From b92a8427283d84331e97d88b8664d4580ba5f153 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Simon Michael Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2021 12:07:23 -0800 Subject: [PATCH] ;update manuals --- hledger-ui/hledger-ui.1 | 5 +- hledger-ui/hledger-ui.info | 407 +-- hledger-ui/hledger-ui.txt | 136 +- hledger-web/hledger-web.1 | 5 +- hledger-web/hledger-web.info | 339 +-- hledger-web/hledger-web.txt | 125 +- hledger/hledger.1 | 565 ++-- hledger/hledger.info | 5312 +++++++++++++++++++--------------- hledger/hledger.txt | 2687 ++++++++--------- 9 files changed, 5106 insertions(+), 4475 deletions(-) diff --git a/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.1 b/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.1 index 6a8359852..c25a505ba 100644 --- a/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.1 +++ b/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.1 @@ -155,8 +155,9 @@ convert amounts to their market value in commodity COMM \f[B]\f[CB]--value\f[B]\f[R] convert amounts to cost or market value, more flexibly than -B/-V/-X .TP -\f[B]\f[CB]--infer-value\f[B]\f[R] -with -V/-X/--value, also infer market prices from transactions +\f[B]\f[CB]--infer-market-prices\f[B]\f[R] +use transaction prices (recorded with \[at] or \[at]\[at]) as additional +market prices, as if they were P directives .TP \f[B]\f[CB]--auto\f[B]\f[R] apply automated posting rules to modify transactions. diff --git a/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.info b/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.info index f88864704..f6a9a2574 100644 --- a/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.info +++ b/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.info @@ -1,36 +1,37 @@ -This is hledger-ui.info, produced by makeinfo version 6.7 from stdin. +This is hledger-ui/hledger-ui.info, produced by makeinfo version 4.8 +from stdin.  -File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Top, Next: OPTIONS, Up: (dir) +File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Top, Up: (dir) hledger-ui(1) ************* hledger-ui is a terminal interface (TUI) for the hledger accounting -tool. This manual is for hledger-ui 1.20.99. +tool. This manual is for hledger-ui 1.20.99. - 'hledger-ui [OPTIONS] [QUERYARGS]' -'hledger ui -- [OPTIONS] [QUERYARGS]' + `hledger-ui [OPTIONS] [QUERYARGS]' +`hledger ui -- [OPTIONS] [QUERYARGS]' hledger is a reliable, cross-platform set of programs for tracking money, time, or any other commodity, using double-entry accounting and a -simple, editable file format. hledger is inspired by and largely +simple, editable file format. hledger is inspired by and largely compatible with ledger(1). hledger-ui is hledger's terminal interface, providing an efficient full-window text UI for viewing accounts and transactions, and some -limited data entry capability. It is easier than hledger's 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 hledger -journal, timeclock, timedot, or CSV format specified with '-f', or -'$LEDGER_FILE', or '$HOME/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps -'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). For more about this see hledger(1), +journal, timeclock, timedot, or CSV format specified with `-f', or +`$LEDGER_FILE', or `$HOME/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps +`C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). For more about this see hledger(1), hledger_journal(5) etc. Unlike hledger, hledger-ui hides all future-dated transactions by -default. They can be revealed, along with any rule-generated periodic +default. They can be revealed, along with any rule-generated periodic transactions, by pressing the F key (or starting with -forecast) to enable "forecast mode". @@ -49,143 +50,141 @@ File: hledger-ui.info, Node: OPTIONS, Next: KEYS, 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. -'--watch' - +`--watch' watch for data and date changes and reload automatically -'--theme=default|terminal|greenterm' +`--theme=default|terminal|greenterm' use this custom display theme -'--register=ACCTREGEX' +`--register=ACCTREGEX' start in the (first) matched account's register screen -'--change' +`--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' - - use a different input file. For stdin, use - (default: - '$LEDGER_FILE' or '$HOME/.hledger.journal') -'--rules-file=RULESFILE' +`-f FILE --file=FILE' + use a different input file. For stdin, use - (default: + `$LEDGER_FILE' or `$HOME/.hledger.journal') +`--rules-file=RULESFILE' Conversion rules file to use when reading CSV (default: FILE.rules) -'--separator=CHAR' +`--separator=CHAR' Field separator to expect when reading CSV (default: ',') -'--alias=OLD=NEW' +`--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 -'-e --end=DATE' +`-e --end=DATE' include postings/txns before this date -'-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) -'-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-value' - with -V/-X/-value, also infer market prices from transactions -'--auto' +`--infer-market-prices' + use transaction prices (recorded with @ or @@) as additional market + prices, as if they were P directives +`--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 + the next 6 months or till report end date. In hledger-ui, also make ordinary future transactions visible. -'--color=WHEN (or --colour=WHEN)' +`--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 + when piping output into 'less -R'. 'never' or 'no': never. A NO_COLOR environment variable overrides this. When a reporting option appears more than once in the command line, @@ -195,25 +194,24 @@ 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.) +should contain one command line option/argument per line. (To prevent +this, insert a `--' argument before.)  File: hledger-ui.info, Node: KEYS, Next: SCREENS, Prev: OPTIONS, Up: Top @@ -221,94 +219,94 @@ File: hledger-ui.info, Node: KEYS, Next: SCREENS, Prev: OPTIONS, Up: Top 2 KEYS ****** -'?' shows a help dialog listing all keys. (Some of these also appear in -the quick help at the bottom of each screen.) Press '?' again (or -'ESCAPE', or 'LEFT', or 'q') to close it. The following keys work on +`?' shows a help dialog listing all keys. (Some of these also appear in +the quick help at the bottom of each screen.) Press `?' again (or +`ESCAPE', or `LEFT', or `q') to close it. The following keys work on most screens: - The cursor keys navigate: 'right' (or 'enter') goes deeper, 'left' -returns to the previous screen, 'up'/'down'/'page up'/'page -down'/'home'/'end' move up and down through lists. Emacs-style -('ctrl-p'/'ctrl-n'/'ctrl-f'/'ctrl-b') movement keys are also supported + The cursor keys navigate: `right' (or `enter') goes deeper, `left' +returns to the previous screen, `up'/`down'/`page up'/`page +down'/`home'/`end' move up and down through lists. Emacs-style +(`ctrl-p'/`ctrl-n'/`ctrl-f'/`ctrl-b') movement keys are also supported (but not vi-style keys, since hledger-1.19, sorry!). 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 +want to adjust it. (If you're on a mac, the karabiner app is one way to do that.) With shift pressed, the cursor keys adjust the report period, limiting the transactions to be shown (by default, all are shown). -'shift-down/up' steps downward and upward through these standard report -period durations: year, quarter, month, week, day. Then, -'shift-left/right' moves to the previous/next period. 'T' sets the -report period to today. With the '--watch' option, when viewing a +`shift-down/up' steps downward and upward through these standard report +period durations: year, quarter, month, week, day. Then, +`shift-left/right' moves to the previous/next period. `T' sets the +report period to today. With the `--watch' option, when viewing a "current" period (the current day, week, month, quarter, or year), the -period will move automatically to track the current date. To set a -non-standard period, you can use '/' and a 'date:' query. +period will move automatically to track the current date. To set a +non-standard period, you can use `/' and a `date:' query. - '/' lets you set a general filter query limiting the data shown, -using the same query terms as in hledger and hledger-web. While editing -the query, you can use CTRL-a/e/d/k, BS, cursor keys; press 'ENTER' to -set it, or 'ESCAPE'to cancel. There are also keys for quickly adjusting + `/' 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 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 + `CTRL-l' redraws the screen and centers the selection if possible (selections near the top won't be centered, since we don't scroll above the top). - 'g' reloads from the data file(s) and updates the current screen and -any previous screens. (With large files, this could cause a noticeable + `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 -file. This allows some basic data entry. + `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 transaction price's -commodity (like toggling the '-B/--cost' flag). + `B' toggles cost mode, showing amounts in their transaction price's +commodity (like toggling the `-B/--cost' flag). - 'V' toggles value mode, showing amounts' current market value in -their default valuation commodity (like toggling the '-V/--market' -flag). Note, "current market value" means the value on the report end -date if specified, otherwise today. To see the value on another date, -you can temporarily set that as the report end date. Eg: to see a + `V' toggles value mode, showing amounts' current market value in +their default valuation commodity (like toggling the `-V/--market' +flag). Note, "current market value" means the value on the report end +date if specified, otherwise today. To see the value on another date, +you can temporarily set that as the report end date. Eg: to see a transaction as it was valued on july 30, go to the accounts or register -screen, press '/', and add 'date:-7/30' to the query. +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 +active; for now pressing `b' `b' `v' should reliably reset to normal mode. - With '--watch' active, if you save an edit to the journal file while -viewing the transaction screen in cost or value mode, the 'B'/'V' keys -will stop working. To work around, press 'g' to force a manual reload, + With `--watch' active, if you save an edit to the journal file while +viewing the transaction screen in cost or value mode, the `B'/`V' keys +will stop working. To work around, press `g' to force a manual reload, or exit the transaction screen. - 'q' quits the application. + `q' quits the application. Additional screen-specific keys are described below. @@ -331,48 +329,47 @@ File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Accounts screen, Next: Register screen, Up: SCRE 3.1 Accounts screen =================== -This is normally the first screen displayed. It lists accounts and -their balances, like hledger's balance command. By default, it shows -all accounts and their latest ending balances (including the balances of -subaccounts). If you specify a query on the command line, it shows just +This is normally the first screen displayed. It lists accounts and their +balances, like hledger's balance command. By default, it shows all +accounts and their latest ending balances (including the balances of +subaccounts). If you specify a query on the command line, it shows just the matched accounts and the balances from matched transactions. - Account names are shown as a flat list by default; press 't' to -toggle tree mode. In list mode, account balances are exclusive of + Account names are shown as a flat list by default; press `t' to +toggle tree mode. In list mode, account balances are exclusive of subaccounts, except where subaccounts are hidden by a depth limit (see -below). In tree mode, all account balances are inclusive of -subaccounts. +below). In tree mode, all account balances are inclusive of subaccounts. - To see less detail, press a number key, '1' to '9', to set a depth -limit. Or use '-' to decrease and '+'/'=' to increase the depth limit. -'0' shows even less detail, collapsing all accounts to a single total. -To remove the depth limit, set it higher than the maximum account depth, -or press 'ESCAPE'. + To see less detail, press a number key, `1' to `9', to set a depth +limit. Or use `-' to decrease and `+'/`=' to increase the depth limit. +`0' shows even less detail, collapsing all accounts to a single total. +To remove the depth limit, set it higher than the maximum account +depth, or press `ESCAPE'. - 'H' toggles between showing historical balances or period balances. + `H' toggles between showing historical balances or period balances. Historical balances (the default) are ending balances at the end of the report period, taking into account all transactions before that date (filtered by the filter query if any), including transactions before the -start of the report period. In other words, historical balances are -what you would see on a bank statement for that account (unless -disturbed by a filter query). Period balances ignore transactions -before the report start date, so they show the change in balance during -the report period. They are more useful eg when viewing a time log. +start of the report period. In other words, historical balances are what +you would see on a bank statement for that account (unless disturbed by +a filter query). Period balances ignore transactions before the report +start date, so they show the change in balance during the report period. +They are more useful eg when viewing a time log. - 'U' toggles filtering by unmarked status, including or excluding -unmarked postings in the balances. Similarly, 'P' toggles pending -postings, and 'C' toggles cleared postings. (By default, balances + `U' toggles filtering by unmarked status, including or excluding +unmarked postings in the balances. Similarly, `P' toggles pending +postings, and `C' toggles cleared postings. (By default, balances include all postings; if you activate one or two status filters, only those postings are included; and if you activate all three, the filter is removed.) - 'R' toggles real mode, in which virtual postings are ignored. + `R' toggles real mode, in which virtual postings are ignored. - 'Z' toggles nonzero mode, in which only accounts with nonzero + `Z' toggles nonzero mode, in which only accounts with nonzero balances are shown (hledger-ui shows zero items by default, unlike command-line hledger). - Press 'right' or 'enter' to view an account's transactions register. + Press `right' or `enter' to view an account's transactions register.  File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Register screen, Next: Transaction screen, Prev: Accounts screen, Up: SCREENS @@ -381,44 +378,46 @@ File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Register screen, Next: Transaction screen, Prev: =================== This screen shows the transactions affecting a particular account, like -a check register. Each line represents one transaction and shows: +a check register. Each line represents one transaction and shows: - * 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 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 an inflow to this account, negative for an outflow. * the running historical total or period total for the current - account, after the transaction. This can be toggled with 'H'. - Similar to the accounts screen, the historical total is affected by - transactions (filtered by the filter query) before the report start - date, while the period total is not. If the historical total is - not disturbed by a filter query, it will be the running historical - balance you would see on a bank register for the current account. + account, after the transaction. This can be toggled with `H'. + Similar to the accounts screen, the historical total is affected + by transactions (filtered by the filter query) before the report + start date, while the period total is not. If the historical total + is not disturbed by a filter query, it will be the running + historical balance you would see on a bank register for the + current account. + Transactions affecting this account's subaccounts will be included in the register if the accounts screen is in tree mode, or if it's in 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. +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. - '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 + `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' (or 'enter') to view the selected transaction in + Press `right' (or `enter') to view the selected transaction in detail.  @@ -436,11 +435,11 @@ description, comments, along with all of its account postings are shown. Simple transactions have two postings, but there can be more (or in certain cases, fewer). - 'up' and 'down' will step through all transactions listed in the -previous account register screen. In the title bar, the numbers in -parentheses show your position within that account register. They will + `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 +transactions appear in multiple account registers). The #N number preceding them is the transaction's position within the complete unfiltered journal, which is a more stable id (at least until the next reload). @@ -452,8 +451,8 @@ File: hledger-ui.info, Node: Error screen, Prev: Transaction screen, Up: SCRE ================ This screen will appear if there is a problem, such as a parse error, -when you press g to reload. Once you have fixed the problem, press g -again to reload and resume normal operation. (Or, you can press escape +when you press g to reload. Once you have fixed the problem, press g +again to reload and resume normal operation. (Or, you can press escape to cancel the reload attempt.)  @@ -462,27 +461,28 @@ File: hledger-ui.info, Node: ENVIRONMENT, Next: FILES, Prev: SCREENS, Up: To 4 ENVIRONMENT ************* -*COLUMNS* The screen width to use. Default: the full terminal width. +*COLUMNS* The screen width to use. Default: the full terminal width. - *LEDGER_FILE* The journal file path when not specified with '-f'. -Default: '~/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps -'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). + *LEDGER_FILE* The journal file path when not specified with `-f'. +Default: `~/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps +`C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). - A typical value is '~/DIR/YYYY.journal', where DIR is a -version-controlled finance directory and YYYY is the current year. Or -'~/DIR/current.journal', where current.journal is a symbolic link to + A typical value is `~/DIR/YYYY.journal', where DIR is a +version-controlled finance directory and YYYY is the current year. Or +`~/DIR/current.journal', where current.journal is a symbolic link to YYYY.journal. - On Mac computers, you can set this and other environment variables in -a more thorough way that also affects applications started from the GUI -(say, an Emacs dock icon). Eg on MacOS Catalina I have a -'~/.MacOSX/environment.plist' file containing + On Mac computers, you can set this and other environment variables +in a more thorough way that also affects applications started from the +GUI (say, an Emacs dock icon). Eg on MacOS Catalina I have a +`~/.MacOSX/environment.plist' file containing + { "LEDGER_FILE" : "~/finance/current.journal" } - To see the effect you may need to 'killall Dock', or reboot. + To see the effect you may need to `killall Dock', or reboot.  File: hledger-ui.info, Node: FILES, Next: BUGS, Prev: ENVIRONMENT, Up: Top @@ -491,9 +491,9 @@ File: hledger-ui.info, Node: FILES, Next: BUGS, Prev: ENVIRONMENT, Up: Top ******* Reads data from one or more files in hledger journal, timeclock, -timedot, or CSV format specified with '-f', or '$LEDGER_FILE', or -'$HOME/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps -'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). +timedot, or CSV format specified with `-f', or `$LEDGER_FILE', or +`$HOME/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps +`C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal').  File: hledger-ui.info, Node: BUGS, Prev: FILES, Up: Top @@ -501,18 +501,18 @@ File: hledger-ui.info, Node: BUGS, Prev: FILES, Up: Top 6 BUGS ****** -The need to precede options with '--' when invoked from hledger is +The need to precede options with `--' when invoked from hledger is awkward. - '-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 -regenerated, which may cause a noticeable pause with large files. Also + 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, @@ -521,30 +521,31 @@ and possibly a small but persistent build-up of CPU usage until the program is restarted. Also, if you are viewing files mounted from another machine, -'--watch' requires that both machine clocks are roughly in step. +`--watch' requires that both machine clocks are roughly in step. +  Tag Table: -Node: Top71 -Node: OPTIONS1488 -Ref: #options1585 -Node: KEYS5768 -Ref: #keys5863 -Node: SCREENS10182 -Ref: #screens10287 -Node: Accounts screen10377 -Ref: #accounts-screen10505 -Node: Register screen12720 -Ref: #register-screen12875 -Node: Transaction screen14872 -Ref: #transaction-screen15030 -Node: Error screen15900 -Ref: #error-screen16022 -Node: ENVIRONMENT16266 -Ref: #environment16380 -Node: FILES17187 -Ref: #files17286 -Node: BUGS17499 -Ref: #bugs17576 +Node: Top82 +Node: OPTIONS1478 +Ref: #options1575 +Node: KEYS5808 +Ref: #keys5903 +Node: SCREENS10199 +Ref: #screens10304 +Node: Accounts screen10394 +Ref: #accounts-screen10522 +Node: Register screen12726 +Ref: #register-screen12881 +Node: Transaction screen14876 +Ref: #transaction-screen15034 +Node: Error screen15901 +Ref: #error-screen16023 +Node: ENVIRONMENT16265 +Ref: #environment16379 +Node: FILES17184 +Ref: #files17283 +Node: BUGS17496 +Ref: #bugs17573  End Tag Table diff --git a/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.txt b/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.txt index 7159db4d3..91977856b 100644 --- a/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.txt +++ b/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.txt @@ -29,8 +29,8 @@ DESCRIPTION C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal). For more about this see hledger(1), hledger_journal(5) etc. - Unlike hledger, hledger-ui hides all future-dated transactions by de- - fault. They can be revealed, along with any rule-generated periodic + 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 enable "forecast mode". @@ -86,8 +86,8 @@ OPTIONS assignments) -s --strict - do extra error checking (check that all posted accounts are de- - clared) + do extra error checking (check that all posted accounts are + declared) hledger reporting options: @@ -117,8 +117,8 @@ OPTIONS using period expressions syntax --date2 - match the secondary date instead (see command help for other ef- - fects) + match the secondary date instead (see command help for other + effects) -U --unmarked include only unmarked postings/txns (can combine with -P or -C) @@ -143,18 +143,19 @@ OPTIONS convert amounts to their cost/selling amount at transaction time -V --market - convert amounts to their market value in default valuation com- + convert amounts to their market value in default valuation com- modities -X --exchange=COMM convert amounts to their market value in commodity COMM --value - convert amounts to cost or market value, more flexibly than + convert amounts to cost or market value, more flexibly than -B/-V/-X - --infer-value - with -V/-X/--value, also infer market prices from transactions + --infer-market-prices + use transaction prices (recorded with @ or @@) as additional + market prices, as if they were P directives --auto apply automated posting rules to modify transactions. @@ -226,12 +227,12 @@ KEYS As mentioned above, by default hledger-ui hides future transactions - both ordinary transactions recorded in the journal, and periodic trans- - actions generated by rule. F toggles forecast mode, in which fu- - ture/forecasted transactions are shown. + actions 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 data en- - try or the help dialog. + 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 (selec- tions near the top won't be centered, since we don't scroll above the @@ -292,35 +293,36 @@ SCREENS Account names are shown as a flat list by default; press t to toggle tree mode. In list mode, account balances are exclusive of subac- - counts, except where subaccounts are hidden by a depth limit (see be- - low). In tree mode, all account balances are inclusive of subaccounts. + counts, except where subaccounts are hidden by a depth limit (see + below). In tree mode, all account balances are inclusive of subac- + counts. - To see less detail, press a number key, 1 to 9, to set a depth limit. + To see less detail, press a number key, 1 to 9, to set a depth limit. Or use - to decrease and +/= to increase the depth limit. 0 shows even - less detail, collapsing all accounts to a single total. To remove the - depth limit, set it higher than the maximum account depth, or press ES- - CAPE. + less detail, collapsing all accounts to a single total. To remove the + depth limit, set it higher than the maximum account depth, or press + ESCAPE. H toggles between showing historical balances or period balances. His- - torical balances (the default) are ending balances at the end of the - report period, taking into account all transactions before that date - (filtered by the filter query if any), including transactions before - the start of the report period. In other words, historical balances - are what you would see on a bank statement for that account (unless - disturbed by a filter query). Period balances ignore transactions be- - fore the report start date, so they show the change in balance during + torical balances (the default) are ending balances at the end of the + report period, taking into account all transactions before that date + (filtered by the filter query if any), including transactions before + the start of the report period. In other words, historical balances + are what you would see on a bank statement for that account (unless + disturbed by a filter query). Period balances ignore transactions + before the report start date, so they show the change in balance during the report period. They are more useful eg when viewing a time log. U toggles filtering by unmarked status, including or excluding unmarked postings in the balances. Similarly, P toggles pending postings, and C - toggles cleared postings. (By default, balances include all postings; - if you activate one or two status filters, only those postings are in- - cluded; and if you activate all three, the filter is removed.) + toggles cleared postings. (By default, balances include all postings; + if you activate one or two status filters, only those postings are + included; and if you activate all three, the filter is removed.) R toggles real mode, in which virtual postings are ignored. - Z toggles nonzero mode, in which only accounts with nonzero balances - are shown (hledger-ui shows zero items by default, unlike command-line + Z toggles nonzero mode, in which only accounts with nonzero balances + are shown (hledger-ui shows zero items by default, unlike command-line hledger). Press right or enter to view an account's transactions register. @@ -329,32 +331,32 @@ SCREENS This screen shows the transactions affecting a particular account, like a check register. Each line represents one transaction and shows: - o the other account(s) involved, in abbreviated form. (If there are - both real and virtual postings, it shows only the accounts affected + o the other account(s) involved, in abbreviated form. (If there are + both real and virtual postings, it shows only the accounts affected by real postings.) - o the overall change to the current account's balance; positive for an + o the overall change to the current account's balance; positive for an inflow to this account, negative for an outflow. o the running historical total or period total for the current account, - after the transaction. This can be toggled with H. Similar to the - accounts screen, the historical total is affected by transactions - (filtered by the filter query) before the report start date, while + after the transaction. This can be toggled with H. Similar to the + accounts screen, the historical total is affected by transactions + (filtered by the filter query) before the report start date, while the period total is not. If the historical total is not disturbed by - a filter query, it will be the running historical balance you would + a filter query, it will be the running historical balance you would see on a bank register for the current account. - Transactions affecting this account's subaccounts will be included in + Transactions affecting this account's subaccounts will be included in the register if the accounts screen is in tree mode, or if it's in list - mode but this account has subaccounts which are not shown due to a - depth limit. In other words, the register always shows the transac- - tions contributing to the balance shown on the accounts screen. Tree + mode but this account has subaccounts which are not shown due to a + depth limit. In other words, the register always shows the transac- + tions contributing to the balance shown on the accounts screen. Tree mode/list mode can be toggled with t here also. - U toggles filtering by unmarked status, showing or hiding unmarked + U toggles filtering by unmarked status, showing or hiding unmarked transactions. Similarly, P toggles pending transactions, and C toggles - cleared transactions. (By default, transactions with all statuses are - shown; if you activate one or two status filters, only those transac- + cleared transactions. (By default, transactions with all statuses are + shown; if you activate one or two status filters, only those transac- tions are shown; and if you activate all three, the filter is removed.) R toggles real mode, in which virtual postings are ignored. @@ -370,16 +372,16 @@ SCREENS similar to hledger's print command and journal format (hledger_jour- nal(5)). - The transaction's date(s) and any cleared flag, transaction code, de- - scription, comments, along with all of its account postings are shown. - Simple transactions have two postings, but there can be more (or in - certain cases, fewer). + The transaction's date(s) and any cleared flag, transaction code, + description, comments, along with all of its account postings are + shown. Simple transactions have two postings, but there can be more + (or in certain cases, fewer). up and down will step through all transactions listed in the previous account register screen. In the title bar, the numbers in parentheses - show your position within that account register. They will vary de- - pending on which account register you came from (remember most transac- - tions appear in multiple account registers). The #N number preceding + show your position within that account register. They will vary + depending on which account register you came from (remember most trans- + actions appear in multiple account registers). The #N number preceding them is the transaction's position within the complete unfiltered jour- nal, which is a more stable id (at least until the next reload). @@ -401,9 +403,9 @@ ENVIRONMENT rent.journal, where current.journal is a symbolic link to YYYY.journal. On Mac computers, you can set this and other environment variables in a - more thorough way that also affects applications started from the GUI - (say, an Emacs dock icon). Eg on MacOS Catalina I have a ~/.MacOSX/en- - vironment.plist file containing + more thorough way that also affects applications started from the GUI + (say, an Emacs dock icon). Eg on MacOS Catalina I have a + ~/.MacOSX/environment.plist file containing { "LEDGER_FILE" : "~/finance/current.journal" @@ -412,13 +414,13 @@ ENVIRONMENT To see the effect you may need to killall Dock, or reboot. FILES - Reads data from one or more files in hledger journal, timeclock, time- - dot, or CSV format specified with -f, or $LEDGER_FILE, or - $HOME/.hledger.journal (on windows, perhaps + Reads data from one or more files in hledger journal, timeclock, time- + dot, or CSV format specified with -f, or $LEDGER_FILE, or + $HOME/.hledger.journal (on windows, perhaps C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal). BUGS - The need to precede options with -- when invoked from hledger is awk- + The need to precede options with -- when invoked from hledger is awk- ward. -f- doesn't work (hledger-ui can't read from stdin). @@ -426,24 +428,24 @@ BUGS -V affects only the accounts screen. When you press g, the current and all previous screens are regenerated, - which may cause a noticeable pause with large files. Also there is no + which may cause a noticeable pause with large files. Also there is no visual indication that this is in progress. - --watch is not yet fully robust. It works well for normal usage, but - many file changes in a short time (eg saving the file thousands of - times with an editor macro) can cause problems at least on OSX. Symp- - toms include: unresponsive UI, periodic resetting of the cursor posi- + --watch is not yet fully robust. It works well for normal usage, but + many file changes in a short time (eg saving the file thousands of + times with an editor macro) can cause problems at least on OSX. Symp- + toms include: unresponsive UI, periodic resetting of the cursor posi- tion, momentary display of parse errors, high CPU usage eventually sub- siding, and possibly a small but persistent build-up of CPU usage until the program is restarted. - Also, if you are viewing files mounted from another machine, --watch + Also, if you are viewing files mounted from another machine, --watch requires that both machine clocks are roughly in step. REPORTING BUGS - Report bugs at http://bugs.hledger.org (or on the #hledger IRC channel + Report bugs at http://bugs.hledger.org (or on the #hledger IRC channel or hledger mail list) diff --git a/hledger-web/hledger-web.1 b/hledger-web/hledger-web.1 index 749e49f10..ba7fe8c70 100644 --- a/hledger-web/hledger-web.1 +++ b/hledger-web/hledger-web.1 @@ -184,8 +184,9 @@ convert amounts to their market value in commodity COMM \f[B]\f[CB]--value\f[B]\f[R] convert amounts to cost or market value, more flexibly than -B/-V/-X .TP -\f[B]\f[CB]--infer-value\f[B]\f[R] -with -V/-X/--value, also infer market prices from transactions +\f[B]\f[CB]--infer-market-prices\f[B]\f[R] +use transaction prices (recorded with \[at] or \[at]\[at]) as additional +market prices, as if they were P directives .TP \f[B]\f[CB]--auto\f[B]\f[R] apply automated posting rules to modify transactions. diff --git a/hledger-web/hledger-web.info b/hledger-web/hledger-web.info index 2779d862f..872eeadf3 100644 --- a/hledger-web/hledger-web.info +++ b/hledger-web/hledger-web.info @@ -1,7 +1,8 @@ -This is hledger-web.info, produced by makeinfo version 6.7 from stdin. +This is hledger-web/hledger-web.info, produced by makeinfo version 4.8 +from stdin.  -File: hledger-web.info, Node: Top, Next: OPTIONS, Up: (dir) +File: hledger-web.info, Node: Top, Up: (dir) hledger-web(1) ************** @@ -9,32 +10,31 @@ hledger-web(1) hledger-web is a web interface (WUI) for the hledger accounting tool. This manual is for hledger-web 1.20.99. - 'hledger-web [OPTIONS]' -'hledger web -- [OPTIONS]' + `hledger-web [OPTIONS]' +`hledger web -- [OPTIONS]' hledger is a reliable, cross-platform set of programs for tracking money, time, or any other commodity, using double-entry accounting and a -simple, editable file format. hledger is inspired by and largely +simple, editable file format. hledger is inspired by and largely compatible with ledger(1). - hledger-web is hledger's web interface. It starts a simple web + hledger-web is hledger's web interface. It starts a simple web application for browsing and adding transactions, and optionally opens -it in a web browser window if possible. It provides a more -user-friendly UI than the hledger CLI or hledger-ui interface, showing -more at once (accounts, the current account register, balance charts) -and allowing history-aware data entry, interactive searching, and -bookmarking. +it in a web browser window if possible. It provides a more user-friendly +UI than the hledger CLI or hledger-ui interface, showing more at once +(accounts, the current account register, balance charts) and allowing +history-aware data entry, interactive searching, and bookmarking. hledger-web also lets you share a ledger with multiple users, or even -the public web. There is no access control, so if you need that you -should put it behind a suitable web proxy. As a small protection -against data loss when running an unprotected instance, it writes a -numbered backup of the main journal file (only ?) on every edit. +the public web. There is no access control, so if you need that you +should put it behind a suitable web proxy. As a small protection against +data loss when running an unprotected instance, it writes a numbered +backup of the main journal file (only ?) on every edit. Like hledger, it reads data from one or more files in hledger -journal, timeclock, timedot, or CSV format specified with '-f', or -'$LEDGER_FILE', or '$HOME/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps -'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). For more about this see hledger(1), +journal, timeclock, timedot, or CSV format specified with `-f', or +`$LEDGER_FILE', or `$HOME/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps +`C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). For more about this see hledger(1), hledger_journal(5) etc. * Menu: @@ -55,165 +55,163 @@ File: hledger-web.info, Node: OPTIONS, Next: PERMISSIONS, Prev: Top, Up: Top ********* 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 +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 -'--serve-api' +`--serve-api' 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 - operating system can provide this type of socket. -'--base-url=URL' + TCP socket. Implies `--serve'. It can only be used if the operating + system can provide this type of socket. +`--base-url=URL' set the base url (default: http://IPADDR:PORT). You would change this when sharing over the network, or integrating within a larger website. -'--file-url=URL' - set the static files url (default: BASEURL/static). hledger-web +`--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..]' + them from another server for efficiency, you would set the url + with this. +`--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' - run hledger-web's tests and exit. hspec test runner args may +`--test' + 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' - - use a different input file. For stdin, use - (default: - '$LEDGER_FILE' or '$HOME/.hledger.journal') -'--rules-file=RULESFILE' +`-f FILE --file=FILE' + use a different input file. For stdin, use - (default: + `$LEDGER_FILE' or `$HOME/.hledger.journal') +`--rules-file=RULESFILE' Conversion rules file to use when reading CSV (default: FILE.rules) -'--separator=CHAR' +`--separator=CHAR' Field separator to expect when reading CSV (default: ',') -'--alias=OLD=NEW' +`--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 -'-e --end=DATE' +`-e --end=DATE' include postings/txns before this date -'-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) -'-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-value' - with -V/-X/-value, also infer market prices from transactions -'--auto' +`--infer-market-prices' + use transaction prices (recorded with @ or @@) as additional market + prices, as if they were P directives +`--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 + the next 6 months or till report end date. In hledger-ui, also make ordinary future transactions visible. -'--color=WHEN (or --colour=WHEN)' +`--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 + when piping output into 'less -R'. 'never' or 'no': never. A NO_COLOR environment variable overrides this. When a reporting option appears more than once in the command line, @@ -223,62 +221,62 @@ 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.) +should contain one command line option/argument per line. (To prevent +this, insert a `--' argument before.) By default, hledger-web starts the web app in "transient mode" and -also opens it in your default web browser if possible. In this mode the +also opens it in your default web browser if possible. In this mode the web app will keep running for as long as you have it open in a browser window, and will exit after two minutes of inactivity (no requests and -no browser windows viewing it). With '--serve', it just runs the web -app without exiting, and logs requests to the console. With -'--serve-api', only the JSON web api (see below) is served, with the +no browser windows viewing it). With `--serve', it just runs the web +app without exiting, and logs requests to the console. With +`--serve-api', only the JSON web api (see below) is served, with the usual HTML server-side web UI disabled. 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 +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 -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 '$remote_user' to derive a path from -the username used in a HTTP basic authentication. The following -'proxy_pass' directive allows access to all 'hledger-web' instances that -created a socket in '/tmp/hledger/': + Both of these options are ignored when `--socket' is used. In this +case, it creates an `AF_UNIX' socket file at the supplied path and uses +that for communication. This is an alternative way of running multiple +hledger-web instances behind a reverse proxy that handles +authentication for different users. The path can be derived in a +predictable way, eg by using the username within the path. As an +example, `nginx' as reverse proxy can use the variable `$remote_user' +to derive a path from 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 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. @@ -293,28 +291,32 @@ 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 You can restrict what the users who reach it can do, by - * 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 + * 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 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 - header from which it will read capabilities to enable. hledger-web + * 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 @@ -322,8 +324,8 @@ 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 -"spanner" button to the right of the search form. Clicking this will +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. @@ -332,13 +334,13 @@ 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, +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 yourself (eg with a cron job or a file watcher like entr). Changes which would leave the journal file(s) unparseable or non-valid (eg with failing balance assertions) are prevented. -(Probably. This needs re-testing.) +(Probably. This needs re-testing.)  File: hledger-web.info, Node: RELOADING, Next: JSON API, Prev: EDITING UPLOADING DOWNLOADING, Up: Top @@ -348,7 +350,7 @@ File: hledger-web.info, Node: RELOADING, Next: JSON API, Prev: EDITING UPLOAD hledger-web detects changes made to the files by other means (eg if you edit it directly, outside of hledger-web), and it will show the new data -when you reload the page or navigate to a new page. If a change makes a +when you reload the page or navigate to a new page. If a change makes a file unparseable, hledger-web will display an error message until the file has been fixed. @@ -362,14 +364,16 @@ File: hledger-web.info, Node: JSON API, Next: ENVIRONMENT, 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: +be used to get data or add new transactions. If you want the JSON API +only, you can use the `--serve-api' flag. Eg: + $ hledger-web -f examples/sample.journal --serve-api ... You can get JSON data from these routes: + /version /accountnames /transactions @@ -382,6 +386,7 @@ $ hledger-web -f examples/sample.journal --serve-api 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 [ "assets", @@ -401,6 +406,7 @@ $ curl -s http://127.0.0.1:5000/accountnames | python -m json.tool Or all transactions: + $ curl -s http://127.0.0.1:5000/transactions | python -m json.tool [ { @@ -422,24 +428,25 @@ $ curl -s http://127.0.0.1:5000/transactions | python -m json.tool 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 +on the various data types, eg Transaction. And for a higher level understanding, see the journal manual. 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 +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 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 -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 -export it with hledger-lib, eg like so: +`/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 export it with hledger-lib, eg like so: + .../hledger$ stack ghci hledger-lib >>> writeJsonFile "txn.json" (head $ jtxns samplejournal) @@ -448,6 +455,7 @@ export it with hledger-lib, eg like so: Here's how it looks as of hledger-1.17 (remember, this JSON corresponds to hledger's Transaction and related data types): + { "tcomment": "", "tpostings": [ @@ -534,9 +542,10 @@ 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  @@ -545,25 +554,26 @@ File: hledger-web.info, Node: ENVIRONMENT, Next: FILES, Prev: JSON API, Up: 6 ENVIRONMENT ************* -*LEDGER_FILE* The journal file path when not specified with '-f'. -Default: '~/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps -'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). +*LEDGER_FILE* The journal file path when not specified with `-f'. +Default: `~/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps +`C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). - A typical value is '~/DIR/YYYY.journal', where DIR is a -version-controlled finance directory and YYYY is the current year. Or -'~/DIR/current.journal', where current.journal is a symbolic link to + A typical value is `~/DIR/YYYY.journal', where DIR is a +version-controlled finance directory and YYYY is the current year. Or +`~/DIR/current.journal', where current.journal is a symbolic link to YYYY.journal. - On Mac computers, you can set this and other environment variables in -a more thorough way that also affects applications started from the GUI -(say, an Emacs dock icon). Eg on MacOS Catalina I have a -'~/.MacOSX/environment.plist' file containing + On Mac computers, you can set this and other environment variables +in a more thorough way that also affects applications started from the +GUI (say, an Emacs dock icon). Eg on MacOS Catalina I have a +`~/.MacOSX/environment.plist' file containing + { "LEDGER_FILE" : "~/finance/current.journal" } - To see the effect you may need to 'killall Dock', or reboot. + To see the effect you may need to `killall Dock', or reboot.  File: hledger-web.info, Node: FILES, Next: BUGS, Prev: ENVIRONMENT, Up: Top @@ -572,9 +582,9 @@ File: hledger-web.info, Node: FILES, Next: BUGS, Prev: ENVIRONMENT, Up: Top ******* Reads data from one or more files in hledger journal, timeclock, -timedot, or CSV format specified with '-f', or '$LEDGER_FILE', or -'$HOME/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps -'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). +timedot, or CSV format specified with `-f', or `$LEDGER_FILE', or +`$HOME/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps +`C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal').  