks; Cook- - book -> Scripting may be helpful. - - close - close, equity - Prints a "closing balances" transaction and an "opening balances" - transaction that bring account balances to and from zero, respectively. - These can be added to your journal file(s), eg to bring asset/liability - balances forward into a new journal file, or to close out revenues/ex- - penses to retained earnings at the end of a period. - - You can print just one of these transactions by using the --close or - --open flag. You can customise their descriptions with the --close- - desc and --open-desc options. - - One amountless posting to "equity:opening/closing balances" is added to - balance the transactions, by default. You can customise this account - name with --close-acct and --open-acct; if you specify only one of - these, it will be used for both. - - With --x/--explicit, the equity posting's amount will be shown. And if - it involves multiple commodities, a posting for each commodity will be - shown, as with the print command. - - With --interleaved, the equity postings are shown next to the postings - they balance, which makes troubleshooting easier. - - By default, transaction prices in the journal are ignored when generat- - ing the closing/opening transactions. With --show-costs, this cost in- - formation is preserved (balance -B reports will be unchanged after the - transition). Separate postings are generated for each cost in each - commodity. Note this can generate very large journal entries, if you - have many foreign currency or investment transactions. - - close usage - If you split your journal files by time (eg yearly), you will typically - run this command at the end of the year, and save the closing transac- - tion as last entry of the old file, and the opening transaction as the - first entry of the new file. This makes the files self contained, so - that correct balances are reported no matter which of them are loaded. - Ie, if you load just one file, the balances are initialised correctly; - or if you load several files, the redundant closing/opening transac- - tions cancel each other out. (They will show up in print or register - reports; you can exclude them with a query like not:desc:'(open- - ing|closing) balances'.) - - If you're running a business, you might also use this command to "close - the books" at the end of an accounting period, transferring income - statement account balances to retained earnings. (You may want to - change the equity account name to something like "equity:retained earn- - ings".) - - By default, the closing transaction is dated yesterday, the balances - are calculated as of end of yesterday, and the opening transaction is - dated today. To close on some other date, use: hledger close -e OPEN- - INGDATE. Eg, to close/open on the 2018/2019 boundary, use -e 2019. - You can also use -p or date:PERIOD (any starting date is ignored). - - Both transactions will include balance assertions for the closed/re- - opened accounts. You probably shouldn't use status or realness filters - (like -C or -R or status:) with this command, or the generated balance - assertions will depend on these flags. Likewise, if you run this com- - mand with --auto, the balance assertions will probably always require - --auto. - - Examples: - - Carrying asset/liability balances into a new file for 2019: - - $ hledger close -f 2018.journal -e 2019 assets liabilities --open - # (copy/paste the output to the start of your 2019 journal file) - $ hledger close -f 2018.journal -e 2019 assets liabilities --close - # (copy/paste the output to the end of your 2018 journal file) - - Now: - - $ hledger bs -f 2019.journal # one file - balances are correct - $ hledger bs -f 2018.journal -f 2019.journal # two files - balances still correct - $ hledger bs -f 2018.journal not:desc:closing # to see year-end balances, must exclude closing txn - - Transactions spanning the closing date can complicate matters, breaking - balance assertions: - - 2018/12/30 a purchase made in 2018, clearing the following year - expenses:food 5 - assets:bank:checking -5 ; [2019/1/2] - - Here's one way to resolve that: - - ; in 2018.journal: - 2018/12/30 a purchase made in 2018, clearing the following year - expenses:food 5 - liabilities:pending - - ; in 2019.journal: - 2019/1/2 clearance of last year's pending transactions - liabilities:pending 5 = 0 - assets:checking - - codes - codes - List the codes seen in transactions, in the order parsed. - - This command prints the value of each transaction's code field, in the - order transactions were parsed. The transaction code is an optional - value written in parentheses between the date and description, often - used to store a cheque number, order number or similar. - - Transactions aren't required to have a code, and missing or empty codes - will not be shown by default. With the -E/--empty flag, they will be - printed as blank lines. - - You can add a query to select a subset of transactions. - - Examples: - - 1/1 (123) - (a) 1 - - 1/1 () - (a) 1 - - 1/1 - (a) 1 - - 1/1 (126) - (a) 1 - - $ hledger codes - 123 - 124 - 126 - - $ hledger codes -E - 123 - 124 - - - 126 - - commodities - commodities - List all commodity/currency symbols used or declared in the journal. - - descriptions - descriptions - List the unique descriptions that appear in transactions. - - This command lists the unique descriptions that appear in transactions, - in alphabetic order. You can add a query to select a subset of trans- - actions. - - Example: - - $ hledger descriptions - Store Name - Gas Station | Petrol - Person A - - diff - diff - Compares a particular account's transactions in two input files. It - shows any transactions to this account which are in one file but not in - the other. - - More precisely, for each posting affecting this account in either file, - it looks for a corresponding posting in the other file which posts the - same amount to the same account (ignoring date, description, etc.) - Since postings not transactions are compared, this also works when mul- - tiple bank transactions have been combined into a single journal entry. - - This is useful eg if you have downloaded an account's transactions from - your bank (eg as CSV data). When hledger and your bank disagree about - the account balance, you can compare the bank data with your journal to - find out the cause. - - Examples: - - $ hledger diff -f $LEDGER_FILE -f bank.csv assets:bank:giro - These transactions are in the first file only: - - 2014/01/01 Opening Balances - assets:bank:giro EUR ... - ... - equity:opening balances EUR -... - - These transactions are in the second file only: - - files - files - List all files included in the journal. With a REGEX argument, only - file names matching the regular expression (case sensitive) are shown. - - help - help - Show any of the hledger manuals. - - The help command displays any of the main hledger manuals, in one of - several ways. Run it with no argument to list the manuals, or provide - a full or partial manual name to select one. - - hledger manuals are available in several formats. hledger help will - use the first of these display methods that it finds: info, man, - $PAGER, less, stdout (or when non-interactive, just stdout). You can - force a particular viewer with the --info, --man, --pager, --cat flags. - - Examples: - - $ hledger help - Please choose a manual by typing "hledger help MANUAL" (a substring is ok). - Manuals: hledger hledger-ui hledger-web journal csv timeclock timedot - - $ hledger help h --man - - hledger(1) hledger User Manuals hledger(1) - - NAME - hledger - a command-line accounting tool - - SYNOPSIS - hledger [-f FILE] COMMAND [OPTIONS] [ARGS] - hledger [-f FILE] ADDONCMD -- [OPTIONS] [ARGS] - hledger - - DESCRIPTION - hledger is a cross-platform program for tracking money, time, or any - ... - - import - import - Read new transactions added to each FILE since last run, and add them - to the main journal file. Or with --dry-run, just print the transac- - tions that would be added. Or with --catchup, just mark all of the - FILEs' transactions as imported, without actually importing any. - - The input files are specified as arguments - no need to write -f before - each one. So eg to add new transactions from all CSV files to the main - journal, it's just: hledger import *.csv - - New transactions are detected in the same way as print --new: by assum- - ing transactions are always added to the input files in increasing date - order, and by saving .latest.FILE state files. - - The --dry-run output is in journal format, so you can filter it, eg to - see only uncategorised transactions: - - $ hledger import --dry ... | hledger -f- print unknown --ignore-assertions - - Importing balance assignments - Entries added by import will have their posting amounts made explicit - (like hledger print -x). This means that any balance assignments in - imported files must be evaluated; but, imported files don't get to see - the main file's account balances. As a result, importing entries with - balance assignments (eg from an institution that provides only balances - and not posting amounts) will probably generate incorrect posting - amounts. To avoid this problem, use print instead of import: - - $ hledger print IMPORTFILE [--new] >> $LEDGER_FILE - - (If you think import should leave amounts implicit like print does, - please test it and send a pull request.) - - Commodity display styles - Imported amounts will be formatted according to the canonical commodity - styles (declared or inferred) in the main journal file. - - incomestatement - incomestatement, is - This command displays an income statement, showing revenues and ex- - penses during one or more periods. Amounts are shown with normal posi- - tive sign, as in conventional financial statements. - - The revenue and expense accounts shown are those accounts declared with - the Revenue or Expense type, or otherwise all accounts under a top- - level revenue or income or expense account (case insensitive, plurals - allowed). - - Example: - - $ hledger incomestatement - Income Statement - - Revenues: - $-2 income - $-1 gifts - $-1 salary - -------------------- - $-2 - - Expenses: - $2 expenses - $1 food - $1 supplies - -------------------- - $2 - - Total: - -------------------- - 0 - - With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for each - report period. Normally incomestatement shows revenues/expenses per - period, though as with multicolumn balance reports you can alter the - report mode with --change/--cumulative/--historical. Instead of abso- - lute values percentages can be displayed with -%. - - This command also supports the output destination and output format op- - tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experimen- - tal) json. - - notes - notes - List the unique notes that appear in transactions. - - This command lists the unique notes that appear in transactions, in al- - phabetic order. You can add a query to select a subset of transac- - tions. The note is the part of the transaction description after a | - character (or if there is no |, the whole description). - - Example: - - $ hledger notes - Petrol - Snacks - - payees - payees - List the unique payee/payer names that appear in transactions. - - This command lists the unique payee/payer names that appear in transac- - tions, in alphabetic order. You can add a query to select a subset of - transactions. The payee/payer is the part of the transaction descrip- - tion before a | character (or if there is no |, the whole description). - - Example: - - $ hledger payees - Store Name - Gas Station - Person A - - prices - prices - Print market price directives from the journal. With --costs, also - print synthetic market prices based on transaction prices. With --in- - verted-costs, also print inverse prices based on transaction prices. - Prices (and postings providing prices) can be filtered by a query. - Price amounts are always displayed with their full precision. - - print - print, txns, p - Show transaction journal entries, sorted by date. - - The print command displays full journal entries (transactions) from the - journal file in date order, tidily formatted. With --date2, transac- - tions are sorted by secondary date instead. - - print's output is always a valid hledger journal. - It preserves all transaction information, but it does not preserve di- - rectives or inter-transaction comments - - $ hledger print - 2008/01/01 income - assets:bank:checking $1 - income:salary $-1 - - 2008/06/01 gift - assets:bank:checking $1 - income:gifts $-1 - - 2008/06/02 save - assets:bank:saving $1 - assets:bank:checking $-1 - - 2008/06/03 * eat & shop - expenses:food $1 - expenses:supplies $1 - assets:cash $-2 - - 2008/12/31 * pay off - liabilities:debts $1 - assets:bank:checking $-1 - - Normally, the journal entry's explicit or implicit amount style is pre- - served. For example, when an amount is omitted in the journal, it will - not appear in the output. Similarly, when a transaction price is im- - plied but not written, it will not appear in the output. You can use - the -x/--explicit flag to make all amounts and transaction prices ex- - plicit, which can be useful for troubleshooting or for making your - journal more readable and robust against data entry errors. -x is also - implied by using any of -B,-V,-X,--value. - - Note, -x/--explicit will cause postings with a multi-commodity amount - (these can arise when a multi-commodity transaction has an implicit - amount) to be split into multiple single-commodity postings, keeping - the output parseable. - - With -B/--cost, amounts with transaction prices are converted to cost - using that price. This can be used for troubleshooting. - - With -m/--match and a STR argument, print will show at most one trans- - action: the one one whose description is most similar to STR, and is - most recent. STR should contain at least two characters. If there is - no similar-enough match, no transaction will be shown. - - With --new, for each FILE being read, hledger reads (and writes) a spe- - cial state file (.latest.FILE in the same directory), containing the - latest transaction date(s) that were seen last time FILE was read. - When this file is found, only transactions with newer dates (and new - transactions on the latest date) are printed. This is useful for ig- - noring already-seen entries in import data, such as downloaded CSV - files. Eg: - - $ hledger -f bank1.csv print --new - (shows transactions added since last print --new on this file) - - This assumes that transactions added to FILE always have same or in- - creasing dates, and that transactions on the same day do not get re- - ordered. See also the import command. - - This command also supports the output destination and output format op- - tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, and (experimental) - json and sql. - - Here's an example of print's CSV output: - - $ hledger print -Ocsv - "txnidx","date","date2","status","code","description","comment","account","amount","commodity","credit","debit","posting-status","posting-comment" - "1","2008/01/01","","","","income","","assets:bank:checking","1","$","","1","","" - "1","2008/01/01","","","","income","","income:salary","-1","$","1","","","" - "2","2008/06/01","","","","gift","","assets:bank:checking","1","$","","1","","" - "2","2008/06/01","","","","gift","","income:gifts","-1","$","1","","","" - "3","2008/06/02","","","","save","","assets:bank:saving","1","$","","1","","" - "3","2008/06/02","","","","save","","assets:bank:checking","-1","$","1","","","" - "4","2008/06/03","","*","","eat & shop","","expenses:food","1","$","","1","","" - "4","2008/06/03","","*","","eat & shop","","expenses:supplies","1","$","","1","","" - "4","2008/06/03","","*","","eat & shop","","assets:cash","-2","$","2","","","" - "5","2008/12/31","","*","","pay off","","liabilities:debts","1","$","","1","","" - "5","2008/12/31","","*","","pay off","","assets:bank:checking","-1","$","1","","","" - - o There is one CSV record per posting, with the parent transaction's - fields repeated. - - o The "txnidx" (transaction index) field shows which postings belong to - the same transaction. (This number might change if transactions are - reordered within the file, files are parsed/included in a different - order, etc.) - - o The amount is separated into "commodity" (the symbol) and "amount" - (numeric quantity) fields. - - o The numeric amount is repeated in either the "credit" or "debit" col- - umn, for convenience. (Those names are not accurate in the account- - ing sense; it just puts negative amounts under credit and zero or - greater amounts under debit.) - - print-unique - print-unique - Print transactions which do not reuse an already-seen description. - - Example: - - $ cat unique.journal - 1/1 test - (acct:one) 1 - 2/2 test - (acct:two) 2 - $ LEDGER_FILE=unique.journal hledger print-unique - (-f option not supported) - 2015/01/01 test - (acct:one) 1 - - register - register, reg, r - Show postings and their running total. - - The register command displays matched postings, across all accounts, in - date order, with their running total or running historical balance. - (See also the aregister command, which shows matched transactions in a - specific account.) - - register normally shows line per posting, but note that multi-commodity - amounts will occupy multiple lines (one line per commodity). - - It is typically used with a query selecting a particular account, to - see that account's activity: - - $ hledger register checking - 2008/01/01 income assets:bank:checking $1 $1 - 2008/06/01 gift assets:bank:checking $1 $2 - 2008/06/02 save assets:bank:checking $-1 $1 - 2008/12/31 pay off assets:bank:checking $-1 0 - - With --date2, it shows and sorts by secondary date instead. - - The --historical/-H flag adds the balance from any undisplayed prior - postings to the running total. This is useful when you want to see - only recent activity, with a historically accurate running balance: - - $ hledger register checking -b 2008/6 --historical - 2008/06/01 gift assets:bank:checking $1 $2 - 2008/06/02 save assets:bank:checking $-1 $1 - 2008/12/31 pay off assets:bank:checking $-1 0 - - The --depth option limits the amount of sub-account detail displayed. - - The --average/-A flag shows the running average posting amount instead - of the running total (so, the final number displayed is the average for - the whole report period). This flag implies --empty (see below). It - is affected by --historical. It works best when showing just one ac- - count and one commodity. - - The --related/-r flag shows the other postings in the transactions of - the postings which would normally be shown. - - The --invert flag negates all amounts. For example, it can be used on - an income account where amounts are normally displayed as negative num- - bers. It's also useful to show postings on the checking account to- - gether with the related account: - - $ hledger register --related --invert assets:checking - - With a reporting interval, register shows summary postings, one per in- - terval, aggregating the postings to each account: - - $ hledger register --monthly income - 2008/01 income:salary $-1 $-1 - 2008/06 income:gifts $-1 $-2 - - Periods with no activity, and summary postings with a zero amount, are - not shown by default; use the --empty/-E flag to see them: - - $ hledger register --monthly income -E - 2008/01 income:salary $-1 $-1 - 2008/02 0 $-1 - 2008/03 0 $-1 - 2008/04 0 $-1 - 2008/05 0 $-1 - 2008/06 income:gifts $-1 $-2 - 2008/07 0 $-2 - 2008/08 0 $-2 - 2008/09 0 $-2 - 2008/10 0 $-2 - 2008/11 0 $-2 - 2008/12 0 $-2 - - Often, you'll want to see just one line per interval. The --depth op- - tion helps with this, causing subaccounts to be aggregated: - - $ hledger register --monthly assets --depth 1h - 2008/01 assets $1 $1 - 2008/06 assets $-1 0 - 2008/12 assets $-1 $-1 - - Note when using report intervals, if you specify start/end dates these - will be adjusted outward if necessary to contain a whole number of in- - tervals. This ensures that the first and last intervals are full - length and comparable to the others in the report. - - Custom register output - register uses the full terminal width by default, except on windows. - You can override this by setting the COLUMNS environment variable (not - a bash shell variable) or by using the --width/-w option. - - The description and account columns normally share the space equally - (about half of (width - 40) each). You can adjust this by adding a de- - scription width as part of --width's argument, comma-separated: --width - W,D . Here's a diagram (won't display correctly in --help): - - <--------------------------------- width (W) ----------------------------------> - date (10) description (D) account (W-41-D) amount (12) balance (12) - DDDDDDDDDD dddddddddddddddddddd aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa AAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAA - - and some examples: - - $ hledger reg # use terminal width (or 80 on windows) - $ hledger reg -w 100 # use width 100 - $ COLUMNS=100 hledger reg # set with one-time environment variable - $ export COLUMNS=100; hledger reg # set till session end (or window resize) - $ hledger reg -w 100,40 # set overall width 100, description width 40 - $ hledger reg -w $COLUMNS,40 # use terminal width, & description width 40 - - This command also supports the output destination and output format op- - tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, and (experimental) - json. - - register-match - register-match - Print the one posting whose transaction description is closest to DESC, - in the style of the register command. If there are multiple equally - good matches, it shows the most recent. Query options (options, not - arguments) can be used to restrict the search space. Helps ledger-au- - tosync detect already-seen transactions when importing. - - rewrite - rewrite - Print all transactions, rewriting the postings of matched transactions. - For now the only rewrite available is adding new postings, like print - --auto. - - This is a start at a generic rewriter of transaction entries. It reads - the default journal and prints the transactions, like print, but adds - one or more specified postings to any transactions matching QUERY. The - posting amounts can be fixed, or a multiplier of the existing transac- - tion's first posting amount. - - Examples: - - $ hledger-rewrite.hs ^income --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33 ; income tax' --add-posting '(reserve:gifts) $100' - $ hledger-rewrite.hs expenses:gifts --add-posting '(reserve:gifts) *-1"' - $ hledger-rewrite.hs -f rewrites.hledger - - rewrites.hledger may consist of entries like: - - = ^income amt:<0 date:2017 - (liabilities:tax) *0.33 ; tax on income - (reserve:grocery) *0.25 ; reserve 25% for grocery - (reserve:) *0.25 ; reserve 25% for grocery - - Note the single quotes to protect the dollar sign from bash, and the - two spaces between account and amount. - - More: - - $ hledger rewrite -- [QUERY] --add-posting "ACCT AMTEXPR" ... - $ hledger rewrite -- ^income --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' - $ hledger rewrite -- expenses:gifts --add-posting '(budget:gifts) *-1"' - $ hledger rewrite -- ^income --add-posting '(budget:foreign currency) *0.25 JPY; diversify' - - Argument for --add-posting option is a usual posting of transaction - with an exception for amount specification. More precisely, you can - use '*' (star symbol) before the amount to indicate that that this is a - factor for an amount of original matched posting. If the amount in- - cludes a commodity name, the new posting amount will be in the new com- - modity; otherwise, it will be in the matched posting amount's commod- - ity. - - Re-write rules in a file - During the run this tool will execute so called "Automated Transac- - tions" found in any journal it process. I.e instead of specifying this - operations in command line you can put them in a journal file. - - $ rewrite-rules.journal - - Make contents look like this: - - = ^income - (liabilities:tax) *.33 - - = expenses:gifts - budget:gifts *-1 - assets:budget *1 - - Note that '=' (equality symbol) that is used instead of date in trans- - actions you usually write. It indicates the query by which you want to - match the posting to add new ones. - - $ hledger rewrite -- -f input.journal -f rewrite-rules.journal > rewritten-tidy-output.journal - - This is something similar to the commands pipeline: - - $ hledger rewrite -- -f input.journal '^income' --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' \ - | hledger rewrite -- -f - expenses:gifts --add-posting 'budget:gifts *-1' \ - --add-posting 'assets:budget *1' \ - > rewritten-tidy-output.journal - - It is important to understand that relative order of such entries in - journal is important. You can re-use result of previously added post- - ings. - - Diff output format - To use this tool for batch modification of your journal files you may - find useful output in form of unified diff. - - $ hledger rewrite -- --diff -f examples/sample.journal '^income' --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' - - Output might look like: - - --- /tmp/examples/sample.journal - +++ /tmp/examples/sample.journal - @@ -18,3 +18,4 @@ - 2008/01/01 income - - assets:bank:checking $1 - + assets:bank:checking $1 - income:salary - + (liabilities:tax) 0 - @@ -22,3 +23,4 @@ - 2008/06/01 gift - - assets:bank:checking $1 - + assets:bank:checking $1 - income:gifts - + (liabilities:tax) 0 - - If you'll pass this through patch tool you'll get transactions contain- - ing the posting that matches your query be updated. Note that multiple - files might be update according to list of input files specified via - --file options and include directives inside of these files. - - Be careful. Whole transaction being re-formatted in a style of output - from hledger print. - - See also: - - https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/issues/99 - - rewrite vs. print --auto - This command predates print --auto, and currently does much the same - thing, but with these differences: - - o with multiple files, rewrite lets rules in any file affect all other - files. print --auto uses standard directive scoping; rules affect - only child files. - - o rewrite's query limits which transactions can be rewritten; all are - printed. print --auto's query limits which transactions are printed. - - o rewrite applies rules specified on command line or in the journal. - print --auto applies rules specified in the journal. - - roi - roi - Shows the time-weighted (TWR) and money-weighted (IRR) rate of return - on your investments. - - This command assumes that you have account(s) that hold nothing but - your investments and whenever you record current appraisal/valuation of - these investments you offset unrealized profit and loss into account(s) - that, again, hold nothing but unrealized profit and loss. - - Any transactions affecting balance of investment account(s) and not - originating from unrealized profit and loss account(s) are assumed to - be your investments or withdrawals. - - At a minimum, you need to supply a query (which could be just an ac- - count name) to select your investments with --inv, and another query to - identify your profit and loss transactions with --pnl. - - This command will compute and display the internalized rate of return - (IRR) and time-weighted rate of return (TWR) for your investments for - the time period requested. Both rates of return are annualized before - display, regardless of the length of reporting interval. - - Note, in some cases this report can fail, for these reasons: - - o Error (NotBracketed): No solution for Internal Rate of Return (IRR). - Possible causes: IRR is huge (>1000000%), balance of investment be- - comes negative at some point in time. - - o Error (SearchFailed): Failed to find solution for Internal Rate of - Return (IRR). Either search does not converge to a solution, or con- - verges too slowly. - - Examples: - - o Using roi to report unrealised gains: https://github.com/simon- - michael/hledger/blob/master/examples/roi-unrealised.ledger - - More background: - - "ROI" stands for "return on investment". Traditionally this was com- - puted as a difference between current value of investment and its ini- - tial value, expressed in percentage of the initial value. - - However, this approach is only practical in simple cases, where invest- - ments receives no in-flows or out-flows of money, and where rate of - growth is fixed over time. For more complex scenarios you need differ- - ent ways to compute rate of return, and this command implements two of - them: IRR and TWR. - - Internal rate of return, or "IRR" (also called "money-weighted rate of - return") takes into account effects of in-flows and out-flows. - Naively, if you are withdrawing from your investment, your future gains - would be smaller (in absolute numbers), and will be a smaller percent- - age of your initial investment, and if you are adding to your invest- - ment, you will receive bigger absolute gains (but probably at the same - rate of return). IRR is a way to compute rate of return for each pe- - riod between in-flow or out-flow of money, and then combine them in a - way that gives you an annual rate of return that investment is expected - to generate. - - As mentioned before, in-flows and out-flows would be any cash that you - personally put in or withdraw, and for the "roi" command, these are - transactions that involve account(s) matching --inv argument and NOT - involve account(s) matching --pnl argument. - - Presumably, you will also record changes in the value of your invest- - ment, and balance them against "profit and loss" (or "unrealized - gains") account. Note that in order for IRR to compute the precise ef- - fect of your in-flows and out-flows on the rate of return, you will - need to record the value of your investement on or close to the days - when in- or out-flows occur. - - Implementation of IRR in hledger should match the XIRR formula in Ex- - cel. - - Second way to compute rate of return that roi command implements is - called "time-weighted rate of return" or "TWR". Like IRR, it will also - break the history of your investment into periods between in-flows and - out-flows to compute rate of return per each period and then a compound - rate of return. However, internal workings of TWR are quite different. - - In technical terms, IRR uses the same approach as computation of net - present value, and tries to find a discount rate that makes net present - value of all the cash flows of your investment to add up to zero. This - could be hard to wrap your head around, especially if you haven't done - discounted cash flow analysis before. - - TWR represents your investment as an imaginary "unit fund" where in- - flows/ out-flows lead to buying or selling "units" of your investment - and changes in its value change the value of "investment unit". Change - in "unit price" over the reporting period gives you rate of return of - your investment. - - References: * Explanation of rate of return * Explanation of IRR * Ex- - planation of TWR * Examples of computing IRR and TWR and discussion of - the limitations of both metrics - - More examples: - - Lets say that we found an investment in Snake Oil that is proising to - give us 10% annually: - - 2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil - assets:cash -$100 - investment:snake oil - - 2019-12-24 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil = $110 - equity:unrealized gains - - For now, basic computation of the rate of return, as well as IRR and - TWR, gives us the expected 10%: - - $ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+--------+ - | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | - +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++========+========+ - | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 110 | 10 || 10.00% | 10.00% | - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+--------+ - - However, lets say that shorty after investing in the Snake Oil we - started to have second thoughs, so we prompty withdrew $90, leaving - only $10 in. Before Christmas, though, we started to get the "fear of - mission out", so we put the $90 back in. So for most of the year, our - investment was just $10 dollars, and it gave us just $1 in growth: - - 2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil - assets:cash -$100 - investment:snake oil - - 2019-01-02 Buyers remorse - assets:cash $90 - investment:snake oil - - 2019-12-30 Fear of missing out - assets:cash -$90 - investment:snake oil - - 2019-12-31 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil = $101 - equity:unrealized gains - - Now IRR and TWR are drastically different: - - $ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++-------+-------+ - | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | - +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++=======+=======+ - | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 101 | 1 || 9.32% | 1.00% | - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++-------+-------+ - - Here, IRR tells us that we made close to 10% on the $10 dollars that we - had in the account most of the time. And TWR is ... just 1%? Why? - - Based on the transactions in our journal, TWR "think" that we are buy- - ing back $90 worst of Snake Oil at the same price that it had at the - beginning of they year, and then after that our $100 investment gets $1 - increase in value, or 1% of $100. Let's take a closer look at what is - happening here by asking for quarterly reports instead of annual: - - $ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+-------+ - | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | - +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++========+=======+ - | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | - | 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | - | 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | - | 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10 | 90 | 101 | 1 || 37.80% | 4.03% | - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+-------+ - - Now both IRR and TWR are thrown off by the fact that all of the growth - for our investment happens in Q4 2019. This happes because IRR compu- - tation is still yielding 9.32% and TWR is still 1%, but this time these - are rates for three month period instead of twelve, so in order to get - an annual rate they should be multiplied by four! - - Let's try to keep a better record of how Snake Oil grew in value: - - 2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil - assets:cash -$100 - investment:snake oil - - 2019-01-02 Buyers remorse - assets:cash $90 - investment:snake oil - - 2019-02-28 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil - equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 - - 2019-06-30 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil - equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 - - 2019-09-30 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil - equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 - - 2019-12-30 Fear of missing out - assets:cash -$90 - investment:snake oil - - 2019-12-31 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil - equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 - - Would our quartery report look better now? Almost: - - $ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ - | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | - +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++========+========+ - | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10.25 | 0.25 || 9.53% | 10.53% | - | 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10.25 | 0 | 10.50 | 0.25 || 10.15% | 10.15% | - | 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10.50 | 0 | 10.75 | 0.25 || 9.79% | 9.78% | - | 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10.75 | 90 | 101.00 | 0.25 || 8.05% | 1.00% | - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ - - Something is still wrong with TWR computation for Q4, and if you have - been paying attention you know what it is already: big $90 buy-back is - recorded prior to the only transaction that captures the change of - value of Snake Oil that happened in this time period. Lets combine - transactions from 30th and 31st of Dec into one: - - 2019-12-30 Fear of missing out and growth of Snake Oil - assets:cash -$90 - investment:snake oil - equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 - - Now growth of investment properly affects its price at the time of buy- - back: - - $ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ - | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | - +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++========+========+ - | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10.25 | 0.25 || 9.53% | 10.53% | - | 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10.25 | 0 | 10.50 | 0.25 || 10.15% | 10.15% | - | 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10.50 | 0 | 10.75 | 0.25 || 9.79% | 9.78% | - | 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10.75 | 90 | 101.00 | 0.25 || 8.05% | 9.57% | - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ - - And for annual report, TWR now reports the exact profitability of our - investment: - - $ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++-------+--------+ - | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | - +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++=======+========+ - | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 101.00 | 1.00 || 9.32% | 10.00% | - +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++-------+--------+ - - stats - stats - Show some journal statistics. - - The stats command displays summary information for the whole journal, - or a matched part of it. With a reporting interval, it shows a report - for each report period. - - Example: - - $ hledger stats - Main journal file : /src/hledger/examples/sample.journal - Included journal files : - Transactions span : 2008-01-01 to 2009-01-01 (366 days) - Last transaction : 2008-12-31 (2333 days ago) - Transactions : 5 (0.0 per day) - Transactions last 30 days: 0 (0.0 per day) - Transactions last 7 days : 0 (0.0 per day) - Payees/descriptions : 5 - Accounts : 8 (depth 3) - Commodities : 1 ($) - Market prices : 12 ($) - - This command also supports output destination and output format selec- - tion. - - tags - tags - List the unique tag names used in the journal. With a TAGREGEX argu- - ment, only tag names matching the regular expression (case insensitive) - are shown. With QUERY arguments, only transactions matching the query - are considered. - - With the --values flag, the tags' unique values are listed instead. - - With --parsed flag, all tags or values are shown in the order they are - parsed from the input data, including duplicates. - - With -E/--empty, any blank/empty values will also be shown, otherwise - they are omitted. - - test - test - Run built-in unit tests. - - This command runs the unit tests built in to hledger and hledger-lib, - printing the results on stdout. If any test fails, the exit code will - be non-zero. - - This is mainly used by hledger developers, but you can also use it to - sanity-check the installed hledger executable on your platform. All - tests are expected to pass - if you ever see a failure, please report - as a bug! - - This command also accepts tasty test runner options, written after a -- - (double hyphen). Eg to run only the tests in Hledger.Data.Amount, with - ANSI colour codes disabled: - - $ hledger test -- -pData.Amount --color=never - - For help on these, see https://github.com/feuerbach/tasty#options (-- - --help currently doesn't show them). - - Add-on commands - hledger also searches for external add-on commands, and will include - these in the commands list. These are programs or scripts in your PATH - whose name starts with hledger- and ends with a recognised file exten- - sion (currently: no extension, bat,com,exe, hs,lhs,pl,py,rb,rkt,sh). - - Add-ons can be invoked like any hledger command, but there are a few - things to be aware of. Eg if the hledger-web add-on is installed, - - o hledger -h web shows hledger's help, while hledger web -h shows - hledger-web's help. - - o Flags specific to the add-on must have a preceding -- to hide them - from hledger. So hledger web --serve --port 9000 will be rejected; - you must use hledger web -- --serve --port 9000. - - o You can always run add-ons directly if preferred: hledger-web --serve - --port 9000. - - Add-ons are a relatively easy way to add local features or experiment - with new ideas. They can be written in any language, but haskell - scripts have a big advantage: they can use the same hledger (and - haskell) library functions that built-in commands do, for command-line - options, journal parsing, reporting, etc. - - Two important add-ons are the hledger-ui and hledger-web user inter- - faces. These are maintained and released along with hledger: - - ui - hledger-ui provides an efficient terminal interface. - - web - hledger-web provides a simple web interface. - - Third party add-ons, maintained separately from hledger, include: - - iadd - hledger-iadd is a more interactive, terminal UI replacement for the add - command. - - interest - hledger-interest generates interest transactions for an account accord- - ing to various schemes. - - stockquotes - hledger-stockquotes downloads market prices for the commodities in your - journal from AlphaVantage. - - A few more experimental or old add-ons can be found in hledger's bin/ - directory. These are typically prototypes and not guaranteed to work. - -ENVIRONMENT - LEDGER_FILE The journal file path when not specified with -f. Default: - ~/.hledger.journal (on windows, perhaps C:/Users/USER/.hledger.jour- - nal). - - A typical value is ~/DIR/YYYY.journal, where DIR is a version-con- - trolled finance directory and YYYY is the current year. Or ~/DIR/cur- - rent.journal, where current.journal is a symbolic link to YYYY.journal. - - On Mac computers, you can set this and other environment variables in a - more thorough way that also affects applications started from the GUI - (say, an Emacs dock icon). Eg on MacOS Catalina I have a ~/.MacOSX/en- - vironment.plist file containing - - { - "LEDGER_FILE" : "~/finance/current.journal" - } - - To see the effect you may need to killall Dock, or reboot. - - COLUMNS The screen width used by the register command. Default: the - full terminal width. - - NO_COLOR If this variable exists with any value, hledger will not use - ANSI color codes in terminal output. This overrides the - --color/--colour option. - -FILES - Reads data from one or more files in hledger journal, timeclock, time- - dot, or CSV format specified with -f, or $LEDGER_FILE, or - $HOME/.hledger.journal (on windows, perhaps - C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal). - -LIMITATIONS - The need to precede add-on command options with -- when invoked from - hledger is awkward. - - When input data contains non-ascii characters, a suitable system locale - must be configured (or there will be an unhelpful error). Eg on POSIX, - set LANG to something other than C. - - In a Microsoft Windows CMD window, non-ascii characters and colours are - not supported. - - On Windows, non-ascii characters may not display correctly when running - a hledger built in CMD in MSYS/CYGWIN, or vice-versa. - - In a Cygwin/MSYS/Mintty window, the tab key is not supported in hledger - add. - - Not all of Ledger's journal file syntax is supported. See file format - differences. - - On large data files, hledger is slower and uses more memory than - Ledger. - -TROUBLESHOOTING - Here are some issues you might encounter when you run hledger (and re- - member you can also seek help from the IRC channel, mail list or bug - tracker): - - Successfully installed, but "No command 'hledger' found" - stack and cabal install binaries into a special directory, which should - be added to your PATH environment variable. Eg on unix-like systems, - that is ~/.local/bin and ~/.cabal/bin respectively. - - I set a custom LEDGER_FILE, but hledger is still using the default file - LEDGER_FILE should be a real environment variable, not just a shell - variable. The command env | grep LEDGER_FILE should show it. You may - need to use export. Here's an explanation. - - Getting errors like "Illegal byte sequence" or "Invalid or incomplete - multibyte or wide character" or "commitAndReleaseBuffer: invalid argu- - ment (invalid character)" - Programs compiled with GHC (hledger, haskell build tools, etc.) need to - have a UTF-8-aware locale configured in the environment, otherwise they - will fail with these kinds of errors when they encounter non-ascii - characters. - - To fix it, set the LANG environment variable to some locale which sup- - ports UTF-8. The locale you choose must be installed on your system. - - Here's an example of setting LANG temporarily, on Ubuntu GNU/Linux: - - $ file my.journal - my.journal: UTF-8 Unicode text # the file is UTF8-encoded - $ echo $LANG - C # LANG is set to the default locale, which does not support UTF8 - $ locale -a # which locales are installed ? - C - en_US.utf8 # here's a UTF8-aware one we can use - POSIX - $ LANG=en_US.utf8 hledger -f my.journal print # ensure it is used for this command - - If available, C.UTF-8 will also work. If your preferred locale isn't - listed by locale -a, you might need to install it. Eg on Ubuntu/De- - bian: - - $ apt-get install language-pack-fr - $ locale -a - C - en_US.utf8 - fr_BE.utf8 - fr_CA.utf8 - fr_CH.utf8 - fr_FR.utf8 - fr_LU.utf8 - POSIX - $ LANG=fr_FR.utf8 hledger -f my.journal print - - Here's how you could set it permanently, if you use a bash shell: - - $ echo "export LANG=en_US.utf8" >>~/.bash_profile - $ bash --login - - Exact spelling and capitalisation may be important. Note the differ- - ence on MacOS (UTF-8, not utf8). Some platforms (eg ubuntu) allow - variant spellings, but others (eg macos) require it to be exact: - - $ locale -a | grep -iE en_us.