
HLEDGER-UI(1)                hledger User Manuals                HLEDGER-UI(1)

NAME
       hledger-ui  -  terminal interface (TUI) for hledger, a robust, friendly
       plain text accounting app.

SYNOPSIS
       hledger-ui    [OPTS] [QUERYARGS]
       or
       hledger ui -- [OPTS] [QUERYARGS]

DESCRIPTION
       This manual is for hledger's terminal interface, version 1.34.99.   See
       also the hledger manual for common concepts and file formats.

       hledger  is a robust, user-friendly, cross-platform set of programs for
       tracking money, time, or any other commodity,  using  double-entry  ac-
       counting  and  a  simple, editable file format.  hledger is inspired by
       and largely compatible with  ledger(1),  and  largely  interconvertible
       with beancount(1).

       hledger-ui  is  hledger's  terminal  interface,  providing an efficient
       full-window text UI for viewing accounts  and  transactions,  and  some
       limited  data  entry  capability.   It  is  easier  than hledger's com-
       mand-line interface, and sometimes quicker and more convenient than the
       web interface.

       Like hledger, it reads from (and appends to) a journal  file  specified
       by    the    LEDGER_FILE    environment    variable    (defaulting   to
       $HOME/.hledger.journal); or you can specify files with -f options.   It
       can  also  read timeclock files, timedot files, or any CSV/SSV/TSV file
       with a date field.  (See hledger(1) -> Input for details.)

       Unlike hledger, hledger-ui hides all future-dated transactions  by  de-
       fault.   They  can  be revealed, along with any rule-generated periodic
       transactions, by pressing the F key (or starting  with  --forecast)  to
       enable "forecast mode".

OPTIONS
       Any  arguments  are  interpreted  as  a hledger query which filters the
       data.  hledger-ui provides the following options:

              Flags:
                -w --watch                watch for data and date changes and reload
                                          automatically
                   --theme=THEME          use this custom display theme (default,
                                          greenterm, terminal, dark)
                   --cash                 start in the cash accounts screen
                   --bs                   start in the balance sheet accounts screen
                   --is                   start in the income statement accounts screen
                   --all                  start in the all accounts screen
                   --register=ACCTREGEX   start in the (first matched) account's register
                   --change               show period balances (changes) at startup instead
                                          of historical balances
                -l --flat                 show accounts as a flat list (default)
                -t --tree                 show accounts as a tree

       and also supports many of hledger's general options:

              General input/data transformation flags:
                -f --file=[FMT:]FILE      Read data from FILE, or from stdin if FILE is -,
                                          inferring format from extension or a FMT: prefix.
                                          Can be specified more than once. If not specified,
                                          reads from $LEDGER_FILE or $HOME/.hledger.journal.
                   --rules=RULESFILE      Use rules defined in this rules file for
                                          converting subsequent CSV/SSV/TSV files. If not
                                          specified, uses FILE.csv.rules for each FILE.csv.
                   --alias=A=B|/RGX/=RPL  transform account names from A to B, or by
                                          replacing regular expression matches
                   --auto                 generate extra postings by applying auto posting
                                          rules ("=") to all transactions
                   --forecast[=PERIOD]    Generate extra transactions from periodic rules
                                          ("~"), from after the latest ordinary transaction
                                          until 6 months from now. Or, during the specified
                                          PERIOD (the equals is required). Auto posting rules
                                          will also be applied to these transactions. In
                                          hledger-ui, also make future-dated transactions
                                          visible at startup.
                -I --ignore-assertions    don't check balance assertions by default
                   --infer-costs          infer conversion equity postings from costs
                   --infer-equity         infer costs from conversion equity postings
                   --infer-market-prices  infer market prices from costs
                   --pivot=TAGNAME        use a different field or tag as account names
                -s --strict               do extra error checks (and override -I)
                   --verbose-tags         add tags indicating generated/modified data