File: hledger-web.info, Node: BUGS, Prev: FILES, Up: Top @@ -582,10 +592,10 @@ File: hledger-web.info, Node: BUGS, Prev: FILES, Up: Top 8 BUGS ****** -The need to precede options with '--' when invoked from hledger is +The need to precede options with `--' when invoked from hledger is awkward. - '-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. @@ -593,24 +603,25 @@ awkward. Does not work well on small screens. +  Tag Table: -Node: Top72 -Node: OPTIONS1762 -Ref: #options1867 -Node: PERMISSIONS9082 -Ref: #permissions9221 -Node: EDITING UPLOADING DOWNLOADING10433 -Ref: #editing-uploading-downloading10614 -Node: RELOADING11448 -Ref: #reloading11582 -Node: JSON API12015 -Ref: #json-api12129 -Node: ENVIRONMENT17619 -Ref: #environment17735 -Node: FILES18468 -Ref: #files18568 -Node: BUGS18781 -Ref: #bugs18859 +Node: Top84 +Node: OPTIONS1751 +Ref: #options1856 +Node: PERMISSIONS9107 +Ref: #permissions9246 +Node: EDITING UPLOADING DOWNLOADING10458 +Ref: #editing-uploading-downloading10639 +Node: RELOADING11470 +Ref: #reloading11604 +Node: JSON API12036 +Ref: #json-api12150 +Node: ENVIRONMENT17639 +Ref: #environment17755 +Node: FILES18487 +Ref: #files18587 +Node: BUGS18800 +Ref: #bugs18878  End Tag Table diff --git a/hledger-web/hledger-web.txt b/hledger-web/hledger-web.txt index 3bcc4a836..8177b22b7 100644 --- a/hledger-web/hledger-web.txt +++ b/hledger-web/hledger-web.txt @@ -20,9 +20,9 @@ DESCRIPTION hledger-web is hledger's web interface. It starts a simple web appli- cation for browsing and adding transactions, and optionally opens it in a web browser window if possible. It provides a more user-friendly UI - than the hledger CLI or hledger-ui interface, showing more at once (ac- - counts, the current account register, balance charts) and allowing his- - tory-aware data entry, interactive searching, and bookmarking. + than the hledger CLI or hledger-ui interface, showing more at once + (accounts, the current account register, balance charts) and allowing + history-aware data entry, interactive searching, and bookmarking. hledger-web also lets you share a ledger with multiple users, or even the public web. There is no access control, so if you need that you @@ -59,8 +59,8 @@ OPTIONS --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 op- - erating system can provide this type of socket. + a TCP socket. Implies --serve. It can only be used if the + operating system can provide this type of socket. --base-url=URL set the base url (default: http://IPADDR:PORT). You would @@ -110,8 +110,8 @@ OPTIONS assignments) -s --strict - do extra error checking (check that all posted accounts are de- - clared) + do extra error checking (check that all posted accounts are + declared) hledger reporting options: @@ -141,8 +141,8 @@ OPTIONS using period expressions syntax --date2 - match the secondary date instead (see command help for other ef- - fects) + match the secondary date instead (see command help for other + effects) -U --unmarked include only unmarked postings/txns (can combine with -P or -C) @@ -167,18 +167,19 @@ OPTIONS convert amounts to their cost/selling amount at transaction time -V --market - convert amounts to their market value in default valuation com- + convert amounts to their market value in default valuation com- modities -X --exchange=COMM convert amounts to their market value in commodity COMM --value - convert amounts to cost or market value, more flexibly than + convert amounts to cost or market value, more flexibly than -B/-V/-X - --infer-value - with -V/-X/--value, also infer market prices from transactions + --infer-market-prices + use transaction prices (recorded with @ or @@) as additional + market prices, as if they were P directives --auto apply automated posting rules to modify transactions. @@ -256,14 +257,14 @@ OPTIONS for better caching or cookie-less serving on high performance websites. PERMISSIONS - By default, hledger-web allows anyone who can reach it to view the + By default, hledger-web allows anyone who can reach it to view the journal and to add new transactions, but not to change existing data. You can restrict who can reach it by - o 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 ma- - chine. + o 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. o putting it behind an authenticating proxy, using eg apache or nginx @@ -272,53 +273,53 @@ PERMISSIONS You can restrict what the users who reach it can do, by o using the --capabilities=CAP[,CAP..] flag when you start it, enabling - one or more of the following capabilities. The default value is + one or more of the following capabilities. The default value is view,add: o view - allows viewing the journal file and all included files o add - allows adding new transactions to the main journal file - o manage - allows editing, uploading or downloading the main or in- - cluded files + o manage - allows editing, uploading or downloading the main or + included files - o 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 + o 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. EDITING, UPLOADING, DOWNLOADING - 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 in- - cludes. + 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. - Note, unlike any other hledger command, in this mode you (or any visi- + Note, unlike any other hledger command, in this mode you (or any visi- tor) 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, cur- - rently; if you use one, you'll have to arrange to commit the changes + 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, cur- + rently; 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 non-valid - (eg with failing balance assertions) are prevented. (Probably. This + Changes which would leave the journal file(s) unparseable or non-valid + (eg with failing balance assertions) are prevented. (Probably. This needs re-testing.) RELOADING hledger-web detects changes made to the files by other means (eg if you - edit it directly, outside of hledger-web), and it will show the new - data when you reload the page or navigate to a new page. If a change - makes a file unparseable, hledger-web will display an error message un- - til the file has been fixed. + edit it directly, outside of hledger-web), and it will show the new + data when you reload the page or navigate to a new page. If a change + makes a file unparseable, hledger-web will display an error message + until the file has been fixed. (Note: if you are viewing files mounted from another machine, make sure that both machine clocks are roughly in step.) JSON API - 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 + 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: $ hledger-web -f examples/sample.journal --serve-api @@ -335,7 +336,7 @@ JSON 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 python to + (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 @@ -376,25 +377,25 @@ JSON API "aprice": null, ... - 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 un- - derstanding, see the journal manual. + 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 manual. 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 "ac- - countTransactionsReport ...". Looking up the haddock for that we can - see that /accounttransactions returns an AccountTransactionsReport, - which consists of a report title and a list of AccountTransactionsRe- + 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 + can see that /accounttransactions returns an AccountTransactionsReport, + which consists of a report title and a list of AccountTransactionsRe- portItem (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 + 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 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 @@ -490,24 +491,24 @@ JSON API "tstatus": "Unmarked" } - And here's how to test adding it with curl. This should add a new en- - try to your journal: + 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 ENVIRONMENT LEDGER_FILE The journal file path when not specified with -f. Default: - ~/.hledger.journal (on windows, perhaps C:/Users/USER/.hledger.jour- + ~/.hledger.journal (on windows, perhaps C:/Users/USER/.hledger.jour- nal). - A typical value is ~/DIR/YYYY.journal, where DIR is a version-con- - trolled finance directory and YYYY is the current year. Or ~/DIR/cur- + A typical value is ~/DIR/YYYY.journal, where DIR is a version-con- + trolled finance directory and YYYY is the current year. Or ~/DIR/cur- rent.journal, where current.journal is a symbolic link to YYYY.journal. On Mac computers, you can set this and other environment variables in a more thorough way that also affects applications started from the GUI - (say, an Emacs dock icon). Eg on MacOS Catalina I have a ~/.MacOSX/en- - vironment.plist file containing + (say, an Emacs dock icon). Eg on MacOS Catalina I have a + ~/.MacOSX/environment.plist file containing { "LEDGER_FILE" : "~/finance/current.journal" diff --git a/hledger/hledger.1 b/hledger/hledger.1 index f4bde1b20..3894be4f1 100644 --- a/hledger/hledger.1 +++ b/hledger/hledger.1 @@ -179,8 +179,9 @@ convert amounts to their market value in commodity COMM \f[B]\f[CB]--value\f[B]\f[R] convert amounts to cost or market value, more flexibly than -B/-V/-X .TP -\f[B]\f[CB]--infer-value\f[B]\f[R] -with -V/-X/--value, also infer market prices from transactions +\f[B]\f[CB]--infer-market-prices\f[B]\f[R] +use transaction prices (recorded with \[at] or \[at]\[at]) as additional +market prices, as if they were P directives .TP \f[B]\f[CB]--auto\f[B]\f[R] apply automated posting rules to modify transactions. @@ -1226,19 +1227,22 @@ Some of these can also be expressed as command-line options (eg Generally you can mix options and query arguments, and the resulting query will be their intersection (perhaps excluding the \f[C]-p/--period\f[R] option). +.SH COSTING +.PP +The \f[C]-B/--cost\f[R] flag converts amounts to their cost or sale +amount at transaction time, if they have a transaction price specified. +If this flag is supplied, hledger will perform cost conversion first, +and will apply any market price valuations (if requested) afterwards. .SH VALUATION .PP Instead of reporting amounts in their original commodity, hledger can convert them to cost/sale amount (using the conversion rate recorded in -the transaction), or to market value (using some market price on a +the transaction), and/or to market value (using some market price on a certain date). -This is controlled by the \f[C]--value=TYPE[,COMMODITY]\f[R] option, but -we also provide the simpler \f[C]-B\f[R]/\f[C]-V\f[R]/\f[C]-X\f[R] -flags, and usually one of those is all you need. -.SS -B: Cost -.PP -The \f[C]-B/--cost\f[R] flag converts amounts to their cost or sale -amount at transaction time, if they have a transaction price specified. +This is controlled by the \f[C]--cost\f[R] and +\f[C]--value=TYPE[,COMMODITY]\f[R] options, but we also provide the +simpler \f[C]-V\f[R]/\f[C]-X\f[R] flags, and usually one of those is all +you need. .SS -V: Value .PP The \f[C]-V/--market\f[R] flag converts amounts to market value in their @@ -1270,17 +1274,17 @@ this order of preference : .IP "1." 3 A \f[I]declared market price\f[R] or \f[I]inferred market price\f[R]: A\[aq]s latest market price in B on or before the valuation date as -declared by a P directive, or (with the \f[C]--infer-value\f[R] flag) -inferred from transaction prices. +declared by a P directive, or (with the \f[C]--infer-market-price\f[R] +flag) inferred from transaction prices. .IP "2." 3 A \f[I]reverse market price\f[R]: the inverse of a declared or inferred market price from B to A. .IP "3." 3 -A \f[I]a forward chain of market prices\f[R]: a synthetic price formed -by combining the shortest chain of \[dq]forward\[dq] (only 1 above) -market prices, leading from A to B. +A \f[I]forward chain of market prices\f[R]: a synthetic price formed by +combining the shortest chain of \[dq]forward\[dq] (only 1 above) market +prices, leading from A to B. .IP "4." 3 -A \f[I]any chain of market prices\f[R]: a chain of any market prices, +\f[I]Any chain of market prices\f[R]: a chain of any market prices, including both forward and reverse prices (1 and 2 above), leading from A to B. .PP @@ -1292,7 +1296,7 @@ That limit is currently 1000. .PP Amounts for which no suitable market price can be found, are not converted. -.SS --infer-value: market prices from transactions +.SS --infer-market-price: market prices from transactions .PP Normally, market value in hledger is fully controlled by, and requires, P directives in your journal. @@ -1301,17 +1305,18 @@ usually take place at close to market value, why not use the recorded transaction prices as additional market prices (as Ledger does) ? We could produce value reports without needing P directives at all. .PP -Adding the \f[C]--infer-value\f[R] flag to \f[C]-V\f[R], \f[C]-X\f[R] or -\f[C]--value\f[R] enables this. -So for example, \f[C]hledger bs -V --infer-value\f[R] will get market -prices both from P directives and from transactions. +Adding the \f[C]--infer-market-price\f[R] flag to \f[C]-V\f[R], +\f[C]-X\f[R] or \f[C]--value\f[R] enables this. +So for example, \f[C]hledger bs -V --infer-market-price\f[R] will get +market prices both from P directives and from transactions. +(And if both occur on the same day, the P directive takes precedence). .PP 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 \f[C]--debug\f[R] or \f[C]--debug=2\f[R] to troubleshoot. .PP -\f[C]--infer-value\f[R] can infer market prices from: +\f[C]--infer-market-price\f[R] can infer market prices from: .IP \[bu] 2 multicommodity transactions with explicit prices (\f[C]\[at]\f[R]/\f[C]\[at]\[at]\f[R]) @@ -1350,16 +1355,16 @@ date. valuation date.) .IP "3." 3 If there are no P directives at all (any commodity or date) and the -\f[C]--infer-value\f[R] flag is used: the price commodity from the -latest transaction-inferred price for A on or before valuation date. +\f[C]--infer-market-price\f[R] flag is used: the price commodity from +the latest transaction-inferred price for A on or before valuation date. .PP This means: .IP \[bu] 2 If you have P directives, they determine which commodities \f[C]-V\f[R] will convert, and to what. .IP \[bu] 2 -If you have no P directives, and use the \f[C]--infer-value\f[R] flag, -transaction prices determine it. +If you have no P directives, and use the \f[C]--infer-market-price\f[R] +flag, transaction prices determine it. .PP Amounts for which no valuation commodity can be found are not converted. .SS Simple valuation examples @@ -1410,15 +1415,14 @@ $ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros -V .fi .SS --value: Flexible valuation .PP -\f[C]-B\f[R], \f[C]-V\f[R] and \f[C]-X\f[R] are special cases of the -more general \f[C]--value\f[R] option: +\f[C]-V\f[R] and \f[C]-X\f[R] are special cases of the more general +\f[C]--value\f[R] option: .IP .nf \f[C] - --value=TYPE[,COMM] TYPE is cost, then, end, now or YYYY-MM-DD. + --value=TYPE[,COMM] TYPE is then, end, now or YYYY-MM-DD. COMM is an optional commodity symbol. Shows amounts converted to: - - cost commodity using transaction prices (then optionally to COMM using market prices at period end(s)) - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at posting dates - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at period end(s) - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using current market prices @@ -1428,9 +1432,6 @@ more general \f[C]--value\f[R] option: .PP The TYPE part selects cost or value and valuation date: .TP -\f[B]\f[CB]--value=cost\f[B]\f[R] -Convert amounts to cost, using the prices recorded in transactions. -.TP \f[B]\f[CB]--value=then\f[B]\f[R] Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commodity, using market prices on each posting\[aq]s date. @@ -1481,7 +1482,7 @@ Show the cost of each posting: .IP .nf \f[C] -$ hledger -f- print --value=cost +$ hledger -f- print --cost 2000-01-01 (a) 5 B @@ -1620,7 +1621,7 @@ lw(9.5n) lw(11.8n) lw(12.0n) lw(17.2n) lw(12.0n) lw(7.4n). T{ Report type T}@T{ -\f[C]-B\f[R], \f[C]--value=cost\f[R] +\f[C]-B\f[R], \f[C]--cost\f[R] T}@T{ \f[C]-V\f[R], \f[C]-X\f[R] T}@T{ @@ -2355,41 +2356,59 @@ aregister, areg .PD 0 .P .PD -Show transactions affecting a particular account, and the account\[aq]s -running balance. +.PP +Show the transactions and running historical balance in an account, with +each line item representing one transaction. .PP \f[C]aregister\f[R] shows the transactions affecting a particular -account (and its subaccounts), from the point of view of that account. -Each line shows: -.IP \[bu] 2 -the transaction\[aq]s (or posting\[aq]s, see below) date -.IP \[bu] 2 -the names of the other account(s) involved -.IP \[bu] 2 -the net change to this account\[aq]s balance -.IP \[bu] 2 -the account\[aq]s historical running balance (including balance from -transactions before the report start date). +account and its subaccounts, with each line item representing a whole +transaction - as in bank statements, hledger-ui, hledger-web and other +accounting apps. .PP -With \f[C]aregister\f[R], each line represents a whole transaction - as -in hledger-ui, hledger-web, and your bank statement. -By contrast, the \f[C]register\f[R] command shows individual postings, -across all accounts. -You might prefer \f[C]aregister\f[R] for reconciling with real-world -asset/liability accounts, and \f[C]register\f[R] for reviewing detailed -revenues/expenses. +Note this is unlike the \f[C]register\f[R] command, which shows +individual postings and does not always show a single account or a +historical balance. .PP -An account must be specified as the first argument, which should be the -full account name or an account pattern (regular expression). -aregister will show transactions in this account (the first one matched) -and any of its subaccounts. +A reminder, \[dq]historical\[dq] balances include any balance from +transactions before the report start date, so (if opening balances are +recorded correctly) \f[C]aregister\f[R] will show the real-world +balances of an account, as you would see in a bank statement. +.PP +As a quick rule of thumb, use \f[C]aregister\f[R] for reconciling +real-world asset/liability accounts and \f[C]register\f[R] for reviewing +detailed revenues/expenses. +.PP +\f[C]aregister\f[R] shows the register for just one account (and its +subaccounts). +This account must be specified as the first argument. +You can write either the full account name, or a case-insensitive +regular expression which will select the alphabetically first matched +account. +(Eg if you have \f[C]assets:aaa:checking\f[R] and +\f[C]assets:bbb:checking\f[R] accounts, \f[C]hledger areg checking\f[R] +would select \f[C]assets:aaa:checking\f[R].) .PP Any additional arguments form a query which will filter the transactions shown. .PP +Each \f[C]aregister\f[R] line item shows: +.IP \[bu] 2 +the transaction\[aq]s date (or the relevant posting\[aq]s date if +different, see below) +.IP \[bu] 2 +the names of all the other account(s) involved in this transaction +(probably abbreviated) +.IP \[bu] 2 +the total change to this account\[aq]s balance from this transaction +.IP \[bu] 2 +the account\[aq]s historical running balance after this transaction. +.PP Transactions making a net change of zero are not shown by default; add the \f[C]-E/--empty\f[R] flag to show them. .PP +\f[C]aregister\f[R] ignores a depth limit, so its final total will +always match a balance report with similar arguments. +.PP This command also supports the output destination and output format options The output formats supported are \f[C]txt\f[R], \f[C]csv\f[R], and \f[C]json\f[R]. @@ -2534,157 +2553,6 @@ the sum of the top-level balances, not of all the balances shown. .PP Each group of sibling accounts is sorted separately, by declaration order and then by account name. -.SS Customising single-period balance reports -.PP -You can customise the layout of single-period balance reports with -\f[C]--format FMT\f[R], which sets the format of each line. -Eg: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger balance --format \[dq]%20(account) %12(total)\[dq] - assets $-1 - bank:saving $1 - cash $-2 - expenses $2 - food $1 - supplies $1 - income $-2 - gifts $-1 - salary $-1 - liabilities:debts $1 ---------------------------------- - 0 -\f[R] -.fi -.PP -The FMT format string (plus a newline) specifies the formatting applied -to each account/balance pair. -It may contain any suitable text, with data fields interpolated like so: -.PP -\f[C]%[MIN][.MAX](FIELDNAME)\f[R] -.IP \[bu] 2 -MIN pads with spaces to at least this width (optional) -.IP \[bu] 2 -MAX truncates at this width (optional) -.IP \[bu] 2 -FIELDNAME must be enclosed in parentheses, and can be one of: -.RS 2 -.IP \[bu] 2 -\f[C]depth_spacer\f[R] - a number of spaces equal to the account\[aq]s -depth, or if MIN is specified, MIN * depth spaces. -.IP \[bu] 2 -\f[C]account\f[R] - the account\[aq]s name -.IP \[bu] 2 -\f[C]total\f[R] - the account\[aq]s balance/posted total, right -justified -.RE -.PP -Also, FMT can begin with an optional prefix to control how -multi-commodity amounts are rendered: -.IP \[bu] 2 -\f[C]%_\f[R] - render on multiple lines, bottom-aligned (the default) -.IP \[bu] 2 -\f[C]%\[ha]\f[R] - render on multiple lines, top-aligned -.IP \[bu] 2 -\f[C]%,\f[R] - render on one line, comma-separated -.PP -There are some quirks. -Eg in one-line mode, \f[C]%(depth_spacer)\f[R] has no effect, instead -\f[C]%(account)\f[R] has indentation built in. -Experimentation may be needed to get pleasing results. -.PP -Some example formats: -.IP \[bu] 2 -\f[C]%(total)\f[R] - the account\[aq]s total -.IP \[bu] 2 -\f[C]%-20.20(account)\f[R] - the account\[aq]s name, left justified, -padded to 20 characters and clipped at 20 characters -.IP \[bu] 2 -\f[C]%,%-50(account) %25(total)\f[R] - account name padded to 50 -characters, total padded to 20 characters, with multiple commodities -rendered on one line -.IP \[bu] 2 -\f[C]%20(total) %2(depth_spacer)%-(account)\f[R] - the default format -for the single-column balance report -.SS Depth limiting -.PP -With a \f[C]depth:N\f[R] query, or \f[C]--depth N\f[R] option, or just -\f[C]-N\f[R], balance reports will show accounts only to the specified -depth. -This is very useful to hide low-level accounts and get an overview. -Eg, limiting to depth 1 shows the top-level accounts: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger balance -N -1 - $-1 assets - $2 expenses - $-2 income - $1 liabilities -\f[R] -.fi -.PP -Accounts at the depth limit will include the balances of any hidden -subaccounts (even in flat mode, which normally shows exclusive -balances). -.PP -You can also drop account name components from the start of account -names, using \f[C]--drop N\f[R]. -This can be useful to hide unwanted top-level detail. -.SS Colour support -.PP -In terminal output, when colour is enabled, the balance command shows -negative amounts in red. -.SS Sorting by amount -.PP -With \f[C]-S\f[R]/\f[C]--sort-amount\f[R], accounts with the largest -(most positive) balances are shown first. -For example, \f[C]hledger bal expenses -MAS\f[R] shows your biggest -averaged monthly expenses first. -.PP -Revenues and liability balances are typically negative, however, so -\f[C]-S\f[R] shows these in reverse order. -To work around this, you can add \f[C]--invert\f[R] to flip the signs. -Or, use one of the sign-flipping reports like \f[C]balancesheet\f[R] or -\f[C]incomestatement\f[R], which also support \f[C]-S\f[R]. -Eg: \f[C]hledger is -MAS\f[R]. -.SS Percentages -.PP -With \f[C]-%\f[R] or \f[C]--percent\f[R], balance reports show each -account\[aq]s value expressed as a percentage of the column\[aq]s total. -This is useful to get an overview of the relative sizes of account -balances. -For example to obtain an overview of expenses: -.IP -.nf -\f[C] -$ hledger balance expenses -% - 100.0 % expenses - 50.0 % food - 50.0 % supplies --------------------- - 100.0 % -\f[R] -.fi -.PP -Note that \f[C]--tree\f[R] does not have an effect on \f[C]-%\f[R]. -The percentages are always relative to the total sum of each column, -they are never relative to the parent account. -.PP -Since the percentages are relative to the columns sum, it is usually not -useful to calculate percentages if the signs of the amounts are mixed. -Although the results are technically correct, they are most likely -useless. -Especially in a balance report that sums up to zero (eg -\f[C]hledger balance -B\f[R]) all percentage values will be zero. -.PP -This flag does not work if the report contains any mixed commodity -accounts. -If there are mixed commodity accounts in the report be sure to use -\f[C]-V\f[R] or \f[C]-B\f[R] to coerce the report into using a single -commodity. -.PP .SS Multi-period balance report .PP Multi-period balance reports are a very useful hledger feature, @@ -2827,14 +2695,166 @@ the width of multicommodity reports. When the report is still too wide, a good workaround is to pipe it into \f[C]less -RS\f[R] (-R for colour, -S to chop long lines). Eg: \f[C]hledger bal -D --color=yes | less -RS\f[R]. +.SS Depth limiting +.PP +With a \f[C]depth:N\f[R] query, or \f[C]--depth N\f[R] option, or just +\f[C]-N\f[R], balance reports will show accounts only to the specified +depth. +This is very useful to hide low-level accounts and get an overview. +Eg, limiting to depth 1 shows the top-level accounts: +.IP +.nf +\f[C] +$ hledger balance -N -1 + $-1 assets + $2 expenses + $-2 income + $1 liabilities +\f[R] +.fi +.PP +Accounts at the depth limit will include the balances of any hidden +subaccounts (even in flat mode, which normally shows exclusive +balances). +.PP +You can also drop account name components from the start of account +names, using \f[C]--drop N\f[R]. +This can be useful to hide unwanted top-level detail. +.SS Colour support +.PP +In terminal output, when colour is enabled, the balance command shows +negative amounts in red. +.SS Sorting by amount +.PP +With \f[C]-S\f[R]/\f[C]--sort-amount\f[R], accounts with the largest +(most positive) balances are shown first. +For example, \f[C]hledger bal expenses -MAS\f[R] shows your biggest +averaged monthly expenses first. +.PP +Revenues and liability balances are typically negative, however, so +\f[C]-S\f[R] shows these in reverse order. +To work around this, you can add \f[C]--invert\f[R] to flip the signs. +Or, use one of the sign-flipping reports like \f[C]balancesheet\f[R] or +\f[C]incomestatement\f[R], which also support \f[C]-S\f[R]. +Eg: \f[C]hledger is -MAS\f[R]. +.SS Percentages +.PP +With \f[C]-%\f[R] or \f[C]--percent\f[R], balance reports show each +account\[aq]s value expressed as a percentage of the column\[aq]s total. +This is useful to get an overview of the relative sizes of account +balances. +For example to obtain an overview of expenses: +.IP +.nf +\f[C] +$ hledger balance expenses -% + 100.0 % expenses + 50.0 % food + 50.0 % supplies +-------------------- + 100.0 % +\f[R] +.fi +.PP +Note that \f[C]--tree\f[R] does not have an effect on \f[C]-%\f[R]. +The percentages are always relative to the total sum of each column, +they are never relative to the parent account. +.PP +Since the percentages are relative to the columns sum, it is usually not +useful to calculate percentages if the signs of the amounts are mixed. +Although the results are technically correct, they are most likely +useless. +Especially in a balance report that sums up to zero (eg +\f[C]hledger balance -B\f[R]) all percentage values will be zero. +.PP +This flag does not work if the report contains any mixed commodity +accounts. +If there are mixed commodity accounts in the report be sure to use +\f[C]-V\f[R] or \f[C]-B\f[R] to coerce the report into using a single +commodity. +.PP +.SS Customising single-period balance reports +.PP +You can customise the layout of single-period balance reports with +\f[C]--format FMT\f[R], which sets the format of each line. +Eg: +.IP +.nf +\f[C] +$ hledger balance --format \[dq]%20(account) %12(total)\[dq] + assets $-1 + bank:saving $1 + cash $-2 + expenses $2 + food $1 + supplies $1 + income $-2 + gifts $-1 + salary $-1 + liabilities:debts $1 +--------------------------------- + 0 +\f[R] +.fi +.PP +The FMT format string (plus a newline) specifies the formatting applied +to each account/balance pair. +It may contain any suitable text, with data fields interpolated like so: +.PP +\f[C]%[MIN][.MAX](FIELDNAME)\f[R] +.IP \[bu] 2 +MIN pads with spaces to at least this width (optional) +.IP \[bu] 2 +MAX truncates at this width (optional) +.IP \[bu] 2 +FIELDNAME must be enclosed in parentheses, and can be one of: +.RS 2 +.IP \[bu] 2 +\f[C]depth_spacer\f[R] - a number of spaces equal to the account\[aq]s +depth, or if MIN is specified, MIN * depth spaces. +.IP \[bu] 2 +\f[C]account\f[R] - the account\[aq]s name +.IP \[bu] 2 +\f[C]total\f[R] - the account\[aq]s balance/posted total, right +justified +.RE +.PP +Also, FMT can begin with an optional prefix to control how +multi-commodity amounts are rendered: +.IP \[bu] 2 +\f[C]%_\f[R] - render on multiple lines, bottom-aligned (the default) +.IP \[bu] 2 +\f[C]%\[ha]\f[R] - render on multiple lines, top-aligned +.IP \[bu] 2 +\f[C]%,\f[R] - render on one line, comma-separated +.PP +There are some quirks. +Eg in one-line mode, \f[C]%(depth_spacer)\f[R] has no effect, instead +\f[C]%(account)\f[R] has indentation built in. +Experimentation may be needed to get pleasing results. +.PP +Some example formats: +.IP \[bu] 2 +\f[C]%(total)\f[R] - the account\[aq]s total +.IP \[bu] 2 +\f[C]%-20.20(account)\f[R] - the account\[aq]s name, left justified, +padded to 20 characters and clipped at 20 characters +.IP \[bu] 2 +\f[C]%,%-50(account) %25(total)\f[R] - account name padded to 50 +characters, total padded to 20 characters, with multiple commodities +rendered on one line +.IP \[bu] 2 +\f[C]%20(total) %2(depth_spacer)%-(account)\f[R] - the default format +for the single-column balance report .SS Budget report .PP -With \f[C]--budget\f[R], extra columns are displayed showing budget +There is also a special balance report mode for showing budget +performance. +The \f[C]--budget\f[R] flag activates extra columns showing the budget goals for each account and period, if any. -Budget goals are defined by periodic transactions. +For this report, budget goals are defined by periodic transactions. This is very useful for comparing planned and actual income, expenses, time usage, etc. ---budget is most often combined with a report interval. .PP For example, you can take average monthly expenses in the common expense categories to construct a minimal monthly budget: @@ -3783,12 +3803,16 @@ payees .PD List the unique payee/payer names that appear in transactions. .PP -This command lists the unique payee/payer names that appear in -transactions, in alphabetic order. -You can add a query to select a subset of transactions. +This command lists unique payee/payer names which have been declared +with payee directives (--declared), used in transaction descriptions +(--used), or both (the default). +.PP The payee/payer is the part of the transaction description before a | character (or if there is no |, the whole description). .PP +You can add query arguments to select a subset of transactions. +This implies --used. +.PP Example: .IP .nf @@ -3823,9 +3847,20 @@ Show transaction journal entries, sorted by date. The print command displays full journal entries (transactions) from the journal file, sorted by date (or with \f[C]--date2\f[R], by secondary date). +.PP +Amounts are shown mostly normalised to commodity display style, eg the +placement of commodity symbols will be consistent. +All of their decimal places are shown, as in the original journal entry +(with one alteration: in some cases trailing zeroes are added.) +.PP Amounts are shown right-aligned within each transaction (but not across all transactions). -Directives and inter-transaction comments are not shown. +.PP +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 +directives and file-level comments. +.PP Eg: .IP .nf @@ -3869,9 +3904,6 @@ $ hledger print assets:cash | hledger -f- -I reg expenses:food There are some situations where print\[aq]s output can become unparseable: .IP \[bu] 2 -Rounding amounts according to commodity display styles can cause -transactions to appear unbalanced. -.IP \[bu] 2 Valuation affects posting amounts but not balance assertion or balance assignment amounts, potentially causing those to fail. .IP \[bu] 2 @@ -5305,6 +5337,7 @@ Scientific E notation is allowed: EUR 1E3 \f[R] .fi +.SS Decimal marks, digit group marks .PP A decimal mark can be written as a period or a comma: .IP @@ -5314,7 +5347,6 @@ A decimal mark can be written as a period or a comma: 1,23456780000009 \f[R] .fi -.SS Digit group marks .PP In the integer part of the quantity (left of the decimal mark), groups of digits can optionally be separated by a \[dq]digit group mark\[dq] - @@ -5329,9 +5361,9 @@ INR 9,99,99,999.00 \f[R] .fi .PP -Note, a number containing a single group mark and no decimal mark is -ambiguous. -Are these group marks or decimal marks ? +Note, a number containing a single digit group mark and no decimal mark +is ambiguous. +Are these digit group marks or decimal marks ? .IP .nf \f[C] @@ -5340,39 +5372,55 @@ Are these group marks or decimal marks ? \f[R] .fi .PP -hledger will treat them both as decimal marks by default (cf #793). -If you use digit group marks, to prevent confusion and undetected typos -we recommend you write commodity directives at the top of the file to -explicitly declare the decimal mark (and optionally a digit group mark). -Note, these formats (\[dq]amount styles\[dq]) are specific to each -commodity, so if your data uses multiple formats, hledger can handle it: +If you don\[aq]t tell it otherwise, hledger will assume both of the +above are decimal marks, parsing both numbers as 1. +To prevent confusion and undetected typos, especially if your data +contains digit group marks, we recommend you explicitly declare the +decimal mark (and optionally a digit group mark), for each commodity, +using \f[C]commodity\f[R] directives (described below): .IP .nf \f[C] +# number formats for $, EUR, INR and the no-symbol commodity: commodity $1,000.00 commodity EUR 1.000,00 commodity INR 9,99,99,999.00 -commodity 1 000 000.9455 +commodity 1 000 000.9455 \f[R] .fi .PP +Note, \f[C]commodity\f[R] directives declare both the number format for +parsing input, and the display style for showing output. +For the former, they are position-sensitive, affecting only following +amounts, so commodity directives should be at the top of your journal +file. +This is discussed more on #793. +.PP .SS Commodity display style .PP For the amounts in each commodity, hledger chooses a consistent display -style. -(Excluding price amounts, which are always displayed as written). -The display style is chosen as follows: -.IP \[bu] 2 -If there is a commodity directive (or default commodity directive) for -the commodity, its style is used (see examples above). -.IP \[bu] 2 -Otherwise the style is inferred from the amounts in that commodity seen -in the journal. -.IP \[bu] 2 -Or if there are no such amounts in the journal, a default style is used -(like \f[C]$1000.00\f[R]). +style to use in most reports. +(Except for price amounts, which are always displayed as written). +The display style is inferred as follows. .PP -A style is inferred from the journal amounts in a commodity as follows: +First, if a default commodity is declared with \f[C]D\f[R], this +commodity and its style is applied to any no-symbol amounts in the +journal. +.PP +Then each commodity\[aq]s style is inferred from one of the following, +in order of preference: +.IP \[bu] 2 +The commodity directive for that commodity (including the no-symbol +commodity), if any. +.IP \[bu] 2 +The amounts in that commodity seen in the journal\[aq]s transactions. +(Posting amounts only; prices and periodic or auto rules are ignored, +currently.) +.IP \[bu] 2 +The built-in fallback style, which looks like this: \f[C]$1000.00\f[R]. +(Symbol on the left, period decimal mark, two decimal places.) +.PP +A style is inferred from journal amounts as follows: .IP \[bu] 2 Use the general style (decimal mark, symbol placement) of the first amount @@ -5388,25 +5436,22 @@ posting\[aq]s amount is inferred using a transaction price). If you find this causing problems, use a commodity directive to fix the display style. .PP -In summary, each commodity\[aq]s amounts will be normalised to -.IP \[bu] 2 -the style declared by a \f[C]commodity\f[R] directive -.IP \[bu] 2 -or, 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. -.PP +To summarise: each commodity\[aq]s amounts will be normalised to (a) the +style declared by a \f[C]commodity\f[R] 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\[aq]t like, eg -with too many decimal places, use a commodity directive to set the -commodity\[aq]s display style. -For example: +with too many decimal places, use a commodity directive. +Some examples: .IP .nf \f[C] -# declare euro, dollar and bitcoin commodities and set their display styles: +# declare euro, dollar, bitcoin and no-symbol commodities and set their +# input number formats and output display styles: commodity EUR 1.000, commodity $1000.00 commodity 1000.00000000 BTC +commodity 1 000. \f[R] .fi .SS Rounding @@ -8235,6 +8280,14 @@ amount %amt %cur Note we used a temporary field name (\f[C]cur\f[R]) that is not \f[C]currency\f[R] - that would trigger the prepending effect, which we don\[aq]t want here. +.SS Amount decimal places +.PP +Like amounts in a journal file, the amounts generated by CSV rules like +\f[C]amount1\f[R] influence commodity display styles, such as the number +of decimal places displayed in reports. +.PP +The original amounts as written in the CSV file do not affect display +style (because we don\[aq]t yet reliably know their commodity). .SS Referencing other fields .PP In field assignments, you can interpolate only CSV fields, not hledger diff --git a/hledger/hledger.info b/hledger/hledger.info index cfe91b08a..1c73a1209 100644 --- a/hledger/hledger.info +++ b/hledger/hledger.info @@ -1,44 +1,46 @@ -This is hledger.info, produced by makeinfo version 6.7 from stdin. +This is hledger/hledger.info, produced by makeinfo version 4.8 from +stdin.  -File: hledger.info, Node: Top, Next: OPTIONS, Up: (dir) +File: hledger.info, Node: Top, Up: (dir) hledger(1) ********** This is the command-line interface (CLI) for the hledger accounting -tool. Here we also describe hledger's concepts and file formats. This +tool. Here we also describe hledger's concepts and file formats. This manual is for hledger 1.20.99. - 'hledger' + `hledger' - 'hledger [-f FILE] COMMAND [OPTIONS] [ARGS]' + `hledger [-f FILE] COMMAND [OPTIONS] [ARGS]' - 'hledger [-f FILE] ADDONCMD -- [OPTIONS] [ARGS]' + `hledger [-f FILE] ADDONCMD -- [OPTIONS] [ARGS]' hledger is a reliable, cross-platform set of programs for tracking money, time, or any other commodity, using double-entry accounting and a -simple, editable file format. hledger is inspired by and largely +simple, editable file format. hledger is inspired by and largely compatible with ledger(1). The basic function of the hledger CLI is to read a plain text file describing financial transactions (in accounting terms, a general journal) and print useful reports on standard output, or export them as CSV. hledger can also read some other file formats such as CSV files, -translating them to journal format. Additionally, hledger lists other +translating them to journal format. Additionally, hledger lists other hledger-* executables found in the user's $PATH and can invoke them as subcommands. hledger reads data from one or more files in hledger journal, -timeclock, timedot, or CSV format specified with '-f', or -'$LEDGER_FILE', or '$HOME/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps -'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). If using '$LEDGER_FILE', note this -must be a real environment variable, not a shell variable. You can -specify standard input with '-f-'. +timeclock, timedot, or CSV format specified with `-f', or +`$LEDGER_FILE', or `$HOME/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps +`C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). If using `$LEDGER_FILE', note this +must be a real environment variable, not a shell variable. You can +specify standard input with `-f-'. Transactions are dated movements of money between two (or more) named accounts, and are recorded with journal entries like this: + 2015/10/16 bought food expenses:food $10 assets:cash @@ -46,14 +48,14 @@ accounts, and are recorded with journal entries like this: For more about this format, see hledger_journal(5). Most users use a text editor to edit the journal, usually with an -editor mode such as ledger-mode for added convenience. hledger's +editor mode such as ledger-mode for added convenience. hledger's interactive add command is another way to record new transactions. hledger never changes existing transactions. To get started, you can either save some entries like the above in -'~/.hledger.journal', or run 'hledger add' and follow the prompts. Then -try some commands like 'hledger print' or 'hledger balance'. Run -'hledger' with no arguments for a list of commands. +`~/.hledger.journal', or run `hledger add' and follow the prompts. Then +try some commands like `hledger print' or `hledger balance'. Run +`hledger' with no arguments for a list of commands. * Menu: @@ -63,6 +65,7 @@ try some commands like 'hledger print' or 'hledger balance'. Run * TIME PERIODS:: * DEPTH:: * QUERIES:: +* COSTING:: * VALUATION:: * PIVOTING:: * OUTPUT:: @@ -97,137 +100,135 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: General options, Next: Command options, Up: OPTIONS =================== To see general usage help, including general options which are supported -by most hledger commands, run 'hledger -h'. +by most hledger commands, run `hledger -h'. General help options: -'-h --help' - +`-h --help' show general or COMMAND help -'--man' +`--man' show general or COMMAND user manual with man -'--info' +`--info' show general or COMMAND user manual with info -'--version' +`--version' show general or ADDONCMD version -'--debug[=N]' +`--debug[=N]' show debug output (levels 1-9, default: 1) General input options: -'-f FILE --file=FILE' - - use a different input file. For stdin, use - (default: - '$LEDGER_FILE' or '$HOME/.hledger.journal') -'--rules-file=RULESFILE' +`-f FILE --file=FILE' + use a different input file. For stdin, use - (default: + `$LEDGER_FILE' or `$HOME/.hledger.journal') +`--rules-file=RULESFILE' Conversion rules file to use when reading CSV (default: FILE.rules) -'--separator=CHAR' +`--separator=CHAR' Field separator to expect when reading CSV (default: ',') -'--alias=OLD=NEW' +`--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 -'-e --end=DATE' +`-e --end=DATE' include postings/txns before this date -'-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) -'-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-value' - with -V/-X/-value, also infer market prices from transactions -'--auto' +`--infer-market-prices' + use transaction prices (recorded with @ or @@) as additional market + prices, as if they were P directives +`--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 + the next 6 months or till report end date. In hledger-ui, also make ordinary future transactions visible. -'--color=WHEN (or --colour=WHEN)' +`--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 + when piping output into 'less -R'. 'never' or 'no': never. A NO_COLOR environment variable overrides this. When a reporting option appears more than once in the command line, @@ -242,14 +243,14 @@ 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 @@ -261,32 +262,36 @@ 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 +then reuse them by writing `@FILENAME' as a command line argument. Eg: +`hledger bal @foo.args'. (To prevent this, eg if you have an argument +that begins with a literal `@', precede it with `--', eg: `hledger bal -- @ARG'). Inside the argument file, each line should contain just one option or -argument. Avoid the use of spaces, except inside quotes (or you'll see -a confusing error). Between a flag and its argument, use = (or -nothing). Bad: +argument. Avoid the use of spaces, except inside quotes (or you'll see a +confusing error). Between a flag and its argument, use = (or nothing). +Bad: + assets depth:2 -X USD Good: + assets depth:2 -X=USD For special characters (see below), use one less level of quoting -than you would at the command prompt. Bad: +than you would at the command prompt. Bad: + -X"$" Good: + -X$ See also: Save frequently used options. @@ -311,15 +316,17 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Single escaping shell metacharacters, Next: Double e -------------------------------------------- In shell command lines, characters significant to your shell - such as -spaces, '<', '>', '(', ')', '|', '$' and '\' - should be "shell-escaped" -if you want hledger to see them. This is done by enclosing them in -single or double quotes, or by writing a backslash before them. Eg to -match an account name containing a space: +spaces, `<', `>', `(', `)', `|', `$' 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: + $ hledger register 'credit card' or: + $ hledger register credit\ card  @@ -329,17 +336,19 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Double escaping regular expression metacharacters, N --------------------------------------------------------- Characters significant in regular expressions (described below) - such -as '.', '^', '$', '[', ']', '(', ')', '|', and '\' - may need to be +as `.', `^', `$', `[', `]', `(', `)', `|', 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 +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 -'$' sign while using the bash shell: +shell-escaping and regex-escaping will be needed. Eg to match a literal +`$' sign while using the bash shell: + $ hledger balance cur:'\$' or: + $ hledger balance cur:\\$  @@ -351,25 +360,28 @@ 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:'\\$' or: + $ 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: + $ hledger-ui cur:\\$  @@ -380,11 +392,14 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Less escaping, Prev: Triple escaping for add-on comm 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: +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).  @@ -402,12 +417,13 @@ hledger is expected to handle non-ascii characters correctly: * 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: + + This requires a well-configured environment. Here are some tips: * A system locale must be configured, and it must be one that can - decode the characters being used. In bash, you can set a locale - like this: 'export LANG=en_US.UTF-8'. There are some more details - in Troubleshooting. This step is essential - without it, hledger + decode the characters being used. In bash, you can set a locale + like this: `export LANG=en_US.UTF-8'. There are some more details + in Troubleshooting. This step is essential - without it, hledger will quit on encountering a non-ascii character (as with all GHC-compiled programs). @@ -421,11 +437,12 @@ hledger is expected to handle non-ascii characters correctly: double width (for report alignment) * on Windows, for best results you should run hledger in the same - kind of environment in which it was built. Eg hledger built in the + kind of environment in which it was built. Eg hledger built in the standard CMD.EXE environment (like the binaries on our download page) might show display problems when run in a cygwin or msys terminal, and vice versa. (See eg #961). +  File: hledger.info, Node: Regular expressions, Prev: Unicode characters, Up: OPTIONS @@ -435,41 +452,49 @@ 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 directives and options: 'alias /REGEX/ = - REPLACEMENT', '--alias /REGEX/=REPLACEMENT' + form: `REGEX', `desc:REGEX', `cur:REGEX', `tag:...=REGEX' - hledger's regular expressions come from the regex-tdfa library. If + * CSV rules conditional blocks: `if REGEX ...' + + * account alias directives and options: `alias /REGEX/ = + REPLACEMENT', `--alias /REGEX/=REPLACEMENT' + + hledger's regular expressions come from the regex-tdfa library. If they're not doing what you expect, it's important to know exactly what they support: 1. they are case insensitive + 2. they are infix matching (they do not need to match the entire thing being matched) + 3. they are POSIX ERE (extended regular expressions) - 4. they also support GNU word boundaries ('\b', '\B', '\<', '\>') - 5. they do not support backreferences; if you write '\1', it will - match the digit '1'. Except when doing text replacement, eg in + + 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 '$' as - a literal character, prepend a backslash. Eg to search for amounts - with the dollar sign in hledger-web, write 'cur:\$'. + * In queries, to match a regular expression metacharacter like `$' as + a literal character, prepend a backslash. Eg to search for amounts + with the dollar sign in hledger-web, write `cur:\$'. + + * On the command line, some metacharacters like `$' have a special + meaning to the shell and so must be escaped at least once more. See + Special characters. - * On the command line, some metacharacters like '$' have a special - meaning to the shell and so must be escaped at least once more. - See Special characters.  File: hledger.info, Node: ENVIRONMENT, Next: DATA FILES, Prev: OPTIONS, Up: Top @@ -477,31 +502,32 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: ENVIRONMENT, Next: DATA FILES, Prev: OPTIONS, Up: 2 ENVIRONMENT ************* -*LEDGER_FILE* The journal file path when not specified with '-f'. -Default: '~/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps -'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). +*LEDGER_FILE* The journal file path when not specified with `-f'. +Default: `~/.hledger.journal' (on windows, perhaps +`C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). - A typical value is '~/DIR/YYYY.journal', where DIR is a -version-controlled finance directory and YYYY is the current year. Or -'~/DIR/current.journal', where current.journal is a symbolic link to + A typical value is `~/DIR/YYYY.journal', where DIR is a +version-controlled finance directory and YYYY is the current year. Or +`~/DIR/current.journal', where current.journal is a symbolic link to YYYY.journal. - On Mac computers, you can set this and other environment variables in -a more thorough way that also affects applications started from the GUI -(say, an Emacs dock icon). Eg on MacOS Catalina I have a -'~/.MacOSX/environment.plist' file containing + On Mac computers, you can set this and other environment variables +in a more thorough way that also affects applications started from the +GUI (say, an Emacs dock icon). Eg on MacOS Catalina I have a +`~/.MacOSX/environment.plist' file containing + { "LEDGER_FILE" : "~/finance/current.journal" } - To see the effect you may need to 'killall Dock', or reboot. + To see the effect you may need to `killall Dock', or reboot. - *COLUMNS* The screen width used by the register command. Default: + *COLUMNS* The screen width used by the register command. Default: the full terminal width. *NO_COLOR* If this variable exists with any value, hledger will not -use ANSI color codes in terminal output. This overrides the +use ANSI color codes in terminal output. This overrides the -color/-colour option.  @@ -510,20 +536,23 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: DATA FILES, Next: TIME PERIODS, Prev: ENVIRONMENT, 3 DATA FILES ************ -hledger reads transactions from one or more data files. The default -data file is '$HOME/.hledger.journal' (or on Windows, something like -'C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). +hledger reads transactions from one or more data files. The default data +file is `$HOME/.hledger.journal' (or on Windows, something like +`C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal'). + + You can override this with the `$LEDGER_FILE' environment variable: - You can override this with the '$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- @@ -544,31 +573,32 @@ any of the supported file formats, which currently are: Reader: Reads: Used for file extensions: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -'journal'hledger journal files and some Ledger '.journal' '.j' - journals, for transactions '.hledger' '.ledger' -'timeclock'timeclock files, for precise time '.timeclock' - logging -'timedot'timedot files, for approximate time '.timedot' - logging -'csv' comma/semicolon/tab/other-separated '.csv' '.ssv' '.tsv' - values, for data import +-------------------------------------------------------------------------- +`journal'hledger journal files and some Ledger `.journal' `.j' + journals, for transactions `.hledger' `.ledger' +`timeclock'timeclock files, for precise time `.timeclock' + logging +`timedot'timedot files, for approximate time `.timedot' + logging +`csv' comma/semicolon/tab/other-separated `.csv' `.ssv' `.tsv' + values, for data import These formats are described in their own sections, 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. You can also force a specific reader/format by prefixing the file -path with the format and a colon. Eg, to read a .dat file as csv -format: +path with the format and a colon. Eg, to read a .dat file as csv 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:- @@ -578,17 +608,19 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Multiple files, Next: Strict mode, Prev: Data forma 3.2 Multiple files ================== -You can specify multiple '-f' options, to read multiple files as one big -journal. There are some limitations with this: +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 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 + + * or concatenate the files into one before reading, eg: `cat a.journal b.journal | hledger -f- CMD'.  @@ -597,19 +629,22 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Strict mode, Prev: Multiple files, Up: DATA FILES 3.3 Strict mode =============== -hledger checks input files for valid data. By default, the most +hledger checks input files for valid data. By default, the most important errors are detected, while still accepting easy journal files without a lot of declarations: * Are the input files parseable, with valid syntax ? + * Are all transactions balanced ? + * Do all balance assertions pass ? - With the '-s'/'--strict' flag, additional checks are performed: + 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) See also: https://hledger.org/checking-for-errors.html @@ -635,37 +670,35 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Smart dates, Next: Report start & end date, Up: TIM 4.1 Smart dates =============== -hledger's user interfaces accept a flexible "smart date" syntax. Smart +hledger's user interfaces accept a flexible "smart date" syntax. Smart dates allow some english words, can be relative to today's date, and can have less-significant date parts omitted (defaulting to 1). Examples: -'2004/10/1', exact date, several separators allowed. Year -'2004-01-01', is 4+ digits, month is 1-12, day is 1-31 -'2004.9.1' -'2004' start of year -'2004/10' start of month -'10/1' month and day in current year -'21' day in current month -'october, oct' start of month in current year -'yesterday, today, -1, 0, 1 days from today -tomorrow' -'last/this/next -1, 0, 1 periods from the current period +`2004/10/1', exact date, several separators allowed. Year +`2004-01-01', `2004.9.1' is 4+ digits, month is 1-12, day is 1-31 +`2004' start of year +`2004/10' start of month +`10/1' month and day in current year +`21' day in current month +`october, oct' start of month in current year +`yesterday, today, -1, 0, 1 days from today +tomorrow' +`last/this/next -1, 0, 1 periods from the current period day/week/month/quarter/year' -'20181201' 8 digit YYYYMMDD with valid year month and - day -'201812' 6 digit YYYYMM with valid year and month +`20181201' 8 digit YYYYMMDD with valid year month and day +`201812' 6 digit YYYYMM with valid year and month Counterexamples - malformed digit sequences might give surprising results: -'201813' 6 digits with an invalid month is parsed as start of +`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  File: hledger.info, Node: Report start & end date, Next: Report intervals, Prev: Smart dates, Up: TIME PERIODS @@ -674,41 +707,43 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Report start & end date, Next: Report intervals, Pr =========================== By default, most hledger reports will show the full span of time -represented by the journal data. The report start date will be the +represented by the journal data. The report start date will be the earliest 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. Some notes: * As in Ledger, end dates are exclusive, so you need to write the date _after_ the last day you want to include. + * As noted in reporting options: among start/end dates specified with - _options_, the last (i.e. right-most) option takes precedence. + _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 start/end dates from options and that from `date:' queries. + That is, `date:2019-01 date:2019 -p'2000 to 2030'' yields January 2019, the smallest common time span. Examples: -'-b begin on St. Patrick's day 2016 -2016/3/17' -'-e 12/1' end at the start of december 1st of the current year +`-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: Report intervals, Next: Period expressions, Prev: Report start & end date, Up: TIME PERIODS @@ -718,9 +753,9 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Report intervals, Next: Period expressions, Prev: R A report interval can be specified so that commands like register, balance and activity will divide their reports into multiple subperiods. -The basic intervals can be selected with one of '-D/--daily', -'-W/--weekly', '-M/--monthly', '-Q/--quarterly', or '-Y/--yearly'. More -complex intervals may be specified with a period expression. Report +The basic intervals can be selected with one of `-D/--daily', +`-W/--weekly', `-M/--monthly', `-Q/--quarterly', or `-Y/--yearly'. More +complex intervals may be specified with a period expression. Report intervals can not be specified with a query.  @@ -729,65 +764,61 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Period expressions, Prev: Report intervals, Up: TIM 4.4 Period expressions ====================== -The '-p/--period' option accepts period expressions, a shorthand way of +The `-p/--period' option accepts period expressions, a shorthand way of expressing a start date, end date, and/or report interval all at once. Here's a basic period expression specifying the first quarter of 2009. Note, hledger always treats start dates as inclusive and end dates as exclusive: - '-p "from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1"' + `-p "from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1"' Keywords like "from" and "to" are optional, and so are the spaces, as -long as you don't run two dates together. "to" can also be written as -".." or "-". These are equivalent to the above: +long as you don't run two dates together. "to" can also be written as +".." or "-". These are equivalent to the above: -'-p "2009/1/1 2009/4/1"' -'-p2009/1/1to2009/4/1' -'-p2009/1/1..2009/4/1' +`-p "2009/1/1 2009/4/1"' +`-p2009/1/1to2009/4/1' +`-p2009/1/1..2009/4/1' Dates are smart dates, so if the current year is 2009, the above can also be written as: -'-p "1/1 4/1"' -'-p "january-apr"' -'-p "this year to 4/1"' +`-p "1/1 4/1"' +`-p "january-apr"' +`-p "this year to 4/1"' If you specify only one date, the missing start or end date will be the earliest or latest transaction in your journal: -'-p "from 2009/1/1"' everything after january 1, 2009 -'-p "from 2009/1"' the same -'-p "from 2009"' the same -'-p "to 2009"' everything before january 1, 2009 +`-p "from 2009/1/1"' everything after january 1, 2009 +`-p "from 2009/1"' the same +`-p "from 2009"' the same +`-p "to 2009"' everything before january 1, 2009 A single date with no "from" or "to" defines both the start and end date like so: -'-p "2009"' the year 2009; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to - 2010/1/1” -'-p "2009/1"' the month of jan; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to - 2009/2/1” -'-p "2009/1/1"' just that day; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to - 2009/1/2” +`-p "2009"' the year 2009; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to 2010/1/1” +`-p "2009/1"' the month of jan; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to 2009/2/1” +`-p "2009/1/1"' just that day; equivalent to “2009/1/1 to 2009/1/2” Or you can specify a single quarter like so: -'-p "2009Q1"' first quarter of 2009, equivalent to “2009/1/1 to - 2009/4/1” -'-p "q4"' fourth quarter of the current year +`-p "2009Q1"' first quarter of 2009, equivalent to “2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1” +`-p "q4"' fourth quarter of the current year - The argument of '-p' can also begin with, or be, a report interval -expression. The basic report intervals are 'daily', 'weekly', -'monthly', 'quarterly', or 'yearly', which have the same effect as the -'-D','-W','-M','-Q', or '-Y' flags. Between report interval and -start/end dates (if any), the word 'in' is optional. Examples: + The argument of `-p' can also begin with, or be, a report interval +expression. The basic report intervals are `daily', `weekly', +`monthly', `quarterly', or `yearly', which have the same effect as the +`-D',`-W',`-M',`-Q', or `-Y' flags. Between report interval and +start/end dates (if any), the word `in' is optional. Examples: -'-p "weekly from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1"' -'-p "monthly in 2008"' -'-p "quarterly"' +`-p "weekly from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1"' +`-p "monthly in 2008"' +`-p "quarterly"' - Note that 'weekly', 'monthly', 'quarterly' and 'yearly' intervals + Note that `weekly', `monthly', `quarterly' and `yearly' intervals will always start on the first day on week, month, quarter or year accordingly, and will end on the last day of same period, even if associated period expression specifies different explicit start and end @@ -795,19 +826,18 @@ date. For example: -'-p "weekly from starts on 2008/12/29, closest preceding -2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1"' Monday -'-p "monthly in starts on 2018/11/01 -2008/11/25"' -'-p "quarterly from starts on 2009/04/01, ends on 2009/06/30, -2009-05-05 to which are first and last days of Q2 2009 -2009-06-01"' -'-p "yearly from starts on 2009/01/01, first day of 2009 -2009-12-29"' +`-p "weekly from 2009/1/1 starts on 2008/12/29, closest preceding Monday +to 2009/4/1"' +`-p "monthly in starts on 2018/11/01 +2008/11/25"' +`-p "quarterly from starts on 2009/04/01, ends on 2009/06/30, +2009-05-05 to 2009-06-01"' which are first and last days of Q2 2009 +`-p "yearly from starts on 2009/01/01, first day of 2009 +2009-12-29"' The following more complex report intervals are also supported: -'biweekly', 'fortnightly', 'bimonthly', 'every -day|week|month|quarter|year', 'every N +`biweekly', `fortnightly', `bimonthly', `every +day|week|month|quarter|year', `every N days|weeks|months|quarters|years'. All of these will start on the first day of the requested period and @@ -815,42 +845,41 @@ end on the last one, as described above. Examples: -'-p "bimonthly from periods will have boundaries on 2008/01/01, -2008"' 2008/03/01, ... -'-p "every 2 weeks"' starts on closest preceding Monday -'-p "every 5 month from periods will have boundaries on 2009/03/01, +`-p "bimonthly from 2008"' periods will have boundaries on 2008/01/01, + 2008/03/01, ... +`-p "every 2 weeks"' starts on closest preceding Monday +`-p "every 5 month from periods will have boundaries on 2009/03/01, 2009/03"' 2009/08/01, ... If you want intervals that start on arbitrary day of your choosing and span a week, month or year, you need to use any of the following: - 'every Nth day of week', 'every WEEKDAYNAME' (eg -'mon|tue|wed|thu|fri|sat|sun'), 'every Nth day [of month]', 'every Nth -WEEKDAYNAME [of month]', 'every MM/DD [of year]', 'every Nth MMM [of -year]', 'every MMM Nth [of year]'. + `every Nth day of week', `every WEEKDAYNAME' (eg +`mon|tue|wed|thu|fri|sat|sun'), `every Nth day [of month]', `every Nth +WEEKDAYNAME [of month]', `every MM/DD [of year]', `every Nth MMM [of +year]', `every MMM Nth [of year]'. Examples: -'-p "every 2nd day of periods will go from Tue to Tue -week"' -'-p "every Tue"' same -'-p "every 15th day"' period boundaries will be on 15th of each - month -'-p "every 2nd period boundaries will be on second Monday of -Monday"' each month -'-p "every 11/05"' yearly periods with boundaries on 5th of Nov -'-p "every 5th Nov"' same -'-p "every Nov 5th"' same +`-p "every 2nd day of periods will go from Tue to Tue +week"' +`-p "every Tue"' same +`-p "every 15th day"' period boundaries will be on 15th of each month +`-p "every 2nd Monday"' period boundaries will be on second Monday of + each month +`-p "every 11/05"' yearly periods with boundaries on 5th of Nov +`-p "every 5th Nov"' same +`-p "every Nov 5th"' same Show historical balances at end of 15th each month (N is exclusive end date): - 'hledger balance -H -p "every 16th day"' + `hledger balance -H -p "every 16th day"' Group postings from start of wednesday to end of next tuesday (N is start date and exclusive end date): - 'hledger register checking -p "every 3rd day of week"' + `hledger register checking -p "every 3rd day of week"'  File: hledger.info, Node: DEPTH, Next: QUERIES, Prev: TIME PERIODS, Up: Top @@ -858,142 +887,154 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: DEPTH, Next: QUERIES, Prev: TIME PERIODS, Up: Top 5 DEPTH ******* -With the '--depth N' option (short form: '-N'), commands like account, +With the `--depth N' option (short form: `-N'), commands like account, balance and register will show only the uppermost accounts in the account tree, down to level N. Use this when you want a summary with -less detail. This flag has the same effect as a 'depth:' query argument -(so '-2', '--depth=2' or 'depth:2' are equivalent). +less detail. This flag has the same effect as a `depth:' query argument +(so `-2', `--depth=2' or `depth:2' are equivalent).  -File: hledger.info, Node: QUERIES, Next: VALUATION, Prev: DEPTH, Up: Top +File: hledger.info, Node: QUERIES, Next: COSTING, Prev: DEPTH, Up: Top 6 QUERIES ********* One of hledger's strengths is being able to quickly report on precise -subsets of your data. Most commands accept an optional query -expression, written as arguments after the command name, to filter the -data by date, account name or other criteria. The syntax is similar to -a web search: one or more space-separated search terms, quotes to -enclose whitespace, prefixes to match specific fields, a not: prefix to -negate the match. +subsets of your data. Most commands accept an optional query expression, +written as arguments after the command name, to filter the data by date, +account name or other criteria. The syntax is similar to a web search: +one or more space-separated search terms, quotes to enclose whitespace, +prefixes to match specific fields, a not: prefix to negate the match. We do not yet support arbitrary boolean combinations of search terms; instead most commands show transactions/postings/accounts which match (or negatively match): * any of the description terms AND + * any of the account terms AND + * any of the status terms AND + * all the other terms. The print command instead shows transactions which: * match any of the description terms AND + * have any postings matching any of the positive account terms AND + * have no postings matching any of the negative account terms AND + * match all the other terms. - The following kinds of search terms can be used. Remember these can -also be prefixed with *'not:'*, eg to exclude a particular subaccount. + The following kinds of search terms can be used. Remember these can +also be prefixed with *`not:'*, eg to exclude a particular subaccount. -*'REGEX', 'acct:REGEX'* - - match account names by this regular expression. (With no prefix, - 'acct:' is assumed.) same as above - -*'amt:N, amt:N, amt:>=N'* +*`REGEX', `acct:REGEX'* + match account names by this regular expression. (With no prefix, + `acct:' is assumed.) same as above +*`amt:N, amt:N, amt:>=N'* match postings with a single-commodity amount that is equal to, less than, or greater than N. (Multi-commodity amounts are not - tested, and will always match.) The comparison has two modes: if N + 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, + 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 characters which are - regex-significant, like the dollar sign ('$'), you need to prepend - '\'. And when using the command line you need to add one more - level of quoting to hide it from the shell, so eg do: 'hledger - print cur:'\$'' or 'hledger print cur:\\$'. -*'desc:REGEX'* + match, use `.*REGEX.*'). Note, to match characters which are + regex-significant, like the dollar sign (`$'), you need to prepend + `\'. And when using the command line you need to add one more level + of quoting to hide it from the shell, so eg do: `hledger print + cur:'\$'' or `hledger print cur:\\$'. +*`desc:REGEX'* match transaction descriptions. -*'date:PERIODEXPR'* - match dates within the specified period. PERIODEXPR is a period - expression (with no report interval). Examples: 'date:2016', - 'date:thismonth', 'date:2000/2/1-2/15', 'date:lastweek-'. If the - '--date2' command line flag is present, this matches secondary +*`date:PERIODEXPR'* + match dates within the specified period. PERIODEXPR is a period + expression (with no report interval). Examples: `date:2016', + `date:thismonth', `date:2000/2/1-2/15', `date:lastweek-'. If the + `--date2' command line flag is present, this matches secondary dates instead. -*'date2:PERIODEXPR'* +*`date2:PERIODEXPR'* match secondary dates within the specified period. -*'depth:N'* +*`depth:N'* match (or display, depending on command) accounts at or above this depth -*'note:REGEX'* - match transaction notes (part of description right of '|', or whole - description when there's no '|') -*'payee:REGEX'* +*`note:REGEX'* + match transaction notes (part of description right of `|', or whole + description when there's no `|') +*`payee:REGEX'* match transaction payee/payer names (part of description left of - '|', or whole description when there's no '|') -*'real:, real:0'* + `|', or whole description when there's no `|') +*`real:, real:0'* match real or virtual postings respectively -*'status:, status:!, status:*'* +*`status:, status:!, status:*'* match unmarked, pending, or cleared transactions respectively -*'tag:REGEX[=REGEX]'* - match by tag name, and optionally also by tag value. Note a tag: - query is considered to match a transaction if it matches any of the - postings. Also remember that postings inherit the tags of their - parent transaction. +*`tag:REGEX[=REGEX]'* + match by tag name, and optionally also by tag value. Note a tag: + query is considered to match a transaction if it matches any of + the postings. Also remember that postings inherit the tags of + their parent transaction. The following special search term is used automatically in hledger-web, only: -*'inacct:ACCTNAME'* - +*`inacct:ACCTNAME'* tells hledger-web to show the transaction register for this - account. Can be filtered further with 'acct' etc. + account. Can be filtered further with `acct' etc. Some of these can also be expressed as command-line options (eg -'depth:2' is equivalent to '--depth 2'). Generally you can mix options +`depth:2' is equivalent to `--depth 2'). Generally you can mix options and query arguments, and the resulting query will be their intersection -(perhaps excluding the '-p/--period' option). +(perhaps excluding the `-p/--period' option).  -File: hledger.info, Node: VALUATION, Next: PIVOTING, Prev: QUERIES, Up: Top +File: hledger.info, Node: COSTING, Next: VALUATION, Prev: QUERIES, Up: Top -7 VALUATION +7 COSTING +********* + +The `-B/--cost' flag converts amounts to their cost or sale amount at +transaction time, if they have a transaction price specified. If this +flag is supplied, hledger will perform cost conversion first, and will +apply any market price valuations (if requested) afterwards. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: VALUATION, Next: PIVOTING, Prev: COSTING, Up: Top + +8 VALUATION *********** Instead of reporting amounts in their original commodity, hledger can convert them to cost/sale amount (using the conversion rate recorded in -the transaction), or to market value (using some market price on a -certain date). This is controlled by the '--value=TYPE[,COMMODITY]' -option, but we also provide the simpler '-B'/'-V'/'-X' flags, and -usually one of those is all you need. +the transaction), and/or to market value (using some market price on a +certain date). This is controlled by the `--cost' and +`--value=TYPE[,COMMODITY]' options, but we also provide the simpler +`-V'/`-X' flags, and usually one of those is all you need. * Menu: -* -B Cost:: * -V Value:: * -X Value in specified commodity:: * Valuation date:: * Market prices:: -* --infer-value market prices from transactions:: +* --infer-market-price market prices from transactions:: * Valuation commodity:: * Simple valuation examples:: * --value Flexible valuation:: @@ -1001,38 +1042,29 @@ usually one of those is all you need. * Effect of valuation on reports::  -File: hledger.info, Node: -B Cost, Next: -V Value, Up: VALUATION +File: hledger.info, Node: -V Value, Next: -X Value in specified commodity, Up: VALUATION -7.1 -B: Cost -============ - -The '-B/--cost' flag converts amounts to their cost or sale amount at -transaction time, if they have a transaction price specified. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: -V Value, Next: -X Value in specified commodity, Prev: -B Cost, Up: VALUATION - -7.2 -V: Value +8.1 -V: Value ============= -The '-V/--market' flag converts amounts to market value in their default -_valuation commodity_, using the market prices in effect on the -_valuation date(s)_, if any. More on these in a minute. +The `-V/--market' flag converts amounts to market value in their +default _valuation commodity_, using the market prices in effect on the +_valuation date(s)_, if any. More on these in a minute.  File: hledger.info, Node: -X Value in specified commodity, Next: Valuation date, Prev: -V Value, Up: VALUATION -7.3 -X: Value in specified commodity +8.2 -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.  File: hledger.info, Node: Valuation date, Next: Market prices, Prev: -X Value in specified commodity, Up: VALUATION -7.4 Valuation date +8.3 Valuation date ================== Since market prices can change from day to day, market value reports @@ -1043,13 +1075,13 @@ prices will be used. specified, 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 -of the period, by default. + For multiperiod reports, each column/period is valued on the last +day of the period, by default.  -File: hledger.info, Node: Market prices, Next: --infer-value market prices from transactions, Prev: Valuation date, Up: VALUATION +File: hledger.info, Node: Market prices, Next: --infer-market-price market prices from transactions, Prev: Valuation date, Up: VALUATION -7.5 Market prices +8.4 Market prices ================= To convert a commodity A to its market value in another commodity B, @@ -1058,74 +1090,77 @@ this order of preference : 1. A _declared market price_ or _inferred market price_: A's latest market price in B on or before the valuation date as declared by a - P directive, or (with the '--infer-value' flag) inferred from - transaction prices. + P directive, or (with the `--infer-market-price' flag) inferred + from transaction prices. 2. A _reverse market price_: the inverse of a declared or inferred market price from B to A. - 3. A _a forward chain of market prices_: a synthetic price formed by + 3. A _forward chain of market prices_: a synthetic price formed by combining the shortest chain of "forward" (only 1 above) market prices, leading from A to B. - 4. A _any chain of market prices_: a chain of any market prices, + 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 -'--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.  -File: hledger.info, Node: --infer-value market prices from transactions, Next: Valuation commodity, Prev: Market prices, Up: VALUATION +File: hledger.info, Node: --infer-market-price market prices from transactions, Next: Valuation commodity, Prev: Market prices, Up: VALUATION -7.6 -infer-value: market prices from transactions -================================================= +8.5 -infer-market-price: 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 +P directives in your journal. Since adding and updating those can be a chore, and since transactions usually take place at close to market value, why not use the recorded transaction prices as additional market -prices (as Ledger does) ? We could produce value reports without -needing P directives at all. +prices (as Ledger does) ? We could produce value reports without needing +P directives at all. - Adding the '--infer-value' flag to '-V', '-X' or '--value' enables -this. So for example, 'hledger bs -V --infer-value' will get market -prices both from P directives and from transactions. + Adding the `--infer-market-price' flag to `-V', `-X' or `--value' +enables this. So for example, `hledger bs -V --infer-market-price' will +get market prices both from P directives and from transactions. (And 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 +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-value' can infer market prices from: + `--infer-market-price' can infer market prices from: - * multicommodity transactions with explicit prices ('@'/'@@') + * multicommodity transactions with explicit prices (`@'/`@@') - * multicommodity transactions with implicit prices (no '@', two - commodities, unbalanced). (With these, the order of postings - matters. 'hledger print -x' can be useful for troubleshooting.) + * multicommodity transactions with implicit prices (no `@', two + commodities, unbalanced). (With these, the order of postings + matters. `hledger print -x' can be useful for troubleshooting.) + + * but not, currently, from "more correct" multicommodity + transactions (no `@', multiple commodities, balanced). - * but not, currently, from "more correct" multicommodity transactions - (no '@', multiple commodities, balanced).  -File: hledger.info, Node: Valuation commodity, Next: Simple valuation examples, Prev: --infer-value market prices from transactions, Up: VALUATION +File: hledger.info, Node: Valuation commodity, Next: Simple valuation examples, Prev: --infer-market-price market prices from transactions, Up: VALUATION -7.7 Valuation commodity +8.6 Valuation commodity ======================= -*When you specify a valuation commodity ('-X COMM' or '--value +*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: @@ -1133,20 +1168,23 @@ follows, in this order of preference: 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 + on any date. (Allows conversion to proceed when there are inferred prices before the valuation date.) 3. If there are no P directives at all (any commodity or date) and the - '--infer-value' flag is used: the price commodity from the latest - transaction-inferred price for A on or before valuation date. + `--infer-market-price' 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-value' flag, - transaction prices determine it. + * If you have no P directives, and use the `--infer-market-price' + flag, transaction prices determine it. + Amounts for which no valuation commodity can be found are not converted. @@ -1154,10 +1192,11 @@ converted.  File: hledger.info, Node: Simple valuation examples, Next: --value Flexible valuation, Prev: Valuation commodity, Up: VALUATION -7.8 Simple valuation examples +8.7 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 @@ -1172,16 +1211,19 @@ P 2016/12/21 € $1.03 How many euros do I have ? + $ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros €100 assets:euros What are they worth at end of nov 3 ? + $ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros -V -e 2016/11/4 $110.00 assets:euros - What are they worth after 2016/12/21 ? (no report end date -specified, defaults to today) + What are they worth after 2016/12/21 ? (no report end date specified, +defaults to today) + $ hledger -f t.j bal -N euros -V $103.00 assets:euros @@ -1189,16 +1231,15 @@ $ 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 -7.9 -value: Flexible valuation +8.8 -value: Flexible valuation ============================== -'-B', '-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 cost, then, end, now or YYYY-MM-DD. + + --value=TYPE[,COMM] TYPE is then, end, now or YYYY-MM-DD. COMM is an optional commodity symbol. Shows amounts converted to: - - cost commodity using transaction prices (then optionally to COMM using market prices at period end(s)) - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at posting dates - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at period end(s) - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using current market prices @@ -1206,41 +1247,38 @@ option: The TYPE part selects cost or value and valuation date: -'--value=cost' - - Convert amounts to cost, using the prices recorded in transactions. -'--value=then' - +`--value=then' Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commodity, using market prices on each posting's date. -'--value=end' +`--value=end' Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commodity, using market prices on the last day of the report period (or if unspecified, the journal's end date); or in multiperiod reports, market prices on the last day of each subperiod. -'--value=now' +`--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.  File: hledger.info, Node: More valuation examples, Next: Effect of valuation on reports, Prev: --value Flexible valuation, Up: VALUATION -7.10 More valuation examples -============================ +8.9 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 @@ -1258,7 +1296,8 @@ P 2000-04-01 A 4 B Show the cost of each posting: -$ hledger -f- print --value=cost + +$ hledger -f- print --cost 2000-01-01 (a) 5 B @@ -1270,6 +1309,7 @@ $ hledger -f- print --value=cost Show the value as of the last day of the report period (2000-02-29): + $ hledger -f- print --value=end date:2000/01-2000/03 2000-01-01 (a) 2 B @@ -1280,6 +1320,7 @@ $ hledger -f- print --value=end date:2000/01-2000/03 With no report period specified, that shows the value as of the last day of the journal (2000-03-01): + $ hledger -f- print --value=end 2000-01-01 (a) 3 B @@ -1293,6 +1334,7 @@ $ hledger -f- print --value=end Show the current value (the 2000-04-01 price is still in effect today): + $ hledger -f- print --value=now 2000-01-01 (a) 4 B @@ -1305,6 +1347,7 @@ $ hledger -f- print --value=now Show the value on 2000/01/15: + $ hledger -f- print --value=2000-01-15 2000-01-01 (a) 1 B @@ -1316,7 +1359,8 @@ $ hledger -f- print --value=2000-01-15 (a) 1 B You may need to explicitly set a commodity's display style, when -reverse prices are used. Eg this output might be surprising: +reverse prices are used. Eg this output might be surprising: + P 2000-01-01 A 2B @@ -1324,6 +1368,7 @@ P 2000-01-01 A 2B a 1B b + $ hledger print -x -X A 2000-01-01 a 0 @@ -1331,10 +1376,11 @@ $ hledger print -x -X A 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 +shows no decimal digits. Because the displayed amount looks like zero, +the commodity symbol and minus sign are not displayed either. Adding a commodity directive sets a more useful display style for A: + P 2000-01-01 A 2B commodity 0.00A @@ -1342,6 +1388,7 @@ commodity 0.00A a 1B b + $ hledger print -X A 2000-01-01 a 0.50A @@ -1350,55 +1397,53 @@ $ hledger print -X A  File: hledger.info, Node: Effect of valuation on reports, Prev: More valuation examples, Up: VALUATION -7.11 Effect of valuation on reports +8.10 Effect of valuation on reports =================================== Here is a reference for how valuation is supposed to affect each part of -hledger's reports (and a glossary). (It's wide, you'll have to scroll -sideways.) It may be useful when troubleshooting. If you find -problems, please report them, ideally with a reproducible example. -Related: #329, #1083. +hledger's reports (and a glossary). (It's wide, you'll have to scroll +sideways.) It may be useful when troubleshooting. If you find problems, +please report them, ideally with a reproducible example. Related: #329, +#1083. -Report '-B', '-V', '-X' '--value=then' '--value=end''--value=DATE', -type '--value=cost' '--value=now' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -*print* +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 amounts report end date report or at - or today journal DATE/today - end + or today journal end DATE/today balance unchanged unchanged unchanged unchanged unchanged -assertions/assignments -*register* +assertions/assignments + +*register* starting cost value at valued at day value at value balance day before each historical day before at (-H) report or posting was made report or DATE/today - journal journal - start start + journal journal + start start posting cost value at value at posting value at value amounts report end date report or at - or today journal DATE/today - end + or today journal end DATE/today summary summarised value at sum of postings value at value -posting cost period in interval, period at -amounts ends valued at ends DATE/today -with interval start -report -interval +posting cost period ends in interval, period ends at +amounts valued at DATE/today +with interval start +report +interval running sum/average sum/average sum/average of sum/average sum/average -total/averageof of displayed values of of +total/averageof of displayed values of of displayed displayed displayed displayed values values values values -*balance -(bs, -bse, cf, -is)* + +*balance +(bs, bse, +cf, is)* balance sums of value at value at posting value at value changes costs report end date report or at - or today journal DATE/today - of sums of end of of - postings sums of sums - postings of + or today of journal end DATE/today + sums of of sums of of sums + postings postings of postings budget like like like balance like like amounts balance balance changes balances balance @@ -1406,87 +1451,84 @@ amounts balance balance changes balances balance grand sum of sum of sum of displayed sum of sum of total displayed displayed valued displayed displayed values values values values -*balance -(bs, -bse, cf, -is) with -report -interval* -starting sums of value at sums of values value at sums -balances costs of report of postings report of -(-H) postings start of before report start of postings - before sums of start at sums of before - report all respective all report - start postings posting dates postings start - before before - 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 -(bal, postings period at each DATE/today -is, bs in period respective period, of --change, posting dates valued at sums -cf period of --change) ends postings -end sums of same as sums of values period end value -balances costs of -value=end of postings from balances, at + +*balance +(bs, bse, +cf, is) +with +report +interval* +starting sums of value at sums of values of value at sums of +balances costs of report postings before report postings +(-H) postings start of report start at start of before + before sums of all respective sums of all report + report start postings posting dates postings start + before before + report start report start +balance sums of same as sums of values of balance value +changes costs of -value=end postings in change in at +(bal, is, postings in period at each DATE/today +bs period respective period, of sums +-change, posting dates valued at of +cf period ends postings +-change) +end sums of same as sums of values of period end value +balances costs of -value=end postings from balances, at (bal -H, postings before period valued at DATE/today -is -H, from start to period period of -bs, cf) before end at ends sums - report respective of +is -H, from before start to period period ends of sums +bs, cf) report end at respective of start to posting dates postings - period end + period end budget like like like balance like like amounts balance balance changes/end balances balance (-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 -row of of values of of -averages displayed displayed displayed displayed -(-T, -A) values values values values -column sums of sums of sums of sums of sums -totals displayed displayed displayed values displayed of - values values values displayed - values +row sums, sums, sums, averages of sums, sums, +totals, averages of averages of displayed values averages of averages +row displayed displayed displayed of +averages values values values displayed +(-T, -A) values +column sums of sums of sums of displayed sums of sums of +totals displayed displayed values displayed displayed + values values values values grand sum, sum, sum, average of sum, sum, total, average of average of column totals average of average 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:* _cost_ - calculated using price(s) recorded in the transaction(s). -_value_ +_value_ market value using available market price declarations, or the unchanged amount if no conversion rate can be found. -_report start_ +_report start_ the first day of the report period specified with -b or -p or date:, otherwise today. -_report or journal start_ +_report or journal start_ the first day of the report period specified with -b or -p or date:, otherwise the earliest transaction date in the journal, otherwise today. -_report end_ +_report end_ the last day of the report period specified with -e or -p or date:, otherwise today. -_report or journal end_ +_report or journal end_ the last day of the report period specified with -e or -p or date:, otherwise the latest transaction date in the journal, otherwise today. -_report interval_ +_report interval_ a flag (-D/-W/-M/-Q/-Y) or period expression that activates the report's multi-period mode (whether showing one or many subperiods). @@ -1494,30 +1536,32 @@ _report interval_  File: hledger.info, Node: PIVOTING, Next: OUTPUT, Prev: VALUATION, Up: Top -8 PIVOTING +9 PIVOTING ********** Normally hledger sums amounts, and organizes them in a hierarchy, based -on account name. The '--pivot FIELD' option causes it to sum and -organize hierarchy based on the value of some other field instead. -FIELD can be: 'code', 'description', 'payee', 'note', or the full name -(case insensitive) of any tag. As with account names, values containing -'colon:separated:parts' will be displayed hierarchically in reports. +on account name. The `--pivot FIELD' option causes it to sum and +organize hierarchy based on the value of some other field instead. FIELD +can be: `code', `description', `payee', `note', or the full name (case +insensitive) of any tag. As with account names, values containing +`colon:separated:parts' will be displayed hierarchically in reports. - '--pivot' is a general option affecting all reports; you can think of -hledger transforming the journal before any other processing, replacing -every posting's account name with the value of the specified field on -that posting, inheriting it from the transaction or using a blank value -if it's not present. + `--pivot' is a general option affecting all reports; you can think +of hledger transforming the journal before any other processing, +replacing every posting's account name with the value of the specified +field on that posting, inheriting it from the transaction or using a +blank value if it's not present. An example: + 2016/02/16 Member Fee Payment assets:bank account 2 EUR income:member fees -2 EUR ; member: John Doe Normal balance report showing account names: + $ hledger balance 2 EUR assets:bank account -2 EUR income:member fees @@ -1526,6 +1570,7 @@ $ hledger balance Pivoted balance report, using member: tag values instead: + $ hledger balance --pivot member 2 EUR -2 EUR John Doe @@ -1535,6 +1580,7 @@ $ hledger balance --pivot member One way to show only amounts with a member: value (using a query, described below): + $ hledger balance --pivot member tag:member=. -2 EUR John Doe -------------------- @@ -1543,6 +1589,7 @@ $ hledger balance --pivot member tag:member=. Another way (the acct: query matches against the pivoted "account name"): + $ hledger balance --pivot member acct:. -2 EUR John Doe -------------------- @@ -1551,8 +1598,8 @@ $ hledger balance --pivot member acct:.  File: hledger.info, Node: OUTPUT, Next: COMMANDS, Prev: PIVOTING, Up: Top -9 OUTPUT -******** +10 OUTPUT +********* * Menu: @@ -1562,17 +1609,19 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: OUTPUT, Next: COMMANDS, Prev: PIVOTING, Up: Top  File: hledger.info, Node: Output destination, Next: Output format, Up: OUTPUT -9.1 Output destination -====================== +10.1 Output destination +======================= -hledger commands send their output to the terminal by default. You can +hledger commands send their output to the terminal by default. You can of course redirect this, eg into a file, using standard shell syntax: + $ hledger print > foo.txt Some commands (print, register, stats, the balance commands) also -provide the '-o/--output-file' option, which does the same thing without -needing the shell. Eg: +provide the `-o/--output-file' option, which does the same thing +without needing the shell. Eg: + $ hledger print -o foo.txt $ hledger print -o - # write to stdout (the default) @@ -1580,42 +1629,46 @@ $ hledger print -o - # write to stdout (the default)  File: hledger.info, Node: Output format, Prev: Output destination, Up: OUTPUT -9.2 Output format -================= +10.2 Output format +================== Some commands (print, register, the balance commands) offer a choice of -output format. In addition to the usual plain text format ('txt'), -there are CSV ('csv'), HTML ('html'), JSON ('json') and SQL ('sql'). -This is controlled by the '-O/--output-format' option: +output format. In addition to the usual plain text format (`txt'), +there are CSV (`csv'), HTML (`html'), JSON (`json') and SQL (`sql'). +This is controlled by the `-O/--output-format' option: + $ hledger print -O csv - or, by a file extension specified with '-o/--output-file': + or, by a file extension specified with `-o/--output-file': + $ hledger balancesheet -o foo.html # write HTML to foo.html - The '-O' option can be used to override the file extension if needed: + The `-O' option can be used to override the file extension if needed: + $ hledger balancesheet -o foo.txt -O html # write HTML to foo.txt Some notes about JSON output: * This feature is marked experimental, and not yet much used; you - should expect our JSON to evolve. Real-world feedback is welcome. + should expect our JSON to evolve. Real-world feedback is welcome. * Our JSON is rather large and verbose, as it is quite a faithful - representation of hledger's internal data types. To understand the + representation of hledger's internal data types. To understand the JSON, read the Haskell type definitions, which are mostly in https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/blob/master/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Types.hs. + * hledger represents quantities as Decimal values storing up to 255 - significant digits, eg for repeating decimals. Such numbers can + 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 + prices), and would break most JSON consumers. So in JSON, we show + quantities as simple Numbers with at most 10 decimal places. We don't limit the number of integer digits, but that part is under - your control. We hope this approach will not cause problems in - practice; if you find otherwise, please let us know. (Cf #1195) + your control. We hope this approach will not cause problems in + practice; if you find otherwise, please let us know. (Cf #1195) Notes about SQL output: @@ -1624,24 +1677,25 @@ $ hledger balancesheet -o foo.txt -O html # write HTML to foo.txt * SQL output is expected to work with sqlite, MySQL and PostgreSQL - * SQL output is structured with the expectations that statements will - be executed in the empty database. If you already have tables + * 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. +  File: hledger.info, Node: COMMANDS, Next: JOURNAL FORMAT, Prev: OUTPUT, Up: Top -10 COMMANDS +11 COMMANDS *********** hledger provides a number of commands for producing reports and managing -your data. Run 'hledger' with no arguments to list the commands -available, and 'hledger CMD' to run a command. CMD can be the full +your data. 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'. +or any unambiguous prefix of the name. Eg: `hledger bal'. Here are the built-in commands, with the most often-used in bold: @@ -1651,62 +1705,91 @@ or any unambiguous prefix of the name. Eg: 'hledger bal'. journal file. * *add* - add transactions using guided prompts + * *import* - add any new transactions from other files (eg csv) *Data management:* * check - check for various kinds of issue in the data + * close (equity) - generate balance-resetting transactions + * diff - compare account transactions in two journal files + * rewrite - generate extra postings, similar to print -auto *Financial statements:* * *aregister (areg)* - show transactions in a particular account + * *balancesheet (bs)* - show assets, liabilities and net worth + * balancesheetequity (bse) - show assets, liabilities and equity + * cashflow (cf) - show changes in liquid assets + * *incomestatement (is)* - show revenues and expenses + * roi - show return on investments *Miscellaneous reports:* * accounts - show account names + * activity - show postings-per-interval bar charts + * *balance (bal)* - show balance changes/end balances/budgets in any accounts + * codes - show transaction codes + * commodities - show commodity/currency symbols + * descriptions - show unique transaction descriptions + * files - show input file paths + * help - show hledger user manuals in several formats + * notes - show unique note segments of transaction descriptions + * payees - show unique payee segments of transaction descriptions + * prices - show market price records + * *print* - show transactions (journal entries) + * print-unique - show only transactions with unique descriptions + * *register (reg)* - show postings in one or more accounts & running total + * register-match - show a recent posting that best matches a description + * stats - show journal statistics + * tags - show tag names + * test - run self tests *Add-on commands:* - Programs or scripts named 'hledger-SOMETHING' in your PATH are add-on -commands; these appear in the commands list with a '+' mark. Two of -these are maintained and released with hledger: + Programs or scripts named `hledger-SOMETHING' in your PATH are +add-on commands; these appear in the commands list with a `+' mark. +Two of these are maintained and released with hledger: * *ui* - an efficient terminal interface (TUI) for hledger + * *web* - a simple web interface (WUI) for hledger And these add-ons are maintained separately: * iadd - a more interactive alternative for the add command + * interest - generates interest transactions according to various schemes + * stockquotes - downloads market prices for your commodities from AlphaVantage _(experimental)_ @@ -1749,23 +1832,24 @@ these are maintained and released with hledger:  File: hledger.info, Node: accounts, Next: activity, Up: COMMANDS -10.1 accounts +11.1 accounts ============= accounts Show account names. This command lists account names, either declared with account -directives (-declared), posted to (-used), or both (the default). With +directives (-declared), posted to (-used), or both (the default). With query arguments, only matched account names and account names referenced -by matched postings are shown. It shows a flat list by default. With -'--tree', it uses indentation to show the account hierarchy. In flat -mode you can add '--drop N' to omit the first few account name -components. Account names can be depth-clipped with 'depth:N' or -'--depth N' or '-N'. +by matched postings are shown. It shows a flat list by default. With +`--tree', it uses indentation to show the account hierarchy. In flat +mode you can add `--drop N' to omit the first few account name +components. Account names can be depth-clipped with `depth:N' or +`--depth N' or `-N'. Examples: + $ hledger accounts assets:bank:checking assets:bank:saving @@ -1779,7 +1863,7 @@ liabilities:debts  File: hledger.info, Node: activity, Next: add, Prev: accounts, Up: COMMANDS -10.2 activity +11.2 activity ============= activity @@ -1787,36 +1871,37 @@ Show an ascii barchart of posting counts per interval. The activity command displays an ascii histogram showing transaction counts by day, week, month or other reporting interval (by day is the -default). With query arguments, it counts only matched transactions. +default). With query arguments, it counts only matched transactions. Examples: + $ hledger activity --quarterly 2008-01-01 ** 2008-04-01 ******* -2008-07-01 +2008-07-01 2008-10-01 **  File: hledger.info, Node: add, Next: aregister, Prev: activity, Up: COMMANDS -10.3 add +11.3 add ======== add -Prompt for transactions and add them to the journal. Any arguments will +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 +`add' command, which prompts interactively on the console for new transactions, and appends them to the journal file (if there are -multiple '-f FILE' options, the first file is used.) Existing -transactions are not changed. This is the only hledger command that +multiple `-f FILE' options, the first file is used.) Existing +transactions are not changed. This is the only hledger command that writes to the journal file. - To use it, just run 'hledger add' and follow the prompts. You can -add as many transactions as you like; when you are finished, enter '.' + 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: @@ -1824,22 +1909,31 @@ or press control-d or control-c to exit. * add tries to provide useful defaults, using the most similar (by description) recent transaction (filtered by the query, if any) as a template. + * You can also set the initial defaults with command line arguments. + * Readline-style edit keys can be used during data entry. + * The tab key will auto-complete whenever possible - accounts, - descriptions, dates ('yesterday', 'today', 'tomorrow'). If the + descriptions, dates (`yesterday', `today', `tomorrow'). If the input area is empty, it will insert the default value. - * If the journal defines a default commodity, it will be added to any - bare numbers entered. + + * 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 + + * If you make a mistake, enter `<' at any prompt to go one step backward. + * Input prompts are displayed in a different colour when the terminal supports it. Example (see the tutorial for a detailed explanation): + $ hledger add Adding transactions to journal file /src/hledger/examples/sample.journal Any command line arguments will be used as defaults. @@ -1849,18 +1943,18 @@ An optional ; COMMENT may follow descriptions or amounts. If you make a mistake, enter < at any prompt to go one step backward. To end a transaction, enter . when prompted. To quit, enter . at a date prompt or press control-d or control-c. -Date [2015/05/22]: +Date [2015/05/22]: Description: supermarket Account 1: expenses:food Amount 1: $10 Account 2: assets:checking -Amount 2 [$-10.0]: +Amount 2 [$-10.0]: Account 3 (or . or enter to finish this transaction): . 2015/05/22 supermarket expenses:food $10 assets:checking $-10.0 -Save this transaction to the journal ? [y]: +Save this transaction to the journal ? [y]: Saved. Starting the next transaction (. or ctrl-D/ctrl-C to quit) Date [2015/05/22]: $ @@ -1871,42 +1965,61 @@ file path ends with a period, as that would cause problems (#1056).  