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@ -740,9 +740,73 @@ unless overridden by an explicit `--color/--colour` option.
# Journal
hledger's default file format, representing a General Journal.
Here's a cheatsheet/mini-tutorial,
or you can skip ahead to [About journal format](#about-journal-format).
hledger's usual data source is a plain text file containing journal entries in hledger `journal` format.
If you're looking for a quick reference, jump ahead to the
[journal cheatsheet](#journal-cheatsheet) (or use the table of contents at <https://hledger.org/hledger.html>).
This file represents an accounting [General Journal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_journal).
The `.journal` file extension is most often used, though not strictly 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 compatible with most of
[Ledger's journal format](http://ledger-cli.org/3.0/doc/ledger3.html#Journal-Format), but not all of it.
The differences and interoperation tips are described at [hledger and Ledger](ledger.html).
With some care, and by avoiding incompatible features, you can keep your hledger journal
readable by Ledger and vice versa. This can useful eg for comparing the behaviour of one app
against the other.
You can use hledger without learning any more about this file; just
use the [add](#add) or [web](#web) or [import](#import) commands to
create and update it.
Many users, though, edit the journal file with a text editor,
and track changes with a version control system such as git.
Editor addons such as
ledger-mode or hledger-mode for Emacs,
vim-ledger for Vim,
and hledger-vscode for Visual Studio Code,
make this easier, adding colour, formatting, tab completion, and useful commands.
See [Editor configuration](/editors.html) at hledger.org for the full list.
<!--
Here's an example:
```journal
; A sample journal file. This is a comment.
2008/01/01 income ; <- transaction's first line starts in column 0, contains date and description
assets:bank:checking $1 ; <- posting lines start with whitespace, each contains an account name
income:salary $-1 ; followed by at least two spaces and an amount
2008/06/01 gift
assets:bank:checking $1 ; <- at least two postings in a transaction
income:gifts $-1 ; <- their amounts must balance to 0
2008/06/02 save
assets:bank:saving $1
assets:bank:checking ; <- one amount may be omitted; here $-1 is inferred
2008/06/03 eat & shop ; <- description can be anything
expenses:food $1
expenses:supplies $1 ; <- this transaction debits two expense accounts
assets:cash ; <- $-2 inferred
2008/10/01 take a loan
assets:bank:checking $1
liabilities:debts $-1
2008/12/31 * pay off ; <- an optional * or ! after the date means "cleared" (or anything you want)
liabilities:debts $1
assets:bank:checking
```
-->
A hledger journal file can contain three kinds of thing:
comment lines, transactions, and/or directives (including periodic transaction rules and auto posting rules).
Understanding the journal file format will also give you a good understanding of hledger's data model.
Here's a quick cheatsheet/overview, followed by detailed descriptions of each part.
## Journal cheatsheet
@ -837,74 +901,6 @@ P 2022-01-01 AAAA $1.40
12/31 also allowed (but consistent YYYY-MM-DD is recommended).
```
## About journal format
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](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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 compatible with most of
[Ledger's journal format](http://ledger-cli.org/3.0/doc/ledger3.html#Journal-Format), but not all of it.
The differences and interoperation tips are described at [hledger and Ledger](ledger.html).
With some care, and by avoiding incompatible features, you can keep your hledger journal
readable by Ledger and vice versa. This can useful eg for comparing the behaviour of one app
against the other.
You can use hledger without learning any more about this file; just
use the [add](#add) or [web](#web) or [import](#import) commands to
create and update it.
Many users, though, edit the journal file with a text editor,
and track changes with a version control system such as git.
Editor addons such as
ledger-mode or hledger-mode for Emacs,
vim-ledger for Vim,
and hledger-vscode for Visual Studio Code,
make this easier, adding colour, formatting, tab completion, and useful commands.
See [Editor configuration](/editors.html) at hledger.org for the full list.
<!--
Here's an example:
```journal
; A sample journal file. This is a comment.
2008/01/01 income ; <- transaction's first line starts in column 0, contains date and description
assets:bank:checking $1 ; <- posting lines start with whitespace, each contains an account name
income:salary $-1 ; followed by at least two spaces and an amount
2008/06/01 gift
assets:bank:checking $1 ; <- at least two postings in a transaction
income:gifts $-1 ; <- their amounts must balance to 0
2008/06/02 save
assets:bank:saving $1
assets:bank:checking ; <- one amount may be omitted; here $-1 is inferred
2008/06/03 eat & shop ; <- description can be anything
expenses:food $1
expenses:supplies $1 ; <- this transaction debits two expense accounts
assets:cash ; <- $-2 inferred
2008/10/01 take a loan
assets:bank:checking $1
liabilities:debts $-1
2008/12/31 * pay off ; <- an optional * or ! after the date means "cleared" (or anything you want)
liabilities:debts $1
assets:bank:checking
```
-->
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 comments, transactions, and/or directives
(counting periodic transaction rules and auto posting rules as directives).
## Comments
Lines in the journal will be ignored if they begin with a hash (`#`) or a semicolon (`;`). (See also [Other syntax](#other-syntax).)