diff --git a/hledger-lib/.date.m4 b/hledger-lib/.date.m4 index 209e3d67e..8ea9dad02 100644 --- a/hledger-lib/.date.m4 +++ b/hledger-lib/.date.m4 @@ -1,2 +1,2 @@ m4_dnl Date to show in man pages. Updated by "Shake manuals" -m4_define({{_monthyear_}}, {{March 2023}})m4_dnl +m4_define({{_monthyear_}}, {{April 2023}})m4_dnl diff --git a/hledger-ui/.date.m4 b/hledger-ui/.date.m4 index 209e3d67e..8ea9dad02 100644 --- a/hledger-ui/.date.m4 +++ b/hledger-ui/.date.m4 @@ -1,2 +1,2 @@ m4_dnl Date to show in man pages. Updated by "Shake manuals" -m4_define({{_monthyear_}}, {{March 2023}})m4_dnl +m4_define({{_monthyear_}}, {{April 2023}})m4_dnl diff --git a/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.1 b/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.1 index 6b9a0366f..f502e4d4c 100644 --- a/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.1 +++ b/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.1 @@ -1,5 +1,5 @@ -.TH "HLEDGER-UI" "1" "March 2023" "hledger-ui-1.29.99 " "hledger User Manuals" +.TH "HLEDGER-UI" "1" "April 2023" "hledger-ui-1.29.99 " "hledger User Manuals" diff --git a/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.info b/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.info index fee424be5..5ebe45138 100644 --- a/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.info +++ b/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.info @@ -13,10 +13,10 @@ hledger-ui(1) hledger-ui - robust, friendly plain text accounting (TUI version) - ‘hledger-ui [OPTIONS] [QUERYARGS]’ -‘hledger ui -- [OPTIONS] [QUERYARGS]’ + 'hledger-ui [OPTIONS] [QUERYARGS]' +'hledger ui -- [OPTIONS] [QUERYARGS]' - This manual is for hledger’s terminal interface, version 1.29.99. + This manual is for hledger's terminal interface, version 1.29.99. See also the hledger manual for common concepts and file formats. hledger is a robust, user-friendly, cross-platform set of programs @@ -25,21 +25,21 @@ accounting 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 + 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 command-line +limited data entry capability. It is easier than hledger's command-line interface, and sometimes quicker and more convenient than the web interface. Like hledger, it reads data from one or more files in journal, timeclock, timedot, or CSV format. The default file is -‘.hledger.journal’ in your home directory; this can be overridden with -one or more ‘-f FILE’ options, or the ‘LEDGER_FILE’ environment +'.hledger.journal' in your home directory; this can be overridden with +one or more '-f FILE' options, or the 'LEDGER_FILE' environment variable. For more about this see hledger(1), hledger_journal(5) etc. Unlike hledger, hledger-ui hides all future-dated transactions by default. They can be revealed, along with any rule-generated periodic -transactions, by pressing the F key (or starting with –forecast) to +transactions, by pressing the F key (or starting with -forecast) to enable "forecast mode". * Menu: @@ -59,176 +59,176 @@ File: hledger-ui.info, Node: OPTIONS, Next: MOUSE, Prev: Top, Up: Top 1 OPTIONS ********* -Note: if invoking hledger-ui as a hledger subcommand, write ‘--’ before +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. -‘-w --watch’ +'-w --watch' watch for data and date changes and reload automatically -‘--theme=default|terminal|greenterm’ +'--theme=default|terminal|greenterm' use this custom display theme -‘--menu’ +'--menu' start in the menu screen -‘--cash’ +'--cash' start in the cash accounts screen -‘--bs’ +'--bs' start in the balance sheet accounts screen -‘--is’ +'--is' start in the income statement accounts screen -‘--all’ +'--all' start in the all accounts screen -‘--register=ACCTREGEX’ +'--register=ACCTREGEX' - start in the (first) matched account’s register screen -‘--change’ + start in the (first) matched account's register screen +'--change' show period balances (changes) at startup instead of historical balances -‘-l --flat’ +'-l --flat' show accounts as a flat list (default) -‘-t --tree’ +'-t --tree' show accounts as a tree hledger input options: -‘-f FILE --file=FILE’ +'-f FILE --file=FILE' use a different input file. For stdin, use - (default: - ‘$LEDGER_FILE’ or ‘$HOME/.hledger.journal’) -‘--rules-file=RULESFILE’ + '$LEDGER_FILE' or '$HOME/.hledger.journal') +'--rules-file=RULESFILE' Conversion rules file to use when reading CSV (default: FILE.rules) -‘--separator=CHAR’ +'--separator=CHAR' - Field separator to expect when reading CSV (default: ’,’) -‘--alias=OLD=NEW’ + Field separator to expect when reading CSV (default: ',') +'--alias=OLD=NEW' rename accounts named OLD to NEW -‘--anon’ +'--anon' anonymize accounts and payees -‘--pivot FIELDNAME’ +'--pivot FIELDNAME' use some other field or tag for the account name -‘-I --ignore-assertions’ +'-I --ignore-assertions' disable balance assertion checks (note: does not disable balance assignments) -‘-s --strict’ +'-s --strict' do extra error checking (check that all posted accounts are declared) hledger reporting options: -‘-b --begin=DATE’ +'-b --begin=DATE' include postings/txns on or after this date (will be adjusted to preceding subperiod start when using a report interval) -‘-e --end=DATE’ +'-e --end=DATE' include postings/txns before this date (will be adjusted to following subperiod end when using a report interval) -‘-D --daily’ +'-D --daily' multiperiod/multicolumn report by day -‘-W --weekly’ +'-W --weekly' multiperiod/multicolumn report by week -‘-M --monthly’ +'-M --monthly' multiperiod/multicolumn report by month -‘-Q --quarterly’ +'-Q --quarterly' multiperiod/multicolumn report by quarter -‘-Y --yearly’ +'-Y --yearly' multiperiod/multicolumn report by year -‘-p --period=PERIODEXP’ +'-p --period=PERIODEXP' set start date, end date, and/or reporting interval all at once using period expressions syntax -‘--date2’ +'--date2' match the secondary date instead (see command help for other effects) -‘--today=DATE’ +'--today=DATE' - override today’s date (affects relative smart dates, for + override today's date (affects relative smart dates, for tests/examples) -‘-U --unmarked’ +'-U --unmarked' include only unmarked postings/txns (can combine with -P or -C) -‘-P --pending’ +'-P --pending' include only pending postings/txns -‘-C --cleared’ +'-C --cleared' include only cleared postings/txns -‘-R --real’ +'-R --real' include only non-virtual postings -‘-NUM --depth=NUM’ +'-NUM --depth=NUM' hide/aggregate accounts or postings more than NUM levels deep -‘-E --empty’ +'-E --empty' show items with zero amount, normally hidden (and vice-versa in hledger-ui/hledger-web) -‘-B --cost’ +'-B --cost' convert amounts to their cost/selling amount at transaction time -‘-V --market’ +'-V --market' convert amounts to their market value in default valuation commodities -‘-X --exchange=COMM’ +'-X --exchange=COMM' convert amounts to their market value in commodity COMM -‘--value’ +'--value' convert amounts to cost or market value, more flexibly than -B/-V/-X -‘--infer-market-prices’ +'--infer-market-prices' use transaction prices (recorded with @ or @@) as additional market prices, as if they were P directives -‘--auto’ +'--auto' apply automated posting rules to modify transactions. -‘--forecast’ +'--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. -‘--commodity-style’ +'--commodity-style' Override the commodity style in the output for the specified - commodity. For example ’EUR1.000,00’. -‘--color=WHEN (or --colour=WHEN)’ + commodity. For example 'EUR1.000,00'. +'--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 + 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. -‘--pretty[=WHEN]’ +'--pretty[=WHEN]' Show prettier output, e.g. using unicode box-drawing characters. - Accepts ’yes’ (the default) or ’no’ (’y’, ’n’, ’always’, ’never’ - also work). If you provide an argument you must use ’=’, e.g. - ’–pretty=yes’. + Accepts 'yes' (the default) or 'no' ('y', 'n', 'always', 'never' + also work). If you provide an argument you must use '=', e.g. + '-pretty=yes'. When a reporting option appears more than once in the command line, the last one takes precedence. @@ -237,25 +237,25 @@ the last one takes precedence. hledger help options: -‘-h --help’ +'-h --help' show general or COMMAND help -‘--man’ +'--man' show general or COMMAND user manual with man -‘--info’ +'--info' show general or COMMAND user manual with info -‘--version’ +'--version' show general or ADDONCMD version -‘--debug[=N]’ +'--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.) +this, insert a '--' argument before.)  File: hledger-ui.info, Node: MOUSE, Next: KEYS, Prev: OPTIONS, Up: Top @@ -266,9 +266,9 @@ File: hledger-ui.info, Node: MOUSE, Next: KEYS, Prev: OPTIONS, Up: Top In most modern terminals, you can navigate through the screens with a mouse or touchpad: - • Use mouse wheel or trackpad to scroll up and down - • Click on list items to go deeper - • Click on the left margin (column 0) to go back. + * Use mouse wheel or trackpad to scroll up and down + * Click on list items to go deeper + * Click on the left margin (column 0) to go back.  File: hledger-ui.info, Node: KEYS, Next: SCREENS, Prev: MOUSE, Up: Top @@ -278,96 +278,96 @@ File: hledger-ui.info, Node: KEYS, Next: SCREENS, Prev: MOUSE, Up: Top 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 -‘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’ -returns to the previous screen, ‘UP’/‘DOWN’/‘PGUP’/‘PGDN’/‘HOME’/‘END’ + 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’) +('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.) +(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 +'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 +'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-standard period, you can use ‘/’ and a ‘date:’ query. +non-standard 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 current 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 +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, + '/' 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 +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 - both ordinary transactions recorded in the journal, and periodic -transactions generated by rule. ‘F’ toggles forecast mode, in which +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, -restoring the app’s initial state at startup. Or, it cancels minibuffer + '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 -(selections near the top won’t be centered, since we don’t scroll above + '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 + '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 + '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 + '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 + '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 cost’s commodity -(like toggling the ‘-B/--cost’ flag). + 'B' toggles cost mode, showing amounts in their cost'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’ + '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. +screen, press '/', and add 'date:-7/30' to the query. 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; for now pressing ‘b’ ‘b’ ‘v’ should reliably reset to normal + 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. - ‘q’ quits the application. + 'q' quits the application. Additional screen-specific keys are described below. @@ -378,13 +378,13 @@ File: hledger-ui.info, Node: SCREENS, Next: TIPS, Prev: KEYS, Up: Top ********* 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 +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’). +screen ('--cs', '--bs', '--is', '--all', or '--register=ACCT'). * Menu: @@ -413,8 +413,8 @@ File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Cash accounts, Next: Balance sheet accounts, Pre 4.2 Cash accounts ================= -This screen shows "cash" (ie, liquid asset) accounts (like ‘hledger -balancesheet type:c’). It always shows balances (historical ending +This screen shows "cash" (ie, liquid asset) accounts (like 'hledger +balancesheet type:c'). It always shows balances (historical ending balances on the date shown in the title line).  @@ -423,8 +423,8 @@ File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Balance sheet accounts, Next: Income statement ac 4.3 Balance sheet accounts ========================== -This screen shows asset, liability and equity accounts (like ‘hledger -balancesheetequity’). It always shows balances. +This screen shows asset, liability and equity accounts (like 'hledger +balancesheetequity'). It always shows balances.  File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Income statement accounts, Next: All accounts, Prev: Balance sheet accounts, Up: SCREENS @@ -432,8 +432,8 @@ File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Income statement accounts, Next: All accounts, P 4.4 Income statement accounts ============================= -This screen shows revenue and expense accounts (like ‘hledger -incomestatement’). It always shows changes (balance changes in the +This screen shows revenue and expense accounts (like 'hledger +incomestatement'). It always shows changes (balance changes in the period shown in the title line).  @@ -443,8 +443,8 @@ File: hledger-ui.info, Node: All accounts, Next: Register, Prev: Income state ================ 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. +query; like 'hledger balance'). It shows balances by default; you can +toggle showing changes with the 'H' key.  File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Register, Next: Transaction, Prev: All accounts, Up: SCREENS @@ -455,45 +455,45 @@ File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Register, Next: Transaction, Prev: All accounts, This screen shows the transactions affecting a particular account. Each line represents one transaction, and shows: - • the other account(s) involved, in abbreviated form. (If there are + * 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.) - • the overall change to the current account’s balance; positive for + * the overall change to the current account's balance; positive for an inflow to this account, negative for an outflow. - • the running total after the transaction. With the ‘H’ key you can + * the running total after the transaction. With the 'H' key you can toggle between - • the period total, which is from just the transactions + * the period total, which is from just the transactions displayed - • or the historical total, which includes any undisplayed + * or the historical total, which includes any undisplayed transactions before the start of the report period (and matching the filter query if any). This will be the running - historical balance (what you would see on a bank’s website, + historical balance (what you would see on a bank's website, eg) if not disturbed by a query. - 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 + 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 transactions contributing to the balance shown on the accounts screen. Tree -mode/list mode can be toggled with ‘t’ here also. +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’ + '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 transactions are shown; and if you activate all three, the filter is removed.) - ‘R’ toggles real mode, in which virtual postings are ignored. + 'R' toggles real mode, in which virtual postings are ignored. - ‘z’ toggles nonzero mode, in which only transactions posting a + 'z' toggles nonzero mode, in which only transactions posting a nonzero change are shown (hledger-ui shows zero items by default, unlike command-line hledger). - Press ‘RIGHT’ to view the selected transaction in detail. + Press 'RIGHT' to view the selected transaction in detail.  File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Transaction, Next: Error, Prev: Register, Up: SCREENS @@ -502,32 +502,32 @@ File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Transaction, Next: Error, Prev: Register, Up: S =============== This screen shows a single transaction, as a general journal entry, -similar to hledger’s print command and journal format +similar to hledger's print command and journal format (hledger_journal(5)). - The transaction’s date(s) and any cleared flag, transaction code, + 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 + '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 transactions appear in multiple account registers). The #N number -preceding them is the transaction’s position within the complete +preceding them is the transaction's position within the complete unfiltered journal, 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 + On this screen (and the register screen), the 'E' key will open your text editor with the cursor positioned at the current transaction if possible. 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’ +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.  @@ -558,12 +558,12 @@ File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Watch mode, Next: Debug output, Up: TIPS 5.1 Watch mode ============== -One of hledger-ui’s best features is the auto-reloading ‘-w/--watch’ +One of hledger-ui's best features is the auto-reloading '-w/--watch' mode. With this flag, it will update the display automatically whenever 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 +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: @@ -578,16 +578,16 @@ history. Here are some current limitations to be aware of: Changes might not be detected with certain editors, possibly -including Jetbrains IDEs, ‘gedit’, other Gnome applications; or on +including Jetbrains IDEs, 'gedit', other Gnome applications; or on certain unusual filesystems. (#1617, #911). To work around, reload -manually by pressing ‘g’ in the hledger-ui window. (Or see #1617 for +manually by pressing 'g' in the hledger-ui window. (Or see #1617 for another workaround, and let us know if it works for you.) - CPU and memory usage can sometimes gradually increase, if ‘hledger-ui ---watch’ is left running for days. (Possibly correlated with certain + CPU and memory usage can sometimes gradually increase, if 'hledger-ui +--watch' is left running for days. (Possibly correlated with certain platforms, many transactions, and/or large numbers of other files -present). To work around, ‘q’uit and restart it, or (where supported) -suspend (‘CTRL-z’) and restart it (‘fg’). +present). To work around, 'q'uit and restart it, or (where supported) +suspend ('CTRL-z') and restart it ('fg').  File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Debug output, Prev: Watch mode, Up: TIPS @@ -595,8 +595,8 @@ File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Debug output, Prev: Watch mode, Up: TIPS 5.2 Debug output ================ -You can add ‘--debug[=N]’ to the command line to log debug output. This -will be logged to the file ‘hledger-ui.log’ in the current directory. N +You can add '--debug[=N]' to the command line to log debug output. This +will be logged to the file 'hledger-ui.log' in the current directory. N ranges from 1 (least output, the default) to 9 (maximum output).  @@ -607,33 +607,33 @@ File: hledger-ui.info, Node: ENVIRONMENT, Next: FILES, Prev: TIPS, Up: Top *COLUMNS* The screen width to use. Default: the full terminal width. - *LEDGER_FILE* The journal file path when not specified with ‘-f’. + *LEDGER_FILE* The journal file path when not specified with '-f'. - On unix computers, the default value is: ‘~/.hledger.journal’. + On unix computers, the default value is: '~/.hledger.journal'. - A more typical value is something like ‘~/finance/YYYY.journal’, -where ‘~/finance’ is a version-controlled finance directory and YYYY is -the current year. Or, ‘~/finance/current.journal’, where + A more typical value is something like '~/finance/YYYY.journal', +where '~/finance' is a version-controlled finance directory and YYYY is +the current year. Or, '~/finance/current.journal', where current.journal is a symbolic link to YYYY.journal. The usual way to set this permanently is to add a command to one of -your shell’s startup files (eg ‘~/.profile’): +your shell's startup files (eg '~/.profile'): export LEDGER_FILE=~/finance/current.journal` On some Mac computers, there is a more thorough way to set environment variables, that will also affect applications started from the GUI (eg, Emacs started from a dock icon): In -‘~/.MacOSX/environment.plist’, add an entry like: +'~/.MacOSX/environment.plist', add an entry like: { "LEDGER_FILE" : "~/finance/current.journal" } - For this to take effect you might need to ‘killall Dock’, or reboot. + For this to take effect you might need to 'killall Dock', or reboot. On Windows computers, the default value is probably -‘C:\Users\YOURNAME\.hledger.journal’. You can change this by running a +'C:\Users\YOURNAME\.hledger.journal'. You can change this by running a command like this in a powershell window (let us know if you need to be an Administrator, and if this persists across a reboot): @@ -649,9 +649,9 @@ File: hledger-ui.info, Node: FILES, Next: BUGS, Prev: ENVIRONMENT, Up: Top ******* Reads data from one or more files in journal, timeclock, timedot, or CSV -format. The default file is ‘.hledger.journal’ in your home directory; -this can be overridden with one or more ‘-f FILE’ options, or the -‘LEDGER_FILE’ environment variable. +format. The default file is '.hledger.journal' in your home directory; +this can be overridden with one or more '-f FILE' options, or the +'LEDGER_FILE' environment variable.  File: hledger-ui.info, Node: BUGS, Prev: FILES, Up: Top @@ -659,15 +659,15 @@ File: hledger-ui.info, Node: BUGS, Prev: FILES, Up: Top 8 BUGS ****** -‘-f-’ doesn’t work (hledger-ui can’t read from stdin). +'-f-' doesn't work (hledger-ui can't read from stdin). - ‘-V’ affects only the accounts screen. + '-V' affects only the accounts screen. - When you press ‘g’, the current and all previous screens are + 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, + '--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. Symptoms include: unresponsive UI, periodic resetting of the cursor position, @@ -676,47 +676,47 @@ 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, -‘-w/--watch’ requires that both machine clocks are roughly in step. +'-w/--watch' requires that both machine clocks are roughly in step.  Tag Table: Node: Top223 -Node: OPTIONS1871 -Ref: #options1969 -Node: MOUSE7389 -Ref: #mouse7484 -Node: KEYS7727 -Ref: #keys7820 -Node: SCREENS12579 -Ref: #screens12677 -Node: Menu13297 -Ref: #menu13390 -Node: Cash accounts13585 -Ref: #cash-accounts13727 -Node: Balance sheet accounts13915 -Ref: #balance-sheet-accounts14096 -Node: Income statement accounts14220 -Ref: #income-statement-accounts14406 -Node: All accounts14574 -Ref: #all-accounts14720 -Node: Register14910 -Ref: #register15034 -Node: Transaction17046 -Ref: #transaction17169 -Node: Error18628 -Ref: #error18722 -Node: TIPS18966 -Ref: #tips19065 -Node: Watch mode19107 -Ref: #watch-mode19214 -Node: Debug output20702 -Ref: #debug-output20813 -Node: ENVIRONMENT21033 -Ref: #environment21144 -Node: FILES22567 -Ref: #files22666 -Node: BUGS22926 -Ref: #bugs23003 +Node: OPTIONS1843 +Ref: #options1941 +Node: MOUSE7074 +Ref: #mouse7169 +Node: KEYS7406 +Ref: #keys7499 +Node: SCREENS12012 +Ref: #screens12110 +Node: Menu12690 +Ref: #menu12783 +Node: Cash accounts12978 +Ref: #cash-accounts13120 +Node: Balance sheet accounts13304 +Ref: #balance-sheet-accounts13485 +Node: Income statement accounts13605 +Ref: #income-statement-accounts13791 +Node: All accounts13955 +Ref: #all-accounts14101 +Node: Register14283 +Ref: #register14407 +Node: Transaction16369 +Ref: #transaction16492 +Node: Error17909 +Ref: #error18003 +Node: TIPS18247 +Ref: #tips18346 +Node: Watch mode18388 +Ref: #watch-mode18495 +Node: Debug output19951 +Ref: #debug-output20062 +Node: ENVIRONMENT20274 +Ref: #environment20385 +Node: FILES21770 +Ref: #files21869 +Node: BUGS22117 +Ref: #bugs22194  End Tag Table diff --git a/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.txt b/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.txt index 540168242..7f36f0ec2 100644 --- a/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.txt +++ b/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.txt @@ -566,4 +566,4 @@ SEE ALSO -hledger-ui-1.29.99 March 2023 HLEDGER-UI(1) +hledger-ui-1.29.99 April 2023 HLEDGER-UI(1) diff --git a/hledger-web/.date.m4 b/hledger-web/.date.m4 index 209e3d67e..8ea9dad02 100644 --- a/hledger-web/.date.m4 +++ b/hledger-web/.date.m4 @@ -1,2 +1,2 @@ m4_dnl Date to show in man pages. Updated by "Shake manuals" -m4_define({{_monthyear_}}, {{March 2023}})m4_dnl +m4_define({{_monthyear_}}, {{April 2023}})m4_dnl diff --git a/hledger-web/hledger-web.1 b/hledger-web/hledger-web.1 index 824c056a0..8df5d8f41 100644 --- a/hledger-web/hledger-web.1 +++ b/hledger-web/hledger-web.1 @@ -1,5 +1,5 @@ -.TH "HLEDGER-WEB" "1" "March 2023" "hledger-web-1.29.99 " "hledger User Manuals" +.TH "HLEDGER-WEB" "1" "April 2023" "hledger-web-1.29.99 " "hledger User Manuals" diff --git a/hledger-web/hledger-web.info b/hledger-web/hledger-web.info index a06b522e6..45edcaca1 100644 --- a/hledger-web/hledger-web.info +++ b/hledger-web/hledger-web.info @@ -13,12 +13,12 @@ hledger-web(1) hledger-web - robust, friendly plain text accounting (Web version) - ‘hledger-web [OPTIONS] # run temporarily & browse’ -‘hledger-web --serve [OPTIONS] # run without stopping’ -‘hledger-web --serve-api [OPTIONS] # run JSON server only’ -‘hledger web -- [OPTIONS] [QUERYARGS]’ # start from hledger + 'hledger-web [OPTIONS] # run temporarily & browse' +'hledger-web --serve [OPTIONS] # run without stopping' +'hledger-web --serve-api [OPTIONS] # run JSON server only' +'hledger web -- [OPTIONS] [QUERYARGS]' # start from hledger - This manual is for hledger’s web interface, version 1.29.99. See + This manual is for hledger's web interface, version 1.29.99. See also the hledger manual for common concepts and file formats. hledger is a robust, user-friendly, cross-platform set of programs @@ -41,21 +41,21 @@ numbered backup of the main journal file (only) on every edit. Like hledger, it reads data from one or more files in journal, timeclock, timedot, or CSV format. The default file is -‘.hledger.journal’ in your home directory; this can be overridden with -one or more ‘-f FILE’ options, or the ‘LEDGER_FILE’ environment +'.hledger.journal' in your home directory; this can be overridden with +one or more '-f FILE' options, or the 'LEDGER_FILE' environment variable. For more about this see hledger(1). hledger-web can be run in three modes: - • Transient mode (the default): your default web browser will be + * Transient mode (the default): your default web browser will be opened to show the app if possible, and the app exits automatically after two minutes of inactivity (no requests received and no open browser windows viewing it). - • With ‘--serve’: the app runs without stopping, and without opening + * With '--serve': the app runs without stopping, and without opening a browser. - • With ‘--serve-api’: only the JSON API is served. + * With '--serve-api': only the JSON API is served. In all cases hledger-web runs as a foreground process, logging requests to stdout. @@ -82,180 +82,180 @@ Command-line options and arguments may be used to set an initial filter on the data. These filter options are not shown in the web UI, but it will be applied in addition to any search query entered there. - Note: if invoking hledger-web as a hledger subcommand, write ‘--’ + Note: if invoking hledger-web as a hledger subcommand, write '--' before options, as shown in the synopsis above. -‘--serve’ +'--serve' - serve and log requests, don’t browse or auto-exit after timeout -‘--serve-api’ + serve and log requests, don't browse or auto-exit after timeout +'--serve-api' - like –serve, but serve only the JSON web API, without the + like -serve, but serve only the JSON web API, without the server-side web UI -‘--host=IPADDR’ +'--host=IPADDR' listen on this IP address (default: 127.0.0.1) -‘--port=PORT’ +'--port=PORT' listen on this TCP port (default: 5000) -‘--socket=SOCKETFILE’ +'--socket=SOCKETFILE' use a unix domain socket file to listen for requests instead of a - TCP socket. Implies ‘--serve’. It can only be used if the + TCP socket. Implies '--serve'. It can only be used if the operating system can provide this type of socket. -‘--base-url=URL’ +'--base-url=URL' set the base url (default: http://IPADDR:PORT). Note: affects url generation but not route parsing. Can be useful if running behind a reverse web proxy that does path rewriting. -‘--file-url=URL’ +'--file-url=URL' set the static files url (default: BASEURL/static). hledger-web normally serves static files itself, but if you wanted to serve them from another server for efficiency, you would set the url with this. -‘--capabilities=CAP[,CAP..]’ +'--capabilities=CAP[,CAP..]' enable the view, add, and/or manage capabilities (default: view,add) -‘--capabilities-header=HTTPHEADER’ +'--capabilities-header=HTTPHEADER' read capabilities to enable from a HTTP header, like X-Sandstorm-Permissions (default: disabled) -‘--test’ +'--test' - run hledger-web’s tests and exit. hspec test runner args may - follow a –, eg: hledger-web –test – –help + run hledger-web's tests and exit. hspec test runner args may + follow a -, eg: hledger-web -test - -help hledger input options: -‘-f FILE --file=FILE’ +'-f FILE --file=FILE' use a different input file. For stdin, use - (default: - ‘$LEDGER_FILE’ or ‘$HOME/.hledger.journal’) -‘--rules-file=RULESFILE’ + '$LEDGER_FILE' or '$HOME/.hledger.journal') +'--rules-file=RULESFILE' Conversion rules file to use when reading CSV (default: FILE.rules) -‘--separator=CHAR’ +'--separator=CHAR' - Field separator to expect when reading CSV (default: ’,’) -‘--alias=OLD=NEW’ + Field separator to expect when reading CSV (default: ',') +'--alias=OLD=NEW' rename accounts named OLD to NEW -‘--anon’ +'--anon' anonymize accounts and payees -‘--pivot FIELDNAME’ +'--pivot FIELDNAME' use some other field or tag for the account name -‘-I --ignore-assertions’ +'-I --ignore-assertions' disable balance assertion checks (note: does not disable balance assignments) -‘-s --strict’ +'-s --strict' do extra error checking (check that all posted accounts are declared) hledger reporting options: -‘-b --begin=DATE’ +'-b --begin=DATE' include postings/txns on or after this date (will be adjusted to preceding subperiod start when using a report interval) -‘-e --end=DATE’ +'-e --end=DATE' include postings/txns before this date (will be adjusted to following subperiod end when using a report interval) -‘-D --daily’ +'-D --daily' multiperiod/multicolumn report by day -‘-W --weekly’ +'-W --weekly' multiperiod/multicolumn report by week -‘-M --monthly’ +'-M --monthly' multiperiod/multicolumn report by month -‘-Q --quarterly’ +'-Q --quarterly' multiperiod/multicolumn report by quarter -‘-Y --yearly’ +'-Y --yearly' multiperiod/multicolumn report by year -‘-p --period=PERIODEXP’ +'-p --period=PERIODEXP' set start date, end date, and/or reporting interval all at once using period expressions syntax -‘--date2’ +'--date2' match the secondary date instead (see command help for other effects) -‘--today=DATE’ +'--today=DATE' - override today’s date (affects relative smart dates, for + override today's date (affects relative smart dates, for tests/examples) -‘-U --unmarked’ +'-U --unmarked' include only unmarked postings/txns (can combine with -P or -C) -‘-P --pending’ +'-P --pending' include only pending postings/txns -‘-C --cleared’ +'-C --cleared' include only cleared postings/txns -‘-R --real’ +'-R --real' include only non-virtual postings -‘-NUM --depth=NUM’ +'-NUM --depth=NUM' hide/aggregate accounts or postings more than NUM levels deep -‘-E --empty’ +'-E --empty' show items with zero amount, normally hidden (and vice-versa in hledger-ui/hledger-web) -‘-B --cost’ +'-B --cost' convert amounts to their cost/selling amount at transaction time -‘-V --market’ +'-V --market' convert amounts to their market value in default valuation commodities -‘-X --exchange=COMM’ +'-X --exchange=COMM' convert amounts to their market value in commodity COMM -‘--value’ +'--value' convert amounts to cost or market value, more flexibly than -B/-V/-X -‘--infer-market-prices’ +'--infer-market-prices' use transaction prices (recorded with @ or @@) as additional market prices, as if they were P directives -‘--auto’ +'--auto' apply automated posting rules to modify transactions. -‘--forecast’ +'--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. -‘--commodity-style’ +'--commodity-style' Override the commodity style in the output for the specified - commodity. For example ’EUR1.000,00’. -‘--color=WHEN (or --colour=WHEN)’ + commodity. For example 'EUR1.000,00'. +'--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 + 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. -‘--pretty[=WHEN]’ +'--pretty[=WHEN]' Show prettier output, e.g. using unicode box-drawing characters. - Accepts ’yes’ (the default) or ’no’ (’y’, ’n’, ’always’, ’never’ - also work). If you provide an argument you must use ’=’, e.g. - ’–pretty=yes’. + Accepts 'yes' (the default) or 'no' ('y', 'n', 'always', 'never' + also work). If you provide an argument you must use '=', e.g. + '-pretty=yes'. When a reporting option appears more than once in the command line, the last one takes precedence. @@ -264,53 +264,53 @@ the last one takes precedence. hledger help options: -‘-h --help’ +'-h --help' show general or COMMAND help -‘--man’ +'--man' show general or COMMAND user manual with man -‘--info’ +'--info' show general or COMMAND user manual with info -‘--version’ +'--version' show general or ADDONCMD version -‘--debug[=N]’ +'--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.) +this, insert a '--' argument before.) By default the server listens on IP address 127.0.0.1, accessible -only to local requests. You can use ‘--host’ to change this, eg ‘--host -0.0.0.0’ to listen on all configured addresses. +only to local requests. You can use '--host' to change this, eg '--host +0.0.0.0' to listen on all configured addresses. - Similarly, use ‘--port’ to set a TCP port other than 5000, eg if you + Similarly, use '--port' to set a TCP port other than 5000, eg if you are running multiple hledger-web instances. - Both of these options are ignored when ‘--socket’ is used. In this -case, it creates an ‘AF_UNIX’ socket file at the supplied path and uses + Both of these options are ignored when '--socket' is used. In this +case, it creates an 'AF_UNIX' socket file at the supplied path and uses that for communication. This is an alternative way of running multiple hledger-web instances behind a reverse proxy that handles authentication for different users. The path can be derived in a predictable way, eg -by using the username within the path. As an example, ‘nginx’ as -reverse proxy can use the variable ‘$remote_user’ to derive a path from +by using the username within the path. As an example, 'nginx' as +reverse proxy can use the variable '$remote_user' to derive a path from the username used in a HTTP basic authentication. The following -‘proxy_pass’ directive allows access to all ‘hledger-web’ instances that -created a socket in ‘/tmp/hledger/’: +'proxy_pass' directive allows access to all 'hledger-web' instances that +created a socket in '/tmp/hledger/': proxy_pass http://unix:/tmp/hledger/${remote_user}.socket; - You can use ‘--base-url’ to change the protocol, hostname, port and + You can use '--base-url' to change the protocol, hostname, port and path that appear in hyperlinks, useful eg for integrating hledger-web -within a larger website. The default is ‘http://HOST:PORT/’ using the -server’s configured host address and TCP port (or ‘http://HOST’ if PORT +within a larger website. The default is 'http://HOST:PORT/' using the +server's configured host address and TCP port (or 'http://HOST' if PORT is 80). - With ‘--file-url’ you can set a different base url for static files, + With '--file-url' you can set a different base url for static files, eg for better caching or cookie-less serving on high performance websites. @@ -325,28 +325,28 @@ journal and to add new transactions, but not to change existing data. You can restrict who can reach it by - • setting the IP address it listens on (see ‘--host’ above). By + * setting the IP address it listens on (see '--host' above). By default it listens on 127.0.0.1, accessible to all users on the local machine. - • putting it behind an authenticating proxy, using eg apache or nginx - • custom firewall rules + * putting it behind an authenticating proxy, using eg apache or nginx + * custom firewall rules You can restrict what the users who reach it can do, by - • using the ‘--capabilities=CAP[,CAP..]’ flag when you start it, + * using the '--capabilities=CAP[,CAP..]' flag when you start it, enabling one or more of the following capabilities. The default - value is ‘view,add’: - • ‘view’ - allows viewing the journal file and all included + value is 'view,add': + * 'view' - allows viewing the journal file and all included files - • ‘add’ - allows adding new transactions to the main journal + * 'add' - allows adding new transactions to the main journal file - • ‘manage’ - allows editing, uploading or downloading the main + * 'manage' - allows editing, uploading or downloading the main or included files - • using the ‘--capabilities-header=HTTPHEADER’ flag to specify a HTTP + * using the '--capabilities-header=HTTPHEADER' flag to specify a HTTP header from which it will read capabilities to enable. hledger-web on Sandstorm uses the X-Sandstorm-Permissions header to integrate - with Sandstorm’s permissions. This is disabled by default. + with Sandstorm's permissions. This is disabled by default.  File: hledger-web.info, Node: EDITING UPLOADING DOWNLOADING, Next: RELOADING, Prev: PERMISSIONS, Up: Top @@ -354,7 +354,7 @@ File: hledger-web.info, Node: EDITING UPLOADING DOWNLOADING, Next: RELOADING, 3 EDITING, UPLOADING, DOWNLOADING ********************************* -If you enable the ‘manage’ capability mentioned above, you’ll see a new +If you enable the 'manage' capability mentioned above, you'll see a new "spanner" button to the right of the search form. Clicking this will let you edit, upload, or download the journal file or any files it includes. @@ -365,7 +365,7 @@ visitor) can alter or wipe the data files. Normally whenever a file is changed in this way, hledger-web saves a numbered backup (assuming file permissions allow it, the disk is not full, etc.) hledger-web is not aware of version control systems, -currently; if you use one, you’ll have to arrange to commit the changes +currently; if you use one, you'll have to arrange to commit the changes yourself (eg with a cron job or a file watcher like entr). Changes which would leave the journal file(s) unparseable or @@ -395,7 +395,7 @@ File: hledger-web.info, Node: JSON API, Next: DEBUG OUTPUT, Prev: RELOADING, In addition to the web UI, hledger-web also serves a JSON API that can be used to get data or add new transactions. If you want the JSON API -only, you can use the ‘--serve-api’ flag. Eg: +only, you can use the '--serve-api' flag. Eg: $ hledger-web -f examples/sample.journal --serve-api ... @@ -411,7 +411,7 @@ $ hledger-web -f examples/sample.journal --serve-api /accounttransactions/ACCOUNTNAME Eg, all account names in the journal (similar to the accounts -command). (hledger-web’s JSON does not include newlines, here we use +command). (hledger-web's JSON does not include newlines, here we use python to prettify it): $ curl -s http://127.0.0.1:5000/accountnames | python -m json.tool @@ -452,7 +452,7 @@ $ curl -s http://127.0.0.1:5000/transactions | python -m json.tool "aprice": null, ... - Most of the JSON corresponds to hledger’s data types; for details of + Most of the JSON corresponds to hledger's data types; for details of what the fields mean, see the Hledger.Data.Json haddock docs and click on the various data types, eg Transaction. And for a higher level understanding, see the journal docs. @@ -460,25 +460,25 @@ understanding, see the journal docs. In some cases there is outer JSON corresponding to a "Report" type. To understand that, go to the Hledger.Web.Handler.MiscR haddock and look at the source for the appropriate handler to see what it returns. Eg -for ‘/accounttransactions’ it’s getAccounttransactionsR, returning a -"‘accountTransactionsReport ...’". Looking up the haddock for that we +for '/accounttransactions' it's getAccounttransactionsR, returning a +"'accountTransactionsReport ...'". Looking up the haddock for that we can see that /accounttransactions returns an AccountTransactionsReport, which consists of a report title and a list of AccountTransactionsReportItem (etc). You can add a new transaction to the journal with a PUT request to -‘/add’, if hledger-web was started with the ‘add’ capability (enabled by +'/add', if hledger-web was started with the 'add' capability (enabled by default). The payload must be the full, exact JSON representation of a -hledger transaction (partial data won’t do). You can get sample JSON -from hledger-web’s ‘/transactions’ or ‘/accounttransactions’, or you can +hledger transaction (partial data won't do). You can get sample JSON +from hledger-web's '/transactions' or '/accounttransactions', or you can export it with hledger-lib, eg like so: .../hledger$ stack ghci hledger-lib >>> writeJsonFile "txn.json" (head $ jtxns samplejournal) >>> :q - Here’s how it looks as of hledger-1.17 (remember, this JSON -corresponds to hledger’s Transaction and related data types): + Here's how it looks as of hledger-1.17 (remember, this JSON +corresponds to hledger's Transaction and related data types): { "tcomment": "", @@ -566,7 +566,7 @@ corresponds to hledger’s Transaction and related data types): "tstatus": "Unmarked" } - And here’s how to test adding it with curl. This should add a new + And here's how to test adding it with curl. This should add a new entry to your journal: $ curl http://127.0.0.1:5000/add -X PUT -H 'Content-Type: application/json' --data-binary @txn.json @@ -587,13 +587,13 @@ File: hledger-web.info, Node: Debug output, Up: DEBUG OUTPUT 6.1 Debug output ================ -You can add ‘--debug[=N]’ to the command line to log debug output. N +You can add '--debug[=N]' to the command line to log debug output. N ranges from 1 (least output, the default) to 9 (maximum output). Typically you would start with 1 and increase until you are seeing enough. Debug output goes to stderr, interleaved with the requests logged on stdout. To capture debug output in a log file instead, you can usually redirect stderr, eg: -‘hledger-web --debug=3 2>hledger-web.log’. +'hledger-web --debug=3 2>hledger-web.log'.  File: hledger-web.info, Node: ENVIRONMENT, Next: FILES, Prev: DEBUG OUTPUT, Up: Top @@ -601,33 +601,33 @@ File: hledger-web.info, Node: ENVIRONMENT, Next: FILES, Prev: DEBUG OUTPUT, 7 ENVIRONMENT ************* -*LEDGER_FILE* The journal file path when not specified with ‘-f’. +*LEDGER_FILE* The journal file path when not specified with '-f'. - On unix computers, the default value is: ‘~/.hledger.journal’. + On unix computers, the default value is: '~/.hledger.journal'. - A more typical value is something like ‘~/finance/YYYY.journal’, -where ‘~/finance’ is a version-controlled finance directory and YYYY is -the current year. Or, ‘~/finance/current.journal’, where + A more typical value is something like '~/finance/YYYY.journal', +where '~/finance' is a version-controlled finance directory and YYYY is +the current year. Or, '~/finance/current.journal', where current.journal is a symbolic link to YYYY.journal. The usual way to set this permanently is to add a command to one of -your shell’s startup files (eg ‘~/.profile’): +your shell's startup files (eg '~/.profile'): export LEDGER_FILE=~/finance/current.journal` On some Mac computers, there is a more thorough way to set environment variables, that will also affect applications started from the GUI (eg, Emacs started from a dock icon): In -‘~/.MacOSX/environment.plist’, add an entry like: +'~/.MacOSX/environment.plist', add an entry like: { "LEDGER_FILE" : "~/finance/current.journal" } - For this to take effect you might need to ‘killall Dock’, or reboot. + For this to take effect you might need to 'killall Dock', or reboot. On Windows computers, the default value is probably -‘C:\Users\YOURNAME\.hledger.journal’. You can change this by running a +'C:\Users\YOURNAME\.hledger.journal'. You can change this by running a command like this in a powershell window (let us know if you need to be an Administrator, and if this persists across a reboot): @@ -643,9 +643,9 @@ File: hledger-web.info, Node: FILES, Next: BUGS, Prev: ENVIRONMENT, Up: Top ******* Reads data from one or more files in journal, timeclock, timedot, or CSV -format. The default file is ‘.hledger.journal’ in your home directory; -this can be overridden with one or more ‘-f FILE’ options, or the -‘LEDGER_FILE’ environment variable. +format. The default file is '.hledger.journal' in your home directory; +this can be overridden with one or more '-f FILE' options, or the +'LEDGER_FILE' environment variable.  File: hledger-web.info, Node: BUGS, Prev: FILES, Up: Top @@ -653,7 +653,7 @@ File: hledger-web.info, Node: BUGS, Prev: FILES, Up: Top 9 BUGS ****** -‘-f-’ doesn’t work (hledger-web can’t read from stdin). +'-f-' doesn't work (hledger-web can't read from stdin). Query arguments and some hledger options are ignored. @@ -664,26 +664,26 @@ File: hledger-web.info, Node: BUGS, Prev: FILES, Up: Top  Tag Table: Node: Top225 -Node: OPTIONS2727 -Ref: #options2832 -Node: PERMISSIONS10626 -Ref: #permissions10765 -Node: EDITING UPLOADING DOWNLOADING12023 -Ref: #editing-uploading-downloading12204 -Node: RELOADING13046 -Ref: #reloading13180 -Node: JSON API13613 -Ref: #json-api13728 -Node: DEBUG OUTPUT19260 -Ref: #debug-output19385 -Node: Debug output19412 -Ref: #debug-output-119513 -Node: ENVIRONMENT19938 -Ref: #environment20058 -Node: FILES21407 -Ref: #files21507 -Node: BUGS21767 -Ref: #bugs21845 +Node: OPTIONS2683 +Ref: #options2788 +Node: PERMISSIONS10225 +Ref: #permissions10364 +Node: EDITING UPLOADING DOWNLOADING11576 +Ref: #editing-uploading-downloading11757 +Node: RELOADING12591 +Ref: #reloading12725 +Node: JSON API13158 +Ref: #json-api13273 +Node: DEBUG OUTPUT18761 +Ref: #debug-output18886 +Node: Debug output18913 +Ref: #debug-output-119014 +Node: ENVIRONMENT19431 +Ref: #environment19551 +Node: FILES20862 +Ref: #files20962 +Node: BUGS21210 +Ref: #bugs21288  End Tag Table diff --git a/hledger-web/hledger-web.txt b/hledger-web/hledger-web.txt index 98783e8f9..6c5220667 100644 --- a/hledger-web/hledger-web.txt +++ b/hledger-web/hledger-web.txt @@ -608,4 +608,4 @@ SEE ALSO -hledger-web-1.29.99 March 2023 HLEDGER-WEB(1) +hledger-web-1.29.99 April 2023 HLEDGER-WEB(1) diff --git a/hledger/.date.m4 b/hledger/.date.m4 index 209e3d67e..8ea9dad02 100644 --- a/hledger/.date.m4 +++ b/hledger/.date.m4 @@ -1,2 +1,2 @@ m4_dnl Date to show in man pages. Updated by "Shake manuals" -m4_define({{_monthyear_}}, {{March 2023}})m4_dnl +m4_define({{_monthyear_}}, {{April 2023}})m4_dnl diff --git a/hledger/hledger.1 b/hledger/hledger.1 index 47d5b5064..c2f8e738c 100644 --- a/hledger/hledger.1 +++ b/hledger/hledger.1 @@ -1,6 +1,6 @@ .\"t -.TH "HLEDGER" "1" "March 2023" "hledger-1.29.99 " "hledger User Manuals" +.TH "HLEDGER" "1" "April 2023" "hledger-1.29.99 " "hledger User Manuals" @@ -1038,7 +1038,19 @@ otherwise, please let us know. .IP \[bu] 2 This is not yet much used; real-world feedback is welcome. .IP \[bu] 2 -SQL output is expected to work with sqlite, MySQL and PostgreSQL +SQL output is expected to work at least with SQLite, MySQL and Postgres. +.IP \[bu] 2 +For SQLite, it will be more useful if you modify the generated +\f[V]id\f[R] field to be a PRIMARY KEY. +Eg: +.RS 2 +.IP +.nf +\f[C] +$ hledger print -O sql | sed \[aq]s/id serial/id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT NOT NULL/g\[aq] | ... +\f[R] +.fi +.RE .IP \[bu] 2 SQL output is structured with the expectations that statements will be executed in the empty database. @@ -1091,6 +1103,32 @@ if the \f[V]--pretty\f[R] option is given a value of \f[V]yes\f[R] or characters will (or will not) be used; .IP \[bu] 2 otherwise, unicode characters will not be used. +.SS Paging +.PP +When showing long output in the terminal, hledger will try to use the +pager specified by the \f[V]PAGER\f[R] environment variable, or +\f[V]less\f[R], or \f[V]more\f[R]. +(A pager is a helper program that shows one page at a time rather than +scrolling everything off screen). +Currently it does this only for help output, not for reports; +specifically, +.IP \[bu] 2 +when listing commands, with \f[V]hledger\f[R] +.IP \[bu] 2 +when showing help with \f[V]hledger [CMD] --help\f[R], +.IP \[bu] 2 +when viewing manuals with \f[V]hledger help\f[R] or +\f[V]hledger --man\f[R]. +.PP +Note the pager is expected to handle ANSI codes, which hledger uses eg +for bold emphasis. +For the common pager \f[V]less\f[R] (and its \f[V]more\f[R] +compatibility mode), we add \f[V]R\f[R] to the \f[V]LESS\f[R] and +\f[V]MORE\f[R] environment variables to make this work. +If you use a different pager, you might need to configure it similarly, +to avoid seeing junk on screen (let us know). +Otherwise, you can set the \f[V]NO_COLOR\f[R] environment variable to 1 +to disable all ANSI output (see Colour). .SS Debug output .PP We intend hledger to be relatively easy to troubleshoot, introspect and @@ -6067,41 +6105,25 @@ More complex intervals can be specified using \f[V]-p/--period\f[R], described below. .SS Date adjustment .PP -With a report interval (other than daily), report start / end dates -which have not been specified explicitly and in full (eg not -\f[V]-b 2023-01-01\f[R], but \f[V]-b 2023-01\f[R] or \f[V]-b 2023\f[R] -or unspecified) are considered flexible: +When there is a report interval (other than daily), report start/end +dates which have been inferred, eg from the journal, are automatically +adjusted to natural period boundaries. +This is convenient for producing simple periodic reports. +More precisely: .IP \[bu] 2 -A flexible start date will be automatically adjusted earlier if needed -to fall on a natural interval boundary. +an inferred start date will be adjusted earlier if needed to fall on a +natural period boundary .IP \[bu] 2 -Similarly, a flexible end date will be adjusted later if needed to make -the last period a whole interval (the same length as the others). +an inferred end date will be adjusted later if needed to make the last +period the same length as the others. .PP -This is convenient for producing clean periodic reports (this is -traditional hledger behaviour). -By contrast, fully-specified exact dates will not be adjusted (this is -new in hledger 1.29). -.PP -An example: with a journal whose first date is 2023-01-10 and last date -is 2023-03-20: -.IP \[bu] 2 -\f[V]hledger bal -M -b 2023/1/15 -e 2023/3/10\f[R] -.PD 0 -.P -.PD -The report periods will begin on the 15th day of each month, starting -from 2023-01-15, and the last period\[aq]s last day will be 2023-03-09. -(Exact start and end dates, neither is adjusted.) -.IP \[bu] 2 -\f[V]hledger bal -M -b 2023-01 -e 2023-04\f[R] or -\f[V]hledger bal -M\f[R] -.PD 0 -.P -.PD -The report periods will begin on the 1st of each month, starting from -2023-01-01, and the last period\[aq]s last day will be 2023-03-31. -(Flexible start and end dates, both are adjusted.) +By contrast, start/end dates which have been specified explicitly, with +\f[V]-b\f[R], \f[V]-e\f[R], \f[V]-p\f[R] or \f[V]date:\f[R], will not be +adjusted (since hledger 1.29). +This makes it possible to specify non-standard report periods, but it +also means that if you are specifying a start date, you should pick one +that\[aq]s on a period boundary if you want to see simple report period +headings. .SS Period expressions .PP The \f[V]-p/--period\f[R] option specifies a period expression, which is @@ -9935,51 +9957,73 @@ use the manual-review-and-mark-cleared phase as a reminder to check the latest assertions against real-world balances. .SS close .PP -\f[V]close [--retain | --migrate | --open] [QUERY]\f[R] +(equity) .PP -By default: prints a transaction that zeroes out (\[dq]closes\[dq]) all -accounts, transferring their balances to an equity account. -Query arguments can be added to override the accounts selection. -Three other modes are supported: +Generate transactions which transfer account balances to and/or from +another account (typically equity). +This can be useful for migrating balances to a new journal file, or for +merging earnings into equity at end of accounting period. .PP -\f[V]--retain\f[R]: prints a transaction closing revenue and expense -balances. -This is traditionally done by businesses at the end of each accounting -period; it is less necessary in personal and computer-based accounting, -but it can help balance the accounting equation A=L+E. +By default, it prints a transaction that zeroes out ALE accounts (asset, +liability, equity accounts; this requires account types to be +configured); or if ACCTQUERY is provided, the accounts matched by that. .PP -\f[V]--migrate\f[R]: prints a transaction to close asset, liability and -most equity balances, and another transaction to re-open them. -This can be useful when starting a new file (for performance or data -protection). -Adding the closing transaction to the old file allows old and new files -to be combined. +\f[I](experimental)\f[R] .PP -\f[V]--open\f[R]: as above, but prints just the opening transaction. -This can be useful for starting a new file, leaving the old file -unchanged. -Similar to Ledger\[aq]s equity command. +This command has four main modes, corresponding to the most common use +cases: +.IP "1." 3 +With \f[V]--close\f[R] (default), it prints a \[dq]closing balances\[dq] +transaction that zeroes out ALE (asset, liability, equity) accounts by +default (this requires account types to be inferred or declared); or, +the accounts matched by the provided ACCTQUERY arguments. +.IP "2." 3 +With \f[V]--open\f[R], it prints an opposite \[dq]opening balances\[dq] +transaction that restores those balances from zero. +This is similar to Ledger\[aq]s equity command. +.IP "3." 3 +With \f[V]--migrate\f[R], it prints both the closing and opening +transactions. +This is the preferred way to migrate balances to a new file: run +\f[V]hledger close --migrate\f[R], add the closing transaction at the +end of the old file, and add the opening transaction at the start of the +new file. +The matching closing/opening transactions cancel each other out, +preserving correct balances during multi-file reporting. +.IP "4." 3 +With \f[V]--retain\f[R], it prints a \[dq]retain earnings\[dq] +transaction that transfers RX (revenue and expense) balances to +\f[V]equity:retained earnings\f[R]. +Businesses traditionally do this at the end of each accounting period; +it is less necessary with computer-based accounting, but it could still +be useful if you want to see the accounting equation (A=L+E) satisfied. .PP -You can change the equity account name with \f[V]--close-acct ACCT\f[R]. -It defaults to \f[V]equity:retained earnings\f[R] with -\f[V]--retain\f[R], or \f[V]equity:opening/closing balances\f[R] -otherwise. +In all modes, the defaults can be overridden: +.IP \[bu] 2 +the transaction descriptions can be changed with +\f[V]--close-desc=DESC\f[R] and \f[V]--open-desc=DESC\f[R] +.IP \[bu] 2 +the account to transfer to/from can be changed with +\f[V]--close-acct=ACCT\f[R] and \f[V]--open-acct=ACCT\f[R] +.IP \[bu] 2 +the accounts to be closed/opened can be changed with \f[V]ACCTQUERY\f[R] +(account query arguments). .PP -You can change the transaction description(s) with -\f[V]--close-desc \[aq]DESC\[aq]\f[R] and -\f[V]--open-desc \[aq]DESC\[aq]\f[R]. -It defaults to \f[V]retain earnings\f[R] with \f[V]--retain\f[R], or -\f[V]closing balances\f[R] and \f[V]opening balances\f[R] otherwise. -.PP -Just one posting to the equity account will be used by default, with an -implicit amount. -.PP -With \f[V]--x/--explicit\f[R] the amount will be shown explicitly, and +By default just one destination/source posting will be used, with its +amount left implicit. +With \f[V]--x/--explicit\f[R], the amount will be shown explicitly, and if it involves multiple commodities, a separate posting will be -generated for each commodity. +generated for each of them (similar to \f[V]print -x\f[R]). .PP -With \f[V]--interleaved\f[R], each equity posting is shown next to the -corresponding source/destination posting. +With \f[V]--show-costs\f[R], any amount costs are shown, with separate +postings for each cost. +This is currently the best way to view investment lots. +If you have many currency conversion or investment transactions, it can +generate very large journal entries. +.PP +With \f[V]--interleaved\f[R], each individual transfer is shown with +source and destination postings next to each other. +This could be useful for troubleshooting. .PP The default closing date is yesterday, or the journal\[aq]s end date, whichever is later. @@ -9988,14 +10032,6 @@ date does not matter.) The last day of the report period will be the closing date; eg \f[V]-e 2022\f[R] means \[dq]close on 2022-12-31\[dq]. The opening date is always the day after the closing date. -.SS close and costs -.PP -With \f[V]--show-costs\f[R], any amount costs are shown, with separate -postings for each cost. -(This currently the best way to view investment assets, showing lots and -cost bases.) -If you have many currency conversion or investment transactions, it can -generate very large journal entries. .SS close and balance assertions .PP Balance assertions will be generated, verifying that the accounts have @@ -10049,9 +10085,9 @@ $ hledger close --retain -f 2022.journal -p 2022 >> 2022.journal \f[R] .fi .PP -Now 2022\[aq]s income statement will show only zeroes. -To see it again, exclude the retain transaction. -Eg: +Note 2022\[aq]s income statement will now show only zeroes, because +revenues and expenses have been moved entirely to equity. +To see them again, you could exclude the retain transaction: .IP .nf \f[C] @@ -10075,8 +10111,8 @@ Now 2022\[aq]s balance sheet will show only zeroes, indicating a balanced accounting equation. (Unless you are using \[at]/\[at]\[at] notation - in that case, try adding --infer-equity.) -To see it again, exclude the closing transaction. -Eg: +To see the end-of-year balances again, you could exclude the closing +transaction: .IP .nf \f[C] @@ -10086,13 +10122,16 @@ $ hledger -f 2022.journal bs not:desc:\[aq]closing balances\[aq] .SS Example: excluding closing/opening transactions .PP When combining many files for multi-year reports, the closing/opening -transactions cause some noise in reports like \f[V]print\f[R] and -\f[V]register\f[R]. -You can exclude them as shown above, but \f[V]not:desc:...\f[R] could be -fragile, and also you will need to avoid excluding the very first -opening transaction, which can be awkward. -Here is a way to do it, using tags: add \f[V]clopen:\f[R] tags to all -opening/closing balances transactions except the first, like this: +transactions cause some noise in transaction-oriented reports like +\f[V]print\f[R] and \f[V]register\f[R]. +You can exclude them as shown above, but \f[V]not:desc:...\f[R] is not +ideal as it depends on consistent descriptions; also you will want to +avoid excluding the very first opening transaction, which could be +awkward. +Here is one alternative, using tags: +.PP +Add \f[V]clopen:\f[R] tags to all opening/closing balances transactions +except the first, like this: .IP .nf \f[C] diff --git a/hledger/hledger.info b/hledger/hledger.info index 827ea862d..c2923ea50 100644 --- a/hledger/hledger.info +++ b/hledger/hledger.info @@ -13,9 +13,9 @@ hledger(1) hledger - robust, friendly plain text accounting (CLI version) - ‘hledger’ -‘hledger [-f FILE] COMMAND [OPTS] [ARGS]’ -‘hledger [-f FILE] ADDONCMD -- [OPTS] [ARGS]’ + 'hledger' +'hledger [-f FILE] COMMAND [OPTS] [ARGS]' +'hledger [-f FILE] ADDONCMD -- [OPTS] [ARGS]' hledger is a robust, user-friendly, cross-platform set of programs for tracking money, time, or any other commodity, using double-entry @@ -23,28 +23,28 @@ accounting and a simple, editable file format. hledger is inspired by and largely compatible with ledger(1), and largely interconvertible with beancount(1). - This manual is for hledger’s command line interface, version 1.29.99. + This manual is for hledger's command line interface, version 1.29.99. It also describes the common options, file formats and concepts used by all hledger programs. It might accidentally teach you some -bookkeeping/accounting as well! You don’t need to know everything in +bookkeeping/accounting as well! You don't need to know everything in here to use hledger productively, but when you have a question about functionality, this doc should answer it. It is detailed, so do skip ahead or skim when needed. You can read it on hledger.org, or as an info manual or man page on your system. You can also get it from hledger itself with -‘hledger --man’, ‘hledger --info’ or ‘hledger help [TOPIC]’. +'hledger --man', 'hledger --info' or 'hledger help [TOPIC]'. The main function of the hledger CLI is to read plain text files describing financial transactions, crunch the numbers, and print a useful report on the terminal (or save it as HTML, CSV, JSON or SQL). Many reports are available, as subcommands. hledger will also detect -other ‘hledger-*’ executables as extra subcommands. +other 'hledger-*' executables as extra subcommands. hledger reads data from one or more files in journal, timeclock, -timedot, or CSV format. The default file is ‘.hledger.journal’ in your -home directory; this can be overridden with one or more ‘-f FILE’ -options, or the ‘LEDGER_FILE’ environment variable. hledger CLI can -also read from stdin with ‘-f-’; more on that below. +timedot, or CSV format. The default file is '.hledger.journal' in your +home directory; this can be overridden with one or more '-f FILE' +options, or the 'LEDGER_FILE' environment variable. hledger CLI can +also read from stdin with '-f-'; more on that below. Here is a small but valid hledger journal file describing one transaction: @@ -55,28 +55,28 @@ transaction: Transactions are dated movements of money (etc.) between two or more _accounts_: bank accounts, your wallet, revenue/expense categories, -people, etc. You can choose any account names you wish, using ‘:’ to +people, etc. You can choose any account names you wish, using ':' to indicate subaccounts. There must be at least two spaces between account name and amount. Positive amounts are inflow to that account (_debit_), negatives are outflow from it (_credit_). (Some reports show revenue, liability and equity account balances as negative numbers as a result; this is normal.) - hledger’s add command can help you add transactions, or you can + hledger's add command can help you add transactions, or you can install other data entry UIs like hledger-web or hledger-iadd. For more extensive/efficient changes, use a text editor: Emacs + ledger-mode, VIM + vim-ledger, or VS Code + hledger-vscode are some good choices (see https://hledger.org/editors.html). - To get started, run ‘hledger add’ and follow the prompts, or save -some entries like the above in ‘$HOME/.hledger.journal’, then try + To get started, run 'hledger add' and follow the prompts, or save +some entries like the above in '$HOME/.hledger.journal', then try commands like: -‘hledger print -x’ -‘hledger aregister assets’ -‘hledger balance’ -‘hledger balancesheet’ -‘hledger incomestatement’. -Run ‘hledger’ to list the commands. See also the "Starting a journal +'hledger print -x' +'hledger aregister assets' +'hledger balance' +'hledger balancesheet' +'hledger incomestatement'. +Run 'hledger' to list the commands. See also the "Starting a journal file" and "Setting opening balances" sections in PART 5: COMMON TASKS. * Menu: @@ -135,155 +135,155 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: General options, Next: Command options, Up: Options =================== To see general usage help, including general options which are supported -by most hledger commands, run ‘hledger -h’. +by most hledger commands, run 'hledger -h'. General help options: -‘-h --help’ +'-h --help' show general or COMMAND help -‘--man’ +'--man' show general or COMMAND user manual with man -‘--info’ +'--info' show general or COMMAND user manual with info -‘--version’ +'--version' show general or ADDONCMD version -‘--debug[=N]’ +'--debug[=N]' show debug output (levels 1-9, default: 1) General input options: -‘-f FILE --file=FILE’ +'-f FILE --file=FILE' use a different input file. For stdin, use - (default: - ‘$LEDGER_FILE’ or ‘$HOME/.hledger.journal’) -‘--rules-file=RULESFILE’ + '$LEDGER_FILE' or '$HOME/.hledger.journal') +'--rules-file=RULESFILE' Conversion rules file to use when reading CSV (default: FILE.rules) -‘--separator=CHAR’ +'--separator=CHAR' - Field separator to expect when reading CSV (default: ’,’) -‘--alias=OLD=NEW’ + Field separator to expect when reading CSV (default: ',') +'--alias=OLD=NEW' rename accounts named OLD to NEW -‘--anon’ +'--anon' anonymize accounts and payees -‘--pivot FIELDNAME’ +'--pivot FIELDNAME' use some other field or tag for the account name -‘-I --ignore-assertions’ +'-I --ignore-assertions' disable balance assertion checks (note: does not disable balance assignments) -‘-s --strict’ +'-s --strict' do extra error checking (check that all posted accounts are declared) General reporting options: -‘-b --begin=DATE’ +'-b --begin=DATE' include postings/txns on or after this date (will be adjusted to preceding subperiod start when using a report interval) -‘-e --end=DATE’ +'-e --end=DATE' include postings/txns before this date (will be adjusted to following subperiod end when using a report interval) -‘-D --daily’ +'-D --daily' multiperiod/multicolumn report by day -‘-W --weekly’ +'-W --weekly' multiperiod/multicolumn report by week -‘-M --monthly’ +'-M --monthly' multiperiod/multicolumn report by month -‘-Q --quarterly’ +'-Q --quarterly' multiperiod/multicolumn report by quarter -‘-Y --yearly’ +'-Y --yearly' multiperiod/multicolumn report by year -‘-p --period=PERIODEXP’ +'-p --period=PERIODEXP' set start date, end date, and/or reporting interval all at once using period expressions syntax -‘--date2’ +'--date2' match the secondary date instead (see command help for other effects) -‘--today=DATE’ +'--today=DATE' - override today’s date (affects relative smart dates, for + override today's date (affects relative smart dates, for tests/examples) -‘-U --unmarked’ +'-U --unmarked' include only unmarked postings/txns (can combine with -P or -C) -‘-P --pending’ +'-P --pending' include only pending postings/txns -‘-C --cleared’ +'-C --cleared' include only cleared postings/txns -‘-R --real’ +'-R --real' include only non-virtual postings -‘-NUM --depth=NUM’ +'-NUM --depth=NUM' hide/aggregate accounts or postings more than NUM levels deep -‘-E --empty’ +'-E --empty' show items with zero amount, normally hidden (and vice-versa in hledger-ui/hledger-web) -‘-B --cost’ +'-B --cost' convert amounts to their cost/selling amount at transaction time -‘-V --market’ +'-V --market' convert amounts to their market value in default valuation commodities -‘-X --exchange=COMM’ +'-X --exchange=COMM' convert amounts to their market value in commodity COMM -‘--value’ +'--value' convert amounts to cost or market value, more flexibly than -B/-V/-X -‘--infer-market-prices’ +'--infer-market-prices' use transaction prices (recorded with @ or @@) as additional market prices, as if they were P directives -‘--auto’ +'--auto' apply automated posting rules to modify transactions. -‘--forecast’ +'--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. -‘--commodity-style’ +'--commodity-style' Override the commodity style in the output for the specified - commodity. For example ’EUR1.000,00’. -‘--color=WHEN (or --colour=WHEN)’ + commodity. For example 'EUR1.000,00'. +'--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 + 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. -‘--pretty[=WHEN]’ +'--pretty[=WHEN]' Show prettier output, e.g. using unicode box-drawing characters. - Accepts ’yes’ (the default) or ’no’ (’y’, ’n’, ’always’, ’never’ - also work). If you provide an argument you must use ’=’, e.g. - ’–pretty=yes’. + Accepts 'yes' (the default) or 'no' ('y', 'n', 'always', 'never' + also work). If you provide an argument you must use '=', e.g. + '-pretty=yes'. When a reporting option appears more than once in the command line, the last one takes precedence. @@ -297,14 +297,14 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Command options, Next: Command arguments, Prev: Gen =================== To see options for a particular command, including command-specific -options, run: ‘hledger COMMAND -h’. +options, run: 'hledger COMMAND -h'. Command-specific options must be written after the command name, eg: -‘hledger print -x’. +'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’. +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: Special characters, Prev: Command options, Up: Options @@ -316,13 +316,13 @@ 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’). +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 +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: @@ -366,7 +366,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Single escaping shell metacharacters, Next: Double e -------------------------------------------- In shell command lines, characters significant to your shell - such as -spaces, ‘<’, ‘>’, ‘(’, ‘)’, ‘|’, ‘$’ and ‘\’ - should be "shell-escaped" +spaces, '<', '>', '(', ')', '|', '$' and '\' - should be "shell-escaped" if you want hledger to see them. This is done by enclosing them in single or double quotes, or by writing a backslash before them. Eg to match an account name containing a space: @@ -377,7 +377,7 @@ $ hledger register 'credit card' $ hledger register credit\ card - Windows users should keep in mind that ‘cmd’ treats single quote as a + Windows users should keep in mind that 'cmd' treats single quote as a regular character, so you should be using double quotes exclusively. PowerShell treats both single and double quotes as quotes. @@ -388,12 +388,12 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Double escaping regular expression metacharacters, N --------------------------------------------------------- Characters significant in regular expressions (described below) - such -as ‘.’, ‘^’, ‘$’, ‘[’, ‘]’, ‘(’, ‘)’, ‘|’, and ‘\’ - may need to be -"regex-escaped" if you don’t want them to be interpreted by hledger’s +as '.', '^', '$', '[', ']', '(', ')', '|', and '\' - may need to be +"regex-escaped" if you don't want them to be interpreted by hledger's regular expression engine. This is done by writing backslashes before them, but since backslash is typically also a shell metacharacter, both shell-escaping and regex-escaping will be needed. Eg to match a literal -‘$’ sign while using the bash shell: +'$' sign while using the bash shell: $ hledger balance cur:'\$' @@ -410,8 +410,8 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Triple escaping for add-on commands, Next: Less esca When you use hledger to run an external add-on command (described below), one level of shell-escaping is lost from any options or arguments intended for by the add-on command, so those need an extra -level of shell-escaping. Eg to match a literal ‘$’ sign while using the -bash shell and running an add-on command (‘ui’): +level of shell-escaping. Eg to match a literal '$' sign while using the +bash shell and running an add-on command ('ui'): $ hledger ui cur:'\\$' @@ -421,10 +421,10 @@ $ hledger ui cur:\\\\$ If you wondered why _four_ backslashes, perhaps this helps: -unescaped: ‘$’ -escaped: ‘\$’ -double-escaped: ‘\\$’ -triple-escaped: ‘\\\\$’ +unescaped: '$' +escaped: '\$' +double-escaped: '\\$' +triple-escaped: '\\\\$' Or, you can avoid the extra escaping by running the add-on executable directly: @@ -441,10 +441,10 @@ Options and arguments are sometimes used in places other than the shell command line, where shell-escaping is not needed, so there you should use one less level of escaping. Those places include: - • an @argumentfile - • hledger-ui’s filter field - • hledger-web’s search form - • GHCI’s prompt (used by developers). + * an @argumentfile + * hledger-ui's filter field + * hledger-web's search form + * GHCI's prompt (used by developers).  