File: hledger.info, Node: aregister, Next: balance, Prev: add, Up: COMMANDS -10.4 aregister +11.4 aregister ============== aregister, areg -Show transactions affecting a particular account, and the account's -running balance. +Show the transactions and running historical balance in an account, with +each line item representing one transaction. - 'aregister' shows the transactions affecting a particular account -(and its subaccounts), from the point of view of that account. Each -line shows: + `aregister' shows the transactions affecting a particular account +and its subaccounts, with each line item representing a whole +transaction - as in bank statements, hledger-ui, hledger-web and other +accounting apps. - * the transaction's (or posting's, see below) date - * the names of the other account(s) involved - * the net change to this account's balance - * the account's historical running balance (including balance from - transactions before the report start date). + Note this is unlike the `register' command, which shows individual +postings and does not always show a single account or a historical +balance. - With 'aregister', each line represents a whole transaction - as in -hledger-ui, hledger-web, and your bank statement. By contrast, the -'register' command shows individual postings, across all accounts. You -might prefer 'aregister' for reconciling with real-world asset/liability -accounts, and 'register' for reviewing detailed revenues/expenses. + A reminder, "historical" balances include any balance from +transactions before the report start date, so (if opening balances are +recorded correctly) `aregister' will show the real-world balances of an +account, as you would see in a bank statement. - An account must be specified as the first argument, which should be -the full account name or an account pattern (regular expression). -aregister will show transactions in this account (the first one matched) -and any of its subaccounts. + As a quick rule of thumb, use `aregister' for reconciling real-world +asset/liability accounts and `register' for reviewing detailed +revenues/expenses. + + `aregister' shows the register for just one account (and its +subaccounts). This account must be specified as the first argument. You +can write either the full account name, or a case-insensitive regular +expression which will select the alphabetically first matched account. +(Eg if you have `assets:aaa:checking' and `assets:bbb:checking' +accounts, `hledger areg checking' would select `assets:aaa:checking'.) Any additional arguments form a query which will filter the transactions shown. + Each `aregister' line item shows: + + * 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 + (probably abbreviated) + + * 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. + + `aregister' ignores a depth limit, so its final total will always +match a balance report with similar arguments. 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: @@ -1915,63 +2028,65 @@ options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', and 'json'.  File: hledger.info, Node: aregister and custom posting dates, Up: aregister -10.4.1 aregister and custom posting dates +11.4.1 aregister and custom posting dates ----------------------------------------- Transactions whose date is outside the report period can still be shown, if they have a posting to this account dated inside the report period. -(And in this case it's the posting date that is shown.) This ensures -that 'aregister' can show an accurate historical running balance, -matching the one shown by 'register -H' with the same arguments. +(And in this case it's the posting date that is shown.) This ensures +that `aregister' can show an accurate historical running balance, +matching the one shown by `register -H' with the same arguments. - To filter strictly by transaction date instead, add the '--txn-dates' -flag. If you use this flag and some of your postings have custom dates, -it's probably best to assume the running balance is wrong. + To filter strictly by transaction date instead, add the +`--txn-dates' flag. If you use this flag and some of your postings have +custom dates, it's probably best to assume the running balance is wrong. Examples: Show all transactions and historical running balance in the first account whose name contains "checking": + $ hledger areg checking Show transactions and historical running balance in all asset accounts during july: + $ hledger areg assets date:jul  File: hledger.info, Node: balance, Next: balancesheet, Prev: aregister, Up: COMMANDS -10.5 balance +11.5 balance ============ balance, bal Show accounts and their balances. - The balance command is hledger's most versatile command. Note, + The balance command is hledger's most versatile command. Note, despite the name, it is not always used for showing real-world account -balances; the more accounting-aware balancesheet and incomestatement may -be more convenient for that. +balances; the more accounting-aware balancesheet and incomestatement +may be more convenient for that. By default, it displays all accounts, and each account's change in -balance during the entire period of the journal. Balance changes are -calculated by adding up the postings in each account. You can limit the +balance during the entire period of the journal. Balance changes are +calculated by adding up the postings in each account. You can limit the postings matched, by a query, to see fewer accounts, changes over a different time period, changes from only cleared transactions, etc. If you include an account's complete history of postings in the report, the balance change is equivalent to the account's current ending -balance. For a real-world account, typically you won't have all +balance. For a real-world account, typically you won't have all transactions in the journal; instead you'll have all transactions after a certain date, and an "opening balances" transaction setting the -correct starting balance on that date. Then the balance command will -show real-world account balances. In some cases the -H/-historical flag +correct starting balance on that date. Then the balance command will +show real-world account balances. In some cases the -H/-historical flag is used to ensure this (more below). This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are (in most modes): 'txt', 'csv', -'html', and 'json'. +options The output formats supported are (in most modes): `txt', `csv', +`html', and `json'. The balance command can produce several styles of report: @@ -1979,26 +2094,27 @@ options The output formats supported are (in most modes): 'txt', 'csv', * Single-period flat balance report:: * Single-period tree-mode balance report:: -* Customising single-period balance reports:: +* Multi-period balance report:: * Depth limiting:: * Colour support:: * Sorting by amount:: * Percentages:: -* Multi-period balance report:: +* Customising single-period balance reports:: * Budget report::  File: hledger.info, Node: Single-period flat balance report, Next: Single-period tree-mode balance report, Up: balance -10.5.1 Single-period flat balance report +11.5.1 Single-period flat balance report ---------------------------------------- This is the default for hledger's balance command: a flat list of all (or with a query, matched) accounts, showing full account names. Accounts are sorted by declaration order if any, and then by account -name. Accounts which have zero balance are not shown unless -'-E/--empty' is used. The reported balances' total is shown as the last -line, unless disabled by '-N'/'--no-total'. +name. Accounts which have zero balance are not shown unless +`-E/--empty' is used. The reported balances' total is shown as the last +line, unless disabled by `-N'/`--no-total'. + $ hledger bal $1 assets:bank:saving @@ -2009,17 +2125,18 @@ $ hledger bal $-1 income:salary $1 liabilities:debts -------------------- - 0 + 0  -File: hledger.info, Node: Single-period tree-mode balance report, Next: Customising single-period balance reports, Prev: Single-period flat balance report, Up: balance +File: hledger.info, Node: Single-period tree-mode balance report, Next: Multi-period balance report, Prev: Single-period flat balance report, Up: balance -10.5.2 Single-period tree-mode balance report +11.5.2 Single-period tree-mode balance report --------------------------------------------- -With the '-t/--tree' flag, accounts are displayed hierarchically, -showing subaccounts as short names indented below their parent. (This -is the default style in Ledger and in older hledger versions.) +With the `-t/--tree' flag, accounts are displayed hierarchically, +showing subaccounts as short names indented below their parent. (This is +the default style in Ledger and in older hledger versions.) + $ hledger balance $-1 assets @@ -2036,30 +2153,241 @@ $ hledger balance 0 For more compact output, "boring" accounts containing a single -interesting subaccount and no balance of their own ('assets:bank' and -'liabilities' here) are elided into the following line, unless -'--no-elide' is used. And accounts which have zero balance and no -non-zero subaccounts are omitted, unless '-E/--empty' is used. +interesting subaccount and no balance of their own (`assets:bank' and +`liabilities' here) are elided into the following line, unless +`--no-elide' is used. And accounts which have zero balance and no +non-zero subaccounts are omitted, unless `-E/--empty' is used. Account balances in tree mode are "inclusive" - they include the -balances of any subaccounts. Eg, the 'assets' '$-1' balance here -includes the '$1' from 'assets:bank:saving' and the '$-2' from -'assets:cash'. (And it would include balance posted to the 'assets' -account itself, if there was any). Note this causes some repetition, -and the final total ('0') is the sum of the top-level balances, not of +balances of any subaccounts. Eg, the `assets' `$-1' balance here +includes the `$1' from `assets:bank:saving' and the `$-2' from +`assets:cash'. (And it would include balance posted to the `assets' +account itself, if there was any). Note this causes some repetition, +and the final total (`0') is the sum of the top-level balances, not of all the balances shown. Each group of sibling accounts is sorted separately, by declaration order and then by account name.  -File: hledger.info, Node: Customising single-period balance reports, Next: Depth limiting, Prev: Single-period tree-mode balance report, Up: balance +File: hledger.info, Node: Multi-period balance report, Next: Depth limiting, Prev: Single-period tree-mode balance report, Up: balance -10.5.3 Customising single-period balance reports +11.5.3 Multi-period balance report +---------------------------------- + +Multi-period balance reports are a very useful hledger feature, +activated if you provide one of the reporting interval flags, such as +`-M'/`--monthly'. They are similar to single-period balance reports, +but they show the report as a table, with columns representing one or +more successive time periods. This is the usually the preferred style +of balance report in hledger (even for a single period). + + Multi-period balance reports come in several types, showing different +information: + + 1. A balance change report: by default, each column shows the sum of + postings in that period, ie the account's change of balance in that + period. This is useful eg for a monthly income statement: + + +$ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E +Balance changes in 2008: + + || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 +===================++================================= + expenses:food || 0 $1 0 0 + expenses:supplies || 0 $1 0 0 + income:gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 + income:salary || $-1 0 0 0 +-------------------++--------------------------------- + || $-1 $1 0 0 + + 2. A cumulative end balance report: with `--cumulative', each column + shows the end balance for that period, accumulating the changes + across periods, starting from 0 at the report start date: + + + $ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E --cumulative + Ending balances (cumulative) in 2008: + + || 2008/03/31 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 + ===================++================================================= + expenses:food || 0 $1 $1 $1 + expenses:supplies || 0 $1 $1 $1 + income:gifts || 0 $-1 $-1 $-1 + income:salary || $-1 $-1 $-1 $-1 + -------------------++------------------------------------------------- + || $-1 0 0 0 + + 3. A historical end balance report: with `--historical/-H', each + column shows the actual historical end balance for that period, + accumulating the changes across periods, and including the balance + from any postings before the report start date. This is useful eg + for a multi-period balance sheet, and when you want to see + balances only after a certain date: + + + $ hledger balance ^assets ^liabilities --quarterly --historical --begin 2008/4/1 + Ending balances (historical) in 2008/04/01-2008/12/31: + + || 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 + ======================++===================================== + assets:bank:checking || $1 $1 0 + assets:bank:saving || $1 $1 $1 + assets:cash || $-2 $-2 $-2 + liabilities:debts || 0 0 $1 + ----------------------++------------------------------------- + || 0 0 0 + + + Note that `--cumulative' or `--historical/-H' disable +`--row-total/-T', since summing end balances generally does not make +sense. + + With a reporting interval (like `--quarterly' above), the report +start/end dates will be adjusted if necessary so that they encompass the +displayed report periods. This is so that the first and last periods +will be "full" and comparable to the others. + + The `-E/--empty' flag does two things in multicolumn balance +reports: first, the report will show all columns within the specified +report period (without -E, leading and trailing columns with all zeroes +are not shown). Second, all accounts which existed at the report start +date will be considered, not just the ones with activity during the +report period (use -E to include low-activity accounts which would +otherwise would be omitted). + + The `-T/--row-total' flag adds an additional column showing the +total for each row. + + The `-A/--average' flag adds a column showing the average value in +each row. + + Here's an example of all three: + + +$ hledger balance -Q income expenses --tree -ETA +Balance changes in 2008: + + || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 Total Average +============++=================================================== + expenses || 0 $2 0 0 $2 $1 + food || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 + supplies || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 + income || $-1 $-1 0 0 $-2 $-1 + gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 $-1 0 + salary || $-1 0 0 0 $-1 0 +------------++--------------------------------------------------- + || $-1 $1 0 0 0 0 + +(Average is rounded to the dollar here since all journal amounts are) + + The `--transpose' flag can be used to exchange the rows and columns +of a multicolumn report. + + When showing multicommodity amounts, multicolumn balance reports will +elide any amounts which have more than two commodities, since otherwise +columns could get very wide. The `--no-elide' flag disables this. +Hiding totals with the `-N/--no-total' flag can also help reduce the +width of multicommodity reports. + + When the report is still too wide, a good workaround is to pipe it +into `less -RS' (-R for colour, -S to chop long lines). Eg: `hledger +bal -D --color=yes | less -RS'. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Depth limiting, Next: Colour support, Prev: Multi-period balance report, Up: balance + +11.5.4 Depth limiting +--------------------- + +With a `depth:N' query, or `--depth N' option, or just `-N', balance +reports will show accounts only to the specified depth. This is very +useful to hide low-level accounts and get an overview. Eg, limiting to +depth 1 shows the top-level accounts: + + +$ hledger balance -N -1 + $-1 assets + $2 expenses + $-2 income + $1 liabilities + + Accounts at the depth limit will include the balances of any hidden +subaccounts (even in flat mode, which normally shows exclusive +balances). + + You can also drop account name components from the start of account +names, using `--drop N'. This can be useful to hide unwanted top-level +detail. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Colour support, Next: Sorting by amount, Prev: Depth limiting, Up: balance + +11.5.5 Colour support +--------------------- + +In terminal output, when colour is enabled, the balance command shows +negative amounts in red. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Sorting by amount, Next: Percentages, Prev: Colour support, Up: balance + +11.5.6 Sorting by amount +------------------------ + +With `-S'/`--sort-amount', accounts with the largest (most positive) +balances are shown first. For example, `hledger bal expenses -MAS' +shows your biggest averaged monthly expenses first. + + Revenues and liability balances are typically negative, however, so +`-S' shows these in reverse order. To work around this, you can add +`--invert' to flip the signs. Or, use one of the sign-flipping reports +like `balancesheet' or `incomestatement', which also support `-S'. Eg: +`hledger is -MAS'. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Percentages, Next: Customising single-period balance reports, Prev: Sorting by amount, Up: balance + +11.5.7 Percentages +------------------ + +With `-%' or `--percent', balance reports show each account's value +expressed as a percentage of the column's total. This is useful to get +an overview of the relative sizes of account balances. For example to +obtain an overview of expenses: + + +$ hledger balance expenses -% + 100.0 % expenses + 50.0 % food + 50.0 % supplies +-------------------- + 100.0 % + + Note that `--tree' does not have an effect on `-%'. The percentages +are always relative to the total sum of each column, they are never +relative to the parent account. + + Since the percentages are relative to the columns sum, it is usually +not useful to calculate percentages if the signs of the amounts are +mixed. Although the results are technically correct, they are most +likely useless. Especially in a balance report that sums up to zero (eg +`hledger balance -B') all percentage values will be zero. + + This flag does not work if the report contains any mixed commodity +accounts. If there are mixed commodity accounts in the report be sure to +use `-V' or `-B' to coerce the report into using a single commodity. + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Customising single-period balance reports, Next: Budget report, Prev: Percentages, Up: balance + +11.5.8 Customising single-period balance reports ------------------------------------------------ You can customise the layout of single-period balance reports with -'--format FMT', which sets the format of each line. Eg: +`--format FMT', which sets the format of each line. Eg: + $ hledger balance --format "%20(account) %12(total)" assets $-1 @@ -2076,10 +2404,10 @@ $ hledger balance --format "%20(account) %12(total)" 0 The FMT format string (plus a newline) specifies the formatting -applied to each account/balance pair. It may contain any suitable text, +applied to each 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) @@ -2087,251 +2415,57 @@ with data fields interpolated like so: * 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) - There are some quirks. Eg in one-line mode, '%(depth_spacer)' has no -effect, instead '%(account)' has indentation built in. Experimentation + * `%^' - render on multiple lines, top-aligned + + * `%,' - render on one line, comma-separated + + There are some quirks. Eg in one-line mode, `%(depth_spacer)' has no +effect, instead `%(account)' has indentation built in. Experimentation may be needed to get pleasing results. Some example formats: - * '%(total)' - the account's total - * '%-20.20(account)' - the account's name, left justified, padded to + * `%(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  -File: hledger.info, Node: Depth limiting, Next: Colour support, Prev: Customising single-period balance reports, Up: balance +File: hledger.info, Node: Budget report, Prev: Customising single-period balance reports, Up: balance -10.5.4 Depth limiting ---------------------- - -With a 'depth:N' query, or '--depth N' option, or just '-N', balance -reports will show accounts only to the specified depth. This is very -useful to hide low-level accounts and get an overview. Eg, limiting to -depth 1 shows the top-level accounts: - -$ hledger balance -N -1 - $-1 assets - $2 expenses - $-2 income - $1 liabilities - - Accounts at the depth limit will include the balances of any hidden -subaccounts (even in flat mode, which normally shows exclusive -balances). - - You can also drop account name components from the start of account -names, using '--drop N'. This can be useful to hide unwanted top-level -detail. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Colour support, Next: Sorting by amount, Prev: Depth limiting, Up: balance - -10.5.5 Colour support ---------------------- - -In terminal output, when colour is enabled, the balance command shows -negative amounts in red. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Sorting by amount, Next: Percentages, Prev: Colour support, Up: balance - -10.5.6 Sorting by amount ------------------------- - -With '-S'/'--sort-amount', accounts with the largest (most positive) -balances are shown first. For example, 'hledger bal expenses -MAS' -shows your biggest averaged monthly expenses first. - - Revenues and liability balances are typically negative, however, so -'-S' shows these in reverse order. To work around this, you can add -'--invert' to flip the signs. Or, use one of the sign-flipping reports -like 'balancesheet' or 'incomestatement', which also support '-S'. Eg: -'hledger is -MAS'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Percentages, Next: Multi-period balance report, Prev: Sorting by amount, Up: balance - -10.5.7 Percentages ------------------- - -With '-%' or '--percent', balance reports show each account's value -expressed as a percentage of the column's total. This is useful to get -an overview of the relative sizes of account balances. For example to -obtain an overview of expenses: - -$ hledger balance expenses -% - 100.0 % expenses - 50.0 % food - 50.0 % supplies --------------------- - 100.0 % - - Note that '--tree' does not have an effect on '-%'. The percentages -are always relative to the total sum of each column, they are never -relative to the parent account. - - Since the percentages are relative to the columns sum, it is usually -not useful to calculate percentages if the signs of the amounts are -mixed. Although the results are technically correct, they are most -likely useless. Especially in a balance report that sums up to zero (eg -'hledger balance -B') all percentage values will be zero. - - This flag does not work if the report contains any mixed commodity -accounts. If there are mixed commodity accounts in the report be sure -to use '-V' or '-B' to coerce the report into using a single commodity. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Multi-period balance report, Next: Budget report, Prev: Percentages, Up: balance - -10.5.8 Multi-period balance report ----------------------------------- - -Multi-period balance reports are a very useful hledger feature, -activated if you provide one of the reporting interval flags, such as -'-M'/'--monthly'. They are similar to single-period balance reports, -but they show the report as a table, with columns representing one or -more successive time periods. This is the usually the preferred style -of balance report in hledger (even for a single period). - - Multi-period balance reports come in several types, showing different -information: - - 1. A balance change report: by default, each column shows the sum of - postings in that period, ie the account's change of balance in that - period. This is useful eg for a monthly income statement: - -$ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E -Balance changes in 2008: - - || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 -===================++================================= - expenses:food || 0 $1 0 0 - expenses:supplies || 0 $1 0 0 - income:gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 - income:salary || $-1 0 0 0 --------------------++--------------------------------- - || $-1 $1 0 0 - - 2. A cumulative end balance report: with '--cumulative', each column - shows the end balance for that period, accumulating the changes - across periods, starting from 0 at the report start date: - - $ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E --cumulative - Ending balances (cumulative) in 2008: - - || 2008/03/31 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 - ===================++================================================= - expenses:food || 0 $1 $1 $1 - expenses:supplies || 0 $1 $1 $1 - income:gifts || 0 $-1 $-1 $-1 - income:salary || $-1 $-1 $-1 $-1 - -------------------++------------------------------------------------- - || $-1 0 0 0 - - 3. A historical end balance report: with '--historical/-H', each - column shows the actual historical end balance for that period, - accumulating the changes across periods, and including the balance - from any postings before the report start date. This is useful eg - for a multi-period balance sheet, and when you want to see balances - only after a certain date: - - $ hledger balance ^assets ^liabilities --quarterly --historical --begin 2008/4/1 - Ending balances (historical) in 2008/04/01-2008/12/31: - - || 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 - ======================++===================================== - assets:bank:checking || $1 $1 0 - assets:bank:saving || $1 $1 $1 - assets:cash || $-2 $-2 $-2 - liabilities:debts || 0 0 $1 - ----------------------++------------------------------------- - || 0 0 0 - - Note that '--cumulative' or '--historical/-H' disable -'--row-total/-T', since summing end balances generally does not make -sense. - - With a reporting interval (like '--quarterly' above), the report -start/end dates will be adjusted if necessary so that they encompass the -displayed report periods. This is so that the first and last periods -will be "full" and comparable to the others. - - The '-E/--empty' flag does two things in multicolumn balance reports: -first, the report will show all columns within the specified report -period (without -E, leading and trailing columns with all zeroes are not -shown). Second, all accounts which existed at the report start date -will be considered, not just the ones with activity during the report -period (use -E to include low-activity accounts which would otherwise -would be omitted). - - The '-T/--row-total' flag adds an additional column showing the total -for each row. - - The '-A/--average' flag adds a column showing the average value in -each row. - - Here's an example of all three: - -$ hledger balance -Q income expenses --tree -ETA -Balance changes in 2008: - - || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 Total Average -============++=================================================== - expenses || 0 $2 0 0 $2 $1 - food || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 - supplies || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 - income || $-1 $-1 0 0 $-2 $-1 - gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 $-1 0 - salary || $-1 0 0 0 $-1 0 -------------++--------------------------------------------------- - || $-1 $1 0 0 0 0 - -(Average is rounded to the dollar here since all journal amounts are) - - The '--transpose' flag can be used to exchange the rows and columns -of a multicolumn report. - - When showing multicommodity amounts, multicolumn balance reports will -elide any amounts which have more than two commodities, since otherwise -columns could get very wide. The '--no-elide' flag disables this. -Hiding totals with the '-N/--no-total' flag can also help reduce the -width of multicommodity reports. - - When the report is still too wide, a good workaround is to pipe it -into 'less -RS' (-R for colour, -S to chop long lines). Eg: 'hledger -bal -D --color=yes | less -RS'. - - -File: hledger.info, Node: Budget report, Prev: Multi-period balance report, Up: balance - -10.5.9 Budget report +11.5.9 Budget report -------------------- -With '--budget', extra columns are displayed showing budget goals for -each account and period, if any. Budget goals are defined by periodic -transactions. This is very useful for comparing planned and actual -income, expenses, time usage, etc. -budget is most often combined with -a report interval. +There is also a special balance report mode for showing budget +performance. The `--budget' flag activates extra columns showing the +budget goals for each account and period, if any. For this report, +budget goals are defined by periodic transactions. This is very useful +for comparing planned and actual income, expenses, time usage, etc. For example, you can take average monthly expenses in the common expense categories to construct a minimal monthly budget: + ;; Budget ~ monthly income $2000 @@ -2358,81 +2492,85 @@ expense categories to construct a minimal monthly budget: You can now see a monthly budget report: + $ hledger balance -M --budget Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: - || Nov Dec + || Nov Dec ======================++==================================================== - assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $565 [ 118% of $480] - expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $53 [ 106% of $50] - expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $412 [ 103% of $400] - expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] 0 [ 0% of $30] - income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $2100 [ 105% of $2000] + assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $565 [ 118% of $480] + expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $53 [ 106% of $50] + expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $412 [ 103% of $400] + expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] 0 [ 0% of $30] + income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $2100 [ 105% of $2000] ----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] + || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] This is different from a normal balance report in several ways: - * Only accounts with budget goals during the report period are shown, - by default. + * Only accounts with budget goals during the report period are + shown, by default. * In each column, in square brackets after the actual amount, budget - goal amounts are shown, and the actual/goal percentage. (Note: + goal amounts are shown, and the actual/goal percentage. (Note: budget goals should be in the same commodity as the actual amount.) - * All parent accounts are always shown, even in flat mode. Eg - assets, assets:bank, and expenses above. + * All parent accounts are always shown, even in flat mode. Eg assets, + assets:bank, and expenses above. * Amounts always include all subaccounts, budgeted or unbudgeted, even in flat mode. - This means that the numbers displayed will not always add up! Eg -above, the 'expenses' actual amount includes the gifts and supplies -transactions, but the 'expenses:gifts' and 'expenses:supplies' accounts + + This means that the numbers displayed will not always add up! Eg +above, the `expenses' actual amount includes the gifts and supplies +transactions, but the `expenses:gifts' and `expenses:supplies' accounts are not shown, as they have no budget amounts declared. - This can be confusing. When you need to make things clearer, use the -'-E/--empty' flag, which will reveal all accounts including unbudgeted -ones, giving the full picture. Eg: + This can be confusing. When you need to make things clearer, use the +`-E/--empty' flag, which will reveal all accounts including unbudgeted +ones, giving the full picture. Eg: + $ hledger balance -M --budget --empty Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31: - || Nov Dec + || Nov Dec ======================++==================================================== - assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] - expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $565 [ 118% of $480] - expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $53 [ 106% of $50] - expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $412 [ 103% of $400] - expenses:gifts || 0 $100 - expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] 0 [ 0% of $30] - expenses:supplies || $20 0 - income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $2100 [ 105% of $2000] + assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-2665 [ 107% of $-2480] + expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $565 [ 118% of $480] + expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $53 [ 106% of $50] + expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $412 [ 103% of $400] + expenses:gifts || 0 $100 + expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] 0 [ 0% of $30] + expenses:supplies || $20 0 + income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $2100 [ 105% of $2000] ----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] + || 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: - || Nov Dec + || Nov Dec ======================++==================================================== - assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] - assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] - assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] - expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $1060 [ 110% of $960] - expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $102 [ 102% of $100] - expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $808 [ 101% of $800] - expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] $30 [ 50% of $60] - income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $4050 [ 101% of $4000] + assets || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] + assets:bank || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] + assets:bank:checking || $-2445 [ 99% of $-2480] $-5110 [ 103% of $-4960] + expenses || $495 [ 103% of $480] $1060 [ 110% of $960] + expenses:bus || $49 [ 98% of $50] $102 [ 102% of $100] + expenses:food || $396 [ 99% of $400] $808 [ 101% of $800] + expenses:movies || $30 [ 100% of $30] $30 [ 50% of $60] + income || $1950 [ 98% of $2000] $4050 [ 101% of $4000] ----------------------++---------------------------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] + || 0 [ 0] 0 [ 0] For more examples and notes, see Budgeting. @@ -2444,17 +2582,18 @@ Budget performance in 2017/11/01-2017/12/31:  File: hledger.info, Node: Budget report start date, Next: Nested budgets, Up: Budget report -10.5.9.1 Budget report start date +11.5.9.1 Budget report start date ................................. This might be a bug, but for now: when making budget reports, it's a good idea to explicitly set the report's start date to the first day of -a reporting period, because a periodic rule like '~ monthly' generates +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 +exclude that budget goal, which can be a little surprising. Eg here the default report period is just the day of 2020-01-15: + ~ monthly in 2020 (expenses:food) $500 @@ -2462,36 +2601,38 @@ default report period is just the day of 2020-01-15: expenses:food $400 assets:checking + $ hledger bal expenses --budget Budget performance in 2020-01-15: - || 2020-01-15 + || 2020-01-15 ==============++============ - || $400 + || $400 --------------++------------ - || $400 + || $400 To avoid this, specify the budget report's period, or at least the -start date, with '-b'/'-e'/'-p'/'date:', to ensure it includes the -budget goal transactions (periodic transactions) that you want. Eg, -adding '-b 2020/1/1' to the above: +start date, with `-b'/`-e'/`-p'/`date:', to ensure it includes the +budget goal transactions (periodic transactions) that you want. Eg, +adding `-b 2020/1/1' to the above: + $ hledger bal expenses --budget -b 2020/1/1 Budget performance in 2020-01-01..2020-01-15: - || 2020-01-01..2020-01-15 + || 2020-01-01..2020-01-15 ===============++======================== - expenses:food || $400 [80% of $500] + expenses:food || $400 [80% of $500] ---------------++------------------------ - || $400 [80% of $500] + || $400 [80% of $500]  File: hledger.info, Node: Nested budgets, Prev: Budget report start date, Up: Budget report -10.5.9.2 Nested budgets +11.5.9.2 Nested budgets ....................... -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 budget(s) of the child account(s) would be added to the budget of their parent, much like account balances behave. @@ -2501,6 +2642,7 @@ account, all its parents would have budget as well. To illustrate this, consider the following budget: + ~ monthly from 2019/01 expenses:personal $1,000.00 expenses:personal:electronics $100.00 @@ -2508,15 +2650,16 @@ 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: + ~ monthly from 2019/01 expenses:personal $1,000.00 expenses:personal:electronics $100.00 @@ -2539,55 +2682,57 @@ 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 +`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: - || Jan + || Jan ===============================++=============================== - expenses || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] - expenses:personal || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] - expenses:personal:electronics || $100.00 [ 100% of $100.00] - liabilities || $-283.00 [ 26% of $-1100.00] + expenses || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] + expenses:personal || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] + expenses:personal:electronics || $100.00 [ 100% of $100.00] + liabilities || $-283.00 [ 26% of $-1100.00] -------------------------------++------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] + || 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 Budget performance in 2019/01: - || Jan + || Jan ========================================++=============================== - expenses || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] - expenses:personal || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] - expenses:personal:electronics || $100.00 [ 100% of $100.00] - expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades || $10.00 - expenses:personal:train tickets || $153.00 - liabilities || $-283.00 [ 26% of $-1100.00] + expenses || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] + expenses:personal || $283.00 [ 26% of $1100.00] + expenses:personal:electronics || $100.00 [ 100% of $100.00] + expenses:personal:electronics:upgrades || $10.00 + expenses:personal:train tickets || $153.00 + liabilities || $-283.00 [ 26% of $-1100.00] ----------------------------------------++------------------------------- - || 0 [ 0] + || 0 [ 0]  File: hledger.info, Node: balancesheet, Next: balancesheetequity, Prev: balance, Up: COMMANDS -10.6 balancesheet +11.6 balancesheet ================= balancesheet, bs This command displays a balance sheet, showing historical ending -balances of asset and liability accounts. (To see equity as well, use -the balancesheetequity command.) Amounts are shown with normal positive +balances of asset and liability accounts. (To see equity as well, use +the balancesheetequity command.) Amounts are shown with normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. The asset and liability accounts shown are those accounts declared -with the 'Asset' or 'Cash' or 'Liability' type, or otherwise all -accounts under a top-level 'asset' or 'liability' account (case +with the `Asset' or `Cash' or `Liability' type, or otherwise all +accounts under a top-level `asset' or `liability' account (case insensitive, plurals allowed). (This report is essentially similar to "hledger balance -historical @@ -2595,6 +2740,7 @@ assets liabilities", with liabilities sign-flipped.) Example: + $ hledger balancesheet Balance Sheet @@ -2615,39 +2761,40 @@ Total: 0 With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for -each report period. As with multicolumn balance reports, you can alter -the report mode with '--change'/'--cumulative'/'--historical'. Normally +each report period. As with multicolumn balance reports, you can alter +the report mode with `--change'/`--cumulative'/`--historical'. Normally balancesheet shows historical ending balances, which is what you need for a balance sheet; note this means it ignores report begin dates (and -'-T/--row-total', since summing end balances generally does not make -sense). Instead of absolute values percentages can be displayed with -'-%'. +`-T/--row-total', since summing end balances generally does not make +sense). Instead of absolute values percentages can be displayed with +`-%'. This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', 'html', and -(experimental) 'json'. +options The output formats supported are `txt', `csv', `html', and +(experimental) `json'.  File: hledger.info, Node: balancesheetequity, Next: cashflow, Prev: balancesheet, Up: COMMANDS -10.7 balancesheetequity +11.7 balancesheetequity ======================= balancesheetequity, bse This command displays a balance sheet, showing historical ending -balances of asset, liability and equity accounts. Amounts are shown -with normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. +balances of asset, liability and equity accounts. Amounts are shown with +normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. The asset, liability and equity accounts shown are those accounts -declared with the 'Asset', 'Cash', 'Liability' or 'Equity' type, or -otherwise all accounts under a top-level 'asset', 'liability' or -'equity' account (case insensitive, plurals allowed). +declared with the `Asset', `Cash', `Liability' or `Equity' type, or +otherwise all accounts under a top-level `asset', `liability' or +`equity' account (case insensitive, plurals allowed). (This report is essentially similar to "hledger balance -historical assets liabilities equity", with liabilities and equity sign-flipped.) Example: + $ hledger balancesheetequity Balance Sheet With Equity @@ -2673,30 +2820,31 @@ Total: 0 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: COMMANDS -10.8 cashflow +11.8 cashflow ============= cashflow, cf This command displays a cashflow statement, showing the inflows and -outflows affecting "cash" (ie, liquid) assets. Amounts are shown with +outflows affecting "cash" (ie, liquid) assets. Amounts are shown with normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. - The "cash" accounts shown are those accounts declared with the 'Cash' -type, or otherwise all accounts under a top-level 'asset' account (case -insensitive, plural allowed) which do not have 'fixed', 'investment', -'receivable' or 'A/R' in their name. + The "cash" accounts shown are those accounts declared with the +`Cash' type, or otherwise all accounts under a top-level `asset' +account (case insensitive, plural allowed) which do not have `fixed', +`investment', `receivable' or `A/R' in their name. (This report is essentially similar to "hledger balance -change assets not:fixed not:investment not:receivable".) Example: + $ hledger cashflow Cashflow Statement @@ -2712,32 +2860,33 @@ Total: $-1 With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for -each report period. Normally cashflow shows changes in assets per +each report period. Normally cashflow shows changes in assets per period, though as with multicolumn balance reports you can alter the -report mode with '--change'/'--cumulative'/'--historical'. Instead of -absolute values percentages can be displayed with '-%'. +report mode with `--change'/`--cumulative'/`--historical'. Instead of +absolute values percentages can be displayed with `-%'. This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', 'html', and -(experimental) 'json'. +options The output formats supported are `txt', `csv', `html', and +(experimental) `json'.  File: hledger.info, Node: check, Next: close, Prev: cashflow, Up: COMMANDS -10.9 check +11.9 check ========== 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 +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: + hledger check # basic checks hledger check -s # basic + strict checks hledger check ordereddates payees # basic + two other checks @@ -2754,11 +2903,11 @@ hledger check ordereddates payees # basic + two other checks  File: hledger.info, Node: Basic checks, Next: Strict checks, Up: check -10.9.1 Basic checks +11.9.1 Basic checks ------------------- 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 parsed @@ -2768,45 +2917,48 @@ commands, including 'check': transaction prices or automatically-inferred transaction prices * *assertions* - all balance assertions in the journal are passing. - (This check can be disabled with '-I'/'--ignore-assertions'.) + (This check can be disabled with `-I'/`--ignore-assertions'.) +  File: hledger.info, Node: Strict checks, Next: Other checks, Prev: Basic checks, Up: check -10.9.2 Strict checks +11.9.2 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 -'check': +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': * *accounts* - all account names used by transactions have been declared * *commodities* - all commodity symbols used have been declared +  File: hledger.info, Node: Other checks, Next: Custom checks, Prev: Strict checks, Up: check -10.9.3 Other checks +11.9.3 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, +`check'. They are more specialised and not desirable for everyone, therefore optional: * *ordereddates* - transactions are ordered by date (similar to the - old 'check-dates' command) + old `check-dates' command) * *payees* - all payees used by transactions have been declared * *uniqueleafnames* - all account leaf names are unique (similar to - the old 'check-dupes' command). + the old `check-dupes' command). +  File: hledger.info, Node: Custom checks, Prev: Other checks, Up: check -10.9.4 Custom checks +11.9.4 Custom checks -------------------- A few more checks are are available as separate add-on commands, in @@ -2818,13 +2970,14 @@ https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/tree/master/bin: * *hledger-check-fancyassertions* - more complex balance assertions are passing + You could make similar scripts to perform your own custom checks. See: Cookbook -> Scripting.  File: hledger.info, Node: close, Next: codes, Prev: check, Up: COMMANDS -10.10 close +11.10 close =========== close, equity @@ -2834,27 +2987,27 @@ These can be added to your journal file(s), eg to bring asset/liability balances forward into a new journal file, or to close out revenues/expenses to retained earnings at the end of a period. - You can print just one of these transactions by using the '--close' -or '--open' flag. You can customise their descriptions with the -'--close-desc' and '--open-desc' options. + You can print just one of these transactions by using the `--close' +or `--open' flag. You can customise their descriptions with the +`--close-desc' and `--open-desc' options. One amountless posting to "equity:opening/closing balances" is added -to balance the transactions, by default. You can customise this account -name with '--close-acct' and '--open-acct'; if you specify only one of +to balance the transactions, by default. You can customise this account +name with `--close-acct' and `--open-acct'; if you specify only one of these, it will be used for both. - With '--x/--explicit', the equity posting's amount will be shown. + With `--x/--explicit', the equity posting's amount will be shown. And if it involves multiple commodities, a posting for each commodity will be shown, as with the print command. - With '--interleaved', the equity postings are shown next to the + With `--interleaved', the equity postings are shown next to the postings they balance, which makes troubleshooting easier. By default, transaction prices in the journal are ignored when -generating the closing/opening transactions. With '--show-costs', this -cost information is preserved ('balance -B' reports will be unchanged -after the transition). Separate postings are generated for each cost in -each commodity. Note this can generate very large journal entries, if +generating the closing/opening transactions. With `--show-costs', this +cost information is preserved (`balance -B' reports will be unchanged +after the transition). Separate postings are generated for each cost in +each commodity. Note this can generate very large journal entries, if you have many foreign currency or investment transactions. * Menu: @@ -2864,44 +3017,45 @@ you have many foreign currency or investment transactions.  File: hledger.info, Node: close usage, Up: close -10.10.1 close usage +11.10.1 close usage ------------------- If you split your journal files by time (eg yearly), you will typically run this command at the end of the year, and save the closing transaction as last entry of the old file, and the opening transaction -as the first entry of the new file. This makes the files self -contained, so that correct balances are reported no matter which of them -are loaded. Ie, if you load just one file, the balances are initialised +as the first entry of the new file. This makes the files self contained, +so that correct balances are reported no matter which of them are +loaded. Ie, if you load just one file, the balances are initialised correctly; or if you load several files, the redundant closing/opening -transactions cancel each other out. (They will show up in print or +transactions cancel each other out. (They will show up in print or register reports; you can exclude them with a query like -'not:desc:'(opening|closing) balances''.) +`not:desc:'(opening|closing) balances''.) If you're running a business, you might also use this command to "close the books" at the end of an accounting period, transferring -income statement account balances to retained earnings. (You may want +income statement account balances to retained earnings. (You may want to change the equity account name to something like "equity:retained earnings".) By default, the closing transaction is dated yesterday, the balances are calculated as of end of yesterday, and the opening transaction is -dated today. To close on some other date, use: 'hledger close -e -OPENINGDATE'. Eg, to close/open on the 2018/2019 boundary, use '-e -2019'. You can also use -p or 'date:PERIOD' (any starting date is +dated today. To close on some other date, use: `hledger close -e +OPENINGDATE'. Eg, to close/open on the 2018/2019 boundary, use `-e +2019'. You can also use -p or `date:PERIOD' (any starting date is ignored). Both transactions will include balance assertions for the -closed/reopened accounts. You probably shouldn't use status or realness -filters (like -C or -R or 'status:') with this command, or the generated -balance assertions will depend on these flags. Likewise, if you run -this command with -auto, the balance assertions will probably always -require -auto. +closed/reopened accounts. You probably shouldn't use status or realness +filters (like -C or -R or `status:') with this command, or the +generated balance assertions will depend on these flags. Likewise, if +you run this command with -auto, the balance assertions will probably +always require -auto. Examples: Carrying asset/liability balances into a new file for 2019: + $ hledger close -f 2018.journal -e 2019 assets liabilities --open # (copy/paste the output to the start of your 2019 journal file) $ hledger close -f 2018.journal -e 2019 assets liabilities --close @@ -2909,6 +3063,7 @@ $ hledger close -f 2018.journal -e 2019 assets liabilities --close Now: + $ hledger bs -f 2019.journal # one file - balances are correct $ hledger bs -f 2018.journal -f 2019.journal # two files - balances still correct $ hledger bs -f 2018.journal not:desc:closing # to see year-end balances, must exclude closing txn @@ -2916,12 +3071,14 @@ $ hledger bs -f 2018.journal not:desc:closing # to see year-end balances, must Transactions spanning the closing date can complicate matters, breaking balance assertions: + 2018/12/30 a purchase made in 2018, clearing the following year expenses:food 5 assets:bank:checking -5 ; [2019/1/2] Here's one way to resolve that: + ; in 2018.journal: 2018/12/30 a purchase made in 2018, clearing the following year expenses:food 5 @@ -2935,25 +3092,26 @@ breaking balance assertions:  File: hledger.info, Node: codes, Next: commodities, Prev: close, Up: COMMANDS -10.11 codes +11.11 codes =========== codes List the codes seen in transactions, in the order parsed. This command prints the value of each transaction's code field, in -the order transactions were parsed. The transaction code is an optional +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 +codes will not be shown by default. With the `-E'/`--empty' flag, they will be printed as blank lines. You can add a query to select a subset of transactions. Examples: + 1/1 (123) (a) 1 @@ -2966,11 +3124,13 @@ will be printed as blank lines. 