*utf - en_US.UTF-8 - $ LANG=en_US.UTF-8 hledger -f my.journal print - - - -REPORTING BUGS - Report bugs at http://bugs.hledger.org (or on the #hledger IRC channel - or hledger mail list) - - -AUTHORS - Simon Michael and contributors - - -COPYRIGHT - Copyright (C) 2007-2020 Simon Michael. - Released under GNU GPL v3 or later. - - -SEE ALSO - hledger(1), hledger-ui(1), hledger-web(1), hledger_csv(5), - hledger_journal(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5), ledger(1) - - - -hledger 1.20.1 December 2020 hledger(1) +HLEDGER(1) hledger User Manuals HLEDGER(1) + + + +NAME + A command-line accounting tool for both power users and folks new to + accounting. + +SYNOPSIS + hledger + + hledger [-f FILE] COMMAND [OPTIONS] [ARGS] + + hledger [-f FILE] ADDONCMD -- [OPTIONS] [ARGS] + +DESCRIPTION + hledger is a reliable, cross-platform set of programs for tracking + money, time, or any other commodity, using double-entry accounting and + a simple, editable file format. hledger is inspired by and largely + compatible with ledger(1). + + This is hledger's command-line interface (there are also terminal and + web interfaces). Its basic function is to read a plain text file de- + scribing financial transactions (in accounting terms, a general jour- + nal) and print useful reports on standard output, or export them as + CSV. hledger can also read some other file formats such as CSV files, + translating them to journal format. Additionally, hledger lists other + hledger-* executables found in the user's $PATH and can invoke them as + subcommands. + + hledger reads data from one or more files in hledger journal, time- + clock, timedot, or CSV format specified with -f, or $LEDGER_FILE, or + $HOME/.hledger.journal (on windows, perhaps + C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal). If using $LEDGER_FILE, note this must + be a real environment variable, not a shell variable. You can specify + standard input with -f-. + + Transactions are dated movements of money between two (or more) named + accounts, and are recorded with journal entries like this: + + 2015/10/16 bought food + expenses:food $10 + assets:cash + + For more about this format, see hledger_journal(5). + + Most users use a text editor to edit the journal, usually with an edi- + tor mode such as ledger-mode for added convenience. hledger's interac- + tive add command is another way to record new transactions. hledger + never changes existing transactions. + + To get started, you can either save some entries like the above in + ~/.hledger.journal, or run hledger add and follow the prompts. Then + try some commands like hledger print or hledger balance. Run hledger + with no arguments for a list of commands. + +COMMON TASKS + Here are some quick examples of how to do some basic tasks with + hledger. For more details, see the reference section below, the + hledger_journal(5) manual, or the more extensive docs at + https://hledger.org. + + Getting help + $ hledger # show available commands + $ hledger --help # show common options + $ hledger CMD --help # show common and command options, and command help + $ hledger help # show available manuals/topics + $ hledger help hledger # show hledger manual as info/man/text (auto-chosen) + $ hledger help journal --man # show the journal manual as a man page + $ hledger help --help # show more detailed help for the help command + + Find more docs, chat, mail list, reddit, issue tracker: + https://hledger.org#help-feedback + + Constructing command lines + hledger has an extensive and powerful command line interface. We + strive to keep it simple and ergonomic, but you may run into one of the + confusing real world details described in OPTIONS, below. If that hap- + pens, here are some tips that may help: + + o command-specific options must go after the command (it's fine to put + all options there) (hledger CMD OPTS ARGS) + + o running add-on executables directly simplifies command line parsing + (hledger-ui OPTS ARGS) + + o enclose "problematic" args in single quotes + + o if needed, also add a backslash to hide regular expression metachar- + acters from the shell + + o to see how a misbehaving command is being parsed, add --debug=2. + + Starting a journal file + hledger looks for your accounting data in a journal file, + $HOME/.hledger.journal by default: + + $ hledger stats + The hledger journal file "/Users/simon/.hledger.journal" was not found. + Please create it first, eg with "hledger add" or a text editor. + Or, specify an existing journal file with -f or LEDGER_FILE. + + You can override this by setting the LEDGER_FILE environment variable. + It's a good practice to keep this important file under version control, + and to start a new file each year. So you could do something like + this: + + $ mkdir ~/finance + $ cd ~/finance + $ git init + Initialized empty Git repository in /Users/simon/finance/.git/ + $ touch 2020.journal + $ echo "export LEDGER_FILE=$HOME/finance/2020.journal" >> ~/.bashrc + $ source ~/.bashrc + $ hledger stats + Main file : /Users/simon/finance/2020.journal + Included files : + Transactions span : to (0 days) + Last transaction : none + Transactions : 0 (0.0 per day) + Transactions last 30 days: 0 (0.0 per day) + Transactions last 7 days : 0 (0.0 per day) + Payees/descriptions : 0 + Accounts : 0 (depth 0) + Commodities : 0 () + Market prices : 0 () + + Setting opening balances + Pick a starting date for which you can look up the balances of some + real-world assets (bank accounts, wallet..) and liabilities (credit + cards..). + + To avoid a lot of data entry, you may want to start with just one or + two accounts, like your checking account or cash wallet; and pick a re- + cent starting date, like today or the start of the week. You can al- + ways come back later and add more accounts and older transactions, eg + going back to january 1st. + + Add an opening balances transaction to the journal, declaring the bal- + ances on this date. Here are two ways to do it: + + o The first way: open the journal in any text editor and save an entry + like this: + + 2020-01-01 * opening balances + assets:bank:checking $1000 = $1000 + assets:bank:savings $2000 = $2000 + assets:cash $100 = $100 + liabilities:creditcard $-50 = $-50 + equity:opening/closing balances + + These are start-of-day balances, ie whatever was in the account at + the end of the previous day. + + The * after the date is an optional status flag. Here it means + "cleared & confirmed". + + The currency symbols are optional, but usually a good idea as you'll + be dealing with multiple currencies sooner or later. + + The = amounts are optional balance assertions, providing extra error + checking. + + o The second way: run hledger add and follow the prompts to record a + similar transaction: + + $ hledger add + Adding transactions to journal file /Users/simon/finance/2020.journal + Any command line arguments will be used as defaults. + Use tab key to complete, readline keys to edit, enter to accept defaults. + An optional (CODE) may follow transaction dates. + An optional ; COMMENT may follow descriptions or amounts. + If you make a mistake, enter < at any prompt to go one step backward. + To end a transaction, enter . when prompted. + To quit, enter . at a date prompt or press control-d or control-c. + Date [2020-02-07]: 2020-01-01 + Description: * opening balances + Account 1: assets:bank:checking + Amount 1: $1000 + Account 2: assets:bank:savings + Amount 2 [$-1000]: $2000 + Account 3: assets:cash + Amount 3 [$-3000]: $100 + Account 4: liabilities:creditcard + Amount 4 [$-3100]: $-50 + Account 5: equity:opening/closing balances + Amount 5 [$-3050]: + Account 6 (or . or enter to finish this transaction): . + 2020-01-01 * opening balances + assets:bank:checking $1000 + assets:bank:savings $2000 + assets:cash $100 + liabilities:creditcard $-50 + equity:opening/closing balances $-3050 + + Save this transaction to the journal ? [y]: + Saved. + Starting the next transaction (. or ctrl-D/ctrl-C to quit) + Date [2020-01-01]: . + + If you're using version control, this could be a good time to commit + the journal. Eg: + + $ git commit -m 'initial balances' 2020.journal + + Recording transactions + As you spend or receive money, you can record these transactions using + one of the methods above (text editor, hledger add) or by using the + hledger-iadd or hledger-web add-ons, or by using the import command to + convert CSV data downloaded from your bank. + + Here are some simple transactions, see the hledger_journal(5) manual + and hledger.org for more ideas: + + 2020/1/10 * gift received + assets:cash $20 + income:gifts + + 2020.1.12 * farmers market + expenses:food $13 + assets:cash + + 2020-01-15 paycheck + income:salary + assets:bank:checking $1000 + + Reconciling + Periodically you should reconcile - compare your hledger-reported bal- + ances against external sources of truth, like bank statements or your + bank's website - to be sure that your ledger accurately represents the + real-world balances (and, that the real-world institutions have not + made a mistake!). This gets easy and fast with (1) practice and (2) + frequency. If you do it daily, it can take 2-10 minutes. If you let + it pile up, expect it to take longer as you hunt down errors and dis- + crepancies. + + A typical workflow: + + 1. Reconcile cash. Count what's in your wallet. Compare with what + hledger reports (hledger bal cash). If they are different, try to + remember the missing transaction, or look for the error in the al- + ready-recorded transactions. A register report can be helpful + (hledger reg cash). If you can't find the error, add an adjustment + transaction. Eg if you have $105 after the above, and can't explain + the missing $2, it could be: + + 2020-01-16 * adjust cash + assets:cash $-2 = $105 + expenses:misc + + 2. Reconcile checking. Log in to your bank's website. Compare today's + (cleared) balance with hledger's cleared balance (hledger bal check- + ing -C). If they are different, track down the error or record the + missing transaction(s) or add an adjustment transaction, similar to + the above. Unlike the cash case, you can usually compare the trans- + action history and running balance from your bank with the one re- + ported by hledger reg checking -C. This will be easier if you gen- + erally record transaction dates quite similar to your bank's clear- + ing dates. + + 3. Repeat for other asset/liability accounts. + + Tip: instead of the register command, use hledger-ui to see a live-up- + dating register while you edit the journal: hledger-ui --watch --regis- + ter checking -C + + After reconciling, it could be a good time to mark the reconciled + transactions' status as "cleared and confirmed", if you want to track + that, by adding the * marker. Eg in the paycheck transaction above, + insert * between 2020-01-15 and paycheck + + If you're using version control, this can be another good time to com- + mit: + + $ git commit -m 'txns' 2020.journal + + Reporting + Here are some basic reports. + + Show all transactions: + + $ hledger print + 2020-01-01 * opening balances + assets:bank:checking $1000 + assets:bank:savings $2000 + assets:cash $100 + liabilities:creditcard $-50 + equity:opening/closing balances $-3050 + + 2020-01-10 * gift received + assets:cash $20 + income:gifts + + 2020-01-12 * farmers market + expenses:food $13 + assets:cash + + 2020-01-15 * paycheck + income:salary + assets:bank:checking $1000 + + 2020-01-16 * adjust cash + assets:cash $-2 = $105 + expenses:misc + + Show account names, and their hierarchy: + + $ hledger accounts --tree + assets + bank + checking + savings + cash + equity + opening/closing balances + expenses + food + misc + income + gifts + salary + liabilities + creditcard + + Show all account totals: + + $ hledger balance + $4105 assets + $4000 bank + $2000 checking + $2000 savings + $105 cash + $-3050 equity:opening/closing balances + $15 expenses + $13 food + $2 misc + $-1020 income + $-20 gifts + $-1000 salary + $-50 liabilities:creditcard + -------------------- + 0 + + Show only asset and liability balances, as a flat list, limited to + depth 2: + + $ hledger bal assets liabilities --flat -2 + $4000 assets:bank + $105 assets:cash + $-50 liabilities:creditcard + -------------------- + $4055 + + Show the same thing without negative numbers, formatted as a simple + balance sheet: + + $ hledger bs --flat -2 + Balance Sheet 2020-01-16 + + || 2020-01-16 + ========================++============ + Assets || + ------------------------++------------ + assets:bank || $4000 + assets:cash || $105 + ------------------------++------------ + || $4105 + ========================++============ + Liabilities || + ------------------------++------------ + liabilities:creditcard || $50 + ------------------------++------------ + || $50 + ========================++============ + Net: || $4055 + + The final total is your "net worth" on the end date. (Or use bse for a + full balance sheet with equity.) + + Show income and expense totals, formatted as an income statement: + + hledger is + Income Statement 2020-01-01-2020-01-16 + + || 2020-01-01-2020-01-16 + ===============++======================= + Revenues || + ---------------++----------------------- + income:gifts || $20 + income:salary || $1000 + ---------------++----------------------- + || $1020 + ===============++======================= + Expenses || + ---------------++----------------------- + expenses:food || $13 + expenses:misc || $2 + ---------------++----------------------- + || $15 + ===============++======================= + Net: || $1005 + + The final total is your net income during this period. + + Show transactions affecting your wallet, with running total: + + $ hledger register cash + 2020-01-01 opening balances assets:cash $100 $100 + 2020-01-10 gift received assets:cash $20 $120 + 2020-01-12 farmers market assets:cash $-13 $107 + 2020-01-16 adjust cash assets:cash $-2 $105 + + Show weekly posting counts as a bar chart: + + $ hledger activity -W + 2019-12-30 ***** + 2020-01-06 **** + 2020-01-13 **** + + Migrating to a new file + At the end of the year, you may want to continue your journal in a new + file, so that old transactions don't slow down or clutter your reports, + and to help ensure the integrity of your accounting history. See the + close command. + + If using version control, don't forget to git add the new file. + +OPTIONS + General options + To see general usage help, including general options which are sup- + ported by most hledger commands, run hledger -h. + + General help options: + + -h --help + show general usage (or after COMMAND, command usage) + + --version + show version + + --debug[=N] + show debug output (levels 1-9, default: 1) + + General input options: + + -f FILE --file=FILE + use a different input file. For stdin, use - (default: + $LEDGER_FILE or $HOME/.hledger.journal) + + --rules-file=RULESFILE + Conversion rules file to use when reading CSV (default: + FILE.rules) + + --separator=CHAR + Field separator to expect when reading CSV (default: ',') + + --alias=OLD=NEW + rename accounts named OLD to NEW + + --anon anonymize accounts and payees + + --pivot FIELDNAME + use some other field or tag for the account name + + -I --ignore-assertions + disable balance assertion checks (note: does not disable balance + assignments) + + -s --strict + do extra error checking (check that all posted accounts are de- + clared) + + General reporting options: + + -b --begin=DATE + include postings/txns on or after this date + + -e --end=DATE + include postings/txns before this date + + -D --daily + multiperiod/multicolumn report by day + + -W --weekly + multiperiod/multicolumn report by week + + -M --monthly + multiperiod/multicolumn report by month + + -Q --quarterly + multiperiod/multicolumn report by quarter + + -Y --yearly + multiperiod/multicolumn report by year + + -p --period=PERIODEXP + set start date, end date, and/or reporting interval all at once + using period expressions syntax + + --date2 + match the secondary date instead (see command help for other ef- + fects) + + -U --unmarked + include only unmarked postings/txns (can combine with -P or -C) + + -P --pending + include only pending postings/txns + + -C --cleared + include only cleared postings/txns + + -R --real + include only non-virtual postings + + -NUM --depth=NUM + hide/aggregate accounts or postings more than NUM levels deep + + -E --empty + show items with zero amount, normally hidden (and vice-versa in + hledger-ui/hledger-web) + + -B --cost + convert amounts to their cost/selling amount at transaction time + + -V --market + convert amounts to their market value in default valuation com- + modities + + -X --exchange=COMM + convert amounts to their market value in commodity COMM + + --value + convert amounts to cost or market value, more flexibly than + -B/-V/-X + + --infer-value + with -V/-X/--value, also infer market prices from transactions + + --auto apply automated posting rules to modify transactions. + + --forecast + generate future transactions from periodic transaction rules, + for the next 6 months or till report end date. In hledger-ui, + also make ordinary future transactions visible. + + --color=WHEN (or --colour=WHEN) + Should color-supporting commands use ANSI color codes in text + output. 'auto' (default): whenever stdout seems to be a color- + supporting terminal. 'always' or 'yes': always, useful eg when + piping output into 'less -R'. 