              General output/reporting flags (supported by some commands):
                -b --begin=DATE           include postings/transactions on/after this date
                -e --end=DATE             include postings/transactions before this date
                                          (with a report interval, will be adjusted to
                                          following subperiod end)
                -D --daily                multiperiod report with 1 day interval
                -W --weekly               multiperiod report with 1 week interval
                -M --monthly              multiperiod report with 1 month interval
                -Q --quarterly            multiperiod report with 1 quarter interval
                -Y --yearly               multiperiod report with 1 year interval
                -p --period=PERIODEXP     set begin date, end date, and/or report interval,
                                          with more flexibility
                   --today=DATE           override today's date (affects relative dates)
                   --date2                match/use secondary dates instead (deprecated)
                -U --unmarked             include only unmarked postings/transactions
                -P --pending              include only pending postings/transactions
                -C --cleared              include only cleared postings/transactions
                                          (-U/-P/-C can be combined)
                -R --real                 include only non-virtual postings
                   --depth=NUM            or -NUM: show only top NUM levels of accounts
                -E --empty                Show zero items, which are normally hidden.
                                          In hledger-ui & hledger-web, do the opposite.
                -B --cost                 show amounts converted to their cost/sale amount
                -V --market               Show amounts converted to their value at period
                                          end(s) in their default valuation commodity.
                                          Equivalent to --value=end.
                -X --exchange=COMM        Show amounts converted to their value at period
                                          end(s) in the specified commodity.
                                          Equivalent to --value=end,COMM.
                   --value=WHEN[,COMM]    show amounts converted to their value on the
                                          specified date(s) in their default valuation
                                          commodity or a specified commodity. WHEN can be:
                                          'then':     value on transaction dates
                                          'end':      value at period end(s)
                                          'now':      value today
                                          YYYY-MM-DD: value on given date
                -c --commodity-style=S    Override a commodity's display style.
                                          Eg: -c '.' or -c '1.000,00 EUR'
                   --color=YN --colour    Use ANSI color codes in text output? Can be
                                          'y'/'yes'/'always', 'n'/'no'/'never' or 'auto'.
                   --pretty[=YN]          Use box-drawing characters in text output? Can be
                                          'y'/'yes' or 'n'/'no'.
                                          If YN is specified, the equals is required.

              General help flags:
                -h --help                 show command line help
                   --tldr                 show command examples with tldr
                   --info                 show the manual with info
                   --man                  show the manual with man
                   --version              show version information
                   --debug=[1-9]          show this much debug output (default: 1)

       With  hledger-ui,  the  --debug  option  sends  debug   output   to   a
       hledger-ui.log file in the current directory.

MOUSE
       In  most  modern terminals, you can navigate through the screens with a
       mouse or touchpad:

       o Use mouse wheel or trackpad to scroll up and down

       o Click on list items to go deeper

       o Click on the left margin (column 0) to go back.

KEYS
       Keyboard gives more control.

       ? 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 ES-
       CAPE, 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  previous  screen,  UP/DOWN/PGUP/PGDN/HOME/END  move  up  and  down
       through  lists.  Emacs-style (CTRL-p/CTRL-n/CTRL-f/CTRL-b) and VI-style
       (k,j,l,h) movement keys are also supported.  A tip: movement  speed  is
       limited  by  your  keyboard repeat 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
       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  moves to the previous/next period.  T sets the report
       period to today.  With the -w/--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-stan-
       dard period, you can use / and a date: query.

       (Mac  users:  SHIFT-DOWN/UP keys do not work by default in Terminal, as
       of MacOS Monterey.  You can configure them as follows:  open  Terminal,
       press  CMD-comma  to open preferences, click Profiles, select your cur-
       rent terminal profile on the left, click Keyboard on the right, click +
       and add this for Shift-Down:  \033[1;2B,  click  +  and  add  this  for
       Shift-Up:  \033[1;2A.  Press the Escape key to enter the \033 part, you
       can't type it directly.)

       / 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
       common  filters  like account depth and transaction status (see below).
       BACKSPACE or DELETE removes all filters, showing all 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.

       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-
       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
       pause.)

       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.

       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
       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 converted to their cost's  commod-
       ity (see hledger manual > Cost reporting.