1/1 (126) (a) 1 + $ hledger codes 123 124 126 + $ hledger codes -E 123 124 @@ -2981,7 +3141,7 @@ $ hledger codes -E  File: hledger.info, Node: commodities, Next: descriptions, Prev: codes, Up: COMMANDS -10.12 commodities +11.12 commodities ================= commodities @@ -2990,18 +3150,19 @@ List all commodity/currency symbols used or declared in the journal.  File: hledger.info, Node: descriptions, Next: diff, Prev: commodities, Up: COMMANDS -10.13 descriptions +11.13 descriptions ================== descriptions List the unique descriptions that appear in transactions. This command lists the unique descriptions that appear in -transactions, in alphabetic order. You can add a query to select a +transactions, in alphabetic order. You can add a query to select a subset of transactions. Example: + $ hledger descriptions Store Name Gas Station | Petrol @@ -3010,29 +3171,30 @@ Person A  File: hledger.info, Node: diff, Next: files, Prev: descriptions, Up: COMMANDS -10.14 diff +11.14 diff ========== 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.) -Since postings not transactions are compared, this also works when -multiple bank transactions have been combined into a single journal -entry. +file, it looks for a corresponding posting in the other file which +posts the same amount to the same account (ignoring date, description, +etc.) Since postings not transactions are compared, this also works +when multiple bank transactions have been combined into a single +journal entry. This is useful eg if you have downloaded an account's transactions -from your bank (eg as CSV data). When hledger and your bank disagree +from your bank (eg as CSV data). When hledger and your bank disagree about the account balance, you can compare the bank data with your journal to find out the cause. Examples: -$ hledger diff -f $LEDGER_FILE -f bank.csv assets:bank:giro + +$ hledger diff -f $LEDGER_FILE -f bank.csv assets:bank:giro These transactions are in the first file only: 2014/01/01 Opening Balances @@ -3045,23 +3207,23 @@ These transactions are in the second file only:  File: hledger.info, Node: files, Next: help, Prev: diff, Up: COMMANDS -10.15 files +11.15 files =========== files -List all files included in the journal. With a REGEX argument, only -file names matching the regular expression (case sensitive) are shown. +List all files included in the journal. With a REGEX argument, only file +names matching the regular expression (case sensitive) are shown.  File: hledger.info, Node: help, Next: import, Prev: files, Up: COMMANDS -10.16 help +11.16 help ========== help Show the hledger user manual in one of several formats, optionally -positioned at a given TOPIC (if possible). TOPIC is any heading, or -heading prefix, in the manual. Some examples: commands, print, 'auto +positioned at a given TOPIC (if possible). TOPIC is any heading, or +heading prefix, in the manual. Some examples: commands, print, 'auto postings', periodic. This command shows the user manual built in to this hledger version. @@ -3069,34 +3231,35 @@ It can be useful if the correct version of the hledger manual, or the usual viewing tools, are not installed on your system. By default it uses the best viewer it can find in $PATH, in this -order: 'info', 'man', $PAGER (unless a topic is specified), 'less', or -stdout. When run non-interactively, it always uses stdout. Or you can -select a particular viewer with the '-i' (info), '-m' (man), or '-p' +order: `info', `man', $PAGER (unless a topic is specified), `less', or +stdout. When run non-interactively, it always uses stdout. Or you can +select a particular viewer with the `-i' (info), `-m' (man), or `-p' (pager) flags.  File: hledger.info, Node: import, Next: incomestatement, Prev: help, Up: COMMANDS -10.17 import +11.17 import ============ import Read new transactions added to each FILE since last run, and add them to -the main journal file. Or with -dry-run, just print the transactions -that would be added. Or with -catchup, just mark all of the FILEs' +the main journal file. Or with -dry-run, just print the transactions +that would be added. Or with -catchup, just mark all of the FILEs' transactions as imported, without actually importing any. The input files are specified as arguments - no need to write -f -before each one. So eg to add new transactions from all CSV files to -the main journal, it's just: 'hledger import *.csv' +before each one. So eg to add new transactions from all CSV files to +the main journal, it's just: `hledger import *.csv' New transactions are detected in the same way as print -new: by assuming transactions are always added to the input files in increasing -date order, and by saving '.latest.FILE' state files. +date order, and by saving `.latest.FILE' state files. The -dry-run output is in journal format, so you can filter it, eg to see only uncategorised transactions: + $ hledger import --dry ... | hledger -f- print unknown --ignore-assertions * Menu: @@ -3107,16 +3270,17 @@ $ hledger import --dry ... | hledger -f- print unknown --ignore-assertions  File: hledger.info, Node: Importing balance assignments, Next: Commodity display styles, Up: import -10.17.1 Importing balance assignments +11.17.1 Importing balance assignments ------------------------------------- Entries added by import will have their posting amounts made explicit -(like 'hledger print -x'). This means that any balance assignments in +(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 +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: +amounts. To avoid this problem, use print instead of import: + $ hledger print IMPORTFILE [--new] >> $LEDGER_FILE @@ -3126,7 +3290,7 @@ please test it and send a pull request.)  File: hledger.info, Node: Commodity display styles, Prev: Importing balance assignments, Up: import -10.17.2 Commodity display styles +11.17.2 Commodity display styles -------------------------------- Imported amounts will be formatted according to the canonical commodity @@ -3135,18 +3299,17 @@ styles (declared or inferred) in the main journal file.  File: hledger.info, Node: incomestatement, Next: notes, Prev: import, Up: COMMANDS -10.18 incomestatement +11.18 incomestatement ===================== incomestatement, is - - This command displays an income statement, showing revenues and -expenses during one or more periods. Amounts are shown with normal -positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. +This command displays an income statement, showing revenues and expenses +during one or more periods. Amounts are shown with normal positive sign, +as in conventional financial statements. The revenue and expense accounts shown are those accounts declared -with the 'Revenue' or 'Expense' type, or otherwise all accounts under a -top-level 'revenue' or 'income' or 'expense' account (case insensitive, +with the `Revenue' or `Expense' type, or otherwise all accounts under a +top-level `revenue' or `income' or `expense' account (case insensitive, plurals allowed). (This report is essentially similar to "hledger balance -change @@ -3154,6 +3317,7 @@ revenues expenses", with revenues sign-flipped.) Example: + $ hledger incomestatement Income Statement @@ -3176,31 +3340,32 @@ Total: 0 With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for -each report period. Normally incomestatement shows revenues/expenses -per period, though as with multicolumn balance reports you can alter the -report mode with '--change'/'--cumulative'/'--historical'. Instead of -absolute values percentages can be displayed with '-%'. +each report period. Normally incomestatement shows revenues/expenses per +period, though as with multicolumn balance reports you can alter the +report mode with `--change'/`--cumulative'/`--historical'. Instead of +absolute values percentages can be displayed with `-%'. This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', 'html', and -(experimental) 'json'. +options The output formats supported are `txt', `csv', `html', and +(experimental) `json'.  File: hledger.info, Node: notes, Next: payees, Prev: incomestatement, Up: COMMANDS -10.19 notes +11.19 notes =========== notes List the unique notes that appear in transactions. This command lists the unique notes that appear in transactions, in -alphabetic order. You can add a query to select a subset of -transactions. The note is the part of the transaction description after +alphabetic order. You can add a query to select a subset of +transactions. The note is the part of the transaction description after a | character (or if there is no |, the whole description). Example: + $ hledger notes Petrol Snacks @@ -3208,20 +3373,25 @@ Snacks  File: hledger.info, Node: payees, Next: prices, Prev: notes, Up: COMMANDS -10.20 payees +11.20 payees ============ payees List the unique payee/payer names that appear in transactions. - This command lists the unique payee/payer names that appear in -transactions, in alphabetic order. You can add a query to select a -subset of transactions. The payee/payer is the part of the transaction -description before a | character (or if there is no |, the whole -description). + 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 | +character (or if there is no |, the whole description). + + You can add query arguments to select a subset of transactions. This +implies -used. Example: + $ hledger payees Store Name Gas Station @@ -3230,30 +3400,43 @@ Person A  File: hledger.info, Node: prices, Next: print, Prev: payees, Up: COMMANDS -10.21 prices +11.21 prices ============ prices -Print market price directives from the journal. With -costs, also print -synthetic market prices based on transaction prices. With +Print market price directives from the journal. With -costs, also print +synthetic market prices based on transaction prices. With -inverted-costs, also print inverse prices based on transaction prices. -Prices (and postings providing prices) can be filtered by a query. -Price amounts are always displayed with their full precision. +Prices (and postings providing prices) can be filtered by a query. Price +amounts are always displayed with their full precision.  File: hledger.info, Node: print, Next: print-unique, Prev: prices, Up: COMMANDS -10.22 print +11.22 print =========== print 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). -Amounts are shown right-aligned within each transaction (but not across -all transactions). Directives and inter-transaction comments are not -shown. Eg: +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 +decimal places are shown, as in the original journal entry (with one +alteration: 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. +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 +directives and file-level comments. + + Eg: + $ hledger print 2008/01/01 income @@ -3278,9 +3461,10 @@ $ hledger print assets:bank:checking $-1 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 +process it again with a second hledger command. This can be useful for certain kinds of search, eg: + # Show running total of food expenses paid from cash. # -f- reads from stdin. -I/--ignore-assertions is sometimes needed. $ hledger print assets:cash | hledger -f- -I reg expenses:food @@ -3288,55 +3472,56 @@ $ hledger print assets:cash | hledger -f- -I reg expenses:food There are some situations where print's output can become unparseable: - * Rounding amounts according to commodity display styles can cause - transactions to appear unbalanced. * 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. Normally, the journal entry's explicit or implicit amount style is -preserved. For example, when an amount is omitted in the journal, it -will not appear in the output. Similarly, when a transaction price is -implied but not written, it will not appear in the output. You can use -the '-x'/'--explicit' flag to make all amounts and transaction prices +preserved. For example, when an amount is omitted in the journal, it +will not appear in the output. Similarly, when a transaction price is +implied but not written, it will not appear in the output. You can use +the `-x'/`--explicit' flag to make all amounts and transaction prices explicit, which can be useful for troubleshooting or for making your -journal more readable and robust against data entry errors. '-x' is -also implied by using any of '-B','-V','-X','--value'. +journal more readable and robust against data entry errors. `-x' is +also implied by using any of `-B',`-V',`-X',`--value'. - Note, '-x'/'--explicit' will cause postings with a multi-commodity + Note, `-x'/`--explicit' will cause postings with a multi-commodity amount (these can arise when a multi-commodity transaction has an implicit amount) to be split into multiple single-commodity postings, keeping the output parseable. - With '-B'/'--cost', amounts with transaction prices are converted to -cost using that price. This can be used for troubleshooting. + With `-B'/`--cost', amounts with transaction prices are converted to +cost using that price. This can be used for troubleshooting. - With '-m'/'--match' and a STR argument, print will show at most one + With `-m'/`--match' and a STR argument, print will show at most one transaction: the one one whose description is most similar to STR, and -is most recent. STR should contain at least two characters. If there -is no similar-enough match, no transaction will be shown. +is most recent. STR should contain at least two characters. If there is +no similar-enough match, no transaction will be shown. - With '--new', for each FILE being read, hledger reads (and writes) a -special state file ('.latest.FILE' in the same directory), containing + With `--new', for each FILE being read, hledger reads (and writes) a +special state file (`.latest.FILE' in the same directory), containing the latest transaction date(s) that were seen last time FILE was read. When this file is found, only transactions with newer dates (and new -transactions on the latest date) are printed. This is useful for +transactions on the latest date) are printed. This is useful for ignoring already-seen entries in import data, such as downloaded CSV -files. Eg: +files. Eg: + $ hledger -f bank1.csv print --new (shows transactions added since last print --new on this file) This assumes that transactions added to FILE always have same or increasing dates, and that transactions on the same day do not get -reordered. See also the import command. +reordered. See also the import command. This command also supports the output destination and output format -options The output formats supported are 'txt', 'csv', and -(experimental) 'json' and 'sql'. +options The output formats supported are `txt', `csv', and +(experimental) `json' and `sql'. Here's an example of print's CSV output: + $ hledger print -Ocsv "txnidx","date","date2","status","code","description","comment","account","amount","commodity","credit","debit","posting-status","posting-comment" "1","2008/01/01","","","","income","","assets:bank:checking","1","$","","1","","" @@ -3353,21 +3538,24 @@ $ hledger print -Ocsv * There is one CSV record per posting, with the parent transaction's fields repeated. + * The "txnidx" (transaction index) field shows which postings belong - to the same transaction. (This number might change if transactions + to the same transaction. (This number might change if transactions are reordered within the file, files are parsed/included in a different order, etc.) + * The amount is separated into "commodity" (the symbol) and "amount" (numeric quantity) fields. + * The numeric amount is repeated in either the "credit" or "debit" - column, for convenience. (Those names are not accurate in the + column, for convenience. (Those names are not accurate in the accounting sense; it just puts negative amounts under credit and zero or greater amounts under debit.)  File: hledger.info, Node: print-unique, Next: register, Prev: print, Up: COMMANDS -10.23 print-unique +11.23 print-unique ================== print-unique @@ -3375,6 +3563,7 @@ Print transactions which do not reuse an already-seen description. Example: + $ cat unique.journal 1/1 test (acct:one) 1 @@ -3388,7 +3577,7 @@ $ LEDGER_FILE=unique.journal hledger print-unique  File: hledger.info, Node: register, Next: register-match, Prev: print-unique, Up: COMMANDS -10.24 register +11.24 register ============== register, reg @@ -3396,7 +3585,7 @@ 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 +(See also the `aregister' command, which shows matched transactions in a specific account.) register normally shows line per posting, but note that @@ -3406,6 +3595,7 @@ commodity). It is typically used with a query selecting a particular account, to see that account's activity: + $ hledger register checking 2008/01/01 income assets:bank:checking $1 $1 2008/06/01 gift assets:bank:checking $1 $2 @@ -3414,43 +3604,47 @@ $ hledger register checking With -date2, it shows and sorts by secondary date instead. - The '--historical'/'-H' flag adds the balance from any undisplayed -prior postings to the running total. This is useful when you want to + The `--historical'/`-H' flag adds the balance from any undisplayed +prior postings to the running total. This is useful when you want to see only recent activity, with a historically accurate running balance: + $ hledger register checking -b 2008/6 --historical 2008/06/01 gift assets:bank:checking $1 $2 2008/06/02 save assets:bank:checking $-1 $1 2008/12/31 pay off assets:bank:checking $-1 0 - The '--depth' option limits the amount of sub-account detail + 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 With a reporting interval, register shows summary postings, one per interval, aggregating the postings to each account: + $ hledger register --monthly income 2008/01 income:salary $-1 $-1 2008/06 income:gifts $-1 $-2 Periods with no activity, and summary postings with a zero amount, -are not shown by default; use the '--empty'/'-E' flag to see them: +are not shown by default; use the `--empty'/`-E' flag to see them: + $ hledger register --monthly income -E 2008/01 income:salary $-1 $-1 @@ -3466,9 +3660,10 @@ $ 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 2008/01 assets $1 $1 2008/06 assets $-1 0 @@ -3476,7 +3671,7 @@ $ hledger register --monthly assets --depth 1h 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 +intervals. This ensures that the first and last intervals are full length and comparable to the others in the report. * Menu: @@ -3486,17 +3681,18 @@ length and comparable to the others in the report.  File: hledger.info, Node: Custom register output, Up: register -10.24.1 Custom register output +11.24.1 Custom register output ------------------------------ -register uses the full terminal width by default, except on windows. -You can override this by setting the 'COLUMNS' environment variable (not -a bash shell variable) or by using the '--width'/'-w' option. +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 +(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,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) @@ -3504,6 +3700,7 @@ DDDDDDDDDD dddddddddddddddddddd aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa AAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAA and some examples: + $ hledger reg # use terminal width (or 80 on windows) $ hledger reg -w 100 # use width 100 $ COLUMNS=100 hledger reg # set with one-time environment variable @@ -3512,26 +3709,26 @@ $ 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: register-match, Next: rewrite, Prev: register, Up: COMMANDS -10.25 register-match +11.25 register-match ==================== register-match Print the one posting whose transaction description is closest to DESC, -in the style of the register command. If there are multiple equally -good matches, it shows the most recent. Query options (options, not -arguments) can be used to restrict the search space. Helps +in the style of the register command. If there are multiple equally good +matches, it shows the most recent. Query options (options, not +arguments) can be used to restrict the search space. Helps ledger-autosync detect already-seen transactions when importing.  File: hledger.info, Node: rewrite, Next: roi, Prev: register-match, Up: COMMANDS -10.26 rewrite +11.26 rewrite ============= rewrite @@ -3539,7 +3736,7 @@ Print all transactions, rewriting the postings of matched transactions. For now the only rewrite available is adding new postings, like print -auto. - This is a start at a generic rewriter of transaction entries. It + 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 @@ -3547,12 +3744,14 @@ transaction's first posting amount. Examples: + $ hledger-rewrite.hs ^income --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33 ; income tax' --add-posting '(reserve:gifts) $100' $ hledger-rewrite.hs expenses:gifts --add-posting '(reserve:gifts) *-1"' $ hledger-rewrite.hs -f rewrites.hledger rewrites.hledger may consist of entries like: + = ^income amt:<0 date:2017 (liabilities:tax) *0.33 ; tax on income (reserve:grocery) *0.25 ; reserve 25% for grocery @@ -3563,17 +3762,18 @@ two spaces between account and amount. More: + $ hledger rewrite -- [QUERY] --add-posting "ACCT AMTEXPR" ... $ hledger rewrite -- ^income --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' $ hledger rewrite -- expenses:gifts --add-posting '(budget:gifts) *-1"' $ hledger rewrite -- ^income --add-posting '(budget:foreign currency) *0.25 JPY; diversify' - Argument for '--add-posting' option is a usual posting of transaction -with an exception for amount specification. More precisely, you can use -''*'' (star symbol) before the amount to indicate that that this is a -factor for an amount of original matched posting. If the amount -includes a commodity name, the new posting amount will be in the new -commodity; otherwise, it will be in the matched posting amount's + Argument for `--add-posting' option is a usual posting of +transaction with an exception for amount specification. More precisely, +you can use `'*'' (star symbol) before the amount to indicate that that +this is a factor for an amount of original matched posting. If the +amount includes a commodity name, the new posting amount will be in the +new commodity; otherwise, it will be in the matched posting amount's commodity. * Menu: @@ -3585,17 +3785,19 @@ commodity.  File: hledger.info, Node: Re-write rules in a file, Next: Diff output format, Up: rewrite -10.26.1 Re-write rules in a file +11.26.1 Re-write rules in a file -------------------------------- During the run this tool will execute so called "Automated Transactions" -found in any journal it process. I.e instead of specifying this +found in any journal it process. I.e instead of specifying this operations in command line you can put them in a journal file. + $ rewrite-rules.journal Make contents look like this: + = ^income (liabilities:tax) *.33 @@ -3603,36 +3805,40 @@ $ rewrite-rules.journal budget:gifts *-1 assets:budget *1 - Note that ''='' (equality symbol) that is used instead of date in -transactions you usually write. It indicates the query by which you -want to match the posting to add new ones. + Note that `'='' (equality symbol) that is used instead of date in +transactions you usually write. It indicates the query by which you want +to match the posting to add new ones. + $ hledger rewrite -- -f input.journal -f rewrite-rules.journal > rewritten-tidy-output.journal This is something similar to the commands pipeline: + $ hledger rewrite -- -f input.journal '^income' --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' \ | hledger rewrite -- -f - expenses:gifts --add-posting 'budget:gifts *-1' \ --add-posting 'assets:budget *1' \ > rewritten-tidy-output.journal It is important to understand that relative order of such entries in -journal is important. You can re-use result of previously added +journal is important. You can re-use result of previously added postings.  File: hledger.info, Node: Diff output format, Next: rewrite vs print --auto, Prev: Re-write rules in a file, Up: rewrite -10.26.2 Diff output format +11.26.2 Diff output format -------------------------- To use this tool for batch modification of your journal files you may find useful output in form of unified diff. + $ hledger rewrite -- --diff -f examples/sample.journal '^income' --add-posting '(liabilities:tax) *.33' Output might look like: + --- /tmp/examples/sample.journal +++ /tmp/examples/sample.journal @@ -18,3 +18,4 @@ @@ -3648,14 +3854,14 @@ $ 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 -containing the posting that matches your query be updated. Note that + 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'. + Be careful. Whole transaction being re-formatted in a style of output +from `hledger print'. See also: @@ -3664,27 +3870,27 @@ output from 'hledger print'.  File: hledger.info, Node: rewrite vs print --auto, Prev: Diff output format, Up: rewrite -10.26.3 rewrite vs. print -auto +11.26.3 rewrite vs. print -auto ------------------------------- This command predates print -auto, and currently does much the same thing, but with these differences: * with multiple files, rewrite lets rules in any file affect all - other files. print -auto uses standard directive scoping; rules + other files. print -auto uses standard directive scoping; rules affect only child files. * rewrite's query limits which transactions can be rewritten; all are - printed. print -auto's query limits which transactions are - printed. + printed. print -auto's query limits which transactions are printed. * rewrite applies rules specified on command line or in the journal. print -auto applies rules specified in the journal. +  File: hledger.info, Node: roi, Next: stats, Prev: rewrite, Up: COMMANDS -10.27 roi +11.27 roi ========= roi @@ -3701,19 +3907,20 @@ originating from unrealized profit and loss account(s) are assumed to be your investments or withdrawals. At a minimum, you need to supply a query (which could be just an -account name) to select your investments with '--inv', and another query -to identify your profit and loss transactions with '--pnl'. +account name) to select your investments with `--inv', and another +query to identify your profit and loss transactions with `--pnl'. This command will compute and display the internalized rate of return (IRR) and time-weighted rate of return (TWR) for your investments for -the time period requested. Both rates of return are annualized before +the time period requested. Both rates of return are annualized before display, regardless of the length of reporting interval. Note, in some cases this report can fail, for these reasons: * Error (NotBracketed): No solution for Internal Rate of Return - (IRR). Possible causes: IRR is huge (>1000000%), balance of + (IRR). Possible causes: IRR is huge (>1000000%), balance of investment becomes negative at some point in time. + * Error (SearchFailed): Failed to find solution for Internal Rate of Return (IRR). Either search does not converge to a solution, or converges too slowly. @@ -3725,56 +3932,58 @@ display, regardless of the length of reporting interval. More background: - "ROI" stands for "return on investment". Traditionally this was + "ROI" stands for "return on investment". Traditionally this was computed as a difference between current value of investment and its initial value, expressed in percentage of the initial value. However, this approach is only practical in simple cases, where investments receives no in-flows or out-flows of money, and where rate -of growth is fixed over time. For more complex scenarios you need +of growth is fixed over time. For more complex scenarios you need different ways to compute rate of return, and this command implements two of them: IRR and TWR. Internal rate of return, or "IRR" (also called "money-weighted rate of return") takes into account effects of in-flows and out-flows. Naively, if you are withdrawing from your investment, your future gains -would be smaller (in absolute numbers), and will be a smaller percentage -of your initial investment, and if you are adding to your investment, -you will receive bigger absolute gains (but probably at the same rate of -return). IRR is a way to compute rate of return for each period between -in-flow or out-flow of money, and then combine them in a way that gives -you an annual rate of return that investment is expected to generate. +would be smaller (in absolute numbers), and will be a smaller +percentage of your initial investment, and if you are adding to your +investment, you will receive bigger absolute gains (but probably at the +same rate of return). IRR is a way to compute rate of return for each +period between in-flow or out-flow of money, and then combine them in a +way that gives you an annual rate of return that investment is expected +to generate. As mentioned before, in-flows and out-flows would be any cash that you personally put in or withdraw, and for the "roi" command, these are -transactions that involve account(s) matching '--inv' argument and NOT -involve account(s) matching '--pnl' argument. +transactions that involve account(s) matching `--inv' argument and NOT +involve account(s) matching `--pnl' argument. Presumably, you will also record changes in the value of your investment, and balance them against "profit and loss" (or "unrealized -gains") account. Note that in order for IRR to compute the precise +gains") account. Note that in order for IRR to compute the precise effect of your in-flows and out-flows on the rate of return, you will need to record the value of your investement on or close to the days when in- or out-flows occur. - Implementation of IRR in hledger should match the 'XIRR' formula in + Implementation of IRR in hledger should match the `XIRR' formula in Excel. - Second way to compute rate of return that 'roi' command implements is -called "time-weighted rate of return" or "TWR". Like IRR, it will also -break the history of your investment into periods between in-flows and -out-flows to compute rate of return per each period and then a compound -rate of return. However, internal workings of TWR are quite different. + Second way to compute rate of return that `roi' command implements +is called "time-weighted rate of return" or "TWR". Like IRR, it will +also break the history of your investment into periods between in-flows +and out-flows to compute rate of return per each period and then a +compound rate of return. However, internal workings of TWR are quite +different. In technical terms, IRR uses the same approach as computation of net present value, and tries to find a discount rate that makes net present -value of all the cash flows of your investment to add up to zero. This +value of all the cash flows of your investment to add up to zero. This could be hard to wrap your head around, especially if you haven't done discounted cash flow analysis before. TWR represents your investment as an imaginary "unit fund" where in-flows/ out-flows lead to buying or selling "units" of your investment -and changes in its value change the value of "investment unit". Change +and changes in its value change the value of "investment unit". Change in "unit price" over the reporting period gives you rate of return of your investment. @@ -3787,6 +3996,7 @@ the limitations of both metrics Lets say that we found an investment in Snake Oil that is proising to give us 10% annually: + 2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil assets:cash -$100 investment:snake oil @@ -3798,6 +4008,7 @@ give us 10% annually: For now, basic computation of the rate of return, as well as IRR and TWR, gives us the expected 10%: + $ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+--------+ | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | @@ -3807,9 +4018,10 @@ $ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" However, lets say that shorty after investing in the Snake Oil we started to have second thoughs, so we prompty withdrew $90, leaving only -$10 in. Before Christmas, though, we started to get the "fear of -mission out", so we put the $90 back in. So for most of the year, our -investment was just $10 dollars, and it gave us just $1 in growth: +$10 in. Before Christmas, though, we started to get the "fear of mission +out", so we put the $90 back in. So for most of the year, our investment +was just $10 dollars, and it gave us just $1 in growth: + 2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil assets:cash -$100 @@ -3818,7 +4030,7 @@ investment was just $10 dollars, and it gave us just $1 in growth: 2019-01-02 Buyers remorse assets:cash $90 investment:snake oil - + 2019-12-30 Fear of missing out assets:cash -$90 investment:snake oil @@ -3829,6 +4041,7 @@ investment was just $10 dollars, and it gave us just $1 in growth: Now IRR and TWR are drastically different: + $ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++-------+-------+ | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | @@ -3837,14 +4050,15 @@ $ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++-------+-------+ Here, IRR tells us that we made close to 10% on the $10 dollars that -we had in the account most of the time. And TWR is ... just 1%? Why? +we had in the account most of the time. And TWR is ... just 1%? Why? Based on the transactions in our journal, TWR "think" that we are buying back $90 worst of Snake Oil at the same price that it had at the beginning of they year, and then after that our $100 investment gets $1 -increase in value, or 1% of $100. Let's take a closer look at what is +increase in value, or 1% of $100. Let's take a closer look at what is happening here by asking for quarterly reports instead of annual: + $ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+-------+ | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | @@ -3856,13 +4070,14 @@ $ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+-------+ Now both IRR and TWR are thrown off by the fact that all of the -growth for our investment happens in Q4 2019. This happes because IRR +growth for our investment happens in Q4 2019. This happes because IRR computation is still yielding 9.32% and TWR is still 1%, but this time these are rates for three month period instead of twelve, so in order to get an annual rate they should be multiplied by four! Let's try to keep a better record of how Snake Oil grew in value: + 2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil assets:cash -$100 investment:snake oil @@ -3872,15 +4087,15 @@ get an annual rate they should be multiplied by four! investment:snake oil 2019-02-28 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil + investment:snake oil equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 2019-06-30 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil + investment:snake oil equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 2019-09-30 Recording the growth of Snake Oil - investment:snake oil + investment:snake oil equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 2019-12-30 Fear of missing out @@ -3891,7 +4106,8 @@ get an annual rate they should be multiplied by four! investment:snake oil equity:unrealized gains -$0.25 - Would our quartery report look better now? Almost: + Would our quartery report look better now? Almost: + $ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ @@ -3906,9 +4122,10 @@ $ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" Something is still wrong with TWR computation for Q4, and if you have been paying attention you know what it is already: big $90 buy-back is recorded prior to the only transaction that captures the change of value -of Snake Oil that happened in this time period. Lets combine +of Snake Oil that happened in this time period. Lets combine transactions from 30th and 31st of Dec into one: + 2019-12-30 Fear of missing out and growth of Snake Oil assets:cash -$90 investment:snake oil @@ -3917,6 +4134,7 @@ transactions from 30th and 31st of Dec into one: Now growth of investment properly affects its price at the time of buy-back: + $ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | @@ -3930,6 +4148,7 @@ $ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" And for annual report, TWR now reports the exact profitability of our investment: + $ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++-------+--------+ | || Begin | End || Value (begin) | Cashflow | Value (end) | PnL || IRR | TWR | @@ -3940,21 +4159,22 @@ $ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized"  File: hledger.info, Node: stats, Next: tags, Prev: roi, Up: COMMANDS -10.28 stats +11.28 stats =========== stats Show some journal statistics. - The stats command displays summary information for the whole journal, -or a matched part of it. With a reporting interval, it shows a report -for each report period. + The stats command displays summary information for the whole +journal, or a matched part of it. With a reporting interval, it shows a +report for each report period. Example: + $ hledger stats Main journal file : /src/hledger/examples/sample.journal -Included journal files : +Included journal files : Transactions span : 2008-01-01 to 2009-01-01 (366 days) Last transaction : 2008-12-31 (2333 days ago) Transactions : 5 (0.0 per day) @@ -3971,14 +4191,14 @@ selection.  File: hledger.info, Node: tags, Next: test, Prev: stats, Up: COMMANDS -10.29 tags +11.29 tags ========== tags -List the unique tag names used in the journal. With a TAGREGEX -argument, only tag names matching the regular expression (case -insensitive) are shown. With QUERY arguments, only transactions -matching the query are considered. +List the unique tag names used in the journal. With a TAGREGEX argument, +only tag names matching the regular expression (case insensitive) are +shown. With QUERY arguments, only transactions matching the query are +considered. With the -values flag, the tags' unique values are listed instead. @@ -3991,102 +4211,108 @@ they are omitted.  File: hledger.info, Node: test, Next: About add-on commands, Prev: tags, Up: COMMANDS -10.30 test +11.30 test ========== test Run built-in unit tests. This command runs the unit tests built in to hledger and hledger-lib, -printing the results on stdout. If any test fails, the exit code will -be non-zero. +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 +sanity-check the installed hledger executable on your platform. All tests are expected to pass - if you ever see a failure, please report as a bug! This command also accepts tasty test runner options, written after a -- (double hyphen). Eg to run only the tests in Hledger.Data.Amount, -with ANSI colour codes disabled: +- (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: About add-on commands, Prev: test, Up: COMMANDS -10.31 About add-on commands +11.31 About add-on commands =========================== Add-on commands are programs or scripts in your PATH - * whose name starts with 'hledger-' + * whose name starts with `hledger-' + * whose name ends with a recognised file extension: - '.bat','.com','.exe', '.hs','.lhs','.pl','.py','.rb','.rkt','.sh' + `.bat',`.com',`.exe', `.hs',`.lhs',`.pl',`.py',`.rb',`.rkt',`.sh' or none + * and (on unix, mac) which are executable by the current user. Add-ons are a relatively easy way to add local features or experiment -with new ideas. They can be written in any language, but haskell -scripts have a big advantage: they can use the same hledger library -functions that built-in commands use for command-line options, parsing -and reporting. Some experimental/example add-on scripts can be found in -the hledger repo's bin/ directory. +with new ideas. They can be written in any language, but haskell scripts +have a big advantage: they can use the same hledger library functions +that built-in commands use for command-line options, parsing and +reporting. Some experimental/example add-on scripts can be found in the +hledger repo's bin/ directory. 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 and not: + $ 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: + $ hledger-web --serve  File: hledger.info, Node: JOURNAL FORMAT, Next: CSV FORMAT, Prev: COMMANDS, Up: Top -11 JOURNAL FORMAT +12 JOURNAL FORMAT ***************** hledger's default file format, representing a General Journal. hledger's usual data source is a plain text file containing journal -entries in hledger journal format. This file represents a standard -accounting general journal. I use file names ending in '.journal', but -that's not required. The journal file contains a number of transaction +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 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 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 +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. Many users, though, edit the journal file with a text editor, and -track changes with a version control system such as git. Editor addons +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 +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 -data model). These are mostly in the order you'll use them, but in some +data model). These are mostly in the order you'll use them, but in some cases related concepts have been grouped together for easy reference, or linked before they are introduced, so feel free to skip over anything that looks unnecessary right now. @@ -4124,28 +4350,33 @@ that looks unnecessary right now.  File: hledger.info, Node: Transactions, Next: Dates, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.1 Transactions +12.1 Transactions ================= -Transactions are the main unit of information in a journal file. They +Transactions are the main unit of information in a journal file. They represent events, typically a movement of some quantity of commodities between two or more named accounts. Each transaction is recorded as a journal entry, beginning with a -simple date in column 0. This can be followed by any of the following +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 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 - and the accounts involved (indented comment lines are also allowed, - but not blank lines or non-indented lines). + 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: + 2008/01/01 income assets:bank:checking $1 income:salary $-1 @@ -4153,7 +4384,7 @@ optional fields, separated by spaces:  File: hledger.info, Node: Dates, Next: Status, Prev: Transactions, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.2 Dates +12.2 Dates ========== * Menu: @@ -4165,15 +4396,15 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Dates, Next: Status, Prev: Transactions, Up: JOURN  File: hledger.info, Node: Simple dates, Next: Secondary dates, Up: Dates -11.2.1 Simple dates +12.2.1 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 default year 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 default year +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.) @@ -4181,78 +4412,84 @@ dates documented in the hledger manual.)  File: hledger.info, Node: Secondary dates, Next: Posting dates, Prev: Simple dates, Up: Dates -11.2.2 Secondary dates +12.2.2 Secondary dates ---------------------- Real-life transactions sometimes involve more than one date - eg the -date you write a cheque, and the date it clears in your bank. When you +date you write a cheque, and the date it clears in your bank. When you want to model this, for more accurate daily balances, you can specify individual posting dates. Or, you can use the older _secondary date_ feature (Ledger calls it -auxiliary date or effective date). Note: we support this for +auxiliary date or effective date). Note: we support this for compatibility, but I usually recommend avoiding this feature; posting dates are almost always clearer and simpler. 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 running reports, the primary (left) date is used by -default, but with the '--date2' flag (or '--aux-date' or '--effective'), +equals 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 (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 = +a consistent rule. Eg "primary = the bank's clearing date, secondary = date the transaction was initiated, if different", as shown here: + 2010/2/23=2/19 movie ticket expenses:cinema $10 assets:checking + $ hledger register checking 2010-02-23 movie ticket assets:checking $-10 $-10 + $ hledger register checking --date2 2010-02-19 movie ticket assets:checking $-10 $-10  File: hledger.info, Node: Posting dates, Prev: Secondary dates, Up: Dates -11.2.3 Posting dates +12.2.3 Posting 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 -dates precisely. Eg in this example the expense should appear in May +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: + 2015/5/30 expenses:food $10 ; food purchased on saturday 5/30 assets:checking ; bank cleared it on monday, date:6/1 + $ hledger -f t.j register food 2015-05-30 expenses:food $10 $10 + $ 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. You can set the secondary date -similarly, with 'date2:DATE2'. The 'date:' or 'date2:' tags must have a -valid simple date value if they are present, eg a 'date:' tag with no +use the year of the transaction's date. You can set the secondary date +similarly, with `date2:DATE2'. The `date:' or `date2:' tags must have a +valid simple date value if they are present, eg a `date:' tag with no value is not allowed. Ledger's earlier, more compact bracketed date syntax is also -supported: '[DATE]', '[DATE=DATE2]' or '[=DATE2]'. 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 +supported: `[DATE]', `[DATE=DATE2]' or `[=DATE2]'. 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.  File: hledger.info, Node: Status, Next: Description, Prev: Dates, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.3 Status +12.3 Status =========== Transactions, or individual postings within a transaction, can have a @@ -4261,54 +4498,53 @@ description or posting account name, separated from it by a space, indicating one of three statuses: 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 +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 pending, combine -U and -P. Status marks are optional, but can be helpful eg for reconciling with -real-world accounts. Some editor modes provide highlighting and -shortcuts for working with status. Eg in Emacs ledger-mode, you can +real-world accounts. Some editor modes provide highlighting and +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: status meaning --------------------------------------------------------------------------- +-------------------------------------------------------------------------- uncleared recorded but not yet reconciled; needs review pending tentatively reconciled (if needed, eg during a big reconciliation) 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 -(like uncashed checks), and no flags to see the most up-to-date state of -your finances. + 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.  File: hledger.info, Node: Description, Next: Comments, Prev: Status, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.4 Description +12.4 Description ================ A transaction's description is the rest of the line following the date -and status mark (or until a comment begins). Sometimes called the +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 +wish, or left blank. Transaction descriptions can be queried, unlike comments. * Menu: @@ -4318,34 +4554,35 @@ comments.  File: hledger.info, Node: Payee and note, Up: Description -11.4.1 Payee and note +12.4.1 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 -precise querying and pivoting by payee or by note. +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.  File: hledger.info, Node: Comments, Next: Tags, Prev: Description, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.5 Comments +12.5 Comments ============= -Lines in the journal beginning with a semicolon (';') or hash ('#') or -star ('*') are comments, and will be ignored. (Star comments cause +Lines in the journal beginning with a semicolon (`;') or hash (`#') or +star (`*') are comments, and will be ignored. (Star comments cause org-mode nodes to be ignored, allowing emacs users to fold and navigate their journals with org-mode or orgstruct-mode.) You can attach comments to a transaction by writing them after the description and/or indented on the following lines (before the -postings). Similarly, you can attach comments to an individual posting +postings). Similarly, you can attach comments to an individual posting by writing them after the amount and/or indented on the following lines. -Transaction and posting comments must begin with a semicolon (';'). +Transaction and posting comments must begin with a semicolon (`;'). Some examples: + # a file comment ; another file comment * also a file comment, useful in org/orgstruct mode @@ -4364,13 +4601,13 @@ end comment ; another comment line for posting 2 ; a file comment (because not indented) - You can also comment larger regions of a file using 'comment' and -'end comment' directives. + You can also comment larger regions of a file using `comment' and +`end comment' directives.  