'never' or 'no': never. A + NO_COLOR environment variable overrides this. + + When a reporting option appears more than once in the command line, the + last one takes precedence. + + Some reporting options can also be written as query arguments. + + Command options + To see options for a particular command, including command-specific op- + tions, run: hledger COMMAND -h. + + Command-specific options must be written after the command name, eg: + hledger print -x. + + Additionally, if the command is an add-on, you may need to put its op- + tions after a double-hyphen, eg: hledger ui -- --watch. Or, you can + run the add-on executable directly: hledger-ui --watch. + + Command arguments + Most hledger commands accept arguments after the command name, which + are often a query, filtering the data in some way. + + You can save a set of command line options/arguments in a file, and + then reuse them by writing @FILENAME as a command line argument. Eg: + hledger bal @foo.args. (To prevent this, eg if you have an argument + that begins with a literal @, precede it with --, eg: hledger bal -- + @ARG). + + Inside the argument file, each line should contain just one option or + argument. Avoid the use of spaces, except inside quotes (or you'll see + a confusing error). Between a flag and its argument, use = (or noth- + ing). Bad: + + assets depth:2 + -X USD + + Good: + + assets + depth:2 + -X=USD + + For special characters (see below), use one less level of quoting than + you would at the command prompt. Bad: + + -X"$" + + Good: + + -X$ + + See also: Save frequently used options. + + Queries + One of hledger's strengths is being able to quickly report on precise + subsets of your data. Most commands accept an optional query expres- + sion, written as arguments after the command name, to filter the data + by date, account name or other criteria. The syntax is similar to a + web search: one or more space-separated search terms, quotes to enclose + whitespace, prefixes to match specific fields, a not: prefix to negate + the match. + + We do not yet support arbitrary boolean combinations of search terms; + instead most commands show transactions/postings/accounts which match + (or negatively match): + + o any of the description terms AND + + o any of the account terms AND + + o any of the status terms AND + + o all the other terms. + + The print command instead shows transactions which: + + o match any of the description terms AND + + o have any postings matching any of the positive account terms AND + + o have no postings matching any of the negative account terms AND + + o match all the other terms. + + The following kinds of search terms can be used. Remember these can + also be prefixed with not:, eg to exclude a particular subaccount. + + REGEX, acct:REGEX + match account names by this regular expression. (With no pre- + fix, acct: is assumed.) same as above + + amt:N, amt:N, amt:>=N + match postings with a single-commodity amount that is equal to, + less than, or greater than N. (Multi-commodity amounts are not + tested, and will always match.) The comparison has two modes: if + N is preceded by a + or - sign (or is 0), the two signed numbers + are compared. Otherwise, the absolute magnitudes are compared, + ignoring sign. + + code:REGEX + match by transaction code (eg check number) + + cur:REGEX + match postings or transactions including any amounts whose cur- + rency/commodity symbol is fully matched by REGEX. (For a par- + tial match, use .*REGEX.*). Note, to match characters which are + regex-significant, like the dollar sign ($), you need to prepend + \. And when using the command line you need to add one more + level of quoting to hide it from the shell, so eg do: hledger + print cur:'\$' or hledger print cur:\\$. + + desc:REGEX + match transaction descriptions. + + date:PERIODEXPR + match dates within the specified period. PERIODEXPR is a period + expression (with no report interval). Examples: date:2016, + date:thismonth, date:2000/2/1-2/15, date:lastweek-. If the + --date2 command line flag is present, this matches secondary + dates instead. + + date2:PERIODEXPR + match secondary dates within the specified period. + + depth:N + match (or display, depending on command) accounts at or above + this depth + + note:REGEX + match transaction notes (part of description right of |, or + whole description when there's no |) + + payee:REGEX + match transaction payee/payer names (part of description left of + |, or whole description when there's no |) + + real:, real:0 + match real or virtual postings respectively + + status:, status:!, status:* + match unmarked, pending, or cleared transactions respectively + + tag:REGEX[=REGEX] + match by tag name, and optionally also by tag value. Note a + tag: query is considered to match a transaction if it matches + any of the postings. Also remember that postings inherit the + tags of their parent transaction. + + The following special search term is used automatically in hledger-web, + only: + + inacct:ACCTNAME + tells hledger-web to show the transaction register for this ac- + count. Can be filtered further with acct etc. + + Some of these can also be expressed as command-line options (eg depth:2 + is equivalent to --depth 2). Generally you can mix options and query + arguments, and the resulting query will be their intersection (perhaps + excluding the -p/--period option). + + Special characters in arguments and queries + In shell command lines, option and argument values which contain "prob- + lematic" characters, ie spaces, and also characters significant to your + shell such as <, >, (, ), | and $, should be escaped by enclosing them + in quotes or by writing backslashes before the characters. Eg: + + hledger register -p 'last year' "accounts receivable (receiv- + able|payable)" amt:\>100. + + More escaping + Characters significant both to the shell and in regular expressions may + need one extra level of escaping. These include parentheses, the pipe + symbol and the dollar sign. Eg, to match the dollar symbol, bash users + should do: + + hledger balance cur:'\$' + + or: + + hledger balance cur:\\$ + + Even more escaping + When hledger runs an add-on executable (eg you type hledger ui, hledger + runs hledger-ui), it de-escapes command-line options and arguments + once, so you might need to triple-escape. Eg in bash, running the ui + command and matching the dollar sign, it's: + + hledger ui cur:'\\$' + + or: + + hledger ui cur:\\\\$ + + If you asked why four slashes above, this may help: + + unescaped: $ + escaped: \$ + double-escaped: \\$ + triple-escaped: \\\\$ + + (The number of backslashes in fish shell is left as an exercise for the + reader.) + + You can always avoid the extra escaping for add-ons by running the add- + on directly: + + hledger-ui cur:\\$ + + Less escaping + Inside an argument file, or in the search field of hledger-ui or + hledger-web, or at a GHCI prompt, you need one less level of escaping + than at the command line. And backslashes may work better than quotes. + Eg: + + ghci> :main balance cur:\$ + + Unicode characters + hledger is expected to handle non-ascii characters correctly: + + o they should be parsed correctly in input files and on the command + line, by all hledger tools (add, iadd, hledger-web's search/add/edit + forms, etc.) + + o they should be displayed correctly by all hledger tools, and on- + screen alignment should be preserved. + + This requires a well-configured environment. Here are some tips: + + o A system locale must be configured, and it must be one that can de- + code the characters being used. In bash, you can set a locale like + this: export LANG=en_US.UTF-8. There are some more details in Trou- + bleshooting. This step is essential - without it, hledger will quit + on encountering a non-ascii character (as with all GHC-compiled pro- + grams). + + o your terminal software (eg Terminal.app, iTerm, CMD.exe, xterm..) + must support unicode + + o the terminal must be using a font which includes the required unicode + glyphs + + o the terminal should be configured to display wide characters as dou- + ble width (for report alignment) + + o on Windows, for best results you should run hledger in the same kind + of environment in which it was built. Eg hledger built in the stan- + dard CMD.EXE environment (like the binaries on our download page) + might show display problems when run in a cygwin or msys terminal, + and vice versa. (See eg #961). + + Input files + hledger reads transactions from a data file (and the add command writes + to it). By default this file is $HOME/.hledger.journal (or on Windows, + something like C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal). You can override this + with the $LEDGER_FILE environment variable: + + $ setenv LEDGER_FILE ~/finance/2016.journal + $ hledger stats + + or with the -f/--file option: + + $ hledger -f /some/file stats + + The file name - (hyphen) means standard input: + + $ cat some.journal | hledger -f- + + Usually the data file is in hledger's journal format, but it can be in + any of the supported file formats, which currently are: + + Reader: Reads: Used for file exten- + sions: + ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + journal hledger journal files and some Ledger .journal .j .hledger + journals, for transactions .ledger + time- timeclock files, for precise time log- .timeclock + clock ging + timedot timedot files, for approximate time .timedot + logging + csv comma/semicolon/tab/other-separated .csv .ssv .tsv + values, for data import + + hledger detects the format automatically based on the file extensions + shown above. If it can't recognise the file extension, it assumes + journal format. So for non-journal files, it's important to use a + recognised file extension, so as to either read successfully or to show + relevant error messages. + + When you can't ensure the right file extension, not to worry: you can + force a specific reader/format by prefixing the file path with the for- + mat and a colon. Eg to read a .dat file as csv: + + $ hledger -f csv:/some/csv-file.dat stats + $ echo 'i 2009/13/1 08:00:00' | hledger print -ftimeclock:- + + You can specify multiple -f options, to read multiple files as one big + journal. There are some limitations with this: + + o directives in one file will not affect the other files + + o balance assertions will not see any account balances from previous + files + + If you need either of those things, you can + + o use a single parent file which includes the others + + o or concatenate the files into one before reading, eg: cat a.journal + b.journal | hledger -f- CMD. + + Strict mode + hledger checks input files for valid data. By default, the most impor- + tant errors are detected, while still accepting easy journal files + without a lot of declarations: + + o Are the input files parseable, with valid syntax ? + + o Are all transactions balanced ? + + o Do all balance assertions pass ? + + With the -s/--strict flag, additional checks are performed: + + o Are all accounts posted to, declared with an account directive ? + (Account error checking) + + o Are all commodities declared with a commodity directive ? (Commodity + error checking) + + See also: https://hledger.org/checking-for-errors.html + + experimental. + + Output destination + hledger commands send their output to the terminal by default. You can + of course redirect this, eg into a file, using standard shell syntax: + + $ hledger print > foo.txt + + Some commands (print, register, stats, the balance commands) also pro- + vide the -o/--output-file option, which does the same thing without + needing the shell. Eg: + + $ hledger print -o foo.txt + $ hledger print -o - # write to stdout (the default) + + Output format + Some commands (print, register, the balance commands) offer a choice of + output format. In addition to the usual plain text format (txt), there + are CSV (csv), HTML (html), JSON (json) and SQL (sql). This is con- + trolled by the -O/--output-format option: + + $ hledger print -O csv + + or, by a file extension specified with -o/--output-file: + + $ hledger balancesheet -o foo.html # write HTML to foo.html + + The -O option can be used to override the file extension if needed: + + $ hledger balancesheet -o foo.txt -O html # write HTML to foo.txt + + Some notes about JSON output: + + o This feature is marked experimental, and not yet much used; you + should expect our JSON to evolve. Real-world feedback is welcome. + + o Our JSON is rather large and verbose, as it is quite a faithful rep- + resentation of hledger's internal data types. To understand the + JSON, read the Haskell type definitions, which are mostly in + https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/blob/master/hledger- + lib/Hledger/Data/Types.hs. + + o hledger represents quantities as Decimal values storing up to 255 + significant digits, eg for repeating decimals. Such numbers can + arise in practice (from automatically-calculated transaction prices), + and would break most JSON consumers. So in JSON, we show quantities + as simple Numbers with at most 10 decimal places. We don't limit the + number of integer digits, but that part is under your control. We + hope this approach will not cause problems in practice; if you find + otherwise, please let us know. (Cf #1195) + + Notes about SQL output: + + o SQL output is also marked experimental, and much like JSON could use + real-world feedback. + + o SQL output is expected to work with sqlite, MySQL and PostgreSQL + + o SQL output is structured with the expectations that statements will + be executed in the empty database. If you already have tables cre- + ated via SQL output of hledger, you would probably want to either + clear tables of existing data (via delete or truncate SQL statements) + or drop tables completely as otherwise your postings will be duped. + + Regular expressions + hledger uses regular expressions in a number of places: + + o query terms, on the command line and in the hledger-web search form: + REGEX, desc:REGEX, cur:REGEX, tag:...=REGEX + + o CSV rules conditional blocks: if REGEX ... + + o account alias directives and options: alias /REGEX/ = REPLACEMENT, + --alias /REGEX/=REPLACEMENT + + hledger's regular expressions come from the regex-tdfa library. If + they're not doing what you expect, it's important to know exactly what + they support: + + 1. they are case insensitive + + 2. they are infix matching (they do not need to match the entire thing + being matched) + + 3. they are POSIX ERE (extended regular expressions) + + 4. they also support GNU word boundaries (\b, \B, \<, \>) + + 5. they do not support backreferences; if you write \1, it will match + the digit 1. Except when doing text replacement, eg in account + aliases, where backreferences can be used in the replacement string + to reference capturing groups in the search regexp. + + 6. they do not support mode modifiers ((?s)), character classes (\w, + \d), or anything else not mentioned above. + + Some things to note: + + o In the alias directive and --alias option, regular expressions must + be enclosed in forward slashes (/REGEX/). Elsewhere in hledger, + these are not required. + + o In queries, to match a regular expression metacharacter like $ as a + literal character, prepend a backslash. Eg to search for amounts + with the dollar sign in hledger-web, write cur:\$. + + o On the command line, some metacharacters like $ have a special mean- + ing to the shell and so must be escaped at least once more. See Spe- + cial characters. + + Smart dates + hledger's user interfaces accept a flexible "smart date" syntax (unlike + dates in the journal file). Smart dates allow some english words, can + be relative to today's date, and can have less-significant date parts + omitted (defaulting to 1). + + Examples: + + 2004/10/1, 2004-01-01, exact date, several separators allowed. Year + 2004.9.1 is 4+ digits, month is 1-12, day is 1-31 + 2004 start of year + 2004/10 start of month + 10/1 month and day in current year + 21 day in current month + october, oct start of month in current year + yesterday, today, tomor- -1, 0, 1 days from today + row + last/this/next -1, 0, 1 periods from the current period + day/week/month/quar- + ter/year + 20181201 8 digit YYYYMMDD with valid year month and day + 201812 6 digit YYYYMM with valid year and month + + Counterexamples - malformed digit sequences might give surprising re- + sults: + + 201813 6 digits with an invalid month is parsed as start of + 6-digit year + 20181301 8 digits with an invalid month is parsed as start of + 8-digit year + 20181232 8 digits with an invalid day gives an error + 201801012 9+ digits beginning with a valid YYYYMMDD gives an error + + Report start & end date + Most hledger reports show the full span of time represented by the + journal data, by default. So, the effective report start and end dates + will be the earliest and latest transaction or posting dates found in + the journal. + + Often you will want to see a shorter time span, such as the current + month. You can specify a start and/or end date using -b/--begin, + -e/--end, -p/--period or a date: query (described below). All of these + accept the smart date syntax. + + Some notes: + + o As in Ledger, end dates are exclusive, so you need to write the date + after the last day you want to include. + + o As noted in reporting options: among start/end dates specified with + options, the last (i.e. right-most) option takes precedence. + + o The effective report start and end dates are the intersection of the + start/end dates from options and that from date: queries. That is, + date:2019-01 date:2019 -p'2000 to 2030' yields January 2019, the + smallest common time span. + + Examples: + + -b 2016/3/17 begin on St. Patrick's day 2016 + -e 12/1 end at the start of december 1st of the current year + (11/30 will be the last date included) + -b thismonth all transactions on or after the 1st of the current month + -p thismonth all transactions in the current month + date:2016/3/17.. the above written as queries instead (.. can also be re- + placed with -) + date:..12/1 + date:thismonth.. + date:thismonth + + Report intervals + A report interval can be specified so that commands like register, bal- + ance and activity will divide their reports into multiple subperiods. + The basic intervals can be selected with one of -D/--daily, + -W/--weekly, -M/--monthly, -Q/--quarterly, or -Y/--yearly. More com- + plex intervals may be specified with a period expression. Report in- + tervals can not be specified with a query. + + Period expressions + The -p/--period option accepts period expressions, a shorthand way of + expressing a start date, end date, and/or report interval all at once. + + Here's a basic period expression specifying the first quarter of 2009. + Note, hledger always treats start dates as inclusive and end dates as + exclusive: + + -p "from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1" + + Keywords like "from" and "to" are optional, and so are the spaces, as + long as you don't run two dates together. "to" can also be written as + ".." or "-". These are equivalent to the above: + + -p "2009/1/1 2009/4/1" + -p2009/1/1to2009/4/1 + -p2009/1/1..2009/4/1 + + Dates are smart dates, so if the current year is 2009, the above can + also be written as: + + -p "1/1 4/1" + -p "january-apr" + -p "this year to 4/1" + + If you specify only one date, the missing start or end date will be the + earliest or latest transaction in your journal: + + -p "from 2009/1/1" everything after january + 1, 2009 + -p "from 2009/1" the same + -p "from 2009" the same + -p "to 2009" everything before january + 1, 2009 + + A single date with no "from" or "to" defines both the start and end + date like so: + + -p "2009" the year 2009; equivalent + to "2009/1/1 to 2010/1/1" + -p "2009/1" the month of jan; equiva- + lent to "2009/1/1 to + 2009/2/1" + -p "2009/1/1" just that day; equivalent + to "2009/1/1 to 2009/1/2" + + Or you can specify a single quarter like so: + + -p "2009Q1" first quarter of 2009, + equivalent to "2009/1/1 to + 2009/4/1" + -p "q4" fourth quarter of the cur- + rent year + + The argument of -p can also begin with, or be, a report interval ex- + pression. The basic report intervals are daily, weekly, monthly, quar- + terly, or yearly, which have the same effect as the -D,-W,-M,-Q, or -Y + flags. Between report interval and start/end dates (if any), the word + in is optional. Examples: + + -p "weekly from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1" + -p "monthly in 2008" + -p "quarterly" + + Note that weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly intervals will always + start on the first day on week, month, quarter or year accordingly, and + will end on the last day of same period, even if associated period ex- + pression specifies different explicit start and end date. + + For example: + + -p "weekly from 2009/1/1 starts on 2008/12/29, closest preceding Mon- + to 2009/4/1" day + -p "monthly in starts on 2018/11/01 + 2008/11/25" + -p "quarterly from starts on 2009/04/01, ends on 2009/06/30, + 2009-05-05 to 2009-06-01" which are first and last days of Q2 2009 + -p "yearly from starts on 2009/01/01, first day of 2009 + 2009-12-29" + + The following more complex report intervals are also supported: bi- + weekly, fortnightly, bimonthly, every day|week|month|quarter|year, ev- + ery N days|weeks|months|quarters|years. + + All of these will start on the first day of the requested period and + end on the last one, as described above. + + Examples: + + -p "bimonthly from 2008" periods will have boundaries on 2008/01/01, + 2008/03/01, ... + -p "every 2 weeks" starts on closest preceding Monday + -p "every 5 month from periods will have boundaries on 2009/03/01, + 2009/03" 2009/08/01, ... + + If you want intervals that start on arbitrary day of your choosing and + span a week, month or year, you need to use any of the following: + + every Nth day of week, every WEEKDAYNAME (eg + mon|tue|wed|thu|fri|sat|sun), every Nth day [of month], every Nth WEEK- + DAYNAME [of month], every MM/DD [of year], every Nth MMM [of year], ev- + ery MMM Nth [of year]. + + Examples: + + -p "every 2nd day of periods will go from Tue to Tue + week" + -p "every Tue" same + -p "every 15th day" period boundaries will be on 15th of each + month + -p "every 2nd Monday" period boundaries will be on second Monday of + each month + -p "every 11/05" yearly periods with boundaries on 5th of Nov + -p "every 5th Nov" same + -p "every Nov 5th" same + + Show historical balances at end of 15th each month (N is exclusive end + date): + + hledger balance -H -p "every 16th day" + + Group postings from start of wednesday to end of next tuesday (N is + start date and exclusive end date): + + hledger register checking -p "every 3rd day of week" + + Depth limiting + With the --depth N option (short form: -N), commands like account, bal- + ance and register will show only the uppermost accounts in the account + tree, down to level N. Use this when you want a summary with less de- + tail. This flag has the same effect as a depth: query argument (so -2, + --depth=2 or depth:2 are equivalent). + + Pivoting + Normally hledger sums amounts, and organizes them in a hierarchy, based + on account name. The --pivot FIELD option causes it to sum and orga- + nize hierarchy based on the value of some other field instead. FIELD + can be: code, description, payee, note, or the full name (case insensi- + tive) of any tag. As with account names, values containing colon:sepa- + rated:parts will be displayed hierarchically in reports. + + --pivot is a general option affecting all reports; you can think of + hledger transforming the journal before any other processing, replacing + every posting's account name with the value of the specified field on + that posting, inheriting it from the transaction or using a blank value + if it's not present. + + An example: + + 2016/02/16 Member Fee Payment + assets:bank account 2 EUR + income:member fees -2 EUR ; member: John Doe + + Normal balance report showing account names: + + $ hledger balance + 2 EUR assets:bank account + -2 EUR income:member fees + -------------------- + 0 + + Pivoted balance report, using member: tag values instead: + + $ hledger balance --pivot member + 2 EUR + -2 EUR John Doe + -------------------- + 0 + + One way to show only amounts with a member: value (using a query, de- + scribed below): + + $ hledger balance --pivot member tag:member=. + -2 EUR John Doe + -------------------- + -2 EUR + + Another way (the acct: query matches against the pivoted "account + name"): + + $ hledger balance --pivot member acct:. + -2 EUR John Doe + -------------------- + -2 EUR + + Valuation + Instead of reporting amounts in their original commodity, hledger can + convert them to cost/sale amount (using the conversion rate recorded in + the transaction), or to market value (using some market price on a cer- + tain date). This is controlled by the --value=TYPE[,COMMODITY] option, + but we also provide the simpler -B/-V/-X flags, and usually one of + those is all you need. + + -B: Cost + The -B/--cost flag converts amounts to their cost or sale amount at + transaction time, if they have a transaction price specified. + + -V: Value + The -V/--market flag converts amounts to market value in their default + valuation commodity, using the market prices in effect on the valuation + date(s), if any. More on these in a minute. + + -X: Value in specified commodity + The -X/--exchange=COMM option is like -V, except you tell it which cur- + rency you want to convert to, and it tries to convert everything to + that. + + Valuation date + Since market prices can change from day to day, market value reports + have a valuation date (or more than one), which determines which market + prices will be used. + + For single period reports, if an explicit report end date is specified, + that will be used as the valuation date; otherwise the valuation date + is "today". + + For multiperiod reports, each column/period is valued on the last day + of the period, by default. + + Market prices + (experimental) + + To convert a commodity A to its market value in another commodity B, + hledger looks for a suitable market price (exchange rate) as follows, + in this order of preference : + + 1. A declared market price or inferred market price: A's latest market + price in B on or before the valuation date as declared by a P direc- + tive, or (with the --infer-value flag) inferred from transaction + prices. + + 2. A reverse market price: the inverse of a declared or inferred market + price from B to A. + + 3. A a forward chain of market prices: a synthetic price formed by com- + bining the shortest chain of "forward" (only 1 above) market prices, + leading from A to B. + + 4. A any chain of market prices: a chain of any market prices, includ- + ing both forward and reverse prices (1 and 2 above), leading from A + to B. + + Amounts for which no applicable market price can be found, are not con- + verted. + + --infer-value: market prices from transactions + (experimental) + + Normally, market value in hledger is fully controlled by, and requires, + P directives in your journal. Since adding and updating those can be a + chore, and since transactions usually take place at close to market + value, why not use the recorded transaction prices as additional market + prices (as Ledger does) ? We could produce value reports without need- + ing P directives at all. + + Adding the --infer-value flag to -V, -X or --value enables this. So + for example, hledger bs -V --infer-value will get market prices both + from P directives and from transactions. + + There is a downside: value reports can sometimes be affected in confus- + ing/undesired ways by your journal entries. If this happens to you, + read all of this Valuation section carefully, and try adding --debug or + --debug=2 to troubleshoot. + + --infer-value can infer market prices from: + + o multicommodity transactions with explicit prices (@/@@) + + o multicommodity transactions with implicit prices (no @, two commodi- + ties, unbalanced). (With these, the order of postings matters. + hledger print -x can be useful for troubleshooting.) + + o but not, currently, from "more correct" multicommodity transactions + (no @, multiple commodities, balanced). + + Valuation commodity + (experimental) + + When you specify a valuation commodity (-X COMM or --value TYPE,COMM): + hledger will convert all amounts to COMM, wherever it can find a suit- + able market price (including by reversing or chaining prices). + + When you leave the valuation commodity unspecified (-V or --value + TYPE): + For each commodity A, hledger picks a default valuation commodity as + follows, in this order of preference: + + 1. The price commodity from the latest P-declared market price for A on + or before valuation date. + + 2. The price commodity from the latest P-declared market price for A on + any date. (Allows conversion to proceed when there are inferred + prices before the valuation date.) + + 3. If there are no P directives at all (any commodity or date) and the + --infer-value flag is used: the price commodity from the latest + transaction-inferred price for A on or before valuation date. + + This means: + + o If you have P directives, they determine which commodities -V will + convert, and to what. + + o If you have no P directives, and use the --infer-value flag, transac- + tion prices determine it. + + Amounts for which no valuation commodity can be found are not con- + verted. + + Simple valuation examples + Here are some quick examples of -V: + + ; one euro is worth this many dollars from nov 1 + P 2016/11/01 EUR $1.10 + + ; purchase some euros on nov 3 + 2016/11/3 + assets:euros EUR100 + assets:checking + + ; the euro is worth fewer dollars by dec 21 + P 2016/12/21 EUR $1.03 + + How many euros do I have ? + + $ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros + EUR100 assets:euros + + What are they worth at end of nov 3 ? + + $ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros -V -e 2016/11/4 + $110.00 assets:euros + + What are they worth after 2016/12/21 ? (no report end date specified, + defaults to today) + + $ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros -V + $103.00 assets:euros + + --value: Flexible valuation + -B, -V and -X are special cases of the more general --value option: + + --value=TYPE[,COMM] TYPE is cost, then, end, now or YYYY-MM-DD. + COMM is an optional commodity symbol. + Shows amounts converted to: + - cost commodity using transaction prices (then optionally to COMM using market prices at period end(s)) + - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at posting dates + - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at period end(s) + - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using current market prices + - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at some date + + The TYPE part selects cost or value and valuation date: + + --value=cost + Convert amounts to cost, using the prices recorded in transac- + tions. + + --value=then + Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commod- + ity, using market prices on each posting's date. This is cur- + rently supported only by the print and register commands. + + --value=end + Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commod- + ity, using market prices on the last day of the report period + (or if unspecified, the journal's end date); or in multiperiod + reports, market prices on the last day of each subperiod. + + --value=now + Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commod- + ity using current market prices (as of when report is gener- + ated). + + --value=YYYY-MM-DD + Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commod- + ity using market prices on this date. + + To select a different valuation commodity, add the optional ,COMM part: + a comma, then the target commodity's symbol. Eg: --value=now,EUR. + hledger will do its best to convert amounts to this commodity, deducing + market prices as described above. + + More valuation examples + Here are some examples showing the effect of --value, as seen with + print: + + P 2000-01-01 A 1 B + P 2000-02-01 A 2 B + P 2000-03-01 A 3 B + P 2000-04-01 A 4 B + + 2000-01-01 + (a) 1 A @ 5 B + + 2000-02-01 + (a) 1 A @ 6 B + + 2000-03-01 + (a) 1 A @ 7 B + + Show the cost of each posting: + + $ hledger -f- print --value=cost + 2000-01-01 + (a) 5 B + + 2000-02-01 + (a) 6 B + + 2000-03-01 + (a) 7 B + + Show the value as of the last day of the report period (2000-02-29): + + $ hledger -f- print --value=end date:2000/01-2000/03 + 2000-01-01 + (a) 2 B + + 2000-02-01 + (a) 2 B + + With no report period specified, that shows the value as of the last + day of the journal (2000-03-01): + + $ hledger -f- print --value=end + 2000-01-01 + (a) 3 B + + 2000-02-01 + (a) 3 B + + 2000-03-01 + (a) 3 B + + Show the current value (the 2000-04-01 price is still in effect today): + + $ hledger -f- print --value=now + 2000-01-01 + (a) 4 B + + 2000-02-01 + (a) 4 B + + 2000-03-01 + (a) 4 B + + Show the value on 2000/01/15: + + $ hledger -f- print --value=2000-01-15 + 2000-01-01 + (a) 1 B + + 2000-02-01 + (a) 1 B + + 2000-03-01 + (a) 1 B + + You may need to explicitly set a commodity's display style, when re- + verse prices are used. Eg this output might be surprising: + + P 2000-01-01 A 2B + + 2000-01-01 + a 1B + b + + $ hledger print -x -X A + 2000-01-01 + a 0 + b 0 + + Explanation: because there's no amount or commodity directive specify- + ing a display style for A, 0.5A gets the default style, which shows no + decimal digits. Because the displayed amount looks like zero, the com- + modity symbol and minus sign are not displayed either. Adding a com- + modity directive sets a more useful display style for A: + + P 2000-01-01 A 2B + commodity 0.00A + + 2000-01-01 + a 1B + b + + $ hledger print -X A + 2000-01-01 + a 0.50A + b -0.50A + + Effect of valuation on reports + Here is a reference for how valuation is supposed to affect each part + of hledger's reports (and a glossary). (It's wide, you'll have to + scroll sideways.) It may be useful when troubleshooting. If you find + problems, please report them, ideally with a reproducible example. Re- + lated: #329, #1083. + + Report type -B, -V, -X --value=then --value=end --value=DATE, + --value=cost --value=now + -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + print + posting cost value at re- value at value at re- value at + amounts port end or posting date port or jour- DATE/today + today nal end + balance as- unchanged unchanged unchanged unchanged unchanged + ser- + tions/as- + signments + + register + starting cost value at day not sup- value at day value at + balance before report ported before report DATE/today + (-H) or journal or journal + start start + posting cost value at re- value at value at re- value at + amounts port end or posting date port or jour- DATE/today + today nal end + summary summarised value at pe- sum of post- value at pe- value at + posting cost riod ends ings in in- riod ends DATE/today + amounts terval, val- + with report ued at in- + interval terval start + running to- sum/average sum/average sum/average sum/average sum/average + tal/average of displayed of displayed of displayed of displayed of displayed + values values values values values + + balance + (bs, bse, + cf, is) + balance sums of costs value at re- not sup- value at re- value at + changes port end or ported port or jour- DATE/today of + today of sums nal end of sums of post- + of postings sums of post- ings + ings + budget like balance like balance not sup- like balances like balance + amounts changes changes ported changes + (--budget) + grand total sum of dis- sum of dis- not sup- sum of dis- sum of dis- + played values played values ported played values played values + + balance + (bs, bse, + cf, is) + with report + interval + starting sums of costs value at re- not sup- value at re- sums of post- + balances of postings port start of ported port start of ings before + (-H) before report sums of all sums of all report start + start postings be- postings be- + fore report fore report + start start + + + + balance sums of costs same as not sup- balance value at + changes of postings --value=end ported change in DATE/today of + (bal, is, in period each period, sums of post- + bs valued at pe- ings + --change, riod ends + cf + --change) + end bal- sums of costs same as not sup- period end value at + ances (bal of postings --value=end ported balances, DATE/today of + -H, is --H, from before valued at pe- sums of post- + bs, cf) report start riod ends ings + to period end + budget like balance like balance not sup- like balances like balance + amounts changes/end changes/end ported changes/end + (--budget) balances balances balances + row totals, sums, aver- sums, aver- not sup- sums, aver- sums, aver- + row aver- ages of dis- ages of dis- ported ages of dis- ages of dis- + ages (-T, played values played values played values played values + -A) + column to- sums of dis- sums of dis- not sup- sums of dis- sums of dis- + tals played values played values ported played values played values + grand to- sum, average sum, average not sup- sum, average sum, average + tal, grand of column to- of column to- ported of column to- of column to- + average tals tals tals tals + + + --cumulative is omitted to save space, it works like -H but with a zero + starting balance. + + Glossary: + + cost calculated using price(s) recorded in the transaction(s). + + value market value using available market price declarations, or the + unchanged amount if no conversion rate can be found. + + report start + the first day of the report period specified with -b or -p or + date:, otherwise today. + + report or journal start + the first day of the report period specified with -b or -p or + date:, otherwise the earliest transaction date in the journal, + otherwise today. + + report end + the last day of the report period specified with -e or -p or + date:, otherwise today. + + report or journal end + the last day of the report period specified with -e or -p or + date:, otherwise the latest transaction date in the journal, + otherwise today. + + report interval + a flag (-D/-W/-M/-Q/-Y) or period expression that activates the + report's multi-period mode (whether showing one or many subperi- + ods). + +COMMANDS + hledger provides a number of commands for producing reports and manag- + ing your data. Run hledger with no arguments to list the commands + available. + + To run a command, write its name (or its abbreviation shown in the com- + mands list, or any unambiguous prefix of the name) as hledger's first + argument. Eg: hledger balance or hledger bal. + + Here are the built-in commands: + + Data entry (these modify the journal file): + + o add - add transactions using guided prompts + + o import - add any new transactions from other files (eg csv) + + Data management: + + o check - check for various kinds of issue in the data + + o close (equity) - generate balance-resetting transactions + + o diff - compare account transactions in two journal files + + o rewrite - generate extra postings, similar to print --auto + + Financial statements: + + o aregister (areg) - show transactions in a particular account + + o balancesheet (bs) - show assets, liabilities and net worth + + o balancesheetequity (bse) - show assets, liabilities and equity + + o cashflow (cf) - show changes in liquid assets + + o incomestatement (is) - show revenues and expenses + + o roi - show return on investments + + Miscellaneous reports: + + o accounts (a) - show account names + + o activity - show postings-per-interval bar charts + + o balance (b, bal) - show balance changes/end balances/budgets in ac- + counts + + o codes - show transaction codes + + o commodities - show commodity/currency symbols + + o descriptions - show unique transaction descriptions + + o files - show input file paths + + o notes - show unique note segments of transaction descriptions + + o payees - show unique payee segments of transaction descriptions + + o prices - show market price records + + o print (p, txns) - show transactions (journal entries) + + o print-unique - show only transactions with unique descriptions + + o register (r, reg) - show postings in one or more accounts & running + total + + o register-match - show a recent posting that best matches a descrip- + tion + + o stats - show journal statistics + + o tags - show tag names + + o test - run self tests + + Next, the detailed command docs, in alphabetical order. + + accounts + accounts, a + Show account names. + + This command lists account names, either declared with account direc- + tives (--declared), posted to (--used), or both (the default). With + query arguments, only matched account names and account names refer- + enced by matched postings are shown. It shows a flat list by default. + With --tree, it uses indentation to show the account hierarchy. In + flat mode you can add --drop N to omit the first few account name com- + ponents. Account names can be depth-clipped with depth:N or --depth N + or -N. + + Examples: + + $ hledger accounts + assets:bank:checking + assets:bank:saving + assets:cash + expenses:food + expenses:supplies + income:gifts + income:salary + liabilities:debts + + activity + activity + Show an ascii barchart of posting counts per interval. + + The activity command displays an ascii histogram showing transaction + counts by day, week, month or other reporting interval (by day is the + default). With query arguments, it counts only matched transactions. + + Examples: + + $ hledger activity --quarterly + 2008-01-01 ** + 2008-04-01 ******* + 2008-07-01 + 2008-10-01 ** + + add + add + Prompt for transactions and add them to the journal. Any arguments + will be used as default inputs for the first N prompts. + + Many hledger users edit their journals directly with a text editor, or + generate them from CSV. For more interactive data entry, there is the + add command, which prompts interactively on the console for new trans- + actions, and appends them to the journal file (if there are multiple -f + FILE options, the first file is used.) Existing transactions are not + changed. This is the only hledger command that writes to the journal + file. + + To use it, just run hledger add and follow the prompts. You can add as + many transactions as you like; when you are finished, enter . or press + control-d or control-c to exit. + + Features: + + o add tries to provide useful defaults, using the most similar (by de- + scription) recent transaction (filtered by the query, if any) as a + template. + + o You can also set the initial defaults with command line arguments. + + o Readline-style edit keys can be used during data entry. + + o The tab key will auto-complete whenever possible - accounts, descrip- + tions, dates (yesterday, today, tomorrow). If the input area is + empty, it will insert the default value. + + o If the journal defines a default commodity, it will be added to any + bare numbers entered. + + o A parenthesised transaction code may be entered following a date. + + o Comments and tags may be entered following a description or amount. + + o If you make a mistake, enter < at any prompt to go one step backward. + + o Input prompts are displayed in a different colour when the terminal + supports it. + + Example (see the tutorial for a detailed explanation): + + $ hledger add + Adding transactions to journal file /src/hledger/examples/sample.journal + Any command line arguments will be used as defaults. + Use tab key to complete, readline keys to edit, enter to accept defaults. + An optional (CODE) may follow transaction dates. + An optional ; COMMENT may follow descriptions or amounts. + If you make a mistake, enter < at any prompt to go one step backward. + To end a transaction, enter . when prompted. + To quit, enter . at a date prompt or press control-d or control-c. + Date [2015/05/22]: + Description: supermarket + Account 1: expenses:food + Amount 1: $10 + Account 2: assets:checking + Amount 2 [$-10.0]: + Account 3 (or . or enter to finish this transaction): . + 2015/05/22 supermarket + expenses:food $10 + assets:checking $-10.0 + + Save this transaction to the journal ? [y]: + Saved. + Starting