File: hledger.info, Node: Unicode characters, Next: Regular expressions, Prev: Special characters, Up: Options @@ -454,32 +454,32 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Unicode characters, Next: Regular expressions, Prev 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 + * 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 + * 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 + * 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 + 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..) + * your terminal software (eg Terminal.app, iTerm, CMD.exe, xterm..) must support unicode - • the terminal must be using a font which includes the required + * the terminal must be using a font which includes the required unicode glyphs - • the terminal should be configured to display wide characters as + * 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 + * 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 @@ -493,40 +493,40 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Regular expressions, Prev: Unicode characters, Up: 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 directive and ‘--alias’ option: ‘alias /REGEX/ = - REPLACEMENT’, ‘--alias /REGEX/=REPLACEMENT’ + * 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 directive and '--alias' option: '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 + 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 + 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. + 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 + * 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 ‘$’ as + * In queries, to match a regular expression metacharacter like '$' as a literal character, prepend a backslash. Eg to search for amounts - with the dollar sign in hledger-web, write ‘cur:\$’. + with the dollar sign in hledger-web, write 'cur:\$'. - • On the command line, some metacharacters like ‘$’ have a special + * On the command line, some metacharacters like '$' have a special meaning to the shell and so must be escaped at least once more. See Special characters. @@ -536,33 +536,33 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Environment, Next: Input, Prev: Options, Up: Top 3 Environment ************* -*LEDGER_FILE* The journal file path when not specified with ‘-f’. +*LEDGER_FILE* The journal file path when not specified with '-f'. - On unix computers, the default value is: ‘~/.hledger.journal’. + On unix computers, the default value is: '~/.hledger.journal'. - A more typical value is something like ‘~/finance/YYYY.journal’, -where ‘~/finance’ is a version-controlled finance directory and YYYY is -the current year. Or, ‘~/finance/current.journal’, where + A more typical value is something like '~/finance/YYYY.journal', +where '~/finance' is a version-controlled finance directory and YYYY is +the current year. Or, '~/finance/current.journal', where current.journal is a symbolic link to YYYY.journal. The usual way to set this permanently is to add a command to one of -your shell’s startup files (eg ‘~/.profile’): +your shell's startup files (eg '~/.profile'): export LEDGER_FILE=~/finance/current.journal` On some Mac computers, there is a more thorough way to set environment variables, that will also affect applications started from the GUI (eg, Emacs started from a dock icon): In -‘~/.MacOSX/environment.plist’, add an entry like: +'~/.MacOSX/environment.plist', add an entry like: { "LEDGER_FILE" : "~/finance/current.journal" } - For this to take effect you might need to ‘killall Dock’, or reboot. + For this to take effect you might need to 'killall Dock', or reboot. On Windows computers, the default value is probably -‘C:\Users\YOURNAME\.hledger.journal’. You can change this by running a +'C:\Users\YOURNAME\.hledger.journal'. You can change this by running a command like this in a powershell window (let us know if you need to be an Administrator, and if this persists across a reboot): @@ -576,7 +576,7 @@ the full terminal width. *NO_COLOR* If this variable exists with any value, hledger will not use ANSI color codes in terminal output. This is overriden by the -–color/–colour option. +-color/-colour option.  File: hledger.info, Node: Input, Next: Commands, Prev: Environment, Up: Top @@ -585,19 +585,19 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Input, Next: Commands, Prev: Environment, Up: Top ******* hledger reads transactions from one or more data files. The default -data file is ‘$HOME/.hledger.journal’ (or on Windows, something like -‘C:\Users\YOURNAME\.hledger.journal’). +data file is '$HOME/.hledger.journal' (or on Windows, something like +'C:\Users\YOURNAME\.hledger.journal'). - You can override this with the ‘$LEDGER_FILE’ environment variable: + You can override this with the '$LEDGER_FILE' environment variable: $ setenv LEDGER_FILE ~/finance/2016.journal $ hledger stats - or with one or more ‘-f/--file’ options: + or with one or more '-f/--file' options: $ hledger -f /some/file -f another_file stats - The file name ‘-’ means standard input: + The file name '-' means standard input: $ cat some.journal | hledger -f- @@ -613,26 +613,26 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Data formats, Next: Multiple files, Up: Input 4.1 Data formats ================ -Usually the data file is in hledger’s journal format, but it can be in +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’ +'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’ +'timedot'timedot files, for approximate time '.timedot' logging -‘csv’ comma/semicolon/tab/other-separated ‘.csv’ ‘.ssv’ ‘.tsv’ +'csv' comma/semicolon/tab/other-separated '.csv' '.ssv' '.tsv' values, for data import These formats are described in more detail below. 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 +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. @@ -642,7 +642,7 @@ format: $ hledger -f csv:/some/csv-file.dat stats - Or to read stdin (‘-’) as timeclock format: + Or to read stdin ('-') as timeclock format: $ echo 'i 2009/13/1 08:00:00' | hledger print -ftimeclock:- @@ -652,18 +652,18 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Multiple files, Next: Strict mode, Prev: Data forma 4.2 Multiple files ================== -You can specify multiple ‘-f’ options, to read multiple files as one big +You can specify multiple '-f' options, to read multiple files as one big journal. There are some limitations with this: - • most directives do not affect sibling files - • balance assertions will not see any account balances from previous + * most directives do not affect sibling 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’. + * 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, Prev: Multiple files, Up: Input @@ -675,19 +675,19 @@ 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 ? + * 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: + With the '-s'/'--strict' flag, additional checks are performed: - • Are all accounts posted to, declared with an ‘account’ directive ? + * Are all accounts posted to, declared with an 'account' directive ? (Account error checking) - • Are all commodities declared with a ‘commodity’ directive ? + * Are all commodities declared with a 'commodity' directive ? (Commodity error checking) - • Are all commodity conversions declared explicitly ? + * Are all commodity conversions declared explicitly ? - You can use the check command to run individual checks – the ones + You can use the check command to run individual checks - the ones listed above and some more.  @@ -700,10 +700,10 @@ hledger provides a number of built-in subcommands (described below). Most of these read your data without changing it, and display a report. A few assist with data entry and management. - Run ‘hledger’ with no arguments to list the commands available, and -‘hledger CMD’ to run a command. CMD can be the full command name, or + Run 'hledger' with no arguments to list the commands available, and +'hledger CMD' to run a command. CMD can be the full command name, or its standard abbreviation shown in the commands list, or any unambiguous -prefix of the name. Eg: ‘hledger bal’. +prefix of the name. Eg: 'hledger bal'. * Menu: @@ -718,21 +718,21 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Add-on commands, Up: Commands Add-on commands are extra subcommands provided by 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’ + * 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. + * and (on unix, mac) which are executable by the current user. Addons can be written in any language, but haskell scripts or -programs have a big advantage: they can use hledger’s library code, for +programs have a big advantage: they can use hledger's library code, for command-line options, parsing and reporting. Several add-on commands are installed by the hledger-install script. See https://hledger.org/scripts.html for more details. Note in a hledger command line, add-on command flags must have a -double dash (‘--’) preceding them. Eg you must write: +double dash ('--') preceding them. Eg you must write: $ hledger web -- --serve @@ -740,9 +740,9 @@ $ hledger web -- --serve $ hledger web --serve - (because the ‘--serve’ flag belongs to ‘hledger-web’, not ‘hledger’). + (because the '--serve' flag belongs to 'hledger-web', not 'hledger'). - The ‘-h/--help’ and ‘--version’ flags don’t require ‘--’. + The '-h/--help' and '--version' flags don't require '--'. If you have any trouble with this, remember you can always run the add-on program directly, eg: @@ -762,6 +762,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Output, Next: Limitations, Prev: Commands, Up: Top * Commodity styles:: * Colour:: * Box-drawing:: +* Paging:: * Debug output::  @@ -776,7 +777,7 @@ 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 +provide the '-o/--output-file' option, which does the same thing without needing the shell. Eg: $ hledger print -o foo.txt @@ -802,20 +803,20 @@ incomestatement Y _1_ Y _1_ Y _1_ Y print Y Y Y Y register Y Y Y - • _1 Also affected by the balance commands’ ‘--layout’ option._ - • _2 ‘balance’ does not support html output without a report interval - or with ‘--budget’._ + * _1 Also affected by the balance commands' '--layout' option._ + * _2 'balance' does not support html output without a report interval + or with '--budget'._ - The output format is selected by the ‘-O/--output-format=FMT’ option: + The output format is selected by the '-O/--output-format=FMT' option: $ hledger print -O csv # print CSV on stdout or by the filename extension of an output file specified with the -‘-o/--output-file=FILE.FMT’ option: +'-o/--output-file=FILE.FMT' option: $ hledger balancesheet -o foo.csv # write CSV to foo.csv - The ‘-O’ option can be combined with ‘-o’ to override the file + The '-O' option can be combined with '-o' to override the file extension, if needed: $ hledger balancesheet -o foo.txt -O csv # write CSV to foo.txt @@ -835,7 +836,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: CSV output, Next: HTML output, Up: Output format 6.2.1 CSV output ---------------- - • In CSV output, digit group marks (such as thousands separators) are + * In CSV output, digit group marks (such as thousands separators) are disabled automatically.  @@ -844,7 +845,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: HTML output, Next: JSON output, Prev: CSV output, 6.2.2 HTML output ----------------- - • HTML output can be styled by an optional ‘hledger.css’ file in the + * HTML output can be styled by an optional 'hledger.css' file in the same directory.  @@ -853,19 +854,19 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: JSON output, Next: SQL output, Prev: HTML output, 6.2.3 JSON output ----------------- - • This is not yet much used; real-world feedback is welcome. + * This is not yet much used; real-world feedback is welcome. - • Our JSON is rather large and verbose, since it is a faithful - representation of hledger’s internal data types. To understand the + * Our JSON is rather large and verbose, since it is 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 + * 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 + 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) @@ -875,14 +876,20 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: SQL output, Prev: JSON output, Up: Output format 6.2.4 SQL output ---------------- - • This is not yet much used; real-world feedback is welcome. + * This is not yet much used; real-world feedback is welcome. - • SQL output is expected to work with sqlite, MySQL and PostgreSQL + * SQL output is expected to work at least with SQLite, MySQL and + Postgres. - • SQL output is structured with the expectations that statements will + * For SQLite, it will be more useful if you modify the generated 'id' + field to be a PRIMARY KEY. Eg: + + $ hledger print -O sql | sed 's/id serial/id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT NOT NULL/g' | ... + + * 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’ + either clear tables of existing data (via 'delete' or 'truncate' SQL statements) or drop tables completely as otherwise your postings will be duped. @@ -895,8 +902,8 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Commodity styles, Next: Colour, Prev: Output format When displaying amounts, hledger infers a standard display style for each commodity/currency, as described below in Commodity display style. - If needed, this can be overridden by a ‘-c/--commodity-style’ option -(except for cost amounts and amounts displayed by the ‘print’ command, + If needed, this can be overridden by a '-c/--commodity-style' option +(except for cost amounts and amounts displayed by the 'print' command, which are always displayed with all decimal digits). For example, the following will force dollar amounts to be displayed as shown: @@ -915,15 +922,15 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Colour, Next: Box-drawing, Prev: Commodity styles, In terminal output, some commands can produce colour when the terminal supports it: - • if the ‘--color/--colour’ option is given a value of ‘yes’ or - ‘always’ (or ‘no’ or ‘never’), colour will (or will not) be used; - • otherwise, if the ‘NO_COLOR’ environment variable is set, colour + * if the '--color/--colour' option is given a value of 'yes' or + 'always' (or 'no' or 'never'), colour will (or will not) be used; + * otherwise, if the 'NO_COLOR' environment variable is set, colour will not be used; - • otherwise, colour will be used if the output (terminal or file) + * otherwise, colour will be used if the output (terminal or file) supports it.  -File: hledger.info, Node: Box-drawing, Next: Debug output, Prev: Colour, Up: Output +File: hledger.info, Node: Box-drawing, Next: Paging, Prev: Colour, Up: Output 6.5 Box-drawing =============== @@ -931,23 +938,47 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Box-drawing, Next: Debug output, Prev: Colour, Up: In terminal output, you can enable unicode box-drawing characters to render prettier tables: - • if the ‘--pretty’ option is given a value of ‘yes’ or ‘always’ (or - ‘no’ or ‘never’), unicode characters will (or will not) be used; - • otherwise, unicode characters will not be used. + * if the '--pretty' option is given a value of 'yes' or 'always' (or + 'no' or 'never'), unicode characters will (or will not) be used; + * otherwise, unicode characters will not be used.  -File: hledger.info, Node: Debug output, Prev: Box-drawing, Up: Output +File: hledger.info, Node: Paging, Next: Debug output, Prev: Box-drawing, Up: Output -6.6 Debug output +6.6 Paging +========== + +When showing long output in the terminal, hledger will try to use the +pager specified by the 'PAGER' environment variable, or 'less', or +'more'. (A pager is a helper program that shows one page at a time +rather than scrolling everything off screen). Currently it does this +only for help output, not for reports; specifically, + + * when listing commands, with 'hledger' + * when showing help with 'hledger [CMD] --help', + * when viewing manuals with 'hledger help' or 'hledger --man'. + + Note the pager is expected to handle ANSI codes, which hledger uses +eg for bold emphasis. For the common pager 'less' (and its 'more' +compatibility mode), we add 'R' to the 'LESS' and 'MORE' environment +variables to make this work. If you use a different pager, you might +need to configure it similarly, to avoid seeing junk on screen (let us +know). Otherwise, you can set the 'NO_COLOR' environment variable to 1 +to disable all ANSI output (see Colour). + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Debug output, Prev: Paging, Up: Output + +6.7 Debug output ================ We intend hledger to be relatively easy to troubleshoot, introspect and -develop. You can add ‘--debug[=N]’ to any hledger command line to see +develop. You can add '--debug[=N]' to any hledger command line to see additional debug output. N ranges from 1 (least output, the default) to 9 (maximum output). Typically you would start with 1 and increase until you are seeing enough. Debug output goes to stderr, and is not affected -by ‘-o/--output-file’ (unless you redirect stderr to stdout, eg: -‘2>&1’). It will be interleaved with normal output, which can help +by '-o/--output-file' (unless you redirect stderr to stdout, eg: +'2>&1'). It will be interleaved with normal output, which can help reveal when parts of the code are evaluated. To capture debug output in a log file instead, you can usually redirect stderr, eg: @@ -959,7 +990,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Limitations, Next: Troubleshooting, Prev: Output, 7 Limitations ************* -The need to precede add-on command options with ‘--’ when invoked from +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 @@ -975,7 +1006,7 @@ 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 hledger + Not all of Ledger's journal file syntax is supported. See hledger and Ledger > Differences > journal format. On large data files, hledger is slower and uses more memory than @@ -991,16 +1022,16 @@ 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"* + *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. +'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: @@ -1013,7 +1044,7 @@ 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: + 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 @@ -1025,8 +1056,8 @@ 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 + 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 @@ -1041,13 +1072,13 @@ 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: + 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) +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 @@ -1066,7 +1097,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Journal, Next: CSV, Prev: PART 2 DATA FORMATS, Up: 10 Journal ********** -hledger’s default file format, representing a General Journal. Here’s a +hledger's default file format, representing a General Journal. Here's a cheatsheet/mini-tutorial, or you can skip ahead to About journal format. * Menu: @@ -1200,18 +1231,18 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: About journal format, Next: Comments, Prev: Journal 10.2 About journal format ========================= -hledger’s usual data source is a plain text file containing journal +hledger's usual data source is a plain text file containing journal entries in hledger journal format. This file represents a standard -accounting general journal. I use file names ending in ‘.journal’, but -that’s not required. The journal file contains a number of transaction +accounting general journal. I use file names ending in '.journal', but +that's not required. The journal file contains a number of transaction entries, each describing a transfer of money (or any commodity) between two or more named accounts, in a simple format readable by both hledger and humans. - hledger’s journal format is a compatible subset, mostly, of ledger’s + hledger's journal format is a compatible subset, mostly, of ledger's journal format, so hledger can work with compatible ledger journal files -as well. It’s safe, and encouraged, to run both hledger and ledger on -the same journal file, eg to validate the results you’re getting. +as well. It's safe, and encouraged, to run both hledger and ledger on +the same journal file, eg to validate the results you're getting. You can use hledger without learning any more about this file; just use the add or web or import commands to create and update it. @@ -1223,7 +1254,7 @@ 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. - Here’s a description of each part of the file format (and hledger’s + Here's a description of each part of the file format (and hledger's data model). A hledger journal file can contain three kinds of thing: file @@ -1236,14 +1267,14 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Comments, Next: Transactions, Prev: About journal f 10.3 Comments ============= -Lines in the journal will be ignored if they begin with a hash (‘#’) or -a semicolon (‘;’). (See also Other syntax.) hledger will also ignore -regions beginning with a ‘comment’ line and ending with an ‘end comment’ -line (or file end). Here’s a suggestion for choosing between them: +Lines in the journal will be ignored if they begin with a hash ('#') or +a semicolon (';'). (See also Other syntax.) hledger will also ignore +regions beginning with a 'comment' line and ending with an 'end comment' +line (or file end). Here's a suggestion for choosing between them: - • ‘#’ for top-level notes - • ‘;’ for commenting out things temporarily - • ‘comment’ for quickly commenting large regions (remember it’s + * '#' for top-level notes + * ';' for commenting out things temporarily + * 'comment' for quickly commenting large regions (remember it's there, or you might get confused) Eg: @@ -1274,16 +1305,16 @@ between two or more named accounts. simple date in column 0. This can be followed by any of the following optional fields, separated by spaces: - • a status character (empty, ‘!’, or ‘*’) - • a code (any short number or text, enclosed in parentheses) - • a description (any remaining text until end of line or a semicolon) - • a comment (any remaining text following a semicolon until end of + * a status character (empty, '!', or '*') + * a code (any short number or text, enclosed in parentheses) + * a description (any remaining text until end of line or a semicolon) + * a comment (any remaining text following a semicolon until end of line, and any following indented lines beginning with a semicolon) - • 0 or more indented _posting_ lines, describing what was transferred + * 0 or more indented _posting_ lines, describing what was transferred and the accounts involved (indented comment lines are also allowed, but not blank lines or non-indented lines). - Here’s a simple journal file containing one transaction: + Here's a simple journal file containing one transaction: 2008/01/01 income assets:bank:checking $1 @@ -1306,12 +1337,12 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Simple dates, Next: Posting dates, Up: Dates 10.5.1 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 +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 omitted, in which case it will be inferred from the context: the -current transaction, the default year set with a ‘Y’ directive, or the -current date when the command is run. Some examples: ‘2010-01-31’, -‘2010/01/31’, ‘2010.1.31’, ‘1/31’. +current transaction, the default year set with a 'Y' directive, or the +current date when the command is run. Some examples: '2010-01-31', +'2010/01/31', '2010.1.31', '1/31'. (The UI also accepts simple dates, as well as the more flexible smart dates documented in the hledger manual.) @@ -1324,7 +1355,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Posting dates, Prev: Simple dates, Up: Dates You can give individual postings a different date from their parent transaction, by adding a posting comment containing a tag (see below) -like ‘date:DATE’. This is probably the best way to control posting +like 'date:DATE'. This is probably the best way to control posting dates precisely. Eg in this example the expense should appear in May reports, and the deduction from checking should be reported on 6/1 for easy bank reconciliation: @@ -1340,9 +1371,9 @@ $ hledger -f t.j register checking 2015-06-01 assets:checking $-10 $-10 DATE should be a simple date; if the year is not specified it will -use the year of the transaction’s date. -The ‘date:’ tag must have a valid simple date value if it is present, eg -a ‘date:’ tag with no value is not allowed. +use the year of the transaction's date. +The 'date:' tag must have a valid simple date value if it is present, eg +a 'date:' tag with no value is not allowed.  File: hledger.info, Node: Status, Next: Code, Prev: Dates, Up: Journal @@ -1359,18 +1390,18 @@ mark status ----------------- unmarked -‘!’ pending -‘*’ cleared +'!' pending +'*' cleared - When reporting, you can filter by status with the ‘-U/--unmarked’, -‘-P/--pending’, and ‘-C/--cleared’ flags; or the ‘status:’, ‘status:!’, -and ‘status:*’ queries; or the U, P, C keys in hledger-ui. + When reporting, you can filter by status with the '-U/--unmarked', +'-P/--pending', and '-C/--cleared' flags; or the 'status:', 'status:!', +and 'status:*' queries; or the U, P, C keys in hledger-ui. Note, in Ledger and in older versions of hledger, the "unmarked" state is called "uncleared". As of hledger 1.3 we have renamed it to unmarked for clarity. - To replicate Ledger and old hledger’s behaviour of also matching + To replicate Ledger and old hledger's behaviour of also matching pending, combine -U and -P. Status marks are optional, but can be helpful eg for reconciling with @@ -1379,7 +1410,7 @@ shortcuts for working with status. Eg in Emacs ledger-mode, you can toggle transaction status with C-c C-e, or posting status with C-c C-c. What "uncleared", "pending", and "cleared" actually mean is up to -you. Here’s one suggestion: +you. Here's one suggestion: status meaning -------------------------------------------------------------------------- @@ -1389,8 +1420,8 @@ pending tentatively reconciled (if needed, eg during a big cleared complete, reconciled as far as possible, and considered correct - With this scheme, you would use ‘-PC’ to see the current balance at -your bank, ‘-U’ to see things which will probably hit your bank soon + With this scheme, you would use '-PC' to see the current balance at +your bank, '-U' 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. @@ -1411,7 +1442,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Description, Next: Transaction comments, Prev: Code 10.8 Description ================ -A transaction’s description is the rest of the line following the date +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 wish, or left blank. Transaction descriptions can be queried, unlike @@ -1427,10 +1458,10 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Payee and note, Up: Description 10.8.1 Payee and note --------------------- -You can optionally include a ‘|’ (pipe) character in descriptions to +You can optionally include a '|' (pipe) character in descriptions to subdivide the description into separate fields for payee/payer name on -the left (up to the first ‘|’) and an additional note field on the right -(after the first ‘|’). This may be worthwhile if you need to do more +the left (up to the first '|') and an additional note field on the right +(after the first '|'). This may be worthwhile if you need to do more precise querying and pivoting by payee or by note.  @@ -1439,9 +1470,9 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Transaction comments, Next: Postings, Prev: Descrip 10.9 Transaction comments ========================= -Text following ‘;’, after a transaction description, and/or on indented +Text following ';', after a transaction description, and/or on indented lines immediately below it, form comments for that transaction. They -are reproduced by ‘print’ but otherwise ignored, except they may contain +are reproduced by 'print' but otherwise ignored, except they may contain tags, which are not ignored. 2012-01-01 something ; a transaction comment @@ -1459,11 +1490,11 @@ 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: - • (optional) a status character (empty, ‘!’, or ‘*’), followed by a + * (optional) a status character (empty, '!', or '*'), followed by a space - • (required) an account name (any text, optionally containing *single + * (required) an account name (any text, optionally containing *single spaces*, until end of line or a double space) - • (optional) *two or more spaces* or tabs followed by an amount. + * (optional) *two or more spaces* or tabs followed by an amount. Positive amounts are being added to the account, negative amounts are being removed. @@ -1489,14 +1520,14 @@ as a bank account), or more abstract categories such as "money borrowed from Frank" or "money spent on electricity". You can use any account names you like, but we usually start with the -traditional accounting categories, which in english are ‘assets’, -‘liabilities’, ‘equity’, ‘revenues’, ‘expenses’. (You might see these +traditional accounting categories, which in english are 'assets', +'liabilities', 'equity', 'revenues', 'expenses'. (You might see these referred to as A, L, E, R, X for short.) For more precise reporting, we usually divide the top level accounts into more detailed subaccounts, by writing a full colon between account -name parts. For example, from the account names ‘assets:bank:checking’ -and ‘expenses:food’, hledger will infer this hierarchy of five accounts: +name parts. For example, from the account names 'assets:bank:checking' +and 'expenses:food', hledger will infer this hierarchy of five accounts: assets assets:bank @@ -1537,7 +1568,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Amounts, Next: Costs, Prev: Account names, Up: Jou After the account name, there is usually an amount. (Important: between account name and amount, there must be *two or more spaces*.) - hledger’s amount format is flexible, supporting several international + hledger's amount format is flexible, supporting several international formats. Here are some examples. Amounts have a number (the "quantity"): @@ -1559,7 +1590,7 @@ commodity symbol: $-1 One or more spaces between the sign and the number are acceptable -when parsing (but they won’t be displayed in output): +when parsing (but they won't be displayed in output): + $1 $- 1 @@ -1603,14 +1634,14 @@ mark is ambiguous. Are these digit group marks or decimal marks ? 1,000 1.000 - If you don’t tell it otherwise, hledger will assume both of the above + If you don't tell it otherwise, hledger will assume both of the above are decimal marks, parsing both numbers as 1. To prevent confusing parsing mistakes and undetected typos, especially if your data contains digit group marks (eg, thousands separators), we recommend explicitly declaring the decimal mark character in each journal file, using a directive at the top of the -file. The ‘decimal-mark’ directive is best, otherwise ‘commodity’ +file. The 'decimal-mark' directive is best, otherwise 'commodity' directives will also work. These are described below.  @@ -1624,20 +1655,20 @@ number, and a "commodity", which is a currency symbol, stock ticker, or any word or phrase describing something you are tracking. If the commodity name contains non-letters (spaces, numbers, or -punctuation), you must always write it inside double quotes (‘"green -apples"’, ‘"ABC123"’). +punctuation), you must always write it inside double quotes ('"green +apples"', '"ABC123"'). If you write just a bare number, that too will have a commodity, with -name ‘""’; we call that the "no-symbol commodity". +name '""'; we call that the "no-symbol commodity". Actually, hledger combines these single-commodity amounts into more powerful multi-commodity amounts, which are what it works with most of -the time. A multi-commodity amount could be, eg: ‘1 USD, 2 EUR, 3.456 -TSLA’. In practice, you will only see multi-commodity amounts in -hledger’s output; you can’t write them directly in the journal file. +the time. A multi-commodity amount could be, eg: '1 USD, 2 EUR, 3.456 +TSLA'. In practice, you will only see multi-commodity amounts in +hledger's output; you can't write them directly in the journal file. - (If you are writing scripts or working with hledger’s internals, -these are the ‘Amount’ and ‘MixedAmount’ types.) + (If you are writing scripts or working with hledger's internals, +these are the 'Amount' and 'MixedAmount' types.)  File: hledger.info, Node: Directives influencing number parsing and display, Next: Commodity display style, Prev: Commodity, Up: Amounts @@ -1645,9 +1676,9 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Directives influencing number parsing and display, N 10.12.3 Directives influencing number parsing and display --------------------------------------------------------- -You can add ‘decimal-mark’ and ‘commodity’ directives to the journal, to +You can add 'decimal-mark' and 'commodity' directives to the journal, to declare and control these things more explicitly and precisely. These -are described below, but here’s a quick example: +are described below, but here's a quick example: # the decimal mark character used by all amounts in this file (all commodities) decimal-mark . @@ -1666,43 +1697,43 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Commodity display style, Next: Rounding, Prev: Dire For the amounts in each commodity, hledger chooses a consistent display style to use in most reports. (Exceptions: price amounts, and all -amounts displayed by the ‘print’ command, are displayed with all of +amounts displayed by the 'print' command, are displayed with all of their decimal digits visible.) - A commodity’s display style is inferred as follows. + A commodity's display style is inferred as follows. - First, if a default commodity is declared with ‘D’, this commodity + First, if a default commodity is declared with 'D', this commodity and its style is applied to any no-symbol amounts in the journal. - Then each commodity’s style is inferred from one of the following, in + Then each commodity's style is inferred from one of the following, in order of preference: - • The commodity directive for that commodity (including the no-symbol + * The commodity directive for that commodity (including the no-symbol commodity), if any. - • The amounts in that commodity seen in the journal’s transactions. + * The amounts in that commodity seen in the journal's transactions. (Posting amounts only; prices and periodic or auto rules are ignored, currently.) - • The built-in fallback style, which looks like this: ‘$1000.00’. + * The built-in fallback style, which looks like this: '$1000.00'. (Symbol on the left, period decimal mark, two decimal places.) A style is inferred from journal amounts as follows: - • Use the general style (decimal mark, symbol placement) of the first + * Use the general style (decimal mark, symbol placement) of the first amount - • Use the first-seen digit group style (digit group mark, digit group + * Use the first-seen digit group style (digit group mark, digit group sizes), if any - • Use the maximum number of decimal places of all. + * Use the maximum number of decimal places of all. - Cost amounts don’t affect the commodity display style directly, but -occasionally they can do so indirectly (eg when a posting’s amount is + Cost amounts don't affect the commodity display style directly, but +occasionally they can do so indirectly (eg when a posting's amount is inferred using a cost). If you find this causing problems, use a commodity directive to fix the display style. - To summarise: each commodity’s amounts will be normalised to (a) the -style declared by a ‘commodity’ directive, or (b) the style of the first + To summarise: each commodity's amounts will be normalised to (a) the +style declared by a 'commodity' directive, or (b) the style of the first posting amount in the journal, with the first-seen digit group style and the maximum-seen number of decimal places. So if your reports are -showing amounts in a way you don’t like, eg with too many decimal +showing amounts in a way you don't like, eg with too many decimal places, use a commodity directive. Some examples: # declare euro, dollar, bitcoin and no-symbol commodities and set their @@ -1723,7 +1754,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Rounding, Prev: Commodity display style, Up: Amount Amounts are stored internally as decimal numbers with up to 255 decimal places, and displayed with the number of decimal places specified by the -commodity display style. Note, hledger uses banker’s rounding: it +commodity display style. Note, hledger uses banker's rounding: it rounds to the nearest even number, eg 0.5 displayed with zero decimal places is "0"). @@ -1734,8 +1765,8 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Costs, Next: Balance assertions, Prev: Amounts, Up =========== After a posting amount, you can note its cost (when buying) or selling -price (when selling) in another commodity, by writing either ‘@ -UNITPRICE’ or ‘@@ TOTALPRICE’ after it. This indicates a conversion +price (when selling) in another commodity, by writing either '@ +UNITPRICE' or '@@ TOTALPRICE' after it. This indicates a conversion transaction, where one commodity is exchanged for another. (You might also see this called "transaction price" in hledger docs, @@ -1744,7 +1775,7 @@ that it is a price specific to a transaction, but we now just call it "cost", with the understanding that the transaction could be a purchase or a sale.) - Costs are usually written explicitly with ‘@’ or ‘@@’, but can also + Costs are usually written explicitly with '@' or '@@', but can also be inferred automatically for simple multi-commodity transactions. Note, if costs are inferred, the order of postings is significant; the first posting will have a cost attached, in the commodity of the second. @@ -1753,13 +1784,13 @@ first posting will have a cost attached, in the commodity of the second. currency in hledger, using the cost notation either explicitly or implicitly: - 1. Write the price per unit, as ‘@ UNITPRICE’ after the amount: + 1. Write the price per unit, as '@ UNITPRICE' after the amount: 2009/1/1 assets:euros €100 @ $1.35 ; one hundred euros purchased at $1.35 each assets:dollars ; balancing amount is -$135.00 - 2. Write the total price, as ‘@@ TOTALPRICE’ after the amount: + 2. Write the total price, as '@@ TOTALPRICE' after the amount: 2009/1/1 assets:euros €100 @@ $135 ; one hundred euros purchased at $135 for the lot @@ -1768,18 +1799,18 @@ implicitly: 3. Specify amounts for all postings, using exactly two commodities, and let hledger infer the price that balances the transaction. Note the effect of posting order: the price is added to first - posting, making it ‘€100 @@ $135’, as in example 2: + posting, making it '€100 @@ $135', as in example 2: 2009/1/1 assets:euros €100 ; one hundred euros purchased assets:dollars $-135 ; for $135 - Amounts can be converted to cost at report time using the ‘-B/--cost’ + Amounts can be converted to cost at report time using the '-B/--cost' flag; this is discussed more in the ˜COST REPORTING section. - Note that the cost normally should be a positive amount, though it’s + Note that the cost normally should be a positive amount, though it's not required to be. This can be a little confusing, see discussion at -–infer-market-prices: market prices from transactions. +-infer-market-prices: market prices from transactions. * Menu: @@ -1794,35 +1825,35 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Other cost/lot notations, Up: Costs A slight digression for Ledger and Beancount users. Ledger has a number of cost/lot-related notations: - • ‘@ UNITCOST’ and ‘@@ TOTALCOST’ - • expresses a conversion rate, as in hledger - • when buying, also creates a lot than can be selected at + * '@ UNITCOST' and '@@ TOTALCOST' + * expresses a conversion rate, as in hledger + * when buying, also creates a lot than can be selected at selling time - • ‘(@) UNITCOST’ and ‘(@@) TOTALCOST’ (virtual cost) - • like the above, but also means "this cost was exceptional, - don’t use it when inferring market prices". + * '(@) UNITCOST' and '(@@) TOTALCOST' (virtual cost) + * like the above, but also means "this cost was exceptional, + don't use it when inferring market prices". - Currently, hledger treats the above like ‘@’ and ‘@@’; the + Currently, hledger treats the above like '@' and '@@'; the parentheses are ignored. - • ‘{=FIXEDUNITCOST}’ and ‘{{=FIXEDTOTALCOST}}’ (fixed price) - • when buying, means "this cost is also the fixed price, don’t + * '{=FIXEDUNITCOST}' and '{{=FIXEDTOTALCOST}}' (fixed price) + * when buying, means "this cost is also the fixed price, don't let it fluctuate in value reports" - • ‘{UNITCOST}’ and ‘{{TOTALCOST}}’ (lot price) - • can be used identically to ‘@ UNITCOST’ and ‘@@ TOTALCOST’, + * '{UNITCOST}' and '{{TOTALCOST}}' (lot price) + * can be used identically to '@ UNITCOST' and '@@ TOTALCOST', also creates a lot - • when selling, combined with ‘@ ...’, specifies an investment + * when selling, combined with '@ ...', specifies an investment lot by its cost basis; does not check if that lot is present - • and related: ‘[YYYY/MM/DD]’ (lot date) - • when buying, attaches this acquisition date to the lot - • when selling, selects a lot by its acquisition date + * and related: '[YYYY/MM/DD]' (lot date) + * when buying, attaches this acquisition date to the lot + * when selling, selects a lot by its acquisition date - • ‘(SOME TEXT)’ (lot note) - • when buying, attaches this note to the lot - • when selling, selects a lot by its note + * '(SOME TEXT)' (lot note) + * when buying, attaches this note to the lot + * when selling, selects a lot by its note Currently, hledger accepts any or all of the above in any order after the posting amount, but ignores them. (This can break transaction @@ -1830,28 +1861,28 @@ balancing.) For Beancount users, the notation and behaviour is different: - • ‘@ UNITCOST’ and ‘@@ TOTALCOST’ - • expresses a cost without creating a lot, as in hledger - • when buying (augmenting) or selling (reducing) a lot, combined - with ‘{...}’: documents the cost/selling price (not used for + * '@ UNITCOST' and '@@ TOTALCOST' + * expresses a cost without creating a lot, as in hledger + * when buying (augmenting) or selling (reducing) a lot, combined + with '{...}': documents the cost/selling price (not used for transaction balancing) - • ‘{UNITCOST}’ and ‘{{TOTALCOST}}’ - • when buying (augmenting), expresses the cost for transaction + * '{UNITCOST}' and '{{TOTALCOST}}' + * when buying (augmenting), expresses the cost for transaction balancing, and also creates a lot with this cost basis attached - • when selling (reducing), - • selects a lot by its cost basis - • raises an error if that lot is not present or can not be + * when selling (reducing), + * selects a lot by its cost basis + * raises an error if that lot is not present or can not be selected unambiguously (depending on booking method configured) - • expresses the selling price for transaction balancing + * expresses the selling price for transaction balancing - Currently, hledger accepts the ‘{UNITCOST}’/‘{{TOTALCOST}}’ notation + Currently, hledger accepts the '{UNITCOST}'/'{{TOTALCOST}}' notation but ignores it. - • variations: ‘{}’, ‘{YYYY-MM-DD}’, ‘{"LABEL"}’, ‘{UNITCOST, - "LABEL"}’, ‘{UNITCOST, YYYY-MM-DD, "LABEL"}’ etc. + * variations: '{}', '{YYYY-MM-DD}', '{"LABEL"}', '{UNITCOST, + "LABEL"}', '{UNITCOST, YYYY-MM-DD, "LABEL"}' etc. Currently, hledger rejects these. @@ -1862,7 +1893,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Balance assertions, Next: Posting comments, Prev: C ======================== hledger supports Ledger-style balance assertions in journal files. -These look like, for example, ‘= EXPECTEDBALANCE’ following a posting’s +These look like, for example, '= EXPECTEDBALANCE' following a posting's amount. Eg here we assert the expected dollar balance in accounts a and b after each posting: @@ -1878,7 +1909,7 @@ b after each posting: assertions and report an error if any of them fail. Balance assertions can protect you from, eg, inadvertently disrupting reconciled balances while cleaning up old entries. You can disable them temporarily with -the ‘-I/--ignore-assertions’ flag, which can be useful for +the '-I/--ignore-assertions' flag, which can be useful for troubleshooting or for reading Ledger files. (Note: this flag currently does not disable balance assignments, described below). @@ -1900,7 +1931,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Assertions and ordering, Next: Assertions and multip 10.14.1 Assertions and ordering ------------------------------- -hledger sorts an account’s postings and assertions first by date and +hledger sorts an account's postings and assertions first by date and then (for postings on the same day) by parse order. Note this is different from Ledger, which sorts assertions only by parse order. (Also, Ledger assertions do not see the accumulated effect of repeated @@ -1919,14 +1950,14 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Assertions and multiple included files, Next: Assert 10.14.2 Assertions and multiple included files ---------------------------------------------- -Multiple files included with the ‘include’ directive are processed as if +Multiple files included with the 'include' directive are processed as if concatenated into one file, preserving their order and the posting order within each file. It means that balance assertions in later files will see balance from earlier files. And if you have multiple postings to an account on the same day, -split across multiple files, and you want to assert the account’s -balance on that day, you’ll need to put the assertion in the right file +split across multiple files, and you want to assert the account's +balance on that day, you'll need to put the assertion in the right file - the last one in the sequence, probably.  @@ -1935,13 +1966,13 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Assertions and multiple -f files, Next: Assertions a 10.14.3 Assertions and multiple -f files ---------------------------------------- -Unlike ‘include’, when multiple files are specified on the command line -with multiple ‘-f/--file’ options, balance assertions will not see +Unlike 'include', when multiple files are specified on the command line +with multiple '-f/--file' options, balance assertions will not see balance from earlier files. This can be useful when you do not want problems in earlier files to disrupt valid assertions in later files. If you do want assertions to see balance from earlier files, use -‘include’, or concatenate the files temporarily. +'include', or concatenate the files temporarily.  File: hledger.info, Node: Assertions and commodities, Next: Assertions and prices, Prev: Assertions and multiple -f files, Up: Balance assertions @@ -1950,15 +1981,15 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Assertions and commodities, Next: Assertions and pri ---------------------------------- The asserted balance must be a simple single-commodity amount, and in -fact the assertion checks only this commodity’s balance within the +fact the assertion checks only this commodity's balance within the (possibly multi-commodity) account balance. This is how assertions work in Ledger also. We could call this a "partial" balance assertion. To assert the balance of more than one commodity in an account, you -can write multiple postings, each asserting one commodity’s balance. +can write multiple postings, each asserting one commodity's balance. You can make a stronger "total" balance assertion by writing a double -equals sign (‘== EXPECTEDBALANCE’). This asserts that there are no +equals sign ('== EXPECTEDBALANCE'). This asserts that there are no other commodities in the account besides the asserted one (or at least, that their balance is 0). @@ -1977,7 +2008,7 @@ that their balance is 0). 2013/1/3 ; This assertion fails as 'a' also contains 1€ a 0 == $1 - It’s not yet possible to make a complete assertion about a balance + It's not yet possible to make a complete assertion about a balance that has multiple commodities. One workaround is to isolate each commodity into its own subaccount: @@ -2004,8 +2035,8 @@ one: (a) $1 @ €1 = $1 We do allow prices to be written there, however, and print shows -them, even though they don’t affect whether the assertion passes or -fails. This is for backward compatibility (hledger’s close command used +them, even though they don't affect whether the assertion passes or +fails. This is for backward compatibility (hledger's close command used to generate balance assertions with prices), and because balance _assignments_ do use them (see below). @@ -2015,9 +2046,9 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Assertions and subaccounts, Next: Assertions and vir 10.14.6 Assertions and subaccounts ---------------------------------- -The balance assertions above (‘=’ and ‘==’) do not count the balance -from subaccounts; they check the account’s exclusive balance only. You -can assert the balance including subaccounts by writing ‘=*’ or ‘==*’, +The balance assertions above ('=' and '==') do not count the balance +from subaccounts; they check the account's exclusive balance only. You +can assert the balance including subaccounts by writing '=*' or '==*', eg: 2019/1/1 @@ -2033,7 +2064,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Assertions and virtual postings, Next: Assertions an --------------------------------------- Balance assertions always consider both real and virtual postings; they -are not affected by the ‘--real/-R’ flag or ‘real:’ query. +are not affected by the '--real/-R' flag or 'real:' query.  File: hledger.info, Node: Assertions and auto postings, Next: Assertions and precision, Prev: Assertions and virtual postings, Up: Balance assertions @@ -2041,17 +2072,17 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Assertions and auto postings, Next: Assertions and p 10.14.8 Assertions and auto postings ------------------------------------ -Balance assertions _are_ affected by the ‘--auto’ flag, which generates +Balance assertions _are_ affected by the '--auto' flag, which generates auto postings, which can alter account balances. Because auto postings are optional in hledger, accounts affected by them effectively have two balances. But balance assertions can only test one or the other of these. So to avoid making fragile assertions, either: - • assert the balance calculated with ‘--auto’, and always use - ‘--auto’ with that file - • or assert the balance calculated without ‘--auto’, and never use - ‘--auto’ with that file - • or avoid balance assertions on accounts affected by auto postings + * assert the balance calculated with '--auto', and always use + '--auto' with that file + * or assert the balance calculated without '--auto', and never use + '--auto' with that file + * or avoid balance assertions on accounts affected by auto postings (or avoid auto postings entirely).  @@ -2071,9 +2102,9 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Posting comments, Next: Tags, Prev: Balance asserti 10.15 Posting comments ====================== -Text following ‘;’, at the end of a posting line, and/or on indented +Text following ';', at the end of a posting line, and/or on indented lines immediately below it, form comments for that posting. They are -reproduced by ‘print’ but otherwise ignored, except they may contain +reproduced by 'print' but otherwise ignored, except they may contain tags, which are not ignored. 2012-01-01 @@ -2093,7 +2124,7 @@ postings, or accounts, which you can then search or pivot on. They are written as a word (optionally hyphenated) immediately followed by a full colon, in a transaction or posting or account -directive’s comment. (This is an exception to the usual rule that +directive's comment. (This is an exception to the usual rule that things in comments are ignored.) Eg, here four different tags are recorded: one on the checking account, two on the transaction, and one on the expenses posting: @@ -2106,14 +2137,14 @@ account assets:checking ; accounttag: expenses:food $1 ; postingtag: Postings also inherit tags from their transaction and their account. -And transactions also acquire tags from their postings (and postings’ +And transactions also acquire tags from their postings (and postings' accounts). So in the example above, the expenses posting effectively has all four tags (by inheriting from account and transaction), and the transaction also has all four tags (by acquiring from the expenses posting). - You can list tag names with ‘hledger tags [NAMEREGEX]’, or match by -tag name with a ‘tag:NAMEREGEX’ query. + You can list tag names with 'hledger tags [NAMEREGEX]', or match by +tag name with a 'tag:NAMEREGEX' query. * Menu: @@ -2128,7 +2159,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Tag values, Up: Tags Tags can have a value, which is any text after the colon up until a comma or end of line (with surrounding whitespace removed). Note this means that hledger tag values can not contain commas. Eg in the -following posting, the three tags’ values are "value 1", "value 2", and +following posting, the three tags' values are "value 1", "value 2", and "" (empty) respectively: expenses:food $10 ; foo, tag1: value 1 , tag2:value 2, bar tag3: , baz @@ -2136,10 +2167,10 @@ following posting, the three tags’ values are "value 1", "value 2", and Note that tags can be repeated, and are additive rather than overriding: when the same tag name is seen again with a new value, the new name:value pair is added to the tags. (It is not possible to -override a tag’s value or remove a tag.) +override a tag's value or remove a tag.) - You can list a tag’s values with ‘hledger tags TAGNAME --values’, or -match by tag value with a ‘tag:NAMEREGEX=VALUEREGEX’ query. + You can list a tag's values with 'hledger tags TAGNAME --values', or +match by tag value with a 'tag:NAMEREGEX=VALUEREGEX' query.  File: hledger.info, Node: Directives, Next: account directive, Prev: Tags, Up: Journal @@ -2149,17 +2180,17 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Directives, Next: account directive, Prev: Tags, U A directive is a line in the journal beginning with a special keyword, that influences how the journal is processed, how things are displayed, -and so on. hledger’s directives are based on (a subset of) Ledger’s, +and so on. hledger's directives are based on (a subset of) Ledger's, but there are many differences, and also some differences between hledger versions. Here are some more definitions: - • _subdirective_ - Some directives support subdirectives, written + * _subdirective_ - Some directives support subdirectives, written indented below the parent directive. - • _decimal mark_ - The character to interpret as a decimal mark + * _decimal mark_ - The character to interpret as a decimal mark (period or comma) when parsing amounts of a commodity. - • _display style_ - How to display amounts of a commodity in output: + * _display style_ - How to display amounts of a commodity in output: symbol side and spacing, digit groups, decimal mark, and number of decimal places. @@ -2170,22 +2201,22 @@ directives for particular needs: purpose directives -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *READING DATA:* -Declare file’s decimal mark to help parse ‘decimal-mark’ +Declare file's decimal mark to help parse 'decimal-mark' amounts accurately -Rewrite account names ‘alias’ -Comment out sections of the data ‘comment’ -Include extra data files ‘include’ +Rewrite account names 'alias' +Comment out sections of the data 'comment' +Include extra data files 'include' *GENERATING DATA:* -Generate recurring transactions or budget ‘~’ +Generate recurring transactions or budget '~' goals -Generate extra postings on transactions ‘=’ +Generate extra postings on transactions '=' *CHECKING FOR ERRORS:* -Define valid entities to provide more ‘account’, ‘commodity’, -error checking ‘payee’ +Define valid entities to provide more 'account', 'commodity', +error checking 'payee' *REPORTING:* -Declare accounts’ type and display order ‘account’ -Declare commodity display styles ‘commodity’ -Declare market prices ‘P’ +Declare accounts' type and display order 'account' +Declare commodity display styles 'commodity' +Declare market prices 'P' * Menu: @@ -2206,49 +2237,49 @@ directivewhat it does ends file end? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -*‘account’*Declares an account, for checking all entries in all files; andN +*'account'*Declares an account, for checking all entries in all files; andN its display order and type. Subdirectives: any text, ignored. -*‘alias’*Rewrites account names, in following entries until end of Y - current file or ‘end aliases’. Command line equivalent: - ‘--alias’ -*‘comment’*Ignores part of the journal file, until end of current file orY - ‘end comment’. -*‘commodity’*Declares up to four things: 1. a commodity symbol, for checkingN,Y,N,N +*'alias'*Rewrites account names, in following entries until end of Y + current file or 'end aliases'. Command line equivalent: + '--alias' +*'comment'*Ignores part of the journal file, until end of current file orY + 'end comment'. +*'commodity'*Declares up to four things: 1. a commodity symbol, for checkingN,Y,N,N all amounts in all files 2. the decimal mark for parsing amounts of this commodity, in the following entries until end of - current file (if there is no ‘decimal-mark’ directive) 3. and + current file (if there is no 'decimal-mark' directive) 3. and the display style for amounts of this commodity 4. which is also the precision to use for balanced-transaction checking in - this commodity. Takes precedence over ‘D’. Subdirectives: - ‘format’ (Ledger-compatible syntax). Command line equivalent: - ‘-c/--commodity-style’ -*‘decimal-mark’*Declares the decimal mark, for parsing amounts of all Y - commodities in following entries until next ‘decimal-mark’ or + this commodity. Takes precedence over 'D'. Subdirectives: + 'format' (Ledger-compatible syntax). Command line equivalent: + '-c/--commodity-style' +*'decimal-mark'*Declares the decimal mark, for parsing amounts of all Y + commodities in following entries until next 'decimal-mark' or end of current file. Included files can override. Takes - precedence over ‘commodity’ and ‘D’. -*‘include’*Includes entries and directives from another file, as if theyN + precedence over 'commodity' and 'D'. +*'include'*Includes entries and directives from another file, as if theyN were written inline. Command line alternative: multiple - ‘-f/--file’ -*‘payee’*Declares a payee name, for checking all entries in all files. N -*‘P’*Declares the market price of a commodity on some date, for value N + '-f/--file' +*'payee'*Declares a payee name, for checking all entries in all files. N +*'P'*Declares the market price of a commodity on some date, for value N reports. -*‘~’*Declares a periodic transaction rule that generates future N -(tilde)transactions with ‘--forecast’ and budget goals with ‘balance - --budget’. +*'~'*Declares a periodic transaction rule that generates future N +(tilde)transactions with '--forecast' and budget goals with 'balance + --budget'. Other syntax: -*‘applyPrepends a common parent account to all account names, in Y -account’*following entries until end of current file or ‘end apply - account’. -*‘D’*Sets a default commodity to use for no-symbol amounts;and, if Y,Y,N,N - there is no ‘commodity’ directive for this commodity: its +*'applyPrepends a common parent account to all account names, in Y +account'*following entries until end of current file or 'end apply + account'. +*'D'*Sets a default commodity to use for no-symbol amounts;and, if Y,Y,N,N + there is no 'commodity' directive for this commodity: its decimal mark, balancing precision, and display style, as above. -*‘Y’*Sets a default year to use for any yearless dates, in following Y +*'Y'*Sets a default year to use for any yearless dates, in following Y entries until end of current file. -*‘=’*Declares an auto posting rule that generates extra postings on partly -(equals)matched transactions with ‘--auto’, in current, parent, and +*'='*Declares an auto posting rule that generates extra postings on partly +(equals)matched transactions with '--auto', in current, parent, and child files (but not sibling files, see #1212). -*OtherOther directives from Ledger’s file format are accepted but +*OtherOther directives from Ledger's file format are accepted but Ledgerignored. directives* @@ -2258,45 +2289,45 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Directives and multiple files, Prev: Directive effec 10.17.2 Directives and multiple files ------------------------------------- -If you use multiple ‘-f’/‘--file’ options, or the ‘include’ directive, +If you use multiple '-f'/'--file' options, or the 'include' directive, hledger will process multiple input files. But directives which affect input typically have effect only until the end of the file in which they occur (and on any included files in that region). - This may seem inconvenient, but it’s intentional; it makes reports + This may seem inconvenient, but it's intentional; it makes reports stable and deterministic, independent of the order of input. Otherwise you could see different numbers if you happened to write -f options in a different order, or if you moved includes around while cleaning up your files. - It can be surprising though; for example, it means that ‘alias’ + It can be surprising though; for example, it means that 'alias' directives do not affect parent or sibling files (see below).  File: hledger.info, Node: account directive, Next: alias directive, Prev: Directives, Up: Journal -10.18 ‘account’ directive +10.18 'account' directive ========================= -‘account’ directives can be used to declare accounts (ie, the places +'account' directives can be used to declare accounts (ie, the places that amounts are transferred from and to). Though not required, these declarations can provide several benefits: - • They can document your intended chart of accounts, providing a + * They can document your intended chart of accounts, providing a reference. - • In strict mode, they restrict which accounts may be posted to by + * In strict mode, they restrict which accounts may be posted to by transactions, which helps detect typos. - • They control account display order in reports, allowing + * They control account display order in reports, allowing non-alphabetic sorting (eg Revenues to appear above Expenses). - • They help with account name completion (in hledger add, + * They help with account name completion (in hledger add, hledger-web, hledger-iadd, ledger-mode, etc.) - • They can store additional account information as comments, or as + * They can store additional account information as comments, or as tags which can be used to filter or pivot reports. - • They can help hledger know your accounts’ types (asset, liability, + * They can help hledger know your accounts' types (asset, liability, equity, revenue, expense), affecting reports like balancesheet and incomestatement. - They are written as the word ‘account’ followed by a hledger-style + They are written as the word 'account' followed by a hledger-style account name, eg: account assets:bank:checking @@ -2321,13 +2352,13 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Account comments, Next: Account subdirectives, Up: 10.18.1 Account comments ------------------------ -Text following *two or more spaces* and ‘;’ at the end of an account -directive line, and/or following ‘;’ on indented lines immediately below +Text following *two or more spaces* and ';' at the end of an account +directive line, and/or following ';' on indented lines immediately below it, form comments for that account. They are ignored except they may contain tags, which are not ignored. The two-space requirement for same-line account comments is because -‘;’ is allowed in account names. +';' is allowed in account names. account assets:bank:checking ; same-line comment, at least 2 spaces before the semicolon ; next-line comment @@ -2353,24 +2384,24 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Account error checking, Next: Account display order, By default, accounts need not be declared; they come into existence when a posting references them. This is convenient, but it means hledger -can’t warn you when you mis-spell an account name in the journal. -Usually you’ll find that error later, as an extra account in balance +can't warn you when you mis-spell an account name in the journal. +Usually you'll find that error later, as an extra account in balance reports, or an incorrect balance when reconciling. - In strict mode, enabled with the ‘-s’/‘--strict’ flag, hledger will + In strict mode, enabled with the '-s'/'--strict' flag, hledger will report an error if any transaction uses an account name that has not been declared by an account directive. Some notes: - • The declaration is case-sensitive; transactions must use the + * The declaration is case-sensitive; transactions must use the correct account name capitalisation. - • The account directive’s scope is "whole file and below" (see + * The account directive's scope is "whole file and below" (see directives). This means it affects all of the current file, and any files it includes, but not parent or sibling files. The position of account directives within the file does not matter, - though it’s usual to put them at the top. - • Accounts can only be declared in ‘journal’ files, but will affect + though it's usual to put them at the top. + * Accounts can only be declared in 'journal' files, but will affect included files of all types. - • It’s currently not possible to declare "all possible subaccounts" + * It's currently not possible to declare "all possible subaccounts" with a wildcard; every account posted to must be declared.  @@ -2407,15 +2438,15 @@ directive: account other:zoo - would influence the position of ‘zoo’ among ‘other’’s subaccounts, -but not the position of ‘other’ among the top-level accounts. This + would influence the position of 'zoo' among 'other''s subaccounts, +but not the position of 'other' among the top-level accounts. This means: - • you will sometimes declare parent accounts (eg ‘account other’ - above) that you don’t intend to post to, just to customize their + * you will sometimes declare parent accounts (eg 'account other' + above) that you don't intend to post to, just to customize their display order - • sibling accounts stay together (you couldn’t display ‘x:y’ in - between ‘a:b’ and ‘a:c’). + * sibling accounts stay together (you couldn't display 'x:y' in + between 'a:b' and 'a:c').  File: hledger.info, Node: Account types, Prev: Account display order, Up: account directive @@ -2425,29 +2456,29 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Account types, Prev: Account display order, Up: acc hledger knows that accounts come in several types: assets, liabilities, expenses and so on. This enables easy reports like balancesheet and -incomestatement, and filtering by account type with the ‘type:’ query. +incomestatement, and filtering by account type with the 'type:' query. As a convenience, hledger will detect these account types automatically if you are using common english-language top-level account names (described below). But generally we recommend you declare types -explicitly, by adding a ‘type:’ tag to your top-level account +explicitly, by adding a 'type:' tag to your top-level account directives. Subaccounts will inherit the type of their parent. The -tag’s value should be one of the five main account types: +tag's value should be one of the five main account types: - • ‘A’ or ‘Asset’ (things you own) - • ‘L’ or ‘Liability’ (things you owe) - • ‘E’ or ‘Equity’ (investment/ownership; balanced counterpart of + * 'A' or 'Asset' (things you own) + * 'L' or 'Liability' (things you owe) + * 'E' or 'Equity' (investment/ownership; balanced counterpart of assets & liabilities) - • ‘R’ or ‘Revenue’ (what you received money from, AKA income; + * 'R' or 'Revenue' (what you received money from, AKA income; technically part of Equity) - • ‘X’ or ‘Expense’ (what you spend money on; technically part of + * 'X' or 'Expense' (what you spend money on; technically part of Equity) or, it can be (these are used less often): - • ‘C’ or ‘Cash’ (a subtype of Asset, indicating liquid assets for the + * 'C' or 'Cash' (a subtype of Asset, indicating liquid assets for the cashflow report) - • ‘V’ or ‘Conversion’ (a subtype of Equity, for conversions (see COST + * 'V' or 'Conversion' (a subtype of Equity, for conversions (see COST REPORTING).) Here is a typical set of account type declarations: @@ -2465,9 +2496,9 @@ account equity:conversion ; type: V Here are some tips for working with account types. - • The rules for inferring types from account names are as follows. + * The rules for inferring types from account names are as follows. These are just a convenience that sometimes help new users get - going; if they don’t work for you, just ignore them and declare + going; if they don't work for you, just ignore them and declare your account types. See also Regular expressions. If account's name contains this (CI) regular expression: | its type is: @@ -2480,45 +2511,45 @@ account equity:conversion ; type: V ^(income|revenue)s?(:|$) | Revenue ^expenses?(:|$) | Expense - • If you declare any account types, it’s a good idea to declare an + * If you declare any account types, it's a good idea to declare an account for all of the account types, because a mixture of declared and name-inferred types can disrupt certain reports. - • Certain uses of account aliases can disrupt account types. See + * Certain uses of account aliases can disrupt account types. See Rewriting accounts > Aliases and account types. - • As mentioned above, subaccounts will inherit a type from their - parent account. More precisely, an account’s type is decided by + * As mentioned above, subaccounts will inherit a type from their + parent account. More precisely, an account's type is decided by the first of these that exists: - 1. A ‘type:’ declaration for this account. - 2. A ‘type:’ declaration in the parent accounts above it, + 1. A 'type:' declaration for this account. + 2. A 'type:' declaration in the parent accounts above it, preferring the nearest. - 3. An account type inferred from this account’s name. - 4. An account type inferred from a parent account’s name, + 3. An account type inferred from this account's name. + 4. An account type inferred from a parent account's name, preferring the nearest parent. 5. Otherwise, it will have no type. - • For troubleshooting, you can list accounts and their types with: + * For troubleshooting, you can list accounts and their types with: $ hledger accounts --types [ACCTPAT] [-DEPTH] [type:TYPECODES]  File: hledger.info, Node: alias directive, Next: commodity directive, Prev: account directive, Up: Journal -10.19 ‘alias’ directive +10.19 'alias' directive ======================= You can define account alias rules which rewrite your account names, or parts of them, before generating reports. This can be useful for: - • expanding shorthand account names to their full form, allowing + * expanding shorthand account names to their full form, allowing easier data entry and a less verbose journal - • adapting old journals to your current chart of accounts - • experimenting with new account organisations, like a new hierarchy - • combining two accounts into one, eg to see their sum or difference + * adapting old journals to your current chart of accounts + * experimenting with new account organisations, like a new hierarchy + * combining two accounts into one, eg to see their sum or difference on one line - • customising reports + * customising reports Account aliases also rewrite account names in account directives. They do not affect account names being entered via hledger add or @@ -2546,15 +2577,15 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Basic aliases, Next: Regex aliases, Up: alias direc 10.19.1 Basic aliases --------------------- -To set an account alias, use the ‘alias’ directive in your journal file. +To set an account alias, use the 'alias' directive in your journal file. This affects all subsequent journal entries in the current file or its included files (but note: not sibling or parent files). The spaces around the = are optional: alias OLD = NEW - Or, you can use the ‘--alias 'OLD=NEW'’ option on the command line. -This affects all entries. It’s useful for trying out aliases + Or, you can use the '--alias 'OLD=NEW'' option on the command line. +This affects all entries. It's useful for trying out aliases interactively. OLD and NEW are case sensitive full account names. hledger will @@ -2587,7 +2618,7 @@ $ hledger --alias '/REGEX/=REPLACEMENT' ... REPLACEMENT. REGEX is case-insensitive as usual. If you need to match a forward slash, escape it with a backslash, eg -‘/\/=:’. +'/\/=:'. If REGEX contains parenthesised match groups, these can be referenced by the usual backslash and number in REPLACEMENT: @@ -2615,24 +2646,24 @@ effect of previously applied aliases. applied and in which order. For (each account name in) each journal entry, we apply: - 1. ‘alias’ directives preceding the journal entry, most recently + 1. 'alias' directives preceding the journal entry, most recently parsed first (ie, reading upward from the journal entry, bottom to top) - 2. ‘--alias’ options, in the order they appeared on the command line + 2. '--alias' options, in the order they appeared on the command line (left to right). In other words, for (an account name in) a given journal entry: - • the nearest alias declaration before/above the entry is applied + * the nearest alias declaration before/above the entry is applied first - • the next alias before/above that will be be applied next, and so on - • aliases defined after/below the entry do not affect it. + * the next alias before/above that will be be applied next, and so on + * aliases defined after/below the entry do not affect it. This gives nearby aliases precedence over distant ones, and helps provide semantic stability - aliases will keep working the same way independent of which files are being read and in which order. - In case of trouble, adding ‘--debug=6’ to the command line will show + In case of trouble, adding '--debug=6' to the command line will show which aliases are being applied when.  @@ -2641,13 +2672,13 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Aliases and multiple files, Next: end aliases direct 10.19.4 Aliases and multiple files ---------------------------------- -As explained at Directives and multiple files, ‘alias’ directives do not +As explained at Directives and multiple files, 'alias' directives do not affect parent or sibling files. Eg in this command, hledger -f a.aliases -f b.journal account aliases defined in a.aliases will not affect b.journal. -Including the aliases doesn’t work either: +Including the aliases doesn't work either: include a.aliases @@ -2670,7 +2701,7 @@ include c.journal ; also affected  File: hledger.info, Node: end aliases directive, Next: Aliases can generate bad account names, Prev: Aliases and multiple files, Up: alias directive -10.19.5 ‘end aliases’ directive +10.19.5 'end aliases' directive ------------------------------- You can clear (forget) all currently defined aliases (seen in the @@ -2685,7 +2716,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Aliases can generate bad account names, Next: Aliase ---------------------------------------------- Be aware that account aliases can produce malformed account names, which -could cause confusing reports or invalid ‘print’ output. For example, +could cause confusing reports or invalid 'print' output. For example, you could erase all account names: 2021-01-01 @@ -2696,8 +2727,8 @@ $ hledger print --alias '/.*/=' 2021-01-01 1 - The above ‘print’ output is not a valid journal. Or you could insert -an illegal double space, causing ‘print’ output that would give a + The above 'print' output is not a valid journal. Or you could insert +an illegal double space, causing 'print' output that would give a different journal when reparsed: 2021-01-01 @@ -2724,10 +2755,10 @@ renaming parent accounts but not their children, or vice versa) could prevent child accounts from inheriting the account type of their parents. - Secondly, if an account’s type is being inferred from its name, + Secondly, if an account's type is being inferred from its name, renaming it by an alias could prevent or alter that. - If you are using account aliases and the ‘type:’ query is not + If you are using account aliases and the 'type:' query is not matching accounts as you expect, try troubleshooting with the accounts command, eg something like: @@ -2736,11 +2767,11 @@ $ hledger accounts --alias assets=bassetts type:a  File: hledger.info, Node: commodity directive, Next: decimal-mark directive, Prev: alias directive, Up: Journal -10.20 ‘commodity’ directive +10.20 'commodity' directive =========================== -You can use ‘commodity’ directives to declare your commodities. In fact -the ‘commodity’ directive performs several functions at once: +You can use 'commodity' directives to declare your commodities. In fact +the 'commodity' directive performs several functions at once: 1. It declares commodities which may be used in the journal. This can optionally be enforced, providing useful error checking. (Cf @@ -2749,9 +2780,9 @@ the ‘commodity’ directive performs several functions at once: 2. It declares which decimal mark character (period or comma), to expect when parsing input - useful to disambiguate international number formats in your data. Without this, hledger will parse both - ‘1,000’ and ‘1.000’ as 1. (Cf Amounts) + '1,000' and '1.000' as 1. (Cf Amounts) - 3. It declares how to render the commodity’s amounts when displaying + 3. It declares how to render the commodity's amounts when displaying output - the decimal mark, any digit group marks, the number of decimal places, symbol placement and so on. (Cf Commodity display style) @@ -2763,7 +2794,7 @@ parsing and display. Generally you should put them at the top of your journal file (since for function 2, they affect only following amounts, cf #793). - A commodity directive is just the word ‘commodity’ followed by a + A commodity directive is just the word 'commodity' followed by a sample amount, like this: ;commodity SAMPLEAMOUNT @@ -2771,7 +2802,7 @@ sample amount, like this: commodity $1000.00 commodity 1,000.0000 AAAA ; optional same-line comment - It may also be written on multiple lines, and use the ‘format’ + It may also be written on multiple lines, and use the 'format' subdirective, as in Ledger. Note in this case the commodity symbol appears twice; it must be the same in both places: @@ -2789,7 +2820,7 @@ commodity INR Remember that if the commodity symbol contains spaces, numbers, or punctuation, it must be enclosed in double quotes (cf Commodity). - The amount’s quantity does not matter; only the format is + The amount's quantity does not matter; only the format is significant. It must include a decimal mark - either a period or a comma - followed by 0 or more decimal digits. @@ -2801,7 +2832,7 @@ commodity EUR 1.000,00 commodity INR 9,99,99,999.0 commodity 1 000 000. - Note hledger normally uses banker’s rounding, so 0.5 displayed with + Note hledger normally uses banker's rounding, so 0.5 displayed with zero decimal digits is "0". (More at Commodity display style.) Even in the presence of commodity directives, the commodity display @@ -2817,23 +2848,23 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Commodity error checking, Up: commodity directive 10.20.1 Commodity error checking -------------------------------- -In strict mode, enabled with the ‘-s’/‘--strict’ flag, hledger will +In strict mode, enabled with the '-s'/'--strict' flag, hledger will report an error if a commodity symbol is used that has not been declared -by a ‘commodity’ directive. This works similarly to account error +by a 'commodity' directive. This works similarly to account error checking, see the notes there for more details. Note, this disallows amounts without a commodity symbol, because -currently it’s not possible (?) to declare the "no-symbol" commodity +currently it's not possible (?) to declare the "no-symbol" commodity with a directive. This is one exception for convenience: zero amounts are always allowed to have no commodity symbol.  File: hledger.info, Node: decimal-mark directive, Next: include directive, Prev: commodity directive, Up: Journal -10.21 ‘decimal-mark’ directive +10.21 'decimal-mark' directive ============================== -You can use a ‘decimal-mark’ directive - usually one per file, at the +You can use a 'decimal-mark' directive - usually one per file, at the top of the file - to declare which character represents a decimal mark when parsing amounts in this file. It can look like @@ -2850,7 +2881,7 @@ thousands separators).  File: hledger.info, Node: include directive, Next: P directive, Prev: decimal-mark directive, Up: Journal -10.22 ‘include’ directive +10.22 'include' directive ========================= You can pull in the content of additional files by writing an include @@ -2862,29 +2893,29 @@ include FILEPATH timedot files can be included (not CSV files, currently). If the file path does not begin with a slash, it is relative to the -current file’s folder. +current file's folder. - A tilde means home directory, eg: ‘include ~/main.journal’. + A tilde means home directory, eg: 'include ~/main.journal'. The path may contain glob patterns to match multiple files, eg: -‘include *.journal’. +'include *.journal'. - There is limited support for recursive wildcards: ‘**/’ (the slash is -required) matches 0 or more subdirectories. It’s not super convenient + There is limited support for recursive wildcards: '**/' (the slash is +required) matches 0 or more subdirectories. It's not super convenient since you have to avoid include cycles and including directories, but -this can be done, eg: ‘include */**/*.journal’. +this can be done, eg: 'include */**/*.journal'. The path may also be prefixed to force a specific file format, overriding the file extension (as described in hledger.1 -> Input -files): ‘include timedot:~/notes/2020*.md’. +files): 'include timedot:~/notes/2020*.md'.  File: hledger.info, Node: P directive, Next: payee directive, Prev: include directive, Up: Journal -10.23 ‘P’ directive +10.23 'P' directive =================== -The ‘P’ directive declares a market price, which is a conversion rate +The 'P' directive declares a market price, which is a conversion rate between two commodities on a certain date. This allows value reports to convert amounts of one commodity to their value in another, on or after that date. These prices are often obtained from a stock exchange, @@ -2905,16 +2936,16 @@ P 2009-01-01 € $1.35 # and $1.40 from 2010-01-01 onward: P 2010-01-01 € $1.40 - The ‘-V’, ‘-X’ and ‘--value’ flags use these market prices to show + The '-V', '-X' and '--value' flags use these market prices to show amount values in another commodity. See Valuation.  File: hledger.info, Node: payee directive, Next: tag directive, Prev: P directive, Up: Journal -10.24 ‘payee’ directive +10.24 'payee' directive ======================= -‘payee PAYEE NAME’ +'payee PAYEE NAME' This directive can be used to declare a limited set of payees which may appear in transaction descriptions. The "payees" check will report @@ -2928,10 +2959,10 @@ payee Whole Foods  File: hledger.info, Node: tag directive, Next: Periodic transactions, Prev: payee directive, Up: Journal -10.25 ‘tag’ directive +10.25 'tag' directive ===================== -‘tag TAGNAME’ +'tag TAGNAME' This directive can be used to declare a limited set of tag names allowed in tags. TAGNAME should be a valid tag name (no spaces). Eg: @@ -2951,7 +2982,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Periodic transactions, Next: Other syntax, Prev: ta 10.26 Periodic transactions =========================== -The ‘~’ directive declares recurring transactions. Such directives +The '~' directive declares recurring transactions. Such directives allow hledger to generate temporary future transactions (visible in reports, not in the journal file) to help with forecasting or budgeting. @@ -2960,25 +2991,25 @@ read this whole section, or at least these tips: 1. Two spaces accidentally added or omitted will cause you trouble - read about this below. - 2. For troubleshooting, show the generated transactions with ‘hledger - print --forecast tag:generated’ or ‘hledger register --forecast - tag:generated’. + 2. For troubleshooting, show the generated transactions with 'hledger + print --forecast tag:generated' or 'hledger register --forecast + tag:generated'. 3. Forecasted transactions will begin only after the last - non-forecasted transaction’s date. + non-forecasted transaction's date. 4. Forecasted transactions will end 6 months from today, by default. See below for the exact start/end rules. 5. period expressions can be tricky. Their documentation needs improvement, but is worth studying. 6. Some period expressions with a repeating interval must begin on a - natural boundary of that interval. Eg in ‘weekly from DATE’, DATE - must be a monday. ‘~ weekly from 2019/10/1’ (a tuesday) will give + natural boundary of that interval. Eg in 'weekly from DATE', DATE + must be a monday. '~ weekly from 2019/10/1' (a tuesday) will give an error. 7. Other period expressions with an interval are automatically expanded to cover a whole number of that interval. (This is done to improve reports, but it also affects periodic transactions. - Yes, it’s a bit inconsistent with the above.) Eg: ‘~ every 10th - day of month from 2020/01’, which is equivalent to ‘~ every 10th - day of month from 2020/01/01’, will be adjusted to start on + Yes, it's a bit inconsistent with the above.) Eg: '~ every 10th + day of month from 2020/01', which is equivalent to '~ every 10th + day of month from 2020/01/01', will be adjusted to start on 2019/12/10. * Menu: @@ -2994,8 +3025,8 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Periodic rule syntax, Next: Periodic rules and relat ---------------------------- A periodic transaction rule looks like a normal journal entry, with the -date replaced by a tilde (‘~’) followed by a period expression -(mnemonic: ‘~’ looks like a recurring sine wave.): +date replaced by a tilde ('~') followed by a period expression +(mnemonic: '~' looks like a recurring sine wave.): # every first of month ~ monthly @@ -3009,7 +3040,7 @@ date replaced by a tilde (‘~’) followed by a period expression The period expression is the same syntax used for specifying multi-period reports, just interpreted differently; there, it specifies -report periods; here it specifies recurrence dates (the periods’ start +report periods; here it specifies recurrence dates (the periods' start dates).  @@ -3018,14 +3049,14 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Periodic rules and relative dates, Next: Two spaces 10.26.2 Periodic rules and relative dates ----------------------------------------- -Partial or relative dates (like ‘12/31’, ‘25’, ‘tomorrow’, ‘last week’, -‘next quarter’) are usually not recommended in periodic rules, since the +Partial or relative dates (like '12/31', '25', 'tomorrow', 'last week', +'next quarter') are usually not recommended in periodic rules, since the results will change as time passes. If used, they will be interpreted relative to, in order of preference: - 1. the first day of the default year specified by a recent ‘Y’ + 1. the first day of the default year specified by a recent 'Y' directive - 2. or the date specified with ‘--today’ + 2. or the date specified with '--today' 3. or the date on which you are running the report. They will not be affected at all by report period or forecast period @@ -3051,9 +3082,9 @@ accidentally alter their meaning, as in this example: So, - • Do write two spaces between your period expression and your + * Do write two spaces between your period expression and your transaction description, if any. - • Don’t accidentally write two spaces in the middle of your period + * Don't accidentally write two spaces in the middle of your period expression.  @@ -3089,9 +3120,9 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Auto postings, Next: Balance assignments, Up: Other 10.27.1 Auto postings --------------------- -The ‘=’ directive declares a rule for automatically adding temporary +The '=' directive declares a rule for automatically adding temporary extra postings (visible in reports, not in the journal file) to all -transactions matched by a certain query, when you use the ‘--auto’ flag. +transactions matched by a certain query, when you use the '--auto' flag. Downsides: depending on generated data for your reports makes your financial data less portable, less future-proof, and less trustworthy in @@ -3105,20 +3136,20 @@ balance assertions can break depending on whether it is on or off. ... ACCOUNT [AMOUNT] - except the first line is an equals sign (mnemonic: ‘=’ suggests + except the first line is an equals sign (mnemonic: '=' suggests matching), followed by a query (which matches existing postings), and each "posting" line describes a posting to be generated, and the posting amounts can be: - • a normal amount with a commodity symbol, eg ‘$2’. This will be + * a normal amount with a commodity symbol, eg '$2'. This will be used as-is. - • a number, eg ‘2’. The commodity symbol (if any) from the matched + * a number, eg '2'. The commodity symbol (if any) from the matched posting will be added to this. - • a numeric multiplier, eg ‘*2’ (a star followed by a number N). The - matched posting’s amount (and total price, if any) will be + * a numeric multiplier, eg '*2' (a star followed by a number N). The + matched posting's amount (and total price, if any) will be multiplied by N. - • a multiplier with a commodity symbol, eg ‘*$2’ (a star, number N, - and symbol S). The matched posting’s amount will be multiplied by + * a multiplier with a commodity symbol, eg '*$2' (a star, number N, + and symbol S). The matched posting's amount will be multiplied by N, and its commodity symbol will be replaced with S. Any query term containing spaces must be enclosed in single or double @@ -3174,7 +3205,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Auto postings and multiple files, Next: Auto posting An auto posting rule can affect any transaction in the current file, or in any parent file or child file. Note, currently it will not affect -sibling files (when multiple ‘-f’/‘--file’ are used - see #1212). +sibling files (when multiple '-f'/'--file' are used - see #1212).  File: hledger.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 @@ -3194,9 +3225,9 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Auto postings and transaction balancing / inferred am amounts / balance assertions Currently, auto postings are added: - • after missing amounts are inferred, and transactions are checked + * after missing amounts are inferred, and transactions are checked for balancedness, - • but before balance assertions are checked. + * but before balance assertions are checked. Note this means that journal entries must be balanced both before and after auto postings are added. This changed in hledger 1.12+; see #893 @@ -3214,18 +3245,18 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Auto posting tags, Prev: Auto postings and transacti Automated postings will have some extra tags: - • ‘generated-posting:= QUERY’ - shows this was generated by an auto + * 'generated-posting:= QUERY' - shows this was generated by an auto posting rule, and the query - • ‘_generated-posting:= QUERY’ - a hidden tag, which does not appear - in hledger’s output. This can be used to match postings generated + * '_generated-posting:= QUERY' - a hidden tag, which does not appear + in hledger's output. This can be used to match postings generated "just now", rather than generated in the past and saved to the journal. Also, any transaction that has been changed by auto posting rules will have these tags added: - • ‘modified:’ - this transaction was modified - • ‘_modified:’ - a hidden tag not appearing in the comment; this + * 'modified:' - this transaction was modified + * '_modified:' - a hidden tag not appearing in the comment; this transaction was modified "just now".  @@ -3254,7 +3285,7 @@ opening balances: assets:cash = $0 expenses:misc - The calculated amount depends on the account’s balance in the + The calculated amount depends on the account's balance in the commodity at that point (which depends on the previously-dated postings of the commodity to that account since the last balance assertion or assignment). @@ -3262,7 +3293,7 @@ assignment). Downsides: using balance assignments makes your journal less explicit; to know the exact amount posted, you have to run hledger or do the calculations yourself, instead of just reading it. Also balance -assignments’ forcing of balances can hide errors. These things make +assignments' forcing of balances can hide errors. These things make your financial data less portable, less future-proof, and less trustworthy in an audit. @@ -3292,32 +3323,32 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Bracketed posting dates, Next: D directive, Prev: B 10.27.3 Bracketed posting dates ------------------------------- -For setting posting dates and secondary posting dates, Ledger’s -bracketed date syntax is also supported: ‘[DATE]’, ‘[DATE=DATE2]’ or -‘[=DATE2]’ in posting comments. hledger will attempt to parse any -square-bracketed sequence of the ‘0123456789/-.=’ characters in this +For setting posting dates and secondary posting dates, Ledger's +bracketed date syntax is also supported: '[DATE]', '[DATE=DATE2]' or +'[=DATE2]' in posting comments. hledger will attempt to parse any +square-bracketed sequence of the '0123456789/-.=' characters in this way. With this syntax, DATE infers its year from the transaction and DATE2 infers its year from DATE. - Downsides: another syntax to learn, redundant with hledger’s -‘date:’/‘date2:’ tags, and confusingly similar to Ledger’s lot date + Downsides: another syntax to learn, redundant with hledger's +'date:'/'date2:' tags, and confusingly similar to Ledger's lot date syntax.  File: hledger.info, Node: D directive, Next: apply account directive, Prev: Bracketed posting dates, Up: Other syntax -10.27.4 ‘D’ directive +10.27.4 'D' directive --------------------- -‘D AMOUNT’ +'D AMOUNT' This directive sets a default commodity, to be used for any subsequent commodityless amounts (ie, plain numbers) seen while parsing -the journal. This effect lasts until the next ‘D’ directive, or the end +the journal. This effect lasts until the next 'D' directive, or the end of the journal. - For compatibility/historical reasons, ‘D’ also acts like a -‘commodity’ directive (setting the commodity’s decimal mark for parsing + For compatibility/historical reasons, 'D' also acts like a +'commodity' directive (setting the commodity's decimal mark for parsing and display style for output). So its argument is not just a commodity symbol, but a full amount demonstrating the style. The amount must include a decimal mark (either period or comma). Eg: @@ -3332,31 +3363,31 @@ D $1,000.00 Interactions with other directives: - For setting a commodity’s display style, a ‘commodity’ directive has -highest priority, then a ‘D’ directive. + For setting a commodity's display style, a 'commodity' directive has +highest priority, then a 'D' directive. - For detecting a commodity’s decimal mark during parsing, -‘decimal-mark’ has highest priority, then ‘commodity’, then ‘D’. + For detecting a commodity's decimal mark during parsing, +'decimal-mark' has highest priority, then 'commodity', then 'D'. - For checking commodity symbols with the check command, a ‘commodity’ -directive is required (‘hledger check commodities’ ignores ‘D’ + For checking commodity symbols with the check command, a 'commodity' +directive is required ('hledger check commodities' ignores 'D' directives). Downsides: omitting commodity symbols makes your financial data less explicit, less portable, and less trustworthy in an audit. It is usually an unsustainable shortcut; sooner or later you will want to track multiple commodities. D is overloaded with functions redundant -with ‘commodity’ and ‘decimal-mark’. And it works differently from -Ledger’s ‘D’. +with 'commodity' and 'decimal-mark'. And it works differently from +Ledger's 'D'.  File: hledger.info, Node: apply account directive, Next: Y directive, Prev: D directive, Up: Other syntax -10.27.5 ‘apply account’ directive +10.27.5 'apply account' directive --------------------------------- This directive sets a default parent account, which will be prepended to -all accounts in following entries, until an ‘end apply account’ +all accounts in following entries, until an 'end apply account' directive or end of current file. Eg: apply account home @@ -3373,7 +3404,7 @@ end apply account home:food $10 home:cash $-10 - ‘account’ directives are also affected, and so is any ‘include’d + 'account' directives are also affected, and so is any 'include'd content. Account names entered via hledger add or hledger-web are not @@ -3388,17 +3419,17 @@ portable, and less trustworthy in an audit.  File: hledger.info, Node: Y directive, Next: Secondary dates, Prev: apply account directive, Up: Other syntax -10.27.6 ‘Y’ directive +10.27.6 'Y' directive --------------------- -‘Y YEAR’ +'Y YEAR' or (deprecated backward-compatible forms): - ‘year YEAR’ ‘apply year YEAR’ + 'year YEAR' 'apply year YEAR' The space is optional. This sets a default year to be used for -subsequent dates which don’t specify a year. Eg: +subsequent dates which don't specify a year. Eg: Y2009 ; set default year to 2009 @@ -3420,7 +3451,7 @@ year 2010 ; change default year to 2010 least) makes your financial data less explicit, less portable, and less trustworthy in an audit. Such dates can get separated from their corresponding Y directive, eg when evaluating a region of the journal in -your editor. A missing Y directive makes reports dependent on today’s +your editor. A missing Y directive makes reports dependent on today's date.  @@ -3430,13 +3461,13 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Secondary dates, Next: Star comments, Prev: Y direc ----------------------- A secondary date is written after the primary date, following an equals -sign. If the year is omitted, the primary date’s year is assumed. When +sign. If the year is omitted, the primary date's year is assumed. When running reports, the primary (left) date is used by default, but with -the ‘--date2’ flag (or ‘--aux-date’ or ‘--effective’), the secondary +the '--date2' flag (or '--aux-date' or '--effective'), the secondary (right) date will be used instead. - The meaning of secondary dates is up to you, but it’s best to follow -a consistent rule. Eg "primary = the bank’s clearing date, secondary = + The meaning of secondary dates is up to you, but it's best to follow +a consistent rule. Eg "primary = the bank's clearing date, secondary = date the transaction was initiated, if different". Downsides: makes your financial data more complicated, less portable, @@ -3451,16 +3482,16 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Star comments, Next: Valuation expressions, Prev: S 10.27.8 Star comments --------------------- -Lines beginning with ‘*’ (star/asterisk) are also comment lines. This +Lines beginning with '*' (star/asterisk) are also comment lines. This feature allows Emacs users to insert org headings in their journal, allowing them to fold/unfold/navigate it like an outline when viewed with org mode. Downsides: another, unconventional comment syntax to learn. -Decreases your journal’s portability. And switching to Emacs org mode +Decreases your journal's portability. And switching to Emacs org mode just for folding/unfolding meant losing the benefits of ledger mode; nowadays you can add outshine mode to ledger mode to get folding without -losing ledger mode’s features. +losing ledger mode's features.  File: hledger.info, Node: Valuation expressions, Next: Virtual postings, Prev: Star comments, Up: Other syntax @@ -3479,7 +3510,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Virtual postings, Next: Other Ledger directives, Pr A posting with parentheses around the account name is called a _virtual posting_ or _unbalanced posting_, which means it is exempt from the -usual rule that a transaction’s postings must balance add up to zero. +usual rule that a transaction's postings must balance add up to zero. This is not part of double entry bookkeeping, so you might choose to avoid this feature. Or you can use it sparingly for certain special @@ -3504,7 +3535,7 @@ add up to zero (separately from other postings). Eg: Postings whose account names are neither parenthesised nor bracketed are called _real postings_. You can exclude virtual postings from -reports with the ‘-R/--real’ flag or a ‘real:1’ query. +reports with the '-R/--real' flag or a 'real:1' query. Downsides: violates double entry bookkeeping, can be used to avoid figuring out correct entries, makes your financial data less portable @@ -3517,8 +3548,8 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Other Ledger directives, Prev: Virtual postings, Up -------------------------------- These other Ledger directives are currently accepted but ignored. This -allows hledger to read more Ledger files, but be aware that hledger’s -reports may differ from Ledger’s if you use these. +allows hledger to read more Ledger files, but be aware that hledger's +reports may differ from Ledger's if you use these. apply fixed COMM AMT apply tag TAG @@ -3554,7 +3585,7 @@ each record into a transaction. (To learn about _writing_ CSV, see CSV output.) For best error messages when reading CSV/TSV/SSV files, make sure -they have a corresponding ‘.csv’, ‘.tsv’ or ‘.ssv’ file extension or use +they have a corresponding '.csv', '.tsv' or '.ssv' file extension or use a hledger file prefix (see File Extension below). Each CSV file must be described by a corresponding _rules file_. @@ -3563,15 +3594,15 @@ date format etc.), how to construct hledger transactions from it, and how to categorise transactions based on description or other attributes. By default hledger looks for a rules file named like the CSV file -with an extra ‘.rules’ extension, in the same directory. Eg when asked -to read ‘foo/FILE.csv’, hledger looks for ‘foo/FILE.csv.rules’. You can -specify a different rules file with the ‘--rules-file’ option. If no +with an extra '.rules' extension, in the same directory. Eg when asked +to read 'foo/FILE.csv', hledger looks for 'foo/FILE.csv.rules'. You can +specify a different rules file with the '--rules-file' option. If no rules file is found, hledger will create a sample rules file, which -you’ll need to adjust. +you'll need to adjust. 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 are. Here’s a simple CSV file and a rules file for it: +there are. Here's a simple CSV file and a rules file for it: Date, Description, Id, Amount 12/11/2019, Foo, 123, 10.23 @@ -3586,7 +3617,7 @@ $ hledger print -f basic.csv expenses:unknown 10.23 income:unknown -10.23 - There’s an introductory Importing CSV data tutorial on hledger.org, + There's an introductory Importing CSV data tutorial on hledger.org, and more CSV rules examples below, and a larger collection at https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/tree/master/examples/csv. @@ -3618,33 +3649,33 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: CSV rules cheatsheet, Next: separator, Up: CSV ========================= The following kinds of rule can appear in the rules file, in any order. -(Blank lines and lines beginning with ‘#’ or ‘;’ or ‘*’ are ignored.) +(Blank lines and lines beginning with '#' or ';' or '*' are ignored.) -*‘separator’* declare the field separator, instead of +*'separator'* declare the field separator, instead of relying on file extension -*‘skip’* skip one or more header lines at start of file -*‘date-format’* declare how to parse CSV dates/date-times -*‘timezone’* declare the time zone of ambiguous CSV +*'skip'* skip one or more header lines at start of file +*'date-format'* declare how to parse CSV dates/date-times +*'timezone'* declare the time zone of ambiguous CSV date-times -*‘newest-first’* improve txn order when: there are multiple +*'newest-first'* improve txn order when: there are multiple records, newest first, all with the same date -*‘intra-day-reversed’* improve txn order when: same-day txns are in +*'intra-day-reversed'* improve txn order when: same-day txns are in opposite order to the overall file -*‘decimal-mark’* declare the decimal mark used in CSV amounts, +*'decimal-mark'* declare the decimal mark used in CSV amounts, when ambiguous -*‘fields’ list* name CSV fields for easy reference, and +*'fields' list* name CSV fields for easy reference, and optionally assign their values to hledger fields *Field assignment* assign a CSV value or interpolated text value to a hledger field -*‘if’ block* conditionally assign values to hledger fields, - or ‘skip’ a record or ‘end’ (skip rest of +*'if' block* conditionally assign values to hledger fields, + or 'skip' a record or 'end' (skip rest of file) -*‘if’ table* conditionally assign values to hledger fields, +*'if' table* conditionally assign values to hledger fields, using compact syntax -*‘balance-type’* select which type of balance +*'balance-type'* select which type of balance assertions/assignments to generate -*‘include’* inline another CSV rules file +*'include'* inline another CSV rules file Working with CSV tips can be found below, including How CSV rules are evaluated. @@ -3652,12 +3683,12 @@ evaluated.  File: hledger.info, Node: separator, Next: skip, Prev: CSV rules cheatsheet, Up: CSV -11.2 ‘separator’ +11.2 'separator' ================ -You can use the ‘separator’ rule to read other kinds of +You can use the 'separator' rule to read other kinds of character-separated data. The argument is any single separator -character, or the words ‘tab’ or ‘space’ (case insensitive). Eg, for +character, or the words 'tab' or 'space' (case insensitive). Eg, for comma-separated values (CSV): separator , @@ -3670,40 +3701,40 @@ separator ; separator TAB - If the input file has a ‘.csv’, ‘.ssv’ or ‘.tsv’ file extension (or a -‘csv:’, ‘ssv:’, ‘tsv:’ prefix), the appropriate separator will be -inferred automatically, and you won’t need this rule. + If the input file has a '.csv', '.ssv' or '.tsv' file extension (or a +'csv:', 'ssv:', 'tsv:' prefix), the appropriate separator will be +inferred automatically, and you won't need this rule.  File: hledger.info, Node: skip, Next: date-format, Prev: separator, Up: CSV -11.3 ‘skip’ +11.3 'skip' =========== skip N - The word ‘skip’ followed by a number (or no number, meaning 1) tells + The word 'skip' followed by a number (or no number, meaning 1) tells hledger to ignore this many non-empty lines at the start of the input -data. (Empty/blank lines are skipped automatically, so you don’t need -to count those.) You’ll need this whenever your CSV data contains +data. (Empty/blank lines are skipped automatically, so you don't need +to count those.) You'll need this whenever your CSV data contains header lines. Header lines skipped in this way are ignored, and not parsed as CSV. - ‘skip’ can also be used inside if blocks (described below), to skip + 'skip' can also be used inside if blocks (described below), to skip individual data records. Note records skipped in this way are still required to be valid CSV, even though otherwise ignored.  File: hledger.info, Node: date-format, Next: timezone, Prev: skip, Up: CSV -11.4 ‘date-format’ +11.4 'date-format' ================== date-format DATEFMT - This is a helper for the ‘date’ (and ‘date2’) fields. If your CSV -dates are not formatted like ‘YYYY-MM-DD’, ‘YYYY/MM/DD’ or ‘YYYY.MM.DD’, -you’ll need to add a date-format rule describing them with a + This is a helper for the 'date' (and 'date2') fields. If your CSV +dates are not formatted like 'YYYY-MM-DD', 'YYYY/MM/DD' or 'YYYY.MM.DD', +you'll need to add a date-format rule describing them with a strptime-style date parsing pattern - see https://hackage.haskell.org/package/time/docs/Data-Time-Format.html#v:formatTime. The pattern must parse the CSV date value completely. Some examples: @@ -3725,19 +3756,19 @@ date-format %-m/%-d/%Y %l:%M %p some other junk  File: hledger.info, Node: timezone, Next: newest-first, Prev: date-format, Up: CSV -11.5 ‘timezone’ +11.5 'timezone' =============== timezone TIMEZONE When CSV contains date-times that are implicitly in some time zone other than yours, but containing no explicit time zone information, you -can use this rule to declare the CSV’s native time zone, which helps +can use this rule to declare the CSV's native time zone, which helps prevent off-by-one dates. - When the CSV date-times do contain time zone information, you don’t -need this rule; instead, use ‘%Z’ in ‘date-format’ (or ‘%z’, ‘%EZ’, -‘%Ez’; see the formatTime link above). + When the CSV date-times do contain time zone information, you don't +need this rule; instead, use '%Z' in 'date-format' (or '%z', '%EZ', +'%Ez'; see the formatTime link above). In either of these cases, hledger will do a time-zone-aware conversion, localising the CSV date-times to your current system time @@ -3747,28 +3778,28 @@ the TZ environment variable, eg: $ TZ=-1000 hledger print -f foo.csv # or TZ=-1000 hledger import foo.csv - ‘timezone’ currently does not understand timezone names, except + 'timezone' currently does not understand timezone names, except "UTC", "GMT", "EST", "EDT", "CST", "CDT", "MST", "MDT", "PST", or "PDT". For others, use numeric format: +HHMM or -HHMM.  File: hledger.info, Node: newest-first, Next: intra-day-reversed, Prev: timezone, Up: CSV -11.6 ‘newest-first’ +11.6 'newest-first' =================== hledger tries to ensure that the generated transactions will be ordered chronologically, including intra-day transactions. Usually it can auto-detect how the CSV records are ordered. But if it encounters CSV where all records are on the same date, it assumes that the records are -oldest first. If in fact the CSV’s records are normally newest first, +oldest first. If in fact the CSV's records are normally newest first, like: 2022-10-01, txn 3... 2022-10-01, txn 2... 2022-10-01, txn 1... - you can add the ‘newest-first’ rule to help hledger generate the + you can add the 'newest-first' rule to help hledger generate the transactions in correct order. # same-day CSV records are newest first @@ -3777,7 +3808,7 @@ newest-first  File: hledger.info, Node: intra-day-reversed, Next: decimal-mark, Prev: newest-first, Up: CSV -11.7 ‘intra-day-reversed’ +11.7 'intra-day-reversed' ========================= CSV records for each day are sometimes ordered in reverse compared to @@ -3789,7 +3820,7 @@ transactions on each date are oldest first: 2022-10-01, txn 1... 2022-10-01, txn 2... - In this situation, add the ‘intra-day-reversed’ rule, and hledger + In this situation, add the 'intra-day-reversed' rule, and hledger will compensate, improving the order of transactions. # transactions within each day are reversed with respect to the overall date order @@ -3798,7 +3829,7 @@ intra-day-reversed  File: hledger.info, Node: decimal-mark, Next: fields list, Prev: intra-day-reversed, Up: CSV -11.8 ‘decimal-mark’ +11.8 'decimal-mark' =================== decimal-mark . @@ -3816,46 +3847,46 @@ misparsed numbers.  File: hledger.info, Node: fields list, Next: Field assignment, Prev: decimal-mark, Up: CSV -11.9 ‘fields’ list +11.9 'fields' list ================== fields FIELDNAME1, FIELDNAME2, ... - A fields list (the word ‘fields’ followed by comma-separated field + A fields list (the word 'fields' followed by comma-separated field names) is optional, but convenient. It does two things: 1. It names the CSV field in each column. This can be convenient if you are referencing them in other rules, so you can say - ‘%SomeField’ instead of remembering ‘%13’. + '%SomeField' instead of remembering '%13'. 2. Whenever you use one of the special hledger field names (described below), it assigns the CSV value in this position to that hledger - field. This is the quickest way to populate hledger’s fields and + field. This is the quickest way to populate hledger's fields and build a transaction. - Here’s an example that says "use the 1st, 2nd and 4th fields as the -transaction’s date, description and amount; name the last two fields for + Here's an example that says "use the 1st, 2nd and 4th fields as the +transaction's date, description and amount; name the last two fields for later reference; and ignore the others": fields date, description, , amount, , , somefield, anotherfield In a fields list, the separator is always comma; it is unrelated to -the CSV file’s separator. Also: +the CSV file's separator. Also: - • There must be least two items in the list (at least one comma). - • Field names may not contain spaces. Spaces before/after field + * There must be least two items in the list (at least one comma). + * Field names may not contain spaces. Spaces before/after field names are optional. - • Field names may contain ‘_’ (underscore) or ‘-’ (hyphen). - • Fields you don’t care about can be given a dummy name or an empty + * Field names may contain '_' (underscore) or '-' (hyphen). + * Fields you don't care about can be given a dummy name or an empty name. - If the CSV contains column headings, it’s convenient to use these for + If the CSV contains column headings, it's convenient to use these for your field names, suitably modified (eg lower-cased with spaces replaced by underscores). Sometimes you may want to alter a CSV field name to avoid assigning -to a hledger field with the same name. Eg you could call the CSV’s -"balance" field ‘balance_’ to avoid directly setting hledger’s ‘balance’ +to a hledger field with the same name. Eg you could call the CSV's +"balance" field 'balance_' to avoid directly setting hledger's 'balance' field (and generating a balance assertion).  @@ -3874,8 +3905,8 @@ list (see above). the standard hledger field/pseudo-field names, defined below), a space, followed by a text value on the same line. This text value may interpolate CSV fields, referenced by their 1-based position in the CSV -record (‘%N’), or by the name they were given in the fields list -(‘%CSVFIELD’). +record ('%N'), or by the name they were given in the fields list +('%CSVFIELD'). Some examples: @@ -3887,9 +3918,9 @@ comment note: %somefield - %anotherfield, date: %1 Tips: - • Interpolation strips outer whitespace (so a CSV value like ‘" 1 "’ - becomes ‘1’ when interpolated) (#1051). - • Interpolations always refer to a CSV field - you can’t interpolate + * Interpolation strips outer whitespace (so a CSV value like '" 1 "' + becomes '1' when interpolated) (#1051). + * Interpolations always refer to a CSV field - you can't interpolate a hledger field. (See Referencing other fields below).  @@ -3901,14 +3932,14 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Field names, Next: if block, Prev: Field assignment Note the two kinds of field names mentioned here, and used only in hledger CSV rules files: - 1. *CSV field names* (‘CSVFIELD’ in these docs): you can optionally - name the CSV columns for easy reference (since hledger doesn’t yet + 1. *CSV field names* ('CSVFIELD' in these docs): you can optionally + name the CSV columns for easy reference (since hledger doesn't yet automatically recognise column headings in a CSV file), by writing - arbitrary names in a ‘fields’ list, eg: + arbitrary names in a 'fields' list, eg: fields When, What, Some_Id, Net, Total, Foo, Bar - 2. Special *hledger field names* (‘HLEDGERFIELD’ in these docs): you + 2. Special *hledger field names* ('HLEDGERFIELD' in these docs): you must set at least some of these to generate the hledger transaction from a CSV record, by writing them as the left hand side of a field assignment, eg: @@ -3919,7 +3950,7 @@ hledger CSV rules files: comment %Foo %Bar amount1 $ %Total - or directly in a ‘fields’ list: + or directly in a 'fields' list: fields date, description, code, , amount1, Foo, Bar currency $ @@ -3947,7 +3978,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: date field, Next: date2 field, Up: Field names 11.11.1 date field ------------------ -Assigning to ‘date’ sets the transaction date. +Assigning to 'date' sets the transaction date.  File: hledger.info, Node: date2 field, Next: status field, Prev: date field, Up: Field names @@ -3955,7 +3986,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: date2 field, Next: status field, Prev: date field, 11.11.2 date2 field ------------------- -‘date2’ sets the transaction’s secondary date, if any. +'date2' sets the transaction's secondary date, if any.  File: hledger.info, Node: status field, Next: code field, Prev: date2 field, Up: Field names @@ -3963,7 +3994,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: status field, Next: code field, Prev: date2 field, 11.11.3 status field -------------------- -‘status’ sets the transaction’s status, if any. +'status' sets the transaction's status, if any.  File: hledger.info, Node: code field, Next: description field, Prev: status field, Up: Field names @@ -3971,7 +4002,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: code field, Next: description field, Prev: status f 11.11.4 code field ------------------ -‘code’ sets the transaction’s code, if any. +'code' sets the transaction's code, if any.  File: hledger.info, Node: description field, Next: comment field, Prev: code field, Up: Field names @@ -3979,7 +4010,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: description field, Next: comment field, Prev: code 11.11.5 description field ------------------------- -‘description’ sets the transaction’s description, if any. +'description' sets the transaction's description, if any.  File: hledger.info, Node: comment field, Next: account field, Prev: description field, Up: Field names @@ -3987,12 +4018,12 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: comment field, Next: account field, Prev: descripti 11.11.6 comment field --------------------- -‘comment’ sets the transaction’s comment, if any. +'comment' sets the transaction's comment, if any. - ‘commentN’, where N is a number, sets the Nth posting’s comment. + 'commentN', where N is a number, sets the Nth posting's comment. - You can assign multi-line comments by writing literal ‘\n’ in the -code. A comment starting with ‘\n’ will begin on a new line. + You can assign multi-line comments by writing literal '\n' in the +code. A comment starting with '\n' will begin on a new line. Comments can contain tags, as usual. @@ -4002,15 +4033,15 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: account field, Next: amount field, Prev: comment fi 11.11.7 account field --------------------- -Assigning to ‘accountN’, where N is 1 to 99, sets the account name of +Assigning to 'accountN', where N is 1 to 99, sets the account name of the Nth posting, and causes that posting to be generated. - Most often there are two postings, so you’ll want to set ‘account1’ -and ‘account2’. Typically ‘account1’ is associated with the CSV file, -and is set once with a top-level assignment, while ‘account2’ is set -based on each transaction’s description, in conditional rules. + Most often there are two postings, so you'll want to set 'account1' +and 'account2'. Typically 'account1' is associated with the CSV file, +and is set once with a top-level assignment, while 'account2' is set +based on each transaction's description, in conditional rules. - If a posting’s account name is left unset but its amount is set (see + If a posting's account name is left unset but its amount is set (see below), a default account name will be chosen (like "expenses:unknown" or "income:unknown"). @@ -4023,42 +4054,42 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: amount field, Next: currency field, Prev: account f There are several "amount" field name variants, useful for different situations: - • ‘amountN’ sets the amount of the Nth posting, and causes that - posting to be generated. By assigning to ‘amount1’, ‘amount2’, ... - etc. you can generate up to 99 postings. Posting numbers don’t + * 'amountN' sets the amount of the Nth posting, and causes that + posting to be generated. By assigning to 'amount1', 'amount2', ... + etc. you can generate up to 99 postings. Posting numbers don't have to be consecutive; in certain situations using a high number might be helpful to influence the layout of postings. - • ‘amountN-in’ and ‘amountN-out’ should be used instead, as a pair, + * 'amountN-in' and 'amountN-out' should be used instead, as a pair, when and only when the amount must be obtained from two CSV fields. Eg when the CSV has separate Debit and Credit fields instead of a single Amount field. Note: - • Don’t think "-in is for the first posting and -out is for the - second posting" - that’s not correct. Think: "‘amountN-in’ - and ‘amountN-out’ together detect the amount for posting N, by + * Don't think "-in is for the first posting and -out is for the + second posting" - that's not correct. Think: "'amountN-in' + and 'amountN-out' together detect the amount for posting N, by inspecting two CSV fields at once." - • hledger assumes both CSV fields are unsigned, and will + * hledger assumes both CSV fields are unsigned, and will automatically negate the -out value. - • It also expects that at least one of the values is empty or - zero, so it knows which one to ignore. If that’s not the case - you’ll need an if rule (see Setting amounts below). + * It also expects that at least one of the values is empty or + zero, so it knows which one to ignore. If that's not the case + you'll need an if rule (see Setting amounts below). - • ‘amount’, with no posting number (and similarly, ‘amount-in’ and - ‘amount-out’ with no number) are an older syntax. We keep them for + * 'amount', with no posting number (and similarly, 'amount-in' and + 'amount-out' with no number) are an older syntax. We keep them for backwards compatibility, and because they have special behaviour that is sometimes convenient: - • They set the amount of posting 1 and (negated) the amount of + * They set the amount of posting 1 and (negated) the amount of posting 2. - • Posting 2’s amount will be converted to cost if it has a cost + * Posting 2's amount will be converted to cost if it has a cost price. - • Any of the newer rules for posting 1 or 2 (like ‘amount1’, or - ‘amount2-in’ and ‘amount2-out’) will take precedence. This + * Any of the newer rules for posting 1 or 2 (like 'amount1', or + 'amount2-in' and 'amount2-out') will take precedence. This allows incrementally migrating old rules files to the new syntax. - There’s more to say about amount-setting that doesn’t fit here; + There's more to say about amount-setting that doesn't fit here; please see also "Setting amounts" below.  @@ -4067,11 +4098,11 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: currency field, Next: balance field, Prev: amount f 11.11.9 currency field ---------------------- -‘currency’ sets a currency symbol, to be prepended to all postings’ +'currency' sets a currency symbol, to be prepended to all postings' amounts. You can use this if the CSV amounts do not have a currency symbol, eg if it is in a separate column. - ‘currencyN’ prepends a currency symbol to just the Nth posting’s + 'currencyN' prepends a currency symbol to just the Nth posting's amount.  @@ -4080,21 +4111,21 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: balance field, Prev: currency field, Up: Field name 11.11.10 balance field ---------------------- -‘balanceN’ sets a balance assertion amount (or if the posting amount is +'balanceN' sets a balance assertion amount (or if the posting amount is left empty, a balance assignment) on posting N. - ‘balance’ is a compatibility spelling for hledger <1.17; it is -equivalent to ‘balance1’. + 'balance' is a compatibility spelling for hledger <1.17; it is +equivalent to 'balance1'. You can adjust the type of assertion/assignment with the -‘balance-type’ rule (see below). +'balance-type' rule (see below). See Tips below for more about setting amounts and currency.  File: hledger.info, Node: if block, Next: Matchers, Prev: Field names, Up: CSV -11.12 ‘if’ block +11.12 'if' block ================ Rules can be applied conditionally, depending on patterns in the CSV @@ -4104,7 +4135,7 @@ their description (for example). There are two ways to write conditional rules: "if blocks", described here, and "if tables", described below. - An if block is the word ‘if’ and one or more "matcher" expressions + An if block is the word 'if' and one or more "matcher" expressions (can be a word or phrase), one per line, starting either on the same or next line; followed by one or more indented rules. Eg, @@ -4124,9 +4155,9 @@ MATCHER applied. They are usually field assignments, but the following special rules may also be used within an if block: - • ‘skip’ - skips the matched CSV record (generating no transaction + * 'skip' - skips the matched CSV record (generating no transaction from it) - • ‘end’ - skips the rest of the current CSV file. + * 'end' - skips the rest of the current CSV file. Some examples: @@ -4155,22 +4186,22 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Matchers, Next: if table, Prev: if block, Up: CSV There are two kinds: 1. A record matcher is a word or single-line text fragment or regular - expression (‘REGEX’), which hledger will try to match + expression ('REGEX'), which hledger will try to match case-insensitively anywhere within the CSV record. - Eg: ‘whole foods’ + Eg: 'whole foods' 2. A field matcher is preceded with a percent sign and CSV field name - (‘%CSVFIELD REGEX’). hledger will try to match these just within + ('%CSVFIELD REGEX'). hledger will try to match these just within the named CSV field. - Eg: ‘%date 2023’ + Eg: '%date 2023' The regular expression is (as usual in hledger) a POSIX extended -regular expression, that also supports GNU word boundaries (‘\b’, ‘\B’, -‘\<’, ‘\>’), and nothing else. If you have trouble, see "Regular +regular expression, that also supports GNU word boundaries ('\b', '\B', +'\<', '\>'), and nothing else. If you have trouble, see "Regular expressions" in the hledger manual (https://hledger.org/hledger.html#regular-expressions). - With record matchers, it’s important to know that the record matched + With record matchers, it's important to know that the record matched is not the original CSV record, but a modified one: separators will be converted to commas, and enclosing double quotes (but not enclosing whitespace) are removed. So for example, when reading an SSV file, if @@ -4184,16 +4215,16 @@ the original record was: When an if block has multiple matchers, they are combined as follows: - • By default they are OR’d (any one of them can match) - • When a matcher is preceded by ampersand (‘&’) it will be AND’ed + * By default they are OR'd (any one of them can match) + * When a matcher is preceded by ampersand ('&') it will be AND'ed with the previous matcher (both of them must match). - There’s not yet an easy syntax to negate a matcher. + There's not yet an easy syntax to negate a matcher.  File: hledger.info, Node: if table, Next: balance-type, Prev: Matchers, Up: CSV -11.14 ‘if’ table +11.14 'if' table ================ "if tables" are an alternative to if blocks; they can express many @@ -4206,10 +4237,10 @@ MATCHERB,VALUE1,VALUE2,... MATCHERC,VALUE1,VALUE2,... - The first character after ‘if’ is taken to be the separator for the -rest of the table. It should be a non-alphanumeric character like ‘,’ -or ‘|’ that does not appear anywhere else in the table. (Note: it is -unrelated to the CSV file’s separator.) Whitespace can be used in the + The first character after 'if' is taken to be the separator for the +rest of the table. It should be a non-alphanumeric character like ',' +or '|' that does not appear anywhere else in the table. (Note: it is +unrelated to the CSV file's separator.) Whitespace can be used in the matcher lines for readability, but not in the if line currently. The table must be terminated by an empty line (or end of file). Each line must contain the same number of separators; empty values are allowed. @@ -4244,15 +4275,15 @@ atm transaction fee,expenses:business:banking,deductible? check it  File: hledger.info, Node: balance-type, Next: include, Prev: if table, Up: CSV -11.15 ‘balance-type’ +11.15 'balance-type' ==================== Balance assertions generated by assigning to balanceN are of the simple -‘=’ type by default, which is a single-commodity, subaccount-excluding +'=' type by default, which is a single-commodity, subaccount-excluding assertion. You may find the subaccount-including variants more useful, eg if you have created some virtual subaccounts of checking to help with budgeting. You can select a different type of assertion with the -‘balance-type’ rule: +'balance-type' rule: # balance assertions will consider all commodities and all subaccounts balance-type ==* @@ -4267,14 +4298,14 @@ balance-type ==*  File: hledger.info, Node: include, Next: Working with CSV, Prev: balance-type, Up: CSV -11.16 ‘include’ +11.16 'include' =============== include RULESFILE This includes the contents of another CSV rules file at this point. -‘RULESFILE’ is an absolute file path or a path relative to the current -file’s directory. This can be useful for sharing common rules between +'RULESFILE' is an absolute file path or a path relative to the current +file's directory. This can be useful for sharing common rules between several rules files, eg: # someaccount.csv.rules @@ -4318,8 +4349,8 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Rapid feedback, Next: Valid CSV, Up: Working with C 11.17.1 Rapid feedback ---------------------- -It’s a good idea to get rapid feedback while creating/troubleshooting -CSV rules. Here’s a good way, using entr from eradman.com/entrproject: +It's a good idea to get rapid feedback while creating/troubleshooting +CSV rules. Here's a good way, using entr from eradman.com/entrproject: $ ls foo.csv* | entr bash -c 'echo ----; hledger -f foo.csv print desc:SOMEDESC' @@ -4338,16 +4369,16 @@ Note that hledger will only accept valid CSV conforming to RFC 4180, and equivalent SSV and TSV formats (like RFC 4180 but with semicolon or tab as separators). This means, eg: - • Values may be enclosed in double quotes, or not. Enclosing in - single quotes is not allowed. (Eg ‘'A','B'’ is rejected.) - • When values are enclosed in double quotes, spaces outside the - quotes are not allowed. (Eg ‘"A", "B"’ is rejected.) - • When values are not enclosed in quotes, they may not contain double - quotes. (Eg ‘A"A, B’ is rejected.) + * Values may be enclosed in double quotes, or not. Enclosing in + single quotes is not allowed. (Eg ''A','B'' is rejected.) + * When values are enclosed in double quotes, spaces outside the + quotes are not allowed. (Eg '"A", "B"' is rejected.) + * When values are not enclosed in quotes, they may not contain double + quotes. (Eg 'A"A, B' is rejected.) - If your CSV/SSV/TSV is not valid in this sense, you’ll need to + If your CSV/SSV/TSV is not valid in this sense, you'll need to transform it before reading with hledger. Try using sed, or a more -permissive CSV parser like python’s csv lib. +permissive CSV parser like python's csv lib.  File: hledger.info, Node: File Extension, Next: Reading CSV from standard input, Prev: Valid CSV, Up: Working with CSV @@ -4357,12 +4388,12 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: File Extension, Next: Reading CSV from standard inpu To help hledger choose the CSV file reader and show the right error messages (and choose the right field separator character by default), -it’s best if CSV/SSV/TSV files are named with a ‘.csv’, ‘.ssv’ or ‘.tsv’ +it's best if CSV/SSV/TSV files are named with a '.csv', '.ssv' or '.tsv' filename extension. (More about this at Data formats.) When reading files with the "wrong" extension, you can ensure the CSV reader (and the default field separator) by prefixing the file path with -‘csv:’, ‘ssv:’ or ‘tsv:’: Eg: +'csv:', 'ssv:' or 'tsv:': Eg: $ hledger -f ssv:foo.dat print @@ -4375,7 +4406,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Reading CSV from standard input, Next: Reading multi 11.17.4 Reading CSV from standard input --------------------------------------- -You’ll need the file format prefix when reading CSV from stdin also, +You'll need the file format prefix when reading CSV from stdin also, since hledger assumes journal format by default. Eg: $ cat foo.dat | hledger -f ssv:- print @@ -4386,9 +4417,9 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Reading multiple CSV files, Next: Valid transactions 11.17.5 Reading multiple CSV files ---------------------------------- -If you use multiple ‘-f’ options to read multiple CSV files at once, +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 -file. But if you use the ‘--rules-file’ option, that rules file will be +file. But if you use the '--rules-file' option, that rules file will be used for all the CSV files.  @@ -4422,8 +4453,8 @@ of the same records. The import command will (a) detect the new transactions, and (b) append just those transactions to your main journal. It is idempotent, -so you don’t have to remember how many times you ran it or with which -version of the CSV. (It keeps state in a hidden ‘.latest.FILE.csv’ +so you don't have to remember how many times you ran it or with which +version of the CSV. (It keeps state in a hidden '.latest.FILE.csv' file.) This is the easiest way to import CSV data. Eg: # download the latest CSV files, then run this command. @@ -4437,8 +4468,8 @@ chronological order, and new records appear only at the new end.) otherwise, exist for converting, deduplicating, classifying and managing CSV data. See: - • https://hledger.org/cookbook.html#setups-and-workflows - • https://plaintextaccounting.org -> data import/conversion + * https://hledger.org/cookbook.html#setups-and-workflows + * https://plaintextaccounting.org -> data import/conversion  File: hledger.info, Node: Setting amounts, Next: Amount signs, Prev: Deduplicating importing, Up: Working with CSV @@ -4452,7 +4483,7 @@ various amount-setting situations: 1. *If the amount is in a single CSV field:* a. *If its sign indicates direction of flow:* - Assign it to ‘amountN’, to set the Nth posting’s amount. N is + Assign it to 'amountN', to set the Nth posting's amount. N is usually 1 or 2 but can go up to 99. b. *If another field indicates direction of flow:* @@ -4467,15 +4498,15 @@ various amount-setting situations: 2. *If the amount is in one of two CSV fields (eg Debit and Credit):* a. *If both fields are unsigned:* - Assign the fields to ‘amountN-in’ and ‘amountN-out’. This - sets posting N’s amount to whichever of these has a non-zero - value. If it’s the -out value, the amount will be negated. + Assign the fields to 'amountN-in' and 'amountN-out'. This + sets posting N's amount to whichever of these has a non-zero + value. If it's the -out value, the amount will be negated. b. *If either field is signed:* Use a conditional rule to flip the sign when needed. Eg below, the -out value already has a minus sign so we undo - hledger’s automatic negating by negating once more (but only - if the field is non-empty, so that we don’t leave a minus sign + hledger's automatic negating by negating once more (but only + if the field is non-empty, so that we don't leave a minus sign by itself): fields date, description, amount1-in, amount1-out @@ -4486,7 +4517,7 @@ various amount-setting situations: empty):* The -in/-out rules normally choose the value which is non-zero/non-empty. Some value pairs can be ambiguous, such - as ‘1’ and ‘none’. For such cases, use conditional rules to + as '1' and 'none'. For such cases, use conditional rules to help select the amount. Eg, to handle the above you could select the value containing non-zero digits: @@ -4496,15 +4527,15 @@ various amount-setting situations: if %out [1-9] amount1 %out - 3. *If you want posting 2’s amount converted to cost:* - Use the unnumbered ‘amount’ (or ‘amount-in’ and ‘amount-out’) + 3. *If you want posting 2's amount converted to cost:* + Use the unnumbered 'amount' (or 'amount-in' and 'amount-out') syntax. 