       V  toggles  value mode, showing amounts converted to their market value
       (see hledger manual > Valuation flag).  More specifically,

       1. By default, the V key toggles showing end value (--value=end) on  or
          off.   The  valuation date will be the report end date if specified,
          otherwise today.

       2. If you  started  hledger-ui  with  some  other  valuation  (such  as
          --value=then,EUR), the V key toggles that off or on.

       Cost/value  tips:  -  When showing end value, you can change the report
       end date without restarting, by pressing /  and  adding  a  query  like
       date:..YYYY-MM-DD.   -  Either cost mode, or value mode, can be active,
       but not both at once.  Cost mode takes precedence.  - There's  not  yet
       any  visual indicator that cost or value mode is active, other than the
       amount values.

       q quits the application.

       Additional screen-specific keys are described below.

SCREENS
       At startup, hledger-ui shows a menu screen by default.  From  here  you
       can navigate to other screens using the cursor keys: UP/DOWN to select,
       RIGHT  to  move  to the selected screen, LEFT to return to the previous
       screen.  Or you can use ESC to return directly to the top menu screen.

       You can also use a command line flag to specific  a  different  startup
       screen (--cs, --bs, --is, --all, or --register=ACCT).

   Menu screen
       This  is  the  top-most  screen.  From here you can navigate to several
       screens listing accounts of various types.  Note some of these may  not
       show anything until you have configured account types.

   Cash accounts screen
       This screen shows "cash" (ie, liquid asset) accounts (like hledger bal-
       ancesheet  type:c).   It  always shows balances (historical ending bal-
       ances on the date shown in the title line).

   Balance sheet accounts screen
       This screen shows asset, liability and equity  accounts  (like  hledger
       balancesheetequity).  It always shows balances.

   Income statement accounts screen
       This  screen  shows revenue and expense accounts (like hledger incomes-
       tatement).  It always shows changes  (balance  changes  in  the  period
       shown in the title line).

   All accounts screen
       This  screen  shows  all accounts in your journal (unless filtered by a
       query; like hledger balance).  It shows balances by  default;  you  can
       toggle showing changes with the H key.

   Register screen
       This  screen  shows  the  transactions  affecting a particular account.
       Each line represents one transaction, and shows:

       o the other account(s) involved, in abbreviated form.   (If  there  are
         both  real  and virtual postings, it shows only the accounts affected
         by real postings.)

       o the overall change to the current account's balance; positive for  an
         inflow to this account, negative for an outflow.

       o the running total after the transaction.  With the H key you can tog-
         gle between

         o the period total, which is from just the transactions displayed

         o or  the  historical  total, which includes any undisplayed transac-
           tions before the start of the report period (and matching the  fil-
           ter  query  if  any).   This will be the running historical balance
           (what you would see on a bank's website, eg) if not disturbed by  a
           query.

       Note,  this  screen combines each transaction's in-period postings to a
       single line item, dated with  the  earliest  in-period  transaction  or
       posting  date  (like hledger's aregister).  So custom posting dates can
       cause the running balance to be temporarily inaccurate.   (See  hledger
       manual > aregister and posting dates.)

       Transactions  affecting  this account's subaccounts will be included in
       the register if the accounts screen is in tree mode, or if it's in list
       mode but this account has subaccounts which are  not  shown  due  to  a
       depth  limit.   In  other words, the register always shows the transac-
       tions contributing to the balance shown on the accounts  screen.   Tree
       mode/list mode can be toggled with t here also.

       U  toggles  filtering  by  unmarked  status, showing or hiding unmarked
       transactions.  Similarly, P toggles pending transactions, and C toggles
       cleared transactions.  (By default, transactions with all statuses  are
       shown;  if  you activate one or two status filters, only those transac-
       tions are shown; and if you activate all three, the filter is removed.)

       R toggles real mode, in which virtual postings are ignored.

       z toggles nonzero mode, in which only transactions  posting  a  nonzero
       change  are  shown (hledger-ui shows zero items by default, unlike com-
       mand-line hledger).