File: hledger.info, Node: Tags, Next: Postings, Prev: Comments, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.6 Tags +12.6 Tags ========= Tags are a way to add extra labels or labelled data to postings and @@ -4379,29 +4616,35 @@ transactions, which you can then search or pivot on. A simple tag is a word (which may contain hyphens) followed by a full colon, written inside a transaction or posting comment line: + 2017/1/16 bought groceries ; sometag: Tags can have a value, which is the text after the colon, up to the next comma or end of line, with leading/trailing whitespace removed: + expenses:food $10 ; a-posting-tag: the tag value Note this means hledger's tag values can not contain commas or newlines. Ending at commas means you can write multiple short tags on one line, comma separated: + assets:checking ; a comment containing tag1:, tag2: some value ... Here, - * "'a comment containing'" is just comment text, not a tag - * "'tag1'" is a tag with no value - * "'tag2'" is another tag, whose value is "'some value ...'" + * "`a comment containing'" is just comment text, not a tag + + * "`tag1'" is a tag with no value + + * "`tag2'" is another tag, whose value is "`some value ...'" Tags in a transaction comment affect the transaction and all of its -postings, while tags in a posting comment affect only that posting. For -example, the following transaction has three tags ('A', 'TAG2', -'third-tag') and the posting has four (those plus 'posting-tag'): +postings, while tags in a posting comment affect only that posting. For +example, the following transaction has three tags (`A', `TAG2', +`third-tag') and the posting has four (those plus `posting-tag'): + 1/1 a transaction ; A:, TAG2: ; third-tag: a third transaction tag, <- with a value @@ -4413,29 +4656,31 @@ are simple strings.  File: hledger.info, Node: Postings, Next: Account names, Prev: Tags, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.7 Postings +12.7 Postings ============= A posting is an addition of some amount to, or removal of some amount -from, an account. Each posting line begins with at least one space or +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 - spaces*, until end of line or a double space) + + * (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. Positive amounts are being added to the account, negative amounts are being removed. - The amounts within a transaction must always sum up to zero. As a + The amounts within a transaction must always sum up to zero. As a convenience, one amount may be left blank; it will be inferred so as to balance the transaction. Be sure to note the unusual two-space delimiter between account name -and amount. This makes it easy to write account names containing -spaces. But if you accidentally leave only one space (or tab) before +and amount. This makes it easy to write account names containing +spaces. But if you accidentally leave only one space (or tab) before the amount, the amount will be considered part of the account name. * Menu: @@ -4445,7 +4690,7 @@ the amount, the amount will be considered part of the account name.  File: hledger.info, Node: Virtual postings, Up: Postings -11.7.1 Virtual postings +12.7.1 Virtual postings ----------------------- A posting with a parenthesised account name is called a _virtual @@ -4453,17 +4698,19 @@ posting_ or _unbalanced posting_, which means it is exempt from the usual rule that a transaction's postings must balance add up to zero. This is not part of double entry accounting, so you might choose to -avoid this feature. Or you can use it sparingly for certain special -cases where it can be convenient. Eg, you could set opening balances +avoid this feature. Or you can use it sparingly for certain special +cases where it can be convenient. Eg, you could set opening balances without using a balancing equity account: + 1/1 opening balances (assets:checking) $1000 (assets:savings) $2000 - A posting with a bracketed account name is called a _balanced virtual -posting_. The balanced virtual postings in a transaction must add up to -zero (separately from other postings). Eg: + A posting with a bracketed account name is called a _balanced +virtual posting_. The balanced virtual postings in a transaction must +add up to zero (separately from other postings). Eg: + 1/1 buy food with cash, update budget envelope subaccounts, & something else assets:cash $-10 ; <- these balance @@ -4474,23 +4721,22 @@ zero (separately from other postings). Eg: (something:else) $5 ; <- not required to balance Ordinary non-parenthesised, non-bracketed postings are called _real -postings_. You can exclude virtual postings from reports with the -'-R/--real' flag or 'real:1' query. +postings_. You can exclude virtual postings from reports with the +`-R/--real' flag or `real:1' query.  File: hledger.info, Node: Account names, Next: Amounts, Prev: Postings, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.8 Account names +12.8 Account names ================== Account names typically have several parts separated by a full colon, -from which hledger derives a hierarchical chart of accounts. They can -be anything you like, but in finance there are traditionally five -top-level accounts: 'assets', 'liabilities', 'revenue', 'expenses', and -'equity'. +from which hledger derives a hierarchical chart of accounts. They can be +anything you like, but in finance there are traditionally five top-level +accounts: `assets', `liabilities', `revenue', `expenses', and `equity'. - Account names may contain single spaces, eg: 'assets:accounts -receivable'. Because of this, they must always be followed by *two or + Account names may contain single spaces, eg: `assets:accounts +receivable'. Because of this, they must always be followed by *two or more spaces* (or newline). Account names can be aliased. @@ -4498,21 +4744,22 @@ more spaces* (or newline).  File: hledger.info, Node: Amounts, Next: Transaction prices, Prev: Account names, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.9 Amounts +12.9 Amounts ============ -After the account name, there is usually an amount. (Important: between +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 -formats. Here are some examples. Amounts have a number (the -"quantity"): +formats. Here are some examples. Amounts have a number (the "quantity"): + 1 - ..and usually a currency or commodity name (the "commodity"). This -is a symbol, word, or phrase, to the left or right of the quantity, with -or without a separating space: + ..and usually a currency or commodity name (the "commodity"). This +is a symbol, word, or phrase, to the left or right of the quantity, +with or without a separating space: + $1 4000 AAPL @@ -4520,156 +4767,180 @@ $1 If the commodity name contains spaces, numbers, or punctuation, it must be enclosed in double quotes: + 3 "no. 42 green apples" Amounts can be preceded by a minus sign (or a plus sign, though plus is the default), The sign can be written before or after a left-side commodity symbol: + -$1 $-1 One or more spaces between the sign and the number are acceptable when parsing (but they won't be displayed in output): + + $1 $- 1 Scientific E notation is allowed: + 1E-6 EUR 1E3 - A decimal mark can be written as a period or a comma: - -1.23 -1,23456780000009 - * Menu: -* Digit group marks:: +* Decimal marks digit group marks:: * Commodity display style:: * Rounding::  -File: hledger.info, Node: Digit group marks, Next: Commodity display style, Up: Amounts +File: hledger.info, Node: Decimal marks digit group marks, Next: Commodity display style, Up: Amounts -11.9.1 Digit group marks ------------------------- +12.9.1 Decimal marks, digit group marks +--------------------------------------- + +A decimal mark can be written as a period or a comma: + + +1.23 +1,23456780000009 + + In the integer part of the quantity (left of the decimal mark), +groups of digits can optionally be separated by a "digit group mark" - +a space, comma, or period (different from the decimal mark): -In the integer part of the quantity (left of the decimal mark), groups -of digits can optionally be separated by a "digit group mark" - a space, -comma, or period (different from the decimal mark): $1,000,000.00 EUR 2.000.000,00 INR 9,99,99,999.00 1 000 000.9455 - Note, a number containing a single group mark and no decimal mark is -ambiguous. Are these group marks or decimal marks ? + Note, a number containing a single digit group mark and no decimal +mark is ambiguous. Are these digit group marks or decimal marks ? + 1,000 1.000 - hledger will treat them both as decimal marks by default (cf #793). -If you use digit group marks, to prevent confusion and undetected typos -we recommend you write commodity directives at the top of the file to -explicitly declare the decimal mark (and optionally a digit group mark). -Note, these formats ("amount styles") are specific to each commodity, so -if your data uses multiple formats, hledger can handle it: + If you don't tell it otherwise, hledger will assume both of the above +are decimal marks, parsing both numbers as 1. To prevent confusion and +undetected typos, especially if your data contains digit group marks, we +recommend you explicitly declare the decimal mark (and optionally a +digit group mark), for each commodity, using `commodity' directives +(described below): + +# number formats for $, EUR, INR and the no-symbol commodity: commodity $1,000.00 commodity EUR 1.000,00 commodity INR 9,99,99,999.00 -commodity 1 000 000.9455 +commodity 1 000 000.9455 + + Note, `commodity' directives declare both the number format for +parsing input, and the display style for showing output. For the former, +they are position-sensitive, affecting only following amounts, so +commodity directives should be at the top of your journal file. This is +discussed more on #793.  -File: hledger.info, Node: Commodity display style, Next: Rounding, Prev: Digit group marks, Up: Amounts +File: hledger.info, Node: Commodity display style, Next: Rounding, Prev: Decimal marks digit group marks, Up: Amounts -11.9.2 Commodity display style +12.9.2 Commodity display style ------------------------------ For the amounts in each commodity, hledger chooses a consistent display -style. (Excluding price amounts, which are always displayed as -written). The display style is chosen as follows: +style to use in most reports. (Except for price amounts, which are +always displayed as written). The display style is inferred as follows. - * If there is a commodity directive (or default commodity directive) - for the commodity, its style is used (see examples above). + First, if a default commodity is declared with `D', this commodity +and its style is applied to any no-symbol amounts in the journal. - * Otherwise the style is inferred from the amounts in that commodity - seen in the journal. + Then each commodity's style is inferred from one of the following, in +order of preference: - * Or if there are no such amounts in the journal, a default style is - used (like '$1000.00'). + * The commodity directive for that commodity (including the no-symbol + commodity), if any. - A style is inferred from the journal amounts in a commodity as -follows: + * 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'. + (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 amount + * Use the first-seen digit group style (digit group mark, digit group sizes), if any + * Use the maximum number of decimal places of all. Transaction price 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 transaction price). If you find +posting's amount is inferred using a transaction price). If you find this causing problems, use a commodity directive to fix the display style. - In summary, each commodity's amounts will be normalised to + 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 +places, use a commodity directive. Some examples: - * the style declared by a 'commodity' directive - * or, 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 places, use a commodity directive to set the -commodity's display style. For example: - -# declare euro, dollar and bitcoin commodities and set their display styles: +# declare euro, dollar, bitcoin and no-symbol commodities and set their +# input number formats and output display styles: commodity EUR 1.000, commodity $1000.00 commodity 1000.00000000 BTC +commodity 1 000.  File: hledger.info, Node: Rounding, Prev: Commodity display style, Up: Amounts -11.9.3 Rounding +12.9.3 Rounding --------------- 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 -rounds to the nearest even number, eg 0.5 displayed with zero decimal -places is "0"). (Guaranteed since hledger 1.17.1; in older versions -this could vary if hledger was built with Decimal < 0.5.1.) +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"). (Guaranteed since hledger 1.17.1; in older versions this could +vary if hledger was built with Decimal < 0.5.1.)  File: hledger.info, Node: Transaction prices, Next: Lot prices lot dates, Prev: Amounts, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.10 Transaction prices +12.10 Transaction prices ======================== Within a transaction, you can note an amount's price in another -commodity. This can be used to document the cost (in a purchase) or -selling price (in a sale). For example, transaction prices are useful -to record purchases of a foreign currency. Note transaction prices are -fixed at the time of the transaction, and do not change over time. See +commodity. This can be used to document the cost (in a purchase) or +selling price (in a sale). For example, transaction prices are useful to +record purchases of a foreign currency. Note transaction prices are +fixed at the time of the transaction, and do not change over time. See also market prices, which represent prevailing exchange rates on a certain date. There are several ways to record a transaction price: - 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 @@ -4678,22 +4949,25 @@ certain date. 3. Specify amounts for all postings, using exactly two commodities, and let hledger infer the price that balances the transaction: + 2009/1/1 assets:euros €100 ; one hundred euros purchased assets:dollars $-135 ; for $135 - 4. Like 1, but the '@' is parenthesised, i.e. '(@)'; this is for + 4. Like 1, but the `@' is parenthesised, i.e. `(@)'; this is for compatibility with Ledger journals (Virtual posting costs), and is equivalent to 1 in hledger. - 5. Like 2, but as in 4 the '@@' is parenthesised, i.e. '(@@)'; in + 5. Like 2, but as in 4 the `@@' is parenthesised, i.e. `(@@)'; in hledger, this is equivalent to 2. - Use the '-B/--cost' flag to convert amounts to their transaction -price's commodity, if any. (mnemonic: "B" is from "cost Basis", as in -Ledger). Eg here is how -B affects the balance report for the example + + Use the `-B/--cost' flag to convert amounts to their transaction +price's commodity, if any. (mnemonic: "B" is from "cost Basis", as in +Ledger). Eg here is how -B affects the balance report for the example above: + $ hledger bal -N --flat $-135 assets:dollars €100 assets:euros @@ -4703,13 +4977,15 @@ $ hledger bal -N --flat -B Note -B is sensitive to the order of postings when a transaction price is inferred: the inferred price will be in the commodity of the -last amount. So if example 3's postings are reversed, while the +last amount. So if example 3's postings are reversed, while the transaction is equivalent, -B shows something different: + 2009/1/1 assets:dollars $-135 ; 135 dollars sold assets:euros €100 ; for 100 euros + $ hledger bal -N --flat -B €-100 assets:dollars # <- the dollars' selling price €100 assets:euros @@ -4717,29 +4993,30 @@ $ hledger bal -N --flat -B  File: hledger.info, Node: Lot prices lot dates, Next: Balance assertions, Prev: Transaction prices, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.11 Lot prices, lot dates +12.11 Lot prices, lot dates =========================== Ledger allows another kind of price, lot price (four variants: -'{UNITPRICE}', '{{TOTALPRICE}}', '{=FIXEDUNITPRICE}', -'{{=FIXEDTOTALPRICE}}'), and/or a lot date ('[DATE]') to be specified. +`{UNITPRICE}', `{{TOTALPRICE}}', `{=FIXEDUNITPRICE}', +`{{=FIXEDTOTALPRICE}}'), and/or a lot date (`[DATE]') to be specified. These are normally used to select a lot when selling investments. hledger will parse these, for compatibility with Ledger journals, but -currently ignores them. A transaction price, lot price and/or lot date -may appear in any order, after the posting amount and before the balance -assertion if any. +currently ignores them. A transaction price, lot price and/or lot date +may appear in any order, after the posting amount and before the +balance assertion if any.  File: hledger.info, Node: Balance assertions, Next: Balance assignments, Prev: Lot prices lot dates, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.12 Balance assertions +12.12 Balance assertions ======================== -hledger supports Ledger-style balance assertions in journal files. -These look like, for example, '= EXPECTEDBALANCE' following a posting's -amount. Eg here we assert the expected dollar balance in accounts a and +hledger supports Ledger-style balance assertions in journal files. These +look like, for example, `= EXPECTEDBALANCE' following a posting's +amount. Eg here we assert the expected dollar balance in accounts a and b after each posting: + 2013/1/1 a $1 =$1 b =$-1 @@ -4749,12 +5026,12 @@ b after each posting: b $-1 =$-2 After reading a journal file, hledger will check all balance -assertions and report an error if any of them fail. Balance assertions +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 -troubleshooting or for reading Ledger files. (Note: this flag currently -does not disable balance assignments, below). +while cleaning up old entries. You can disable them temporarily with 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, below). * Menu: @@ -4770,30 +5047,30 @@ does not disable balance assignments, below).  File: hledger.info, Node: Assertions and ordering, Next: Assertions and included files, Up: Balance assertions -11.12.1 Assertions and ordering +12.12.1 Assertions and ordering ------------------------------- 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 +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 postings to the same account within a transaction.) So, hledger balance assertions keep working if you reorder -differently-dated transactions within the journal. But if you reorder +differently-dated transactions within the journal. But if you reorder same-dated transactions or postings, assertions might break and require -updating. This order dependence does bring an advantage: precise -control over the order of postings and assertions within a day, so you -can assert intra-day balances. +updating. This order dependence does bring an advantage: precise control +over the order of postings and assertions within a day, so you can +assert intra-day balances.  File: hledger.info, Node: Assertions and included files, Next: Assertions and multiple -f options, Prev: Assertions and ordering, Up: Balance assertions -11.12.2 Assertions and included files +12.12.2 Assertions and included files ------------------------------------- -With included files, things are a little more complicated. Including -preserves the ordering of postings and assertions. If you have multiple +With included files, things are a little more complicated. Including +preserves the ordering of postings and assertions. If you have multiple postings to an account on the same day, split across different files, and you also want to assert the account's balance on the same day, you'll have to put the assertion in the right file. @@ -4801,31 +5078,32 @@ you'll have to put the assertion in the right file.  File: hledger.info, Node: Assertions and multiple -f options, Next: Assertions and commodities, Prev: Assertions and included files, Up: Balance assertions -11.12.3 Assertions and multiple -f options +12.12.3 Assertions and multiple -f options ------------------------------------------ Balance assertions don't work well across files specified with multiple --f options. Use include or concatenate the files instead. +-f options. Use include or concatenate the files instead.  File: hledger.info, Node: Assertions and commodities, Next: Assertions and prices, Prev: Assertions and multiple -f options, Up: Balance assertions -11.12.4 Assertions and commodities +12.12.4 Assertions and commodities ---------------------------------- The asserted balance must be a simple single-commodity amount, and in 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. +(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. 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 unasserted commodities in the account (or, that their balance is 0). + 2013/1/1 a $1 a 1€ @@ -4842,9 +5120,10 @@ other unasserted commodities in the account (or, that their balance is a 0 == $1 It's not yet possible to make a complete assertion about a balance -that has multiple commodities. One workaround is to isolate each +that has multiple commodities. One workaround is to isolate each commodity into its own subaccount: + 2013/1/1 a:usd $1 a:euro 1€ @@ -4858,32 +5137,34 @@ commodity into its own subaccount:  File: hledger.info, Node: Assertions and prices, Next: Assertions and subaccounts, Prev: Assertions and commodities, Up: Balance assertions -11.12.5 Assertions and prices +12.12.5 Assertions and prices ----------------------------- Balance assertions ignore transaction prices, and should normally be written without one: + 2019/1/1 (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 -to generate balance assertions with prices), and because balance +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).  File: hledger.info, Node: Assertions and subaccounts, Next: Assertions and virtual postings, Prev: Assertions and prices, Up: Balance assertions -11.12.6 Assertions and subaccounts +12.12.6 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 equity:opening balances checking:a 5 @@ -4893,36 +5174,36 @@ eg:  File: hledger.info, Node: Assertions and virtual postings, Next: Assertions and precision, Prev: Assertions and subaccounts, Up: Balance assertions -11.12.7 Assertions and virtual postings +12.12.7 Assertions and virtual postings --------------------------------------- Balance assertions are checked against all postings, both real and -virtual. They are not affected by the '--real/-R' flag or 'real:' -query. +virtual. They are not affected by the `--real/-R' flag or `real:' query.  File: hledger.info, Node: Assertions and precision, Prev: Assertions and virtual postings, Up: Balance assertions -11.12.8 Assertions and precision +12.12.8 Assertions and precision -------------------------------- Balance assertions compare the exactly calculated amounts, which are not -always what is shown by reports. Eg a commodity directive may limit the -display precision, but this will not affect balance assertions. Balance +always what is shown by reports. Eg a commodity directive may limit the +display precision, but this will not affect balance assertions. Balance assertion failure messages show exact amounts.  File: hledger.info, Node: Balance assignments, Next: Directives, Prev: Balance assertions, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.13 Balance assignments +12.13 Balance assignments ========================= -Ledger-style balance assignments are also supported. These are like +Ledger-style balance assignments are also supported. These are like balance assertions, but with no posting amount on the left side of the equals sign; instead it is calculated automatically so as to satisfy the -assertion. This can be a convenience during data entry, eg when setting +assertion. This can be a convenience during data entry, eg when setting opening balances: + ; starting a new journal, set asset account balances 2016/1/1 opening balances assets:checking = $409.32 @@ -4932,6 +5213,7 @@ opening balances: or when adjusting a balance to reality: + ; no cash left; update balance, record any untracked spending as a generic expense 2016/1/15 assets:cash = $0 @@ -4940,7 +5222,7 @@ opening balances: 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). Note that using balance assignments makes your journal a +assignment). Note that using balance assignments makes your journal a little less explicit; to know the exact amount posted, you have to run hledger or do the calculations yourself, instead of just reading it. @@ -4951,15 +5233,17 @@ hledger or do the calculations yourself, instead of just reading it.  File: hledger.info, Node: Balance assignments and prices, Up: Balance assignments -11.13.1 Balance assignments and prices +12.13.1 Balance assignments and prices -------------------------------------- A transaction price in a balance assignment will cause the calculated amount to have that price attached: + 2019/1/1 (a) = $1 @ €2 + $ hledger print --explicit 2019-01-01 (a) $1 @ €2 = $1 @ €2 @@ -4967,38 +5251,38 @@ $ hledger print --explicit  File: hledger.info, Node: Directives, Next: Directives and multiple files, Prev: Balance assignments, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.14 Directives +12.14 Directives ================ A directive is a line in the journal beginning with a special keyword, -that influences how the journal is processed. hledger's directives are +that influences how the journal is processed. hledger's directives are based on a subset of Ledger's, but there are many differences (and also some differences between hledger versions). Directives' behaviour and interactions can get a little bit complex, so here is a table summarising the directives and their effects, with -links to more detailed docs. Note part of this table is hidden when +links to more detailed docs. Note part of this table is hidden when viewed in a web browser - scroll it sideways to see more. -directiveend subdirectivespurpose can affect (as of +directiveend subdirectivespurpose can affect (as of directive 2018/06) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -'account' any document account names, all entries in - text declare account types & all files, before - display order or after -'alias' 'end rewrite account names following entries +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- +`account' any document account names, all entries in all + text declare account types & files, before or + display order after +`alias' `end rewrite account names following entries aliases' until end of current file or end directive -'apply 'end prepend a common parent to following entries +`apply `end prepend a common parent to following entries account' apply account names until end of account' current file or end directive -'comment''end ignore part of journal following entries +`comment'`end ignore part of journal following entries comment' until end of current file or end directive -'commodity' 'format'declare a commodity and its number notation: +`commodity' `format'declare a commodity and its number notation: number notation & display following entries style in that commodity in all files ; @@ -5006,11 +5290,10 @@ account' apply account names until end of amounts of that commodity in reports -'D' declare a commodity to be default - used for commodityless commodity: - amounts, and its number following - notation & display style commodityless - entries until end +`D' declare a commodity to be default commodity: + used for commodityless following + amounts, and its number commodityless + notation & display style entries until end of current file; number notation: following entries @@ -5021,79 +5304,80 @@ account' apply account names until end of amounts of that commodity in reports -'include' include entries/directives what the included +`include' include entries/directives what the included from another file directives affect -['payee'] declare a payee name following entries +[`payee'] declare a payee name following entries until end of current file -'P' declare a market price for amounts of that - a commodity commodity in +`P' declare a market price for a amounts of that + commodity commodity in reports, when -V is used -'Y' declare a year for yearless following entries +`Y' declare a year for yearless following entries dates until end of current file -'=' declare an auto posting all entries in +`=' declare an auto posting all entries in rule, adding postings to parent/current/child other transactions files (but not - sibling files, - see #1212) + sibling files, see + #1212) And some definitions: subdirectiveoptional indented directive line immediately following a parent directive number how to interpret numbers when parsing journal entries (the -notationidentity of the decimal separator character). (Currently each +notationidentity of the decimal separator character). (Currently each commodity can have its own notation, even in the same file.) -displayhow to display amounts of a commodity in reports (symbol side -style and spacing, digit groups, decimal separator, decimal places) -directivewhich entries and (when there are multiple files) which files -scope are affected by a directive +displayhow to display amounts of a commodity in reports (symbol side and +style spacing, digit groups, decimal separator, decimal places) +directivewhich entries and (when there are multiple files) which files are +scope affected by a directive As you can see, directives vary in which journal entries and files they affect, and whether they are focussed on input (parsing) or output -(reports). Some directives have multiple effects. +(reports). Some directives have multiple effects.  File: hledger.info, Node: Directives and multiple files, Next: Comment blocks, Prev: Directives, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.15 Directives and multiple files +12.15 Directives and multiple files =================================== -If you use multiple '-f'/'--file' options, or the 'include' directive, -hledger will process multiple input files. But note that directives +If you use multiple `-f'/`--file' options, or the `include' directive, +hledger will process multiple input files. But note that directives which affect input (see above) typically last only until the end of the file in which they occur. This may seem inconvenient, but it's intentional; it makes reports -stable and deterministic, independent of the order of input. Otherwise +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: Comment blocks, Next: Including other files, Prev: Directives and multiple files, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.16 Comment blocks +12.16 Comment blocks ==================== -A line containing just 'comment' starts a commented region of the file, -and a line containing just 'end comment' (or the end of the current -file) ends it. See also comments. +A line containing just `comment' starts a commented region of the file, +and a line containing just `end comment' (or the end of the current +file) ends it. See also comments.  File: hledger.info, Node: Including other files, Next: Default year, Prev: Comment blocks, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.17 Including other files +12.17 Including other files =========================== You can pull in the content of additional files by writing an include directive, like this: + include FILEPATH Only journal files can include, and only journal, timeclock or @@ -5102,30 +5386,31 @@ 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. - 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: Default year, Next: Declaring payees, Prev: Including other files, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.18 Default year +12.18 Default year ================== You can set a default year to be used for subsequent dates which don't -specify a year. This is a line beginning with 'Y' followed by the year. +specify a year. This is a line beginning with `Y' followed by the year. Eg: + Y2009 ; set default year to 2009 12/15 ; equivalent to 2009/12/15 @@ -5145,41 +5430,44 @@ Y2010 ; change default year to 2010  File: hledger.info, Node: Declaring payees, Next: Declaring commodities, Prev: Default year, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.19 Declaring payees +12.19 Declaring payees ====================== -The 'payee' directive can be used to declare a limited set of payees -which may appear in transaction descriptions. The "payees" check will +The `payee' directive can be used to declare a limited set of payees +which may appear in transaction descriptions. The "payees" check will report an error if any transaction refers to a payee that has not been -declared. Eg: +declared. Eg: + payee Whole Foods  File: hledger.info, Node: Declaring commodities, Next: Default commodity, Prev: Declaring payees, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.20 Declaring commodities +12.20 Declaring commodities =========================== -The 'commodity' directive has several functions: +The `commodity' directive has several functions: - 1. It declares commodities which may be used in the journal. This is + 1. It declares commodities which may be used in the journal. This is currently not enforced, but can serve as documentation. - 2. It declares what 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). + 2. It declares what 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). 3. It declares a commodity's display style in output - decimal and digit group marks, number of decimal places, symbol placement etc. + You are likely to run into one of the problems solved by commodity directives, sooner or later, so it's a good idea to just always use them to declare your commodities. - A commodity directive is just the word 'commodity' followed by an -amount. It may be written on a single line, like this: + A commodity directive is just the word `commodity' followed by an +amount. It may be written on a single line, like this: + ; commodity EXAMPLEAMOUNT @@ -5188,10 +5476,11 @@ amount. It may be written on a single line, like this: ; separating thousands with comma. commodity 1,000.0000 AAAA - or on multiple lines, using the "format" subdirective. (In this case + or on multiple lines, using the "format" subdirective. (In this case the commodity symbol appears twice and should be the same in both places.): + ; commodity SYMBOL ; format EXAMPLEAMOUNT @@ -5202,11 +5491,11 @@ commodity INR format INR 1,00,00,000.00 The quantity of the amount does not matter; only the format is -significant. The number must include a decimal mark: either a period or +significant. The number must include a decimal mark: either a period or a comma, followed by 0 or more decimal digits. Note hledger normally uses banker's rounding, so 0.5 displayed with -zero decimal digits is "0". (More at Commodity display style.) +zero decimal digits is "0". (More at Commodity display style.) * Menu: @@ -5215,32 +5504,33 @@ zero decimal digits is "0". (More at Commodity display style.)  File: hledger.info, Node: Commodity error checking, Up: Declaring commodities -11.20.1 Commodity error checking +12.20.1 Commodity error checking -------------------------------- -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 -checking, see the notes there for more details. +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 checking, see the notes there for more details.  File: hledger.info, Node: Default commodity, Next: Declaring market prices, Prev: Declaring commodities, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.21 Default commodity +12.21 Default commodity ======================= -The 'D' directive sets a default commodity, to be used for amounts -without a commodity symbol (ie, plain numbers). This commodity will be -applied to all subsequent commodity-less amounts, or until the next 'D' -directive. (Note, this is different from Ledger's 'D'.) +The `D' directive sets a default commodity, to be used for amounts +without a commodity symbol (ie, plain numbers). This commodity will be +applied to all subsequent commodity-less amounts, or until the next `D' +directive. (Note, this is different from Ledger's `D'.) - For compatibility/historical reasons, 'D' also acts like a -'commodity' directive, setting the commodity's display style (for -output) and decimal mark (for parsing input). As with 'commodity', the -amount must always be written with a decimal mark (period or comma). If -both directives are used, 'commodity''s style takes precedence. + For compatibility/historical reasons, `D' also acts like a +`commodity' directive, setting the commodity's display style (for +output) and decimal mark (for parsing input). As with `commodity', the +amount must always be written with a decimal mark (period or comma). +If both directives are used, `commodity''s style takes precedence. + + The syntax is `D AMOUNT'. Eg: - The syntax is 'D AMOUNT'. Eg: ; commodity-less amounts should be treated as dollars ; (and displayed with the dollar sign on the left, thousands separators and two decimal places) @@ -5253,60 +5543,70 @@ D $1,000.00  File: hledger.info, Node: Declaring market prices, Next: Declaring accounts, Prev: Default commodity, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.22 Declaring market prices +12.22 Declaring market prices ============================= -The 'P' directive declares a market price, which is an exchange rate -between two commodities on a certain date. (In Ledger, they are called -"historical prices".) These are often obtained from a stock exchange, +The `P' directive declares a market price, which is an exchange rate +between two commodities on a certain date. (In Ledger, they are called +"historical prices".) These are often obtained from a stock exchange, cryptocurrency exchange, or the foreign exchange market. Here is the format: + P DATE COMMODITYA COMMODITYBAMOUNT * DATE is a simple date + * COMMODITYA is the symbol of the commodity being priced + * COMMODITYBAMOUNT is an amount (symbol and quantity) in a second - commodity, giving the price in commodity B of one unit of commodity - A. + commodity, giving the price in commodity B of one unit of + commodity A. These two market price directives say that one euro was worth 1.35 US dollars during 2009, and $1.40 from 2010 onward: + P 2009/1/1 € $1.35 P 2010/1/1 € $1.40 - The '-V', '-X' and '--value' flags use these market prices to show -amount values in another commodity. See Valuation. + The `-V', `-X' and `--value' flags use these market prices to show +amount values in another commodity. See Valuation.  File: hledger.info, Node: Declaring accounts, Next: Rewriting accounts, Prev: Declaring market prices, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.23 Declaring accounts +12.23 Declaring accounts ======================== -'account' directives can be used to declare accounts (ie, the places -that amounts are transferred from and to). Though not required, these +`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 reference. + * They can help hledger know your accounts' types (asset, liability, equity, revenue, expense), useful for reports like balancesheet and incomestatement. + * They control account display order in reports, allowing non-alphabetic sorting (eg Revenues to appear above Expenses). + * They can store extra information about accounts (account numbers, notes, etc.) + * They help with account name completion in the add command, hledger-iadd, hledger-web, ledger-mode etc. + * In strict mode, they restrict which accounts may be posted to by transactions, which helps detect typos. - The simplest form is just the word 'account' followed by a + The simplest form is just the word `account' followed by a hledger-style account name, eg this account directive declares the -'assets:bank:checking' account: +`assets:bank:checking' account: + account assets:bank:checking @@ -5321,45 +5621,50 @@ account assets:bank:checking  File: hledger.info, Node: Account error checking, Next: Account comments, Up: Declaring accounts -11.23.1 Account error checking +12.23.1 Account error checking ------------------------------ By default, accounts come into existence when a transaction references -them by name. 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 +them by name. 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 the 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: +been declared by an account directive. Some notes: * The declaration is case-sensitive; transactions must use the correct account name capitalisation. + * 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 + 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 included files in other formats). + * It's currently not possible to declare "all possible subaccounts" with a wildcard; every account posted to must be declared.  File: hledger.info, Node: Account comments, Next: Account subdirectives, Prev: Account error checking, Up: Declaring accounts -11.23.2 Account comments +12.23.2 Account comments ------------------------ Comments, beginning with a semicolon, can be added: * on the same line, *after two or more spaces* (because ; is allowed in account names) + * on the next lines, indented An example of both: + account assets:bank:checking ; same-line comment, note 2+ spaces before ; ; next-line comment ; another with tag, acctno:12345 (not used yet) @@ -5369,17 +5674,19 @@ account assets:bank:checking ; same-line comment, note 2+ spaces before ;  File: hledger.info, Node: Account subdirectives, Next: Account types, Prev: Account comments, Up: Declaring accounts -11.23.3 Account subdirectives +12.23.3 Account subdirectives ----------------------------- We also allow (and ignore) Ledger-style indented subdirectives, just for compatibility.: + account assets:bank:checking format blah blah ; <- subdirective, ignored Here is the full syntax of account directives: + account ACCTNAME [ACCTTYPE] [;COMMENT] [;COMMENTS] [LEDGER-STYLE SUBDIRECTIVES, IGNORED] @@ -5387,22 +5694,22 @@ account ACCTNAME [ACCTTYPE] [;COMMENT]  File: hledger.info, Node: Account types, Next: Account display order, Prev: Account subdirectives, Up: Declaring accounts -11.23.4 Account types +12.23.4 Account types --------------------- hledger recognises five main types of account, corresponding to the account classes in the accounting equation: - 'Asset', 'Liability', 'Equity', 'Revenue', 'Expense'. + `Asset', `Liability', `Equity', `Revenue', `Expense'. These account types are important for controlling which accounts appear in the balancesheet, balancesheetequity, incomestatement reports (and probably for other things in future). - Additionally, we recognise the 'Cash' type, which is also an 'Asset', -and which causes accounts to appear in the cashflow report. ("Cash" -here means liquid assets, eg bank balances but typically not investments -or receivables.) + Additionally, we recognise the `Cash' type, which is also an +`Asset', and which causes accounts to appear in the cashflow report. +("Cash" here means liquid assets, eg bank balances but typically not +investments or receivables.) * Menu: @@ -5414,17 +5721,18 @@ or receivables.)  File: hledger.info, Node: Declaring account types, Next: Auto-detected account types, Up: Account types -11.23.4.1 Declaring account types +12.23.4.1 Declaring account types ................................. Generally, to make these reports work you should declare your top-level -accounts and their types, using account directives with 'type:' tags. +accounts and their types, using account directives with `type:' tags. - The tag's value should be one of: 'Asset', 'Liability', 'Equity', -'Revenue', 'Expense', 'Cash', 'A', 'L', 'E', 'R', 'X', 'C' (all case + The tag's value should be one of: `Asset', `Liability', `Equity', +`Revenue', `Expense', `Cash', `A', `L', `E', `R', `X', `C' (all case insensitive). The type is inherited by all subaccounts except where they override it. Here's a complete example: + account assets ; type: Asset account assets:bank ; type: Cash account assets:cash ; type: Cash @@ -5436,26 +5744,26 @@ account expenses ; type: Expense  File: hledger.info, Node: Auto-detected account types, Next: Interference from auto-detected account types, Prev: Declaring account types, Up: Account types -11.23.4.2 Auto-detected account types +12.23.4.2 Auto-detected account types ..................................... If you happen to use common english top-level account names, you may not need to declare account types, as they will be detected automatically using the following rules: -If name matches regular account -expression: type is: -------------------------------------------------- -'^assets?(:|$)' 'Asset' -'^(debts?|liabilit(y|ies))(:|$)' 'Liability' -'^equity(:|$)' 'Equity' -'^(income|revenue)s?(:|$)' 'Revenue' -'^expenses?(:|$)' 'Expense' +If name matches regular account type +expression: is: +------------------------------------------------- +`^assets?(:|$)' `Asset' +`^(debts?|liabilit(y|ies))(:|$)' `Liability' +`^equity(:|$)' `Equity' +`^(income|revenue)s?(:|$)' `Revenue' +`^expenses?(:|$)' `Expense' -If account type is 'Asset' and name does not contain account type +If account type is `Asset' and name does not contain account type regular expression: is: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -'(investment|receivable|:A/R|:fixed)' 'Cash' +-------------------------------------------------------------------------- +`(investment|receivable|:A/R|:fixed)' `Cash' Even so, explicit declarations may be a good idea, for clarity and predictability. @@ -5463,15 +5771,16 @@ predictability.  File: hledger.info, Node: Interference from auto-detected account types, Next: Old account type syntax, Prev: Auto-detected account types, Up: Account types -11.23.4.3 Interference from auto-detected account types +12.23.4.3 Interference from auto-detected account types ....................................................... If you assign any account type, it's a good idea to assign all of them, to prevent any confusion from mixing declared and auto-detected types. Although it's unlikely to happen in real life, here's an example: with -the following journal, 'balancesheetequity' shows "liabilities" in both -Liabilities and Equity sections. Declaring another account as -'type:Liability' would fix it: +the following journal, `balancesheetequity' shows "liabilities" in both +Liabilities and Equity sections. Declaring another account as +`type:Liability' would fix it: + account liabilities ; type:Equity @@ -5483,13 +5792,14 @@ account liabilities ; type:Equity  File: hledger.info, Node: Old account type syntax, Prev: Interference from auto-detected account types, Up: Account types -11.23.4.4 Old account type syntax +12.23.4.4 Old account type syntax ................................. In some hledger journals you might instead see this old syntax (the letters ALERX, separated from the account name by two or more spaces); this is deprecated and may be removed soon: + account assets A account liabilities L account equity E @@ -5499,14 +5809,15 @@ account expenses X  File: hledger.info, Node: Account display order, Prev: Account types, Up: Declaring accounts -11.23.5 Account display order +12.23.5 Account display order ----------------------------- Account directives also set the order in which accounts are displayed, eg in reports, the hledger-ui accounts screen, and the hledger-web -sidebar. By default accounts are listed in alphabetical order. But if +sidebar. By default accounts are listed in alphabetical order. But if you have these account directives in the journal: + account assets account liabilities account equity @@ -5516,6 +5827,7 @@ account expenses you'll see those accounts displayed in declaration order, not alphabetically: + $ hledger accounts -1 assets liabilities @@ -5527,35 +5839,40 @@ expenses order. Note that sorting is done at each level of the account tree (within -each group of sibling accounts under the same parent). And currently, +each group of sibling accounts under the same parent). And currently, this 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' + * 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: Rewriting accounts, Next: Default parent account, Prev: Declaring accounts, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.24 Rewriting accounts +12.24 Rewriting accounts ======================== You can define account alias rules which rewrite your account names, or -parts of them, before generating reports. This can be useful for: +parts of them, before generating reports. This can be useful for: * 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 or combining two accounts into one + * customising reports Account aliases also rewrite account names in account directives. @@ -5575,22 +5892,24 @@ hledger-web.  File: hledger.info, Node: Basic aliases, Next: Regex aliases, Up: Rewriting accounts -11.24.1 Basic aliases +12.24.1 Basic aliases --------------------- -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. The spaces around the = are optional: +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. 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 + OLD and NEW are case sensitive full account names. hledger will replace any occurrence of the old account name with the new one. -Subaccounts are also affected. Eg: +Subaccounts are also affected. Eg: + alias checking = assets:bank:wells fargo:checking ; rewrites "checking" to "assets:bank:wells fargo:checking", or "checking:a" to "assets:bank:wells fargo:checking:a" @@ -5598,21 +5917,23 @@ alias checking = assets:bank:wells fargo:checking  File: hledger.info, Node: Regex aliases, Next: Combining aliases, Prev: Basic aliases, Up: Rewriting accounts -11.24.2 Regex aliases +12.24.2 Regex aliases --------------------- There is also a more powerful variant that uses a regular expression, indicated by the forward slashes: + alias /REGEX/ = REPLACEMENT - or '--alias '/REGEX/=REPLACEMENT''. + or `--alias '/REGEX/=REPLACEMENT''. - REGEX is a case-insensitive regular expression. Anywhere it matches + REGEX is a case-insensitive regular expression. Anywhere it matches inside an account name, the matched part will be replaced by REPLACEMENT. If REGEX contains parenthesised match groups, these can be referenced by the usual numeric backreferences in REPLACEMENT. Eg: + alias /^(.+):bank:([^:]+):(.*)/ = \1:\2 \3 ; rewrites "assets:bank:wells fargo:checking" to "assets:wells fargo checking" @@ -5623,54 +5944,59 @@ whitespace.  File: hledger.info, Node: Combining aliases, Next: Aliases and multiple files, Prev: Regex aliases, Up: Rewriting accounts -11.24.3 Combining aliases +12.24.3 Combining aliases ------------------------- You can define as many aliases as you like, using journal directives and/or command line options. Recursive aliases - where an account name is rewritten by one alias, -then by another alias, and so on - are allowed. Each alias sees the +then by another alias, and so on - are allowed. Each alias sees the effect of previously applied aliases. In such cases it can be important to understand which aliases will be -applied and in which order. For (each account name in) each journal +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 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. 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.  