the next transaction (. or ctrl-D/ctrl-C to quit) + Date [2015/05/22]: $ + + On Microsoft Windows, the add command makes sure that no part of the + file path ends with a period, as that would cause problems (#1056). + + aregister + aregister, areg + Show transactions affecting a particular account, and the account's + running balance. + + aregister shows the transactions affecting a particular account (and + its subaccounts), from the point of view of that account. Each line + shows: + + o the transaction's (or posting's, see below) date + + o the names of the other account(s) involved + + o the net change to this account's balance + + o the account's historical running balance (including balance from + transactions before the report start date). + + With aregister, each line represents a whole transaction - as in + hledger-ui, hledger-web, and your bank statement. By contrast, the + register command shows individual postings, across all accounts. You + might prefer aregister for reconciling with real-world asset/liability + accounts, and register for reviewing detailed revenues/expenses. + + An account must be specified as the first argument, which should be the + full account name or an account pattern (regular expression). aregis- + ter will show transactions in this account (the first one matched) and + any of its subaccounts. + + Any additional arguments form a query which will filter the transac- + tions shown. + + Transactions making a net change of zero are not shown by default; add + the -E/--empty flag to show them. + + This command also supports the output destination and output format op- + tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, and json. + + aregister and custom posting dates + Transactions whose date is outside the report period can still be + shown, if they have a posting to this account dated inside the report + period. (And in this case it's the posting date that is shown.) This + ensures that aregister can show an accurate historical running balance, + matching the one shown by register -H with the same arguments. + + To filter strictly by transaction date instead, add the --txn-dates + flag. If you use this flag and some of your postings have custom + dates, it's probably best to assume the running balance is wrong. + + Examples: + + Show all transactions and historical running balance in the first ac- + count whose name contains "checking": + + $ hledger areg checking + + Show transactions and historical running balance in all asset accounts + during july: + + $ hledger areg assets date:jul + + balance + balance, bal, b + Show accounts and their balances. + + The balance command is hledger's most versatile command. Note, despite + the name, it is not always used for showing real-world account bal- + ances; the more accounting-aware balancesheet and incomestatement may + be more convenient for that. + + By default, it displays all accounts, and each account's change in bal- + ance during the entire period of the journal. Balance changes are cal- + culated by adding up the postings in each account. You can limit the + postings matched, by a query, to see fewer accounts, changes over a + different time period, changes from only cleared transactions, etc. + + If you include an account's complete history of postings in the report, + the balance change is equivalent to the account's current ending bal- + ance. For a real-world account, typically you won't have all transac- + tions in the journal; instead you'll have all transactions after a cer- + tain date, and an "opening balances" transaction setting the correct + starting balance on that date. Then the balance command will show + real-world account balances. In some cases the -H/--historical flag is + used to ensure this (more below). + + This command also supports the output destination and output format op- + tions The output formats supported are (in most modes): txt, csv, html, + and json. + + The balance command can produce several styles of report: + + Classic balance report + This is the original balance report, as found in Ledger. It usually + looks like this: + + $ hledger balance + $-1 assets + $1 bank:saving + $-2 cash + $2 expenses + $1 food + $1 supplies + $-2 income + $-1 gifts + $-1 salary + $1 liabilities:debts + -------------------- + 0 + + By default, accounts are displayed hierarchically, with subaccounts in- + dented below their parent, with accounts at each level of the tree + sorted by declaration order if declared, then by account name. + + "Boring" accounts, which contain a single interesting subaccount and no + balance of their own, are elided into the following line for more com- + pact output. (Eg above, the "liabilities" account.) Use --no-elide to + prevent this. + + Account balances are "inclusive" - they include the balances of any + subaccounts. + + Accounts which have zero balance (and no non-zero subaccounts) are + omitted. Use -E/--empty to show them. + + A final total is displayed by default; use -N/--no-total to suppress + it, eg: + + $ hledger balance -p 2008/6 expenses --no-total + $2 expenses + $1 food + $1 supplies + + Customising the classic balance report + You can customise the layout of classic balance reports with --format + FMT: + + $ hledger balance --format "%20(account) %12(total)" + assets $-1 + bank:saving $1 + cash $-2 + expenses $2 + food $1 + supplies $1 + income $-2 + gifts $-1 + salary $-1 + liabilities:debts $1 + --------------------------------- + 0 + + The FMT format string (plus a newline) specifies the formatting applied + to each account/balance pair. It may contain any suitable text, with + data fields interpolated like so: + + %[MIN][.MAX](FIELDNAME) + + o MIN pads with spaces to at least this width (optional) + + o MAX truncates at this width (optional) + + o FIELDNAME must be enclosed in parentheses, and can be one of: + + o depth_spacer - a number of spaces equal to the account's depth, or + if MIN is specified, MIN * depth spaces. + + o account - the account's name + + o total - the account's balance/posted total, right justified + + Also, FMT can begin with an optional prefix to control how multi-com- + modity amounts are rendered: + + o %_ - render on multiple lines, bottom-aligned (the default) + + o %^ - render on multiple lines, top-aligned + + o %, - render on one line, comma-separated + + There are some quirks. Eg in one-line mode, %(depth_spacer) has no ef- + fect, instead %(account) has indentation built in. Experimentation may + be needed to get pleasing results. + + Some example formats: + + o %(total) - the account's total + + o %-20.20(account) - the account's name, left justified, padded to 20 + characters and clipped at 20 characters + + o %,%-50(account) %25(total) - account name padded to 50 characters, + total padded to 20 characters, with multiple commodities rendered on + one line + + o %20(total) %2(depth_spacer)%-(account) - the default format for the + single-column balance report + + Colour support + In terminal output, when colour is enabled, the balance command shows + negative amounts in red. + + Flat mode + To see a flat list instead of the default hierarchical display, use + --flat. In this mode, accounts (unless depth-clipped) show their full + names and "exclusive" balance, excluding any subaccount balances. In + this mode, you can also use --drop N to omit the first few account name + components. + + $ hledger balance -p 2008/6 expenses -N --flat --drop 1 + $1 food + $1 supplies + + Depth limited balance reports + With --depth N or depth:N or just -N, balance reports show accounts + only to the specified numeric depth. This is very useful to summarise + a complex set of accounts and get an overview. + + $ hledger balance -N -1 + $-1 assets + $2 expenses + $-2 income + $1 liabilities + + Flat-mode balance reports, which normally show exclusive balances, show + inclusive balances at the depth limit. + + Percentages + With -% or --percent, balance reports show each account's value ex- + pressed as a percentage of the column's total. This is useful to get + an overview of the relative sizes of account balances. For example to + obtain an overview of expenses: + + $ hledger balance expenses -% + 100.0 % expenses + 50.0 % food + 50.0 % supplies + -------------------- + 100.0 % + + Note that --tree does not have an effect on -%. The percentages are + always relative to the total sum of each column, they are never rela- + tive to the parent account. + + Since the percentages are relative to the columns sum, it is usually + not useful to calculate percentages if the signs of the amounts are + mixed. Although the results are technically correct, they are most + likely useless. Especially in a balance report that sums up to zero + (eg hledger balance -B) all percentage values will be zero. + + This flag does not work if the report contains any mixed commodity ac- + counts. If there are mixed commodity accounts in the report be sure to + use -V or -B to coerce the report into using a single commodity. + + Sorting by amount + With -S/--sort-amount, accounts with the largest (most positive) bal- + ances are shown first. For example, hledger bal expenses -MAS shows + your biggest averaged monthly expenses first. + + Revenues and liability balances are typically negative, however, so -S + shows these in reverse order. To work around this, you can add --in- + vert to flip the signs. Or, use one of the sign-flipping reports like + balancesheet or incomestatement, which also support -S. Eg: hledger is + -MAS. + + Multicolumn balance report + Multicolumn or tabular balance reports are a very useful hledger fea- + ture, and usually the preferred style. They share many of the above + features, but they show the report as a table, with columns represent- + ing time periods. This mode is activated by providing a reporting in- + terval. + + There are three types of multicolumn balance report, showing different + information: + + 1. By default: each column shows the sum of postings in that period, ie + the account's change of balance in that period. This is useful eg + for a monthly income statement: + + $ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E + Balance changes in 2008: + + || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 + ===================++================================= + expenses:food || 0 $1 0 0 + expenses:supplies || 0 $1 0 0 + income:gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 + income:salary || $-1 0 0 0 + -------------------++--------------------------------- + || $-1 $1 0 0 + + 2. With --cumulative: each column shows the ending balance for that pe- + riod, accumulating the changes across periods, starting from 0 at + the report start date: + + $ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E --cumulative + Ending balances (cumulative) in 2008: + + || 2008/03/31 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 + ===================++================================================= + expenses:food || 0 $1 $1 $1 + expenses:supplies || 0 $1 $1 $1 + income:gifts || 0 $-1 $-1 $-1 + income:salary || $-1 $-1 $-1 $-1 + -------------------++------------------------------------------------- + || $-1 0 0 0 + + 3. With --historical/-H: each column shows the actual historical ending + balance for that period, accumulating the changes across periods, + starting from the actual balance at the report start date. This is + useful eg for a multi-period balance sheet, and when you are showing + only the data after a certain start date: + + $ hledger balance ^assets ^liabilities --quarterly --historical --begin 2008/4/1 + Ending balances (historical) in 2008/04/01-2008/12/31: + + || 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 + ======================++===================================== + assets:bank:checking || $1 $1 0 + assets:bank:saving || $1 $1 $1 + assets:cash || $-2 $-2 $-2 + liabilities:debts || 0 0 $1 + ----------------------++------------------------------------- + || 0 0 0 + + Note that --cumulative or --historical/-H disable --row-total/-T, since + summing end balances generally does not make sense. + + Multicolumn balance reports display accounts in flat mode by default; + to see the hierarchy, use --tree. + + With a reporting interval (like --quarterly above), the report + start/end dates will be adjusted if necessary so that they encompass + the displayed report periods. This is so that the first and last peri- + ods will be "full" and comparable to the others. + + The -E/--empty flag does two things in multicolumn balance reports: + first, the report will show all columns within the specified report pe- + riod (without -E, leading and trailing columns with all zeroes are not + shown). Second, all accounts which existed at the report start date + will be considered, not just the ones with activity during the report + period (use -E to include low-activity accounts which would otherwise + would be omitted). + + The -T/--row-total flag adds an additional column showing the total for + each row. + + The -A/--average flag adds a column showing the average value in each + row. + + Here's an example of all three: + + $ hledger balance -Q income expenses --tree -ETA + Balance changes in 2008: + + || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 Total Average + ============++=================================================== + expenses || 0 $2 0 0 $2 $1 + food || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 + supplies || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 + income || $-1 $-1 0 0 $-2 $-1 + gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 $-1 0 + salary || $-1 0 0 0 $-1 0 + ------------++--------------------------------------------------- + || $-1 $1 0 0 0 0 + + (Average is rounded to the dollar here since all journal amounts are) + + The --transpose flag can be used to exchange the rows and columns of a + multicolumn report. + + When showing multicommodity amounts, multicolumn balance reports will + elide any amounts which have more than two commodities, since otherwise + columns could get very wide. The --no-elide flag disables this. Hid- + ing totals with the -N/--no-total flag can also help reduce the width + of multicommodity reports. + + When the report is still too wide, a good workaround is to pipe it into + less -RS (-R for colour, -S to chop long lines). Eg: hledger bal -D + --color=yes | less -RS. + + Budget report + With --budget, extra columns are displayed showing budget goals for + each account and period, if any. Budget goals are defined by periodic + transactions. This is very useful for comparing planned and actual in- + come, expenses, time usage, etc. --budget is most often combined with + a report interval. + + For example, you can take average monthly expenses in the common ex- + pense categories to construct a minimal monthly budget: + + ;; Budget + ~ monthly + income $2000 + expenses:food $400 + expenses:bus $50 + expenses:movies $30 + assets:bank:checking + + ;; Two months worth of expenses + 2017-11-01 + income $1950 + expenses:food $396 + expenses:bus $49 + expenses:movies $30 + expenses:supplies $20 + assets:bank:checking + + 2017-12-01 + income $2100 + expenses:food $412 + expenses:bus $53 + expenses:gifts $100 + assets:bank:checking + + You can now see a monthly budget report: + + $ hledger balance -M --budget + Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: + + || Nov Dec + ======================++==================================================== + assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $565 [ 118% of $480] + expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $53 [ 106% of $50] + expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $412 [ 103% of $400] + expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] 0 [ 0% of $30] + income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $2100 [ 105% of $2000] + ----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- + || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] + + This is different from a normal balance report in several ways: + + o Only accounts with budget goals during the report period are shown, + by default. + + o In each column, in square brackets after the actual amount, budget + goal amounts are shown, and the actual/goal percentage. (Note: bud- + get goals should be in the same commodity as the actual amount.) + + o All parent accounts are always shown, even in flat mode. Eg assets, + assets:bank, and expenses above. + + o Amounts always include all subaccounts, budgeted or unbudgeted, even + in flat mode. + + This means that the numbers displayed will not always add up! Eg above, + the expenses actual amount includes the gifts and supplies transac- + tions, but the expenses:gifts and expenses:supplies accounts are not + shown, as they have no budget amounts declared. + + This can be confusing. When you need to make things clearer, use the + -E/--empty flag, which will reveal all accounts including unbudgeted + ones, giving the full picture. Eg: + + $ hledger balance -M --budget --empty + Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: + + || Nov Dec + ======================++==================================================== + assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $565 [ 118% of $480] + expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $53 [ 106% of $50] + expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $412 [ 103% of $400] + expenses:gifts || 0 $100 + expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] 0 [ 0% of $30] + expenses:supplies || $20 0 + income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $2100 [ 105% of $2000] + ----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- + || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] + + You can roll over unspent budgets to next period with --cumulative: + + $ hledger balance -M --budget --cumulative + Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: + + || Nov Dec + ======================++==================================================== + assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] + assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] + assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] + expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $1060 [ 110% of $960] + expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $102 [ 102% of $100] + expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $808 [ 101% of $800] + expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] $30 [ 50% of $60] + income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $4050 [ 101% of $4000] + ----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- + || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] + + For more examples and notes, see Budgeting. + + Budget report start date + This might be a bug, but for now: when making budget reports, it's a + good idea to explicitly set the report's start date to the first day of + a reporting period, because a periodic rule like ~ monthly generates + its transactions on the 1st of each month, and if your journal has no + regular transactions on the 1st, the default report start date could + exclude that budget goal, which can be a little surprising. Eg here + the default report period is just the day of 2020-01-15: + + ~ monthly in 2020 + (expenses:food) $500 + + 2020-01-15 + expenses:food $400 + assets:checking + + $ hledger bal expenses --budget + Budget performance in 2020-01-15: + + || 2020-01-15 + ==============++============ + || $400 + --------------++------------ + || $400 + + To avoid this, specify the budget report's period, or at least the + start date, with -b/-e/-p/date:, to ensure it includes the budget goal + transactions (periodic transactions) that you want. Eg, adding -b + 2020/1/1 to the above: + + $ hledger bal expenses --budget -b 2020/1/1 + Budget performance in 2020-01-01..2020-01-15: + + || 2020-01-01..2020-01-15 + ===============++======================== + expenses:food || $400 [80% of $500] + ---------------++------------------------ + || $400 [80% of $500] + + Nested budgets + You can add budgets to any account in your account hierarchy. If you + have budgets on both parent account and some of its children, then bud- + get(s) of the child account(s) would be added to the budget of their + parent, much like account balances behave. + + In the most simple case this means that once you add a budget to any + account, all its parents would have budget as well. + + To illustrate this, consider the following budget: + + ~ monthly from 2019/01 + expenses:personal $1,000.00 + expenses:personal:electronics $100.00 + liabilities + + With this, monthly budget for electronics is defined to be $100 and + budget for personal expenses is an additional $1000, which implicitly + means that budget for both expenses:personal and expenses is $1100. + + Transactions in expenses:personal:electronics will be counted both to- + wards its $100 budget and $1100 of expenses:personal , and transactions + in any other subaccount of expenses:personal would be counted towards + only towards the budget of expenses:personal. + + For example, let's consider these transactions: + + ~ monthly from 2019/01 + expenses:personal $1,000.00 + expenses:personal:electronics $100.00 + liabilities + + 2019/01/01 Google home hub + expenses:personal:electronics $90.00 + liabilities $-90.00 + + 2019/01/02 Phone screen protector + expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades $10.00 + liabilities + + 2019/01/02 Weekly train ticket + expenses:personal:train tickets $153.00 + liabilities + + 2019/01/03 Flowers + expenses:personal $30.00 + liabilities + + As you can see, we have transactions in expenses:personal:electron- + ics:upgrades and expenses:personal:train tickets, and since both of + these accounts are without explicitly defined budget, these transac- + tions would be counted towards budgets of expenses:personal:electronics + and expenses:personal accordingly: + + $ hledger balance --budget -M + Budget performance in 2019/01: + + || Jan + ===============================++=============================== + expenses || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] + expenses:personal || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] + expenses:personal:electronics || $100.00 [ 100% of $100.00] + liabilities || $-283.00 [ 26% of $-1100.00] + -------------------------------++------------------------------- + || 0 [ 0] + + And with --empty, we can get a better picture of budget allocation and + consumption: + + $ hledger balance --budget -M --empty + Budget performance in 2019/01: + + || Jan + ========================================++=============================== + expenses || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] + expenses:personal || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] + expenses:personal:electronics || $100.00 [ 100% of $100.00] + expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades || $10.00 + expenses:personal:train tickets || $153.00 + liabilities || $-283.00 [ 26% of $-1100.00] + ----------------------------------------++------------------------------- + || 0 [ 0] + + balancesheet + balancesheet, bs + This command displays a balance sheet, showing historical ending bal- + ances of asset and liability accounts. (To see equity as well, use the + balancesheetequity command.) Amounts are shown with normal positive + sign, as in conventional financial statements. + + The asset and liability accounts shown are those accounts declared with + the Asset or Cash or Liability type, or otherwise all accounts under a + top-level asset or liability account (case insensitive, plurals al- + lowed). + + Example: + + $ hledger balancesheet + Balance Sheet + + Assets: + $-1 assets + $1 bank:saving + $-2 cash + -------------------- + $-1 + + Liabilities: + $1 liabilities:debts + -------------------- + $1 + + Total: + -------------------- + 0 + + With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for each + report period. As with multicolumn balance reports, you can alter the + report mode with --change/--cumulative/--historical. Normally bal- + ancesheet shows historical ending balances, which is what you need for + a balance sheet; note this means it ignores report begin dates (and + -T/--row-total, since summing end balances generally does not make + sense). Instead of absolute values percentages can be displayed with + -%. + + This command also supports the output destination and output format op- + tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experimen- + tal) json. + + balancesheetequity + balancesheetequity, bse + This command displays a balance sheet, showing historical ending bal- + ances of asset, liability and equity accounts. Amounts are shown with + normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. + + The asset, liability and equity accounts shown are those accounts de- + clared with the Asset, Cash, Liability or Equity type, or otherwise all + accounts under a top-level asset, liability or equity account (case in- + sensitive, plurals allowed). + + Example: + + $ hledger balancesheetequity + Balance Sheet With Equity + + Assets: + $-2 assets + $1 bank:saving + $-3 cash + -------------------- + $-2 + + Liabilities: + $1 liabilities:debts + -------------------- + $1 + + Equity: + $1 equity:owner + -------------------- + $1 + + Total: + -------------------- + 0 + + This command also supports the output destination and output format op- + tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experimen- + tal) json. + + cashflow + cashflow, cf + This command displays a cashflow statement, showing the inflows and + outflows affecting "cash" (ie, liquid) assets. Amounts are shown with + normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. + + The "cash" accounts shown are those accounts declared with the Cash + type, or otherwise all accounts under a top-level asset account (case + insensitive, plural allowed) which do not have fixed, investment, re- + ceivable or A/R in their name. + + Example: + + $ hledger cashflow + Cashflow Statement + + Cash flows: + $-1 assets + $1 bank:saving + $-2 cash + -------------------- + $-1 + + Total: + -------------------- + $-1 + + With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for each + report period. Normally cashflow shows changes in assets per period, + though as with multicolumn balance reports you can alter the report + mode with --change/--cumulative/--historical. Instead of absolute val- + ues percentages can be displayed with -%. + + This command also supports the output destination and output format op- + tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experimen- + tal) json. + + check + check + Check for various kinds of errors in your data. experimental + + hledger provides a number of built-in error checks to help prevent + problems in your data. Some of these are run automatically; or, you + can use this check command to run them on demand, with no output and a + zero exit code if all is well. Some examples: + + hledger check # basic checks + hledger check -s # basic + strict checks + hledger check ordereddates uniqueleafnames # basic + specified checks + + Here are the checks currently available: + + Basic checks + These are always run by this command and other commands: + + o parseable - data files are well-formed and can be successfully parsed + + o autobalanced - all transactions are balanced, inferring missing + amounts where necessary, and possibly converting commodities using + transaction prices or automatically-inferred transaction prices + + o assertions - all balance assertions in the journal are passing. + (This check can be disabled with -I/--ignore-assertions.) + + Strict checks + These are always run by this and other commands when -s/--strict is + used (strict mode): + + o accounts - all account names used by transactions have been declared + + o commodities - all commodity symbols used have been declared + + Other checks + These checks can be run by specifying their names as arguments to the + check command: + + o ordereddates - transactions are ordered by date (similar to the old + check-dates command) + + o uniqueleafnames - all account leaf names are unique (similar to the + old check-dupes command) + + Add-on checks + Some checks are not yet integrated with this command, but are available + as add-on commands in https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/tree/mas- + ter/bin: + + o hledger-check-tagfiles - all tag values containing / (a forward + slash) exist as file paths + + o hledger-check-fancyassertions - more complex balance assertions are + passing + + You could make your own similar scripts to perform custom checks; Cook- + book -> Scripting may be helpful. + + close + close, equity + Prints a "closing balances" transaction and an "opening balances" + transaction that bring account balances to and from zero, respectively. + These can be added to your journal file(s), eg to bring asset/liability + balances forward into a new journal file, or to close out revenues/ex- + penses to retained earnings at the end of a period. + + You can print just one of these transactions by using the --close or + --open flag. You can customise their descriptions with the --close- + desc and --open-desc options. + + One amountless posting to "equity:opening/closing balances" is added to + balance the transactions, by default. You can customise this account + name with --close-acct and --open-acct; if you specify only one of + these, it will be used for both. + + With --x/--explicit, the equity posting's amount will be shown. And if + it involves multiple commodities, a posting for each commodity will be + shown, as with the print command. + + With --interleaved, the equity postings are shown next to the postings + they balance, which makes troubleshooting easier. + + By default, transaction prices in the journal are ignored when generat- + ing the closing/opening transactions. With --show-costs, this cost in- + formation is preserved (balance -B reports will be unchanged after the + transition). Separate postings are generated for each cost in each + commodity. Note this can generate very large journal entries, if you + have many foreign currency or investment transactions. + + close usage + If you split your journal files by time (eg yearly), you will typically + run this command at the end of the year, and save the closing transac- + tion as last entry of the old file, and the opening transaction as the + first entry of the new file. This makes the files self contained, so + that correct balances are reported no matter which of them are loaded. + Ie, if you load just one file, the balances are initialised correctly; + or if you load several files, the redundant closing/opening transac- + tions cancel each other out. (They will show up in print or register + reports; you can exclude them with a query like not:desc:'(open- + ing|closing) balances'.) + + If you're running a business, you might also use this command to "close + the books" at the end of an accounting period, transferring income + statement account balances to retained earnings. (You may want to + change the equity account name to something like "equity:retained earn- + ings".) + + By default, the closing transaction is dated yesterday, the balances + are calculated as of end of yesterday, and the opening transaction is + dated today. To close on some other date, use: hledger close -e OPEN- + INGDATE. Eg, to close/open on the 2018/2019 boundary, use -e 2019. + You can also use -p or date:PERIOD (any starting date is ignored). + + Both transactions will include balance assertions for the closed/re- + opened accounts. You probably shouldn't use status or realness filters + (like -C or -R or status:) with this command, or the generated balance + assertions will depend on these flags. Likewise, if you run this com- + mand with --auto, the balance assertions will probably always require + --auto. + + Examples: + + Carrying asset/liability balances into a new file for 2019: + + $ hledger close -f 2018.journal -e 2019 assets liabilities --open + # (copy/paste the output to the start of your 2019 journal file) + $ hledger close -f 2018.journal -e 2019 assets liabilities --close + # (copy/paste the output to the end of your 2018 journal file) + + Now: + + $ hledger bs -f 2019.journal # one file - balances are correct + $ hledger bs -f 2018.journal -f 2019.journal # two files - balances still correct + $ hledger bs -f 2018.journal not:desc:closing # to see year-end balances, must exclude closing txn + + Transactions spanning the closing date can complicate matters, breaking + balance assertions: + + 2018/12/30 a purchase made in 2018, clearing the following year + expenses:food 5 + assets:bank:checking -5 ; [2019/1/2] + + Here's one way to resolve that: + + ; in 2018.journal: + 2018/12/30 a purchase made in 2018, clearing the following year + expenses:food 5 + liabilities:pending + + ; in 2019.journal: + 2019/1/2 clearance of last year's pending transactions + liabilities:pending 5 = 0 + assets:checking + + codes + codes + List the codes seen in transactions, in the order parsed. + + This command prints the value of each transaction's code field, in the + order transactions were parsed. The transaction code is an optional + value written in parentheses between the date and description, often + used to store a cheque number, order number or similar. + + Transactions aren't required to have a code, and missing or empty codes + will not be shown by default. With the -E/--empty flag, they will be + printed as blank lines. + + You can add a query to select a subset of transactions. + + Examples: + + 1/1 (123) + (a) 1 + + 1/1 () + (a) 1 + + 1/1 + (a) 1 + + 1/1 (126) + (a) 1 + + $ hledger codes + 123 + 124 + 126 + + $ hledger codes -E + 123 + 124 + + + 126 + + commodities + commodities + List all commodity/currency symbols used or declared in the journal. + + descriptions + descriptions + List the unique descriptions that appear in transactions. + + This command lists the unique descriptions that appear in transactions, + in alphabetic order. You can add a query to select a subset of trans- + actions. + + Example: + + $ hledger descriptions + Store Name + Gas Station | Petrol + Person A + + diff + diff + Compares a particular account's transactions in two input files. It + shows any transactions to this account which are in one file but not in + the other. + + More precisely, for each posting affecting this account in either file, + it looks for a corresponding posting in the other file which posts the + same amount to the same account (ignoring date, description, etc.) + Since postings not transactions are compared, this also works when mul- + tiple bank transactions have been combined into a single journal entry. + + This is useful eg if you have downloaded an account's transactions from + your bank (eg as CSV data). When hledger and your bank disagree about + the account balance, you can compare the bank data with your journal to + find out the cause. + + Examples: + + $ hledger diff -f $LEDGER_FILE -f bank.csv assets:bank:giro + These transactions are in the first file only: + + 2014/01/01 Opening Balances + assets:bank:giro EUR ... + ... + equity:opening balances EUR -... + + These transactions are in the second file only: + + files + files + List all files included in the journal. With a REGEX argument, only + file names matching the regular expression (case sensitive) are shown. + + help + help + Show any of the hledger manuals. + + The help command displays any of the main hledger manuals, in one of + several ways. Run it with no argument to list the manuals, or provide + a full or partial manual name to select one. + + hledger manuals are available in several formats. hledger help will + use the first of these display methods that it finds: info, man, + $PAGER, less, stdout (or when non-interactive, just stdout). You can + force a particular viewer with the --info, --man, --pager, --cat flags. + + Examples: + + $ hledger help + Please choose a manual by typing "hledger help MANUAL" (a substring is ok). + Manuals: hledger hledger-ui hledger-web journal csv timeclock timedot + + $ hledger help h --man + + hledger(1) hledger User Manuals hledger(1) + + NAME + hledger - a command-line accounting tool + + SYNOPSIS + hledger [-f FILE] COMMAND [OPTIONS] [ARGS] + hledger [-f FILE] ADDONCMD -- [OPTIONS] [ARGS] + hledger + + DESCRIPTION + hledger is a cross-platform program for tracking money, time, or any + ... + + import + import + Read new transactions added to each FILE since last run, and add them + to the main journal file. Or with --dry-run, just print the transac- + tions that would be added. Or with --catchup, just mark all of the + FILEs' transactions as imported, without actually importing any. + + The input files are specified as arguments - no need to write -f before + each one. So eg to add new transactions from all CSV files to the main + journal, it's just: hledger import *.csv + + New transactions are detected in the same way as print --new: by assum- + ing transactions are always added to the input files in increasing date + order, and by saving .latest.FILE state files. + + The --dry-run output is in journal format, so you can filter it, eg to + see only uncategorised transactions: + + $ hledger import --dry ... | hledger -f- print unknown --ignore-assertions + + Importing balance assignments + Entries added by import will have their posting amounts made explicit + (like hledger print -x). This means that any balance assignments in + imported files must be evaluated; but, imported files don't get to see + the main file's account balances. As a result, importing entries with + balance assignments (eg from an institution that provides only balances + and not posting amounts) will probably generate incorrect posting + amounts. To avoid this problem, use print instead of import: + + $ hledger print IMPORTFILE [--new] >> $LEDGER_FILE + + (If you think import should leave amounts implicit like print does, + please test it and send a pull request.) + + Commodity display styles + Imported amounts will be formatted according to the canonical commodity + styles (declared or inferred) in the main journal file. + + incomestatement + incomestatement, is + This command displays an income statement, showing revenues and ex- + penses during one or more periods. Amounts are shown with normal posi- + tive sign, as in conventional financial statements. + + The revenue and expense accounts shown are those accounts declared with + the Revenue or Expense type, or otherwise all accounts under a top- + level revenue or income or expense account (case insensitive, plurals + allowed). + + Example: + + $ hledger incomestatement + Income Statement + + Revenues: + $-2 income + $-1 gifts + $-1 salary + -------------------- + $-2 + + Expenses: + $2 expenses + $1 food + $1 supplies + -------------------- + $2 + + Total: + -------------------- + 0 + + With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for each + report period. Normally incomestatement shows revenues/expenses per + period, though as with multicolumn balance reports you can alter the + report mode with --change/--cumulative/--historical. Instead of abso- + lute values percentages can be displayed with -%. + + This command also supports the output destination and output format op- + tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experimen- + tal) json. + + notes + notes + List the unique notes that appear in transactions. + + This command lists the unique notes that appear in transactions, in al- + phabetic order. You can add a query to select a subset of transac- + tions. The note is the part of the transaction description after a | + character (or if there is no |, the whole description). + + Example: + + $ hledger notes + Petrol + Snacks + + rewrite + rewrite + Print all transactions, rewriting the postings of matched transactions. + For now the only rewrite available is adding new postings, like print + --auto. + + This is a start at a generic rewriter of transaction entries. It reads + the default journal and prints the transactions, like print, but adds + one or more specified postings to any transactions matching QUERY. The + posting amounts can be fixed, or a multiplier of the existing transac- + tion's first posting amount. + + Examples: + + $ hledger-rewrite.hs ^income --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33 ; income tax' --add-posting '(reserve:gifts) $100' + $ hledger-rewrite.hs expenses:gifts --add-posting '(reserve:gifts) *-1"' + $ hledger-rewrite.hs -f rewrites.hledger + + rewrites.hledger may consist of entries like: + + = ^income amt:<0 date:2017 + (liabilities:tax) *0.33 ; tax on income + (reserve:grocery) *0.25 ; reserve 25% for grocery + (reserve:) *0.25 ; reserve 25% for grocery + + Note the single quotes to protect the dollar sign from bash, and the + two spaces between account and amount. + + More: + + $ hledger rewrite -- [QUERY] --add-posting "ACCT AMTEXPR" ... + $ hledger rewrite -- ^income --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' + $ hledger rewrite -- expenses:gifts --add-posting '(budget:gifts) *-1"' + $ hledger rewrite -- ^income --add-posting '(budget:foreign currency) *0.25 JPY; diversify' + + Argument for --add-posting option is a usual posting of transaction + with an exception for amount specification. More precisely, you can + use '*' (star symbol) before the amount to indicate that that this is a + factor for an amount of original matched posting. If the amount in- + cludes a commodity name, the new posting amount will be in the new com- + modity; otherwise, it will be in the matched posting amount's commod- + ity. + + Re-write rules in a file + During the run this tool will execute so called "Automated Transac- + tions" found in any journal it process. I.e instead of specifying this + operations in command line you can put them in a journal file. + + $ rewrite-rules.journal + + Make contents look like this: + + = ^income + (liabilities:tax) *.33 + + = expenses:gifts + budget:gifts *-1 + assets:budget *1 + + Note that '=' (equality symbol) that is used instead of date in trans- + actions you usually write. It indicates the query by which you want to + match the posting to add new ones. + + $ hledger rewrite -- -f input.journal -f rewrite-rules.journal > rewritten-tidy-output.journal + + This is something similar to the commands pipeline: + + $ hledger rewrite -- -f input.journal '^income' --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' \ + | hledger rewrite -- -f - expenses:gifts --add-posting 'budget:gifts *-1' \ + --add-posting 'assets:budget *1' \ + > rewritten-tidy-output.journal + + It is important to understand that relative order of such entries in + journal is important. You can re-use result of previously added post- + ings. + + Diff output format + To use this tool for batch modification of your journal files you may + find useful output in form of unified diff. + + $ hledger rewrite -- --diff -f examples/sample.journal '^income' --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' + + Output might look like: + + --- /tmp/examples/sample.journal + +++ /tmp/examples/sample.journal + @@ -18,3 +18,4 @@ + 2008/01/01 income + - assets:bank:checking $1 + + assets:bank:checking $1 + income:salary + + (liabilities:tax) 0 + @@ -22,3 +23,4 @@ + 2008/06/01 gift + - assets:bank:checking $1 + + assets:bank:checking $1 + income:gifts + + (liabilities:tax) 0 + + If you'll pass this through patch tool you'll get transactions contain- + ing the posting that matches your query be updated. Note that multiple + files might be update according to list of input files specified via + --file options and include directives inside of these files. + + Be careful. Whole transaction being re-formatted in a style of output + from hledger print. + + See also: + + https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/issues/99 + + rewrite vs. print --auto + This command predates print --auto, and currently does much the same + thing, but with these differences: + + o with multiple files, rewrite lets rules in any file affect all other + files. print --auto uses standard directive scoping; rules affect + only child files. + + o rewrite's query limits which transactions can be rewritten; all are + printed. print --auto's query limits which transactions are printed. + + o rewrite applies rules specified on command line or in the journal. + print --auto applies rules specified in the journal. + + roi + roi + Shows the time-weighted (TWR) and money-weighted (IRR) rate of return + on your investments. + + This command assumes that you have account(s) that hold nothing but + your investments and whenever you record current appraisal/valuation of + these investments you offset unrealized profit and loss into account(s) + that, again, hold nothing but unrealized profit and loss. + + Any transactions affecting balance of investment account(s) and not + originating from unrealized profit and loss account(s) are assumed to + be your investments or withdrawals. + + At a minimum, you need to supply a query (which could be just an ac- + count name) to select your investments with --inv, and another query to + identify your profit and loss transactions with --pnl. + + This command will compute and display the internalized rate of return + (IRR) and time-weighted rate of return (TWR) for your investments for + the time period requested. Both rates of return are annualized before + display, regardless of the length of reporting interval. + + Note, in some cases this report can fail, for these reasons: + + o Error (NotBracketed): No solution for Internal Rate of Return (IRR). + Possible causes: IRR is huge (>1000000%), balance of investment be- + comes negative at some point in time. + + o Error (SearchFailed): Failed to find solution for Internal Rate of + Return (IRR). Either search does not converge to a solution, or con- + verges too slowly. + + Examples: + + o Using roi to report unrealised gains: https://github.com/simon- + michael/hledger/blob/master/examples/roi-unrealised.ledger + + More background: + + "ROI" stands for "return on investment". Traditionally this was com- + puted as a difference between current value of investment and its ini- + tial value, expressed in percentage of the initial value. + + However, this approach is only practical in simple cases, where invest- + ments receives no in-flows or out-flows of money, and where rate of + growth is fixed over time. For more complex scenarios you need differ- + ent ways to compute rate of return, and this command implements two of + them: IRR and TWR. + + Internal rate of return, or "IRR" (also called "money-weighted rate of + return") takes into account effects of in-flows and out-flows. + Naively, if you are withdrawing from your investment, your future gains + would be smaller (in absolute numbers), and will be a smaller percent- + age of your initial investment, and if you are adding to your invest- + ment, you will receive bigger absolute gains (but probably at the same + rate of return). IRR is a way to compute rate of return for each pe- + riod between in-flow or out-flow of money, and then combine them in a + way that gives you an annual rate of return that investment is expected + to generate. + + As mentioned before, in-flows and out-flows would be any cash that you + personally put in or withdraw, and for the "roi" command, these are + transactions that involve account(s) matching --inv argument and NOT + involve account(s) matching --pnl argument. + + Presumably, you will also record changes in the value of your invest- + ment, and balance them against "profit and loss" (or "unrealized + gains") account. Note that in order for IRR to compute the precise ef- + fect of your in-flows and out-flows on the rate of return, you will + need to record the value of your investement on or close to the days + when in- or out-flows occur. + + Implementation of IRR in hledger should match the XIRR formula in Ex- + cel. + + Second way to compute rate of return that roi command implements is + called "time-weighted rate of return" or "TWR". Like IRR, it will also + break the history of your investment into periods between in-flows and + out-flows to compute rate of return per each period and then a compound + rate of return. However, internal workings of TWR are quite different. + + In technical terms, IRR uses the same approach as computation of net + present value, and tries to find a discount rate that makes net present + value of all the cash flows of your investment to add up to zero. This + could be hard to wrap your head around, especially if you haven't done + discounted cash flow analysis before. + + TWR represents your investment as an imaginary "unit fund" where in- + flows/ out-flows lead to buying or selling "units" of your investment + and changes in its value change the value of "investment unit". Change + in "unit price" over the reporting period gives you rate of return of + your investment. + + References: * Explanation of rate of return * Explanation of IRR * Ex- + planation of TWR * Examples of computing IRR and TWR and discussion of + the limitations of both metrics + + More examples: + + Lets say that we found an investment in Snake Oil that is proising to + give us 10% annually: + + 2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil + assets:cash -$100 + investment:snake oil + + 2019-12-24 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil = $110 + equity:unrealized gains + + For now, basic computation of the rate of return, as well as IRR and + TWR, gives us the expected 10%: + + $ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+--------+ + | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | + +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++========+========+ + | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 110 | 10 || 10.00% | 10.00% | + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+--------+ + + However, lets say that shorty after investing in the Snake Oil we + started to have second thoughs, so we prompty withdrew $90, leaving + only $10 in. Before Christmas, though, we started to get the "fear of + mission out", so we put the $90 back in. So for most of the year, our + investment was just $10 dollars, and it gave us just $1 in growth: + + 2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil + assets:cash -$100 + investment:snake oil + + 2019-01-02 Buyers remorse + assets:cash $90 + investment:snake oil + + 2019-12-30 Fear of missing out + assets:cash -$90 + investment:snake oil + + 2019-12-31 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil = $101 + equity:unrealized gains + + Now IRR and TWR are drastically different: + + $ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++-------+-------+ + | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | + +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++=======+=======+ + | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 101 | 1 || 9.32% | 1.00% | + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++-------+-------+ + + Here, IRR tells us that we made close to 10% on the $10 dollars that we + had in the account most of the time. And TWR is ... just 1%? Why? + + Based on the transactions in our journal, TWR "think" that we are buy- + ing back $90 worst of Snake Oil at the same price that it had at the + beginning of they year, and then after that our $100 investment gets $1 + increase in value, or 1% of $100. Let's take a closer look at what is + happening here by asking for quarterly reports instead of annual: + + $ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+-------+ + | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | + +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+=====++========+=======+ + | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | + | 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | + | 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 || 0.00% | 0.00% | + | 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10 | 90 | 101 | 1 || 37.80% | 4.03% | + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+-------+ + + Now both IRR and TWR are thrown off by the fact that all of the growth + for our investment happens in Q4 2019. This happes because IRR compu- + tation is still yielding 9.32% and TWR is still 1%, but this time these + are rates for three month period instead of twelve, so in order to get + an annual rate they should be multiplied by four! + + Let's try to keep a better record of how Snake Oil grew in value: + + 2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil + assets:cash -$100 + investment:snake oil + + 2019-01-02 Buyers remorse + assets:cash $90 + investment:snake oil + + 2019-02-28 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil + equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 + + 2019-06-30 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil + equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 + + 2019-09-30 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil + equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 + + 2019-12-30 Fear of missing out + assets:cash -$90 + investment:snake oil + + 2019-12-31 Recording the growth of Snake Oil + investment:snake oil + equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 + + Would our quartery report look better now? Almost: + + $ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ + | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | + +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++========+========+ + | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10.25 | 0.25 || 9.53% | 10.53% | + | 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10.25 | 0 | 10.50 | 0.25 || 10.15% | 10.15% | + | 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10.50 | 0 | 10.75 | 0.25 || 9.79% | 9.78% | + | 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10.75 | 90 | 101.00 | 0.25 || 8.05% | 1.00% | + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ + + Something is still wrong with TWR computation for Q4, and if you have + been paying attention you know what it is already: big $90 buy-back is + recorded prior to the only transaction that captures the change of + value of Snake Oil that happened in this time period. Lets combine + transactions from 30th and 31st of Dec into one: + + 2019-12-30 Fear of missing out and growth of Snake Oil + assets:cash -$90 + investment:snake oil + equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 + + Now growth of investment properly affects its price at the time of buy- + back: + + $ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ + | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | + +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++========+========+ + | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-03-31 || 0 | 10 | 10.25 | 0.25 || 9.53% | 10.53% | + | 2 || 2019-04-01 | 2019-06-30 || 10.25 | 0 | 10.50 | 0.25 || 10.15% | 10.15% | + | 3 || 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 || 10.50 | 0 | 10.75 | 0.25 || 9.79% | 9.78% | + | 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10.75 | 90 | 101.00 | 0.25 || 8.05% | 9.57% | + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ + + And for annual report, TWR now reports the exact profitability of our + investment: + + $ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++-------+--------+ + | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | + +===++============+============++===============+==========+=============+======++=======+========+ + | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 101.00 | 1.00 || 9.32% | 10.00% | + +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++-------+--------+ + + stats + stats + Show some journal statistics. + + The stats command displays summary information for the whole journal, + or a matched part of it. With a reporting interval, it shows a report + for each report period. + + Example: + + $ hledger stats + Main journal file : /src/hledger/examples/sample.journal + Included journal files : + Transactions span : 2008-01-01 to 2009-01-01 (366 days) + Last transaction : 2008-12-31 (2333 days ago) + Transactions : 5 (0.0 per day) + Transactions last 30 days: 0 (0.0 per day) + Transactions last 7 days : 0 (0.0 per day) + Payees/descriptions : 5 + Accounts : 8 (depth 3) + Commodities : 1 ($) + Market prices : 12 ($) + + This command also supports output destination and output format selec- + tion. + + tags + tags + List the unique tag names used in the journal. With a TAGREGEX argu- + ment, only tag names matching the regular expression (case insensitive) + are shown. With QUERY arguments, only transactions matching the query + are considered. + + With the --values flag, the tags' unique values are listed instead. + + With --parsed flag, all tags or values are shown in the order they are + parsed from the input data, including duplicates. + + With -E/--empty, any blank/empty values will also be shown, otherwise + they are omitted. + + test + test + Run built-in unit tests. + + This command runs the unit tests built in to hledger and hledger-lib, + printing the results on stdout. If any test fails, the exit code will + be non-zero. + + This is mainly used by hledger developers, but you can also use it to + sanity-check the installed hledger executable on your platform. All + tests are expected to pass - if you ever see a failure, please report + as a bug! + + This command also accepts tasty test runner options, written after a -- + (double hyphen). Eg to run only the tests in Hledger.Data.Amount, with + ANSI colour codes disabled: + + $ hledger test -- -pData.Amount --color=never + + For help on these, see https://github.com/feuerbach/tasty#options (-- + --help currently doesn't show them). + + Add-on commands + Any programs or scripts in your PATH named named hledger-SOMETHING will + also appear in the commands list (with a + mark). These are called + add-on commands. + + These offical add-ons are maintained and released along with hledger: + + o ui an efficient terminal interface for hledger (TUI) + + o web a simple web interface for hledger (WUI) + + These add-ons are maintained separately: + + o iadd a more interactive alternative for the add command + + o interest generates interest transactions according to various schemes + + o stockquotes downloads market prices for your commodities from Alpha- + Vantage (experimental) + + Additional experimental add-ons, which may not be in a working state, + can be found in the bin/ directory in the hledger repo. + + Add-on command flags + In a hledger command line, add-on command flags must have a double dash + (--) preceding them. Eg you must write: + + $ hledger web -- --serve + + and not: + + $ hledger web --serve + + (because the --serve flag belongs to hledger-web, not hledger). + + The -h/--help and --version flags work without --, with their position + deciding which program they refer to. Eg hledger -h web shows + hledger's help, hledger web -h shows hledger-web's help. + + If you have any trouble with this, remember you can always run the add- + on program directly, eg: + + $ hledger-web --serve + + Making add-on commands + Add-on commands are programs or scripts in your PATH + + o whose name starts with hledger- + + o whose name ends with a recognised file extension: .bat,.com,.exe, + .hs,.lhs,.pl,.py,.rb,.rkt,.sh or none + + o and (on unix, mac) which are executable by the current user. + + Add-ons are a relatively easy way to add local features or experiment + with new ideas. They can be written in any language, but haskell + scripts have a big advantage: they can use the same hledger library + functions that built-in commands use for command-line options, parsing + and reporting. + +ENVIRONMENT + LEDGER_FILE The journal file path when not specified with -f. Default: + ~/.hledger.journal (on windows, perhaps C:/Users/USER/.hledger.jour- + nal). + + A typical value is ~/DIR/YYYY.journal, where DIR is a version-con- + trolled finance directory and YYYY is the current year. Or ~/DIR/cur- + rent.journal, where current.journal is a symbolic link to YYYY.journal. + + On Mac computers, you can set this and other environment variables in a + more thorough way that also affects applications started from the GUI + (say, an Emacs dock icon). Eg on MacOS Catalina I have a ~/.MacOSX/en- + vironment.plist file containing + + { + "LEDGER_FILE" : "~/finance/current.journal" + } + + To see the effect you may need to killall Dock, or reboot. + + COLUMNS The screen width used by the register command. Default: the + full terminal width. + + NO_COLOR If this variable exists with any value, hledger will not use + ANSI color codes in terminal output. This overrides the + --color/--colour option. + +FILES + Reads data from one or more files in hledger journal, timeclock, time- + dot, or CSV format specified with -f, or $LEDGER_FILE, or + $HOME/.hledger.journal (on windows, perhaps + C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal). + +LIMITATIONS + The need to precede add-on command options with -- when invoked from + hledger is awkward. + + When input data contains non-ascii characters, a suitable system locale + must be configured (or there will be an unhelpful error). Eg on POSIX, + set LANG to something other than C. + + In a Microsoft Windows CMD window, non-ascii characters and colours are + not supported. + + On Windows, non-ascii characters may not display correctly when running + a hledger built in CMD in MSYS/CYGWIN, or vice-versa. + + In a Cygwin/MSYS/Mintty window, the tab key is not supported in hledger + add. + + Not all of Ledger's journal file syntax is supported. See file format + differences. + + On large data files, hledger is slower and uses more memory than + Ledger. + +TROUBLESHOOTING + Here are some issues you might encounter when you run hledger (and re- + member you can also seek help from the IRC channel, mail list or bug + tracker): + + Successfully installed, but "No command 'hledger' found" + stack and cabal install binaries into a special directory, which should + be added to your PATH environment variable. Eg on unix-like systems, + that is ~/.local/bin and ~/.cabal/bin respectively. + + I set a custom LEDGER_FILE, but hledger is still using the default file + LEDGER_FILE should be a real environment variable, not just a shell + variable. The command env | grep LEDGER_FILE should show it. You may + need to use export. Here's an explanation. + + Getting errors like "Illegal byte sequence" or "Invalid or incomplete + multibyte or wide character" or "commitAndReleaseBuffer: invalid argu- + ment (invalid character)" + Programs compiled with GHC (hledger, haskell build tools, etc.) need to + have a UTF-8-aware locale configured in the environment, otherwise they + will fail with these kinds of errors when they encounter non-ascii + characters. + + To fix it, set the LANG environment variable to some locale which sup- + ports UTF-8. The locale you choose must be installed on your system. + + Here's an example of setting LANG temporarily, on Ubuntu GNU/Linux: + + $ file my.journal + my.journal: UTF-8 Unicode text # the file is UTF8-encoded + $ echo $LANG + C # LANG is set to the default locale, which does not support UTF8 + $ locale -a # which locales are installed ? + C + en_US.utf8 # here's a UTF8-aware one we can use + POSIX + $ LANG=en_US.utf8 hledger -f my.journal print # ensure it is used for this command + + If available, C.UTF-8 will also work. If your preferred locale isn't + listed by locale -a, you might need to install it. Eg on Ubuntu/De- + bian: + + $ apt-get install language-pack-fr + $ locale -a + C + en_US.utf8 + fr_BE.utf8 + fr_CA.utf8 + fr_CH.utf8 + fr_FR.utf8 + fr_LU.utf8 + POSIX + $ LANG=fr_FR.utf8 hledger -f my.journal print + + Here's how you could set it permanently, if you use a bash shell: + + $ echo "export LANG=en_US.utf8" >>~/.bash_profile + $ bash --login + + Exact spelling and capitalisation may be important. Note the differ- + ence on MacOS (UTF-8, not utf8). Some platforms (eg ubuntu) allow + variant spellings, but others (eg macos) require it to be exact: + + $ locale -a | grep -iE en_us.*utf + en_US.UTF-8 + $ LANG=en_US.UTF-8 hledger -f my.journal print + + + +REPORTING BUGS + Report bugs at http://bugs.hledger.org (or on the #hledger IRC channel + or hledger mail list) + + +AUTHORS + Simon Michael and contributors + + +COPYRIGHT + Copyright (C) 2007-2020 Simon Michael. + Released under GNU GPL v3 or later. + + +SEE ALSO + hledger(1), hledger-ui(1), hledger-web(1), ledger(1) + + hledger_journal(5), hledger_csv(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_time- + dot(5) + + + +hledger-1.20.1 December 2020 HLEDGER(1)