       Press RIGHT to view the selected transaction in detail.

   Transaction screen
       This screen shows a single transaction, as  a  general  journal  entry,
       similar  to  hledger's  print command and journal format (hledger_jour-
       nal(5)).

       The transaction's date(s) and any cleared flag, transaction  code,  de-
       scription,  comments, along with all of its account postings are shown.
       Simple transactions have two postings, but there can  be  more  (or  in
       certain cases, fewer).

       UP  and  DOWN will step through all transactions listed in the previous
       account register screen.  In the title bar, the numbers in  parentheses
       show  your  position  within that account register.  They will vary de-
       pending on which account register you came from (remember most transac-
       tions appear in multiple account registers).  The #N  number  preceding
       them is the transaction's position within the complete unfiltered jour-
       nal, which is a more stable id (at least until the next reload).

       On this screen (and the register screen), the E key will open your text
       editor  with the cursor positioned at the current transaction if possi-
       ble.

       This screen has a limitation with showing file  updates:  it  will  not
       show  them  until you exit and re-enter it.  So eg to see the effect of
       using the E key, currently you must: - press E, edit and save the file,
       then exit the editor, returning to hledger-ui - press g to  reload  the
       file  (or  use  -w/--watch  mode)  -  press LEFT then RIGHT to exit and
       re-enter the transaction screen.

   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
       again to reload and resume normal operation.  (Or, you can press escape
       to cancel the reload attempt.)

WATCH MODE
       One of hledger-ui's best  features  is  the  auto-reloading  -w/--watch
       mode.   With  this flag, it will update the display automatically when-
       ever changes are saved to the data files.

       This is very useful when reconciling.  A good workflow is to have  your
       bank's  online  register  open  in a browser window, for reference; the
       journal file open in an editor window; and hledger-ui in watch mode  in
       a terminal window, eg:

              $ hledger-ui --watch --register checking -C

       As  you mark things cleared in the editor, you can see the effect imme-
       diately without having to context  switch.   This  leaves  more  mental
       bandwidth  for  your accounting.  Of course you can still interact with
       hledger-ui when needed, eg to toggle cleared mode, or  to  explore  the
       history.

       There are currently some limitations with --watch:

       It may not work correctly for you, depending on platform or system con-
       figuration.  (Eg #836.)

       At  least  on mac, there can be a slow build-up of CPU usage over time,
       until the program is restarted  (or,  suspending  and  restarting  with
       CTRL-z fg may be enough).

       It  will  not detect file changes made by certain editors, such as Jet-
       brains IDEs or gedit, or on certain less common filesystems.  (To  work
       around,   press   g   to   reload  manually,  or  try  #1617's  fs.ino-
       tify.max_user_watches workaround and let us know.)

       If you are viewing files  mounted  from  another  machine,  the  system
       clocks on both machines should be roughly in agreement.

ENVIRONMENT
       COLUMNS The screen width to use.  Default: the full terminal width.

       LEDGER_FILE  The  main  journal  file  to  use  when not specified with
       -f/--file.  Default: $HOME/.hledger.journal.

BUGS
       We  welcome  bug  reports  in  the  hledger  issue  tracker  (shortcut:
       http://bugs.hledger.org),  or on the #hledger chat or hledger mail list
       (https://hledger.org/support).

       Some known issues:

       -f- doesn't work (hledger-ui can't read from stdin).

       If you press g with large files, there could be a noticeable pause.

       The Transaction screen does not update from file changes until you exit
       and re-endter it (see SCREENS > Transaction above).

       --watch is not yet fully  robust  on  all  platforms  (see  Watch  mode
       above).



AUTHORS
       Simon Michael <simon@joyful.com> and contributors.
       See http://hledger.org/CREDITS.html


COPYRIGHT
       Copyright 2007-2023 Simon Michael and contributors.


LICENSE
       Released under GNU GPL v3 or later.


SEE ALSO
       hledger(1), hledger-ui(1), hledger-web(1), ledger(1)

hledger-ui-1.34.99                 June 2024                     HLEDGER-UI(1)