File: hledger.info, Node: Aliases and multiple files, Next: end aliases, Prev: Combining aliases, Up: Rewriting accounts -11.24.4 Aliases and multiple files +12.24.4 Aliases and multiple files ---------------------------------- -As explained at Directives and multiple files, 'alias' directives do not -affect parent or sibling files. Eg in this command, +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: + include a.aliases 2020-01-01 ; not affected by a.aliases @@ -5680,6 +6006,7 @@ include a.aliases This means that account aliases should usually be declared at the start of your top-most file, like this: + alias foo=Foo alias bar=Bar @@ -5692,24 +6019,26 @@ include c.journal ; also affected  File: hledger.info, Node: end aliases, Prev: Aliases and multiple files, Up: Rewriting accounts -11.24.5 'end aliases' +12.24.5 `end aliases' --------------------- -You can clear (forget) all currently defined aliases with the 'end +You can clear (forget) all currently defined aliases with the `end aliases' directive: + end aliases  File: hledger.info, Node: Default parent account, Next: Periodic transactions, Prev: Rewriting accounts, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.25 Default parent account +12.25 Default parent account ============================ You can specify a parent account which will be prepended to all accounts -within a section of the journal. Use the 'apply account' and 'end apply +within a section of the journal. Use the `apply account' and `end apply account' directives like so: + apply account home 2010/1/1 @@ -5720,12 +6049,14 @@ end apply account which is equivalent to: + 2010/01/01 home:food $10 home:cash $-10 - If 'end apply account' is omitted, the effect lasts to the end of the -file. Included files are also affected, eg: + If `end apply account' is omitted, the effect lasts to the end of +the file. Included files are also affected, eg: + apply account business include biz.journal @@ -5733,21 +6064,21 @@ end apply account apply account personal include personal.journal - Prior to hledger 1.0, legacy 'account' and 'end' spellings were also + Prior to hledger 1.0, legacy `account' and `end' spellings were also supported. - A default parent account also affects account directives. It does -not affect account names being entered via hledger add or hledger-web. -If account aliases are present, they are applied after the default -parent account. + A default parent account also affects account directives. It does not +affect account names being entered via hledger add or hledger-web. If +account aliases are present, they are applied after the default parent +account.  File: hledger.info, Node: Periodic transactions, Next: Auto postings, Prev: Default parent account, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.26 Periodic transactions +12.26 Periodic transactions =========================== -Periodic transaction rules describe transactions that recur. They allow +Periodic transaction rules describe transactions that recur. They allow hledger to generate temporary future transactions to help with forecasting, so you don't have to write out each one in the journal, and it's easy to try out different forecasts. @@ -5757,24 +6088,30 @@ 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 + + 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. + 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 + + 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 + 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 + 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. @@ -5791,37 +6128,39 @@ to define budget goals, shown in budget reports.  File: hledger.info, Node: Periodic rule syntax, Next: Two spaces between period expression and description!, Up: Periodic transactions -11.26.1 Periodic rule syntax +12.26.1 Periodic rule syntax ---------------------------- 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.): + ~ monthly expenses:rent $2000 assets:bank:checking There is an additional constraint on the period expression: the start -date must fall on a natural boundary of the interval. Eg 'monthly from -2018/1/1' is valid, but 'monthly from 2018/1/15' is not. +date must fall on a natural boundary of the interval. Eg `monthly from +2018/1/1' is valid, but `monthly from 2018/1/15' is not. Partial or relative dates (M/D, D, tomorrow, last week) in the period -expression can work (useful or not). They will be relative to today's +expression can work (useful or not). They will be relative to today's date, unless a Y default year directive is in effect, in which case they will be relative to Y/1/1.  File: hledger.info, Node: Two spaces between period expression and description!, Next: Forecasting with periodic transactions, Prev: Periodic rule syntax, Up: Periodic transactions -11.26.2 Two spaces between period expression and description! +12.26.2 Two spaces between period expression and description! ------------------------------------------------------------- If the period expression is followed by a transaction description, these -must be separated by *two or more spaces*. This helps hledger know +must be separated by *two or more spaces*. This helps hledger know where the period expression ends, so that descriptions can not accidentally alter their meaning, as in this example: + ; 2 or more spaces needed here, so the period is not understood as "every 2 months in 2020" ; || ; vv @@ -5833,34 +6172,36 @@ accidentally alter their meaning, as in this example: * 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 expression.  File: hledger.info, Node: Forecasting with periodic transactions, Next: Budgeting with periodic transactions, Prev: Two spaces between period expression and description!, Up: Periodic transactions -11.26.3 Forecasting with periodic transactions +12.26.3 Forecasting with periodic transactions ---------------------------------------------- -The '--forecast' flag activates any periodic transaction rules in the -journal. They will generate temporary recurring transactions, which are +The `--forecast' flag activates any periodic transaction rules in the +journal. They will generate temporary recurring transactions, which are not saved in the journal, but will appear in all reports (eg print). This can be useful for estimating balances into the future, or -experimenting with different scenarios. Or, it can be used as a data +experimenting with different scenarios. Or, it can be used as a data entry aid: describe recurring transactions, and every so often copy the -output of 'print --forecast' into the journal. +output of `print --forecast' into the journal. These transactions will have an extra tag indicating which periodic -rule generated them: 'generated-transaction:~ PERIODICEXPR'. And a +rule generated them: `generated-transaction:~ PERIODICEXPR'. And a similar, hidden tag (beginning with an underscore) which, because it's never displayed by print, can be used to match transactions generated -"just now": '_generated-transaction:~ PERIODICEXPR'. +"just now": `_generated-transaction:~ PERIODICEXPR'. - Periodic transactions are generated within some forecast period. By + Periodic transactions are generated within some forecast period. By default, this * begins on the later of * the report start date if specified with -b/-p/date: + * the day after the latest normal (non-periodic) transaction in the journal, or today if there are no normal transactions. @@ -5868,77 +6209,83 @@ default, this months (180 days) from today. This means that periodic transactions will begin only after the -latest recorded transaction. And a recorded transaction dated in the -future can prevent generation of periodic transactions. (You can avoid +latest recorded transaction. And a recorded transaction dated in the +future can prevent generation of periodic transactions. (You can avoid that by writing the future transaction as a one-time periodic rule -instead - put tilde before the date, eg '~ YYYY-MM-DD ...'). +instead - put tilde before the date, eg `~ YYYY-MM-DD ...'). Or, you can set your own arbitrary "forecast period", which can overlap recorded transactions, and need not be in the future, by -providing an option argument, like '--forecast=PERIODEXPR'. Note the -equals sign is required, a space won't work. PERIODEXPR is a period -expression, which can specify the start date, end date, or both, like in -a 'date:' query. (See also hledger.1 -> Report start & end date). Some -examples: '--forecast=202001-202004', '--forecast=jan-', -'--forecast=2020'. +providing an option argument, like `--forecast=PERIODEXPR'. Note the +equals sign is required, a space won't work. PERIODEXPR is a period +expression, which can specify the start date, end date, or both, like +in a `date:' query. (See also hledger.1 -> Report start & end date). +Some examples: `--forecast=202001-202004', `--forecast=jan-', +`--forecast=2020'.  File: hledger.info, Node: Budgeting with periodic transactions, Prev: Forecasting with periodic transactions, Up: Periodic transactions -11.26.4 Budgeting with periodic transactions +12.26.4 Budgeting with periodic transactions -------------------------------------------- -With the '--budget' flag, currently supported by the balance command, +With the `--budget' flag, currently supported by the balance command, each periodic transaction rule declares recurring budget goals for the -specified accounts. Eg the first example above declares a goal of +specified accounts. Eg the first example above declares a goal of spending $2000 on rent (and also, a goal of depositing $2000 into -checking) every month. Goals and actual performance can then be -compared in budget reports. +checking) every month. Goals and actual performance can then be compared +in budget reports. See also: Budgeting and Forecasting.  File: hledger.info, Node: Auto postings, Prev: Periodic transactions, Up: JOURNAL FORMAT -11.27 Auto postings +12.27 Auto postings =================== "Automated postings" or "auto postings" are extra postings which get added automatically to transactions which match certain queries, defined -by "auto posting rules", when you use the '--auto' flag. +by "auto posting rules", when you use the `--auto' flag. An auto posting rule looks a bit like a transaction: + = QUERY ACCOUNT AMOUNT ... 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 - used as-is. - * a number, eg '2'. The commodity symbol (if any) from the matched + * 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 posting will be added to this. - * a numeric multiplier, eg '*2' (a star followed by a number N). The + + * 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, + + * 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 -quotes, as on the command line. Eg, note the quotes around the second +quotes, as on the command line. Eg, note the quotes around the second query term below: + = expenses:groceries 'expenses:dining out' (budget:funds:dining out) *-1 Some examples: + ; every time I buy food, schedule a dollar donation = expenses:food (liabilities:charity) $-1 @@ -5956,6 +6303,7 @@ query term below: expenses:gifts $20 assets:checking + $ hledger print --auto 2017-12-01 expenses:food $10 @@ -5978,17 +6326,17 @@ $ hledger print --auto  File: hledger.info, Node: Auto postings and multiple files, Next: Auto postings and dates, Up: Auto postings -11.27.1 Auto postings and multiple files +12.27.1 Auto postings and multiple files ---------------------------------------- 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). +in any parent file or child file. Note, currently it will not affect +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 -11.27.2 Auto postings and dates +12.27.2 Auto postings and dates ------------------------------- A posting date (or secondary date) in the matched posting, or (taking @@ -5998,45 +6346,50 @@ used in the generated posting.  File: hledger.info, Node: Auto postings and transaction balancing / inferred amounts / balance assertions, Next: Auto posting tags, Prev: Auto postings and dates, Up: Auto postings -11.27.3 Auto postings and transaction balancing / inferred amounts / +12.27.3 Auto postings and transaction balancing / inferred amounts / -------------------------------------------------------------------- -balance assertions Currently, auto postings are added: +balance assertions + + Currently, auto postings are added: * after missing amounts are inferred, and transactions are checked for balancedness, + * 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 +after auto postings are added. This changed in hledger 1.12+; see #893 for background.  File: hledger.info, Node: Auto posting tags, Prev: Auto postings and transaction balancing / inferred amounts / balance assertions, Up: Auto postings -11.27.4 Auto posting tags +12.27.4 Auto posting tags ------------------------- 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".  File: hledger.info, Node: CSV FORMAT, Next: TIMECLOCK FORMAT, Prev: JOURNAL FORMAT, Up: Top -12 CSV FORMAT +13 CSV FORMAT ************* How hledger reads CSV data, and the CSV rules file format. @@ -6048,44 +6401,44 @@ transaction. (To learn about _writing_ CSV, see CSV output.) - We describe each CSV file's format with a corresponding _rules file_. -By default this is named like the CSV file with a '.rules' extension -added. Eg when reading 'FILE.csv', hledger also looks for -'FILE.csv.rules' in the same directory as 'FILE.csv'. You can specify a -different rules file with the '--rules-file' option. If a rules file is -not found, hledger will create a sample rules file, which you'll need to -adjust. + We describe each CSV file's format with a corresponding _rules +file_. By default this is named like the CSV file with a `.rules' +extension added. Eg when reading `FILE.csv', hledger also looks for +`FILE.csv.rules' in the same directory as `FILE.csv'. You can specify a +different rules file with the `--rules-file' option. If a rules file is +not found, hledger will create a sample rules file, which you'll need +to adjust. This file contains rules describing the CSV data (header line, fields layout, date format etc.), and how to construct hledger journal entries -(transactions) from it. Often there will also be a list of conditional -rules for categorising transactions based on their descriptions. Here's +(transactions) from it. Often there will also be a list of conditional +rules for categorising transactions based on their descriptions. Here's an overview of the CSV rules; these are described more fully below, after the examples: -*'skip'* skip one or more header lines or - matched CSV records -*'fields'* name CSV fields, assign them to hledger +*`skip'* skip one or more header lines or matched + CSV records +*`fields'* name CSV fields, assign them to hledger fields *field assignment* assign a value to one hledger field, with interpolation -*'separator'* a custom field separator -*'if' block* apply some rules to CSV records matched +*`separator'* a custom field separator +*`if' block* apply some rules to CSV records matched by patterns -*'if' table* apply some rules to CSV records matched +*`if' table* apply some rules to CSV records matched by patterns, alternate syntax -*'end'* skip the remaining CSV records -*'date-format'* how to parse dates in CSV records -*'decimal-mark'* the decimal mark used in CSV amounts, - if ambiguous -*'newest-first'* disambiguate record order when there's +*`end'* skip the remaining CSV records +*`date-format'* how to parse dates in CSV records +*`decimal-mark'* the decimal mark used in CSV amounts, if + ambiguous +*`newest-first'* disambiguate record order when there's only one date -*'include'* inline another CSV rules file -*'balance-type'* choose which type of balance - assignments to use +*`include'* inline another CSV rules file +*`balance-type'* choose which type of balance assignments + to use - Note, for best error messages when reading CSV files, use a '.csv', -'.tsv' or '.ssv' file extension or file prefix - see File Extension + Note, for best error messages when reading CSV files, use a `.csv', +`.tsv' or `.ssv' file extension or file prefix - see File Extension below. There's an introductory Convert CSV files tutorial on hledger.org. @@ -6099,10 +6452,10 @@ below.  File: hledger.info, Node: Examples, Next: CSV rules, Up: CSV FORMAT -12.1 Examples +13.1 Examples ============= -Here are some sample hledger CSV rules files. See also the full +Here are some sample hledger CSV rules files. See also the full collection at: https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/tree/master/examples/csv @@ -6116,21 +6469,24 @@ https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/tree/master/examples/csv  File: hledger.info, Node: Basic, Next: Bank of Ireland, Up: Examples -12.1.1 Basic +13.1.1 Basic ------------ At minimum, the rules file must identify the date and amount fields, and often it also specifies the date format and how many header lines there -are. Here's a simple CSV file and a rules file for it: +are. Here's a simple CSV file and a rules file for it: + Date, Description, Id, Amount 12/11/2019, Foo, 123, 10.23 + # basic.csv.rules skip 1 fields date, description, _, amount date-format %d/%m/%Y + $ hledger print -f basic.csv 2019-11-12 Foo expenses:unknown 10.23 @@ -6141,17 +6497,19 @@ $ hledger print -f basic.csv  File: hledger.info, Node: Bank of Ireland, Next: Amazon, Prev: Basic, Up: Examples -12.1.2 Bank of Ireland +13.1.2 Bank of Ireland ---------------------- Here's a CSV with two amount fields (Debit and Credit), and a balance field, which we can use to add balance assertions, which is not necessary but provides extra error checking: + Date,Details,Debit,Credit,Balance 07/12/2012,LODGMENT 529898,,10.0,131.21 07/12/2012,PAYMENT,5,,126 + # bankofireland-checking.csv.rules # skip the header line @@ -6178,6 +6536,7 @@ currency EUR # set the base account for all txns account1 assets:bank:boi:checking + $ hledger -f bankofireland-checking.csv print 2012-12-07 LODGMENT 529898 assets:bank:boi:checking EUR10.0 = EUR131.2 @@ -6194,17 +6553,19 @@ imported into a journal file.  File: hledger.info, Node: Amazon, Next: Paypal, Prev: Bank of Ireland, Up: Examples -12.1.3 Amazon +13.1.3 Amazon ------------- Here we convert amazon.com order history, and use an if block to -generate a third posting if there's a fee. (In practice you'd probably +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" "Jul 30, 2012","Payment","To","Adapteva, Inc.","Completed","$25.00","$1.00","17LA58JSKRD4HDGLNJPI1P9B8DKPVHL" + # amazon-orders.csv.rules # skip one header line @@ -6239,6 +6600,7 @@ if %fees [1-9] account3 expenses:fees amount3 %fees + $ hledger -f amazon-orders.csv print 2012-07-29 (16000000000000DGLNJPI1P9B8DKPVHL) To Foo. ; status:Completed assets:amazon @@ -6252,12 +6614,13 @@ $ hledger -f amazon-orders.csv print  File: hledger.info, Node: Paypal, Prev: Amazon, Up: Examples -12.1.4 Paypal +13.1.4 Paypal ------------- Here's a real-world rules file for (customised) Paypal CSV, with some Paypal-specific rules, and a second rules file included: + "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" "10/01/2019","03:46:20","PDT","Calm Radio","Subscription Payment","Completed","USD","-6.99","0.00","-6.99","simon@joyful.com","memberships@calmradio.com","60P57143A8206782E","MONTHLY - $1 for the first 2 Months: Me - Order 99309. Item total: $1.00 USD first 2 months, then $6.99 / Month","","I-R8YLY094FJYR","","-6.99","" "10/01/2019","03:46:20","PDT","","Bank Deposit to PP Account ","Pending","USD","6.99","0.00","6.99","","simon@joyful.com","0TU1544T080463733","","","60P57143A8206782E","","0.00","" @@ -6267,6 +6630,7 @@ Paypal-specific rules, and a second rules file included: "10/19/2019","03:02:12","PDT","","Bank Deposit to PP Account ","Pending","USD","2.00","0.00","2.00","","simon@joyful.com","3XJ107139A851061F","","","K9U43044RY432050M","","0.00","" "10/22/2019","05:07:06","PDT","Noble Benefactor","Subscription Payment","Completed","USD","10.00","-0.59","9.41","noble@bene.fac.tor","simon@joyful.com","6L8L1662YP1334033","Joyful Systems","","I-KC9VBGY2GWDB","","9.41","" + # paypal-custom.csv.rules # Tips: @@ -6349,6 +6713,7 @@ Bank Deposit to PP Account if Currency Conversion account2 equity:currency conversion + # common.rules if @@ -6372,6 +6737,7 @@ if Google account2 expenses:online:apps description google | music + $ hledger -f paypal-custom.csv print 2019-10-01 (60P57143A8206782E) Calm Radio MONTHLY - $1 for the first 2 Months: Me - Order 99309. Item total: $1.00 USD first 2 months, then $6.99 / Month ; itemid:, fromemail:simon@joyful.com, toemail:memberships@calmradio.com, time:03:46:20, type:Subscription Payment, status:Completed assets:online:paypal $-6.99 = $-6.99 @@ -6406,11 +6772,11 @@ $ hledger -f paypal-custom.csv print  File: hledger.info, Node: CSV rules, Next: Tips, Prev: Examples, Up: CSV FORMAT -12.2 CSV rules +13.2 CSV rules ============== The following kinds of rule can appear in the rules file, in any order. -Blank lines and lines beginning with '#' or ';' are ignored. +Blank lines and lines beginning with `#' or `;' are ignored. * Menu: @@ -6430,15 +6796,16 @@ Blank lines and lines beginning with '#' or ';' are ignored.  File: hledger.info, Node: skip, Next: fields, Up: CSV rules -12.2.1 'skip' +13.2.1 `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 preceding the CSV data. -(Empty/blank lines are skipped automatically.) You'll need this -whenever your CSV data contains header lines. +(Empty/blank lines are skipped automatically.) You'll need this whenever +your CSV data contains header lines. It also has a second purpose: it can be used inside if blocks to ignore certain CSV records (described below). @@ -6446,35 +6813,38 @@ ignore certain CSV records (described below).  File: hledger.info, Node: fields, Next: field assignment, Prev: skip, Up: CSV rules -12.2.2 'fields' +13.2.2 `fields' --------------- + fields FIELDNAME1, FIELDNAME2, ... - A fields list (the word "fields" followed by comma-separated field -names) is the quick way to assign CSV field values to hledger fields. -It does two things: +A fields list (the word "fields" followed by comma-separated field +names) is the quick way to assign CSV field values to hledger fields. It +does two things: - 1. it names the CSV fields. This is optional, but can be convenient + 1. it names the CSV fields. This is optional, but can be convenient later for interpolating them. 2. when you use a standard hledger field name, it assigns the CSV value to that part of the hledger 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 later reference; and ignore the others": + fields date, description, , amount, , , somefield, anotherfield - Field names may not contain whitespace. Fields you don't care about -can be left unnamed. Currently there must be least two items (there + Field names may not contain whitespace. Fields you don't care about +can be left unnamed. Currently there must be least two items (there must be at least one comma). Note, always use comma in the fields list, even if your CSV uses another separator character. - Here are the standard hledger field/pseudo-field names. For more + Here are the standard hledger field/pseudo-field names. For more about the transaction parts they refer to, see the manual for hledger's journal format. @@ -6486,36 +6856,36 @@ journal format.  File: hledger.info, Node: Transaction field names, Next: Posting field names, Up: fields -12.2.2.1 Transaction field names +13.2.2.1 Transaction field names ................................ -'date', 'date2', 'status', 'code', 'description', 'comment' can be used +`date', `date2', `status', `code', `description', `comment' can be used to form the transaction's first line.  File: hledger.info, Node: Posting field names, Prev: Transaction field names, Up: fields -12.2.2.2 Posting field names +13.2.2.2 Posting field names ............................ -account 'accountN', where N is 1 to 99, causes a posting to be +account `accountN', where N is 1 to 99, causes a posting to be generated, with that account name. - 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 + 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, and in conditional blocks. 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"). amount 'amountN' sets posting N's amount. If the +or "income:unknown"). amount `amountN' sets posting N's amount. If the CSV uses separate fields for inflows and outflows, you can use -'amountN-in' and 'amountN-out' instead. By assigning to 'amount1', -'amount2', ... etc. you can generate anywhere from 0 to 99 postings. +`amountN-in' and `amountN-out' instead. By assigning to `amount1', +`amount2', ... etc. you can generate anywhere from 0 to 99 postings. There is also an older, unnumbered form of these names, suitable for 2-posting transactions, which sets both posting 1's and (negated) -posting 2's amount: 'amount', or 'amount-in' and 'amount-out'. This is +posting 2's amount: `amount', or `amount-in' and `amount-out'. This is still supported because it keeps pre-hledger-1.17 csv rules files working, and because it can be more succinct, and because it converts posting 2's amount to cost if there's a transaction price, which can be @@ -6523,40 +6893,42 @@ useful. If you have an existing rules file using the unnumbered form, you might want to use the numbered form in certain conditional blocks, -without having to update and retest all the old rules. To facilitate -this, posting 1 ignores 'amount'/'amount-in'/'amount-out' if any of -'amount1'/'amount1-in'/'amount1-out' are assigned, and posting 2 ignores -them if any of 'amount2'/'amount2-in'/'amount2-out' are assigned, -avoiding conflicts. currency If the CSV has the currency symbol in a -separate field (ie, not part of the amount field), you can use -'currencyN' to prepend it to posting N's amount. Or, 'currency' with no -number affects all postings. balance 'balanceN' sets a balance +without having to update and retest all the old rules. To facilitate +this, posting 1 ignores `amount'/`amount-in'/`amount-out' if any of +`amount1'/`amount1-in'/`amount1-out' are assigned, and posting 2 +ignores them if any of `amount2'/`amount2-in'/`amount2-out' are +assigned, avoiding conflicts. currency If the CSV has the currency +symbol in a separate field (ie, not part of the amount field), you can +use `currencyN' to prepend it to posting N's amount. Or, `currency' +with no number affects all postings. balance `balanceN' sets a balance assertion amount (or if the posting amount is left empty, a balance assignment) on posting N. - Also, for compatibility with hledger <1.17: 'balance' with no number -is equivalent to 'balance1'. + Also, for compatibility with hledger <1.17: `balance' with no number +is equivalent to `balance1'. You can adjust the type of assertion/assignment with the -'balance-type' rule (see below). comment Finally, 'commentN' sets a -comment on the Nth posting. Comments can also contain tags, as usual. +`balance-type' rule (see below). comment Finally, `commentN' sets a +comment on the Nth posting. Comments can also contain tags, as usual. See TIPS below for more about setting amounts and currency.  File: hledger.info, Node: field assignment, Next: separator, Prev: fields, Up: CSV rules -12.2.3 field assignment +13.2.3 field assignment ----------------------- + HLEDGERFIELDNAME FIELDVALUE - Instead of or in addition to a fields list, you can use a "field +Instead of or in addition to a fields list, you can use a "field assignment" rule to set the value of a single hledger field, by writing its name (any of the standard hledger field names above) followed by a -text value. The value may contain interpolated CSV fields, referenced -by their 1-based position in the CSV record ('%N'), or by the name they -were given in the fields list ('%CSVFIELDNAME'). Some examples: +text value. The value may contain interpolated CSV fields, referenced by +their 1-based position in the CSV record (`%N'), or by the name they +were given in the fields list (`%CSVFIELDNAME'). Some examples: + # set the amount to the 4th CSV field, with " USD" appended amount %4 USD @@ -6564,41 +6936,45 @@ amount %4 USD # combine three fields to make a comment, containing note: and date: tags comment note: %somefield - %anotherfield, date: %1 - Interpolation strips outer whitespace (so a CSV value like '" 1 "' -becomes '1' when interpolated) (#1051). See TIPS below for more about + Interpolation strips outer whitespace (so a CSV value like `" 1 "' +becomes `1' when interpolated) (#1051). See TIPS below for more about referencing other fields.  File: hledger.info, Node: separator, Next: if block, Prev: field assignment, Up: CSV rules -12.2.4 'separator' +13.2.4 `separator' ------------------ -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 +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 comma-separated values (CSV): + separator , or for semicolon-separated values (SSV): + separator ; or for tab-separated values (TSV): + 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 + 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: if block, Next: if table, Prev: separator, Up: CSV rules -12.2.5 'if' block +13.2.5 `if' block ----------------- + if MATCHER RULE @@ -6609,10 +6985,9 @@ MATCHER RULE RULE - Conditional blocks ("if blocks") are a block of rules that are -applied only to CSV records which match certain patterns. They are -often used for customising account names based on transaction -descriptions. +Conditional blocks ("if blocks") are a block of rules that are applied +only to CSV records which match certain patterns. They are often used +for customising account names based on transaction descriptions. * Menu: @@ -6624,52 +6999,55 @@ descriptions.  File: hledger.info, Node: Matching the whole record, Next: Matching individual fields, Up: if block -12.2.5.1 Matching the whole record +13.2.5.1 Matching the whole record .................................. Each MATCHER can be a record matcher, which looks like this: + REGEX REGEX is a case-insensitive regular expression which tries to match -anywhere within the CSV record. It is a POSIX ERE (extended regular -expression) that also supports GNU word boundaries ('\b', '\B', '\<', -'\>'), and nothing else. If you have trouble, be sure to check our +anywhere within the CSV record. It is a POSIX ERE (extended regular +expression) that also supports GNU word boundaries (`\b', `\B', `\<', +`\>'), and nothing else. If you have trouble, be sure to check our https://hledger.org/hledger.html#regular-expressions doc. Important note: the record that is matched is not the original record, but a synthetic one, with any enclosing double quotes (but not enclosing whitespace) removed, and always comma-separated (which means -that a field containing a comma will appear like two fields). Eg, if -the original record is '2020-01-01; "Acme, Inc."; 1,000', the REGEX will -actually see '2020-01-01,Acme, Inc., 1,000'). +that a field containing a comma will appear like two fields). Eg, if the +original record is `2020-01-01; "Acme, Inc."; 1,000', the REGEX will +actually see `2020-01-01,Acme, Inc., 1,000').  File: hledger.info, Node: Matching individual fields, Next: Combining matchers, Prev: Matching the whole record, Up: if block -12.2.5.2 Matching individual fields +13.2.5.2 Matching individual fields ................................... Or, MATCHER can be a field matcher, like this: + %CSVFIELD REGEX - which matches just the content of a particular CSV field. CSVFIELD + which matches just the content of a particular CSV field. CSVFIELD is a percent sign followed by the field's name or column number, like -'%date' or '%1'. +`%date' or `%1'.  File: hledger.info, Node: Combining matchers, Next: Rules applied on successful match, Prev: Matching individual fields, Up: if block -12.2.5.3 Combining matchers +13.2.5.3 Combining matchers ........................... A single matcher can be written on the same line as the "if"; or multiple matchers can be written on the following lines, non-indented. Multiple matchers are OR'd (any one of them can match), unless one -begins with an '&' symbol, in which case it is AND'ed with the previous +begins with an `&' symbol, in which case it is AND'ed with the previous matcher. + if MATCHER & MATCHER @@ -6678,23 +7056,27 @@ MATCHER  File: hledger.info, Node: Rules applied on successful match, Prev: Combining matchers, Up: if block -12.2.5.4 Rules applied on successful match +13.2.5.4 Rules applied on successful match .......................................... After the patterns there should be one or more rules to apply, all -indented by at least one space. Three kinds of rule are allowed in +indented by at least one space. Three kinds of rule are allowed in conditional blocks: * field assignments (to set a hledger field) + * skip (to skip the matched CSV record) + * end (to skip all remaining CSV records). Examples: + # if the CSV record contains "groceries", set account2 to "expenses:groceries" if groceries account2 expenses:groceries + # if the CSV record contains any of these patterns, set account2 and comment as shown if monthly service fee @@ -6706,26 +7088,28 @@ banking thru software  File: hledger.info, Node: if table, Next: end, Prev: if block, Up: CSV rules -12.2.6 'if' table +13.2.6 `if' table ----------------- + if,CSVFIELDNAME1,CSVFIELDNAME2,...,CSVFIELDNAMEn MATCHER1,VALUE11,VALUE12,...,VALUE1n MATCHER2,VALUE21,VALUE22,...,VALUE2n MATCHER3,VALUE31,VALUE32,...,VALUE3n - Conditional tables ("if tables") are a different syntax to specify -field assignments that will be applied only to CSV records which match -certain patterns. +Conditional tables ("if tables") are a different syntax to specify field +assignments that will be applied only to CSV records which match certain +patterns. MATCHER could be either field or record matcher, as described above. When MATCHER matches, values from that row would be assigned to the CSV -fields named on the 'if' line, in the same order. +fields named on the `if' line, in the same order. - Therefore 'if' table is exactly equivalent to a sequence of of 'if' + Therefore `if' table is exactly equivalent to a sequence of of `if' blocks: + if MATCHER1 CSVFIELDNAME1 VALUE11 CSVFIELDNAME2 VALUE12 @@ -6748,17 +7132,18 @@ if MATCHER3 empty) values for all the listed fields. Rules would be checked and applied in the order they are listed in -the table and, like with 'if' blocks, later rules (in the same or -another table) or 'if' blocks could override the effect of any rule. +the table and, like with `if' blocks, later rules (in the same or +another table) or `if' blocks could override the effect of any rule. Instead of ',' you can use a variety of other non-alphanumeric -characters as a separator. First character after 'if' is taken to be -the separator for the rest of the table. It is the responsibility of +characters as a separator. First character after `if' is taken to be +the separator for the rest of the table. It is the responsibility of the user to ensure that separator does not occur inside MATCHERs and values - there is no way to escape separator. Example: + if,account2,comment atm transaction fee,expenses:business:banking,deductible? check it %description groceries,expenses:groceries, @@ -6767,12 +7152,13 @@ atm transaction fee,expenses:business:banking,deductible? check it  File: hledger.info, Node: end, Next: date-format, Prev: if table, Up: CSV rules -12.2.7 'end' +13.2.7 `end' ------------ This rule can be used inside if blocks (only), to make hledger stop reading this CSV file and move on to the next input file, or to command -execution. Eg: +execution. Eg: + # ignore everything following the first empty record if ,,,, @@ -6781,27 +7167,32 @@ if ,,,,  File: hledger.info, Node: date-format, Next: decimal-mark, Prev: end, Up: CSV rules -12.2.8 'date-format' +13.2.8 `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', +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 date parsing pattern, which must parse the CSV date value completely. Some examples: + # MM/DD/YY date-format %m/%d/%y + # D/M/YYYY # The - makes leading zeros optional. date-format %-d/%-m/%Y + # YYYY-Mmm-DD date-format %Y-%h-%d + # M/D/YYYY HH:MM AM some other junk # Note the time and junk must be fully parsed, though only the date is used. date-format %-m/%-d/%Y %l:%M %p some other junk @@ -6812,17 +7203,19 @@ https://hackage.haskell.org/package/time/docs/Data-Time-Format.html#v:formatTime  File: hledger.info, Node: decimal-mark, Next: newest-first, Prev: date-format, Up: CSV rules -12.2.9 'decimal-mark' +13.2.9 `decimal-mark' --------------------- + decimal-mark . - or: +or: + decimal-mark , hledger automatically accepts either period or comma as a decimal -mark when parsing numbers (cf Amounts). However if any numbers in the +mark when parsing numbers (cf Amounts). However if any numbers in the CSV contain digit group marks, such as thousand-separating commas, you should declare the decimal mark explicitly with this rule, to avoid misparsed numbers. @@ -6830,21 +7223,24 @@ misparsed numbers.  File: hledger.info, Node: newest-first, Next: include, Prev: decimal-mark, Up: CSV rules -12.2.10 'newest-first' +13.2.10 `newest-first' ---------------------- -hledger always sorts the generated transactions by date. Transactions -on the same date should appear in the same order as their CSV records, -as hledger can usually auto-detect whether the CSV's normal order is -oldest first or newest first. But if all of the following are true: +hledger always sorts the generated transactions by date. Transactions on +the same date should appear in the same order as their CSV records, as +hledger can usually auto-detect whether the CSV's normal order is oldest +first or newest first. But if all of the following are true: * the CSV might sometimes contain just one day of data (all records having the same date) - * the CSV records are normally in reverse chronological order (newest - at the top) + + * the CSV records are normally in reverse chronological order + (newest at the top) + * and you care about preserving the order of same-day transactions - then, you should add the 'newest-first' rule as a hint. Eg: + then, you should add the `newest-first' rule as a hint. Eg: + # tell hledger explicitly that the CSV is normally newest first newest-first @@ -6852,16 +7248,18 @@ newest-first  File: hledger.info, Node: include, Next: balance-type, Prev: newest-first, Up: CSV rules -12.2.11 'include' +13.2.11 `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 +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 several rules files, eg: + # someaccount.csv.rules ## someaccount-specific rules @@ -6875,21 +7273,23 @@ include categorisation.rules  File: hledger.info, Node: balance-type, Prev: include, Up: CSV rules -12.2.12 'balance-type' +13.2.12 `balance-type' ---------------------- Balance assertions generated by assigning to balanceN are of the simple -'=' type by default, which is a single-commodity, subaccount-excluding -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: +`=' 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 assertions will consider all commodities and all subaccounts balance-type ==* Here are the balance assertion types for quick reference: + = single commodity, exclude subaccounts =* single commodity, include subaccounts == multi commodity, exclude subaccounts @@ -6898,7 +7298,7 @@ balance-type ==*  File: hledger.info, Node: Tips, Prev: CSV rules, Up: CSV FORMAT -12.3 Tips +13.3 Tips ========= * Menu: @@ -6912,53 +7312,58 @@ File: hledger.info, Node: Tips, Prev: CSV rules, Up: CSV FORMAT * Setting amounts:: * Amount signs:: * Setting currency/commodity:: +* Amount decimal places:: * Referencing other fields:: * How CSV rules are evaluated::  File: hledger.info, Node: Rapid feedback, Next: Valid CSV, Up: Tips -12.3.1 Rapid feedback +13.3.1 Rapid feedback --------------------- It's a good idea to get rapid feedback while creating/troubleshooting -CSV rules. Here's a good way, using entr from +CSV rules. Here's a good way, using entr from http://eradman.com/entrproject : + $ ls foo.csv* | entr bash -c 'echo ----; hledger -f foo.csv print desc:SOMEDESC' - A desc: query (eg) is used to select just one, or a few, transactions -of interest. "bash -c" is used to run multiple commands, so we can echo -a separator each time the command re-runs, making it easier to read the -output. + A desc: query (eg) is used to select just one, or a few, +transactions of interest. "bash -c" is used to run multiple commands, +so we can echo a separator each time the command re-runs, making it +easier to read the output.  File: hledger.info, Node: Valid CSV, Next: File Extension, Prev: Rapid feedback, Up: Tips -12.3.2 Valid CSV +13.3.2 Valid CSV ---------------- -hledger accepts CSV conforming to RFC 4180. When CSV values are -enclosed in quotes, note: +hledger accepts CSV conforming to RFC 4180. When CSV values are enclosed +in quotes, note: * they must be double quotes (not single quotes) + * spaces outside the quotes are not allowed  File: hledger.info, Node: File Extension, Next: Reading multiple CSV files, Prev: Valid CSV, Up: Tips -12.3.3 File Extension +13.3.3 File Extension --------------------- To help hledger identify the format and show the right error messages, -CSV/SSV/TSV files should normally be named with a '.csv', '.ssv' or -'.tsv' filename extension. Or, the file path should be prefixed with -'csv:', 'ssv:' or 'tsv:'. Eg: +CSV/SSV/TSV files should normally be named with a `.csv', `.ssv' or +`.tsv' filename extension. Or, the file path should be prefixed with +`csv:', `ssv:' or `tsv:'. Eg: + $ hledger -f foo.ssv print or: + $ cat foo | hledger -f ssv:- foo You can override the file extension with a separator rule if needed. @@ -6967,18 +7372,18 @@ See also: Input files in the hledger manual.  File: hledger.info, Node: Reading multiple CSV files, Next: Valid transactions, Prev: File Extension, Up: Tips -12.3.4 Reading multiple CSV files +13.3.4 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.  File: hledger.info, Node: Valid transactions, Next: Deduplicating importing, Prev: Reading multiple CSV files, Up: Tips -12.3.5 Valid transactions +13.3.5 Valid transactions ------------------------- After reading a CSV file, hledger post-processes and validates the @@ -6989,15 +7394,16 @@ the problem entry. There is one exception: balance assertions, if you have generated them, will not be checked, since normally these will work only when the -CSV data is part of the main journal. If you do need to check balance +CSV data is part of the main journal. If you do need to check balance assertions generated from CSV right away, pipe into another hledger: + $ hledger -f file.csv print | hledger -f- print  File: hledger.info, Node: Deduplicating importing, Next: Setting amounts, Prev: Valid transactions, Up: Tips -12.3.6 Deduplicating, importing +13.3.6 Deduplicating, importing ------------------------------- When you download a CSV file periodically, eg to get your latest bank @@ -7005,29 +7411,31 @@ transactions, the new file may overlap with the old one, containing some 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, +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' -file.) This is the easiest way to import CSV data. Eg: +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. # Note, no -f flags needed here. $ hledger import *.csv [--dry] - This method works for most CSV files. (Where records have a stable + This method works for most CSV files. (Where records have a stable chronological order, and new records appear only at the new end.) A number of other tools and workflows, hledger-specific and -otherwise, exist for converting, deduplicating, classifying and managing -CSV data. See: +otherwise, exist for converting, deduplicating, classifying and +managing CSV data. See: * https://hledger.org -> sidebar -> real world setups + * https://plaintextaccounting.org -> data import/conversion  File: hledger.info, Node: Setting amounts, Next: Amount signs, Prev: Deduplicating importing, Up: Tips -12.3.7 Setting amounts +13.3.7 Setting amounts ---------------------- Some tips on using the amount-setting rules discussed above. @@ -7035,34 +7443,37 @@ Some tips on using the amount-setting rules discussed above. Here are the ways to set a posting's amount: 1. *If the CSV has a single amount field:* - Assign (via a fields list or a field assignment) to 'amountN'. - This sets the Nth posting's amount. N is usually 1 or 2 but can go - up to 99. + Assign (via a fields list or a field assignment) to `amountN'. This + sets the Nth posting's amount. N is usually 1 or 2 but can go up + to 99. 2. *If the CSV has separate Debit and Credit amount fields:* - Assign to 'amountN-in' and 'amountN-out'. This sets posting N's + Assign to `amountN-in' and `amountN-out'. This sets posting N's amount to whichever of these has a non-zero value, guessing an appropriate sign. * *If hledger guesses the wrong sign:* - Prepend a minus sign to flip it. Eg: + Prepend a minus sign to flip it. Eg: + fields date, description, amount-in, amount-out amount-out -%amount-out * *If both fields contain a non-zero value:* - The 'amountN-in'/'amountN-out' rules require that each CSV + The `amountN-in'/`amountN-out' rules require that each CSV record has a non-zero value in exactly one of the two fields, - so that hledger knows which to choose. So these would all be + so that hledger knows which to choose. So these would all be rejected: + "", "" "0", "0" "1", "none" - If your CSV has amount values like this, use conditional rules - instead. For example, to make hledger to choose the value - containing non-zero digits: + If your CSV has amount values like this, use conditional + rules instead. For example, to make hledger to choose the + value containing non-zero digits: + fields date, description, in, out if %in [1-9] @@ -7070,110 +7481,137 @@ Some tips on using the amount-setting rules discussed above. if %out [1-9] amount1 %out + 3. *Using the old numberless syntax:* - Assign to 'amount' (or to 'amount-in' and 'amount-out'). This sets - posting 1's and posting 2's amounts (and converts posting 2's - amount to cost). This is supported for backwards compatibility - (and occasional convenience). + Assign to `amount' (or to `amount-in' and `amount-out'). This + sets posting 1's and posting 2's amounts (and converts posting 2's + amount to cost). This is supported for backwards compatibility (and + occasional convenience). 4. *If the CSV has the balance instead of the transaction amount:* - Assign to 'balanceN', which sets posting N's amount indirectly via - a balance assignment. (Old syntax: 'balance', equivalent to - 'balance1'.) + Assign to `balanceN', which sets posting N's amount indirectly via + a balance assignment. (Old syntax: `balance', equivalent to + `balance1'.) * *If hledger guesses the wrong default account name:* When setting the amount via balance assertion, hledger may - guess the wrong default account name. So, set the account + guess the wrong default account name. So, set the account name explicitly, eg: + fields date, description, balance1 account1 assets:checking + +  File: hledger.info, Node: Amount signs, Next: Setting currency/commodity, Prev: Setting amounts, Up: Tips -12.3.8 Amount signs +13.3.8 Amount signs ------------------- 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' + that will be removed: `+AMT' becomes `AMT' * *If an amount value is parenthesised:* - it will be de-parenthesised and sign-flipped: '(AMT)' becomes - '-AMT' + it will be de-parenthesised and sign-flipped: `(AMT)' becomes + `-AMT' * *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 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: Referencing other fields, Prev: Amount signs, Up: Tips +File: hledger.info, Node: Setting currency/commodity, Next: Amount decimal places, Prev: Amount signs, Up: Tips -12.3.9 Setting currency/commodity +13.3.9 Setting currency/commodity --------------------------------- 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 -will be assigned as part of the amount. Eg: +will be assigned as part of the amount. Eg: + fields date,description,amount + 2020-01-01 foo expenses:unknown $123.00 income:unknown $-123.00 If the currency is provided as a separate CSV field: + 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): + fields date,description,currency,amount + 2020-01-01 foo expenses:unknown USD123.00 income:unknown USD-123.00 Or, you can use a field assignment to construct the amount yourself, -with more control. Eg to put the symbol on the right, and separated by -a space: +with more control. Eg to put the symbol on the right, and separated by a +space: + fields date,description,cur,amt amount %amt %cur + 2020-01-01 foo expenses:unknown 123.00 USD income:unknown -123.00 USD - Note we used a temporary field name ('cur') that is not 'currency' - + 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: Referencing other fields, Next: How CSV rules are evaluated, Prev: Setting currency/commodity, Up: Tips +File: hledger.info, Node: Amount decimal places, Next: Referencing other fields, Prev: Setting currency/commodity, Up: Tips -12.3.10 Referencing other fields +13.3.10 Amount decimal places +----------------------------- + +Like amounts in a journal file, the amounts generated by CSV rules like +`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). + + +File: hledger.info, Node: Referencing other fields, Next: How CSV rules are evaluated, Prev: Amount decimal places, Up: Tips + +13.3.11 Referencing other fields -------------------------------- In field assignments, you can interpolate only CSV fields, not hledger -fields. In the example below, there's both a CSV field and a hledger +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: + # Name the third CSV field "amount1" fields date,description,amount1 @@ -7186,14 +7624,16 @@ comment %amount1 Here, since there's no CSV amount1 field, %amount1 will produce a literal "amount1": + fields date,description,csvamount amount1 %csvamount USD # Can't interpolate amount1 here 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 -C if "something" is matched, but never A: +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 comment B @@ -7203,68 +7643,76 @@ if something  File: hledger.info, Node: How CSV rules are evaluated, Prev: Referencing other fields, Up: Tips -12.3.11 How CSV rules are evaluated +13.3.12 How CSV rules are evaluated ----------------------------------- Here's how to think of CSV rules being evaluated (if you really need -to). First, +to). First, - * 'include' - all includes are inlined, from top to bottom, depth - first. (At each include point the file is inlined and scanned for + * `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 + 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 - 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' - blocks. When there are multiple assignments for a field, keep only + * 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' + 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 assigned to it (and interpolate the %CSVFIELDNAME references), or a default + * generate a synthetic hledger transaction 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 +can use to parse input files. When all files have been read successfully, the transactions are passed as input to whichever hledger command the user specified.  