
hledger-ui(1)                hledger User Manuals                hledger-ui(1)



NAME
       hledger-ui - curses-style interface for the hledger accounting tool

SYNOPSIS
       hledger-ui [OPTIONS] [QUERYARGS]
       hledger ui -- [OPTIONS] [QUERYARGS]

DESCRIPTION
       hledger  is  a  cross-platform program 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).

       hledger-ui is hledger's curses-style 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  command-
       line  interface, and sometimes quicker and more convenient than the web
       interface.

       Note hledger-ui has some different defaults (experimental):

       o it generates rule-based transactions and postings by default (--fore-
         cast and --auto are always on).

       o it  hides  transactions  dated  in the future by default (change this
         with --future or the F key).

       Like hledger, it 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).   For  more about this see hledger(1),
       hledger_journal(5) etc.

OPTIONS
       Note: if invoking hledger-ui as a hledger subcommand, write  --  before
       options as shown above.

       Any  QUERYARGS  are interpreted as a hledger search query which filters
       the data.

       --watch
              watch for data and date changes and reload automatically

       --theme=default|terminal|greenterm
              use this custom display theme

       --register=ACCTREGEX
              start in the (first) matched account's register screen

       --change
              show period balances (changes) at startup instead of  historical
              balances

       -F --flat
              show accounts as a list (default)

       -T --tree
              show accounts as a tree

       --future
              show transactions dated later than today (normally hidden)

       hledger 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
              ignore any failing balance assertions

       hledger 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 at  transaction  time  (using  the
              transaction price, if any)

       -V --value
              convert  amounts  to  their  market value on the report end date
              (using the most recent applicable market price, if any)

       --auto apply automated posting rules to modify transactions.

       --forecast
              apply periodic transaction rules  to  generate  future  transac-
              tions, to 6 months from now or report end date.

       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.

       hledger 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)

       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) 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/page  up/page down/home/end move up and
       down through lists.  Vi-style (h/j/k/l) and  Emacs-style  (CTRL-p/CTRL-
       n/CTRL-f/CTRL-b)  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  --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 /
       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
       common filters like account depth and transaction status  (see  below).
       BACKSPACE or DELETE removes all filters, showing all transactions.

       As  mentioned  above, hledger-ui shows auto-generated periodic transac-
       tions,  and  hides  future  transactions  (auto-generated  or  not)  by
       default.  F toggles showing and hiding these future transactions.  This
       is similar to using a query like date:-tomorrow, but  more  convenient.
       (experimental)

       ESCAPE  removes  all  filters and jumps back to the top screen.  Or, it
       cancels a minibuffer edit or help dialog in progress.

       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  curses-
       style  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.

       q quits the application.

       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
       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 accounts and the balances from matched transactions.

       Account names are shown as a flat list by default.  Press T  to  toggle
       tree  mode.   In  flat  mode,  account balances are exclusive of subac-
       counts, except where subaccounts are  hidden  by  a  depth  limit  (see
       below).   In  tree  mode,  all account balances are inclusive of subac-
       counts.

       To see less detail, press a number key, 1 to 9, to set a  depth  limit.
       Or use - to decrease and +/= to increase the depth limit.  0 shows even
       less detail, collapsing all accounts to a single total.  To remove  the
       depth  limit,  set  it  higher than the maximum account depth, or press
       ESCAPE.

       H toggles between showing historical balances or period balances.  His-
       torical  balances  (the  default) are ending balances at the end of the
       report period, taking into account all transactions  before  that  date
       (filtered  by  the  filter query if any), including transactions before
       the start of the report period.  In other  words,  historical  balances
       are  what  you  would  see on a bank statement for that account (unless
       disturbed by a filter  query).   Period  balances  ignore  transactions
       before the report start date, so they show the change in balance during
       the report period.  They are more useful eg when viewing a time log.

       U toggles filtering by unmarked status, including or excluding unmarked
       postings in the balances.  Similarly, P toggles pending postings, and C
       toggles cleared postings.  (By default, balances include all  postings;
       if  you  activate  one  or  two status filters, only those postings are
       included; 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 accounts  with  nonzero  balances
       are  shown (hledger-ui shows zero items by default, unlike command-line
       hledger).

       Press right or enter to view an account's transactions register.

   Register screen
       This screen shows the transactions affecting a particular account, like
       a check register.  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 historical total or period total for the current account,
         after  the  transaction.  This can be toggled with H.  Similar to the
         accounts screen, the historical total  is  affected  by  transactions
         (filtered  by  the  filter query) before the report start date, while
         the period total is not.  If the historical total is not disturbed by
         a  filter  query, it will be the running historical balance you would
         see on a bank register for the current account.

       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 flat
       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/flat 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 (or enter) 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,
       description,  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
       depending on which account register you came from (remember most trans-
       actions 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).

   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.)

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

       LEDGER_FILE The journal file path when not specified with -f.  Default:
       ~/.hledger.journal  (on  windows,  perhaps C:/Users/USER/.hledger.jour-
       nal).

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).

BUGS
       The  need  to precede options with -- when invoked from hledger is awk-
       ward.

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

       -V affects only the accounts screen.

       When you press g, the current and all previous screens are regenerated,
       which  may cause a noticeable pause with large files.  Also there is no
       visual indication that this is in progress.

       --watch is not yet fully robust.  It works well for normal  usage,  but
       many  file  changes  in  a  short time (eg saving the file thousands of
       times with an editor macro) can cause problems at least on OSX.   Symp-
       toms  include:  unresponsive UI, periodic resetting of the cursor posi-
       tion, momentary display of parse errors, high CPU usage eventually sub-
       siding, and possibly a small but persistent build-up of CPU usage until
       the program is restarted.

       Also, if you are viewing files mounted from  another  machine,  --watch
       requires that both machine clocks are roughly in step.



REPORTING BUGS
       Report  bugs at http://bugs.hledger.org (or on the #hledger IRC channel
       or hledger mail list)


AUTHORS
       Simon Michael <simon@joyful.com> and contributors


COPYRIGHT
       Copyright (C) 2007-2016 Simon Michael.
       Released under GNU GPL v3 or later.


SEE ALSO
       hledger(1),     hledger-ui(1),     hledger-web(1),      hledger-api(1),
       hledger_csv(5), hledger_journal(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_time-
       dot(5), ledger(1)

       http://hledger.org



hledger-ui 1.15                   August 2019                    hledger-ui(1)