4. *If the CSV has only balance amounts, not transaction amounts:* - Assign to ‘balanceN’, to set a balance assignment on the Nth - posting, causing the posting’s amount to be calculated - automatically. ‘balance’ with no number is equivalent to - ‘balance1’. In this situation hledger is more likely to guess the + Assign to 'balanceN', to set a balance assignment on the Nth + posting, causing the posting's amount to be calculated + automatically. 'balance' with no number is equivalent to + 'balance1'. In this situation hledger is more likely to guess the wrong default account name, so you may need to set that explicitly.  @@ -4516,22 +4547,22 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Amount signs, Next: Setting currency/commodity, Pre There is some special handling for amount signs, to simplify parsing and sign-flipping: - • *If an amount value begins with a plus sign:* - that will be removed: ‘+AMT’ becomes ‘AMT’ + * *If an amount value begins with a plus sign:* + that will be removed: '+AMT' becomes 'AMT' - • *If an amount value is parenthesised:* - it will be de-parenthesised and sign-flipped: ‘(AMT)’ becomes - ‘-AMT’ + * *If an amount value is parenthesised:* + it will be de-parenthesised and sign-flipped: '(AMT)' becomes + '-AMT' - • *If an amount value has two minus signs (or two sets of + * *If an amount value has two minus signs (or two sets of parentheses, or a minus sign and parentheses):* - they cancel out and will be removed: ‘--AMT’ or ‘-(AMT)’ becomes - ‘AMT’ + they cancel out and will be removed: '--AMT' or '-(AMT)' becomes + 'AMT' - • *If an amount value contains just a sign (or just a set of + * *If an amount value contains just a sign (or just a set of parentheses):* - that is removed, making it an empty value. ‘"+"’ or ‘"-"’ or - ‘"()"’ becomes ‘""’. + that is removed, making it an empty value. '"+"' or '"-"' or + '"()"' becomes '""'.  File: hledger.info, Node: Setting currency/commodity, Next: Amount decimal places, Prev: Amount signs, Up: Working with CSV @@ -4539,12 +4570,12 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Setting currency/commodity, Next: Amount decimal pla 11.17.10 Setting currency/commodity ----------------------------------- -If the currency/commodity symbol is included in the CSV’s amount +If the currency/commodity symbol is included in the CSV's amount field(s): 2020-01-01,foo,$123.00 - you don’t have to do anything special for the commodity symbol, it + you don't have to do anything special for the commodity symbol, it will be assigned as part of the amount. Eg: fields date,description,amount @@ -4557,7 +4588,7 @@ fields date,description,amount 2020-01-01,foo,USD,123.00 - You can assign that to the ‘currency’ pseudo-field, which has the + You can assign that to the 'currency' pseudo-field, which has the special effect of prepending itself to every amount in the transaction (on the left, with no separating space): @@ -4578,8 +4609,8 @@ amount %amt %cur expenses:unknown 123.00 USD income:unknown -123.00 USD - Note we used a temporary field name (‘cur’) that is not ‘currency’ - -that would trigger the prepending effect, which we don’t want here. + Note we used a temporary field name ('cur') that is not 'currency' - +that would trigger the prepending effect, which we don't want here.  File: hledger.info, Node: Amount decimal places, Next: Referencing other fields, Prev: Setting currency/commodity, Up: Working with CSV @@ -4588,11 +4619,11 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Amount decimal places, Next: Referencing other field ------------------------------ Like amounts in a journal file, the amounts generated by CSV rules like -‘amount1’ influence commodity display styles, such as the number of +'amount1' influence commodity display styles, such as the number of decimal places displayed in reports. The original amounts as written in the CSV file do not affect display -style (because we don’t yet reliably know their commodity). +style (because we don't yet reliably know their commodity).  File: hledger.info, Node: Referencing other fields, Next: How CSV rules are evaluated, Prev: Amount decimal places, Up: Working with CSV @@ -4601,7 +4632,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Referencing other fields, Next: How CSV rules are ev --------------------------------- 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 +fields. In the example below, there's both a CSV field and a hledger field named amount1, but %amount1 always means the CSV field, not the hledger field: @@ -4614,7 +4645,7 @@ amount1 %amount1 USD # Set comment to the CSV amount1 (not the amount1 assigned above) comment %amount1 - Here, since there’s no CSV amount1 field, %amount1 will produce a + Here, since there's no CSV amount1 field, %amount1 will produce a literal "amount1": fields date,description,csvamount @@ -4623,7 +4654,7 @@ amount1 %csvamount USD comment %amount1 When there are multiple field assignments to the same hledger field, -only the last one takes effect. Here, comment’s value will be be B, or +only the last one takes effect. Here, comment's value will be be B, or C if "something" is matched, but never A: comment A @@ -4637,35 +4668,35 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: How CSV rules are evaluated, Next: Well factored rul 11.17.13 How CSV rules are evaluated ------------------------------------ -Here’s how to think of CSV rules being evaluated (if you really need +Here's how to think of CSV rules being evaluated (if you really need to). First, - • ‘include’ - all includes are inlined, from top to bottom, depth + * 'include' - all includes are inlined, from top to bottom, depth first. (At each include point the file is inlined and scanned for further includes, recursively, before proceeding.) Then "global" rules are evaluated, top to bottom. If a rule is repeated, the last one wins: - • ‘skip’ (at top level) - • ‘date-format’ - • ‘newest-first’ - • ‘fields’ - names the CSV fields, optionally sets up initial + * 'skip' (at top level) + * 'date-format' + * 'newest-first' + * 'fields' - names the CSV fields, optionally sets up initial assignments to hledger fields Then for each CSV record in turn: - • test all ‘if’ blocks. If any of them contain a ‘end’ rule, skip + * test all 'if' blocks. If any of them contain a 'end' rule, skip all remaining CSV records. Otherwise if any of them contain a - ‘skip’ rule, skip that many CSV records. If there are multiple - matched ‘skip’ rules, the first one wins. - • collect all field assignments at top level and in matched ‘if’ + 'skip' rule, skip that many CSV records. If there are multiple + matched 'skip' rules, the first one wins. + * collect all field assignments at top level and in matched 'if' blocks. When there are multiple assignments for a field, keep only the last one. - • compute a value for each hledger field - either the one that was + * compute a value for each hledger field - either the one that was assigned to it (and interpolate the %CSVFIELD references), or a default - • generate a hledger transaction (journal entry) from these values. + * generate a hledger transaction (journal entry) from these values. This is all part of the CSV reader, one of several readers hledger can use to parse input files. When all files have been read @@ -4681,11 +4712,11 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Well factored rules, Prev: How CSV rules are evaluat Some things than can help reduce duplication and complexity in rules files: - • Extracting common rules usable with multiple CSV files into a - ‘common.rules’, and adding ‘include common.rules’ to each CSV’s + * Extracting common rules usable with multiple CSV files into a + 'common.rules', and adding 'include common.rules' to each CSV's rules file. - • Splitting if blocks into smaller if blocks, extracting the + * Splitting if blocks into smaller if blocks, extracting the frequently used parts.  @@ -4707,7 +4738,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Bank of Ireland, Next: Coinbase, Up: CSV rules exam 11.18.1 Bank of Ireland ----------------------- -Here’s a CSV with two amount fields (Debit and Credit), and a balance +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 necessary but provides extra error checking: @@ -4750,7 +4781,7 @@ $ hledger -f bankofireland-checking.csv print assets:bank:boi:checking EUR-5.0 = EUR126.0 expenses:unknown EUR5.0 - The balance assertions don’t raise an error above, because we’re + The balance assertions don't raise an error above, because we're reading directly from CSV, but they will be checked if these entries are imported into a journal file. @@ -4761,8 +4792,8 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Coinbase, Next: Amazon, Prev: Bank of Ireland, Up: ---------------- A simple example with some CSV from Coinbase. The spot price is -recorded using cost notation. The legacy ‘amount’ field name -conveniently sets amount 2 (posting 2’s amount) to the total cost. +recorded using cost notation. The legacy 'amount' field name +conveniently sets amount 2 (posting 2's amount) to the total cost. # Timestamp,Transaction Type,Asset,Quantity Transacted,Spot Price Currency,Spot Price at Transaction,Subtotal,Total (inclusive of fees and/or spread),Fees and/or Spread,Notes # 2021-12-30T06:57:59Z,Receive,USDC,100,GBP,0.740000,"","","","Received 100.00 USDC from an external account" @@ -4788,8 +4819,8 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Amazon, Next: Paypal, Prev: Coinbase, Up: CSV rule -------------- 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 -get this data from your bank instead, but it’s an example.) +generate a third posting if there's a fee. (In practice you'd probably +get this data from your bank instead, but it's an example.) "Date","Type","To/From","Name","Status","Amount","Fees","Transaction ID" "Jul 29, 2012","Payment","To","Foo.","Completed","$20.00","$0.00","16000000000000DGLNJPI1P9B8DKPVHL" @@ -4845,7 +4876,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Paypal, Prev: Amazon, Up: CSV rules examples 11.18.4 Paypal -------------- -Here’s a real-world rules file for (customised) Paypal CSV, with some +Here's a real-world rules file for (customised) Paypal CSV, with some Paypal-specific rules, and a second rules file included: "Date","Time","TimeZone","Name","Type","Status","Currency","Gross","Fee","Net","From Email Address","To Email Address","Transaction ID","Item Title","Item ID","Reference Txn ID","Receipt ID","Balance","Note" @@ -5002,12 +5033,12 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Timeclock, Next: Timedot, Prev: CSV, Up: Top The time logging format of timeclock.el, as read by hledger. hledger can read time logs in timeclock format. As with Ledger, -these are (a subset of) timeclock.el’s format, containing clock-in and +these are (a subset of) timeclock.el's format, containing clock-in and clock-out entries as in the example below. The date is a simple date. The time format is HH:MM[:SS][+-ZZZZ]. Seconds and timezone are optional. The timezone, if present, must be four digits and is ignored (currently the time is always interpreted as a local time). Lines -beginning with ‘#’ or ‘;’ or ‘*’, and blank lines, are ignored. +beginning with '#' or ';' or '*', and blank lines, are ignored. i 2015/03/30 09:00:00 some:account name optional description after two spaces o 2015/03/30 09:20:00 @@ -5017,7 +5048,7 @@ o 2015/04/01 02:00:34 hledger treats each clock-in/clock-out pair as a transaction posting some number of hours to an account. Or if the session spans more than one day, it is split into several transactions, one for each day. For -the above time log, ‘hledger print’ generates these journal entries: +the above time log, 'hledger print' generates these journal entries: $ hledger -f t.timeclock print 2015-03-30 * optional description after two spaces @@ -5037,14 +5068,14 @@ $ hledger -f sample.timeclock register -p weekly --depth 1 --empty # time summa To generate time logs, ie to clock in and clock out, you could: - • use emacs and the built-in timeclock.el, or the extended + * use emacs and the built-in timeclock.el, or the extended timeclock-x.el and perhaps the extras in ledgerutils.el - • at the command line, use these bash aliases: ‘shell alias ti="echo + * at the command line, use these bash aliases: 'shell alias ti="echo i `date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S'` \$* >>$TIMELOG" alias to="echo o - `date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S'` >>$TIMELOG"’ + `date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S'` >>$TIMELOG"' - • or use the old ‘ti’ and ‘to’ scripts in the ledger 2.x repository. + * or use the old 'ti' and 'to' scripts in the ledger 2.x repository. These rely on a "timeclock" executable which I think is just the ledger 2 executable renamed. @@ -5054,11 +5085,11 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Timedot, Next: PART 3 REPORTING CONCEPTS, Prev: Tim 13 Timedot ********** -‘timedot’ format is hledger’s human-friendly time logging format. -Compared to ‘timeclock’ format, it is +'timedot' format is hledger's human-friendly time logging format. +Compared to 'timeclock' format, it is - • convenient for quick, approximate, and retroactive time logging - • readable: you can see at a glance where time was spent. + * convenient for quick, approximate, and retroactive time logging + * readable: you can see at a glance where time was spent. A timedot file contains a series of day entries, which might look like this: @@ -5083,54 +5114,54 @@ $ hledger -f a.timedot print # .timedot file extension activates the timedot r A day entry begins with a date line: - • a non-indented *simple date* (Y-M-D, Y/M/D, or Y.M.D). + * a non-indented *simple date* (Y-M-D, Y/M/D, or Y.M.D). Optionally this can be followed on the same line by - • a common *transaction description* for this day - • a common *transaction comment* for this day, after a semicolon - (‘;’). + * a common *transaction description* for this day + * a common *transaction comment* for this day, after a semicolon + (';'). After the date line are zero or more optionally-indented time transaction lines, consisting of: - • an *account name* - any word or phrase, usually a hledger-style + * an *account name* - any word or phrase, usually a hledger-style account name. - • *two or more spaces* - a field separator, required if there is an + * *two or more spaces* - a field separator, required if there is an amount (as in journal format). - • a *timedot amount* - dots representing quarter hours, or a number + * a *timedot amount* - dots representing quarter hours, or a number representing hours. - • an optional *comment* beginning with semicolon. This is ignored. + * an optional *comment* beginning with semicolon. This is ignored. In more detail, timedot amounts can be: - • *dots*: zero or more period characters, each representing one + * *dots*: zero or more period characters, each representing one quarter-hour. Spaces are ignored and can be used for grouping. - Eg: ‘.... ..’ + Eg: '.... ..' - • a *number*, representing hours. Eg: ‘1.5’ + * a *number*, representing hours. Eg: '1.5' - • a *number immediately followed by a unit symbol* ‘s’, ‘m’, ‘h’, - ‘d’, ‘w’, ‘mo’, or ‘y’, representing seconds, minutes, hours, days - weeks, months or years. Eg ‘1.5h’ or ‘90m’. The following + * a *number immediately followed by a unit symbol* 's', 'm', 'h', + 'd', 'w', 'mo', or 'y', representing seconds, minutes, hours, days + weeks, months or years. Eg '1.5h' or '90m'. The following equivalencies are assumed: - ‘60s’ = ‘1m’, ‘60m’ = ‘1h’, ‘24h’ = ‘1d’, ‘7d’ = ‘1w’, ‘30d’ = - ‘1mo’, ‘365d’ = ‘1y’. (This unit will not be visible in the + '60s' = '1m', '60m' = '1h', '24h' = '1d', '7d' = '1w', '30d' = + '1mo', '365d' = '1y'. (This unit will not be visible in the generated transaction amount, which is always in hours.) There is some added flexibility to help with keeping time log data in the same file as your notes, todo lists, etc.: - • Blank lines and lines beginning with ‘#’ or ‘;’ are ignored. + * Blank lines and lines beginning with '#' or ';' are ignored. - • Before the first date line, lines beginning with ‘*’ are ignored. - From the first date line onward, a sequence of ‘*’’s followed by a + * Before the first date line, lines beginning with '*' are ignored. + From the first date line onward, a sequence of '*''s followed by a space at beginning of lines (ie, the headline prefix used by Emacs Org mode) is ignored. This means the time log can be kept under an Org headline, and date lines or time transaction lines can be Org headlines. - • Lines not ending with a double-space and amount are parsed as + * Lines not ending with a double-space and amount are parsed as transactions with zero amount. (Most hledger reports hide these by default; add -E to see them.) @@ -5243,38 +5274,38 @@ transaction or posting date, and the report end date will be the latest transaction, posting, or market price date. 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 +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 (below). Some notes: - • End dates are exclusive, as in Ledger, so you should write the date + * End dates are exclusive, as in Ledger, so you should write the date _after_ the last day you want to see in the report. - • As noted in reporting options: among start/end dates specified with + * 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 + * 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. - • In some cases a report interval will adjust start/end dates to fall + * In some cases a report interval will adjust start/end dates to fall on interval boundaries (see below). 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 +'-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’ +'-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: Smart dates, Next: Report intervals, Prev: Report start & end date, Up: Time periods @@ -5282,48 +5313,48 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Smart dates, Next: Report intervals, Prev: Report s 15.2 Smart dates ================ -hledger’s user interfaces accept a "smart date" syntax for added -convenience. Smart dates optionally can be relative to today’s date, be +hledger's user interfaces accept a "smart date" syntax for added +convenience. Smart dates optionally can be relative to today's date, be written with english words, and have less-significant parts omitted (missing parts are inferred as 1). Some 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’ -‘in n n periods from the current period -days/weeks/months/quarters/years’ -‘n n periods from the current period +'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' +'in n n periods from the current period +days/weeks/months/quarters/years' +'n n periods from the current period days/weeks/months/quarters/years -ahead’ -‘n -n periods from the current period +ahead' +'n -n periods from the current period days/weeks/months/quarters/years -ago’ -‘20181201’ 8 digit YYYYMMDD with valid year month and +ago' +'20181201' 8 digit YYYYMMDD with valid year month and day -‘201812’ 6 digit YYYYMM with valid year and month +'201812' 6 digit YYYYMM with valid year and month Some counterexamples - malformed digit sequences might give surprising results: -‘201813’ 6 digits with an invalid month is parsed as start of +'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 +'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 +'20181232' 8 digits with an invalid day gives an error +'201801012' 9+ digits beginning with a valid YYYYMMDD gives an error - "Today’s date" can be overridden with the ‘--today’ option, in case -it’s needed for testing or for recreating old reports. (Except for -periodic transaction rules, which are not affected by ‘--today’.) + "Today's date" can be overridden with the '--today' option, in case +it's needed for testing or for recreating old reports. (Except for +periodic transaction rules, which are not affected by '--today'.)  File: hledger.info, Node: Report intervals, Next: Date adjustment, Prev: Smart dates, Up: Time periods @@ -5338,13 +5369,13 @@ separate row or column. The following standard intervals can be enabled with command-line flags: - • ‘-D/--daily’ - • ‘-W/--weekly’ - • ‘-M/--monthly’ - • ‘-Q/--quarterly’ - • ‘-Y/--yearly’ + * '-D/--daily' + * '-W/--weekly' + * '-M/--monthly' + * '-Q/--quarterly' + * '-Y/--yearly' - More complex intervals can be specified using ‘-p/--period’, + More complex intervals can be specified using '-p/--period', described below.  @@ -5353,33 +5384,23 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Date adjustment, Next: Period expressions, Prev: Re 15.4 Date adjustment ==================== -With a report interval (other than daily), report start / end dates -which have not been specified explicitly and in full (eg not ‘-b -2023-01-01’, but ‘-b 2023-01’ or ‘-b 2023’ or unspecified) are -considered flexible: +When there is a report interval (other than daily), report start/end +dates which have been inferred, eg from the journal, are automatically +adjusted to natural period boundaries. This is convenient for producing +simple periodic reports. More precisely: - • A flexible start date will be automatically adjusted earlier if - needed to fall on a natural interval boundary. - • Similarly, a flexible end date will be adjusted later if needed to - make the last period a whole interval (the same length as the - others). + * an inferred start date will be adjusted earlier if needed to fall + on a natural period boundary - This is convenient for producing clean periodic reports (this is -traditional hledger behaviour). By contrast, fully-specified exact -dates will not be adjusted (this is new in hledger 1.29). + * an inferred end date will be adjusted later if needed to make the + last period the same length as the others. - An example: with a journal whose first date is 2023-01-10 and last -date is 2023-03-20: - - • ‘hledger bal -M -b 2023/1/15 -e 2023/3/10’ - The report periods will begin on the 15th day of each month, - starting from 2023-01-15, and the last period’s last day will be - 2023-03-09. (Exact start and end dates, neither is adjusted.) - - • ‘hledger bal -M -b 2023-01 -e 2023-04’ or ‘hledger bal -M’ - The report periods will begin on the 1st of each month, starting - from 2023-01-01, and the last period’s last day will be 2023-03-31. - (Flexible start and end dates, both are adjusted.) + By contrast, start/end dates which have been specified explicitly, +with '-b', '-e', '-p' or 'date:', will not be adjusted (since hledger +1.29). This makes it possible to specify non-standard report periods, +but it also means that if you are specifying a start date, you should +pick one that's on a period boundary if you want to see simple report +period headings.  File: hledger.info, Node: Period expressions, Prev: Date adjustment, Up: Time periods @@ -5387,53 +5408,53 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Period expressions, Prev: Date adjustment, Up: Time 15.5 Period expressions ======================= -The ‘-p/--period’ option specifies a period expression, which is a +The '-p/--period' option specifies a period expression, which is a compact way of expressing a start date, end date, and/or report interval. - Here’s a period expression with a start and end date (specifying the + Here's a period expression with a start and end date (specifying the first quarter of 2009): -‘-p "from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1"’ +'-p "from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1"' Several keywords like "from" and "to" are supported for readability; these are optional. "to" can also be written as ".." or "-". The -spaces are also optional, as long as you don’t run two dates together. +spaces are also optional, as long as you don't run two dates together. So the following are equivalent to the above: -‘-p "2009/1/1 2009/4/1"’ -‘-p2009/1/1to2009/4/1’ -‘-p2009/1/1..2009/4/1’ +'-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, these are also equivalent to the above: -‘-p "1/1 4/1"’ -‘-p "jan-apr"’ -‘-p "this year to 4/1"’ +'-p "1/1 4/1"' +'-p "jan-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 date in the journal: -‘-p "from 2009/1/1"’ everything after january 1, 2009 -‘-p "since 2009/1"’ the same, since is a synonym -‘-p "from 2009"’ the same -‘-p "to 2009"’ everything before january 1, 2009 +'-p "from 2009/1/1"' everything after january 1, 2009 +'-p "since 2009/1"' the same, since is a synonym +'-p "from 2009"' the same +'-p "to 2009"' everything before january 1, 2009 You can also specify a period by writing a single partial or full date: -‘-p "2009"’ the year 2009; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to 2010/1/1” -‘-p "2009/1"’ the month of january 2009; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to +'-p "2009"' the year 2009; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to 2010/1/1” +'-p "2009/1"' the month of january 2009; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to 2009/2/1” -‘-p the first day of 2009; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to -"2009/1/1"’ 2009/1/2” +'-p the first day of 2009; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to +"2009/1/1"' 2009/1/2” or by using the "Q" quarter-year syntax (case insensitive): -‘-p "2009Q1"’ first quarter of 2009, equivalent to “2009/1/1 to +'-p "2009Q1"' first quarter of 2009, equivalent to “2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1” -‘-p "q4"’ fourth quarter of the current year +'-p "q4"' fourth quarter of the current year * Menu: @@ -5448,11 +5469,11 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Period expressions with a report interval, Next: Mor ------------------------------------------------ A period expression can also begin with a report interval, separated -from the start/end dates (if any) by a space or the word ‘in’: +from the start/end dates (if any) by a space or the word 'in': -‘-p "weekly from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1"’ -‘-p "monthly in 2008"’ -‘-p "quarterly"’ +'-p "weekly from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1"' +'-p "monthly in 2008"' +'-p "quarterly"'  File: hledger.info, Node: More complex report intervals, Next: Multiple weekday intervals, Prev: Period expressions with a report interval, Up: Period expressions @@ -5463,49 +5484,49 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: More complex report intervals, Next: Multiple weekda Some more complex intervals can be specified within period expressions, such as: - • ‘biweekly’ (every two weeks) - • ‘fortnightly’ - • ‘bimonthly’ (every two months) - • ‘every day|week|month|quarter|year’ - • ‘every N days|weeks|months|quarters|years’ + * 'biweekly' (every two weeks) + * 'fortnightly' + * 'bimonthly' (every two months) + * 'every day|week|month|quarter|year' + * 'every N days|weeks|months|quarters|years' Weekly on a custom day: - • ‘every Nth day of week’ (‘th’, ‘nd’, ‘rd’, or ‘st’ are all accepted + * 'every Nth day of week' ('th', 'nd', 'rd', or 'st' are all accepted after the number) - • ‘every WEEKDAYNAME’ (full or three-letter english weekday name, + * 'every WEEKDAYNAME' (full or three-letter english weekday name, case insensitive) Monthly on a custom day: - • ‘every Nth day [of month]’ - • ‘every Nth WEEKDAYNAME [of month]’ + * 'every Nth day [of month]' + * 'every Nth WEEKDAYNAME [of month]' Yearly on a custom day: - • ‘every MM/DD [of year]’ (month number and day of month number) - • ‘every MONTHNAME DDth [of year]’ (full or three-letter english + * 'every MM/DD [of year]' (month number and day of month number) + * 'every MONTHNAME DDth [of year]' (full or three-letter english month name, case insensitive, and day of month number) - • ‘every DDth MONTHNAME [of year]’ (equivalent to the above) + * 'every DDth MONTHNAME [of year]' (equivalent to the above) Examples: -‘-p "bimonthly from -2008"’ -‘-p "every 2 weeks"’ -‘-p "every 5 months from -2009/03"’ -‘-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 +'-p "bimonthly from +2008"' +'-p "every 2 weeks"' +'-p "every 5 months from +2009/03"' +'-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 +'-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 +'-p "every 11/05"' yearly periods with boundaries on 5th of November -‘-p "every 5th November"’ same -‘-p "every Nov 5th"’ same +'-p "every 5th November"' same +'-p "every Nov 5th"' same Show historical balances at end of the 15th day of each month (N is an end date, exclusive as always): @@ -5525,25 +5546,25 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Multiple weekday intervals, Prev: More complex repor This special form is also supported: - • ‘every WEEKDAYNAME,WEEKDAYNAME,...’ (full or three-letter english + * 'every WEEKDAYNAME,WEEKDAYNAME,...' (full or three-letter english weekday names, case insensitive) - Also, ‘weekday’ and ‘weekendday’ are shorthand for -‘mon,tue,wed,thu,fri’ and ‘sat,sun’. + Also, 'weekday' and 'weekendday' are shorthand for +'mon,tue,wed,thu,fri' and 'sat,sun'. - This is mainly intended for use with ‘--forecast’, to generate + This is mainly intended for use with '--forecast', to generate periodic transactions on arbitrary days of the week. It may be less -useful with ‘-p’, since it divides each week into subperiods of unequal +useful with '-p', since it divides each week into subperiods of unequal length, which is unusual. (Related: #1632) Examples: -‘-p "every dates will be Mon, Wed, Fri; periods will be -mon,wed,fri"’ Mon-Tue, Wed-Thu, Fri-Sun -‘-p "every dates will be Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri; periods will -weekday"’ be Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri-Sun -‘-p "every dates will be Sat, Sun; periods will be Sat, Sun-Fri -weekendday"’ +'-p "every dates will be Mon, Wed, Fri; periods will be +mon,wed,fri"' Mon-Tue, Wed-Thu, Fri-Sun +'-p "every dates will be Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri; periods will +weekday"' be Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri-Sun +'-p "every dates will be Sat, Sun; periods will be Sat, Sun-Fri +weekendday"'  File: hledger.info, Node: Depth, Next: Queries, Prev: Time periods, Up: Top @@ -5551,10 +5572,10 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Depth, Next: Queries, Prev: Time periods, Up: Top 16 Depth ******** -With the ‘--depth NUM’ option (short form: ‘-NUM’), reports will show +With the '--depth NUM' option (short form: '-NUM'), reports will show accounts only to the specified depth, hiding deeper subaccounts. Use this when you want a summary with less detail. This flag has the same -effect as a ‘depth:’ query argument: ‘depth:2’, ‘--depth=2’ or ‘-2’ are +effect as a 'depth:' query argument: 'depth:2', '--depth=2' or '-2' are equivalent.  @@ -5563,31 +5584,31 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Queries, Next: Pivoting, Prev: Depth, Up: Top 17 Queries ********** -One of hledger’s strengths is being able to quickly report on a precise +One of hledger's strengths is being able to quickly report on a precise subset of your data. Most hledger commands accept optional query arguments to restrict their scope. The syntax is as follows: - • Zero or more space-separated query terms. These are most often + * Zero or more space-separated query terms. These are most often account name substrings: - ‘utilities food:groceries’ + 'utilities food:groceries' - • Terms with spaces or other special characters should be enclosed in + * Terms with spaces or other special characters should be enclosed in quotes: - ‘"personal care"’ + '"personal care"' - • Regular expressions are also supported: + * Regular expressions are also supported: - ‘"^expenses\b" "accounts (payable|receivable)"’ + '"^expenses\b" "accounts (payable|receivable)"' - • Add a query type prefix to match other parts of the data: + * Add a query type prefix to match other parts of the data: - ‘date:202012- desc:amazon cur:USD amt:">100" status:’ + 'date:202012- desc:amazon cur:USD amt:">100" status:' - • Add a ‘not:’ prefix to negate a term: + * Add a 'not:' prefix to negate a term: - ‘not:cur:USD’ + 'not:cur:USD' * Menu: @@ -5605,85 +5626,85 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Query types, Next: Combining query terms, Up: Queri ================ Here are the types of query term available. Remember these can also be -prefixed with *‘not:’* to convert them into a negative match. +prefixed with *'not:'* to convert them into a negative match. - *‘acct:REGEX’, ‘REGEX’* + *'acct:REGEX', 'REGEX'* Match account names containing this (case insensitive) regular expression. This is the default query type when there is no prefix, and regular expression syntax is typically not needed, so usually we just -write an account name substring, like ‘expenses’ or ‘food’. +write an account name substring, like 'expenses' or 'food'. - *‘amt:N, amt:N, amt:>=N’* + *'amt:N, amt:N, amt:>=N'* Match postings with a single-commodity amount equal to, less than, or greater than N. (Postings with 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’* + *'code:REGEX'* Match by transaction code (eg check number). - *‘cur:REGEX’* + *'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 special characters which are -regex-significant, you need to escape them with ‘\’. And for characters +match, use '.*REGEX.*'). Note, to match special characters which are +regex-significant, you need to escape them with '\'. And for characters which are significant to your shell you may need one more level of escaping. So eg to match the dollar sign: -‘hledger print cur:\\$’. +'hledger print cur:\\$'. - *‘desc:REGEX’* + *'desc:REGEX'* Match transaction descriptions. - *‘date:PERIODEXPR’* -Match dates (or with the ‘--date2’ flag, secondary dates) within the + *'date:PERIODEXPR'* +Match dates (or with the '--date2' flag, secondary dates) within the specified period. PERIODEXPR is a period expression with no report interval. Examples: -‘date:2016’, ‘date:thismonth’, ‘date:2/1-2/15’, -‘date:2021-07-27..nextquarter’. +'date:2016', 'date:thismonth', 'date:2/1-2/15', +'date:2021-07-27..nextquarter'. - *‘date2:PERIODEXPR’* + *'date2:PERIODEXPR'* Match secondary dates within the specified period (independent of the -‘--date2’ flag). +'--date2' flag). - *‘depth:N’* + *'depth:N'* Match (or display, depending on command) accounts at or above this depth. - *‘note:REGEX’* -Match transaction notes (the part of the description right of ‘|’, or -the whole description if there’s no ‘|’). + *'note:REGEX'* +Match transaction notes (the part of the description right of '|', or +the whole description if there's no '|'). - *‘payee:REGEX’* + *'payee:REGEX'* Match transaction payee/payer names (the part of the description left of -‘|’, or the whole description if there’s no ‘|’). +'|', or the whole description if there's no '|'). - *‘real:, real:0’* + *'real:, real:0'* Match real or virtual postings respectively. - *‘status:, status:!, status:*’* + *'status:, status:!, status:*'* Match unmarked, pending, or cleared transactions respectively. - *‘type:TYPECODES’* + *'type:TYPECODES'* Match by account type (see Declaring accounts > Account types). -‘TYPECODES’ is one or more of the single-letter account type codes -‘ALERXCV’, case insensitive. Note ‘type:A’ and ‘type:E’ will also match -their respective subtypes ‘C’ (Cash) and ‘V’ (Conversion). Certain +'TYPECODES' is one or more of the single-letter account type codes +'ALERXCV', case insensitive. Note 'type:A' and 'type:E' will also match +their respective subtypes 'C' (Cash) and 'V' (Conversion). Certain kinds of account alias can disrupt account types, see Rewriting accounts > Aliases and account types. - *‘tag:REGEX[=REGEX]’* + *'tag:REGEX[=REGEX]'* Match by tag name, and optionally also by tag value. (To match only by -value, use ‘tag:.=REGEX’.) +value, use 'tag:.=REGEX'.) When querying by tag, note that: - • Accounts also inherit the tags of their parent accounts - • Postings also inherit the tags of their account and their + * Accounts also inherit the tags of their parent accounts + * Postings also inherit the tags of their account and their transaction - • Transactions also acquire the tags of their postings. + * Transactions also acquire the tags of their postings. - (*‘inacct:ACCTNAME’* + (*'inacct:ACCTNAME'* A special query term used automatically in hledger-web only: tells hledger-web to show the transaction register for an account.) @@ -5696,40 +5717,40 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Combining query terms, Next: Queries and command opt When given multiple space-separated query terms, most commands select things which match: - • any of the description terms AND - • any of the account terms AND - • any of the status terms AND - • all the other terms. + * 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 is a little different, showing 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. + * 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. - We also support more complex boolean queries with the ’expr:’ prefix. + We also support more complex boolean queries with the 'expr:' prefix. This allows one to combine queries using one of three operators: AND, -OR, and NOT, where NOT is different syntax for ’not:’. +OR, and NOT, where NOT is different syntax for 'not:'. Examples of such queries are: - • Match transactions with ’cool’ in the description AND with the ’A’ + * Match transactions with 'cool' in the description AND with the 'A' tag - ‘expr:"desc:cool AND tag:A"’ + 'expr:"desc:cool AND tag:A"' - • Match transactions NOT to the ’expenses:food’ account OR with the - ’A’ tag + * Match transactions NOT to the 'expenses:food' account OR with the + 'A' tag - ‘expr:"NOT expenses:food OR tag:A"’ + 'expr:"NOT expenses:food OR tag:A"' - • Match transactions NOT involving the ’expenses:food’ account OR - with the ’A’ tag AND involving the ’expenses:drink’ account. (the + * Match transactions NOT involving the 'expenses:food' account OR + with the 'A' tag AND involving the 'expenses:drink' account. (the AND is implicitly added by space-separation, following the rules above) - ‘expr:"expenses:food OR (tag:A expenses:drink)"’ + 'expr:"expenses:food OR (tag:A expenses:drink)"'  File: hledger.info, Node: Queries and command options, Next: Queries and valuation, Prev: Combining query terms, Up: Queries @@ -5737,8 +5758,8 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Queries and command options, Next: Queries and valua 17.3 Queries and command options ================================ -Some queries can also be expressed as command-line options: ‘depth:2’ is -equivalent to ‘--depth 2’, ‘date:2020’ is equivalent to ‘-p 2020’, etc. +Some queries can also be expressed as command-line options: 'depth:2' is +equivalent to '--depth 2', 'date:2020' is equivalent to '-p 2020', etc. When you mix command options and query arguments, generally the resulting query is their intersection. @@ -5749,8 +5770,8 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Queries and valuation, Next: Querying with account a ========================== When amounts are converted to other commodities in cost or value -reports, ‘cur:’ and ‘amt:’ match the old commodity symbol and the old -amount quantity, not the new ones (except in hledger 1.22.0 where it’s +reports, 'cur:' and 'amt:' match the old commodity symbol and the old +amount quantity, not the new ones (except in hledger 1.22.0 where it's reversed, see #1625).  @@ -5759,8 +5780,8 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Querying with account aliases, Next: Querying with c 17.5 Querying with account aliases ================================== -When account names are rewritten with ‘--alias’ or ‘alias’, note that -‘acct:’ will match either the old or the new account name. +When account names are rewritten with '--alias' or 'alias', note that +'acct:' will match either the old or the new account name.  File: hledger.info, Node: Querying with cost or value, Prev: Querying with account aliases, Up: Queries @@ -5769,8 +5790,8 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Querying with cost or value, Prev: Querying with acc ================================ When amounts are converted to other commodities in cost or value -reports, note that ‘cur:’ matches the new commodity symbol, and not the -old one, and ‘amt:’ matches the new quantity, and not the old one. +reports, note that 'cur:' matches the new commodity symbol, and not the +old one, and 'amt:' matches the new quantity, and not the old one. Note: this changed in hledger 1.22, previously it was the reverse, see the discussion at #1625. @@ -5781,12 +5802,12 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Pivoting, Next: Generating data, Prev: Queries, Up *********** Normally, hledger groups and sums amounts within each account. The -‘--pivot FIELD’ option substitutes some other transaction field for -account names, causing amounts to be grouped and summed by that field’s -value instead. FIELD can be any of the transaction fields ‘status’, -‘code’, ‘description’, ‘payee’, ‘note’, or a tag name. When pivoting on +'--pivot FIELD' option substitutes some other transaction field for +account names, causing amounts to be grouped and summed by that field's +value instead. FIELD can be any of the transaction fields 'status', +'code', 'description', 'payee', 'note', or a tag name. When pivoting on a tag and a posting has multiple values of that tag, only the first -value is displayed. Values containing ‘colon:separated:parts’ will be +value is displayed. Values containing 'colon:separated:parts' will be displayed hierarchically, like account names. Some examples: @@ -5833,14 +5854,14 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Generating data, Next: Forecasting, Prev: Pivoting, ****************** Two features for generating transient data (visible only at report time) -are built in to hledger’s journal format: +are built in to hledger's journal format: - • Auto posting rules can generate extra postings on certain - transactions. They are activated by the ‘--auto’ flag. + * Auto posting rules can generate extra postings on certain + transactions. They are activated by the '--auto' flag. - • Periodic transaction rules can generate repeating transactions, + * Periodic transaction rules can generate repeating transactions, usually dated in the future, to help with forecasting or budgeting. - They are activated by the ‘--forecast’ or ‘balance --budget’ + They are activated by the '--forecast' or 'balance --budget' options, described next.  @@ -5849,67 +5870,67 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Forecasting, Next: Budgeting, Prev: Generating data 20 Forecasting ************** -The ‘--forecast’ flag activates any periodic transaction rules in the +The '--forecast' flag activates any periodic transaction rules in the journal. These will generate temporary additional transactions, usually -recurring and in the future, which will appear in all reports. ‘hledger -print --forecast’ is a good way to see them. +recurring and in the future, which will appear in all reports. 'hledger +print --forecast' is a good way to see them. This can be useful for estimating balances into the future, perhaps experimenting with different scenarios. It could also be useful for scripted data entry: you could describe -recurring transactions, and every so often copy the output of ‘print ---forecast’ into the journal. +recurring transactions, and every so often copy the output of 'print +--forecast' into the journal. The generated transactions will have an extra tag, like -‘generated-transaction:~ PERIODICEXPR’, indicating which periodic rule +'generated-transaction:~ PERIODICEXPR', indicating which periodic rule generated them. There is also a similar, hidden tag, named -‘_generated-transaction:’, which you can use to reliably match -transactions generated "just now" (rather than ‘print’ed in the past). +'_generated-transaction:', which you can use to reliably match +transactions generated "just now" (rather than 'print'ed in the past). The forecast transactions are generated within a _forecast period_, which is independent of the report period. (Forecast period sets the bounds for generated transactions, report period controls which transactions are reported.) The forecast period begins on: - • the start date provided within ‘--forecast’’s argument, if any - • otherwise, the later of - • the report start date, if specified (with ‘-b’/‘-p’/‘date:’) - • the day after the latest ordinary transaction in the journal, + * the start date provided within '--forecast''s argument, if any + * otherwise, the later of + * the report start date, if specified (with '-b'/'-p'/'date:') + * the day after the latest ordinary transaction in the journal, if any - • otherwise today. + * otherwise today. It ends on: - • the end date provided within ‘--forecast’’s argument, if any - • otherwise, the report end date, if specified (with - ‘-e’/‘-p’/‘date:’) - • otherwise 180 days (6 months) from today. + * the end date provided within '--forecast''s argument, if any + * otherwise, the report end date, if specified (with + '-e'/'-p'/'date:') + * otherwise 180 days (6 months) from today. Note, this means that ordinary transactions will suppress periodic transactions, by default; the periodic transactions will not start until after the last ordinary transaction. This is usually convenient, but you can get around it in two ways: - • If you need to record some transactions in the future, make them - periodic transactions (with a single occurrence, eg: ‘~ - YYYY-MM-DD’) rather than ordinary transactions. That way they - won’t suppress other periodic transactions. + * If you need to record some transactions in the future, make them + periodic transactions (with a single occurrence, eg: '~ + YYYY-MM-DD') rather than ordinary transactions. That way they + won't suppress other periodic transactions. - • Or give ‘--forecast’ a period expression argument. A forecast + * Or give '--forecast' a period expression argument. A forecast period specified this way can overlap ordinary transactions, and need not be in the future. Some things to note: - • You must use ‘=’ between flag and argument; a space won’t + * You must use '=' between flag and argument; a space won't work. - • The period expression can specify the forecast period’s start + * The period expression can specify the forecast period's start date, end date, or both. See also Report start & end date. - • The period expression should not specify a report interval. + * The period expression should not specify a report interval. (Each periodic transaction rule specifies its own interval.) - Some examples: ‘--forecast=202001-202004’, ‘--forecast=jan-’, -‘--forecast=2021’. + Some examples: '--forecast=202001-202004', '--forecast=jan-', +'--forecast=2021'.  File: hledger.info, Node: Budgeting, Next: Cost reporting, Prev: Forecasting, Up: Top @@ -5917,9 +5938,9 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Budgeting, Next: Cost reporting, Prev: Forecasting, 21 Budgeting ************ -With the balance command’s ‘--budget’ report, each periodic transaction +With the balance command's '--budget' report, each periodic transaction rule generates recurring budget goals in specified accounts, and goals -and actual performance can be compared. See the balance command’s doc +and actual performance can be compared. See the balance command's doc below. See also: Budgeting and Forecasting. @@ -5934,17 +5955,17 @@ This section is about recording the cost of things, in transactions where one commodity is exchanged for another. Eg an exchange of currency, or a stock purchase or sale. First, a quick glossary: - • Conversion - an exchange of one currency or commodity for another. + * Conversion - an exchange of one currency or commodity for another. Eg a foreign currency exchange, or a purchase or sale of stock or cryptocurrency. - • Conversion transaction - a transaction involving one or more + * Conversion transaction - a transaction involving one or more conversions. - • Conversion rate - the cost per unit of one commodity in the other, + * Conversion rate - the cost per unit of one commodity in the other, ie the exchange rate. - • Cost - how much of one commodity was paid to acquire the other. + * Cost - how much of one commodity was paid to acquire the other. And more generally, in hledger docs: the amount exchanged in the "secondary" commodity (usually your base currency), whether in a purchase or a sale, and whether expressed per unit or in total. @@ -5967,11 +5988,11 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: -B Convert to cost, Next: Equity conversion postings ======================== As discussed in JOURNAL > Costs, when recording a transaction you can -also record the amount’s cost in another commodity, by adding ‘@ -UNITPRICE’ or ‘@@ TOTALPRICE’. +also record the amount's cost in another commodity, by adding '@ +UNITPRICE' or '@@ TOTALPRICE'. Then you can see a report with amounts converted to cost, by adding -the ‘-B/--cost’ flag. (Mnemonic: "B" from "cost Basis", as in Ledger). +the '-B/--cost' flag. (Mnemonic: "B" from "cost Basis", as in Ledger). Eg: 2022-01-01 @@ -5989,7 +6010,7 @@ $ hledger bal -N -B -B is sensitive to the order of postings when a cost is inferred: the inferred price will be in the commodity of the last amount. So if -example 3’s postings are reversed, while the transaction is equivalent, +example 3's postings are reversed, while the transaction is equivalent, -B shows something different: 2022-01-01 @@ -6021,7 +6042,7 @@ written: equity:conversion €-100 assets:euros €100 - This style is more correct, but it’s also more verbose and makes cost + This style is more correct, but it's also more verbose and makes cost reporting more difficult for PTA tools. Happily, current hledger can read either notation, or convert one to @@ -6029,7 +6050,7 @@ the other when needed, so you can use the one you prefer. You can even use cost notation and equivalent conversion postings at the same time, for clarity. hledger will ignore the redundancy. But be -sure the cost and conversion posting amounts match, or you’ll see a +sure the cost and conversion posting amounts match, or you'll see a not-so-clear transaction balancing error message.  @@ -6038,7 +6059,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Inferring equity postings from cost, Next: Inferring 22.3 Inferring equity postings from cost ======================================== -With ‘--infer-equity’, hledger detects transactions written with PTA +With '--infer-equity', hledger detects transactions written with PTA cost notation and adds equity conversion postings to them: 2022-01-01 @@ -6055,9 +6076,9 @@ $ hledger print --infer-equity The conversion account names can be changed with the conversion account type declaration. - –infer-equity is useful when when transactions have been recorded + -infer-equity is useful when when transactions have been recorded using cost notation, to help preserve the accounting equation and -balance reports’ zero total, or to produce more conventional journal +balance reports' zero total, or to produce more conventional journal entries for sharing with non-PTA-users.  @@ -6066,7 +6087,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Inferring cost from equity postings, Next: When to i 22.4 Inferring cost from equity postings ======================================== -The reverse operation is possible using ‘--infer-costs’, which detects +The reverse operation is possible using '--infer-costs', which detects transactions written with equity conversion postings and adds cost notation to them: @@ -6083,7 +6104,7 @@ $ hledger print --infer-costs equity:conversion €-100 assets:euros €100 - –infer-costs is useful when combined with -B/–cost, allowing cost + -infer-costs is useful when combined with -B/-cost, allowing cost reporting even when transactions have been recorded using equity postings: @@ -6094,27 +6115,27 @@ $ hledger print --infer-costs -B Notes: - For ‘--infer-costs’ to work, an exchange must consist of four + For '--infer-costs' to work, an exchange must consist of four postings: 1. two non-equity postings 2. two equity postings, next to one another 3. the equity accounts must be declared, with account type - ‘V’/‘Conversion’ (or if they are not declared, they must be named - ‘equity:conversion’, ‘equity:trade’, ‘equity:trading’ or + 'V'/'Conversion' (or if they are not declared, they must be named + 'equity:conversion', 'equity:trade', 'equity:trading' or subaccounts of these) - 4. the equity postings’ amounts must exactly match the non-equity - postings’ amounts. + 4. the equity postings' amounts must exactly match the non-equity + postings' amounts. Multiple such exchanges can coexist within a single transaction. When inferring cost, the order of postings matters: the cost is added to the first of the non-equity postings involved in the exchange, in the commodity of the last non-equity posting involved in the exchange. If -you don’t want to write your postings in the required order, you can use +you don't want to write your postings in the required order, you can use explicit cost notation instead. - –infer-equity and –infer-costs can be used together, if you have a + -infer-equity and -infer-costs can be used together, if you have a mixture of both notations in your journal.  @@ -6124,14 +6145,14 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: When to infer cost/equity, Next: How to record conve ============================== Inferring equity postings or costs is still fairly new, so not enabled -by default. We’re not sure yet if that should change. Here are two +by default. We're not sure yet if that should change. Here are two suggestions to try, experience reports welcome: - 1. When you use -B, always use –infer-costs as well. Eg: ‘hledger bal - -B --infer-costs’ + 1. When you use -B, always use -infer-costs as well. Eg: 'hledger bal + -B --infer-costs' - 2. Always run hledger with both flags enabled. Eg: ‘alias hl="hledger - --infer-equity --infer-costs"’ + 2. Always run hledger with both flags enabled. Eg: 'alias hl="hledger + --infer-equity --infer-costs"'  File: hledger.info, Node: How to record conversions, Next: Cost tips, Prev: When to infer cost/equity, Up: Cost reporting @@ -6155,7 +6176,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Conversion with implicit cost, Next: Conversion with 22.6.1 Conversion with implicit cost ------------------------------------ -Let’s assume 100 EUR is converted to 120 USD. You can just record the +Let's assume 100 EUR is converted to 120 USD. You can just record the outflow (100 EUR) and inflow (120 USD) in the appropriate asset account: 2021-01-01 @@ -6164,25 +6185,25 @@ outflow (100 EUR) and inflow (120 USD) in the appropriate asset account: hledger will assume this transaction is balanced, inferring that the conversion rate must be 1 EUR = 1.20 USD. You can see the inferred rate -by using ‘hledger print -x’. +by using 'hledger print -x'. Pro: - • Concise, easy + * Concise, easy Con: - • Less error checking - typos in amounts or commodity symbols may not + * Less error checking - typos in amounts or commodity symbols may not be detected - • Conversion rate is not clear - • Disturbs the accounting equation, unless you add the –infer-equity + * Conversion rate is not clear + * Disturbs the accounting equation, unless you add the -infer-equity flag You can prevent accidental implicit conversions due to a mistyped -commodity symbol, by using ‘hledger check commodities’. +commodity symbol, by using 'hledger check commodities'. - You can prevent implicit conversions entirely, by using ‘hledger -check balancednoautoconversion’, or ‘-s/--strict’. + You can prevent implicit conversions entirely, by using 'hledger +check balancednoautoconversion', or '-s/--strict'.  File: hledger.info, Node: Conversion with explicit cost, Next: Conversion with equity postings, Prev: Conversion with implicit cost, Up: How to record conversions @@ -6201,13 +6222,13 @@ error otherwise. Pro: - • Still concise - • Makes the conversion rate clear - • Provides more error checking + * Still concise + * Makes the conversion rate clear + * Provides more error checking Con: - • Disturbs the accounting equation, unless you add the –infer-equity + * Disturbs the accounting equation, unless you add the -infer-equity flag  @@ -6219,7 +6240,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Conversion with equity postings, Next: Conversion wi In strict double entry bookkeeping, the above transaction is not balanced in EUR or in USD, since some EUR disappears, and some USD appears. This violates the accounting equation (A+L+E=0), and prevents -reports like ‘balancesheetequity’ from showing a zero total. +reports like 'balancesheetequity' from showing a zero total. The proper way to make it balance is to add a balancing posting for each commodity, using an equity account: @@ -6232,15 +6253,15 @@ each commodity, using an equity account: Pro: - • Preserves the accounting equation - • Keeps track of conversions and related gains/losses in one place - • Standard, works in any double entry accounting system + * Preserves the accounting equation + * Keeps track of conversions and related gains/losses in one place + * Standard, works in any double entry accounting system Con: - • More verbose - • Conversion rate is not obvious - • Cost reporting requires adding the –infer-costs flag + * More verbose + * Conversion rate is not obvious + * Cost reporting requires adding the -infer-costs flag  File: hledger.info, Node: Conversion with equity postings and explicit cost, Prev: Conversion with equity postings, Up: How to record conversions @@ -6258,15 +6279,15 @@ Here both equity postings and @ notation are used together. Pro: - • Preserves the accounting equation - • Keeps track of conversions and related gains/losses in one place - • Makes the conversion rate clear - • Provides more error checking + * Preserves the accounting equation + * Keeps track of conversions and related gains/losses in one place + * Makes the conversion rate clear + * Provides more error checking Con: - • Most verbose - • Not compatible with ledger + * Most verbose + * Not compatible with ledger  File: hledger.info, Node: Cost tips, Prev: How to record conversions, Up: Cost reporting @@ -6274,19 +6295,19 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Cost tips, Prev: How to record conversions, Up: Cos 22.7 Cost tips ============== - • Recording the cost/conversion rate explicitly is good because it + * Recording the cost/conversion rate explicitly is good because it makes that clear and helps detect errors. - • Recording equity postings is good because it is correct bookkeeping + * Recording equity postings is good because it is correct bookkeeping and preserves the accounting equation. - • Combining these is possible. - • When you want to see the cost (or sale proceeds) of things, use - ‘-B’ (short form of ‘--cost’). - • If you use conversion postings without cost notation, add - ‘--infer-costs’ also. - • If you use cost notation without conversion postings, and you want + * Combining these is possible. + * When you want to see the cost (or sale proceeds) of things, use + '-B' (short form of '--cost'). + * If you use conversion postings without cost notation, add + '--infer-costs' also. + * If you use cost notation without conversion postings, and you want to see a balanced balance sheet or print correct journal entries, - use ‘--infer-equity’. - • Conversion to cost is performed before valuation (described next). + use '--infer-equity'. + * Conversion to cost is performed before valuation (described next).  File: hledger.info, Node: Valuation, Next: PART 4 COMMANDS, Prev: Cost reporting, Up: Top @@ -6297,9 +6318,9 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Valuation, Next: PART 4 COMMANDS, Prev: Cost report Instead of reporting amounts in their original commodity, hledger can convert them to cost/sale amount (using the conversion rate recorded in the transaction), and/or to market value (using some market price on a -certain date). This is controlled by the ‘--value=TYPE[,COMMODITY]’ -option, which will be described below. We also provide the simpler ‘-V’ -and ‘-X COMMODITY’ options, and often one of these is all you need: +certain date). This is controlled by the '--value=TYPE[,COMMODITY]' +option, which will be described below. We also provide the simpler '-V' +and '-X COMMODITY' options, and often one of these is all you need: * Menu: @@ -6321,7 +6342,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: -V Value, Next: -X Value in specified commodity, Up 23.1 -V: Value ============== -The ‘-V/--market’ flag converts amounts to market value in their default +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. @@ -6331,7 +6352,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: -X Value in specified commodity, Next: Valuation dat 23.2 -X: Value in specified commodity ===================================== -The ‘-X/--exchange=COMM’ option is like ‘-V’, except you tell it which +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. @@ -6347,7 +6368,7 @@ 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 the journal’s end date. +valuation date is the journal's end date. For multiperiod reports, each column/period is valued on the last day of the period, by default. @@ -6362,9 +6383,9 @@ 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 + 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-market-prices’ flag) inferred + P directive, or (with the '--infer-market-prices' flag) inferred from costs. 2. A _reverse market price_: the inverse of a declared or inferred @@ -6381,7 +6402,7 @@ this order of preference : There is a limit to the length of these price chains; if hledger reaches that length without finding a complete chain or exhausting all possibilities, it will give up (with a "gave up" message visible in -‘--debug=2’ output). That limit is currently 1000. +'--debug=2' output). That limit is currently 1000. Amounts for which no suitable market price can be found, are not converted. @@ -6389,46 +6410,46 @@ converted.  File: hledger.info, Node: --infer-market-prices market prices from transactions, Next: Valuation commodity, Prev: Finding market price, Up: Valuation -23.5 –infer-market-prices: market prices from transactions +23.5 -infer-market-prices: market prices from transactions ========================================================== 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 costs as additional market prices (as -Ledger does) ? Adding the ‘--infer-market-prices’ flag to ‘-V’, ‘-X’ or -‘--value’ enables this. +Ledger does) ? Adding the '--infer-market-prices' flag to '-V', '-X' or +'--value' enables this. - So for example, ‘hledger bs -V --infer-market-prices’ will get market + So for example, 'hledger bs -V --infer-market-prices' will get market prices both from P directives and from transactions. If both occur on the same day, the P directive takes precedence. 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. +'--debug' or '--debug=2' to troubleshoot. - ‘--infer-market-prices’ can infer market prices from: + '--infer-market-prices' can infer market prices from: - • multicommodity transactions with explicit prices (‘@’/‘@@’) + * multicommodity transactions with explicit prices ('@'/'@@') - • multicommodity transactions with implicit prices (no ‘@’, two + * multicommodity transactions with implicit prices (no '@', two commodities, unbalanced). (With these, the order of postings - matters. ‘hledger print -x’ can be useful for troubleshooting.) + matters. 'hledger print -x' can be useful for troubleshooting.) - • multicommodity transactions with equity postings, if cost is - inferred with ‘--infer-costs’. + * multicommodity transactions with equity postings, if cost is + inferred with '--infer-costs'. There is a limitation (bug) currently: when a valuation commodity is -not specified, prices inferred with ‘--infer-market-prices’ do not help -select a default valuation commodity, as ‘P’ prices would. So +not specified, prices inferred with '--infer-market-prices' do not help +select a default valuation commodity, as 'P' prices would. So conversion might not happen because no valuation commodity was detected -(‘--debug=2’ will show this). To be safe, specify the valuation +('--debug=2' will show this). To be safe, specify the valuation commmodity, eg: - • ‘-X EUR --infer-market-prices’, not ‘-V --infer-market-prices’ - • ‘--value=then,EUR --infer-market-prices’, not ‘--value=then - --infer-market-prices’ + * '-X EUR --infer-market-prices', not '-V --infer-market-prices' + * '--value=then,EUR --infer-market-prices', not '--value=then + --infer-market-prices' Signed costs and market prices can be confusing. For reference, here is the current behaviour, since hledger 1.25. (If you think it should @@ -6478,13 +6499,13 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Valuation commodity, Next: Simple valuation examples 23.6 Valuation commodity ======================== -*When you specify a valuation commodity (‘-X COMM’ or ‘--value -TYPE,COMM’):* +*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’):* + *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: @@ -6496,16 +6517,16 @@ follows, in this order of preference: prices before the valuation date.) 3. If there are no P directives at all (any commodity or date) and the - ‘--infer-market-prices’ flag is used: the price commodity from the + '--infer-market-prices' 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’ + * 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-market-prices’ + * If you have no P directives, and use the '--infer-market-prices' flag, costs determine it. Amounts for which no valuation commodity can be found are not @@ -6517,7 +6538,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Simple valuation examples, Next: --value Flexible va 23.7 Simple valuation examples ============================== -Here are some quick examples of ‘-V’: +Here are some quick examples of '-V': ; one euro is worth this many dollars from nov 1 P 2016/11/01 € $1.10 @@ -6549,10 +6570,10 @@ $ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros -V  File: hledger.info, Node: --value Flexible valuation, Next: More valuation examples, Prev: Simple valuation examples, Up: Valuation -23.8 –value: Flexible valuation +23.8 -value: Flexible valuation =============================== -‘-V’ and ‘-X’ are special cases of the more general ‘--value’ option: +'-V' and '-X' are special cases of the more general '--value' option: --value=TYPE[,COMM] TYPE is then, end, now or YYYY-MM-DD. COMM is an optional commodity symbol. @@ -6564,28 +6585,28 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: --value Flexible valuation, Next: More valuation exa The TYPE part selects cost or value and valuation date: -‘--value=then’ +'--value=then' Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commodity, - using market prices on each posting’s date. -‘--value=end’ + using market prices on each posting's date. +'--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, + unspecified, the journal's end date); or in multiperiod reports, market prices on the last day of each subperiod. -‘--value=now’ +'--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’ +'--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 + 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.  @@ -6594,8 +6615,8 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: More valuation examples, Next: Interaction of valuat 23.9 More valuation examples ============================ -Here are some examples showing the effect of ‘--value’, as seen with -‘print’: +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 @@ -6670,7 +6691,7 @@ $ hledger -f- print --value=2000-01-15 2000-03-01 (a) 1 B - You may need to explicitly set a commodity’s display style, when + 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 @@ -6684,7 +6705,7 @@ $ hledger print -x -X A a 0 b 0 - Explanation: because there’s no amount or commodity directive + 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 @@ -6712,7 +6733,7 @@ When matching postings based on queries in the presence of valuation, the following happens. 1. The query is separated into two parts: - 1. the currency (‘cur:’) or amount (‘amt:’). + 1. the currency ('cur:') or amount ('amt:'). 2. all other parts. 2. The postings are matched to the currency and amount queries based @@ -6730,13 +6751,13 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Effect of valuation on reports, Prev: Interaction of ==================================== 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 +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 ‘--cost’ ‘--value=now’ +Report '-B', '-V', '-X' '--value=then' '--value=end''--value=DATE', +type '--cost' '--value=now' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ *print* posting cost value at value at posting value at value @@ -6783,7 +6804,7 @@ changes costs report end date report or at postings budget like like like balance like like amounts balance balance changes balances balance -(–budget) changes changes changes +(-budget) changes changes changes grand sum of sum of sum of displayed sum of sum of total displayed displayed valued displayed displayed values values values values @@ -6803,23 +6824,23 @@ balances costs of report of postings report of report report start start balance sums of same as sums of values balance value -changes costs of –value=end of postings in change in at +changes costs of -value=end of postings in change in at (bal, postings period at each DATE/today is, bs in period respective period, of -–change, posting dates valued at sums +-change, posting dates valued at sums cf period of -–change) ends postings +-change) ends postings end sums of same as sums of values period end value -balances costs of –value=end of postings from balances, at +balances costs of -value=end of postings from balances, at (bal -H, postings before period valued at DATE/today -is –H, from start to period period of +is -H, from start to period period of bs, cf) before end at ends sums report respective of start to posting dates postings period end budget like like like balance like like amounts balance balance changes/end balances balance -(–budget) changes/end changes/end balances changes/end +(-budget) changes/end changes/end balances changes/end balances balances balances row sums, sums, sums, averages sums, sums, totals, averages averages of displayed averages averages @@ -6836,7 +6857,7 @@ grand column column column of average totals totals totals column totals - ‘--cumulative’ is omitted to save space, it works like ‘-H’ but with + '--cumulative' is omitted to save space, it works like '-H' but with a zero starting balance. *Glossary:* @@ -6869,7 +6890,7 @@ _report or journal end_ _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 + report's multi-period mode (whether showing one or many subperiods).  @@ -6939,8 +6960,8 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: DATA ENTRY, Next: DATA CREATION, Up: Commands overv These data entry commands are the only ones which can modify your journal file. - • add - add transactions using terminal prompts - • import - add new transactions from other files, eg CSV files + * add - add transactions using terminal prompts + * import - add new transactions from other files, eg CSV files  File: hledger.info, Node: DATA CREATION, Next: DATA MANAGEMENT, Prev: DATA ENTRY, Up: Commands overview @@ -6948,8 +6969,8 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: DATA CREATION, Next: DATA MANAGEMENT, Prev: DATA EN 24.1.2 DATA CREATION -------------------- - • close - generate balance-zeroing/restoring transactions - • rewrite - generate auto postings, like print –auto + * close - generate balance-zeroing/restoring transactions + * rewrite - generate auto postings, like print -auto  File: hledger.info, Node: DATA MANAGEMENT, Next: REPORTS FINANCIAL, Prev: DATA CREATION, Up: Commands overview @@ -6957,8 +6978,8 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: DATA MANAGEMENT, Next: REPORTS FINANCIAL, Prev: DAT 24.1.3 DATA MANAGEMENT ---------------------- - • check - check for various kinds of error in the data - • diff - compare account transactions in two journal files + * check - check for various kinds of error in the data + * diff - compare account transactions in two journal files  File: hledger.info, Node: REPORTS FINANCIAL, Next: REPORTS VERSATILE, Prev: DATA MANAGEMENT, Up: Commands overview @@ -6966,11 +6987,11 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: REPORTS FINANCIAL, Next: REPORTS VERSATILE, Prev: D 24.1.4 REPORTS, FINANCIAL ------------------------- - • 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 + * 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  File: hledger.info, Node: REPORTS VERSATILE, Next: REPORTS BASIC, Prev: REPORTS FINANCIAL, Up: Commands overview @@ -6978,12 +6999,12 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: REPORTS VERSATILE, Next: REPORTS BASIC, Prev: REPOR 24.1.5 REPORTS, VERSATILE ------------------------- - • balance (bal) - show balance changes, end balances, budgets, + * balance (bal) - show balance changes, end balances, budgets, gains.. - • print - show transactions or export journal data - • register (reg) - show postings in one or more accounts & running + * print - show transactions or export journal data + * register (reg) - show postings in one or more accounts & running total - • roi - show return on investments + * roi - show return on investments  File: hledger.info, Node: REPORTS BASIC, Next: HELP, Prev: REPORTS VERSATILE, Up: Commands overview @@ -6991,18 +7012,18 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: REPORTS BASIC, Next: HELP, Prev: REPORTS VERSATILE, 24.1.6 REPORTS, BASIC --------------------- - • accounts - show account names - • activity - show bar charts of posting counts per period - • codes - show transaction codes - • commodities - show commodity/currency symbols - • descriptions - show transaction descriptions - • files - show input file paths - • notes - show note parts of transaction descriptions - • payees - show payee parts of transaction descriptions - • prices - show market prices - • stats - show journal statistics - • tags - show tag names - • test - run self tests + * accounts - show account names + * activity - show bar charts of posting counts per period + * codes - show transaction codes + * commodities - show commodity/currency symbols + * descriptions - show transaction descriptions + * files - show input file paths + * notes - show note parts of transaction descriptions + * payees - show payee parts of transaction descriptions + * prices - show market prices + * stats - show journal statistics + * tags - show tag names + * test - run self tests  File: hledger.info, Node: HELP, Next: ADD-ONS, Prev: REPORTS BASIC, Up: Commands overview @@ -7010,8 +7031,8 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: HELP, Next: ADD-ONS, Prev: REPORTS BASIC, Up: Comm 24.1.7 HELP ----------- - • help - show the hledger manual with info/man/pager - • demo - show small hledger demos in the terminal + * help - show the hledger manual with info/man/pager + * demo - show small hledger demos in the terminal  File: hledger.info, Node: ADD-ONS, Prev: HELP, Up: Commands overview @@ -7021,14 +7042,14 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: ADD-ONS, Prev: HELP, Up: Commands overview And here are some typical add-on commands. Some of these are installed by the hledger-install script. If installed, they will appear in -hledger’s commands list: +hledger's commands list: - • ui - run hledger’s terminal UI - • web - run hledger’s web UI - • iadd - add transactions using a TUI (currently hard to build) - • interest - generate interest transactions - • stockquotes - download market prices from AlphaVantage - • Scripts and add-ons - check-fancyassertions, edit, fifo, git, move, + * ui - run hledger's terminal UI + * web - run hledger's web UI + * iadd - add transactions using a TUI (currently hard to build) + * interest - generate interest transactions + * stockquotes - download market prices from AlphaVantage + * Scripts and add-ons - check-fancyassertions, edit, fifo, git, move, pijul, plot, and more.. Next, each command is described in detail, in alphabetical order. @@ -7048,30 +7069,30 @@ directives. With query arguments, only matched account names and account names referenced by matched postings are shown. - Or it can show just the used accounts (‘--used’/‘-u’), the declared -accounts (‘--declared’/‘-d’), the accounts declared but not used -(‘--unused’), the accounts used but not declared (‘--undeclared’), or -the first account matched by an account name pattern, if any (‘--find’). + Or it can show just the used accounts ('--used'/'-u'), the declared +accounts ('--declared'/'-d'), the accounts declared but not used +('--unused'), the accounts used but not declared ('--undeclared'), or +the first account matched by an account name pattern, if any ('--find'). - 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 + 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’. +depth-clipped with 'depth:N' or '--depth N' or '-N'. - With ‘--types’, it also shows each account’s type, if it’s known. + With '--types', it also shows each account's type, if it's known. (See Declaring accounts > Account types.) - With ‘--positions’, it also shows the file and line number of each -account’s declaration, if any, and the account’s overall declaration + With '--positions', it also shows the file and line number of each +account's declaration, if any, and the account's overall declaration order; these may be useful when troubleshooting account display order. - With ‘--directives’, it adds the ‘account’ keyword, showing valid + With '--directives', it adds the 'account' keyword, showing valid account directives which can be pasted into a journal file. This is -useful together with ‘--undeclared’ when updating your account -declarations to satisfy ‘hledger check accounts’. +useful together with '--undeclared' when updating your account +declarations to satisfy 'hledger check accounts'. - The ‘--find’ flag can be used to look up a single account name, in -the same way that the ‘aregister’ command does. It returns the + The '--find' flag can be used to look up a single account name, in +the same way that the 'aregister' command does. It returns the alphanumerically-first matched account name, or if none can be found, it fails with a non-zero exit code. @@ -7121,33 +7142,33 @@ 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 +'add' command, which prompts interactively on the console for new transactions, and appends them to the main journal file (which should be in journal format). Existing transactions are not changed. This is one of the few hledger commands that writes to the journal file (see also -‘import’). +'import'). - 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 ‘.’ + 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 + * 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, - payees/descriptions, dates (‘yesterday’, ‘today’, ‘tomorrow’). If + * 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, + payees/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 + * 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 + * 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 + * Input prompts are displayed in a different colour when the terminal supports it. Example (see https://hledger.org/add.html for a detailed tutorial): @@ -7191,37 +7212,37 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: aregister, Next: balance, Prev: add, Up: PART 4 CO Show the transactions and running historical balance of a single account, with each transaction displayed as one line. - ‘aregister’ shows the overall transactions affecting a particular + 'aregister' shows the overall transactions affecting a particular account (and any subaccounts). Each report line represents one transaction in this account. Transactions before the report start date -are always included in the running balance (‘--historical’ mode is +are always included in the running balance ('--historical' mode is always on). - This is a more "real world", bank-like view than the ‘register’ + This is a more "real world", bank-like view than the 'register' command (which shows individual postings, possibly from multiple accounts, not necessarily in historical mode). As a quick rule of -thumb: - use ‘aregister’ for reviewing and reconciling real-world -asset/liability accounts - use ‘register’ for reviewing detailed +thumb: - use 'aregister' for reviewing and reconciling real-world +asset/liability accounts - use 'register' for reviewing detailed revenues/expenses. - ‘aregister’ requires one argument: the account to report on. You can + 'aregister' requires one argument: the account to report on. You can write either the full account name, or a case-insensitive regular expression which will select the alphabetically first matched account. When there are multiple matches, the alphabetically-first choice can -be surprising; eg if you have ‘assets:per:checking 1’ and -‘assets:biz:checking 2’ accounts, ‘hledger areg checking’ would select -‘assets:biz:checking 2’. It’s just a convenience to save typing, so if +be surprising; eg if you have 'assets:per:checking 1' and +'assets:biz:checking 2' accounts, 'hledger areg checking' would select +'assets:biz:checking 2'. It's just a convenience to save typing, so if in doubt, write the full account name, or a distinctive substring that matches uniquely. Transactions involving subaccounts of this account will also be -shown. ‘aregister’ ignores depth limits, so its final total will always +shown. 'aregister' ignores depth limits, so its final total will always match a balance report with similar arguments. Any additional arguments form a query which will filter the transactions shown. Note some queries will disturb the running balance, -causing it to be different from the account’s real-world running +causing it to be different from the account's real-world running balance. An example: this shows the transactions and historical running @@ -7230,26 +7251,26 @@ balance during july, in the first account whose name contains $ hledger areg checking date:jul - Each ‘aregister’ line item shows: + Each 'aregister' line item shows: - • the transaction’s date (or the relevant posting’s date if + * the transaction's date (or the relevant posting's date if different, see below) - • the names of all the other account(s) involved in this transaction + * the names of all the other account(s) involved in this transaction (probably abbreviated) - • the total change to this account’s balance from this transaction - • the account’s historical running balance after this transaction. + * the total change to this account's balance from this transaction + * the account's historical running balance after this transaction. Transactions making a net change of zero are not shown by default; -add the ‘-E/--empty’ flag to show them. +add the '-E/--empty' flag to show them. For performance reasons, column widths are chosen based on the first 1000 lines; this means unusually wide values in later lines can cause visual discontinuities as column widths are adjusted. If you want to ensure perfect alignment, at the cost of more time and memory, use the -‘--align-all’ flag. +'--align-all' flag. This command also supports the output destination and output format -options. The output formats supported are ‘txt’, ‘csv’, and ‘json’. +options. The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', and 'json'. * Menu: @@ -7263,13 +7284,13 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: aregister and custom posting dates, Up: aregister 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. +(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’ + 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. +it's probably best to assume the running balance is wrong.  File: hledger.info, Node: balance, Next: balancesheet, Prev: aregister, Up: PART 4 COMMANDS @@ -7281,15 +7302,15 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: balance, Next: balancesheet, Prev: aregister, Up: Show accounts and their balances. - ‘balance’ is one of hledger’s oldest and most versatile commands, for + 'balance' is one of hledger's oldest and most versatile commands, for listing account balances, balance changes, values, value changes and more, during one time period or many. Generally it shows a table, with rows representing accounts, and columns representing periods. - Note there are some higher-level variants of the ‘balance’ command -with convenient defaults, which can be simpler to use: ‘balancesheet’, -‘balancesheetequity’, ‘cashflow’ and ‘incomestatement’. When you need -more control, then use ‘balance’. + Note there are some higher-level variants of the 'balance' command +with convenient defaults, which can be simpler to use: 'balancesheet', +'balancesheetequity', 'cashflow' and 'incomestatement'. When you need +more control, then use 'balance'. * Menu: @@ -7316,60 +7337,60 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: balance features, Next: Simple balance report, Up: 24.6.1 balance features ----------------------- -Here’s a quick overview of the ‘balance’ command’s features, followed by +Here's a quick overview of the 'balance' command's features, followed by more detailed descriptions and examples. Many of these work with the higher-level commands as well. - ‘balance’ can show.. + 'balance' can show.. - • accounts as a list (‘-l’) or a tree (‘-t’) - • optionally depth-limited (‘-[1-9]’) - • sorted by declaration order and name, or by amount + * accounts as a list ('-l') or a tree ('-t') + * optionally depth-limited ('-[1-9]') + * sorted by declaration order and name, or by amount ..and their.. - • balance changes (the default) - • or actual and planned balance changes (‘--budget’) - • or value of balance changes (‘-V’) - • or change of balance values (‘--valuechange’) - • or unrealised capital gain/loss (‘--gain’) + * balance changes (the default) + * or actual and planned balance changes ('--budget') + * or value of balance changes ('-V') + * or change of balance values ('--valuechange') + * or unrealised capital gain/loss ('--gain') ..in.. - • one time period (the whole journal period by default) - • or multiple periods (‘-D’, ‘-W’, ‘-M’, ‘-Q’, ‘-Y’, ‘-p INTERVAL’) + * one time period (the whole journal period by default) + * or multiple periods ('-D', '-W', '-M', '-Q', '-Y', '-p INTERVAL') ..either.. - • per period (the default) - • or accumulated since report start date (‘--cumulative’) - • or accumulated since account creation (‘--historical/-H’) + * per period (the default) + * or accumulated since report start date ('--cumulative') + * or accumulated since account creation ('--historical/-H') ..possibly converted to.. - • cost (‘--value=cost[,COMM]’/‘--cost’/‘-B’) - • or market value, as of transaction dates (‘--value=then[,COMM]’) - • or at period ends (‘--value=end[,COMM]’) - • or now (‘--value=now’) - • or at some other date (‘--value=YYYY-MM-DD’) + * cost ('--value=cost[,COMM]'/'--cost'/'-B') + * or market value, as of transaction dates ('--value=then[,COMM]') + * or at period ends ('--value=end[,COMM]') + * or now ('--value=now') + * or at some other date ('--value=YYYY-MM-DD') ..with.. - • totals (‘-T’), averages (‘-A’), percentages (‘-%’), inverted sign - (‘--invert’) - • rows and columns swapped (‘--transpose’) - • another field used as account name (‘--pivot’) - • custom-formatted line items (single-period reports only) - (‘--format’) - • commodities displayed on the same line or multiple lines - (‘--layout’) + * totals ('-T'), averages ('-A'), percentages ('-%'), inverted sign + ('--invert') + * rows and columns swapped ('--transpose') + * another field used as account name ('--pivot') + * custom-formatted line items (single-period reports only) + ('--format') + * commodities displayed on the same line or multiple lines + ('--layout') This command supports the output destination and output format -options, with output formats ‘txt’, ‘csv’, ‘json’, and (multi-period -reports only:) ‘html’. In ‘txt’ output in a colour-supporting terminal, +options, with output formats 'txt', 'csv', 'json', and (multi-period +reports only:) 'html'. In 'txt' output in a colour-supporting terminal, negative amounts are shown in red. - The ‘--related’/‘-r’ flag shows the balance of the _other_ postings + The '--related'/'-r' flag shows the balance of the _other_ postings in the transactions of the postings which would normally be shown.  @@ -7378,7 +7399,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Simple balance report, Next: Balance report line for 24.6.2 Simple balance report ---------------------------- -With no arguments, ‘balance’ shows a list of all accounts and their +With no arguments, 'balance' shows a list of all accounts and their change of balance - ie, the sum of posting amounts, both inflows and outflows - during the entire period of the journal. ("Simple" here means just one column of numbers, covering a single period. You can @@ -7403,8 +7424,8 @@ $ hledger -f examples/sample.journal bal 0 Accounts with a zero balance (and no non-zero subaccounts, in tree -mode - see below) are hidden by default. Use ‘-E/--empty’ to show them -(revealing ‘assets:bank:checking’ here): +mode - see below) are hidden by default. Use '-E/--empty' to show them +(revealing 'assets:bank:checking' here): $ hledger -f examples/sample.journal bal -E 0 assets:bank:checking @@ -7419,7 +7440,7 @@ $ hledger -f examples/sample.journal bal -E 0 The total of the amounts displayed is shown as the last line, unless -‘-N’/‘--no-total’ is used. +'-N'/'--no-total' is used.  File: hledger.info, Node: Balance report line format, Next: Filtered balance report, Prev: Simple balance report, Up: balance @@ -7428,7 +7449,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Balance report line format, Next: Filtered balance r --------------------------------- For single-period balance reports displayed in the terminal (only), you -can use ‘--format FMT’ to customise the format and content of each line. +can use '--format FMT' to customise the format and content of each line. Eg: $ hledger -f examples/sample.journal balance --format "%20(account) %12(total)" @@ -7449,39 +7470,39 @@ $ hledger -f examples/sample.journal balance --format "%20(account) %12(total)" account/balance pair. It may contain any suitable text, with data fields interpolated like so: - ‘%[MIN][.MAX](FIELDNAME)’ + '%[MIN][.MAX](FIELDNAME)' - • MIN pads with spaces to at least this width (optional) + * MIN pads with spaces to at least this width (optional) - • MAX truncates at this width (optional) + * MAX truncates at this width (optional) - • FIELDNAME must be enclosed in parentheses, and can be one of: + * FIELDNAME must be enclosed in parentheses, and can be one of: - • ‘depth_spacer’ - a number of spaces equal to the account’s + * '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 + * '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 + * '%_' - 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 + 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 + * '%(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 + * '%,%-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 + * '%20(total) %2(depth_spacer)%-(account)' - the default format for the single-column balance report  @@ -7505,10 +7526,10 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: List or tree mode, Next: Depth limiting, Prev: Filt 24.6.5 List or tree mode ------------------------ -By default, or with ‘-l/--flat’, accounts are shown as a flat list with +By default, or with '-l/--flat', accounts are shown as a flat list with their full names visible, as in the examples above. - With ‘-t/--tree’, the account hierarchy is shown, with subaccounts’ + With '-t/--tree', the account hierarchy is shown, with subaccounts' "leaf" names indented below their parent: $ hledger -f examples/sample.journal balance @@ -7527,19 +7548,19 @@ $ hledger -f examples/sample.journal balance Notes: - • "Boring" accounts are combined with their subaccount for more - compact output, unless ‘--no-elide’ is used. Boring accounts have - no balance of their own and just one subaccount (eg ‘assets:bank’ - and ‘liabilities’ above). + * "Boring" accounts are combined with their subaccount for more + compact output, unless '--no-elide' is used. Boring accounts have + no balance of their own and just one subaccount (eg 'assets:bank' + and 'liabilities' above). - • All balances shown are "inclusive", ie including the balances from + * All balances shown are "inclusive", ie including the balances from all subaccounts. Note this means some repetition in the output, which requires explanation when sharing reports with - non-plaintextaccounting-users. A tree mode report’s final total is + non-plaintextaccounting-users. A tree mode report's final total is the sum of the top-level balances shown, not of all the balances shown. - • Each group of sibling accounts (ie, under a common parent) is + * Each group of sibling accounts (ie, under a common parent) is sorted separately.  @@ -7548,8 +7569,8 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Depth limiting, Next: Dropping top-level accounts, 24.6.6 Depth limiting --------------------- -With a ‘depth:NUM’ query, or ‘--depth NUM’ option, or just ‘-NUM’ (eg: -‘-3’) balance reports will show accounts only to the specified depth, +With a 'depth:NUM' query, or '--depth NUM' option, or just '-NUM' (eg: +'-3') balance reports will show accounts only to the specified depth, hiding the deeper subaccounts. This can be useful for getting an overview without too much detail. @@ -7571,7 +7592,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Dropping top-level accounts, Next: Showing declared ---------------------------------- You can also hide one or more top-level account name parts, using -‘--drop NUM’. This can be useful for hiding repetitive top-level +'--drop NUM'. This can be useful for hiding repetitive top-level account names: $ hledger -f examples/sample.journal bal expenses --drop 1 @@ -7586,16 +7607,16 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Showing declared accounts, Next: Sorting by amount, 24.6.8 Showing declared accounts -------------------------------- -With ‘--declared’, accounts which have been declared with an account +With '--declared', accounts which have been declared with an account directive will be included in the balance report, even if they have no transactions. (Since they will have a zero balance, you will also need -‘-E/--empty’ to see them.) +'-E/--empty' to see them.) More precisely, _leaf_ declared accounts (with no subaccounts) will be included, since those are usually the more useful in reports. The idea of this is to be able to see a useful "complete" balance -report, even when you don’t have transactions in all of your declared +report, even when you don't have transactions in all of your declared accounts yet.  @@ -7604,17 +7625,17 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Sorting by amount, Next: Percentages, Prev: Showing 24.6.9 Sorting by amount ------------------------ -With ‘-S/--sort-amount’, accounts with the largest (most positive) -balances are shown first. Eg: ‘hledger bal expenses -MAS’ shows your +With '-S/--sort-amount', accounts with the largest (most positive) +balances are shown first. Eg: 'hledger bal expenses -MAS' shows your biggest averaged monthly expenses first. When more than one commodity is present, they will be sorted by the alphabetically earliest commodity first, and then by subsequent commodities (if an amount is missing a commodity, it is treated as 0). 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 higher-level reports, -which flip the sign automatically. Eg: ‘hledger incomestatement -MAS’). +'-S' shows these in reverse order. To work around this, you can add +'--invert' to flip the signs. (Or, use one of the higher-level reports, +which flip the sign automatically. Eg: 'hledger incomestatement -MAS').  File: hledger.info, Node: Percentages, Next: Multi-period balance report, Prev: Sorting by amount, Up: balance @@ -7622,7 +7643,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Percentages, Next: Multi-period balance report, Pre 24.6.10 Percentages ------------------- -With ‘-%/--percent’, balance reports show each account’s value expressed +With '-%/--percent', balance reports show each account's value expressed as a percentage of the (column) total. Note it is not useful to calculate percentages if the amounts in a @@ -7633,7 +7654,7 @@ $ hledger bal -% amt:`>0` $ hledger bal -% amt:`<0` Similarly, if the amounts in a column have mixed commodities, convert -them to one commodity with ‘-B’, ‘-V’, ‘-X’ or ‘--value’, or make a +them to one commodity with '-B', '-V', '-X' or '--value', or make a separate report for each commodity: $ hledger bal -% cur:\\$ @@ -7645,9 +7666,9 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Multi-period balance report, Next: Balance change en 24.6.11 Multi-period balance report ----------------------------------- -With a report interval (set by the ‘-D/--daily’, ‘-W/--weekly’, -‘-M/--monthly’, ‘-Q/--quarterly’, ‘-Y/--yearly’, or ‘-p/--period’ flag), -‘balance’ shows a tabular report, with columns representing successive +With a report interval (set by the '-D/--daily', '-W/--weekly', +'-M/--monthly', '-Q/--quarterly', '-Y/--yearly', or '-p/--period' flag), +'balance' shows a tabular report, with columns representing successive time periods (and a title): $ hledger -f examples/sample.journal bal --quarterly income expenses -E @@ -7664,35 +7685,35 @@ Balance changes in 2008: Notes: - • The report’s start/end dates will be expanded, if necessary, to + * The report's start/end dates will be expanded, if necessary, to fully encompass the displayed subperiods (so that the first and last subperiods have the same duration as the others). - • Leading and trailing periods (columns) containing all zeroes are - not shown, unless ‘-E/--empty’ is used. - • Accounts (rows) containing all zeroes are not shown, unless - ‘-E/--empty’ is used. - • Amounts with many commodities are shown in abbreviated form, unless - ‘--no-elide’ is used. _(experimental)_ - • Average and/or total columns can be added with the ‘-A/--average’ - and ‘-T/--row-total’ flags. - • The ‘--transpose’ flag can be used to exchange rows and columns. - • The ‘--pivot FIELD’ option causes a different transaction field to + * Leading and trailing periods (columns) containing all zeroes are + not shown, unless '-E/--empty' is used. + * Accounts (rows) containing all zeroes are not shown, unless + '-E/--empty' is used. + * Amounts with many commodities are shown in abbreviated form, unless + '--no-elide' is used. _(experimental)_ + * Average and/or total columns can be added with the '-A/--average' + and '-T/--row-total' flags. + * The '--transpose' flag can be used to exchange rows and columns. + * The '--pivot FIELD' option causes a different transaction field to be used as "account name". See PIVOTING. Multi-period reports with many periods can be too wide for easy viewing in the terminal. Here are some ways to handle that: - • Hide the totals row with ‘-N/--no-total’ - • Convert to a single currency with ‘-V’ - • Maximize the terminal window - • Reduce the terminal’s font size - • View with a pager like less, eg: ‘hledger bal -D --color=yes | less - -RS’ - • Output as CSV and use a CSV viewer like visidata (‘hledger bal -D - -O csv | vd -f csv’), Emacs’ csv-mode (‘M-x csv-mode, C-c C-a’), or - a spreadsheet (‘hledger bal -D -o a.csv && open a.csv’) - • Output as HTML and view with a browser: ‘hledger bal -D -o a.html - && open a.html’ + * Hide the totals row with '-N/--no-total' + * Convert to a single currency with '-V' + * Maximize the terminal window + * Reduce the terminal's font size + * View with a pager like less, eg: 'hledger bal -D --color=yes | less + -RS' + * Output as CSV and use a CSV viewer like visidata ('hledger bal -D + -O csv | vd -f csv'), Emacs' csv-mode ('M-x csv-mode, C-c C-a'), or + a spreadsheet ('hledger bal -D -o a.csv && open a.csv') + * Output as HTML and view with a browser: 'hledger bal -D -o a.html + && open a.html'  File: hledger.info, Node: Balance change end balance, Next: Balance report types, Prev: Multi-period balance report, Up: balance @@ -7700,14 +7721,14 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Balance change end balance, Next: Balance report typ 24.6.12 Balance change, end balance ----------------------------------- -It’s important to be clear on the meaning of the numbers shown in +It's important to be clear on the meaning of the numbers shown in balance reports. Here is some terminology we use: A *_balance change_* is the net amount added to, or removed from, an account during some period. An *_end balance_* is the amount accumulated in an account as of some -date (and some time, but hledger doesn’t store that; assume end of day +date (and some time, but hledger doesn't store that; assume end of day in your timezone). It is the sum of previous balance changes. We call it a *_historical end balance_* if it includes all balance @@ -7719,16 +7740,16 @@ your bank statements or bank web UI. (If they are correct!) revenues and expenses, and historical end balances are what you want to see when reviewing or reconciling asset, liability and equity accounts. - ‘balance’ shows balance changes by default. To see accurate + 'balance' shows balance changes by default. To see accurate historical end balances: 1. Initialise account starting balances with an "opening balances" transaction (a transfer from equity to the account), unless the - journal covers the account’s full lifetime. + journal covers the account's full lifetime. - 2. Include all of of the account’s prior postings in the report, by + 2. Include all of of the account's prior postings in the report, by not specifying a report start date, or by using the - ‘-H/--historical’ flag. (‘-H’ causes report start date to be + '-H/--historical' flag. ('-H' causes report start date to be ignored when summing postings.)  @@ -7738,14 +7759,14 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Balance report types, Next: Budget report, Prev: Ba ---------------------------- The balance command is quite flexible; here is the full detail on how to -control what it reports. If the following seems complicated, don’t +control what it reports. If the following seems complicated, don't worry - this is for advanced reporting, and it does typically take some time and experimentation to get clear on all these report modes. There are three important option groups: - ‘hledger balance [CALCULATIONTYPE] [ACCUMULATIONTYPE] [VALUATIONTYPE] -...’ + 'hledger balance [CALCULATIONTYPE] [ACCUMULATIONTYPE] [VALUATIONTYPE] +...' * Menu: @@ -7762,14 +7783,14 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Calculation type, Next: Accumulation type, Up: Bala The basic calculation to perform for each table cell. It is one of: - • ‘--sum’ : sum the posting amounts (*default*) - • ‘--budget’ : sum the amounts, but also show the budget goal amount + * '--sum' : sum the posting amounts (*default*) + * '--budget' : sum the amounts, but also show the budget goal amount (for each account/period) - • ‘--valuechange’ : show the change in period-end historical balance + * '--valuechange' : show the change in period-end historical balance values (caused by deposits, withdrawals, and/or market price fluctuations) - • ‘--gain’ : show the unrealised capital gain/loss, (the current - valued balance minus each amount’s original cost) + * '--gain' : show the unrealised capital gain/loss, (the current + valued balance minus each amount's original cost)  File: hledger.info, Node: Accumulation type, Next: Valuation type, Prev: Calculation type, Up: Balance report types @@ -7778,21 +7799,21 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Accumulation type, Next: Valuation type, Prev: Calc ........................... How amounts should accumulate across report periods. Another way to say -it: which time period’s postings should contribute to each cell’s +it: which time period's postings should contribute to each cell's calculation. It is one of: - • ‘--change’ : calculate with postings from column start to column + * '--change' : calculate with postings from column start to column end, ie "just this column". Typically used to see revenues/expenses. (*default for balance, incomestatement*) - • ‘--cumulative’ : calculate with postings from report start to + * '--cumulative' : calculate with postings from report start to column end, ie "previous columns plus this column". Typically used - to show changes accumulated since the report’s start date. Not + to show changes accumulated since the report's start date. Not often used. - • ‘--historical/-H’ : calculate with postings from journal start to + * '--historical/-H' : calculate with postings from journal start to column end, ie "all postings from before report start date until - this column’s end". Typically used to see historical end balances + this column's end". Typically used to see historical end balances of assets/liabilities/equity. (*default for balancesheet, balancesheetequity, cashflow*) @@ -7805,25 +7826,25 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Valuation type, Next: Combining balance report types Which kind of value or cost conversion should be applied, if any, before displaying the report. It is one of: - • no valuation type : don’t convert to cost or value (*default*) - • ‘--value=cost[,COMM]’ : convert amounts to cost (then optionally to + * no valuation type : don't convert to cost or value (*default*) + * '--value=cost[,COMM]' : convert amounts to cost (then optionally to some other commodity) - • ‘--value=then[,COMM]’ : convert amounts to market value on + * '--value=then[,COMM]' : convert amounts to market value on transaction dates - • ‘--value=end[,COMM]’ : convert amounts to market value on period + * '--value=end[,COMM]' : convert amounts to market value on period end date(s) - (*default with ‘--valuechange’, ‘--gain’*) - • ‘--value=now[,COMM]’ : convert amounts to market value on today’s + (*default with '--valuechange', '--gain'*) + * '--value=now[,COMM]' : convert amounts to market value on today's date - • ‘--value=YYYY-MM-DD[,COMM]’ : convert amounts to market value on + * '--value=YYYY-MM-DD[,COMM]' : convert amounts to market value on another date or one of the equivalent simpler flags: - • ‘-B/--cost’ : like –value=cost (though, note –cost and –value are + * '-B/--cost' : like -value=cost (though, note -cost and -value are independent options which can both be used at once) - • ‘-V/--market’ : like –value=end - • ‘-X COMM/--exchange COMM’ : like –value=end,COMM + * '-V/--market' : like -value=end + * '-X COMM/--exchange COMM' : like -value=end,COMM See Cost reporting and Valuation for more about these. @@ -7837,30 +7858,30 @@ Most combinations of these options should produce reasonable reports, but if you find any that seem wrong or misleading, let us know. The following restrictions are applied: - • ‘--valuechange’ implies ‘--value=end’ - • ‘--valuechange’ makes ‘--change’ the default when used with the - ‘balancesheet’/‘balancesheetequity’ commands - • ‘--cumulative’ or ‘--historical’ disables ‘--row-total/-T’ + * '--valuechange' implies '--value=end' + * '--valuechange' makes '--change' the default when used with the + 'balancesheet'/'balancesheetequity' commands + * '--cumulative' or '--historical' disables '--row-total/-T' For reference, here is what the combinations of accumulation and valuation show: -Valuation:>no valuation ‘--value= then’ ‘--value= end’ ‘--value= +Valuation:>no valuation '--value= then' '--value= end' '--value= Accumulation:v YYYY-MM-DD - /now’ + /now' ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- -‘--change’change in sum of period-end DATE-value +'--change'change in sum of period-end DATE-value period posting-date value of of change in market values change in period in period period -‘--cumulative’change from sum of period-end DATE-value +'--cumulative'change from sum of period-end DATE-value report start to posting-date value of of change period end market values change from from report from report report start start to start to period to period end period end end -‘--historicalchange from sum of period-end DATE-value -/-H’ journal start posting-date value of of change +'--historicalchange from sum of period-end DATE-value +/-H' journal start posting-date value of of change to period end market values change from from journal (historical end from journal journal start start to balance) start to period to period end period end @@ -7872,7 +7893,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Budget report, Next: Data layout, Prev: Balance rep 24.6.14 Budget report --------------------- -The ‘--budget’ report type activates extra columns showing any budget +The '--budget' report type activates extra columns showing any budget goals for each account and period. The budget goals are defined by periodic transactions. This is useful for comparing planned and actual income, expenses, time usage, etc. @@ -7924,26 +7945,26 @@ Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: This is different from a normal balance report in several ways: - • Only accounts with budget goals during the report period are shown, + * Only accounts with budget goals during the report period are shown, by default. - • In each column, in square brackets after the actual amount, budget + * 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 list mode. Eg + * All parent accounts are always shown, even in list mode. Eg assets, assets:bank, and expenses above. - • Amounts always include all subaccounts, budgeted or unbudgeted, + * Amounts always include all subaccounts, budgeted or unbudgeted, even in list 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 +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 +'-E/--empty' flag, which will reveal all accounts including unbudgeted ones, giving the full picture. Eg: $ hledger balance -M --budget --empty @@ -7964,7 +7985,7 @@ Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: ----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] - You can roll over unspent budgets to next period with ‘--cumulative’: + 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: @@ -7982,7 +8003,7 @@ Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: ----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] - It’s common to limit budgets/budget reports to just expenses + It's common to limit budgets/budget reports to just expenses hledger bal -M --budget expenses @@ -7990,9 +8011,9 @@ hledger bal -M --budget expenses hledger bal -M --budget type:rx - It’s also common to limit or convert them to a single currency -(‘cur:COMM’ or ‘-X COMM [--infer-market-prices]’). If showing multiple -currencies, ‘--layout bare’ or ‘--layout tall’ can help. + It's also common to limit or convert them to a single currency +('cur:COMM' or '-X COMM [--infer-market-prices]'). If showing multiple +currencies, '--layout bare' or '--layout tall' can help. For more examples and notes, see Budgeting. @@ -8009,9 +8030,9 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Budget report start date, Next: Budgets and subaccou 24.6.14.1 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 +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 @@ -8033,10 +8054,10 @@ Budget performance in 2020-01-15: --------------++------------ || $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 + 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: +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: @@ -8070,14 +8091,14 @@ account, all its parents would have budget as well. 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. +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’. + 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: + For example, let's consider these transactions: ~ monthly from 2019/01 expenses:personal $1,000.00 @@ -8101,10 +8122,10 @@ counted towards only towards the budget of ‘expenses:personal’. 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 +'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: +'expenses:personal:electronics' and 'expenses:personal' accordingly: $ hledger balance --budget -M Budget performance in 2019/01: @@ -8118,7 +8139,7 @@ Budget performance in 2019/01: -------------------------------++------------------------------- || 0 [ 0] - And with ‘--empty’, we can get a better picture of budget allocation + And with '--empty', we can get a better picture of budget allocation and consumption: $ hledger balance --budget -M --empty @@ -8144,7 +8165,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Selecting budget goals, Next: Budget vs forecast, P The budget report evaluates periodic transaction rules to generate special "goal transactions", which generate the goal amounts for each account in each report subperiod. When troubleshooting, you can use -‘print --forecast’ to show these as forecasted transactions: +'print --forecast' to show these as forecasted transactions: $ hledger print --forecast=BUDGETREPORTPERIOD tag:generated @@ -8155,7 +8176,7 @@ periodic rules, all of these will contribute to the goals in a monthly budget report. You can select a subset of periodic rules by providing an argument to -the ‘--budget’ flag. ‘--budget=DESCPAT’ will match all periodic rules +the '--budget' flag. '--budget=DESCPAT' will match all periodic rules whose description contains DESCPAT, a case-insensitive substring (not a regular expression or query). This means you can give your periodic rules descriptions (remember that two spaces are needed), and then @@ -8167,7 +8188,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Budget vs forecast, Prev: Selecting budget goals, U 24.6.14.4 Budget vs forecast ............................ -‘hledger --forecast ...’ and ‘hledger balance --budget ...’ are separate +'hledger --forecast ...' and 'hledger balance --budget ...' are separate features, though both of them use the periodic transaction rules defined in the journal, and both of them generate temporary transactions for reporting purposes ("forecast transactions" and "budget goal @@ -8177,36 +8198,36 @@ time if you want. Here are some differences between them, as of hledger CLI: - • –forecast is a general hledger option, usable with any command - • –budget is a ‘balance’ command option, usable only with that + * -forecast is a general hledger option, usable with any command + * -budget is a 'balance' command option, usable only with that command. Visibility of generated transactions: - • forecast transactions are visible in any report, like ordinary + * forecast transactions are visible in any report, like ordinary transactions - • budget goal transactions are invisible except for the goal amounts - they produce in –budget reports. + * budget goal transactions are invisible except for the goal amounts + they produce in -budget reports. Periodic transaction rules: - • –forecast uses all available periodic transaction rules - • –budget uses all periodic rules (‘--budget’) or a selected subset - (‘--budget=DESCPAT’) + * -forecast uses all available periodic transaction rules + * -budget uses all periodic rules ('--budget') or a selected subset + ('--budget=DESCPAT') Period of generated transactions: - • –forecast generates forecast transactions - • from after the last regular transaction to the end of the - report period (‘--forecast’) - • or, during a specified period (‘--forecast=PERIODEXPR’) - • possibly further restricted by a period specified in the + * -forecast generates forecast transactions + * from after the last regular transaction to the end of the + report period ('--forecast') + * or, during a specified period ('--forecast=PERIODEXPR') + * possibly further restricted by a period specified in the periodic transaction rule - • and always restricted within the bounds of the report period + * and always restricted within the bounds of the report period - • –budget generates budget goal transactions - • throughout the report period - • possibly restricted by a period specified in the periodic + * -budget generates budget goal transactions + * throughout the report period + * possibly restricted by a period specified in the periodic transaction rule.  @@ -8215,20 +8236,20 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Data layout, Next: Useful balance reports, Prev: Bu 24.6.15 Data layout ------------------- -The ‘--layout’ option affects how balance reports show multi-commodity +The '--layout' option affects how balance reports show multi-commodity amounts and commodity symbols, which can improve readability. It can also normalise the data for easy consumption by other programs. It has four possible values: - • ‘--layout=wide[,WIDTH]’: commodities are shown on a single line, + * '--layout=wide[,WIDTH]': commodities are shown on a single line, optionally elided to WIDTH - • ‘--layout=tall’: each commodity is shown on a separate line - • ‘--layout=bare’: commodity symbols are in their own column, amounts + * '--layout=tall': each commodity is shown on a separate line + * '--layout=bare': commodity symbols are in their own column, amounts are bare numbers - • ‘--layout=tidy’: data is normalised to easily-consumed "tidy" form, + * '--layout=tidy': data is normalised to easily-consumed "tidy" form, with one row per data value - Here are the ‘--layout’ modes supported by each output format; note + Here are the '--layout' modes supported by each output format; note only CSV output supports all of them: - txt csv html json sql @@ -8240,7 +8261,7 @@ tidy Y Examples: - • Wide layout. With many commodities, reports can be very wide: + * Wide layout. With many commodities, reports can be very wide: $ hledger -f examples/bcexample.hledger bal assets:us:etrade -3 -T -Y --layout=wide Balance changes in 2012-01-01..2014-12-31: @@ -8251,7 +8272,7 @@ tidy Y ------------------++-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- || 10.00 ITOT, 337.18 USD, 12.00 VEA, 106.00 VHT 70.00 GLD, 18.00 ITOT, -98.12 USD, 10.00 VEA, 18.00 VHT -11.00 ITOT, 4881.44 USD, 14.00 VEA, 170.00 VHT 70.00 GLD, 17.00 ITOT, 5120.50 USD, 36.00 VEA, 294.00 VHT - • Limited wide layout. A width limit reduces the width, but some + * Limited wide layout. A width limit reduces the width, but some commodities will be hidden: $ hledger -f examples/bcexample.hledger bal assets:us:etrade -3 -T -Y --layout=wide,32 @@ -8263,7 +8284,7 @@ tidy Y ------------------++--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- || 10.00 ITOT, 337.18 USD, 2 more.. 70.00 GLD, 18.00 ITOT, 3 more.. -11.00 ITOT, 3 more.. 70.00 GLD, 17.00 ITOT, 3 more.. - • Tall layout. Each commodity gets a new line (may be different in + * Tall layout. Each commodity gets a new line (may be different in each column), and account names are repeated: $ hledger -f examples/bcexample.hledger bal assets:us:etrade -3 -T -Y --layout=tall @@ -8283,7 +8304,7 @@ tidy Y || 106.00 VHT 10.00 VEA 170.00 VHT 36.00 VEA || 18.00 VHT 294.00 VHT - • Bare layout. Commodity symbols are kept in one column, each + * Bare layout. Commodity symbols are kept in one column, each commodity gets its own report row, account names are repeated: $ hledger -f examples/bcexample.hledger bal assets:us:etrade -3 -T -Y --layout=bare @@ -8303,7 +8324,7 @@ tidy Y || VEA 12.00 10.00 14.00 36.00 || VHT 106.00 18.00 170.00 294.00 - • Bare layout also affects CSV output, which is useful for producing + * Bare layout also affects CSV output, which is useful for producing data that is easier to consume, eg for making charts: $ hledger -f examples/bcexample.hledger bal assets:us:etrade -3 -O csv --layout=bare @@ -8319,12 +8340,12 @@ tidy Y "total","VEA","36.00" "total","VHT","294.00" - • Tidy layout produces normalised "tidy data", where every variable + * Tidy layout produces normalised "tidy data", where every variable has its own column and each row represents a single data point. See https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/tidyr/vignettes/tidy-data.html for more. This is the easiest kind of data for other software to - consume. Here’s how it looks: + consume. Here's how it looks: $ hledger -f examples/bcexample.hledger bal assets:us:etrade -3 -Y -O csv --layout=tidy "account","period","start_date","end_date","commodity","value" @@ -8350,38 +8371,38 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Useful balance reports, Prev: Data layout, Up: bala 24.6.16 Useful balance reports ------------------------------ -Some frequently used ‘balance’ options/reports are: +Some frequently used 'balance' options/reports are: - • ‘bal -M revenues expenses’ + * 'bal -M revenues expenses' Show revenues/expenses in each month. Also available as the - ‘incomestatement’ command. + 'incomestatement' command. - • ‘bal -M -H assets liabilities’ + * 'bal -M -H assets liabilities' Show historical asset/liability balances at each month end. Also - available as the ‘balancesheet’ command. + available as the 'balancesheet' command. - • ‘bal -M -H assets liabilities equity’ + * 'bal -M -H assets liabilities equity' Show historical asset/liability/equity balances at each month end. - Also available as the ‘balancesheetequity’ command. + Also available as the 'balancesheetequity' command. - • ‘bal -M assets not:receivable’ + * 'bal -M assets not:receivable' Show changes to liquid assets in each month. Also available as the - ‘cashflow’ command. + 'cashflow' command. Also: - • ‘bal -M expenses -2 -SA’ + * 'bal -M expenses -2 -SA' Show monthly expenses summarised to depth 2 and sorted by average amount. - • ‘bal -M --budget expenses’ + * 'bal -M --budget expenses' Show monthly expenses and budget goals. - • ‘bal -M --valuechange investments’ + * 'bal -M --valuechange investments' Show monthly change in market value of investment assets. - • ‘bal investments --valuechange -D date:lastweek amt:'>1000' -STA - [--invert]’ + * 'bal investments --valuechange -D date:lastweek amt:'>1000' -STA + [--invert]' Show top gainers [or losers] last week  @@ -8397,9 +8418,9 @@ 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. - This report shows accounts declared with the ‘Asset’, ‘Cash’ or -‘Liability’ type (see account types). Or if no such accounts are -declared, it shows top-level accounts named ‘asset’ or ‘liability’ (case + This report shows accounts declared with the 'Asset', 'Cash' or +'Liability' type (see account types). Or if no such accounts are +declared, it shows top-level accounts named 'asset' or 'liability' (case insensitive, plurals allowed) and their subaccounts. Example: @@ -8423,15 +8444,15 @@ Total: -------------------- 0 - This command is a higher-level variant of the ‘balance’ command, and -supports many of that command’s features, such as multi-period reports. -It is similar to ‘hledger balance -H assets liabilities’, but with + This command is a higher-level variant of the 'balance' command, and +supports many of that command's features, such as multi-period reports. +It is similar to 'hledger balance -H assets liabilities', but with smarter account detection, and liabilities displayed with their sign flipped. This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are ‘txt’, ‘csv’, ‘html’, and -(experimental) ‘json’. +options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', 'html', and +(experimental) 'json'.  File: hledger.info, Node: balancesheetequity, Next: cashflow, Prev: balancesheet, Up: PART 4 COMMANDS @@ -8445,10 +8466,10 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: balancesheetequity, Next: cashflow, Prev: balancesh balances of asset, liability and equity accounts. Amounts are shown with normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. - This report shows accounts declared with the ‘Asset’, ‘Cash’, -‘Liability’ or ‘Equity’ type (see account types). Or if no such -accounts are declared, it shows top-level accounts named ‘asset’, -‘liability’ or ‘equity’ (case insensitive, plurals allowed) and their + This report shows accounts declared with the 'Asset', 'Cash', +'Liability' or 'Equity' type (see account types). Or if no such +accounts are declared, it shows top-level accounts named 'asset', +'liability' or 'equity' (case insensitive, plurals allowed) and their subaccounts. Example: @@ -8477,15 +8498,15 @@ Total: -------------------- 0 - This command is a higher-level variant of the ‘balance’ command, and -supports many of that command’s features, such as multi-period reports. -It is similar to ‘hledger balance -H assets liabilities equity’, but + This command is a higher-level variant of the 'balance' command, and +supports many of that command's features, such as multi-period reports. +It is similar to 'hledger balance -H assets liabilities equity', but with smarter account detection, and liabilities/equity displayed with their sign flipped. This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are ‘txt’, ‘csv’, ‘html’, and -(experimental) ‘json’. +options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', 'html', and +(experimental) 'json'.  File: hledger.info, Node: cashflow, Next: check, Prev: balancesheetequity, Up: PART 4 COMMANDS @@ -8500,18 +8521,18 @@ outflows affecting "cash" (ie, liquid, easily convertible) assets. Amounts are shown with normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. - This report shows accounts declared with the ‘Cash’ type (see account + This report shows accounts declared with the 'Cash' type (see account types). Or if no such accounts are declared, it shows accounts - • under a top-level account named ‘asset’ (case insensitive, plural + * under a top-level account named 'asset' (case insensitive, plural allowed) - • whose name contains some variation of ‘cash’, ‘bank’, ‘checking’ or - ‘saving’. + * whose name contains some variation of 'cash', 'bank', 'checking' or + 'saving'. More precisely: all accounts matching this case insensitive regular expression: - ‘^assets?(:.+)?:(cash|bank|che(ck|que?)(ing)?|savings?|currentcash)(:|$)’ + '^assets?(:.+)?:(cash|bank|che(ck|que?)(ing)?|savings?|currentcash)(:|$)' and their subaccounts. @@ -8531,14 +8552,14 @@ Total: -------------------- $-1 - This command is a higher-level variant of the ‘balance’ command, and -supports many of that command’s features, such as multi-period reports. -It is similar to ‘hledger balance assets not:fixed not:investment -not:receivable’, but with smarter account detection. + This command is a higher-level variant of the 'balance' command, and +supports many of that command's features, such as multi-period reports. +It is similar to 'hledger balance assets not:fixed not:investment +not:receivable', but with smarter account detection. This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are ‘txt’, ‘csv’, ‘html’, and -(experimental) ‘json’. +options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', 'html', and +(experimental) 'json'.  File: hledger.info, Node: check, Next: close, Prev: cashflow, Up: PART 4 COMMANDS @@ -8550,7 +8571,7 @@ Check for various kinds of errors in your data. 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 +use this 'check' command to run them on demand, with no output and a zero exit code if all is well. Specify their names (or a prefix) as argument(s). @@ -8580,17 +8601,17 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Basic checks, Next: Strict checks, Up: check -------------------- These checks are always run automatically, by (almost) all hledger -commands, including ‘check’: +commands, including 'check': - • *parseable* - data files are well-formed and can be successfully + * *parseable* - data files are well-formed and can be successfully parsed - • *balancedwithautoconversion* - all transactions are balanced, + * *balancedwithautoconversion* - all transactions are balanced, inferring missing amounts where necessary, and possibly converting commodities using costs or automatically-inferred costs - • *assertions* - all balance assertions in the journal are passing. - (This check can be disabled with ‘-I’/‘--ignore-assertions’.) + * *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 @@ -8598,16 +8619,16 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Strict checks, Next: Other checks, Prev: Basic chec 24.10.2 Strict checks --------------------- -These additional checks are run when the ‘-s’/‘--strict’ (strict mode) +These additional checks are run when the '-s'/'--strict' (strict mode) flag is used. Or, they can be run by giving their names as arguments to -‘check’: +'check': - • *accounts* - all account names used by transactions have been + * *accounts* - all account names used by transactions have been declared - • *commodities* - all commodity symbols used have been declared + * *commodities* - all commodity symbols used have been declared - • *balancednoautoconversion* - transactions are balanced, possibly + * *balancednoautoconversion* - transactions are balanced, possibly using explicit costs but not inferred ones  @@ -8617,19 +8638,19 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Other checks, Next: Custom checks, Prev: Strict che -------------------- These checks can be run only by giving their names as arguments to -‘check’. They are more specialised and not desirable for everyone, +'check'. They are more specialised and not desirable for everyone, therefore optional: - • *ordereddates* - transactions are ordered by date within each file + * *ordereddates* - transactions are ordered by date within each file - • *payees* - all payees used by transactions have been declared + * *payees* - all payees used by transactions have been declared - • *recentassertions* - all accounts with balance assertions have a + * *recentassertions* - all accounts with balance assertions have a balance assertion no more than 7 days before their latest posting - • *tags* - all tags used by transactions have been declared + * *tags* - all tags used by transactions have been declared - • *uniqueleafnames* - all account leaf names are unique + * *uniqueleafnames* - all account leaf names are unique  File: hledger.info, Node: Custom checks, Next: More about specific checks, Prev: Other checks, Up: check @@ -8640,10 +8661,10 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Custom checks, Next: More about specific checks, Pr A few more checks are are available as separate add-on commands, in https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/tree/master/bin: - • *hledger-check-tagfiles* - all tag values containing / (a forward + * *hledger-check-tagfiles* - all tag values containing / (a forward slash) exist as file paths - • *hledger-check-fancyassertions* - more complex balance assertions + * *hledger-check-fancyassertions* - more complex balance assertions are passing You could make similar scripts to perform your own custom checks. @@ -8655,7 +8676,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: More about specific checks, Prev: Custom checks, Up 24.10.5 More about specific checks ---------------------------------- -‘hledger check recentassertions’ will complain if any balance-asserted +'hledger check recentassertions' will complain if any balance-asserted account does not have a balance assertion within 7 days before its latest posting. This aims to prevent the situation where you are regularly updating your journal, but forgetting to check your balances @@ -8673,75 +8694,87 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: close, Next: codes, Prev: check, Up: PART 4 COMMAN 24.11 close =========== -‘close [--retain | --migrate | --open] [QUERY]’ +(equity) - By default: prints a transaction that zeroes out ("closes") all -accounts, transferring their balances to an equity account. Query -arguments can be added to override the accounts selection. Three other -modes are supported: + Generate transactions which transfer account balances to and/or from +another account (typically equity). This can be useful for migrating +balances to a new journal file, or for merging earnings into equity at +end of accounting period. - ‘--retain’: prints a transaction closing revenue and expense -balances. This is traditionally done by businesses at the end of each -accounting period; it is less necessary in personal and computer-based -accounting, but it can help balance the accounting equation A=L+E. + By default, it prints a transaction that zeroes out ALE accounts +(asset, liability, equity accounts; this requires account types to be +configured); or if ACCTQUERY is provided, the accounts matched by that. - ‘--migrate’: prints a transaction to close asset, liability and most -equity balances, and another transaction to re-open them. This can be -useful when starting a new file (for performance or data protection). -Adding the closing transaction to the old file allows old and new files -to be combined. + _(experimental)_ - ‘--open’: as above, but prints just the opening transaction. This -can be useful for starting a new file, leaving the old file unchanged. -Similar to Ledger’s equity command. + This command has four main modes, corresponding to the most common +use cases: - You can change the equity account name with ‘--close-acct ACCT’. It -defaults to ‘equity:retained earnings’ with ‘--retain’, or -‘equity:opening/closing balances’ otherwise. + 1. With '--close' (default), it prints a "closing balances" + transaction that zeroes out ALE (asset, liability, equity) accounts + by default (this requires account types to be inferred or + declared); or, the accounts matched by the provided ACCTQUERY + arguments. - You can change the transaction description(s) with ‘--close-desc -'DESC'’ and ‘--open-desc 'DESC'’. It defaults to ‘retain earnings’ with -‘--retain’, or ‘closing balances’ and ‘opening balances’ otherwise. + 2. With '--open', it prints an opposite "opening balances" transaction + that restores those balances from zero. This is similar to + Ledger's equity command. - Just one posting to the equity account will be used by default, with -an implicit amount. + 3. With '--migrate', it prints both the closing and opening + transactions. This is the preferred way to migrate balances to a + new file: run 'hledger close --migrate', add the closing + transaction at the end of the old file, and add the opening + transaction at the start of the new file. The matching + closing/opening transactions cancel each other out, preserving + correct balances during multi-file reporting. - With ‘--x/--explicit’ the amount will be shown explicitly, and if it -involves multiple commodities, a separate posting will be generated for -each commodity. + 4. With '--retain', it prints a "retain earnings" transaction that + transfers RX (revenue and expense) balances to 'equity:retained + earnings'. Businesses traditionally do this at the end of each + accounting period; it is less necessary with computer-based + accounting, but it could still be useful if you want to see the + accounting equation (A=L+E) satisfied. - With ‘--interleaved’, each equity posting is shown next to the -corresponding source/destination posting. + In all modes, the defaults can be overridden: - The default closing date is yesterday, or the journal’s end date, + * the transaction descriptions can be changed with + '--close-desc=DESC' and '--open-desc=DESC' + * the account to transfer to/from can be changed with + '--close-acct=ACCT' and '--open-acct=ACCT' + * the accounts to be closed/opened can be changed with 'ACCTQUERY' + (account query arguments). + + By default just one destination/source posting will be used, with its +amount left implicit. With '--x/--explicit', the amount will be shown +explicitly, and if it involves multiple commodities, a separate posting +will be generated for each of them (similar to 'print -x'). + + With '--show-costs', any amount costs are shown, with separate +postings for each cost. This is currently the best way to view +investment lots. If you have many currency conversion or investment +transactions, it can generate very large journal entries. + + With '--interleaved', each individual transfer is shown with source +and destination postings next to each other. This could be useful for +troubleshooting. + + The default closing date is yesterday, or the journal's end date, whichever is later. You can change this by specifying a report end date; (The report start date does not matter.) The last day of the -report period will be the closing date; eg ‘-e 2022’ means "close on +report period will be the closing date; eg '-e 2022' means "close on 2022-12-31". The opening date is always the day after the closing date. * Menu: -* close and costs:: * close and balance assertions:: * Example retain earnings:: * Example migrate balances to a new file:: * Example excluding closing/opening transactions::  -File: hledger.info, Node: close and costs, Next: close and balance assertions, Up: close +File: hledger.info, Node: close and balance assertions, Next: Example retain earnings, Up: close -24.11.1 close and costs ------------------------ - -With ‘--show-costs’, any amount costs are shown, with separate postings -for each cost. (This currently the best way to view investment assets, -showing lots and cost bases.) If you have many currency conversion or -investment transactions, it can generate very large journal entries. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: close and balance assertions, Next: Example retain earnings, Prev: close and costs, Up: close - -24.11.2 close and balance assertions +24.11.1 close and balance assertions ------------------------------------ Balance assertions will be generated, verifying that the accounts have @@ -8749,10 +8782,10 @@ been reset to zero (and then restored to their previous balances, if there is an opening transaction). These provide useful error checking, but you can ignore them -temporarily with ‘-I’, or remove them if you prefer. +temporarily with '-I', or remove them if you prefer. You probably should avoid filtering transactions by status or -realness (‘-C’, ‘-R’, ‘status:’), or generating postings (‘--auto’), +realness ('-C', '-R', 'status:'), or generating postings ('--auto'), with this command, since the balance assertions would depend on these. Note custom posting dates spanning the file boundary will disrupt the @@ -8779,23 +8812,24 @@ single-day transactions:  File: hledger.info, Node: Example retain earnings, Next: Example migrate balances to a new file, Prev: close and balance assertions, Up: close -24.11.3 Example: retain earnings +24.11.2 Example: retain earnings -------------------------------- -Record 2022’s revenues/expenses as retained earnings on 2022-12-31, +Record 2022's revenues/expenses as retained earnings on 2022-12-31, appending the generated transaction to the journal: $ hledger close --retain -f 2022.journal -p 2022 >> 2022.journal - Now 2022’s income statement will show only zeroes. To see it again, -exclude the retain transaction. Eg: + Note 2022's income statement will now show only zeroes, because +revenues and expenses have been moved entirely to equity. To see them +again, you could exclude the retain transaction: $ hledger -f 2022.journal is not:desc:'retain earnings'  File: hledger.info, Node: Example migrate balances to a new file, Next: Example excluding closing/opening transactions, Prev: Example retain earnings, Up: close -24.11.4 Example: migrate balances to a new file +24.11.3 Example: migrate balances to a new file ----------------------------------------------- Close assets/liabilities/equity on 2022-12-31 and re-open them on @@ -8805,26 +8839,29 @@ $ hledger close --migrate -f 2022.journal -p 2022 # copy/paste the closing transaction to the end of 2022.journal # copy/paste the opening transaction to the start of 2023.journal - Now 2022’s balance sheet will show only zeroes, indicating a balanced + Now 2022's balance sheet will show only zeroes, indicating a balanced accounting equation. (Unless you are using @/@@ notation - in that -case, try adding –infer-equity.) To see it again, exclude the closing -transaction. Eg: +case, try adding -infer-equity.) To see the end-of-year balances again, +you could exclude the closing transaction: $ hledger -f 2022.journal bs not:desc:'closing balances'  File: hledger.info, Node: Example excluding closing/opening transactions, Prev: Example migrate balances to a new file, Up: close -24.11.5 Example: excluding closing/opening transactions +24.11.4 Example: excluding closing/opening transactions ------------------------------------------------------- When combining many files for multi-year reports, the closing/opening -transactions cause some noise in reports like ‘print’ and ‘register’. -You can exclude them as shown above, but ‘not:desc:...’ could be -fragile, and also you will need to avoid excluding the very first -opening transaction, which can be awkward. Here is a way to do it, -using tags: add ‘clopen:’ tags to all opening/closing balances -transactions except the first, like this: +transactions cause some noise in transaction-oriented reports like +'print' and 'register'. You can exclude them as shown above, but +'not:desc:...' is not ideal as it depends on consistent descriptions; +also you will want to avoid excluding the very first opening +transaction, which could be awkward. Here is one alternative, using +tags: + + Add 'clopen:' tags to all opening/closing balances transactions +except the first, like this: ; 2021.journal 2021-06-01 first opening balances @@ -8849,12 +8886,12 @@ include 2021.journal include 2022.journal include 2023.journal - The ‘clopen:’ tag can exclude all but the first opening transaction. + The 'clopen:' tag can exclude all but the first opening transaction. To show a clean multi-year checking register: $ hledger -f all.journal areg checking not:tag:clopen - And the year values allow more precision. To show 2022’s year-end + And the year values allow more precision. To show 2022's year-end balance sheet: $ hledger -f all.journal bs -e2023 not:tag:clopen=2023 @@ -8867,13 +8904,13 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: codes, Next: commodities, Prev: close, Up: PART 4 List the codes seen in transactions, in the order parsed. - This command prints the value of each transaction’s code field, in + 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 + 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. @@ -8931,8 +8968,8 @@ write its number or a prefix or substring of its title. Tips: During playback, several keys are available: SPACE to pause/unpause, . to step forward (while paused), CTRL-c quit. - asciinema options can be added following a double dash, such as ‘-s -N’ to adjust speed and ‘-i SECS’ to limit pauses. Run ‘asciinema -h’ to + asciinema options can be added following a double dash, such as '-s +N' to adjust speed and '-i SECS' to limit pauses. Run 'asciinema -h' to list these options. Examples: @@ -8967,7 +9004,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: diff, Next: files, Prev: descriptions, Up: PART 4 24.16 diff ========== -Compares a particular account’s transactions in two input files. It +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. @@ -8978,7 +9015,7 @@ 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 + 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. @@ -9010,11 +9047,11 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: help, Next: import, Prev: files, Up: PART 4 COMMAN 24.18 help ========== -Show the hledger user manual in the terminal, with ‘info’, ‘man’, or a +Show the hledger user manual in the terminal, with 'info', 'man', or a pager. With a TOPIC argument, open it at that topic if possible. TOPIC can be any heading in the manual, or a heading prefix, case insensitive. -Eg: ‘commands’, ‘print’, ‘forecast’, ‘journal’, ‘amount’, ‘"auto -postings"’. +Eg: 'commands', 'print', 'forecast', 'journal', 'amount', '"auto +postings"'. This command shows the hledger manual built in to your hledger version. It can be useful when offline, or when you prefer the terminal @@ -9023,7 +9060,7 @@ tools are not installed on your system. By default it chooses the best viewer found in $PATH (preferring info since the hledger manual is large). You can select a particular viewer -with the ‘-i’, ‘-m’, or ‘-p’ flags. +with the '-i', '-m', or '-p' flags. Examples @@ -9038,20 +9075,20 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: import, Next: incomestatement, Prev: help, Up: PAR ============ Read new transactions added to each FILE since last run, and add them to -the journal. Or with –dry-run, just print the transactions that would -be added. Or with –catchup, just mark all of the FILEs’ transactions as +the journal. 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. This command may append new transactions to the main journal file (which should be in journal format). Existing transactions are not changed. This is one of the few hledger commands that writes to the -journal file (see also ‘add’). +journal file (see also 'add'). - Unlike other hledger commands, with ‘import’ the journal file is an + Unlike other hledger commands, with 'import' the journal file is an output file, and will be modified, though only by appending (existing data will not be changed). The input files are specified as arguments, so to import one or more CSV files to your main journal, you will run -‘hledger import bank.csv’ or perhaps ‘hledger import *.csv’. +'hledger import bank.csv' or perhaps 'hledger import *.csv'. Note you can import from any file format, though CSV files are the most common import source, and these docs focus on that case. @@ -9069,14 +9106,14 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Deduplication, Next: Import testing, Up: import 24.19.1 Deduplication --------------------- -As a convenience ‘import’ does _deduplication_ while reading +As a convenience 'import' does _deduplication_ while reading transactions. This does not mean "ignore transactions that look the same", but rather "ignore transactions that have been seen before". This is intended for when you are periodically importing foreign data which may contain already-imported transactions. So eg, if every day you download bank CSV files containing redundant data, you can safely -run ‘hledger import bank.csv’ and only new transactions will be -imported. (‘import’ is idempotent.) +run 'hledger import bank.csv' and only new transactions will be +imported. ('import' is idempotent.) Since the items being read (CSV records, eg) often do not come with unique identifiers, hledger detects new transactions by date, assuming @@ -9089,23 +9126,23 @@ that: These are often true of CSV files representing transactions, or true enough so that it works pretty well in practice. 1 is important, but -violations of 2 and 3 amongst the old transactions won’t matter (and if +violations of 2 and 3 amongst the old transactions won't matter (and if you import often, the new transactions will be few, so less likely to be the ones affected). hledger remembers the latest date processed in each input file by saving a hidden ".latest" state file in the same directory. Eg when -reading ‘finance/bank.csv’, it will look for and update the -‘finance/.latest.bank.csv’ state file. The format is simple: one or +reading 'finance/bank.csv', it will look for and update the +'finance/.latest.bank.csv' state file. The format is simple: one or more lines containing the same ISO-format date (YYYY-MM-DD), meaning "I have processed transactions up to this date, and this many of them on -that date." Normally you won’t see or manipulate these state files +that date." Normally you won't see or manipulate these state files yourself. But if needed, you can delete them to reset the state (making all transactions "new"), or you can construct them to "catch up" to a certain date. Note deduplication (and updating of state files) can also be done by -‘print --new’, but this is less often used. +'print --new', but this is less often used.  File: hledger.info, Node: Import testing, Next: Importing balance assignments, Prev: Deduplication, Up: import @@ -9113,7 +9150,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Import testing, Next: Importing balance assignments, 24.19.2 Import testing ---------------------- -With ‘--dry-run’, the transactions that will be imported are printed to +With '--dry-run', the transactions that will be imported are printed to the terminal, without updating your journal or state files. The output is valid journal format, like the print command, so you can re-parse it. Eg, to see any importable transactions which CSV rules have not @@ -9125,11 +9162,11 @@ $ hledger import --dry bank.csv | hledger -f- -I print unknown $ ls bank.csv* | entr bash -c 'echo ====; hledger import --dry bank.csv | hledger -f- -I print unknown' - Note: when importing from multiple files at once, it’s currently + Note: when importing from multiple files at once, it's currently possible for some .latest files to be updated successfully, while the actual import fails because of a problem in one of the files, leaving them out of sync (and causing some transactions to be missed). To -prevent this, do a –dry-run first and fix any problems before the real +prevent this, do a -dry-run first and fix any problems before the real import.  @@ -9139,9 +9176,9 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Importing balance assignments, Next: Commodity displ ------------------------------------- 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 +(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: @@ -9172,9 +9209,9 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: incomestatement, Next: notes, Prev: import, Up: PA expenses during one or more periods. Amounts are shown with normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. - This report shows accounts declared with the ‘Revenue’ or ‘Expense’ + This report shows accounts declared with the 'Revenue' or 'Expense' type (see account types). Or if no such accounts are declared, it shows -top-level accounts named ‘revenue’ or ‘income’ or ‘expense’ (case +top-level accounts named 'revenue' or 'income' or 'expense' (case insensitive, plurals allowed) and their subaccounts. Example: @@ -9200,15 +9237,15 @@ Total: -------------------- 0 - This command is a higher-level variant of the ‘balance’ command, and -supports many of that command’s features, such as multi-period reports. -It is similar to ‘hledger balance '(revenues|income)' expenses’, but + This command is a higher-level variant of the 'balance' command, and +supports many of that command's features, such as multi-period reports. +It is similar to 'hledger balance '(revenues|income)' expenses', but with smarter account detection, and revenues/income displayed with their sign flipped. This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are ‘txt’, ‘csv’, ‘html’, and -(experimental) ‘json’. +options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', 'html', and +(experimental) 'json'.  File: hledger.info, Node: notes, Next: payees, Prev: incomestatement, Up: PART 4 COMMANDS @@ -9238,14 +9275,14 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: payees, Next: prices, Prev: notes, Up: PART 4 COMM List the unique payee/payer names that appear in transactions. This command lists unique payee/payer names which have been declared -with payee directives (–declared), used in transaction descriptions -(–used), or both (the default). +with payee directives (-declared), used in transaction descriptions +(-used), or both (the default). The payee/payer is the part of the transaction description before a | character (or if there is no |, the whole description). You can add query arguments to select a subset of transactions. This -implies –used. +implies -used. Example: @@ -9261,8 +9298,8 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: prices, Next: print, Prev: payees, Up: PART 4 COMM ============ Print market price directives from the journal. With -–infer-market-prices, generate additional market prices from costs. -With –infer-reverse-prices, also generate market prices by inverting +-infer-market-prices, generate additional market prices from costs. +With -infer-reverse-prices, also generate market prices by inverting known prices. Prices can be filtered by a query. Price amounts are displayed with their full precision. @@ -9275,7 +9312,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: print, Next: register, Prev: prices, Up: PART 4 CO Show transaction journal entries, sorted by date. The print command displays full journal entries (transactions) from -the journal file, sorted by date (or with ‘--date2’, by secondary date). +the journal file, sorted by date (or with '--date2', by secondary date). Amounts are shown mostly normalised to commodity display style, eg the placement of commodity symbols will be consistent. All of their @@ -9314,7 +9351,7 @@ $ hledger print liabilities:debts $1 assets:bank:checking $-1 - print’s output is usually a valid hledger journal, and you can + print's output is usually a valid hledger journal, and you can process it again with a second hledger command. This can be useful for certain kinds of search, eg: @@ -9322,46 +9359,46 @@ certain kinds of search, eg: # -f- reads from stdin. -I/--ignore-assertions is sometimes needed. $ hledger print assets:cash | hledger -f- -I reg expenses:food - There are some situations where print’s output can become + There are some situations where print's output can become unparseable: - • Valuation affects posting amounts but not balance assertion or + * Valuation affects posting amounts but not balance assertion or balance assignment amounts, potentially causing those to fail. - • Auto postings can generate postings with too many missing amounts. - • Account aliases can generate bad account names. + * Auto postings can generate postings with too many missing amounts. + * Account aliases can generate bad account names. - Normally, the journal entry’s explicit or implicit amount style is + 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 cost is implied but not written, it will not appear in the output. You can use the -‘-x’/‘--explicit’ flag to make all amounts and costs explicit, which can +'-x'/'--explicit' flag to make all amounts and costs 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’. +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 + 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 costs are converted to cost using + With '-B'/'--cost', amounts with costs are converted to cost using that price. This can be used for troubleshooting. - With ‘-m DESC’/‘--match=DESC’, print does a fuzzy search for one + With '-m DESC'/'--match=DESC', print does a fuzzy search for one recent transaction whose description is most similar to DESC. DESC should contain at least two characters. If there is no similar-enough match, no transaction will be shown and the program exit code will be non-zero. - With ‘--new’, hledger prints only transactions it has not seen on a -previous run. This uses the same deduplication system as the ‘import’ -command. (See import’s docs for details.) + With '--new', hledger prints only transactions it has not seen on a +previous run. This uses the same deduplication system as the 'import' +command. (See import's docs for details.) This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are ‘txt’, ‘csv’, and -(experimental) ‘json’ and ‘sql’. +options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', and +(experimental) 'json' and 'sql'. - Here’s an example of print’s CSV output: + 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" @@ -9377,15 +9414,15 @@ $ hledger print -Ocsv "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 + * There is one CSV record per posting, with the parent transaction's fields repeated. - • The "txnidx" (transaction index) field shows which postings belong + * 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" + * The amount is separated into "commodity" (the symbol) and "amount" (numeric quantity) fields. - • The numeric amount is repeated in either the "credit" or "debit" + * 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.) @@ -9402,7 +9439,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: register, Next: rewrite, Prev: print, Up: PART 4 C 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 +(See also the 'aregister' command, which shows matched transactions in a specific account.) register normally shows line per posting, but note that @@ -9410,7 +9447,7 @@ 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: +see that account's activity: $ hledger register checking 2008/01/01 income assets:bank:checking $1 $1 @@ -9418,15 +9455,15 @@ $ hledger register checking 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. + With '--date2', it shows and sorts by secondary date instead. For performance reasons, column widths are chosen based on the first 1000 lines; this means unusually wide values in later lines can cause visual discontinuities as column widths are adjusted. If you want to ensure perfect alignment, at the cost of more time and memory, use the -‘--align-all’ flag. +'--align-all' flag. - The ‘--historical’/‘-H’ flag adds the balance from any undisplayed + 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: @@ -9435,21 +9472,21 @@ $ hledger register checking -b 2008/6 --historical 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 + The '--depth' option limits the amount of sub-account detail displayed. - The ‘--average’/‘-A’ flag shows the running average posting amount + 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 +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 + 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 + 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 +numbers. It's also useful to show postings on the checking account together with the related account: $ hledger register --related --invert assets:checking @@ -9462,7 +9499,7 @@ $ hledger register --monthly income 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: +are not shown by default; use the '--empty'/'-E' flag to see them: $ hledger register --monthly income -E 2008/01 income:salary $-1 $-1 @@ -9478,7 +9515,7 @@ $ hledger register --monthly income -E 2008/11 0 $-2 2008/12 0 $-2 - Often, you’ll want to see just one line per interval. The ‘--depth’ + 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 @@ -9491,7 +9528,7 @@ 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. - With ‘-m DESC’/‘--match=DESC’, register does a fuzzy search for one + With '-m DESC'/'--match=DESC', register does a fuzzy search for one recent posting whose description is most similar to DESC. DESC should contain at least two characters. If there is no similar-enough match, no posting will be shown and the program exit code will be non-zero. @@ -9507,13 +9544,13 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Custom register output, Up: register ------------------------------ 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. +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): +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) @@ -9529,8 +9566,8 @@ $ 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’. +options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', and +(experimental) 'json'.  File: hledger.info, Node: rewrite, Next: roi, Prev: register, Up: PART 4 COMMANDS @@ -9540,13 +9577,13 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: rewrite, Next: roi, Prev: register, Up: PART 4 COM Print all transactions, rewriting the postings of matched transactions. For now the only rewrite available is adding new postings, like print -–auto. +-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. +transaction's first posting amount. Examples: @@ -9571,12 +9608,12 @@ $ 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 + 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 +''*'' (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; otherwise, it will be in the matched posting amount's commodity. * Menu: @@ -9606,7 +9643,7 @@ $ rewrite-rules.journal budget:gifts *-1 assets:budget *1 - Note that ‘'='’ (equality symbol) that is used instead of date in + 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. @@ -9651,14 +9688,14 @@ $ hledger rewrite -- --diff -f examples/sample.journal '^income' --add-posting ' income:gifts + (liabilities:tax) 0 - If you’ll pass this through ‘patch’ tool you’ll get transactions + 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 +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’. +output from 'hledger print'. See also: @@ -9667,22 +9704,22 @@ output from ‘hledger print’.  File: hledger.info, Node: rewrite vs print --auto, Prev: Diff output format, Up: rewrite -24.26.3 rewrite vs. print –auto +24.26.3 rewrite vs. print -auto ------------------------------- -This command predates print –auto, and currently does much the same +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 + * 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 + * 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. + * 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: PART 4 COMMANDS @@ -9694,12 +9731,12 @@ Shows the time-weighted (TWR) and money-weighted (IRR) rate of return on your investments. At a minimum, you need to supply a query (which could be just an -account name) to select your investment(s) with ‘--inv’, and another -query to identify your profit and loss transactions with ‘--pnl’. +account name) to select your investment(s) with '--inv', and another +query to identify your profit and loss transactions with '--pnl'. If you do not record changes in the value of your investment manually, or do not require computation of time-weighted return (TWR), -‘--pnl’ could be an empty query (‘--pnl ""’ or ‘--pnl STR’ where ‘STR’ +'--pnl' could be an empty query ('--pnl ""' or '--pnl STR' where 'STR' does not match any of your accounts). This command will compute and display the internalized rate of return @@ -9708,23 +9745,23 @@ the time period requested. Both rates of return are annualized before display, regardless of the length of reporting interval. Price directives will be taken into account if you supply appropriate -‘--cost’ or ‘--value’ flags (see VALUATION). +'--cost' or '--value' flags (see VALUATION). Note, in some cases this report can fail, for these reasons: - • Error (NotBracketed): No solution for Internal Rate of Return + * 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 + * 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 compute total return of investment in stocks: + * Using roi to compute total return of investment in stocks: https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/blob/master/examples/investing/roi-unrealised.ledger - • Cookbook > Return on Investment: https://hledger.org/roi.html + * Cookbook > Return on Investment: https://hledger.org/roi.html * Menu: @@ -9735,10 +9772,10 @@ display, regardless of the length of reporting interval.  File: hledger.info, Node: Spaces and special characters in --inv and --pnl, Next: Semantics of --inv and --pnl, Up: roi -24.27.1 Spaces and special characters in ‘--inv’ and +24.27.1 Spaces and special characters in '--inv' and ---------------------------------------------------- -‘--pnl’ Note that ‘--inv’ and ‘--pnl’’s argument is a query, and queries +'--pnl' Note that '--inv' and '--pnl''s argument is a query, and queries could have several space-separated terms (see QUERIES). To indicate that all search terms form single command-line argument, @@ -9754,19 +9791,19 @@ $ hledger roi --inv="'Assets:Test 1'" --pnl="'Equity:Unrealized Profit and Loss'  File: hledger.info, Node: Semantics of --inv and --pnl, Next: IRR and TWR explained, Prev: Spaces and special characters in --inv and --pnl, Up: roi -24.27.2 Semantics of ‘--inv’ and ‘--pnl’ +24.27.2 Semantics of '--inv' and '--pnl' ---------------------------------------- -Query supplied to ‘--inv’ has to match all transactions that are related -to your investment. Transactions not matching ‘--inv’ will be ignored. +Query supplied to '--inv' has to match all transactions that are related +to your investment. Transactions not matching '--inv' will be ignored. - In these transactions, ROI will conside postings that match ‘--inv’ -to be "investment postings" and other postings (not matching ‘--inv’) + In these transactions, ROI will conside postings that match '--inv' +to be "investment postings" and other postings (not matching '--inv') will be sorted into two categories: "cash flow" and "profit and loss", as ROI needs to know which part of the investment value is your contributions and which is due to the return on investment. - • "Cash flow" is depositing or withdrawing money, buying or selling + * "Cash flow" is depositing or withdrawing money, buying or selling assets, or otherwise converting between your investment commodity and any other commodity. Example: @@ -9778,18 +9815,18 @@ contributions and which is due to the return on investment. assets:cash $10 investment:snake oil = 0 - • "Profit and loss" is change in the value of your investment: + * "Profit and loss" is change in the value of your investment: 2019-06-01 Snake Oil falls in value investment:snake oil = $57 equity:unrealized profit or loss All non-investment postings are assumed to be "cash flow", unless -they match ‘--pnl’ query. Changes in value of your investment due to +they match '--pnl' query. Changes in value of your investment due to "profit and loss" postings will be considered as part of your investment return. - Example: if you use ‘--inv snake --pnl equity:unrealized’, then + Example: if you use '--inv snake --pnl equity:unrealized', then postings in the example below would be classifed as: 2019-01-01 Snake Oil #1 @@ -9834,8 +9871,8 @@ 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 -the postings that match the query in the‘--inv’ argument and NOT match -the query in the‘--pnl’ argument. +the postings that match the query in the'--inv' argument and NOT match +the query in the'--pnl' argument. If you manually record changes in the value of your investment as transactions that balance them against "profit and loss" (or "unrealized @@ -9847,11 +9884,11 @@ close to the days when in- or out-flows occur. 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 +could be hard to wrap your head around, especially if you haven't done discounted cash flow analysis before. Implementation of IRR in hledger -should produce results that match the ‘XIRR’ formula in Excel. +should produce results that match the 'XIRR' formula in Excel. - Second way to compute rate of return that ‘roi’ command implements is + 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, out-flows and value changes, to compute rate of return per each period @@ -9866,10 +9903,10 @@ 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 + * 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  @@ -9888,7 +9925,7 @@ for each report period. number of transactions processed per second. Note these are approximate and will vary based on machine, current load, data size, hledger version, haskell lib versions, GHC version.. but they may be of -interest. The ‘stats’ command’s run time is similar to that of a +interest. The 'stats' command's run time is similar to that of a single-column balance report. Example: @@ -9909,8 +9946,8 @@ Market prices : 1000 (A) Run time : 0.12 s Throughput : 8342 txns/s - This command supports the -o/–output-file option (but not --O/–output-format selection). + This command supports the -o/-output-file option (but not +-O/-output-format selection).  File: hledger.info, Node: tags, Next: test, Prev: stats, Up: PART 4 COMMANDS @@ -9931,10 +9968,10 @@ query are considered. If the query involves transaction fields (date:, desc:, amt:, ...), the search is restricted to the matched transactions and their accounts. - With the –values flag, the tags’ unique non-empty values are listed -instead. With -E/–empty, blank/empty values are also shown. + With the -values flag, the tags' unique non-empty values are listed +instead. With -E/-empty, blank/empty values are also shown. - With –parsed, tags or values are shown in the order they were parsed, + With -parsed, tags or values are shown in the order they were parsed, with duplicates included. (Except, tags from account declarations are always shown first.) @@ -9960,13 +9997,13 @@ 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, +- (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). +('-- --help' currently doesn't show them).  File: hledger.info, Node: PART 5 COMMON TASKS, Prev: PART 4 COMMANDS, Up: Top @@ -9993,13 +10030,13 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Getting help, Next: Constructing command lines, Up: 25.1 Getting help ================= -Here’s how to list commands and view options and command docs: +Here's how to list commands and view options and command docs: $ hledger # show available commands $ hledger --help # show common options $ hledger CMD --help # show CMD's options, common options and CMD's documentation - You can also view your hledger version’s manual in several formats by + You can also view your hledger version's manual in several formats by using the help command. Eg: $ hledger help # show the hledger manual with info, man or $PAGER (best available) @@ -10020,15 +10057,15 @@ hledger has a flexible command line interface. We strive to keep it simple and ergonomic, but if you run into one of the sharp edges described in OPTIONS, here are some tips that might help: - • command-specific options must go after the command (it’s fine to - put common options there too: ‘hledger CMD OPTS ARGS’) - • running add-on executables directly simplifies command line parsing - (‘hledger-ui OPTS ARGS’) - • enclose "problematic" args in single quotes - • if needed, also add a backslash to hide regular expression + * command-specific options must go after the command (it's fine to + put common options there too: 'hledger CMD OPTS ARGS') + * running add-on executables directly simplifies command line parsing + ('hledger-ui OPTS ARGS') + * enclose "problematic" args in single quotes + * if needed, also add a backslash to hide regular expression metacharacters from the shell - • to see how a misbehaving command line is being parsed, add - ‘--debug=2’. + * to see how a misbehaving command line is being parsed, add + '--debug=2'.  File: hledger.info, Node: Starting a journal file, Next: Setting opening balances, Prev: Constructing command lines, Up: PART 5 COMMON TASKS @@ -10037,15 +10074,15 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Starting a journal file, Next: Setting opening balan ============================ hledger looks for your accounting data in a journal file, -‘$HOME/.hledger.journal’ by default: +'$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 + 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: @@ -10088,7 +10125,7 @@ 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 + * The first way: open the journal in any text editor and save an entry like this: 2020-01-01 * opening balances @@ -10105,12 +10142,12 @@ balances on this date. Here are two ways to do it: "cleared & confirmed". The currency symbols are optional, but usually a good idea as - you’ll be dealing with multiple currencies sooner or later. + 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 + * The second way: run 'hledger add' and follow the prompts to record a similar transaction: $ hledger add @@ -10147,7 +10184,7 @@ balances on this date. Here are two ways to do it: 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 + If you're using version control, this could be a good time to commit the journal. Eg: $ git commit -m 'initial balances' 2020.journal @@ -10186,7 +10223,7 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Reconciling, Next: Reporting, Prev: Recording trans 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 +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 @@ -10195,40 +10232,40 @@ 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 + 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 + ('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: + 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 + 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 + 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. + 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’ +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’ +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 + If you're using version control, this can be another good time to commit: $ git commit -m 'txns' 2020.journal @@ -10338,7 +10375,7 @@ Balance Sheet 2020-01-16 ========================++============ Net: || $4055 - The final total is your "net worth" on the end date. (Or use ‘bse’ + 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: @@ -10388,621 +10425,621 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Migrating to a new file, Prev: Reporting, Up: PART ============================ 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, +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. + If using version control, don't forget to 'git add' the new file.  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-Ref: #timedot182510 -Node: PART 3 REPORTING CONCEPTS187361 -Ref: #part-3-reporting-concepts187525 -Node: Time periods187525 -Ref: #time-periods187659 -Node: Report start & end date187777 -Ref: #report-start-end-date187929 -Node: Smart dates189662 -Ref: #smart-dates189815 -Node: Report intervals191775 -Ref: #report-intervals191930 -Node: Date adjustment192382 -Ref: #date-adjustment192542 -Node: Period expressions193874 -Ref: #period-expressions194015 -Node: Period expressions with a report interval195851 -Ref: #period-expressions-with-a-report-interval196085 -Node: More complex report intervals196315 -Ref: #more-complex-report-intervals196560 -Node: Multiple weekday intervals198489 -Ref: #multiple-weekday-intervals198678 -Node: Depth199542 -Ref: #depth199644 -Node: Queries199964 -Ref: #queries200066 -Node: Query types201011 -Ref: #query-types201132 -Node: Combining query terms204472 -Ref: #combining-query-terms204649 -Node: Queries and command options205987 -Ref: 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examples234164 -Ref: #simple-valuation-examples234362 -Node: --value Flexible valuation235025 -Ref: #value-flexible-valuation235231 -Node: More valuation examples236917 -Ref: #more-valuation-examples237126 -Node: Interaction of valuation and queries239137 -Ref: #interaction-of-valuation-and-queries239378 -Node: Effect of valuation on reports239858 -Ref: #effect-of-valuation-on-reports240055 -Node: PART 4 COMMANDS247814 -Ref: #part-4-commands247957 -Node: Commands overview248336 -Ref: #commands-overview248470 -Node: DATA ENTRY248649 -Ref: #data-entry248773 -Node: DATA CREATION248976 -Ref: #data-creation249130 -Node: DATA MANAGEMENT249254 -Ref: #data-management249419 -Node: REPORTS FINANCIAL249544 -Ref: #reports-financial249719 -Node: REPORTS VERSATILE250034 -Ref: #reports-versatile250207 -Node: REPORTS BASIC250468 -Ref: #reports-basic250620 -Node: HELP251153 -Ref: #help251275 -Node: ADD-ONS251389 -Ref: #add-ons251495 -Node: accounts252092 -Ref: #accounts252225 -Node: activity254200 -Ref: #activity254319 -Node: add254693 -Ref: #add254803 -Node: aregister257664 -Ref: #aregister257785 -Node: aregister and custom posting dates260761 -Ref: #aregister-and-custom-posting-dates260927 -Node: balance261495 -Ref: #balance261621 -Node: balance features262626 -Ref: #balance-features262766 -Node: Simple balance report264896 -Ref: #simple-balance-report265081 -Node: Balance report line format266726 -Ref: #balance-report-line-format266928 -Node: Filtered balance report269178 -Ref: #filtered-balance-report269370 -Node: List or tree mode269697 -Ref: #list-or-tree-mode269865 -Node: Depth limiting271240 -Ref: #depth-limiting271406 -Node: Dropping top-level accounts272023 -Ref: #dropping-top-level-accounts272223 -Node: Showing declared accounts272537 -Ref: #showing-declared-accounts272736 -Node: Sorting by amount273277 -Ref: #sorting-by-amount273444 -Node: Percentages274134 -Ref: #percentages274293 -Node: Multi-period balance report274863 -Ref: #multi-period-balance-report275063 -Node: Balance change end balance277456 -Ref: #balance-change-end-balance277665 -Node: Balance report types279113 -Ref: #balance-report-types279294 -Node: Calculation type279810 -Ref: #calculation-type279965 -Node: Accumulation type280496 -Ref: #accumulation-type280676 -Node: Valuation type281604 -Ref: #valuation-type281792 -Node: Combining balance report types282859 -Ref: #combining-balance-report-types283053 -Node: Budget report284957 -Ref: #budget-report285109 -Node: Budget report start date290843 -Ref: #budget-report-start-date291021 -Node: Budgets and subaccounts292383 -Ref: #budgets-and-subaccounts292590 -Node: Selecting budget goals296076 -Ref: #selecting-budget-goals296275 -Node: Budget vs forecast297322 -Ref: #budget-vs-forecast297481 -Node: Data layout299181 -Ref: #data-layout299331 -Node: Useful balance reports307272 -Ref: #useful-balance-reports307422 -Node: balancesheet308575 -Ref: #balancesheet308720 -Node: balancesheetequity310086 -Ref: #balancesheetequity310244 -Node: cashflow311687 -Ref: #cashflow311818 -Node: check313304 -Ref: #check313418 -Node: Basic checks314224 -Ref: #basic-checks314344 -Node: Strict checks314882 -Ref: #strict-checks315025 -Node: Other checks315466 -Ref: #other-checks315608 -Node: Custom checks316185 -Ref: #custom-checks316342 -Node: More about specific checks316763 -Ref: #more-about-specific-checks316925 -Node: close317657 -Ref: #close317768 -Node: close and costs320154 -Ref: #close-and-costs320298 -Node: close and balance assertions320587 -Ref: #close-and-balance-assertions320789 -Node: Example retain earnings321960 -Ref: #example-retain-earnings322177 -Node: Example migrate balances to a new file322535 -Ref: #example-migrate-balances-to-a-new-file322800 -Node: Example excluding closing/opening transactions323353 -Ref: #example-excluding-closingopening-transactions323602 -Node: codes324780 -Ref: #codes324897 -Node: commodities325773 -Ref: #commodities325901 -Node: demo325971 -Ref: #demo326092 -Node: descriptions326948 -Ref: #descriptions327078 -Node: diff327369 -Ref: #diff327484 -Node: files328530 -Ref: #files328639 -Node: help328780 -Ref: #help-1328889 -Node: import329879 -Ref: #import330002 -Node: Deduplication331110 -Ref: #deduplication331235 -Node: Import testing333157 -Ref: #import-testing333322 -Node: Importing balance assignments334173 -Ref: #importing-balance-assignments334379 -Node: Commodity display styles335036 -Ref: #commodity-display-styles335209 -Node: incomestatement335338 -Ref: #incomestatement335480 -Node: notes336847 -Ref: #notes336969 -Node: payees337331 -Ref: #payees337446 -Node: prices337971 -Ref: #prices338086 -Node: print338388 -Ref: #print338503 -Node: register343949 -Ref: #register344071 -Node: Custom register output349180 -Ref: #custom-register-output349311 -Node: rewrite350686 -Ref: #rewrite350804 -Node: Re-write rules in a file352716 -Ref: #re-write-rules-in-a-file352879 -Node: Diff output format354032 -Ref: #diff-output-format354215 -Node: rewrite vs print --auto355327 -Ref: #rewrite-vs.-print---auto355489 -Node: roi356063 -Ref: #roi356170 -Node: Spaces and special characters in --inv and --pnl357931 -Ref: #spaces-and-special-characters-in---inv-and---pnl358179 -Node: Semantics of --inv and --pnl358677 -Ref: #semantics-of---inv-and---pnl358924 -Node: IRR and TWR explained360802 -Ref: #irr-and-twr-explained360962 -Node: stats364074 -Ref: #stats364182 -Node: tags365579 -Ref: #tags-1365686 -Node: test366703 -Ref: #test366796 -Node: PART 5 COMMON TASKS367546 -Ref: #part-5-common-tasks367679 -Node: Getting help367953 -Ref: #getting-help368094 -Node: Constructing command lines368858 -Ref: #constructing-command-lines369059 -Node: Starting a journal file369740 -Ref: #starting-a-journal-file369947 -Node: Setting opening balances371145 -Ref: #setting-opening-balances371350 -Node: Recording transactions374503 -Ref: #recording-transactions374692 -Node: Reconciling375248 -Ref: #reconciling375400 -Node: Reporting377713 -Ref: #reporting377862 -Node: Migrating to a new file381851 -Ref: #migrating-to-a-new-file382008 +Node: PART 1 USER INTERFACE3861 +Ref: #part-1-user-interface4002 +Node: Options4002 +Ref: #options4121 +Node: General options4263 +Ref: #general-options4388 +Node: Command options8601 +Ref: #command-options8752 +Node: Command arguments9152 +Ref: #command-arguments9310 +Node: Special characters10190 +Ref: #special-characters10353 +Node: Single escaping shell metacharacters10516 +Ref: #single-escaping-shell-metacharacters10757 +Node: Double escaping regular expression metacharacters11360 +Ref: #double-escaping-regular-expression-metacharacters11671 +Node: Triple escaping for add-on commands12197 +Ref: #triple-escaping-for-add-on-commands12457 +Node: Less escaping13101 +Ref: #less-escaping13255 +Node: Unicode characters13579 +Ref: #unicode-characters13744 +Node: Regular expressions15156 +Ref: #regular-expressions15296 +Node: Environment17040 +Ref: #environment17151 +Node: Input18720 +Ref: #input18820 +Node: Data formats19363 +Ref: #data-formats19476 +Node: Multiple files20862 +Ref: #multiple-files20999 +Node: Strict mode21468 +Ref: #strict-mode21578 +Node: Commands22302 +Ref: #commands22403 +Node: Add-on commands22875 +Ref: #add-on-commands22977 +Node: Output24062 +Ref: #output24165 +Node: Output destination24292 +Ref: #output-destination24423 +Node: Output format24848 +Ref: #output-format24994 +Node: CSV output26532 +Ref: #csv-output26648 +Node: HTML output26751 +Ref: #html-output26889 +Node: JSON output26983 +Ref: #json-output27121 +Node: SQL output28043 +Ref: #sql-output28159 +Node: Commodity styles28894 +Ref: #commodity-styles29034 +Node: Colour29633 +Ref: #colour29751 +Node: Box-drawing30155 +Ref: #box-drawing30273 +Node: Paging30563 +Ref: #paging30677 +Node: Debug output31630 +Ref: #debug-output31736 +Node: Limitations32399 +Ref: #limitations32519 +Node: Troubleshooting33288 +Ref: #troubleshooting33429 +Node: PART 2 DATA FORMATS35911 +Ref: #part-2-data-formats36058 +Node: Journal36058 +Ref: #journal36169 +Node: Journal cheatsheet36808 +Ref: #journal-cheatsheet36949 +Node: About journal format40937 +Ref: #about-journal-format41099 +Node: Comments42617 +Ref: #comments42749 +Node: Transactions43565 +Ref: #transactions43690 +Node: Dates44704 +Ref: #dates44813 +Node: Simple dates44858 +Ref: #simple-dates44976 +Node: Posting dates45476 +Ref: #posting-dates45596 +Node: Status46565 +Ref: #status46668 +Node: Code48376 +Ref: #code48481 +Node: Description48713 +Ref: #description48846 +Node: Payee and note49166 +Ref: #payee-and-note49274 +Node: Transaction comments49609 +Ref: #transaction-comments49764 +Node: Postings50127 +Ref: #postings50262 +Node: Account names51257 +Ref: #account-names51389 +Node: Amounts53063 +Ref: #amounts53180 +Node: Decimal marks digit group marks54165 +Ref: #decimal-marks-digit-group-marks54342 +Node: Commodity55356 +Ref: #commodity55545 +Node: Directives influencing number parsing and display56497 +Ref: #directives-influencing-number-parsing-and-display56758 +Node: Commodity display style57210 +Ref: #commodity-display-style57418 +Node: Rounding59587 +Ref: #rounding59707 +Node: Costs60006 +Ref: #costs60124 +Node: Other cost/lot notations62322 +Ref: #other-costlot-notations62456 +Node: Balance assertions65045 +Ref: #balance-assertions65198 +Node: Assertions and ordering66281 +Ref: #assertions-and-ordering66472 +Node: Assertions and multiple included files67172 +Ref: #assertions-and-multiple-included-files67434 +Node: Assertions and multiple -f files67934 +Ref: #assertions-and-multiple--f-files68187 +Node: Assertions and commodities68584 +Ref: #assertions-and-commodities68808 +Node: Assertions and prices69988 +Ref: #assertions-and-prices70196 +Node: Assertions and subaccounts70623 +Ref: #assertions-and-subaccounts70846 +Node: Assertions and virtual postings71170 +Ref: #assertions-and-virtual-postings71410 +Node: Assertions and auto postings71542 +Ref: #assertions-and-auto-postings71774 +Node: Assertions and precision72419 +Ref: #assertions-and-precision72603 +Node: Posting comments72870 +Ref: #posting-comments73018 +Node: Tags73395 +Ref: #tags73511 +Node: Tag values74704 +Ref: #tag-values74795 +Node: Directives75554 +Ref: #directives75683 +Node: Directive effects77489 +Ref: #directive-effects77645 +Node: Directives and multiple files80610 +Ref: #directives-and-multiple-files80790 +Node: account directive81482 +Ref: #account-directive81640 +Node: Account comments83038 +Ref: #account-comments83190 +Node: Account subdirectives83698 +Ref: #account-subdirectives83891 +Node: Account error checking84033 +Ref: #account-error-checking84233 +Node: Account display order85422 +Ref: #account-display-order85612 +Node: Account types86713 +Ref: #account-types86856 +Node: alias directive90483 +Ref: #alias-directive90646 +Node: Basic aliases91696 +Ref: #basic-aliases91829 +Node: Regex aliases92573 +Ref: #regex-aliases92732 +Node: Combining aliases93622 +Ref: #combining-aliases93802 +Node: Aliases and multiple files95078 +Ref: #aliases-and-multiple-files95284 +Node: end aliases directive95863 +Ref: #end-aliases-directive96084 +Node: Aliases can generate bad account names96233 +Ref: #aliases-can-generate-bad-account-names96483 +Node: Aliases and account types97068 +Ref: #aliases-and-account-types97262 +Node: commodity directive97958 +Ref: #commodity-directive98134 +Node: Commodity error checking100708 +Ref: #commodity-error-checking100856 +Node: decimal-mark directive101371 +Ref: #decimal-mark-directive101555 +Node: include directive101952 +Ref: #include-directive102118 +Node: P directive103042 +Ref: #p-directive103189 +Node: payee directive104072 +Ref: #payee-directive104223 +Node: tag directive104539 +Ref: #tag-directive104696 +Node: Periodic transactions105164 +Ref: #periodic-transactions105330 +Node: Periodic rule syntax107036 +Ref: #periodic-rule-syntax107216 +Node: Periodic rules and relative dates107861 +Ref: #periodic-rules-and-relative-dates108129 +Node: Two spaces between period expression and description!108640 +Ref: #two-spaces-between-period-expression-and-description108919 +Node: Other syntax109603 +Ref: #other-syntax109729 +Node: Auto postings110374 +Ref: #auto-postings110510 +Node: Auto postings and multiple files112981 +Ref: #auto-postings-and-multiple-files113183 +Node: Auto postings and dates113392 +Ref: #auto-postings-and-dates113664 +Node: Auto postings and transaction balancing / inferred amounts / balance assertions113839 +Ref: #auto-postings-and-transaction-balancing-inferred-amounts-balance-assertions114178 +Node: Auto posting tags114681 +Ref: #auto-posting-tags114894 +Node: Balance assignments115530 +Ref: #balance-assignments115710 +Node: Balance assignments and prices117040 +Ref: #balance-assignments-and-prices117210 +Node: Bracketed posting dates117421 +Ref: #bracketed-posting-dates117607 +Node: D directive118121 +Ref: #d-directive118291 +Node: apply account directive119891 +Ref: #apply-account-directive120073 +Node: Y directive120760 +Ref: #y-directive120922 +Node: Secondary dates121750 +Ref: #secondary-dates121906 +Node: Star comments122720 +Ref: #star-comments122882 +Node: Valuation expressions123414 +Ref: #valuation-expressions123593 +Node: Virtual postings123715 +Ref: #virtual-postings123896 +Node: Other Ledger directives125458 +Ref: #other-ledger-directives125623 +Node: CSV126189 +Ref: #csv126282 +Node: CSV rules cheatsheet128351 +Ref: #csv-rules-cheatsheet128483 +Node: separator130183 +Ref: #separator130310 +Node: skip130850 +Ref: #skip130958 +Node: date-format131529 +Ref: #date-format131650 +Node: timezone132374 +Ref: #timezone132497 +Node: newest-first133502 +Ref: #newest-first133640 +Node: intra-day-reversed134218 +Ref: #intra-day-reversed134372 +Node: decimal-mark134865 +Ref: #decimal-mark135006 +Node: fields list135345 +Ref: #fields-list135482 +Node: Field assignment137153 +Ref: #field-assignment137297 +Node: Field names138324 +Ref: #field-names138455 +Node: date field139658 +Ref: #date-field139776 +Node: date2 field139824 +Ref: #date2-field139965 +Node: status field140021 +Ref: #status-field140164 +Node: code field140213 +Ref: #code-field140358 +Node: description field140403 +Ref: #description-field140563 +Node: comment field140622 +Ref: #comment-field140777 +Node: account field141070 +Ref: #account-field141220 +Node: amount field141790 +Ref: #amount-field141939 +Node: currency field143958 +Ref: #currency-field144111 +Node: balance field144368 +Ref: #balance-field144500 +Node: if block144872 +Ref: #if-block144993 +Node: Matchers146401 +Ref: #matchers146515 +Node: if table147997 +Ref: #if-table148119 +Node: balance-type149541 +Ref: #balance-type149670 +Node: include150370 +Ref: #include150497 +Node: Working with CSV150941 +Ref: #working-with-csv151088 +Node: Rapid feedback151459 +Ref: #rapid-feedback151592 +Node: Valid CSV152044 +Ref: #valid-csv152190 +Node: File Extension152922 +Ref: #file-extension153095 +Node: Reading CSV from standard input153659 +Ref: #reading-csv-from-standard-input153883 +Node: Reading multiple CSV files154047 +Ref: #reading-multiple-csv-files154265 +Node: Valid transactions154506 +Ref: #valid-transactions154700 +Node: Deduplicating importing155328 +Ref: #deduplicating-importing155523 +Node: Setting amounts156559 +Ref: #setting-amounts156730 +Node: Amount signs159195 +Ref: #amount-signs159363 +Node: Setting currency/commodity160050 +Ref: #setting-currencycommodity160254 +Node: Amount decimal places161428 +Ref: #amount-decimal-places161634 +Node: Referencing other fields161946 +Ref: #referencing-other-fields162159 +Node: How CSV rules are evaluated163056 +Ref: #how-csv-rules-are-evaluated163273 +Node: Well factored rules164726 +Ref: #well-factored-rules164894 +Node: CSV rules examples165218 +Ref: #csv-rules-examples165353 +Node: Bank of Ireland165418 +Ref: #bank-of-ireland165555 +Node: Coinbase167017 +Ref: #coinbase167155 +Node: Amazon168202 +Ref: #amazon168327 +Node: Paypal170046 +Ref: #paypal170154 +Node: Timeclock177798 +Ref: #timeclock177903 +Node: Timedot180035 +Ref: #timedot180158 +Node: PART 3 REPORTING CONCEPTS184855 +Ref: #part-3-reporting-concepts185019 +Node: Time periods185019 +Ref: #time-periods185153 +Node: Report start & end date185271 +Ref: #report-start-end-date185423 +Node: Smart dates187082 +Ref: #smart-dates187235 +Node: Report intervals189103 +Ref: #report-intervals189258 +Node: Date adjustment189676 +Ref: #date-adjustment189836 +Node: Period expressions190687 +Ref: #period-expressions190828 +Node: Period expressions with a report interval192592 +Ref: #period-expressions-with-a-report-interval192826 +Node: More complex report intervals193040 +Ref: #more-complex-report-intervals193285 +Node: Multiple weekday intervals195086 +Ref: #multiple-weekday-intervals195275 +Node: Depth196097 +Ref: #depth196199 +Node: Queries196495 +Ref: #queries196597 +Node: Query types197506 +Ref: #query-types197627 +Node: Combining query terms200801 +Ref: #combining-query-terms200978 +Node: Queries and command options202246 +Ref: #queries-and-command-options202445 +Node: Queries and valuation202694 +Ref: #queries-and-valuation202889 +Node: Querying with account aliases203118 +Ref: #querying-with-account-aliases203329 +Node: Querying with cost or value203459 +Ref: #querying-with-cost-or-value203636 +Node: Pivoting203937 +Ref: #pivoting204051 +Node: Generating data205509 +Ref: #generating-data205641 +Node: Forecasting206121 +Ref: #forecasting206246 +Node: Budgeting209017 +Ref: #budgeting209137 +Node: Cost reporting209400 +Ref: #cost-reporting209528 +Node: -B Convert to cost210635 +Ref: #b-convert-to-cost210791 +Node: Equity conversion postings212183 +Ref: #equity-conversion-postings212397 +Node: Inferring equity postings from cost213288 +Ref: #inferring-equity-postings-from-cost213537 +Node: Inferring cost from equity postings214348 +Ref: #inferring-cost-from-equity-postings214596 +Node: When to infer cost/equity216363 +Ref: #when-to-infer-costequity216581 +Node: How to record conversions216977 +Ref: #how-to-record-conversions217169 +Node: Conversion with implicit cost217460 +Ref: #conversion-with-implicit-cost217665 +Node: Conversion with explicit cost218542 +Ref: #conversion-with-explicit-cost218787 +Node: Conversion with equity postings219204 +Ref: #conversion-with-equity-postings219473 +Node: Conversion with equity postings and explicit cost220292 +Ref: #conversion-with-equity-postings-and-explicit-cost220559 +Node: Cost tips221021 +Ref: #cost-tips221147 +Node: Valuation221853 +Ref: #valuation221977 +Node: -V Value222751 +Ref: #v-value222877 +Node: -X Value in specified commodity223072 +Ref: #x-value-in-specified-commodity223267 +Node: Valuation date223416 +Ref: #valuation-date223587 +Node: Finding market price224024 +Ref: #finding-market-price224229 +Node: --infer-market-prices market prices from transactions225399 +Ref: #infer-market-prices-market-prices-from-transactions225675 +Node: Valuation commodity228431 +Ref: #valuation-commodity228644 +Node: Simple valuation examples229857 +Ref: #simple-valuation-examples230055 +Node: --value Flexible valuation230714 +Ref: #value-flexible-valuation230918 +Node: More valuation examples232562 +Ref: #more-valuation-examples232771 +Node: Interaction of valuation and queries234770 +Ref: #interaction-of-valuation-and-queries235011 +Node: Effect of valuation on reports235483 +Ref: #effect-of-valuation-on-reports235680 +Node: PART 4 COMMANDS243377 +Ref: #part-4-commands243520 +Node: Commands overview243899 +Ref: #commands-overview244033 +Node: DATA ENTRY244212 +Ref: #data-entry244336 +Node: DATA CREATION244535 +Ref: #data-creation244689 +Node: DATA MANAGEMENT244807 +Ref: #data-management244972 +Node: REPORTS FINANCIAL245093 +Ref: #reports-financial245268 +Node: REPORTS VERSATILE245573 +Ref: #reports-versatile245746 +Node: REPORTS BASIC245999 +Ref: #reports-basic246151 +Node: HELP246660 +Ref: #help246782 +Node: ADD-ONS246892 +Ref: #add-ons246998 +Node: accounts247577 +Ref: #accounts247710 +Node: activity249597 +Ref: #activity249716 +Node: add250090 +Ref: #add250200 +Node: aregister253011 +Ref: #aregister253132 +Node: aregister and custom posting dates256020 +Ref: #aregister-and-custom-posting-dates256186 +Node: balance256738 +Ref: #balance256864 +Node: balance features257839 +Ref: #balance-features257979 +Node: Simple balance report259903 +Ref: #simple-balance-report260088 +Node: Balance report line format261713 +Ref: #balance-report-line-format261915 +Node: Filtered balance report264073 +Ref: #filtered-balance-report264265 +Node: List or tree mode264592 +Ref: #list-or-tree-mode264760 +Node: Depth limiting266105 +Ref: #depth-limiting266271 +Node: Dropping top-level accounts266872 +Ref: #dropping-top-level-accounts267072 +Node: Showing declared accounts267382 +Ref: #showing-declared-accounts267581 +Node: Sorting by amount268112 +Ref: #sorting-by-amount268279 +Node: Percentages268949 +Ref: #percentages269108 +Node: Multi-period balance report269656 +Ref: #multi-period-balance-report269856 +Node: Balance change end balance272131 +Ref: #balance-change-end-balance272340 +Node: Balance report types273768 +Ref: #balance-report-types273949 +Node: Calculation type274459 +Ref: #calculation-type274614 +Node: Accumulation type275119 +Ref: #accumulation-type275299 +Node: Valuation type276201 +Ref: #valuation-type276389 +Node: Combining balance report types277384 +Ref: #combining-balance-report-types277578 +Node: Budget report279416 +Ref: #budget-report279568 +Node: Budget report start date285250 +Ref: #budget-report-start-date285428 +Node: Budgets and subaccounts286760 +Ref: #budgets-and-subaccounts286967 +Node: Selecting budget goals290407 +Ref: #selecting-budget-goals290606 +Node: Budget vs forecast291641 +Ref: #budget-vs-forecast291800 +Node: Data layout293430 +Ref: #data-layout293580 +Node: Useful balance reports301475 +Ref: #useful-balance-reports301625 +Node: balancesheet302710 +Ref: #balancesheet302855 +Node: balancesheetequity304175 +Ref: #balancesheetequity304333 +Node: cashflow305722 +Ref: #cashflow305853 +Node: check307281 +Ref: #check307395 +Node: Basic checks308197 +Ref: #basic-checks308317 +Node: Strict checks308837 +Ref: #strict-checks308980 +Node: Other checks309403 +Ref: #other-checks309545 +Node: Custom checks310108 +Ref: #custom-checks310265 +Node: More about specific checks310682 +Ref: #more-about-specific-checks310844 +Node: close311572 +Ref: #close311683 +Node: close and balance assertions315093 +Ref: #close-and-balance-assertions315271 +Node: Example retain earnings316422 +Ref: #example-retain-earnings316639 +Node: Example migrate balances to a new file317071 +Ref: #example-migrate-balances-to-a-new-file317336 +Node: Example excluding closing/opening transactions317912 +Ref: #example-excluding-closingopening-transactions318161 +Node: codes319379 +Ref: #codes319496 +Node: commodities320360 +Ref: #commodities320488 +Node: demo320558 +Ref: #demo320679 +Node: descriptions321523 +Ref: #descriptions321653 +Node: diff321944 +Ref: #diff322059 +Node: files323101 +Ref: #files323210 +Node: help323351 +Ref: #help-1323460 +Node: import324406 +Ref: #import324529 +Node: Deduplication325615 +Ref: #deduplication325740 +Node: Import testing327634 +Ref: #import-testing327799 +Node: Importing balance assignments328642 +Ref: #importing-balance-assignments328848 +Node: Commodity display styles329497 +Ref: #commodity-display-styles329670 +Node: incomestatement329799 +Ref: #incomestatement329941 +Node: notes331262 +Ref: #notes331384 +Node: payees331746 +Ref: #payees331861 +Node: prices332380 +Ref: #prices332495 +Node: print332793 +Ref: #print332908 +Node: register338246 +Ref: #register338368 +Node: Custom register output343399 +Ref: #custom-register-output343530 +Node: rewrite344867 +Ref: #rewrite344985 +Node: Re-write rules in a file346883 +Ref: #re-write-rules-in-a-file347046 +Node: Diff output format348195 +Ref: #diff-output-format348378 +Node: rewrite vs print --auto349470 +Ref: #rewrite-vs.-print---auto349630 +Node: roi350186 +Ref: #roi350293 +Node: Spaces and special characters in --inv and --pnl352014 +Ref: #spaces-and-special-characters-in---inv-and---pnl352254 +Node: Semantics of --inv and --pnl352742 +Ref: #semantics-of---inv-and---pnl352981 +Node: IRR and TWR explained354831 +Ref: #irr-and-twr-explained354991 +Node: stats358077 +Ref: #stats358185 +Node: tags359572 +Ref: #tags-1359679 +Node: test360688 +Ref: #test360781 +Node: PART 5 COMMON TASKS361523 +Ref: #part-5-common-tasks361656 +Node: Getting help361930 +Ref: #getting-help362071 +Node: Constructing command lines362831 +Ref: #constructing-command-lines363032 +Node: Starting a journal file363689 +Ref: #starting-a-journal-file363896 +Node: Setting opening balances365084 +Ref: #setting-opening-balances365289 +Node: Recording transactions368430 +Ref: #recording-transactions368619 +Node: Reconciling369175 +Ref: #reconciling369327 +Node: Reporting371584 +Ref: #reporting371733 +Node: Migrating to a new file375718 +Ref: #migrating-to-a-new-file375875  End Tag Table diff --git a/hledger/hledger.txt b/hledger/hledger.txt index 071677d34..9c3f8acc0 100644 --- a/hledger/hledger.txt +++ b/hledger/hledger.txt @@ -686,7 +686,13 @@ Output SQL output o This is not yet much used; real-world feedback is welcome. - o SQL output is expected to work with sqlite, MySQL and PostgreSQL + o SQL output is expected to work at least with SQLite, MySQL and Post- + gres. + + o For SQLite, it will be more useful if you modify the generated id + field to be a PRIMARY KEY. Eg: + + $ hledger print -O sql | sed 's/id serial/id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT NOT NULL/g' | ... o SQL output is structured with the expectations that statements will be executed in the empty database. If you already have tables cre- @@ -731,6 +737,27 @@ Output o otherwise, unicode characters will not be used. + Paging + When showing long output in the terminal, hledger will try to use the + pager specified by the PAGER environment variable, or less, or more. + (A pager is a helper program that shows one page at a time rather than + scrolling everything off screen). Currently it does this only for help + output, not for reports; specifically, + + o when listing commands, with hledger + + o when showing help with hledger [CMD] --help, + + o when viewing manuals with hledger help or hledger --man. + + Note the pager is expected to handle ANSI codes, which hledger uses eg + for bold emphasis. For the common pager less (and its more compatibil- + ity mode), we add R to the LESS and MORE environment variables to make + this work. If you use a different pager, you might need to configure + it similarly, to avoid seeing junk on screen (let us know). Otherwise, + you can set the NO_COLOR environment variable to 1 to disable all ANSI + output (see Colour). + Debug output We intend hledger to be relatively easy to troubleshoot, introspect and develop. You can add --debug[=N] to any hledger command line to see @@ -1783,6 +1810,8 @@ Journal --budget. Other syntax: + + apply Prepends a common parent account to all account names, in fol- Y account lowing entries until end of current file or end apply account. D Sets a default commodity to use for no-symbol amounts;and, if Y,Y,N,N @@ -2899,6 +2928,7 @@ CSV separator declare the field separator, instead of rely- ing on file extension + skip skip one or more header lines at start of file date-format declare how to parse CSV dates/date-times timezone declare the time zone of ambiguous CSV date- @@ -2914,7 +2944,6 @@ CSV fields Field assignment assign a CSV value or interpolated text value to a hledger field - if block conditionally assign values to hledger fields, or skip a record or end (skip rest of file) if table conditionally assign values to hledger fields, @@ -4288,6 +4317,8 @@ Time periods 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 @@ -4342,46 +4373,35 @@ Time periods below. Date adjustment - With a report interval (other than daily), report start / end dates - which have not been specified explicitly and in full (eg not -b - 2023-01-01, but -b 2023-01 or -b 2023 or unspecified) are considered - flexible: + When there is a report interval (other than daily), report start/end + dates which have been inferred, eg from the journal, are automatically + adjusted to natural period boundaries. This is convenient for produc- + ing simple periodic reports. More precisely: - o A flexible start date will be automatically adjusted earlier if - needed to fall on a natural interval boundary. + o an inferred start date will be adjusted earlier if needed to fall on + a natural period boundary - o Similarly, a flexible end date will be adjusted later if needed to - make the last period a whole interval (the same length as the oth- - ers). + o an inferred end date will be adjusted later if needed to make the + last period the same length as the others. - This is convenient for producing clean periodic reports (this is tradi- - tional hledger behaviour). By contrast, fully-specified exact dates - will not be adjusted (this is new in hledger 1.29). - - An example: with a journal whose first date is 2023-01-10 and last date - is 2023-03-20: - - o hledger bal -M -b 2023/1/15 -e 2023/3/10 - The report periods will begin on the 15th day of each month, starting - from 2023-01-15, and the last period's last day will be 2023-03-09. - (Exact start and end dates, neither is adjusted.) - - o hledger bal -M -b 2023-01 -e 2023-04 or hledger bal -M - The report periods will begin on the 1st of each month, starting from - 2023-01-01, and the last period's last day will be 2023-03-31. (Flexi- - ble start and end dates, both are adjusted.) + By contrast, start/end dates which have been specified explicitly, with + -b, -e, -p or date:, will not be adjusted (since hledger 1.29). This + makes it possible to specify non-standard report periods, but it also + means that if you are specifying a start date, you should pick one + that's on a period boundary if you want to see simple report period + headings. Period expressions - The -p/--period option specifies a period expression, which is a com- - pact way of expressing a start date, end date, and/or report interval. + The -p/--period option specifies a period expression, which is a com- + pact way of expressing a start date, end date, and/or report interval. - Here's a period expression with a start and end date (specifying the + Here's a period expression with a start and end date (specifying the first quarter of 2009): -p "from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1" - Several keywords like "from" and "to" are supported for readability; + Several keywords like "from" and "to" are supported for readability; these are optional. "to" can also be written as ".." or "-". The spa- ces are also optional, as long as you don't run two dates together. So the following are equivalent to the above: @@ -4391,7 +4411,7 @@ Time periods -p2009/1/1to2009/4/1 -p2009/1/1..2009/4/1 - Dates are smart dates, so if the current year is 2009, these are also + Dates are smart dates, so if the current year is 2009, these are also equivalent to the above: @@ -4403,34 +4423,32 @@ Time periods earliest or latest transaction date in the journal: - - -p "from 2009/1/1" everything after january 1, 2009 - -p "since 2009/1" the same, since is a syn- + -p "since 2009/1" the same, since is a syn- onym -p "from 2009" the same - -p "to 2009" everything before january + -p "to 2009" everything before january 1, 2009 You can also specify a period by writing a single partial or full date: -p "2009" the year 2009; equivalent to "2009/1/1 to 2010/1/1" - -p "2009/1" the month of january 2009; equivalent to "2009/1/1 to + -p "2009/1" the month of january 2009; equivalent to "2009/1/1 to 2009/2/1" - -p "2009/1/1" the first day of 2009; equivalent to "2009/1/1 to + -p "2009/1/1" the first day of 2009; equivalent to "2009/1/1 to 2009/1/2" or by using the "Q" quarter-year syntax (case insensitive): - -p "2009Q1" first quarter of 2009, equivalent to "2009/1/1 to + -p "2009Q1" first quarter of 2009, equivalent to "2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1" -p "q4" fourth quarter of the current year Period expressions with a report interval - A period expression can also begin with a report interval, separated + A period expression can also begin with a report interval, separated from the start/end dates (if any) by a space or the word in: @@ -4454,10 +4472,10 @@ Time periods Weekly on a custom day: - o every Nth day of week (th, nd, rd, or st are all accepted after the + o every Nth day of week (th, nd, rd, or st are all accepted after the number) - o every WEEKDAYNAME (full or three-letter english weekday name, case + o every WEEKDAYNAME (full or three-letter english weekday name, case insensitive) Monthly on a custom day: @@ -4470,7 +4488,7 @@ Time periods o every MM/DD [of year] (month number and day of month number) - o every MONTHNAME DDth [of year] (full or three-letter english month + o every MONTHNAME DDth [of year] (full or three-letter english month name, case insensitive, and day of month number) o every DDth MONTHNAME [of year] (equivalent to the above) @@ -4479,27 +4497,26 @@ Time periods -p "bimonthly from 2008" - -p "every 2 weeks" -p "every 5 months from 2009/03" -p "every 2nd day of week" periods will go from Tue to Tue -p "every Tue" same - -p "every 15th day" period boundaries will be on 15th of each + -p "every 15th day" period boundaries will be on 15th of each month - -p "every 2nd Monday" period boundaries will be on second Monday + -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 + -p "every 11/05" yearly periods with boundaries on 5th of November -p "every 5th November" same -p "every Nov 5th" same - Show historical balances at end of the 15th day of each month (N is an + Show historical balances at end of the 15th day of each month (N is an end date, exclusive as always): $ hledger balance -H -p "every 16th day" - Group postings from the start of wednesday to end of the following + Group postings from the start of wednesday to end of the following tuesday (N is both (inclusive) start date and (exclusive) end date): $ hledger register checking -p "every 3rd day of week" @@ -4510,10 +4527,10 @@ Time periods o every WEEKDAYNAME,WEEKDAYNAME,... (full or three-letter english week- day names, case insensitive) - Also, weekday and weekendday are shorthand for mon,tue,wed,thu,fri and + Also, weekday and weekendday are shorthand for mon,tue,wed,thu,fri and sat,sun. - This is mainly intended for use with --forecast, to generate periodic + This is mainly intended for use with --forecast, to generate periodic transactions on arbitrary days of the week. It may be less useful with -p, since it divides each week into subperiods of unequal length, which is unusual. (Related: #1632) @@ -4521,17 +4538,17 @@ Time periods Examples: - -p "every dates will be Mon, Wed, Fri; periods will be Mon- + -p "every dates will be Mon, Wed, Fri; periods will be Mon- mon,wed,fri" Tue, Wed-Thu, Fri-Sun - -p "every weekday" dates will be Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri; periods will + -p "every weekday" dates will be Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri; periods will be Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri-Sun -p "every weekend- dates will be Sat, Sun; periods will be Sat, Sun-Fri day" Depth - With the --depth NUM option (short form: -NUM), reports will show - accounts only to the specified depth, hiding deeper subaccounts. Use - this when you want a summary with less detail. This flag has the same + With the --depth NUM option (short form: -NUM), reports will show + accounts only to the specified depth, hiding deeper subaccounts. Use + this when you want a summary with less detail. This flag has the same effect as a depth: query argument: depth:2, --depth=2 or -2 are equiva- lent. @@ -4540,12 +4557,12 @@ Queries subset of your data. Most hledger commands accept optional query argu- ments to restrict their scope. The syntax is as follows: - o Zero or more space-separated query terms. These are most often + o Zero or more space-separated query terms. These are most often account name substrings: utilities food:groceries - o Terms with spaces or other special characters should be enclosed in + o Terms with spaces or other special characters should be enclosed in quotes: "personal care" @@ -4567,16 +4584,16 @@ Queries prefixed with not: to convert them into a negative match. acct:REGEX, REGEX - Match account names containing this (case insensitive) regular expres- + Match account names containing this (case insensitive) regular expres- sion. This is the default query type when there is no prefix, and reg- - ular expression syntax is typically not needed, so usually we just + ular expression syntax is typically not needed, so usually we just write an account name substring, like expenses or food. amt:N, amt:N, amt:>=N - Match postings with a single-commodity amount equal to, less than, or - greater than N. (Postings with multi-commodity amounts are not tested + Match postings with a single-commodity amount equal to, less than, or + greater than N. (Postings with 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. Oth- + by a + or - sign (or is 0), the two signed numbers are compared. Oth- erwise, the absolute magnitudes are compared, ignoring sign. code:REGEX @@ -4584,10 +4601,10 @@ Queries cur:REGEX Match postings or transactions including any amounts whose cur- - rency/commodity symbol is fully matched by REGEX. (For a partial - match, use .*REGEX.*). Note, to match special characters which are - regex-significant, you need to escape them with \. And for characters - which are significant to your shell you may need one more level of + rency/commodity symbol is fully matched by REGEX. (For a partial + match, use .*REGEX.*). Note, to match special characters which are + regex-significant, you need to escape them with \. And for characters + which are significant to your shell you may need one more level of escaping. So eg to match the dollar sign: hledger print cur:\\$. @@ -4595,17 +4612,17 @@ Queries Match transaction descriptions. date:PERIODEXPR - Match dates (or with the --date2 flag, secondary dates) within the - specified period. PERIODEXPR is a period expression with no report + Match dates (or with the --date2 flag, secondary dates) within the + specified period. PERIODEXPR is a period expression with no report interval. Examples: date:2016, date:thismonth, date:2/1-2/15, date:2021-07-27..nextquarter. date2:PERIODEXPR - Match secondary dates within the specified period (independent of the + Match secondary dates within the specified period (independent of the --date2 flag). depth:N - Match (or display, depending on command) accounts at or above this + Match (or display, depending on command) accounts at or above this depth. note:REGEX @@ -4613,7 +4630,7 @@ Queries whole description if there's no |). payee:REGEX - Match transaction payee/payer names (the part of the description left + Match transaction payee/payer names (the part of the description left of |, or the whole description if there's no |). real:, real:0 @@ -4623,11 +4640,11 @@ Queries Match unmarked, pending, or cleared transactions respectively. type:TYPECODES - Match by account type (see Declaring accounts > Account types). TYPE- - CODES is one or more of the single-letter account type codes ALERXCV, + Match by account type (see Declaring accounts > Account types). TYPE- + CODES is one or more of the single-letter account type codes ALERXCV, case insensitive. Note type:A and type:E will also match their respec- - tive subtypes C (Cash) and V (Conversion). Certain kinds of account - alias can disrupt account types, see Rewriting accounts > Aliases and + tive subtypes C (Cash) and V (Conversion). Certain kinds of account + alias can disrupt account types, see Rewriting accounts > Aliases and account types. tag:REGEX[=REGEX] @@ -4643,11 +4660,11 @@ Queries o Transactions also acquire the tags of their postings. (inacct:ACCTNAME - A special query term used automatically in hledger-web only: tells + A special query term used automatically in hledger-web only: tells hledger-web to show the transaction register for an account.) Combining query terms - When given multiple space-separated query terms, most commands select + When given multiple space-separated query terms, most commands select things which match: o any of the description terms AND @@ -4668,13 +4685,13 @@ Queries o match all the other terms. - We also support more complex boolean queries with the 'expr:' prefix. - This allows one to combine queries using one of three operators: AND, + We also support more complex boolean queries with the 'expr:' prefix. + This allows one to combine queries using one of three operators: AND, OR, and NOT, where NOT is different syntax for 'not:'. Examples of such queries are: - o Match transactions with 'cool' in the description AND with the 'A' + o Match transactions with 'cool' in the description AND with the 'A' tag expr:"desc:cool AND tag:A" @@ -4684,22 +4701,22 @@ Queries expr:"NOT expenses:food OR tag:A" - o Match transactions NOT involving the 'expenses:food' account OR with - the 'A' tag AND involving the 'expenses:drink' account. (the AND is + o Match transactions NOT involving the 'expenses:food' account OR with + the 'A' tag AND involving the 'expenses:drink' account. (the AND is implicitly added by space-separation, following the rules above) expr:"expenses:food OR (tag:A expenses:drink)" Queries and command options - Some queries can also be expressed as command-line options: depth:2 is + Some queries can also be expressed as command-line options: depth:2 is equivalent to --depth 2, date:2020 is equivalent to -p 2020, etc. When - you mix command options and query arguments, generally the resulting + you mix command options and query arguments, generally the resulting query is their intersection. Queries and valuation - When amounts are converted to other commodities in cost or value - reports, cur: and amt: match the old commodity symbol and the old - amount quantity, not the new ones (except in hledger 1.22.0 where it's + When amounts are converted to other commodities in cost or value + reports, cur: and amt: match the old commodity symbol and the old + amount quantity, not the new ones (except in hledger 1.22.0 where it's reversed, see #1625). Querying with account aliases @@ -4707,20 +4724,20 @@ Queries will match either the old or the new account name. Querying with cost or value - When amounts are converted to other commodities in cost or value - reports, note that cur: matches the new commodity symbol, and not the + When amounts are converted to other commodities in cost or value + reports, note that cur: matches the new commodity symbol, and not the old one, and amt: matches the new quantity, and not the old one. Note: - this changed in hledger 1.22, previously it was the reverse, see the + this changed in hledger 1.22, previously it was the reverse, see the discussion at #1625. Pivoting - Normally, hledger groups and sums amounts within each account. The - --pivot FIELD option substitutes some other transaction field for + Normally, hledger groups and sums amounts within each account. The + --pivot FIELD option substitutes some other transaction field for account names, causing amounts to be grouped and summed by that field's - value instead. FIELD can be any of the transaction fields status, - code, description, payee, note, or a tag name. When pivoting on a tag - and a posting has multiple values of that tag, only the first value is - displayed. Values containing colon:separated:parts will be displayed + value instead. FIELD can be any of the transaction fields status, + code, description, payee, note, or a tag name. When pivoting on a tag + and a posting has multiple values of that tag, only the first value is + displayed. Values containing colon:separated:parts will be displayed hierarchically, like account names. Some examples: @@ -4752,7 +4769,7 @@ Pivoting -------------------- -2 EUR - Another way (the acct: query matches against the pivoted "account + Another way (the acct: query matches against the pivoted "account name"): $ hledger balance --pivot member acct:. @@ -4761,39 +4778,39 @@ Pivoting -2 EUR Generating data - Two features for generating transient data (visible only at report + Two features for generating transient data (visible only at report time) are built in to hledger's journal format: - o Auto posting rules can generate extra postings on certain transac- + o Auto posting rules can generate extra postings on certain transac- tions. They are activated by the --auto flag. - o Periodic transaction rules can generate repeating transactions, usu- - ally dated in the future, to help with forecasting or budgeting. - They are activated by the --forecast or balance --budget options, + o Periodic transaction rules can generate repeating transactions, usu- + ally dated in the future, to help with forecasting or budgeting. + They are activated by the --forecast or balance --budget options, described next. Forecasting - The --forecast flag activates any periodic transaction rules in the - journal. These will generate temporary additional transactions, usu- - ally recurring and in the future, which will appear in all reports. + The --forecast flag activates any periodic transaction rules in the + journal. These will generate temporary additional transactions, usu- + ally recurring and in the future, which will appear in all reports. hledger print --forecast is a good way to see them. - This can be useful for estimating balances into the future, perhaps + This can be useful for estimating balances into the future, perhaps experimenting with different scenarios. - It could also be useful for scripted data entry: you could describe - recurring transactions, and every so often copy the output of print + It could also be useful for scripted data entry: you could describe + recurring transactions, and every so often copy the output of print --forecast into the journal. - The generated transactions will have an extra tag, like generated- - transaction:~ PERIODICEXPR, indicating which periodic rule generated - them. There is also a similar, hidden tag, named _generated-transac- + The generated transactions will have an extra tag, like generated- + transaction:~ PERIODICEXPR, indicating which periodic rule generated + them. There is also a similar, hidden tag, named _generated-transac- tion:, which you can use to reliably match transactions generated "just now" (rather than printed in the past). The forecast transactions are generated within a forecast period, which - is independent of the report period. (Forecast period sets the bounds - for generated transactions, report period controls which transactions + is independent of the report period. (Forecast period sets the bounds + for generated transactions, report period controls which transactions are reported.) The forecast period begins on: o the start date provided within --forecast's argument, if any @@ -4802,7 +4819,7 @@ Forecasting o the report start date, if specified (with -b/-p/date:) - o the day after the latest ordinary transaction in the journal, if + o the day after the latest ordinary transaction in the journal, if any o otherwise today. @@ -4815,17 +4832,17 @@ Forecasting o otherwise 180 days (6 months) from today. - Note, this means that ordinary transactions will suppress periodic - transactions, by default; the periodic transactions will not start + Note, this means that ordinary transactions will suppress periodic + transactions, by default; the periodic transactions will not start until after the last ordinary transaction. This is usually convenient, but you can get around it in two ways: - o If you need to record some transactions in the future, make them - periodic transactions (with a single occurrence, eg: ~ YYYY-MM-DD) - rather than ordinary transactions. That way they won't suppress + o If you need to record some transactions in the future, make them + periodic transactions (with a single occurrence, eg: ~ YYYY-MM-DD) + rather than ordinary transactions. That way they won't suppress other periodic transactions. - o Or give --forecast a period expression argument. A forecast period + o Or give --forecast a period expression argument. A forecast period specified this way can overlap ordinary transactions, and need not be in the future. Some things to note: @@ -4834,44 +4851,44 @@ Forecasting o The period expression can specify the forecast period's start date, end date, or both. See also Report start & end date. - o The period expression should not specify a report interval. (Each + o The period expression should not specify a report interval. (Each periodic transaction rule specifies its own interval.) - Some examples: --forecast=202001-202004, --forecast=jan-, --fore- + Some examples: --forecast=202001-202004, --forecast=jan-, --fore- cast=2021. Budgeting - With the balance command's --budget report, each periodic transaction - rule generates recurring budget goals in specified accounts, and goals - and actual performance can be compared. See the balance command's doc + With the balance command's --budget report, each periodic transaction + rule generates recurring budget goals in specified accounts, and goals + and actual performance can be compared. See the balance command's doc below. See also: Budgeting and Forecasting. Cost reporting - This section is about recording the cost of things, in transactions - where one commodity is exchanged for another. Eg an exchange of cur- + This section is about recording the cost of things, in transactions + where one commodity is exchanged for another. Eg an exchange of cur- rency, or a stock purchase or sale. First, a quick glossary: - o Conversion - an exchange of one currency or commodity for another. - Eg a foreign currency exchange, or a purchase or sale of stock or + o Conversion - an exchange of one currency or commodity for another. + Eg a foreign currency exchange, or a purchase or sale of stock or cryptocurrency. - o Conversion transaction - a transaction involving one or more conver- + o Conversion transaction - a transaction involving one or more conver- sions. o Conversion rate - the cost per unit of one commodity in the other, ie the exchange rate. - o Cost - how much of one commodity was paid to acquire the other. And - more generally, in hledger docs: the amount exchanged in the "sec- + o Cost - how much of one commodity was paid to acquire the other. And + more generally, in hledger docs: the amount exchanged in the "sec- ondary" commodity (usually your base currency), whether in a purchase - or a sale, and whether expressed per unit or in total. Also, the + or a sale, and whether expressed per unit or in total. Also, the "@/@@ PRICE" notation used to represent this. -B: Convert to cost - As discussed in JOURNAL > Costs, when recording a transaction you can - also record the amount's cost in another commodity, by adding @ UNIT- + As discussed in JOURNAL > Costs, when recording a transaction you can + also record the amount's cost in another commodity, by adding @ UNIT- PRICE or @@ TOTALPRICE. Then you can see a report with amounts converted to cost, by adding the @@ -4890,8 +4907,8 @@ Cost reporting Notes: - -B is sensitive to the order of postings when a cost is inferred: the - inferred price will be in the commodity of the last amount. So if + -B is sensitive to the order of postings when a cost is inferred: the + inferred price will be in the commodity of the last amount. So if example 3's postings are reversed, while the transaction is equivalent, -B shows something different: @@ -4903,13 +4920,13 @@ Cost reporting EUR-100 assets:dollars # <- the dollars' selling price EUR100 assets:euros - The @/@@ cost notation is convenient, but has some drawbacks: it does - not truly balance the transaction, so it disrupts the accounting equa- + The @/@@ cost notation is convenient, but has some drawbacks: it does + not truly balance the transaction, so it disrupts the accounting equa- tion and tends to causes a non-zero total in balance reports. Equity conversion postings By contrast, conventional double entry bookkeeping (DEB) uses a differ- - ent notation: an extra pair of equity postings to balance conversion + ent notation: an extra pair of equity postings to balance conversion transactions. In this style, the above entry might be written: 2022-01-01 one hundred euros purchased at $1.35 each @@ -4918,15 +4935,15 @@ Cost reporting equity:conversion EUR-100 assets:euros EUR100 - This style is more correct, but it's also more verbose and makes cost + This style is more correct, but it's also more verbose and makes cost reporting more difficult for PTA tools. - Happily, current hledger can read either notation, or convert one to + Happily, current hledger can read either notation, or convert one to the other when needed, so you can use the one you prefer. - You can even use cost notation and equivalent conversion postings at - the same time, for clarity. hledger will ignore the redundancy. But - be sure the cost and conversion posting amounts match, or you'll see a + You can even use cost notation and equivalent conversion postings at + the same time, for clarity. hledger will ignore the redundancy. But + be sure the cost and conversion posting amounts match, or you'll see a not-so-clear transaction balancing error message. Inferring equity postings from cost @@ -4947,14 +4964,14 @@ Cost reporting The conversion account names can be changed with the conversion account type declaration. - --infer-equity is useful when when transactions have been recorded - using cost notation, to help preserve the accounting equation and bal- - ance reports' zero total, or to produce more conventional journal + --infer-equity is useful when when transactions have been recorded + using cost notation, to help preserve the accounting equation and bal- + ance reports' zero total, or to produce more conventional journal entries for sharing with non-PTA-users. Inferring cost from equity postings - The reverse operation is possible using --infer-costs, which detects - transactions written with equity conversion postings and adds cost + The reverse operation is possible using --infer-costs, which detects + transactions written with equity conversion postings and adds cost notation to them: 2022-01-01 @@ -4970,8 +4987,8 @@ Cost reporting equity:conversion EUR-100 assets:euros EUR100 - --infer-costs is useful when combined with -B/--cost, allowing cost - reporting even when transactions have been recorded using equity post- + --infer-costs is useful when combined with -B/--cost, allowing cost + reporting even when transactions have been recorded using equity post- ings: $ hledger print --infer-costs -B @@ -4988,7 +5005,7 @@ Cost reporting 2. two equity postings, next to one another 3. the equity accounts must be declared, with account type V/Conversion - (or if they are not declared, they must be named equity:conversion, + (or if they are not declared, they must be named equity:conversion, equity:trade, equity:trading or subaccounts of these) 4. the equity postings' amounts must exactly match the non-equity post- @@ -4996,41 +5013,41 @@ Cost reporting Multiple such exchanges can coexist within a single transaction. - When inferring cost, the order of postings matters: the cost is added - to the first of the non-equity postings involved in the exchange, in - the commodity of the last non-equity posting involved in the exchange. + When inferring cost, the order of postings matters: the cost is added + to the first of the non-equity postings involved in the exchange, in + the commodity of the last non-equity posting involved in the exchange. If you don't want to write your postings in the required order, you can use explicit cost notation instead. - --infer-equity and --infer-costs can be used together, if you have a + --infer-equity and --infer-costs can be used together, if you have a mixture of both notations in your journal. When to infer cost/equity - Inferring equity postings or costs is still fairly new, so not enabled - by default. We're not sure yet if that should change. Here are two + Inferring equity postings or costs is still fairly new, so not enabled + by default. We're not sure yet if that should change. Here are two suggestions to try, experience reports welcome: - 1. When you use -B, always use --infer-costs as well. Eg: hledger bal + 1. When you use -B, always use --infer-costs as well. Eg: hledger bal -B --infer-costs - 2. Always run hledger with both flags enabled. Eg: alias hl="hledger + 2. Always run hledger with both flags enabled. Eg: alias hl="hledger --infer-equity --infer-costs" How to record conversions - Essentially there are four ways to record a conversion transaction in + Essentially there are four ways to record a conversion transaction in hledger. Here are all of them, with pros and cons. Conversion with implicit cost - Let's assume 100 EUR is converted to 120 USD. You can just record the - outflow (100 EUR) and inflow (120 USD) in the appropriate asset + Let's assume 100 EUR is converted to 120 USD. You can just record the + outflow (100 EUR) and inflow (120 USD) in the appropriate asset account: 2021-01-01 assets:cash -100 EUR assets:cash 120 USD - hledger will assume this transaction is balanced, inferring that the - conversion rate must be 1 EUR = 1.20 USD. You can see the inferred + hledger will assume this transaction is balanced, inferring that the + conversion rate must be 1 EUR = 1.20 USD. You can see the inferred rate by using hledger print -x. Pro: @@ -5039,18 +5056,18 @@ Cost reporting Con: - o Less error checking - typos in amounts or commodity symbols may not + o Less error checking - typos in amounts or commodity symbols may not be detected o Conversion rate is not clear - o Disturbs the accounting equation, unless you add the --infer-equity + o Disturbs the accounting equation, unless you add the --infer-equity flag - You can prevent accidental implicit conversions due to a mistyped com- + You can prevent accidental implicit conversions due to a mistyped com- modity symbol, by using hledger check commodities. - You can prevent implicit conversions entirely, by using hledger check + You can prevent implicit conversions entirely, by using hledger check balancednoautoconversion, or -s/--strict. Conversion with explicit cost @@ -5073,16 +5090,16 @@ Cost reporting Con: - o Disturbs the accounting equation, unless you add the --infer-equity + o Disturbs the accounting equation, unless you add the --infer-equity flag Conversion with equity postings - In strict double entry bookkeeping, the above transaction is not bal- - anced in EUR or in USD, since some EUR disappears, and some USD + In strict double entry bookkeeping, the above transaction is not bal- + anced in EUR or in USD, since some EUR disappears, and some USD appears. This violates the accounting equation (A+L+E=0), and prevents reports like balancesheetequity from showing a zero total. - The proper way to make it balance is to add a balancing posting for + The proper way to make it balance is to add a balancing posting for each commodity, using an equity account: 2021-01-01 @@ -5133,98 +5150,98 @@ Cost reporting o Not compatible with ledger Cost tips - o Recording the cost/conversion rate explicitly is good because it + o Recording the cost/conversion rate explicitly is good because it makes that clear and helps detect errors. - o Recording equity postings is good because it is correct bookkeeping + o Recording equity postings is good because it is correct bookkeeping and preserves the accounting equation. o Combining these is possible. - o When you want to see the cost (or sale proceeds) of things, use -B + o When you want to see the cost (or sale proceeds) of things, use -B (short form of --cost). - o If you use conversion postings without cost notation, add --infer- + o If you use conversion postings without cost notation, add --infer- costs also. o If you use cost notation without conversion postings, and you want to - see a balanced balance sheet or print correct journal entries, use + see a balanced balance sheet or print correct journal entries, use --infer-equity. o Conversion to cost is performed before valuation (described next). Valuation - Instead of reporting amounts in their original commodity, hledger can + Instead of reporting amounts in their original commodity, hledger can convert them to cost/sale amount (using the conversion rate recorded in - the transaction), and/or to market value (using some market price on a - certain date). This is controlled by the --value=TYPE[,COMMODITY] - option, which will be described below. We also provide the simpler -V + the transaction), and/or to market value (using some market price on a + certain date). This is controlled by the --value=TYPE[,COMMODITY] + option, which will be described below. We also provide the simpler -V and -X COMMODITY options, and often one of these is all you need: -V: Value - The -V/--market flag converts amounts to market value in their default + 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 + 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 + 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 + that will be used as the valuation date; otherwise the valuation date is the journal's end date. - For multiperiod reports, each column/period is valued on the last day + For multiperiod reports, each column/period is valued on the last day of the period, by default. Finding market price - To convert a commodity A to its market value in another commodity B, - hledger looks for a suitable market price (exchange rate) as follows, + 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 + 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-market-prices flag) inferred from costs. + tive, or (with the --infer-market-prices flag) inferred from costs. 2. A reverse market price: the inverse of a declared or inferred market price from B to A. - 3. A forward chain of market prices: a synthetic price formed by com- + 3. 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. 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 + 4. 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. - There is a limit to the length of these price chains; if hledger - reaches that length without finding a complete chain or exhausting all - possibilities, it will give up (with a "gave up" message visible in + There is a limit to the length of these price chains; if hledger + reaches that length without finding a complete chain or exhausting all + possibilities, it will give up (with a "gave up" message visible in --debug=2 output). That limit is currently 1000. - Amounts for which no suitable market price can be found, are not con- + Amounts for which no suitable market price can be found, are not con- verted. --infer-market-prices: market prices from transactions 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 costs as additional market prices (as - Ledger does) ? Adding the --infer-market-prices flag to -V, -X or + chore, and since transactions usually take place at close to market + value, why not use the recorded costs as additional market prices (as + Ledger does) ? Adding the --infer-market-prices flag to -V, -X or --value enables this. - So for example, hledger bs -V --infer-market-prices will get market - prices both from P directives and from transactions. If both occur on + So for example, hledger bs -V --infer-market-prices will get market + prices both from P directives and from transactions. If both occur on the same day, the P directive takes precedence. There is a downside: value reports can sometimes be affected in confus- - ing/undesired ways by your journal entries. If this happens to you, + 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. @@ -5232,15 +5249,15 @@ Valuation o multicommodity transactions with explicit prices (@/@@) - o multicommodity transactions with implicit prices (no @, two commodi- - ties, unbalanced). (With these, the order of postings matters. + 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 multicommodity transactions with equity postings, if cost is inferred with --infer-costs. - There is a limitation (bug) currently: when a valuation commodity is - not specified, prices inferred with --infer-market-prices do not help + There is a limitation (bug) currently: when a valuation commodity is + not specified, prices inferred with --infer-market-prices do not help select a default valuation commodity, as P prices would. So conversion might not happen because no valuation commodity was detected (--debug=2 will show this). To be safe, specify the valuation commmodity, eg: @@ -5250,8 +5267,8 @@ Valuation o --value=then,EUR --infer-market-prices, not --value=then --infer-mar- ket-prices - Signed costs and market prices can be confusing. For reference, here - is the current behaviour, since hledger 1.25. (If you think it should + Signed costs and market prices can be confusing. For reference, here + is the current behaviour, since hledger 1.25. (If you think it should work differently, see #1870.) 2022-01-01 Positive Unit prices @@ -5281,7 +5298,7 @@ Valuation b B -1 @@ A -1 All of the transactions above are considered balanced (and on each day, - the two transactions are considered equivalent). Here are the market + the two transactions are considered equivalent). Here are the market prices inferred for B: $ hledger -f- --infer-market-prices prices @@ -5294,34 +5311,34 @@ Valuation Valuation commodity 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- + 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 + When you leave the valuation commodity unspecified (-V or --value TYPE): - For each commodity A, hledger picks a default valuation commodity as + 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 + 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-market-prices flag is used: the price commodity from the + 3. If there are no P directives at all (any commodity or date) and the + --infer-market-prices 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 + 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-market-prices flag, + o If you have no P directives, and use the --infer-market-prices flag, costs determine it. - Amounts for which no valuation commodity can be found are not con- + Amounts for which no valuation commodity can be found are not con- verted. Simple valuation examples @@ -5348,7 +5365,7 @@ Valuation $ 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, + What are they worth after 2016/12/21 ? (no report end date specified, defaults to today) $ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros -V @@ -5368,31 +5385,31 @@ Valuation The TYPE part selects cost or value and valuation date: --value=then - Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commod- + Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commod- ity, using market prices on each posting's date. --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 + 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- + 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- + 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. + 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 + Here are some examples showing the effect of --value, as seen with print: P 2000-01-01 A 1 B @@ -5430,7 +5447,7 @@ Valuation 2000-02-01 (a) 2 B - With no report period specified, that shows the value as of the last + 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 @@ -5467,7 +5484,7 @@ Valuation 2000-03-01 (a) 1 B - You may need to explicitly set a commodity's display style, when + 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 @@ -5481,10 +5498,10 @@ Valuation 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 + 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 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 @@ -5500,7 +5517,7 @@ Valuation b -0.50A Interaction of valuation and queries - When matching postings based on queries in the presence of valuation, + When matching postings based on queries in the presence of valuation, the following happens. 1. The query is separated into two parts: @@ -5514,16 +5531,16 @@ Valuation 3. Valuation is applied to the postings. - 4. The postings are matched to the other parts of the query based on + 4. The postings are matched to the other parts of the query based on post-valued amounts. See: 1625 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. + 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. @@ -5531,7 +5548,8 @@ Valuation type --value=now ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- print - posting cost value at value at posting value at value at + + posting cost value at value at posting value at value at amounts report end date report or DATE/today or today journal end balance unchanged unchanged unchanged unchanged unchanged @@ -5548,7 +5566,7 @@ Valuation with report report or posting was made report or interval journal journal start start - posting cost value at value at posting value at value at + posting cost value at value at posting value at value at amounts report or date report or DATE/today journal end journal end summary post- summarised value at sum of postings value at value at @@ -5561,24 +5579,22 @@ Valuation balance (bs, bse, cf, is) - balance sums of value at value at posting value at value at + balance sums of value at value at posting value at value at changes costs report end date report or DATE/today of - or today of journal end sums of post- + or today of journal end sums of post- sums of of sums of ings postings postings budget like balance like balance like balance like bal- like balance amounts changes changes changes ances changes (--budget) - grand total sum of dis- sum of dis- sum of displayed sum of dis- sum of dis- + grand total sum of dis- sum of dis- sum of displayed sum of dis- sum of dis- played val- played val- valued played val- played values ues ues ues balance (bs, - bse, cf, is) + bse, cf, is) with report interval - - starting bal- sums of value at sums of values of value at sums of post- ances (-H) costs of report start postings before report start ings before postings of sums of report start at of sums of report start @@ -5601,10 +5617,10 @@ Valuation amounts changes/end changes/end changes/end bal- ances changes/end (--budget) balances balances ances balances row totals, sums, aver- sums, aver- sums, averages of sums, aver- sums, aver- - row averages ages of dis- ages of dis- displayed values ages of dis- ages of dis- + row averages ages of dis- ages of dis- displayed values ages of dis- ages of dis- (-T, -A) played val- played val- played val- played values ues ues ues - column totals sums of dis- sums of dis- sums of displayed sums of dis- sums of dis- + column totals sums of dis- sums of dis- sums of displayed sums of dis- sums of dis- played val- played val- values played val- played values ues ues ues grand total, sum, average sum, average sum, average of sum, average sum, average @@ -5619,29 +5635,29 @@ Valuation cost calculated using price(s) recorded in the transaction(s). - value market value using available market price declarations, or the + 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 + 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, + 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 + 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, + 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 + 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). @@ -5679,11 +5695,11 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS o incomestatement (is) - show revenues and expenses REPORTS, VERSATILE - o balance (bal) - show balance changes, end balances, budgets, gains.. + o balance (bal) - show balance changes, end balances, budgets, gains.. o print - show transactions or export journal data - o register (reg) - show postings in one or more accounts & running + o register (reg) - show postings in one or more accounts & running total o roi - show return on investments @@ -5721,7 +5737,7 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS ADD-ONS And here are some typical add-on commands. Some of these are installed - by the hledger-install script. If installed, they will appear in + by the hledger-install script. If installed, they will appear in hledger's commands list: o ui - run hledger's terminal UI @@ -5734,7 +5750,7 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS o stockquotes - download market prices from AlphaVantage - o Scripts and add-ons - check-fancyassertions, edit, fifo, git, move, + o Scripts and add-ons - check-fancyassertions, edit, fifo, git, move, pijul, plot, and more.. Next, each command is described in detail, in alphabetical order. @@ -5742,38 +5758,38 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS accounts Show account names. - This command lists account names. By default it shows all known - accounts, either used in transactions or declared with account direc- + This command lists account names. By default it shows all known + accounts, either used in transactions or declared with account direc- tives. With query arguments, only matched account names and account names ref- erenced by matched postings are shown. - Or it can show just the used accounts (--used/-u), the declared - accounts (--declared/-d), the accounts declared but not used - (--unused), the accounts used but not declared (--undeclared), or the + Or it can show just the used accounts (--used/-u), the declared + accounts (--declared/-d), the accounts declared but not used + (--unused), the accounts used but not declared (--undeclared), or the first account matched by an account name pattern, if any (--find). - 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- + 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. - With --types, it also shows each account's type, if it's known. (See + With --types, it also shows each account's type, if it's known. (See Declaring accounts > Account types.) - With --positions, it also shows the file and line number of each - account's declaration, if any, and the account's overall declaration - order; these may be useful when troubleshooting account display order. + With --positions, it also shows the file and line number of each + account's declaration, if any, and the account's overall declaration + order; these may be useful when troubleshooting account display order. - With --directives, it adds the account keyword, showing valid account - directives which can be pasted into a journal file. This is useful - together with --undeclared when updating your account declarations to + With --directives, it adds the account keyword, showing valid account + directives which can be pasted into a journal file. This is useful + together with --undeclared when updating your account declarations to satisfy hledger check accounts. - The --find flag can be used to look up a single account name, in the - same way that the aregister command does. It returns the alphanumeri- - cally-first matched account name, or if none can be found, it fails + The --find flag can be used to look up a single account name, in the + same way that the aregister command does. It returns the alphanumeri- + cally-first matched account name, or if none can be found, it fails with a non-zero exit code. Examples: @@ -5794,8 +5810,8 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS 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 + 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: @@ -5807,36 +5823,36 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS 2008-10-01 ** add - Prompt for transactions and add them to the journal. Any arguments + 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 main journal file (which should be in - journal format). Existing transactions are not changed. This is one - of the few hledger commands that writes to the journal file (see also + 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 main journal file (which should be in + journal format). Existing transactions are not changed. This is one + of the few hledger commands that writes to the journal file (see also import). 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 + 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 - description) recent transaction (filtered by the query, if any) as a + o add tries to provide useful defaults, using the most similar (by + description) 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, pay- - ees/descriptions, dates (yesterday, today, tomorrow). If the input + o The tab key will auto-complete whenever possible - accounts, pay- + ees/descriptions, 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 + 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. @@ -5845,7 +5861,7 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS 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 + o Input prompts are displayed in a different colour when the terminal supports it. Example (see https://hledger.org/add.html for a detailed tutorial): @@ -5875,82 +5891,82 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS 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 + 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 (areg) - Show the transactions and running historical balance of a single + Show the transactions and running historical balance of a single account, with each transaction displayed as one line. aregister shows the overall transactions affecting a particular account - (and any subaccounts). Each report line represents one transaction in - this account. Transactions before the report start date are always + (and any subaccounts). Each report line represents one transaction in + this account. Transactions before the report start date are always included in the running balance (--historical mode is always on). - This is a more "real world", bank-like view than the register command - (which shows individual postings, possibly from multiple accounts, not + This is a more "real world", bank-like view than the register command + (which shows individual postings, possibly from multiple accounts, not necessarily in historical mode). As a quick rule of thumb: - use areg- ister for reviewing and reconciling real-world asset/liability accounts - use register for reviewing detailed revenues/expenses. - aregister requires one argument: the account to report on. You can - write either the full account name, or a case-insensitive regular - expression which will select the alphabetically first matched account. + aregister requires one argument: the account to report on. You can + write either the full account name, or a case-insensitive regular + expression which will select the alphabetically first matched account. When there are multiple matches, the alphabetically-first choice can be - surprising; eg if you have assets:per:checking 1 and assets:biz:check- - ing 2 accounts, hledger areg checking would select assets:biz:checking - 2. It's just a convenience to save typing, so if in doubt, write the + surprising; eg if you have assets:per:checking 1 and assets:biz:check- + ing 2 accounts, hledger areg checking would select assets:biz:checking + 2. It's just a convenience to save typing, so if in doubt, write the full account name, or a distinctive substring that matches uniquely. - Transactions involving subaccounts of this account will also be shown. - aregister ignores depth limits, so its final total will always match a + Transactions involving subaccounts of this account will also be shown. + aregister ignores depth limits, so its final total will always match a balance report with similar arguments. - Any additional arguments form a query which will filter the transac- + Any additional arguments form a query which will filter the transac- tions shown. Note some queries will disturb the running balance, caus- ing it to be different from the account's real-world running balance. - An example: this shows the transactions and historical running balance + An example: this shows the transactions and historical running balance during july, in the first account whose name contains "checking": $ hledger areg checking date:jul Each aregister line item shows: - o the transaction's date (or the relevant posting's date if different, + o the transaction's date (or the relevant posting's date if different, see below) - o the names of all the other account(s) involved in this transaction + o the names of all the other account(s) involved in this transaction (probably abbreviated) o the total change to this account's balance from this transaction o the account's historical running balance after this transaction. - Transactions making a net change of zero are not shown by default; add + Transactions making a net change of zero are not shown by default; add the -E/--empty flag to show them. - For performance reasons, column widths are chosen based on the first - 1000 lines; this means unusually wide values in later lines can cause - visual discontinuities as column widths are adjusted. If you want to - ensure perfect alignment, at the cost of more time and memory, use the + For performance reasons, column widths are chosen based on the first + 1000 lines; this means unusually wide values in later lines can cause + visual discontinuities as column widths are adjusted. If you want to + ensure perfect alignment, at the cost of more time and memory, use the --align-all flag. - This command also supports the output destination and output format + 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, 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 + 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 + 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. balance @@ -5958,19 +5974,19 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS Show accounts and their balances. - balance is one of hledger's oldest and most versatile commands, for - listing account balances, balance changes, values, value changes and + balance is one of hledger's oldest and most versatile commands, for + listing account balances, balance changes, values, value changes and more, during one time period or many. Generally it shows a table, with rows representing accounts, and columns representing periods. - Note there are some higher-level variants of the balance command with - convenient defaults, which can be simpler to use: balancesheet, bal- + Note there are some higher-level variants of the balance command with + convenient defaults, which can be simpler to use: balancesheet, bal- ancesheetequity, cashflow and incomestatement. When you need more con- trol, then use balance. balance features - Here's a quick overview of the balance command's features, followed by - more detailed descriptions and examples. Many of these work with the + Here's a quick overview of the balance command's features, followed by + more detailed descriptions and examples. Many of these work with the higher-level commands as well. balance can show.. @@ -6021,7 +6037,7 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS ..with.. - o totals (-T), averages (-A), percentages (-%), inverted sign + o totals (-T), averages (-A), percentages (-%), inverted sign (--invert) o rows and columns swapped (--transpose) @@ -6033,24 +6049,24 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS o commodities displayed on the same line or multiple lines (--layout) This command supports the output destination and output format options, - with output formats txt, csv, json, and (multi-period reports only:) - html. In txt output in a colour-supporting terminal, negative amounts + with output formats txt, csv, json, and (multi-period reports only:) + html. In txt output in a colour-supporting terminal, negative amounts are shown in red. - The --related/-r flag shows the balance of the other postings in the + The --related/-r flag shows the balance of the other postings in the transactions of the postings which would normally be shown. Simple balance report - With no arguments, balance shows a list of all accounts and their - change of balance - ie, the sum of posting amounts, both inflows and - outflows - during the entire period of the journal. ("Simple" here - means just one column of numbers, covering a single period. You can + With no arguments, balance shows a list of all accounts and their + change of balance - ie, the sum of posting amounts, both inflows and + outflows - during the entire period of the journal. ("Simple" here + means just one column of numbers, covering a single period. You can also have multi-period reports, described later.) - For real-world accounts, these numbers will normally be their end bal- + For real-world accounts, these numbers will normally be their end bal- ance at the end of the journal period; more on this below. - Accounts are sorted by declaration order if any, and then alphabeti- + Accounts are sorted by declaration order if any, and then alphabeti- cally by account name. For instance (using examples/sample.journal): $ hledger -f examples/sample.journal bal @@ -6065,7 +6081,7 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS 0 Accounts with a zero balance (and no non-zero subaccounts, in tree mode - - see below) are hidden by default. Use -E/--empty to show them + - see below) are hidden by default. Use -E/--empty to show them (revealing assets:bank:checking here): $ hledger -f examples/sample.journal bal -E @@ -6080,12 +6096,12 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS -------------------- 0 - The total of the amounts displayed is shown as the last line, unless + The total of the amounts displayed is shown as the last line, unless -N/--no-total is used. Balance report line format For single-period balance reports displayed in the terminal (only), you - can use --format FMT to customise the format and content of each line. + can use --format FMT to customise the format and content of each line. Eg: $ hledger -f examples/sample.journal balance --format "%20(account) %12(total)" @@ -6103,7 +6119,7 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS 0 The FMT format string specifies the formatting applied to each - account/balance pair. It may contain any suitable text, with data + account/balance pair. It may contain any suitable text, with data fields interpolated like so: %[MIN][.MAX](FIELDNAME) @@ -6114,14 +6130,14 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS 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 + 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- + 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) @@ -6130,26 +6146,26 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS o %, - 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 + 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: o %(total) - the account's total - o %-20.20(account) - the account's name, left justified, padded to 20 + 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 + 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 + o %20(total) %2(depth_spacer)%-(account) - the default format for the single-column balance report Filtered balance report - You can show fewer accounts, a different time period, totals from + You can show fewer accounts, a different time period, totals from cleared transactions only, etc. by using query arguments or options to limit the postings being matched. Eg: @@ -6159,10 +6175,10 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS $-2 List or tree mode - By default, or with -l/--flat, accounts are shown as a flat list with + By default, or with -l/--flat, accounts are shown as a flat list with their full names visible, as in the examples above. - With -t/--tree, the account hierarchy is shown, with subaccounts' + With -t/--tree, the account hierarchy is shown, with subaccounts' "leaf" names indented below their parent: $ hledger -f examples/sample.journal balance @@ -6182,26 +6198,26 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS Notes: o "Boring" accounts are combined with their subaccount for more compact - output, unless --no-elide is used. Boring accounts have no balance - of their own and just one subaccount (eg assets:bank and liabilities + output, unless --no-elide is used. Boring accounts have no balance + of their own and just one subaccount (eg assets:bank and liabilities above). - o All balances shown are "inclusive", ie including the balances from - all subaccounts. Note this means some repetition in the output, + o All balances shown are "inclusive", ie including the balances from + all subaccounts. Note this means some repetition in the output, which requires explanation when sharing reports with non-plaintextac- - counting-users. A tree mode report's final total is the sum of the + counting-users. A tree mode report's final total is the sum of the top-level balances shown, not of all the balances shown. - o Each group of sibling accounts (ie, under a common parent) is sorted + o Each group of sibling accounts (ie, under a common parent) is sorted separately. Depth limiting - With a depth:NUM query, or --depth NUM option, or just -NUM (eg: -3) - balance reports will show accounts only to the specified depth, hiding - the deeper subaccounts. This can be useful for getting an overview + With a depth:NUM query, or --depth NUM option, or just -NUM (eg: -3) + balance reports will show accounts only to the specified depth, hiding + the deeper subaccounts. This can be useful for getting an overview without too much detail. - Account balances at the depth limit always include the balances from + Account balances at the depth limit always include the balances from any deeper subaccounts (even in list mode). Eg, limiting to depth 1: $ hledger -f examples/sample.journal balance -1 @@ -6213,7 +6229,7 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS 0 Dropping top-level accounts - You can also hide one or more top-level account name parts, using + You can also hide one or more top-level account name parts, using --drop NUM. This can be useful for hiding repetitive top-level account names: @@ -6225,54 +6241,54 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS Showing declared accounts - With --declared, accounts which have been declared with an account - directive will be included in the balance report, even if they have no + With --declared, accounts which have been declared with an account + directive will be included in the balance report, even if they have no transactions. (Since they will have a zero balance, you will also need -E/--empty to see them.) - More precisely, leaf declared accounts (with no subaccounts) will be + More precisely, leaf declared accounts (with no subaccounts) will be included, since those are usually the more useful in reports. - The idea of this is to be able to see a useful "complete" balance - report, even when you don't have transactions in all of your declared + The idea of this is to be able to see a useful "complete" balance + report, even when you don't have transactions in all of your declared accounts yet. Sorting by amount - With -S/--sort-amount, accounts with the largest (most positive) bal- - ances are shown first. Eg: hledger bal expenses -MAS shows your big- - gest averaged monthly expenses first. When more than one commodity is - present, they will be sorted by the alphabetically earliest commodity - first, and then by subsequent commodities (if an amount is missing a + With -S/--sort-amount, accounts with the largest (most positive) bal- + ances are shown first. Eg: hledger bal expenses -MAS shows your big- + gest averaged monthly expenses first. When more than one commodity is + present, they will be sorted by the alphabetically earliest commodity + first, and then by subsequent commodities (if an amount is missing a commodity, it is treated as 0). - 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 higher-level reports, - which flip the sign automatically. Eg: hledger incomestatement -MAS). + 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 higher-level reports, + which flip the sign automatically. Eg: hledger incomestatement -MAS). Percentages - With -%/--percent, balance reports show each account's value expressed + With -%/--percent, balance reports show each account's value expressed as a percentage of the (column) total. Note it is not useful to calculate percentages if the amounts in a col- - umn have mixed signs. In this case, make a separate report for each + umn have mixed signs. In this case, make a separate report for each sign, eg: $ hledger bal -% amt:`>0` $ hledger bal -% amt:`<0` - Similarly, if the amounts in a column have mixed commodities, convert - them to one commodity with -B, -V, -X or --value, or make a separate + Similarly, if the amounts in a column have mixed commodities, convert + them to one commodity with -B, -V, -X or --value, or make a separate report for each commodity: $ hledger bal -% cur:\\$ $ hledger bal -% cur:EUR Multi-period balance report - With a report interval (set by the -D/--daily, -W/--weekly, - -M/--monthly, -Q/--quarterly, -Y/--yearly, or -p/--period flag), bal- - ance shows a tabular report, with columns representing successive time + With a report interval (set by the -D/--daily, -W/--weekly, + -M/--monthly, -Q/--quarterly, -Y/--yearly, or -p/--period flag), bal- + ance shows a tabular report, with columns representing successive time periods (and a title): $ hledger -f examples/sample.journal bal --quarterly income expenses -E @@ -6293,21 +6309,21 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS encompass the displayed subperiods (so that the first and last subpe- riods have the same duration as the others). - o Leading and trailing periods (columns) containing all zeroes are not + o Leading and trailing periods (columns) containing all zeroes are not shown, unless -E/--empty is used. - o Accounts (rows) containing all zeroes are not shown, unless + o Accounts (rows) containing all zeroes are not shown, unless -E/--empty is used. - o Amounts with many commodities are shown in abbreviated form, unless + o Amounts with many commodities are shown in abbreviated form, unless --no-elide is used. (experimental) - o Average and/or total columns can be added with the -A/--average and + o Average and/or total columns can be added with the -A/--average and -T/--row-total flags. o The --transpose flag can be used to exchange rows and columns. - o The --pivot FIELD option causes a different transaction field to be + o The --pivot FIELD option causes a different transaction field to be used as "account name". See PIVOTING. Multi-period reports with many periods can be too wide for easy viewing @@ -6321,57 +6337,57 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS o Reduce the terminal's font size - o View with a pager like less, eg: hledger bal -D --color=yes | less + o View with a pager like less, eg: hledger bal -D --color=yes | less -RS - o Output as CSV and use a CSV viewer like visidata (hledger bal -D -O - csv | vd -f csv), Emacs' csv-mode (M-x csv-mode, C-c C-a), or a + o Output as CSV and use a CSV viewer like visidata (hledger bal -D -O + csv | vd -f csv), Emacs' csv-mode (M-x csv-mode, C-c C-a), or a spreadsheet (hledger bal -D -o a.csv && open a.csv) - o Output as HTML and view with a browser: hledger bal -D -o a.html && + o Output as HTML and view with a browser: hledger bal -D -o a.html && open a.html Balance change, end balance - It's important to be clear on the meaning of the numbers shown in bal- + It's important to be clear on the meaning of the numbers shown in bal- ance reports. Here is some terminology we use: - A balance change is the net amount added to, or removed from, an + A balance change is the net amount added to, or removed from, an account during some period. - An end balance is the amount accumulated in an account as of some date - (and some time, but hledger doesn't store that; assume end of day in + An end balance is the amount accumulated in an account as of some date + (and some time, but hledger doesn't store that; assume end of day in your timezone). It is the sum of previous balance changes. - We call it a historical end balance if it includes all balance changes + We call it a historical end balance if it includes all balance changes since the account was created. For a real world account, this means it - will match the "historical record", eg the balances reported in your + will match the "historical record", eg the balances reported in your bank statements or bank web UI. (If they are correct!) - In general, balance changes are what you want to see when reviewing + In general, balance changes are what you want to see when reviewing revenues and expenses, and historical end balances are what you want to see when reviewing or reconciling asset, liability and equity accounts. - balance shows balance changes by default. To see accurate historical + balance shows balance changes by default. To see accurate historical end balances: - 1. Initialise account starting balances with an "opening balances" - transaction (a transfer from equity to the account), unless the + 1. Initialise account starting balances with an "opening balances" + transaction (a transfer from equity to the account), unless the journal covers the account's full lifetime. 2. Include all of of the account's prior postings in the report, by not - specifying a report start date, or by using the -H/--historical + specifying a report start date, or by using the -H/--historical flag. (-H causes report start date to be ignored when summing post- ings.) Balance report types - The balance command is quite flexible; here is the full detail on how - to control what it reports. If the following seems complicated, don't + The balance command is quite flexible; here is the full detail on how + to control what it reports. If the following seems complicated, don't worry - this is for advanced reporting, and it does typically take some time and experimentation to get clear on all these report modes. There are three important option groups: - hledger balance [CALCULATIONTYPE] [ACCUMULATIONTYPE] [VALUATIONTYPE] + hledger balance [CALCULATIONTYPE] [ACCUMULATIONTYPE] [VALUATIONTYPE] ... Calculation type @@ -6383,44 +6399,44 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS each account/period) o --valuechange : show the change in period-end historical balance val- - ues (caused by deposits, withdrawals, and/or market price fluctua- + ues (caused by deposits, withdrawals, and/or market price fluctua- tions) - o --gain : show the unrealised capital gain/loss, (the current valued + o --gain : show the unrealised capital gain/loss, (the current valued balance minus each amount's original cost) Accumulation type - How amounts should accumulate across report periods. Another way to - say it: which time period's postings should contribute to each cell's + How amounts should accumulate across report periods. Another way to + say it: which time period's postings should contribute to each cell's calculation. It is one of: - o --change : calculate with postings from column start to column end, - ie "just this column". Typically used to see revenues/expenses. + o --change : calculate with postings from column start to column end, + ie "just this column". Typically used to see revenues/expenses. (default for balance, incomestatement) - o --cumulative : calculate with postings from report start to column - end, ie "previous columns plus this column". Typically used to show + o --cumulative : calculate with postings from report start to column + end, ie "previous columns plus this column". Typically used to show changes accumulated since the report's start date. Not often used. - o --historical/-H : calculate with postings from journal start to col- - umn end, ie "all postings from before report start date until this - column's end". Typically used to see historical end balances of + o --historical/-H : calculate with postings from journal start to col- + umn end, ie "all postings from before report start date until this + column's end". Typically used to see historical end balances of assets/liabilities/equity. (default for balancesheet, balancesheete- quity, cashflow) Valuation type - Which kind of value or cost conversion should be applied, if any, + Which kind of value or cost conversion should be applied, if any, before displaying the report. It is one of: o no valuation type : don't convert to cost or value (default) - o --value=cost[,COMM] : convert amounts to cost (then optionally to + o --value=cost[,COMM] : convert amounts to cost (then optionally to some other commodity) - o --value=then[,COMM] : convert amounts to market value on transaction + o --value=then[,COMM] : convert amounts to market value on transaction dates - o --value=end[,COMM] : convert amounts to market value on period end + o --value=end[,COMM] : convert amounts to market value on period end date(s) (default with --valuechange, --gain) @@ -6431,7 +6447,7 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS or one of the equivalent simpler flags: - o -B/--cost : like --value=cost (though, note --cost and --value are + o -B/--cost : like --value=cost (though, note --cost and --value are independent options which can both be used at once) o -V/--market : like --value=end @@ -6441,13 +6457,13 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS See Cost reporting and Valuation for more about these. Combining balance report types - Most combinations of these options should produce reasonable reports, - but if you find any that seem wrong or misleading, let us know. The + Most combinations of these options should produce reasonable reports, + but if you find any that seem wrong or misleading, let us know. The following restrictions are applied: o --valuechange implies --value=end - o --valuechange makes --change the default when used with the bal- + o --valuechange makes --change the default when used with the bal- ancesheet/balancesheetequity commands o --cumulative or --historical disables --row-total/-T @@ -6462,26 +6478,26 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS lation:v ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --change change in period sum of posting- period-end DATE-value of - date market val- value of change change in + date market val- value of change change in ues in period in period period --cumu- change from sum of posting- period-end DATE-value of - lative report start to date market val- value of change change from + lative report start to date market val- value of change change from period end ues from report from report report start start to period start to period to period end end end --his- change from sum of posting- period-end DATE-value of - torical journal start to date market val- value of change change from - /-H period end (his- ues from journal from journal journal start + torical journal start to date market val- value of change change from + /-H period end (his- ues from journal from journal journal start torical end bal- start to period start to period to period end ance) end end Budget report - The --budget report type activates extra columns showing any budget - goals for each account and period. The budget goals are defined by + The --budget report type activates extra columns showing any budget + goals for each account and period. The budget goals are defined by periodic transactions. This is useful for comparing planned and actual income, expenses, time usage, etc. - For example, you can take average monthly expenses in the common + For example, you can take average monthly expenses in the common expense categories to construct a minimal monthly budget: ;; Budget @@ -6528,26 +6544,26 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS This is different from a normal balance report in several ways: - o Only accounts with budget goals during the report period are shown, + 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- + 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 list mode. Eg assets, + o All parent accounts are always shown, even in list mode. Eg assets, assets:bank, and expenses above. - o Amounts always include all subaccounts, budgeted or unbudgeted, even + o Amounts always include all subaccounts, budgeted or unbudgeted, even in list mode. - This means that the numbers displayed will not always add up! Eg - above, the expenses actual amount includes the gifts and supplies + 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 + 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 @@ -6594,19 +6610,19 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS hledger bal -M --budget type:rx - It's also common to limit or convert them to a single currency - (cur:COMM or -X COMM [--infer-market-prices]). If showing multiple + It's also common to limit or convert them to a single currency + (cur:COMM or -X COMM [--infer-market-prices]). If showing multiple currencies, --layout bare or --layout tall can help. 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 + 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 + 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 @@ -6625,9 +6641,9 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS --------------++------------ || $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 + 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 @@ -6640,12 +6656,12 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS || $400 [80% of $500] Budgets and subaccounts - You can add budgets to any account in your account hierarchy. If you + 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 + 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 + 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: @@ -6655,13 +6671,13 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS 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 + 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 transac- - tions in any other subaccount of expenses:personal would be counted + Transactions in expenses:personal:electronics will be counted both + towards its $100 budget and $1100 of expenses:personal , and transac- + tions 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: @@ -6687,9 +6703,9 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS 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- + 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: @@ -6705,7 +6721,7 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS -------------------------------++------------------------------- || 0 [ 0] - And with --empty, we can get a better picture of budget allocation and + And with --empty, we can get a better picture of budget allocation and consumption: $ hledger balance --budget -M --empty @@ -6724,65 +6740,65 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS Selecting budget goals The budget report evaluates periodic transaction rules to generate spe- - cial "goal transactions", which generate the goal amounts for each - account in each report subperiod. When troubleshooting, you can use + cial "goal transactions", which generate the goal amounts for each + account in each report subperiod. When troubleshooting, you can use print --forecast to show these as forecasted transactions: $ hledger print --forecast=BUDGETREPORTPERIOD tag:generated - By default, the budget report uses all available periodic transaction - rules to generate goals. This includes rules with a different report - interval from your report. Eg if you have daily, weekly and monthly - periodic rules, all of these will contribute to the goals in a monthly + By default, the budget report uses all available periodic transaction + rules to generate goals. This includes rules with a different report + interval from your report. Eg if you have daily, weekly and monthly + periodic rules, all of these will contribute to the goals in a monthly budget report. - You can select a subset of periodic rules by providing an argument to - the --budget flag. --budget=DESCPAT will match all periodic rules + You can select a subset of periodic rules by providing an argument to + the --budget flag. --budget=DESCPAT will match all periodic rules whose description contains DESCPAT, a case-insensitive substring (not a - regular expression or query). This means you can give your periodic - rules descriptions (remember that two spaces are needed), and then + regular expression or query). This means you can give your periodic + rules descriptions (remember that two spaces are needed), and then select from multiple budgets defined in your journal. Budget vs forecast - hledger --forecast ... and hledger balance --budget ... are separate - features, though both of them use the periodic transaction rules - defined in the journal, and both of them generate temporary transac- - tions for reporting purposes ("forecast transactions" and "budget goal - transactions", respectively). You can use both features at the same - time if you want. Here are some differences between them, as of + hledger --forecast ... and hledger balance --budget ... are separate + features, though both of them use the periodic transaction rules + defined in the journal, and both of them generate temporary transac- + tions for reporting purposes ("forecast transactions" and "budget goal + transactions", respectively). You can use both features at the same + time if you want. Here are some differences between them, as of hledger 1.29: CLI: o --forecast is a general hledger option, usable with any command - o --budget is a balance command option, usable only with that command. + o --budget is a balance command option, usable only with that command. Visibility of generated transactions: o forecast transactions are visible in any report, like ordinary trans- actions - o budget goal transactions are invisible except for the goal amounts + o budget goal transactions are invisible except for the goal amounts they produce in --budget reports. Periodic transaction rules: o --forecast uses all available periodic transaction rules - o --budget uses all periodic rules (--budget) or a selected subset + o --budget uses all periodic rules (--budget) or a selected subset (--budget=DESCPAT) Period of generated transactions: o --forecast generates forecast transactions - o from after the last regular transaction to the end of the report + o from after the last regular transaction to the end of the report period (--forecast) o or, during a specified period (--forecast=PERIODEXPR) - o possibly further restricted by a period specified in the periodic + o possibly further restricted by a period specified in the periodic transaction rule o and always restricted within the bounds of the report period @@ -6791,12 +6807,12 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS o throughout the report period - o possibly restricted by a period specified in the periodic transac- + o possibly restricted by a period specified in the periodic transac- tion rule. Data layout - The --layout option affects how balance reports show multi-commodity - amounts and commodity symbols, which can improve readability. It can + The --layout option affects how balance reports show multi-commodity + amounts and commodity symbols, which can improve readability. It can also normalise the data for easy consumption by other programs. It has four possible values: @@ -6808,10 +6824,10 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS o --layout=bare: commodity symbols are in their own column, amounts are bare numbers - o --layout=tidy: data is normalised to easily-consumed "tidy" form, + o --layout=tidy: data is normalised to easily-consumed "tidy" form, with one row per data value - Here are the --layout modes supported by each output format; note only + Here are the --layout modes supported by each output format; note only CSV output supports all of them: @@ -6835,7 +6851,7 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS ------------------++-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- || 10.00 ITOT, 337.18 USD, 12.00 VEA, 106.00 VHT 70.00 GLD, 18.00 ITOT, -98.12 USD, 10.00 VEA, 18.00 VHT -11.00 ITOT, 4881.44 USD, 14.00 VEA, 170.00 VHT 70.00 GLD, 17.00 ITOT, 5120.50 USD, 36.00 VEA, 294.00 VHT - o Limited wide layout. A width limit reduces the width, but some com- + o Limited wide layout. A width limit reduces the width, but some com- modities will be hidden: $ hledger -f examples/bcexample.hledger bal assets:us:etrade -3 -T -Y --layout=wide,32 @@ -6847,7 +6863,7 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS ------------------++--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- || 10.00 ITOT, 337.18 USD, 2 more.. 70.00 GLD, 18.00 ITOT, 3 more.. -11.00 ITOT, 3 more.. 70.00 GLD, 17.00 ITOT, 3 more.. - o Tall layout. Each commodity gets a new line (may be different in + o Tall layout. Each commodity gets a new line (may be different in each column), and account names are repeated: $ hledger -f examples/bcexample.hledger bal assets:us:etrade -3 -T -Y --layout=tall @@ -6867,7 +6883,7 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS || 106.00 VHT 10.00 VEA 170.00 VHT 36.00 VEA || 18.00 VHT 294.00 VHT - o Bare layout. Commodity symbols are kept in one column, each commod- + o Bare layout. Commodity symbols are kept in one column, each commod- ity gets its own report row, account names are repeated: $ hledger -f examples/bcexample.hledger bal assets:us:etrade -3 -T -Y --layout=bare @@ -6887,7 +6903,7 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS || VEA 12.00 10.00 14.00 36.00 || VHT 106.00 18.00 170.00 294.00 - o Bare layout also affects CSV output, which is useful for producing + o Bare layout also affects CSV output, which is useful for producing data that is easier to consume, eg for making charts: $ hledger -f examples/bcexample.hledger bal assets:us:etrade -3 -O csv --layout=bare @@ -6904,7 +6920,7 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS "total","VHT","294.00" o Tidy layout produces normalised "tidy data", where every variable has - its own column and each row represents a single data point. See + its own column and each row represents a single data point. See https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/tidyr/vignettes/tidy- data.html for more. This is the easiest kind of data for other soft- ware to consume. Here's how it looks: @@ -6931,25 +6947,25 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS Some frequently used balance options/reports are: o bal -M revenues expenses - Show revenues/expenses in each month. Also available as the incomes- + Show revenues/expenses in each month. Also available as the incomes- tatement command. o bal -M -H assets liabilities - Show historical asset/liability balances at each month end. Also + Show historical asset/liability balances at each month end. Also available as the balancesheet command. o bal -M -H assets liabilities equity - Show historical asset/liability/equity balances at each month end. + Show historical asset/liability/equity balances at each month end. Also available as the balancesheetequity command. o bal -M assets not:receivable - Show changes to liquid assets in each month. Also available as the + Show changes to liquid assets in each month. Also available as the cashflow command. Also: o bal -M expenses -2 -SA - Show monthly expenses summarised to depth 2 and sorted by average + Show monthly expenses summarised to depth 2 and sorted by average amount. o bal -M --budget expenses @@ -6965,14 +6981,14 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS balancesheet (bs) - This command displays a balance sheet, showing historical ending bal- + 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 + balancesheetequity command.) Amounts are shown with normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. - This report shows accounts declared with the Asset, Cash or Liability - type (see account types). Or if no such accounts are declared, it - shows top-level accounts named asset or liability (case insensitive, + This report shows accounts declared with the Asset, Cash or Liability + type (see account types). Or if no such accounts are declared, it + shows top-level accounts named asset or liability (case insensitive, plurals allowed) and their subaccounts. Example: @@ -6997,25 +7013,25 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS 0 This command is a higher-level variant of the balance command, and sup- - ports many of that command's features, such as multi-period reports. - It is similar to hledger balance -H assets liabilities, but with - smarter account detection, and liabilities displayed with their sign + ports many of that command's features, such as multi-period reports. + It is similar to hledger balance -H assets liabilities, but with + smarter account detection, and liabilities displayed with their sign flipped. - This command also supports the output destination and output format - options The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experi- + This command also supports the output destination and output format + options The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experi- mental) json. balancesheetequity (bse) - This command displays a balance sheet, showing historical ending bal- - ances of asset, liability and equity accounts. Amounts are shown with + 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. - This report shows accounts declared with the Asset, Cash, Liability or - Equity type (see account types). Or if no such accounts are declared, - it shows top-level accounts named asset, liability or equity (case + This report shows accounts declared with the Asset, Cash, Liability or + Equity type (see account types). Or if no such accounts are declared, + it shows top-level accounts named asset, liability or equity (case insensitive, plurals allowed) and their subaccounts. Example: @@ -7045,32 +7061,32 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS 0 This command is a higher-level variant of the balance command, and sup- - ports many of that command's features, such as multi-period reports. + ports many of that command's features, such as multi-period reports. It is similar to hledger balance -H assets liabilities equity, but with - smarter account detection, and liabilities/equity displayed with their + smarter account detection, and liabilities/equity displayed with their sign flipped. - This command also supports the output destination and output format - options The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experi- + This command also supports the output destination and output format + options The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experi- mental) json. cashflow (cf) - This command displays a cashflow statement, showing the inflows and - outflows affecting "cash" (ie, liquid, easily convertible) assets. - Amounts are shown with normal positive sign, as in conventional finan- + This command displays a cashflow statement, showing the inflows and + outflows affecting "cash" (ie, liquid, easily convertible) assets. + Amounts are shown with normal positive sign, as in conventional finan- cial statements. - This report shows accounts declared with the Cash type (see account + This report shows accounts declared with the Cash type (see account types). Or if no such accounts are declared, it shows accounts - o under a top-level account named asset (case insensitive, plural + o under a top-level account named asset (case insensitive, plural allowed) o whose name contains some variation of cash, bank, checking or saving. - More precisely: all accounts matching this case insensitive regular + More precisely: all accounts matching this case insensitive regular expression: ^assets?(:.+)?:(cash|bank|che(ck|que?)(ing)?|savings?|currentcash)(:|$) @@ -7094,21 +7110,21 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS $-1 This command is a higher-level variant of the balance command, and sup- - ports many of that command's features, such as multi-period reports. - It is similar to hledger balance assets not:fixed not:investment + ports many of that command's features, such as multi-period reports. + It is similar to hledger balance assets not:fixed not:investment not:receivable, but with smarter account detection. - This command also supports the output destination and output format - options The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experi- + This command also supports the output destination and output format + options The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experi- mental) json. check Check for various kinds of errors in your data. - 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. Specify their names (or a prefix) as + 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. Specify their names (or a prefix) as argument(s). Some examples: @@ -7117,7 +7133,7 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS hledger check -s # basic + strict checks hledger check ordereddates payees # basic + two other checks - If you are an Emacs user, you can also configure flycheck-hledger to + If you are an Emacs user, you can also configure flycheck-hledger to run these checks, providing instant feedback as you edit the journal. Here are the checks currently available: @@ -7129,34 +7145,34 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS o parseable - data files are well-formed and can be successfully parsed o balancedwithautoconversion - all transactions are balanced, inferring - missing amounts where necessary, and possibly converting commodities + missing amounts where necessary, and possibly converting commodities using costs or automatically-inferred costs - o assertions - all balance assertions in the journal are passing. + o assertions - all balance assertions in the journal are passing. (This check can be disabled with -I/--ignore-assertions.) Strict checks These additional checks are run when the -s/--strict (strict mode) flag - is used. Or, they can be run by giving their names as arguments to + is used. Or, they can be run by giving their names as arguments to check: o accounts - all account names used by transactions have been declared o commodities - all commodity symbols used have been declared - o balancednoautoconversion - transactions are balanced, possibly using + o balancednoautoconversion - transactions are balanced, possibly using explicit costs but not inferred ones Other checks - These checks can be run only by giving their names as arguments to - check. They are more specialised and not desirable for everyone, + These checks can be run only by giving their names as arguments to + check. They are more specialised and not desirable for everyone, therefore optional: o ordereddates - transactions are ordered by date within each file o payees - all payees used by transactions have been declared - o recentassertions - all accounts with balance assertions have a bal- + o recentassertions - all accounts with balance assertions have a bal- ance assertion no more than 7 days before their latest posting o tags - all tags used by transactions have been declared @@ -7164,85 +7180,103 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS o uniqueleafnames - all account leaf names are unique Custom checks - A few more checks are are available as separate add-on commands, in + A few more checks are are available as separate add-on commands, in https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/tree/master/bin: - o hledger-check-tagfiles - all tag values containing / (a forward + o hledger-check-tagfiles - all tag values containing / (a forward slash) exist as file paths - o hledger-check-fancyassertions - more complex balance assertions are + o hledger-check-fancyassertions - more complex balance assertions are passing You could make similar scripts to perform your own custom checks. See: Cookbook -> Scripting. More about specific checks - hledger check recentassertions will complain if any balance-asserted + hledger check recentassertions will complain if any balance-asserted account does not have a balance assertion within 7 days before its lat- - est posting. This aims to prevent the situation where you are regu- - larly updating your journal, but forgetting to check your balances - against the real world, then one day must dig back through months of - data to find an error. It assumes that adding a balance assertion - requires/reminds you to check the real-world balance. That may not be - true if you auto-generate balance assertions from bank data; in that - case, I recommend to import transactions uncleared, then use the man- - ual-review-and-mark-cleared phase as a reminder to check the latest + est posting. This aims to prevent the situation where you are regu- + larly updating your journal, but forgetting to check your balances + against the real world, then one day must dig back through months of + data to find an error. It assumes that adding a balance assertion + requires/reminds you to check the real-world balance. That may not be + true if you auto-generate balance assertions from bank data; in that + case, I recommend to import transactions uncleared, then use the man- + ual-review-and-mark-cleared phase as a reminder to check the latest assertions against real-world balances. close - close [--retain | --migrate | --open] [QUERY] + (equity) - By default: prints a transaction that zeroes out ("closes") all - accounts, transferring their balances to an equity account. Query - arguments can be added to override the accounts selection. Three other - modes are supported: + Generate transactions which transfer account balances to and/or from + another account (typically equity). This can be useful for migrating + balances to a new journal file, or for merging earnings into equity at + end of accounting period. - --retain: prints a transaction closing revenue and expense balances. - This is traditionally done by businesses at the end of each accounting - period; it is less necessary in personal and computer-based accounting, - but it can help balance the accounting equation A=L+E. + By default, it prints a transaction that zeroes out ALE accounts + (asset, liability, equity accounts; this requires account types to be + configured); or if ACCTQUERY is provided, the accounts matched by that. - --migrate: prints a transaction to close asset, liability and most - equity balances, and another transaction to re-open them. This can be - useful when starting a new file (for performance or data protection). - Adding the closing transaction to the old file allows old and new files - to be combined. + (experimental) - --open: as above, but prints just the opening transaction. This can be - useful for starting a new file, leaving the old file unchanged. Simi- - lar to Ledger's equity command. + This command has four main modes, corresponding to the most common use + cases: - You can change the equity account name with --close-acct ACCT. It - defaults to equity:retained earnings with --retain, or equity:open- - ing/closing balances otherwise. + 1. With --close (default), it prints a "closing balances" transaction + that zeroes out ALE (asset, liability, equity) accounts by default + (this requires account types to be inferred or declared); or, the + accounts matched by the provided ACCTQUERY arguments. - You can change the transaction description(s) with --close-desc 'DESC' - and --open-desc 'DESC'. It defaults to retain earnings with --retain, - or closing balances and opening balances otherwise. + 2. With --open, it prints an opposite "opening balances" transaction + that restores those balances from zero. This is similar to Ledger's + equity command. - Just one posting to the equity account will be used by default, with an - implicit amount. + 3. With --migrate, it prints both the closing and opening transactions. + This is the preferred way to migrate balances to a new file: run + hledger close --migrate, add the closing transaction at the end of + the old file, and add the opening transaction at the start of the + new file. The matching closing/opening transactions cancel each + other out, preserving correct balances during multi-file reporting. - With --x/--explicit the amount will be shown explicitly, and if it - involves multiple commodities, a separate posting will be generated for - each commodity. + 4. With --retain, it prints a "retain earnings" transaction that trans- + fers RX (revenue and expense) balances to equity:retained earnings. + Businesses traditionally do this at the end of each accounting + period; it is less necessary with computer-based accounting, but it + could still be useful if you want to see the accounting equation + (A=L+E) satisfied. - With --interleaved, each equity posting is shown next to the corre- - sponding source/destination posting. + In all modes, the defaults can be overridden: - The default closing date is yesterday, or the journal's end date, - whichever is later. You can change this by specifying a report end - date; (The report start date does not matter.) The last day of the - report period will be the closing date; eg -e 2022 means "close on - 2022-12-31". The opening date is always the day after the closing + o the transaction descriptions can be changed with --close-desc=DESC + and --open-desc=DESC + + o the account to transfer to/from can be changed with --close-acct=ACCT + and --open-acct=ACCT + + o the accounts to be closed/opened can be changed with ACCTQUERY + (account query arguments). + + By default just one destination/source posting will be used, with its + amount left implicit. With --x/--explicit, the amount will be shown + explicitly, and if it involves multiple commodities, a separate posting + will be generated for each of them (similar to print -x). + + With --show-costs, any amount costs are shown, with separate postings + for each cost. This is currently the best way to view investment lots. + If you have many currency conversion or investment transactions, it can + generate very large journal entries. + + With --interleaved, each individual transfer is shown with source and + destination postings next to each other. This could be useful for + troubleshooting. + + The default closing date is yesterday, or the journal's end date, + whichever is later. You can change this by specifying a report end + date; (The report start date does not matter.) The last day of the + report period will be the closing date; eg -e 2022 means "close on + 2022-12-31". The opening date is always the day after the closing date. - close and costs - With --show-costs, any amount costs are shown, with separate postings - for each cost. (This currently the best way to view investment assets, - showing lots and cost bases.) If you have many currency conversion or - investment transactions, it can generate very large journal entries. - close and balance assertions Balance assertions will be generated, verifying that the accounts have been reset to zero (and then restored to their previous balances, if @@ -7282,34 +7316,37 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS $ hledger close --retain -f 2022.journal -p 2022 >> 2022.journal - Now 2022's income statement will show only zeroes. To see it again, - exclude the retain transaction. Eg: + Note 2022's income statement will now show only zeroes, because rev- + enues and expenses have been moved entirely to equity. To see them + again, you could exclude the retain transaction: $ hledger -f 2022.journal is not:desc:'retain earnings' Example: migrate balances to a new file - Close assets/liabilities/equity on 2022-12-31 and re-open them on + Close assets/liabilities/equity on 2022-12-31 and re-open them on 2023-01-01: $ hledger close --migrate -f 2022.journal -p 2022 # copy/paste the closing transaction to the end of 2022.journal # copy/paste the opening transaction to the start of 2023.journal - Now 2022's balance sheet will show only zeroes, indicating a balanced - accounting equation. (Unless you are using @/@@ notation - in that - case, try adding --infer-equity.) To see it again, exclude the closing - transaction. Eg: + Now 2022's balance sheet will show only zeroes, indicating a balanced + accounting equation. (Unless you are using @/@@ notation - in that + case, try adding --infer-equity.) To see the end-of-year balances + again, you could exclude the closing transaction: $ hledger -f 2022.journal bs not:desc:'closing balances' Example: excluding closing/opening transactions - When combining many files for multi-year reports, the closing/opening - transactions cause some noise in reports like print and register. You - can exclude them as shown above, but not:desc:... could be fragile, and - also you will need to avoid excluding the very first opening transac- - tion, which can be awkward. Here is a way to do it, using tags: add - clopen: tags to all opening/closing balances transactions except the - first, like this: + When combining many files for multi-year reports, the closing/opening + transactions cause some noise in transaction-oriented reports like + print and register. You can exclude them as shown above, but + not:desc:... is not ideal as it depends on consistent descriptions; + also you will want to avoid excluding the very first opening transac- + tion, which could be awkward. Here is one alternative, using tags: + + Add clopen: tags to all opening/closing balances transactions except + the first, like this: ; 2021.journal 2021-06-01 first opening balances @@ -7334,7 +7371,7 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS include 2022.journal include 2023.journal - The clopen: tag can exclude all but the first opening transaction. To + The clopen: tag can exclude all but the first opening transaction. To show a clean multi-year checking register: $ hledger -f all.journal areg checking not:tag:clopen @@ -7347,13 +7384,13 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS 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 + 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 + 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. @@ -7393,16 +7430,16 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS demo Play demos of hledger usage in the terminal, if asciinema is installed. - Run this command with no argument to list the demos. To play a demo, + Run this command with no argument to list the demos. To play a demo, write its number or a prefix or substring of its title. Tips: Make your terminal window large enough to see the demo clearly. - During playback, several keys are available: SPACE to pause/unpause, . + During playback, several keys are available: SPACE to pause/unpause, . to step forward (while paused), CTRL-c quit. asciinema options can be added following a double dash, such as -s N to - adjust speed and -i SECS to limit pauses. Run asciinema -h to list + adjust speed and -i SECS to limit pauses. Run asciinema -h to list these options. Examples: @@ -7416,7 +7453,7 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS 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- + in alphabetic order. You can add a query to select a subset of trans- actions. Example: @@ -7427,18 +7464,18 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS Person A diff - Compares a particular account's transactions in two input files. It + 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.) + 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 + 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. @@ -7455,22 +7492,22 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS These transactions are in the second file only: files - List all files included in the journal. With a REGEX argument, only - file names matching the regular expression (case sensitive) are shown. + List all files included in the journal. With a REGEX argument, only + file names matching the regular expression (case sensitive) are shown. help - Show the hledger user manual in the terminal, with info, man, or a - pager. With a TOPIC argument, open it at that topic if possible. - TOPIC can be any heading in the manual, or a heading prefix, case - insensitive. Eg: commands, print, forecast, journal, amount, "auto + Show the hledger user manual in the terminal, with info, man, or a + pager. With a TOPIC argument, open it at that topic if possible. + TOPIC can be any heading in the manual, or a heading prefix, case + insensitive. Eg: commands, print, forecast, journal, amount, "auto postings". This command shows the hledger manual built in to your hledger version. It can be useful when offline, or when you prefer the terminal to a web - browser, or when the appropriate hledger manual or viewing tools are + browser, or when the appropriate hledger manual or viewing tools are not installed on your system. - By default it chooses the best viewer found in $PATH (preferring info + By default it chooses the best viewer found in $PATH (preferring info since the hledger manual is large). You can select a particular viewer with the -i, -m, or -p flags. @@ -7481,71 +7518,71 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS $ hledger help journal # show the journal topic in the hledger manual import - Read new transactions added to each FILE since last run, and add them - to the journal. Or with --dry-run, just print the transactions that - would be added. Or with --catchup, just mark all of the FILEs' trans- + Read new transactions added to each FILE since last run, and add them + to the journal. Or with --dry-run, just print the transactions that + would be added. Or with --catchup, just mark all of the FILEs' trans- actions as imported, without actually importing any. - This command may append new transactions to the main journal file - (which should be in journal format). Existing transactions are not - changed. This is one of the few hledger commands that writes to the + This command may append new transactions to the main journal file + (which should be in journal format). Existing transactions are not + changed. This is one of the few hledger commands that writes to the journal file (see also add). - Unlike other hledger commands, with import the journal file is an out- + Unlike other hledger commands, with import the journal file is an out- put file, and will be modified, though only by appending (existing data - will not be changed). The input files are specified as arguments, so - to import one or more CSV files to your main journal, you will run + will not be changed). The input files are specified as arguments, so + to import one or more CSV files to your main journal, you will run hledger import bank.csv or perhaps hledger import *.csv. Note you can import from any file format, though CSV files are the most common import source, and these docs focus on that case. Deduplication - As a convenience import does deduplication while reading transactions. + As a convenience import does deduplication while reading transactions. This does not mean "ignore transactions that look the same", but rather "ignore transactions that have been seen before". This is intended for - when you are periodically importing foreign data which may contain - already-imported transactions. So eg, if every day you download bank - CSV files containing redundant data, you can safely run hledger import - bank.csv and only new transactions will be imported. (import is idem- + when you are periodically importing foreign data which may contain + already-imported transactions. So eg, if every day you download bank + CSV files containing redundant data, you can safely run hledger import + bank.csv and only new transactions will be imported. (import is idem- potent.) - Since the items being read (CSV records, eg) often do not come with - unique identifiers, hledger detects new transactions by date, assuming + Since the items being read (CSV records, eg) often do not come with + unique identifiers, hledger detects new transactions by date, assuming that: 1. new items always have the newest dates 2. item dates do not change across reads - 3. and items with the same date remain in the same relative order + 3. and items with the same date remain in the same relative order across reads. - These are often true of CSV files representing transactions, or true - enough so that it works pretty well in practice. 1 is important, but + These are often true of CSV files representing transactions, or true + enough so that it works pretty well in practice. 1 is important, but violations of 2 and 3 amongst the old transactions won't matter (and if - you import often, the new transactions will be few, so less likely to + you import often, the new transactions will be few, so less likely to be the ones affected). - hledger remembers the latest date processed in each input file by sav- + hledger remembers the latest date processed in each input file by sav- ing a hidden ".latest" state file in the same directory. Eg when read- - ing finance/bank.csv, it will look for and update the finance/.lat- - est.bank.csv state file. The format is simple: one or more lines con- - taining the same ISO-format date (YYYY-MM-DD), meaning "I have pro- - cessed transactions up to this date, and this many of them on that + ing finance/bank.csv, it will look for and update the finance/.lat- + est.bank.csv state file. The format is simple: one or more lines con- + taining the same ISO-format date (YYYY-MM-DD), meaning "I have pro- + cessed transactions up to this date, and this many of them on that date." Normally you won't see or manipulate these state files yourself. - But if needed, you can delete them to reset the state (making all - transactions "new"), or you can construct them to "catch up" to a cer- + But if needed, you can delete them to reset the state (making all + transactions "new"), or you can construct them to "catch up" to a cer- tain date. - Note deduplication (and updating of state files) can also be done by + Note deduplication (and updating of state files) can also be done by print --new, but this is less often used. Import testing - With --dry-run, the transactions that will be imported are printed to + With --dry-run, the transactions that will be imported are printed to the terminal, without updating your journal or state files. The output - is valid journal format, like the print command, so you can re-parse - it. Eg, to see any importable transactions which CSV rules have not + is valid journal format, like the print command, so you can re-parse + it. Eg, to see any importable transactions which CSV rules have not categorised: $ hledger import --dry bank.csv | hledger -f- -I print unknown @@ -7561,17 +7598,17 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS do a --dry-run first and fix any problems before the real import. 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 + 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 + 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, + (If you think import should leave amounts implicit like print does, please test it and send a pull request.) Commodity display styles @@ -7582,12 +7619,12 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS (is) This command displays an income statement, showing revenues and - expenses during one or more periods. Amounts are shown with normal + expenses during one or more periods. Amounts are shown with normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. - This report shows accounts declared with the Revenue or Expense type - (see account types). Or if no such accounts are declared, it shows - top-level accounts named revenue or income or expense (case insensi- + This report shows accounts declared with the Revenue or Expense type + (see account types). Or if no such accounts are declared, it shows + top-level accounts named revenue or income or expense (case insensi- tive, plurals allowed) and their subaccounts. Example: @@ -7614,21 +7651,21 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS 0 This command is a higher-level variant of the balance command, and sup- - ports many of that command's features, such as multi-period reports. + ports many of that command's features, such as multi-period reports. It is similar to hledger balance '(revenues|income)' expenses, but with - smarter account detection, and revenues/income displayed with their + smarter account detection, and revenues/income displayed with their sign flipped. - This command also supports the output destination and output format - options The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experi- + This command also supports the output destination and output format + options The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experi- mental) json. 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 transac- - tions. The note is the part of the transaction description after a | + This command lists the unique notes that appear in transactions, in + alphabetic 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: @@ -7640,14 +7677,14 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS payees List the unique payee/payer names that appear in transactions. - This command lists unique payee/payer names which have been declared - with payee directives (--declared), used in transaction descriptions + This command lists unique payee/payer names which have been declared + with payee directives (--declared), used in transaction descriptions (--used), or both (the default). - The payee/payer is the part of the transaction description before a | + The payee/payer is the part of the transaction description before a | character (or if there is no |, the whole description). - You can add query arguments to select a subset of transactions. This + You can add query arguments to select a subset of transactions. This implies --used. Example: @@ -7658,10 +7695,10 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS Person A prices - Print market price directives from the journal. With --infer-market- - prices, generate additional market prices from costs. With --infer- - reverse-prices, also generate market prices by inverting known prices. - Prices can be filtered by a query. Price amounts are displayed with + Print market price directives from the journal. With --infer-market- + prices, generate additional market prices from costs. With --infer- + reverse-prices, also generate market prices by inverting known prices. + Prices can be filtered by a query. Price amounts are displayed with their full precision. print @@ -7670,17 +7707,17 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS The print command displays full journal entries (transactions) from the journal file, sorted by date (or with --date2, by secondary date). - Amounts are shown mostly normalised to commodity display style, eg the - placement of commodity symbols will be consistent. All of their deci- + Amounts are shown mostly normalised to commodity display style, eg the + placement of commodity symbols will be consistent. All of their deci- mal places are shown, as in the original journal entry (with one alter- ation: in some cases trailing zeroes are added.) Amounts are shown right-aligned within each transaction (but not across all transactions). - Directives and inter-transaction comments are not shown, currently. + Directives and inter-transaction comments are not shown, currently. This means the print command is somewhat lossy, and if you are using it - to reformat your journal you should take care to also copy over the + to reformat your journal you should take care to also copy over the directives and file-level comments. Eg: @@ -7707,7 +7744,7 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS liabilities:debts $1 assets:bank:checking $-1 - print's output is usually a valid hledger journal, and you can process + print's output is usually a valid hledger journal, and you can process it again with a second hledger command. This can be useful for certain kinds of search, eg: @@ -7717,7 +7754,7 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS There are some situations where print's output can become unparseable: - o Valuation affects posting amounts but not balance assertion or bal- + o Valuation affects posting amounts but not balance assertion or bal- ance assignment amounts, potentially causing those to fail. o Auto postings can generate postings with too many missing amounts. @@ -7726,33 +7763,33 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS 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 cost is implied but not - written, it will not appear in the output. You can use the + not appear in the output. Similarly, when a cost is implied but not + written, it will not appear in the output. You can use the -x/--explicit flag to make all amounts and costs 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 + 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 + 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 costs are converted to cost using that + With -B/--cost, amounts with costs are converted to cost using that price. This can be used for troubleshooting. - With -m DESC/--match=DESC, print does a fuzzy search for one recent - transaction whose description is most similar to DESC. DESC should - contain at least two characters. If there is no similar-enough match, - no transaction will be shown and the program exit code will be non- + With -m DESC/--match=DESC, print does a fuzzy search for one recent + transaction whose description is most similar to DESC. DESC should + contain at least two characters. If there is no similar-enough match, + no transaction will be shown and the program exit code will be non- zero. - With --new, hledger prints only transactions it has not seen on a pre- - vious run. This uses the same deduplication system as the import com- + With --new, hledger prints only transactions it has not seen on a pre- + vious run. This uses the same deduplication system as the import com- mand. (See import's docs for details.) - This command also supports the output destination and output format - options The output formats supported are txt, csv, and (experimental) + 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: @@ -7771,20 +7808,20 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS "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 + 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 + 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" + 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 + 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.) register @@ -7793,14 +7830,14 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS 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 + 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 + It is typically used with a query selecting a particular account, to see that account's activity: $ hledger register checking @@ -7811,14 +7848,14 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS With --date2, it shows and sorts by secondary date instead. - For performance reasons, column widths are chosen based on the first - 1000 lines; this means unusually wide values in later lines can cause - visual discontinuities as column widths are adjusted. If you want to - ensure perfect alignment, at the cost of more time and memory, use the + For performance reasons, column widths are chosen based on the first + 1000 lines; this means unusually wide values in later lines can cause + visual discontinuities as column widths are adjusted. If you want to + ensure perfect alignment, at the cost of more time and memory, use the --align-all flag. - The --historical/-H flag adds the balance from any undisplayed prior - postings to the running total. This is useful when you want to see + 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 @@ -7828,30 +7865,30 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS The --depth option limits the amount of sub-account detail displayed. - The --average/-A flag shows the running average posting amount instead + 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 + 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 --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 + 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 + bers. 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 + 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 + 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 @@ -7868,7 +7905,7 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS 2008/11 0 $-2 2008/12 0 $-2 - Often, you'll want to see just one line per interval. The --depth + 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 @@ -7876,24 +7913,24 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS 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 + 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. - With -m DESC/--match=DESC, register does a fuzzy search for one recent + With -m DESC/--match=DESC, register does a fuzzy search for one recent posting whose description is most similar to DESC. DESC should contain at least two characters. If there is no similar-enough match, no post- ing will be shown and the program exit code will be non-zero. 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 + 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: + 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) ----------------------------------> @@ -7909,19 +7946,19 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS $ 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) + This command also supports the output destination and output format + options The output formats supported are txt, csv, and (experimental) json. rewrite Print all transactions, rewriting the postings of matched transactions. - For now the only rewrite available is adding new postings, like print + 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 + 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- + posting amounts can be fixed, or a multiplier of the existing transac- tion's first posting amount. Examples: @@ -7937,7 +7974,7 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS (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 + Note the single quotes to protect the dollar sign from bash, and the two spaces between account and amount. More: @@ -7947,16 +7984,16 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS $ 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 + 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 com- + 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 com- modity. Re-write rules in a file - During the run this tool will execute so called "Automated Transac- + 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. @@ -7971,7 +8008,7 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS budget:gifts *-1 assets:budget *1 - Note that '=' (equality symbol) that is used instead of date in trans- + 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. @@ -7984,12 +8021,12 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS --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- + 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 + 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' @@ -8013,10 +8050,10 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS 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 + 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 + Be careful. Whole transaction being re-formatted in a style of output from hledger print. See also: @@ -8024,53 +8061,53 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/issues/99 rewrite vs. print --auto - This command predates print --auto, and currently does much the same + 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 + 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 + 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. + o rewrite applies rules specified on command line or in the journal. print --auto applies rules specified in the journal. roi - Shows the time-weighted (TWR) and money-weighted (IRR) rate of return + Shows the time-weighted (TWR) and money-weighted (IRR) rate of return on your investments. - At a minimum, you need to supply a query (which could be just an - account name) to select your investment(s) with --inv, and another + At a minimum, you need to supply a query (which could be just an + account name) to select your investment(s) with --inv, and another query to identify your profit and loss transactions with --pnl. - If you do not record changes in the value of your investment manually, - or do not require computation of time-weighted return (TWR), --pnl + If you do not record changes in the value of your investment manually, + or do not require computation of time-weighted return (TWR), --pnl could be an empty query (--pnl "" or --pnl STR where STR does not match any of your accounts). - 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 + 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. - Price directives will be taken into account if you supply appropriate + Price directives will be taken into account if you supply appropriate --cost or --value flags (see VALUATION). 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 + o 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. - o Error (SearchFailed): Failed to find solution for Internal Rate of + 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 compute total return of investment in stocks: + o Using roi to compute total return of investment in stocks: https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/blob/master/examples/invest- ing/roi-unrealised.ledger @@ -8080,27 +8117,27 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS Note that --inv and --pnl's argument is a query, and queries could have several space-separated terms (see QUERIES). - To indicate that all search terms form single command-line argument, + To indicate that all search terms form single command-line argument, you will need to put them in quotes (see Special characters): $ hledger roi --inv 'term1 term2 term3 ...' - If any query terms contain spaces themselves, you will need an extra + If any query terms contain spaces themselves, you will need an extra level of nested quoting, eg: $ hledger roi --inv="'Assets:Test 1'" --pnl="'Equity:Unrealized Profit and Loss'" Semantics of --inv and --pnl - Query supplied to --inv has to match all transactions that are related + Query supplied to --inv has to match all transactions that are related to your investment. Transactions not matching --inv will be ignored. In these transactions, ROI will conside postings that match --inv to be - "investment postings" and other postings (not matching --inv) will be - sorted into two categories: "cash flow" and "profit and loss", as ROI - needs to know which part of the investment value is your contributions + "investment postings" and other postings (not matching --inv) will be + sorted into two categories: "cash flow" and "profit and loss", as ROI + needs to know which part of the investment value is your contributions and which is due to the return on investment. - o "Cash flow" is depositing or withdrawing money, buying or selling + o "Cash flow" is depositing or withdrawing money, buying or selling assets, or otherwise converting between your investment commodity and any other commodity. Example: @@ -8118,12 +8155,12 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS investment:snake oil = $57 equity:unrealized profit or loss - All non-investment postings are assumed to be "cash flow", unless they - match --pnl query. Changes in value of your investment due to "profit - and loss" postings will be considered as part of your investment + All non-investment postings are assumed to be "cash flow", unless they + match --pnl query. Changes in value of your investment due to "profit + and loss" postings will be considered as part of your investment return. - Example: if you use --inv snake --pnl equity:unrealized, then postings + Example: if you use --inv snake --pnl equity:unrealized, then postings in the example below would be classifed as: 2019-01-01 Snake Oil #1 @@ -8140,57 +8177,57 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS snake oil $50 ; investment posting IRR and TWR explained - "ROI" stands for "return on investment". Traditionally this was com- - puted as a difference between current value of investment and its ini- + "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 + 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 + 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. + 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 + 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 period between in-flow or out-flow of money, and then combine them in a - way that gives you a compound annual rate of return that investment is + way that gives you a compound annual rate of return that investment is expected to generate. - As mentioned before, in-flows and out-flows would be any cash that you + 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 the - postings that match the query in the--inv argument and NOT match the + postings that match the query in the--inv argument and NOT match the query in the--pnl argument. - If you manually record changes in the value of your investment as - transactions that balance them against "profit and loss" (or "unreal- - ized gains") account or use price directives, then 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 + If you manually record changes in the value of your investment as + transactions that balance them against "profit and loss" (or "unreal- + ized gains") account or use price directives, then 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. - In technical terms, IRR uses the same approach as computation of net + 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 + could be hard to wrap your head around, especially if you haven't done discounted cash flow analysis before. Implementation of IRR in hledger should produce results that match the XIRR formula in Excel. - Second way to compute rate of return that roi command implements is + 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, - out-flows and value changes, to compute rate of return per each period - and then a compound rate of return. However, internal workings of TWR + break the history of your investment into periods between in-flows, + out-flows and value changes, to compute rate of return per each period + and then a compound rate of return. However, internal workings of TWR are quite different. - TWR represents your investment as an imaginary "unit fund" where in- - flows/ out-flows lead to buying or selling "units" of your investment + 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 + in "unit price" over the reporting period gives you rate of return of your investment. References: @@ -8201,21 +8238,21 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS o Explanation of TWR - o Examples of computing IRR and TWR and discussion of the limitations + o Examples of computing IRR and TWR and discussion of the limitations of both metrics stats Show journal and performance 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 + 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. - At the end, it shows (in the terminal) the overall run time and number - of transactions processed per second. Note these are approximate and - will vary based on machine, current load, data size, hledger version, - haskell lib versions, GHC version.. but they may be of interest. The - stats command's run time is similar to that of a single-column balance + At the end, it shows (in the terminal) the overall run time and number + of transactions processed per second. Note these are approximate and + will vary based on machine, current load, data size, hledger version, + haskell lib versions, GHC version.. but they may be of interest. The + stats command's run time is similar to that of a single-column balance report. Example: @@ -8245,35 +8282,35 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS This command lists the tag names used in the journal, whether on trans- actions, postings, or account declarations. - With a TAGREGEX argument, only tag names matching this regular expres- + With a TAGREGEX argument, only tag names matching this regular expres- sion (case insensitive, infix matched) are shown. - With QUERY arguments, only transactions and accounts matching this + With QUERY arguments, only transactions and accounts matching this query are considered. If the query involves transaction fields (date:, desc:, amt:, ...), the search is restricted to the matched transactions and their accounts. - With the --values flag, the tags' unique non-empty values are listed + With the --values flag, the tags' unique non-empty values are listed instead. With -E/--empty, blank/empty values are also shown. - With --parsed, tags or values are shown in the order they were parsed, - with duplicates included. (Except, tags from account declarations are + With --parsed, tags or values are shown in the order they were parsed, + with duplicates included. (Except, tags from account declarations are always shown first.) - Tip: remember, accounts also acquire tags from their parents, postings + Tip: remember, accounts also acquire tags from their parents, postings also acquire tags from their account and transaction, transactions also acquire tags from their postings. 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 + 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 + 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 -- @@ -8282,12 +8319,12 @@ PART 4: COMMANDS $ hledger test -- -pData.Amount --color=never - For help on these, see https://github.com/feuerbach/tasty#options (-- + For help on these, see https://github.com/feuerbach/tasty#options (-- --help currently doesn't show them). PART 5: COMMON TASKS - Here are some quick examples of how to do some basic tasks with + Here are some quick examples of how to do some basic tasks with hledger. Getting help @@ -8297,37 +8334,37 @@ PART 5: COMMON TASKS $ hledger --help # show common options $ hledger CMD --help # show CMD's options, common options and CMD's documentation - You can also view your hledger version's manual in several formats by + You can also view your hledger version's manual in several formats by using the help command. Eg: $ hledger help # show the hledger manual with info, man or $PAGER (best available) $ hledger help journal # show the journal topic in the hledger manual $ hledger help --help # find out more about the help command - To view manuals and introductory docs on the web, visit - https://hledger.org. Chat and mail list support and discussion ar- + To view manuals and introductory docs on the web, visit + https://hledger.org. Chat and mail list support and discussion ar- chives can be found at https://hledger.org/support. Constructing command lines - hledger has a flexible command line interface. We strive to keep it - simple and ergonomic, but if you run into one of the sharp edges + hledger has a flexible command line interface. We strive to keep it + simple and ergonomic, but if you run into one of the sharp edges described in OPTIONS, here are some tips that might help: - o command-specific options must go after the command (it's fine to put + o command-specific options must go after the command (it's fine to put common options there too: hledger CMD OPTS ARGS) - o running add-on executables directly simplifies command line parsing + 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- + o if needed, also add a backslash to hide regular expression metachar- acters from the shell o to see how a misbehaving command line is being parsed, add --debug=2. Starting a journal file - hledger looks for your accounting data in a journal file, + hledger looks for your accounting data in a journal file, $HOME/.hledger.journal by default: $ hledger stats @@ -8335,9 +8372,9 @@ PART 5: COMMON TASKS 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. + 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 + and to start a new file each year. So you could do something like this: $ mkdir ~/finance @@ -8361,20 +8398,20 @@ PART 5: COMMON TASKS 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 + 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 + 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 bal- + 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 + o The first way: open the journal in any text editor and save an entry like this: 2020-01-01 * opening balances @@ -8384,19 +8421,19 @@ PART 5: COMMON TASKS liabilities:creditcard $-50 = $-50 equity:opening/closing balances - These are start-of-day balances, ie whatever was in the account at + 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 + 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 + 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 + The = amounts are optional balance assertions, providing extra error checking. - o The second way: run hledger add and follow the prompts to record a + o The second way: run hledger add and follow the prompts to record a similar transaction: $ hledger add @@ -8433,18 +8470,18 @@ PART 5: COMMON TASKS 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 + 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 + 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 + Here are some simple transactions, see the hledger_journal(5) manual and hledger.org for more ideas: 2020/1/10 * gift received @@ -8460,22 +8497,22 @@ PART 5: COMMON TASKS 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- + 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 - already-recorded transactions. A register report can be helpful - (hledger reg cash). If you can't find the error, add an adjustment + 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: @@ -8485,26 +8522,26 @@ PART 5: COMMON TASKS 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 + 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 - reported by hledger reg checking -C. This will be easier if you - generally record transaction dates quite similar to your bank's + action 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- + Tip: instead of the register command, use hledger-ui to see a live- updating register while you edit the journal: hledger-ui --watch --reg- ister 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, + 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- + If you're using version control, this can be another good time to com- mit: $ git commit -m 'txns' 2020.journal @@ -8576,7 +8613,7 @@ PART 5: COMMON TASKS -------------------- 0 - Show only asset and liability balances, as a flat list, limited to + Show only asset and liability balances, as a flat list, limited to depth 2: $ hledger bal assets liabilities -2 @@ -8586,7 +8623,7 @@ PART 5: COMMON TASKS -------------------- $4055 - Show the same thing without negative numbers, formatted as a simple + Show the same thing without negative numbers, formatted as a simple balance sheet: $ hledger bs -2 @@ -8653,9 +8690,9 @@ PART 5: COMMON TASKS 2020-01-13 **** Migrating to a new file - At the end of the year, you may want to continue your journal in a new + 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 + 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. @@ -8663,7 +8700,7 @@ PART 5: COMMON TASKS REPORTING BUGS - Report bugs at http://bugs.hledger.org (or on the #hledger chat or + Report bugs at http://bugs.hledger.org (or on the #hledger chat or hledger mail list) @@ -8685,4 +8722,4 @@ SEE ALSO -hledger-1.29.99 March 2023 HLEDGER(1) +hledger-1.29.99 April 2023 HLEDGER(1)