File: hledger.info, Node: TIMECLOCK FORMAT, Next: TIMEDOT FORMAT, Prev: CSV FORMAT, Up: Top -13 TIMECLOCK FORMAT +14 TIMECLOCK FORMAT ******************* 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 -clock-out entries as in the example below. The date is a simple date. + hledger can read time logs in timeclock format. As with Ledger, 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 +optional. The timezone, if present, must be four digits and is ignored (currently the time is always interpreted as a local time). + i 2015/03/30 09:00:00 some:account name optional description after two spaces o 2015/03/30 09:20:00 i 2015/03/31 22:21:45 another account 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: +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: + $ hledger -f t.timeclock print 2015-03-30 * optional description after two spaces @@ -7278,6 +7726,7 @@ $ hledger -f t.timeclock print Here is a sample.timeclock to download and some queries to try: + $ hledger -f sample.timeclock balance # current time balances $ hledger -f sample.timeclock register -p 2009/3 # sessions in march 2009 $ hledger -f sample.timeclock register -p weekly --depth 1 --empty # time summary by week @@ -7287,75 +7736,79 @@ $ hledger -f sample.timeclock register -p weekly --depth 1 --empty # time summa * 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 - i `date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S'` \$* >>$TIMELOG" alias to="echo o - `date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S'` >>$TIMELOG"' + * 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"' - * 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. +  File: hledger.info, Node: TIMEDOT FORMAT, Next: COMMON TASKS, Prev: TIMECLOCK FORMAT, Up: Top -14 TIMEDOT FORMAT +15 TIMEDOT FORMAT ***************** hledger's human-friendly time logging format. Timedot is a plain text format for logging dated, categorised -quantities (of time, usually), supported by hledger. It is convenient +quantities (of time, usually), supported by hledger. It is convenient for approximate and retroactive time logging, eg when the real-time clock-in/out required with a timeclock file is too precise or too -interruptive. It can be formatted like a bar chart, making clear at a +interruptive. It can be formatted like a bar chart, making clear at a glance where time was spent. Though called "timedot", this format is read by hledger as commodityless quantities, so it could be used to represent dated -quantities other than time. In the docs below we'll assume it's time. +quantities other than time. In the docs below we'll assume it's time. - A timedot file contains a series of day entries. A day entry begins + A timedot file contains a series of day entries. A day entry begins with a non-indented hledger-style simple date (Y-M-D, Y/M/D, Y.M.D..) Any additional text on the same line is used as a transaction description for this day. This is followed by optionally-indented timelog items for that day, -one per line. Each timelog item is a note, usually a +one per line. Each timelog item is a note, usually a hledger:style:account:name representing a time category, followed by two -or more spaces, and a quantity. Each timelog item generates a hledger +or more spaces, and a quantity. Each timelog item generates a hledger transaction. Quantities can be written as: - * dots: a sequence of dots (.) representing quarter hours. Spaces - may optionally be used for grouping. Eg: .... .. + * dots: a sequence of dots (.) representing quarter hours. Spaces may + optionally be used for grouping. Eg: .... .. - * an integral or decimal number, representing hours. Eg: 1.5 + * an integral or decimal number, representing hours. Eg: 1.5 * an integral or decimal number immediately followed by a unit symbol - 's', 'm', 'h', 'd', 'w', 'mo', or 'y', representing seconds, - minutes, hours, days weeks, months or years respectively. Eg: 90m. + `s', `m', `h', `d', `w', `mo', or `y', representing seconds, + minutes, hours, days weeks, months or years respectively. Eg: 90m. The following equivalencies are assumed, currently: 1m = 60s, 1h = 60m, 1d = 24h, 1w = 7d, 1mo = 30d, 1y=365d. + There is some flexibility allowing notes and todo lists to be kept right in the time log, if needed: - * Blank lines and lines beginning with '#' or ';' are ignored. + * Blank lines and lines beginning with `#' or `;' are ignored. * Lines not ending with a double-space and quantity are parsed as items taking no time, which will not appear in balance reports by default. (Add -E to see them.) - * Org mode headlines (lines beginning with one or more '*' followed + * Org mode headlines (lines beginning with one or more `*' followed by a space) can be used as date lines or timelog items (the stars - are ignored). Also all org headlines before the first date line + are ignored). Also all org headlines before the first date line are ignored. This means org users can manage their timelog as an org outline (eg using org-mode/orgstruct-mode in Emacs), for organisation, faster navigation, controlling visibility etc. + Examples: + # on this day, 6h was spent on client work, 1.5h on haskell FOSS work, etc. 2016/2/1 inc:client1 .... .... .... .... .... .... @@ -7366,16 +7819,19 @@ biz:research . inc:client1 .... .... biz:research . + 2016/2/3 inc:client1 4 fos:hledger 3 biz:research 1 + * Time log ** 2020-01-01 *** adm:time . *** adm:finance . + * 2020 Work Diary ** Q1 *** 2020-02-29 @@ -7394,6 +7850,7 @@ adm:planning: trip Reporting: + $ hledger -f t.timedot print date:2016/2/2 2016-02-02 * (inc:client1) 2.00 @@ -7401,28 +7858,31 @@ $ hledger -f t.timedot print date:2016/2/2 2016-02-02 * (biz:research) 0.25 + $ hledger -f t.timedot bal --daily --tree Balance changes in 2016-02-01-2016-02-03: - || 2016-02-01d 2016-02-02d 2016-02-03d + || 2016-02-01d 2016-02-02d 2016-02-03d ============++======================================== - biz || 0.25 0.25 1.00 - research || 0.25 0.25 1.00 - fos || 1.50 0 3.00 - haskell || 1.50 0 0 - hledger || 0 0 3.00 - inc || 6.00 2.00 4.00 - client1 || 6.00 2.00 4.00 + biz || 0.25 0.25 1.00 + research || 0.25 0.25 1.00 + fos || 1.50 0 3.00 + haskell || 1.50 0 0 + hledger || 0 0 3.00 + inc || 6.00 2.00 4.00 + client1 || 6.00 2.00 4.00 ------------++---------------------------------------- - || 7.75 2.25 8.00 + || 7.75 2.25 8.00 + + I prefer to use period for separating account components. We can make +this work with an account alias: - I prefer to use period for separating account components. We can -make this work with an account alias: 2016/2/4 fos.hledger.timedot 4 fos.ledger .. + $ hledger -f t.timedot --alias /\\./=: bal date:2016/2/4 --tree 4.50 fos 4.00 hledger:timedot @@ -7435,7 +7895,7 @@ $ hledger -f t.timedot --alias /\\./=: bal date:2016/2/4 --tree  File: hledger.info, Node: COMMON TASKS, Next: LIMITATIONS, Prev: TIMEDOT FORMAT, Up: Top -15 COMMON TASKS +16 COMMON TASKS *************** Here are some quick examples of how to do some basic tasks with hledger. @@ -7457,9 +7917,10 @@ https://hledger.org.  File: hledger.info, Node: Getting help, Next: Constructing command lines, Up: COMMON TASKS -15.1 Getting help +16.1 Getting help ================= + $ hledger # show available commands $ hledger --help # show common options $ hledger CMD --help # show common and command options, and command help @@ -7468,47 +7929,53 @@ $ hledger help hledger # show hledger manual as info/man/text (auto-chosen) $ hledger help journal --man # show the journal manual as a man page $ hledger help --help # show more detailed help for the help command - Find more docs, chat, mail list, reddit, issue tracker: +Find more docs, chat, mail list, reddit, issue tracker: https://hledger.org#help-feedback  File: hledger.info, Node: Constructing command lines, Next: Starting a journal file, Prev: Getting help, Up: COMMON TASKS -15.2 Constructing command lines +16.2 Constructing command lines =============================== -hledger has an extensive and powerful command line interface. We strive +hledger has an extensive and powerful command line interface. We strive to keep it simple and ergonomic, but you may run into one of the -confusing real world details described in OPTIONS, below. If that +confusing real world details described in OPTIONS, below. If that happens, here are some tips that may help: * command-specific options must go after the command (it's fine to - put all options there) ('hledger CMD OPTS ARGS') + put all options there) (`hledger CMD OPTS ARGS') + * running add-on executables directly simplifies command line parsing - ('hledger-ui OPTS ARGS') + (`hledger-ui OPTS ARGS') + * enclose "problematic" args in single quotes + * if needed, also add a backslash to hide regular expression metacharacters from the shell - * to see how a misbehaving command is being parsed, add '--debug=2'. + + * to see how a misbehaving command is being parsed, add `--debug=2'.  File: hledger.info, Node: Starting a journal file, Next: Setting opening balances, Prev: Constructing command lines, Up: COMMON TASKS -15.3 Starting a journal file +16.3 Starting a journal file ============================ 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 -version control, and to start a new file each year. So you could do -something like this: + You can override this by setting the `LEDGER_FILE' environment +variable. It's a good practice to keep this important file under version +control, and to start a new file each year. So you could do something +like this: + $ mkdir ~/finance $ cd ~/finance @@ -7519,7 +7986,7 @@ $ echo "export LEDGER_FILE=$HOME/finance/2020.journal" >> ~/.bashrc $ source ~/.bashrc $ hledger stats Main file : /Users/simon/finance/2020.journal -Included files : +Included files : Transactions span : to (0 days) Last transaction : none Transactions : 0 (0.0 per day) @@ -7533,25 +8000,26 @@ Market prices : 0 ()  File: hledger.info, Node: Setting opening balances, Next: Recording transactions, Prev: Starting a journal file, Up: COMMON TASKS -15.4 Setting opening balances +16.4 Setting opening balances ============================= Pick a starting date for which you can look up the balances of some -real-world assets (bank accounts, wallet..) and liabilities (credit +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 +recent starting date, like today or the start of the week. You can always come back later and add more accounts and older transactions, eg going back to january 1st. Add an opening balances transaction to the journal, declaring the -balances on this date. Here are two ways to do it: +balances on this date. Here are two ways to do it: * The first way: open the journal in any text editor and save an entry like this: + 2020-01-01 * opening balances assets:bank:checking $1000 = $1000 assets:bank:savings $2000 = $2000 @@ -7562,7 +8030,7 @@ balances on this date. Here are two ways to do it: 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 @@ -7571,9 +8039,10 @@ balances on this date. Here are two ways to do it: 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 Adding transactions to journal file /Users/simon/finance/2020.journal Any command line arguments will be used as defaults. @@ -7594,7 +8063,7 @@ balances on this date. Here are two ways to do it: Account 4: liabilities:creditcard Amount 4 [$-3100]: $-50 Account 5: equity:opening/closing balances - Amount 5 [$-3050]: + Amount 5 [$-3050]: Account 6 (or . or enter to finish this transaction): . 2020-01-01 * opening balances assets:bank:checking $1000 @@ -7602,21 +8071,23 @@ balances on this date. Here are two ways to do it: assets:cash $100 liabilities:creditcard $-50 equity:opening/closing balances $-3050 - - Save this transaction to the journal ? [y]: + + Save this transaction to the journal ? [y]: Saved. Starting the next transaction (. or ctrl-D/ctrl-C to quit) Date [2020-01-01]: . + If you're using version control, this could be a good time to commit -the journal. Eg: +the journal. Eg: + $ git commit -m 'initial balances' 2020.journal  File: hledger.info, Node: Recording transactions, Next: Reconciling, Prev: Setting opening balances, Up: COMMON TASKS -15.5 Recording transactions +16.5 Recording transactions =========================== As you spend or receive money, you can record these transactions using @@ -7627,6 +8098,7 @@ convert CSV data downloaded from your bank. Here are some simple transactions, see the hledger_journal(5) manual and hledger.org for more ideas: + 2020/1/10 * gift received assets:cash $20 income:gifts @@ -7642,68 +8114,72 @@ and hledger.org for more ideas:  File: hledger.info, Node: Reconciling, Next: Reporting, Prev: Recording transactions, Up: COMMON TASKS -15.6 Reconciling +16.6 Reconciling ================ Periodically you should reconcile - compare your hledger-reported balances against external sources of truth, like bank statements or your bank's website - to be sure that your ledger accurately represents the real-world balances (and, that the real-world institutions have not made -a mistake!). This gets easy and fast with (1) practice and (2) -frequency. If you do it daily, it can take 2-10 minutes. If you let it +a mistake!). This gets easy and fast with (1) practice and (2) +frequency. If you do it daily, it can take 2-10 minutes. If you let it pile up, expect it to take longer as you hunt down errors and discrepancies. A typical workflow: - 1. Reconcile cash. Count what's in your wallet. Compare with what - hledger reports ('hledger bal cash'). If they are different, try - to remember the missing transaction, or look for the error in the - already-recorded transactions. A register report can be helpful - ('hledger reg cash'). If you can't find the error, add an - adjustment transaction. Eg if you have $105 after the above, and + 1. Reconcile cash. Count what's in your wallet. Compare with what + hledger reports (`hledger bal cash'). If they are different, try to + remember the missing transaction, or look for the error in the + already-recorded transactions. A register report can be helpful + (`hledger reg cash'). If you can't find the error, add an + adjustment transaction. Eg if you have $105 after the above, and can't explain the missing $2, it could be: + 2020-01-16 * adjust cash assets:cash $-2 = $105 expenses:misc - 2. Reconcile checking. Log in to your bank's website. Compare - today's (cleared) balance with hledger's cleared balance ('hledger - bal checking -C'). If they are different, track down the error or - record the missing transaction(s) or add an adjustment transaction, - similar to the above. Unlike the cash case, you can usually - compare the transaction history and running balance from your bank - with the one reported by 'hledger reg checking -C'. This will be - easier if you generally record transaction dates quite similar to - your bank's clearing dates. + 2. Reconcile checking. Log in to your bank's website. Compare today's + (cleared) balance with hledger's cleared balance (`hledger bal + checking -C'). If they are different, track down the error or + record the missing transaction(s) or add an adjustment + transaction, similar to the above. Unlike the cash case, you can + usually compare the transaction history and running balance from + your bank with the one reported by `hledger reg checking -C'. This + will be easier if you generally record transaction dates quite + similar to your bank's clearing dates. 3. Repeat for other asset/liability accounts. + Tip: instead of the register command, use hledger-ui to see a -live-updating register while you edit the journal: 'hledger-ui --watch +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' +that, by adding the `*' marker. Eg in the paycheck transaction above, +insert `*' between `2020-01-15' and `paycheck' If you're using version control, this can be another good time to commit: + $ git commit -m 'txns' 2020.journal  File: hledger.info, Node: Reporting, Next: Migrating to a new file, Prev: Reconciling, Up: COMMON TASKS -15.7 Reporting +16.7 Reporting ============== Here are some basic reports. Show all transactions: + $ hledger print 2020-01-01 * opening balances assets:bank:checking $1000 @@ -7730,6 +8206,7 @@ $ hledger print Show account names, and their hierarchy: + $ hledger accounts --tree assets bank @@ -7749,6 +8226,7 @@ liabilities Show all account totals: + $ hledger balance $4105 assets $4000 bank @@ -7769,6 +8247,7 @@ $ hledger balance Show only asset and liability balances, as a flat list, limited to depth 2: + $ hledger bal assets liabilities --flat -2 $4000 assets:bank $105 assets:cash @@ -7779,56 +8258,59 @@ $ hledger bal assets liabilities --flat -2 Show the same thing without negative numbers, formatted as a simple balance sheet: + $ hledger bs --flat -2 Balance Sheet 2020-01-16 - || 2020-01-16 + || 2020-01-16 ========================++============ - Assets || + Assets || ------------------------++------------ - assets:bank || $4000 - assets:cash || $105 + assets:bank || $4000 + assets:cash || $105 ------------------------++------------ - || $4105 + || $4105 ========================++============ - Liabilities || + Liabilities || ------------------------++------------ - liabilities:creditcard || $50 + liabilities:creditcard || $50 ------------------------++------------ - || $50 + || $50 ========================++============ - Net: || $4055 + 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: -hledger is + +hledger is Income Statement 2020-01-01-2020-01-16 - || 2020-01-01-2020-01-16 + || 2020-01-01-2020-01-16 ===============++======================= - Revenues || + Revenues || ---------------++----------------------- - income:gifts || $20 - income:salary || $1000 + income:gifts || $20 + income:salary || $1000 ---------------++----------------------- - || $1020 + || $1020 ===============++======================= - Expenses || + Expenses || ---------------++----------------------- - expenses:food || $13 - expenses:misc || $2 + expenses:food || $13 + expenses:misc || $2 ---------------++----------------------- - || $15 + || $15 ===============++======================= - Net: || $1005 + Net: || $1005 The final total is your net income during this period. Show transactions affecting your wallet, with running total: + $ hledger register cash 2020-01-01 opening balances assets:cash $100 $100 2020-01-10 gift received assets:cash $20 $120 @@ -7837,6 +8319,7 @@ $ hledger register cash Show weekly posting counts as a bar chart: + $ hledger activity -W 2019-12-30 ***** 2020-01-06 **** @@ -7845,27 +8328,27 @@ $ hledger activity -W  File: hledger.info, Node: Migrating to a new file, Prev: Reporting, Up: COMMON TASKS -15.8 Migrating to a new file +16.8 Migrating to a new file ============================ At the end of the year, you may want to continue your journal in a new file, so that old transactions don't slow down or clutter your reports, -and to help ensure the integrity of your accounting history. See the +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.  File: hledger.info, Node: LIMITATIONS, Next: TROUBLESHOOTING, Prev: COMMON TASKS, Up: Top -16 LIMITATIONS +17 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 -locale must be configured (or there will be an unhelpful error). Eg on +locale must be configured (or there will be an unhelpful error). Eg on POSIX, set LANG to something other than C. In a Microsoft Windows CMD window, non-ascii characters and colours @@ -7877,8 +8360,8 @@ running a hledger built in CMD in MSYS/CYGWIN, or vice-versa. In a Cygwin/MSYS/Mintty window, the tab key is not supported in hledger add. - Not all of Ledger's journal file syntax is supported. See file -format differences. + Not all of Ledger's journal file syntax is supported. See file format +differences. On large data files, hledger is slower and uses more memory than Ledger. @@ -7886,7 +8369,7 @@ Ledger.  File: hledger.info, Node: TROUBLESHOOTING, Prev: LIMITATIONS, Up: Top -17 TROUBLESHOOTING +18 TROUBLESHOOTING ****************** Here are some issues you might encounter when you run hledger (and @@ -7895,28 +8378,29 @@ tracker): *Successfully installed, but "No command 'hledger' found"* stack and cabal install binaries into a special directory, which should -be added to your PATH environment variable. Eg on unix-like systems, +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: invalid argument (invalid character)"* -Programs compiled with GHC (hledger, haskell build tools, etc.) need to +Programs compiled with GHC (hledger, haskell build tools, etc.) need to have a UTF-8-aware locale configured in the environment, otherwise they will fail with these kinds of errors when they encounter non-ascii characters. To fix it, set the LANG environment variable to some locale which -supports UTF-8. The locale you choose must be installed on your system. +supports UTF-8. The locale you choose must be installed on your system. Here's an example of setting LANG temporarily, on Ubuntu GNU/Linux: + $ file my.journal my.journal: UTF-8 Unicode text # the file is UTF8-encoded $ echo $LANG @@ -7927,10 +8411,11 @@ 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 $ locale -a C @@ -7945,443 +8430,448 @@ $ LANG=fr_FR.utf8 hledger -f my.journal print Here's how you could set it permanently, if you use a bash shell: + $ echo "export LANG=en_US.utf8" >>~/.bash_profile $ bash --login - Exact spelling and capitalisation may be important. Note the -difference on MacOS ('UTF-8', not 'utf8'). Some platforms (eg ubuntu) + Exact spelling and capitalisation may be important. Note the +difference on MacOS (`UTF-8', not `utf8'). Some platforms (eg ubuntu) allow variant spellings, but others (eg macos) require it to be exact: + $ locale -a | grep -iE en_us.*utf en_US.UTF-8 $ LANG=en_US.UTF-8 hledger -f my.journal print +  Tag Table: -Node: Top68 -Node: OPTIONS2509 -Ref: #options2610 -Node: General options2752 -Ref: #general-options2877 -Node: Command options6394 -Ref: #command-options6545 -Node: Command arguments6945 -Ref: #command-arguments7103 -Node: Special characters7983 -Ref: #special-characters8146 -Node: Single escaping shell metacharacters8309 -Ref: #single-escaping-shell-metacharacters8550 -Node: Double escaping regular expression metacharacters8951 -Ref: #double-escaping-regular-expression-metacharacters9262 -Node: Triple escaping for add-on commands9788 -Ref: #triple-escaping-for-add-on-commands10048 -Node: Less escaping10692 -Ref: #less-escaping10846 -Node: Unicode characters11170 -Ref: #unicode-characters11335 -Node: Regular expressions12747 -Ref: #regular-expressions12887 -Node: ENVIRONMENT14623 -Ref: #environment14739 -Node: DATA FILES15724 -Ref: #data-files15843 -Node: Data formats16382 -Ref: #data-formats16500 -Node: Multiple files17894 -Ref: #multiple-files18036 -Node: Strict mode18505 -Ref: #strict-mode18620 -Node: TIME PERIODS19268 -Ref: #time-periods19385 -Node: Smart dates19483 -Ref: #smart-dates19609 -Node: Report start & end date20935 -Ref: #report-start-end-date21110 -Node: Report intervals22643 -Ref: #report-intervals22811 -Node: Period expressions23201 -Ref: #period-expressions23341 -Node: DEPTH27784 -Ref: #depth27884 -Node: QUERIES28216 -Ref: #queries28317 -Node: VALUATION32279 -Ref: #valuation32387 -Node: -B Cost33076 -Ref: #b-cost33174 -Node: -V Value33307 -Ref: #v-value33447 -Node: -X Value in specified commodity33642 -Ref: #x-value-in-specified-commodity33835 -Node: Valuation date33984 -Ref: #valuation-date34146 -Node: Market prices34583 -Ref: #market-prices34757 -Node: --infer-value market prices from transactions35936 -Ref: #infer-value-market-prices-from-transactions36179 -Node: Valuation commodity37440 -Ref: #valuation-commodity37643 -Node: Simple valuation examples38848 -Ref: #simple-valuation-examples39044 -Node: --value Flexible valuation39703 -Ref: #value-flexible-valuation39905 -Node: More valuation examples41777 -Ref: #more-valuation-examples41980 -Node: Effect of valuation on reports43985 -Ref: #effect-of-valuation-on-reports44167 -Node: PIVOTING51568 -Ref: #pivoting51673 -Node: OUTPUT53349 -Ref: #output53449 -Node: Output destination53500 -Ref: #output-destination53631 -Node: Output format54056 -Ref: #output-format54177 -Node: COMMANDS56344 -Ref: #commands56456 -Node: accounts59821 -Ref: #accounts59921 -Node: activity60617 -Ref: #activity60729 -Node: add61112 -Ref: #add61215 -Node: aregister64008 -Ref: #aregister64122 -Node: aregister and custom posting dates65616 -Ref: #aregister-and-custom-posting-dates65782 -Node: balance66603 -Ref: #balance66722 -Node: Single-period flat balance report68374 -Ref: #single-period-flat-balance-report68582 -Node: Single-period tree-mode balance report69286 -Ref: #single-period-tree-mode-balance-report69554 -Node: Customising single-period balance reports70999 -Ref: #customising-single-period-balance-reports71254 -Node: Depth limiting73377 -Ref: #depth-limiting73554 -Node: Colour support74250 -Ref: #colour-support74403 -Node: Sorting by amount74499 -Ref: #sorting-by-amount74655 -Node: Percentages75149 -Ref: #percentages75306 -Node: Multi-period balance report76443 -Ref: #multi-period-balance-report76628 -Node: Budget report82278 -Ref: #budget-report82415 -Node: Budget report start date87704 -Ref: #budget-report-start-date87871 -Node: Nested budgets89203 -Ref: #nested-budgets89350 -Node: balancesheet92790 -Ref: #balancesheet92928 -Node: balancesheetequity94565 -Ref: #balancesheetequity94716 -Node: cashflow95935 -Ref: #cashflow96059 -Node: check97393 -Ref: #check97498 -Node: Basic checks98132 -Ref: #basic-checks98250 -Node: Strict checks98782 -Ref: #strict-checks98923 -Node: Other checks99227 -Ref: #other-checks99367 -Node: Custom checks99804 -Ref: #custom-checks99924 -Node: close100341 -Ref: #close100445 -Node: close usage101967 -Ref: #close-usage102062 -Node: codes104875 -Ref: #codes104985 -Node: commodities105697 -Ref: #commodities105826 -Node: descriptions105908 -Ref: #descriptions106038 -Node: diff106342 -Ref: #diff106450 -Node: files107497 -Ref: #files107599 -Node: help107746 -Ref: #help107848 -Node: import108575 -Ref: #import108691 -Node: Importing balance assignments109613 -Ref: #importing-balance-assignments109796 -Node: Commodity display styles110445 -Ref: #commodity-display-styles110618 -Node: incomestatement110747 -Ref: #incomestatement110882 -Node: notes112344 -Ref: #notes112459 -Node: payees112827 -Ref: #payees112935 -Node: prices113355 -Ref: #prices113463 -Node: print113804 -Ref: #print113916 -Node: print-unique119401 -Ref: #print-unique119529 -Node: register119814 -Ref: #register119943 -Node: Custom register output124389 -Ref: #custom-register-output124520 -Node: register-match125857 -Ref: #register-match125993 -Node: rewrite126344 -Ref: #rewrite126461 -Node: Re-write rules in a file128367 -Ref: #re-write-rules-in-a-file128530 -Node: Diff output format129679 -Ref: #diff-output-format129862 -Node: rewrite vs print --auto130954 -Ref: #rewrite-vs.-print---auto131114 -Node: roi131670 -Ref: #roi131770 -Node: stats143980 -Ref: #stats144081 -Node: tags144869 -Ref: #tags144969 -Node: test145488 -Ref: #test145604 -Node: About add-on commands146351 -Ref: #about-add-on-commands146488 -Node: JOURNAL FORMAT147619 -Ref: #journal-format147747 -Node: Transactions149934 -Ref: #transactions150049 -Node: Dates151063 -Ref: #dates151179 -Node: Simple dates151244 -Ref: #simple-dates151364 -Node: Secondary dates151873 -Ref: #secondary-dates152021 -Node: Posting dates153357 -Ref: #posting-dates153480 -Node: Status154852 -Ref: #status154969 -Node: Description156677 -Ref: #description156807 -Node: Payee and note157127 -Ref: #payee-and-note157235 -Node: Comments157570 -Ref: #comments157692 -Node: Tags158886 -Ref: #tags-1158997 -Node: Postings160390 -Ref: #postings160514 -Node: Virtual postings161540 -Ref: #virtual-postings161651 -Node: Account names162956 -Ref: #account-names163093 -Node: Amounts163581 -Ref: #amounts163716 -Node: Digit group marks164840 -Ref: #digit-group-marks164985 -Node: Commodity display style165923 -Ref: #commodity-display-style166097 -Node: Rounding167810 -Ref: #rounding167928 -Node: Transaction prices168340 -Ref: #transaction-prices168506 -Node: Lot prices lot dates170937 -Ref: #lot-prices-lot-dates171120 -Node: Balance assertions171608 -Ref: #balance-assertions171786 -Node: Assertions and ordering172819 -Ref: #assertions-and-ordering173001 -Node: Assertions and included files173701 -Ref: #assertions-and-included-files173938 -Node: Assertions and multiple -f options174271 -Ref: #assertions-and-multiple--f-options174521 -Node: Assertions and commodities174653 -Ref: #assertions-and-commodities174879 -Node: Assertions and prices176036 -Ref: #assertions-and-prices176244 -Node: Assertions and subaccounts176684 -Ref: #assertions-and-subaccounts176907 -Node: Assertions and virtual postings177231 -Ref: #assertions-and-virtual-postings177467 -Node: Assertions and precision177609 -Ref: #assertions-and-precision177796 -Node: Balance assignments178063 -Ref: #balance-assignments178233 -Node: Balance assignments and prices179397 -Ref: #balance-assignments-and-prices179563 -Node: Directives179787 -Ref: #directives179950 -Node: Directives and multiple files185408 -Ref: #directives-and-multiple-files185604 -Node: Comment blocks186268 -Ref: #comment-blocks186445 -Node: Including other files186621 -Ref: #including-other-files186795 -Node: Default year187719 -Ref: #default-year187877 -Node: Declaring payees188284 -Ref: #declaring-payees188450 -Node: Declaring commodities188696 -Ref: #declaring-commodities188877 -Node: Commodity error checking190721 -Ref: #commodity-error-checking190871 -Node: Default commodity191128 -Ref: #default-commodity191308 -Node: Declaring market prices192197 -Ref: #declaring-market-prices192386 -Node: Declaring accounts193243 -Ref: #declaring-accounts193423 -Node: Account error checking194625 -Ref: #account-error-checking194791 -Node: Account comments195970 -Ref: #account-comments196154 -Node: Account subdirectives196578 -Ref: #account-subdirectives196763 -Node: Account types197076 -Ref: #account-types197250 -Node: Declaring account types197986 -Ref: #declaring-account-types198165 -Node: Auto-detected account types198815 -Ref: #auto-detected-account-types199056 -Node: Interference from auto-detected account types199953 -Ref: #interference-from-auto-detected-account-types200230 -Node: Old account type syntax200713 -Ref: #old-account-type-syntax200910 -Node: Account display order201210 -Ref: #account-display-order201370 -Node: Rewriting accounts202521 -Ref: #rewriting-accounts202700 -Node: Basic aliases203457 -Ref: #basic-aliases203593 -Node: Regex aliases204297 -Ref: #regex-aliases204459 -Node: Combining aliases205178 -Ref: #combining-aliases205361 -Node: Aliases and multiple files206637 -Ref: #aliases-and-multiple-files206836 -Node: end aliases207415 -Ref: #end-aliases207562 -Node: Default parent account207663 -Ref: #default-parent-account207853 -Node: Periodic transactions208737 -Ref: #periodic-transactions208920 -Node: Periodic rule syntax210837 -Ref: #periodic-rule-syntax211037 -Node: Two spaces between period expression and description!211741 -Ref: #two-spaces-between-period-expression-and-description212054 -Node: Forecasting with periodic transactions212738 -Ref: #forecasting-with-periodic-transactions213037 -Node: Budgeting with periodic transactions215092 -Ref: #budgeting-with-periodic-transactions215325 -Node: Auto postings215734 -Ref: #auto-postings215870 -Node: Auto postings and multiple files218049 -Ref: #auto-postings-and-multiple-files218247 -Node: Auto postings and dates218456 -Ref: #auto-postings-and-dates218724 -Node: Auto postings and transaction balancing / inferred amounts / balance assertions218899 -Ref: #auto-postings-and-transaction-balancing-inferred-amounts-balance-assertions219244 -Node: Auto posting tags219586 -Ref: #auto-posting-tags219795 -Node: CSV FORMAT220431 -Ref: #csv-format220559 -Node: Examples223145 -Ref: #examples223248 -Node: Basic223456 -Ref: #basic223558 -Node: Bank of Ireland224100 -Ref: #bank-of-ireland224237 -Node: Amazon225699 -Ref: #amazon225819 -Node: Paypal227538 -Ref: #paypal227634 -Node: CSV rules235278 -Ref: #csv-rules235396 -Node: skip235708 -Ref: #skip235803 -Node: fields236178 -Ref: #fields236302 -Node: Transaction field names237467 -Ref: #transaction-field-names237629 -Node: Posting field names237740 -Ref: #posting-field-names237894 -Node: field assignment240264 -Ref: #field-assignment240409 -Node: separator241227 -Ref: #separator241364 -Node: if block241904 -Ref: #if-block242031 -Node: Matching the whole record242432 -Ref: #matching-the-whole-record242609 -Node: Matching individual fields243413 -Ref: #matching-individual-fields243619 -Node: Combining matchers243843 -Ref: #combining-matchers244041 -Node: Rules applied on successful match244354 -Ref: #rules-applied-on-successful-match244547 -Node: if table245201 -Ref: #if-table245322 -Node: end247060 -Ref: #end247174 -Node: date-format247398 -Ref: #date-format247532 -Node: decimal-mark248281 -Ref: #decimal-mark248426 -Node: newest-first248765 -Ref: #newest-first248908 -Node: include249591 -Ref: #include249724 -Node: balance-type250168 -Ref: #balance-type250290 -Node: Tips250990 -Ref: #tips251081 -Node: Rapid feedback251354 -Ref: #rapid-feedback251473 -Node: Valid CSV251933 -Ref: #valid-csv252065 -Node: File Extension252257 -Ref: #file-extension252411 -Node: Reading multiple CSV files252840 -Ref: #reading-multiple-csv-files253027 -Node: Valid transactions253268 -Ref: #valid-transactions253448 -Node: Deduplicating importing254076 -Ref: #deduplicating-importing254257 -Node: Setting amounts255290 -Ref: #setting-amounts255447 -Node: Amount signs257666 -Ref: #amount-signs257820 -Node: Setting currency/commodity258507 -Ref: #setting-currencycommodity258698 -Node: Referencing other fields259872 -Ref: #referencing-other-fields260076 -Node: How CSV rules are evaluated260973 -Ref: #how-csv-rules-are-evaluated261148 -Node: TIMECLOCK FORMAT262599 -Ref: #timeclock-format262739 -Node: TIMEDOT FORMAT264800 -Ref: #timedot-format264938 -Node: COMMON TASKS269214 -Ref: #common-tasks269343 -Node: Getting help269750 -Ref: #getting-help269884 -Node: Constructing command lines270437 -Ref: #constructing-command-lines270631 -Node: Starting a journal file271328 -Ref: #starting-a-journal-file271528 -Node: Setting opening balances272716 -Ref: #setting-opening-balances272914 -Node: Recording transactions276055 -Ref: #recording-transactions276237 -Node: Reconciling276793 -Ref: #reconciling276938 -Node: Reporting279195 -Ref: #reporting279337 -Node: Migrating to a new file283336 -Ref: #migrating-to-a-new-file283486 -Node: LIMITATIONS283785 -Ref: #limitations283913 -Node: TROUBLESHOOTING284656 -Ref: #troubleshooting284771 +Node: Top76 +Node: OPTIONS2505 +Ref: #options2606 +Node: General options2748 +Ref: #general-options2873 +Node: Command options6442 +Ref: #command-options6593 +Node: Command arguments6992 +Ref: #command-arguments7150 +Node: Special characters8028 +Ref: #special-characters8191 +Node: Single escaping shell metacharacters8354 +Ref: #single-escaping-shell-metacharacters8595 +Node: Double escaping regular expression metacharacters8997 +Ref: #double-escaping-regular-expression-metacharacters9308 +Node: Triple escaping for add-on commands9834 +Ref: #triple-escaping-for-add-on-commands10094 +Node: Less escaping10740 +Ref: #less-escaping10894 +Node: Unicode characters11220 +Ref: #unicode-characters11385 +Node: Regular expressions12794 +Ref: #regular-expressions12934 +Node: ENVIRONMENT14675 +Ref: #environment14791 +Node: DATA FILES15773 +Ref: #data-files15892 +Node: Data formats16433 +Ref: #data-formats16551 +Node: Multiple files18033 +Ref: #multiple-files18175 +Node: Strict mode18645 +Ref: #strict-mode18760 +Node: TIME PERIODS19410 +Ref: #time-periods19527 +Node: Smart dates19625 +Ref: #smart-dates19751 +Node: Report start & end date21055 +Ref: #report-start-end-date21230 +Node: Report intervals22774 +Ref: #report-intervals22942 +Node: Period expressions23330 +Ref: #period-expressions23470 +Node: DEPTH27849 +Ref: #depth27949 +Node: QUERIES28280 +Ref: #queries28379 +Node: COSTING32331 +Ref: #costing32434 +Node: VALUATION32707 +Ref: #valuation32815 +Node: -V Value33511 +Ref: #v-value33635 +Node: -X Value in specified commodity33829 +Ref: #x-value-in-specified-commodity34022 +Node: Valuation date34171 +Ref: #valuation-date34333 +Node: Market prices34770 +Ref: #market-prices34951 +Node: --infer-market-price market prices from transactions36133 +Ref: #infer-market-price-market-prices-from-transactions36397 +Node: Valuation commodity37746 +Ref: #valuation-commodity37956 +Node: Simple valuation examples39181 +Ref: #simple-valuation-examples39377 +Node: --value Flexible valuation40039 +Ref: #value-flexible-valuation40241 +Node: More valuation examples41883 +Ref: #more-valuation-examples42084 +Node: Effect of valuation on reports44090 +Ref: #effect-of-valuation-on-reports44272 +Node: PIVOTING52169 +Ref: #pivoting52274 +Node: OUTPUT53953 +Ref: #output54055 +Node: Output destination54106 +Ref: #output-destination54239 +Node: Output format54664 +Ref: #output-format54787 +Node: COMMANDS56950 +Ref: #commands57062 +Node: accounts60452 +Ref: #accounts60552 +Node: activity61244 +Ref: #activity61356 +Node: add61738 +Ref: #add61841 +Node: aregister64636 +Ref: #aregister64750 +Node: aregister and custom posting dates66945 +Ref: #aregister-and-custom-posting-dates67111 +Node: balance67932 +Ref: #balance68051 +Node: Single-period flat balance report69697 +Ref: #single-period-flat-balance-report69905 +Node: Single-period tree-mode balance report70606 +Ref: #single-period-tree-mode-balance-report70860 +Node: Multi-period balance report72301 +Ref: #multi-period-balance-report72514 +Node: Depth limiting78125 +Ref: #depth-limiting78288 +Node: Colour support78982 +Ref: #colour-support79135 +Node: Sorting by amount79231 +Ref: #sorting-by-amount79387 +Node: Percentages79877 +Ref: #percentages80048 +Node: Customising single-period balance reports81181 +Ref: #customising-single-period-balance-reports81408 +Node: Budget report83539 +Ref: #budget-report83690 +Node: Budget report start date88949 +Ref: #budget-report-start-date89116 +Node: Nested budgets90443 +Ref: #nested-budgets90590 +Node: balancesheet93977 +Ref: #balancesheet94115 +Node: balancesheetequity95748 +Ref: #balancesheetequity95899 +Node: cashflow97118 +Ref: #cashflow97242 +Node: check98574 +Ref: #check98679 +Node: Basic checks99312 +Ref: #basic-checks99430 +Node: Strict checks99963 +Ref: #strict-checks100104 +Node: Other checks100408 +Ref: #other-checks100548 +Node: Custom checks100985 +Ref: #custom-checks101105 +Node: close101523 +Ref: #close101627 +Node: close usage103144 +Ref: #close-usage103239 +Node: codes106047 +Ref: #codes106157 +Node: commodities106870 +Ref: #commodities106999 +Node: descriptions107081 +Ref: #descriptions107211 +Node: diff107515 +Ref: #diff107623 +Node: files108668 +Ref: #files108770 +Node: help108916 +Ref: #help109018 +Node: import109741 +Ref: #import109857 +Node: Importing balance assignments110777 +Ref: #importing-balance-assignments110960 +Node: Commodity display styles111607 +Ref: #commodity-display-styles111780 +Node: incomestatement111909 +Ref: #incomestatement112044 +Node: notes113500 +Ref: #notes113615 +Node: payees113982 +Ref: #payees114090 +Node: prices114616 +Ref: #prices114724 +Node: print115063 +Ref: #print115175 +Node: print-unique121005 +Ref: #print-unique121133 +Node: register121419 +Ref: #register121548 +Node: Custom register output125992 +Ref: #custom-register-output126123 +Node: register-match127460 +Ref: #register-match127596 +Node: rewrite127944 +Ref: #rewrite128061 +Node: Re-write rules in a file129967 +Ref: #re-write-rules-in-a-file130130 +Node: Diff output format131280 +Ref: #diff-output-format131463 +Node: rewrite vs print --auto132555 +Ref: #rewrite-vs.-print---auto132715 +Node: roi133265 +Ref: #roi133365 +Node: stats145558 +Ref: #stats145659 +Node: tags146446 +Ref: #tags146546 +Node: test147063 +Ref: #test147179 +Node: About add-on commands147924 +Ref: #about-add-on-commands148061 +Node: JOURNAL FORMAT149194 +Ref: #journal-format149322 +Node: Transactions151502 +Ref: #transactions151617 +Node: Dates152634 +Ref: #dates152750 +Node: Simple dates152815 +Ref: #simple-dates152935 +Node: Secondary dates153442 +Ref: #secondary-dates153590 +Node: Posting dates154924 +Ref: #posting-dates155047 +Node: Status156416 +Ref: #status156533 +Node: Description158238 +Ref: #description158368 +Node: Payee and note158686 +Ref: #payee-and-note158794 +Node: Comments159128 +Ref: #comments159250 +Node: Tags160443 +Ref: #tags-1160554 +Node: Postings161952 +Ref: #postings162076 +Node: Virtual postings163100 +Ref: #virtual-postings163211 +Node: Account names164513 +Ref: #account-names164650 +Node: Amounts165136 +Ref: #amounts165271 +Node: Decimal marks digit group marks166330 +Ref: #decimal-marks-digit-group-marks166519 +Node: Commodity display style167866 +Ref: #commodity-display-style168054 +Node: Rounding170080 +Ref: #rounding170198 +Node: Transaction prices170608 +Ref: #transaction-prices170774 +Node: Lot prices lot dates173204 +Ref: #lot-prices-lot-dates173387 +Node: Balance assertions173874 +Ref: #balance-assertions174052 +Node: Assertions and ordering175082 +Ref: #assertions-and-ordering175264 +Node: Assertions and included files175961 +Ref: #assertions-and-included-files176198 +Node: Assertions and multiple -f options176529 +Ref: #assertions-and-multiple--f-options176779 +Node: Assertions and commodities176910 +Ref: #assertions-and-commodities177136 +Node: Assertions and prices178291 +Ref: #assertions-and-prices178499 +Node: Assertions and subaccounts178940 +Ref: #assertions-and-subaccounts179163 +Node: Assertions and virtual postings179487 +Ref: #assertions-and-virtual-postings179723 +Node: Assertions and precision179864 +Ref: #assertions-and-precision180051 +Node: Balance assignments180316 +Ref: #balance-assignments180486 +Node: Balance assignments and prices181649 +Ref: #balance-assignments-and-prices181815 +Node: Directives182041 +Ref: #directives182204 +Node: Directives and multiple files187609 +Ref: #directives-and-multiple-files187805 +Node: Comment blocks188467 +Ref: #comment-blocks188644 +Node: Including other files188819 +Ref: #including-other-files188993 +Node: Default year189917 +Ref: #default-year190075 +Node: Declaring payees190482 +Ref: #declaring-payees190648 +Node: Declaring commodities190893 +Ref: #declaring-commodities191074 +Node: Commodity error checking192915 +Ref: #commodity-error-checking193065 +Node: Default commodity193321 +Ref: #default-commodity193501 +Node: Declaring market prices194386 +Ref: #declaring-market-prices194575 +Node: Declaring accounts195433 +Ref: #declaring-accounts195613 +Node: Account error checking196820 +Ref: #account-error-checking196986 +Node: Account comments198163 +Ref: #account-comments198347 +Node: Account subdirectives198773 +Ref: #account-subdirectives198958 +Node: Account types199273 +Ref: #account-types199447 +Node: Declaring account types200182 +Ref: #declaring-account-types200361 +Node: Auto-detected account types201012 +Ref: #auto-detected-account-types201253 +Node: Interference from auto-detected account types202152 +Ref: #interference-from-auto-detected-account-types202429 +Node: Old account type syntax202912 +Ref: #old-account-type-syntax203109 +Node: Account display order203410 +Ref: #account-display-order203570 +Node: Rewriting accounts204721 +Ref: #rewriting-accounts204900 +Node: Basic aliases205659 +Ref: #basic-aliases205795 +Node: Regex aliases206497 +Ref: #regex-aliases206659 +Node: Combining aliases207379 +Ref: #combining-aliases207562 +Node: Aliases and multiple files208839 +Ref: #aliases-and-multiple-files209038 +Node: end aliases209619 +Ref: #end-aliases209766 +Node: Default parent account209868 +Ref: #default-parent-account210058 +Node: Periodic transactions210942 +Ref: #periodic-transactions211125 +Node: Periodic rule syntax213042 +Ref: #periodic-rule-syntax213242 +Node: Two spaces between period expression and description!213945 +Ref: #two-spaces-between-period-expression-and-description214258 +Node: Forecasting with periodic transactions214943 +Ref: #forecasting-with-periodic-transactions215242 +Node: Budgeting with periodic transactions217288 +Ref: #budgeting-with-periodic-transactions217521 +Node: Auto postings217928 +Ref: #auto-postings218064 +Node: Auto postings and multiple files220247 +Ref: #auto-postings-and-multiple-files220445 +Node: Auto postings and dates220653 +Ref: #auto-postings-and-dates220921 +Node: Auto postings and transaction balancing / inferred amounts / balance assertions221096 +Ref: #auto-postings-and-transaction-balancing-inferred-amounts-balance-assertions221442 +Node: Auto posting tags221787 +Ref: #auto-posting-tags221996 +Node: CSV FORMAT222633 +Ref: #csv-format222761 +Node: Examples225342 +Ref: #examples225445 +Node: Basic225652 +Ref: #basic225754 +Node: Bank of Ireland226298 +Ref: #bank-of-ireland226435 +Node: Amazon227900 +Ref: #amazon228020 +Node: Paypal229741 +Ref: #paypal229837 +Node: CSV rules237485 +Ref: #csv-rules237603 +Node: skip237915 +Ref: #skip238010 +Node: fields238382 +Ref: #fields238506 +Node: Transaction field names239667 +Ref: #transaction-field-names239829 +Node: Posting field names239940 +Ref: #posting-field-names240094 +Node: field assignment242455 +Ref: #field-assignment242600 +Node: separator243414 +Ref: #separator243551 +Node: if block244093 +Ref: #if-block244220 +Node: Matching the whole record244618 +Ref: #matching-the-whole-record244795 +Node: Matching individual fields245599 +Ref: #matching-individual-fields245805 +Node: Combining matchers246029 +Ref: #combining-matchers246227 +Node: Rules applied on successful match246541 +Ref: #rules-applied-on-successful-match246734 +Node: if table247391 +Ref: #if-table247512 +Node: end249248 +Ref: #end249362 +Node: date-format249586 +Ref: #date-format249720 +Node: decimal-mark250470 +Ref: #decimal-mark250615 +Node: newest-first250952 +Ref: #newest-first251095 +Node: include251778 +Ref: #include251911 +Node: balance-type252353 +Ref: #balance-type252475 +Node: Tips253175 +Ref: #tips253266 +Node: Rapid feedback253565 +Ref: #rapid-feedback253684 +Node: Valid CSV254143 +Ref: #valid-csv254275 +Node: File Extension254467 +Ref: #file-extension254621 +Node: Reading multiple CSV files255050 +Ref: #reading-multiple-csv-files255237 +Node: Valid transactions255477 +Ref: #valid-transactions255657 +Node: Deduplicating importing256285 +Ref: #deduplicating-importing256466 +Node: Setting amounts257498 +Ref: #setting-amounts257655 +Node: Amount signs259874 +Ref: #amount-signs260028 +Node: Setting currency/commodity260715 +Ref: #setting-currencycommodity260903 +Node: Amount decimal places262083 +Ref: #amount-decimal-places262275 +Node: Referencing other fields262587 +Ref: #referencing-other-fields262786 +Node: How CSV rules are evaluated263684 +Ref: #how-csv-rules-are-evaluated263859 +Node: TIMECLOCK FORMAT265308 +Ref: #timeclock-format265448 +Node: TIMEDOT FORMAT267516 +Ref: #timedot-format267654 +Node: COMMON TASKS271917 +Ref: #common-tasks272046 +Node: Getting help272453 +Ref: #getting-help272587 +Node: Constructing command lines273138 +Ref: #constructing-command-lines273332 +Node: Starting a journal file274031 +Ref: #starting-a-journal-file274231 +Node: Setting opening balances275418 +Ref: #setting-opening-balances275616 +Node: Recording transactions278749 +Ref: #recording-transactions278931 +Node: Reconciling279488 +Ref: #reconciling279633 +Node: Reporting281878 +Ref: #reporting282020 +Node: Migrating to a new file285940 +Ref: #migrating-to-a-new-file286090 +Node: LIMITATIONS286388 +Ref: #limitations286516 +Node: TROUBLESHOOTING287257 +Ref: #troubleshooting287372  End Tag Table diff --git a/hledger/hledger.txt b/hledger/hledger.txt index a7766828f..6df7b0488 100644 --- a/hledger/hledger.txt +++ b/hledger/hledger.txt @@ -21,8 +21,8 @@ DESCRIPTION a simple, editable file format. hledger is inspired by and largely compatible with ledger(1). - The basic function of the hledger CLI is to read a plain text file de- - scribing financial transactions (in accounting terms, a general jour- + The basic function of the hledger CLI is to read a plain text file + describing financial transactions (in accounting terms, a general jour- nal) and print useful reports on standard output, or export them as CSV. hledger can also read some other file formats such as CSV files, translating them to journal format. Additionally, hledger lists other @@ -101,8 +101,8 @@ OPTIONS assignments) -s --strict - do extra error checking (check that all posted accounts are de- - clared) + do extra error checking (check that all posted accounts are + declared) General reporting options: @@ -132,8 +132,8 @@ OPTIONS using period expressions syntax --date2 - match the secondary date instead (see command help for other ef- - fects) + match the secondary date instead (see command help for other + effects) -U --unmarked include only unmarked postings/txns (can combine with -P or -C) @@ -158,18 +158,19 @@ OPTIONS convert amounts to their cost/selling amount at transaction time -V --market - convert amounts to their market value in default valuation com- + convert amounts to their market value in default valuation com- modities -X --exchange=COMM convert amounts to their market value in commodity COMM --value - convert amounts to cost or market value, more flexibly than + convert amounts to cost or market value, more flexibly than -B/-V/-X - --infer-value - with -V/-X/--value, also infer market prices from transactions + --infer-market-prices + use transaction prices (recorded with @ or @@) as additional + market prices, as if they were P directives --auto apply automated posting rules to modify transactions. @@ -191,14 +192,14 @@ OPTIONS Some reporting options can also be written as query arguments. Command options - To see options for a particular command, including command-specific op- - tions, run: hledger COMMAND -h. + To see options for a particular command, including command-specific + options, run: hledger COMMAND -h. Command-specific options must be written after the command name, eg: hledger print -x. - Additionally, if the command is an add-on, you may need to put its op- - tions after a double-hyphen, eg: hledger ui -- --watch. Or, you can + 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. Command arguments @@ -241,8 +242,8 @@ OPTIONS In shell command lines, characters significant to your shell - such as spaces, <, >, (, ), |, $ and \ - should be "shell-escaped" if you want hledger to see them. This is done by enclosing them in single or dou- - ble quotes, or by writing a backslash before them. Eg to match an ac- - count name containing a space: + ble quotes, or by writing a backslash before them. Eg to match an + account name containing a space: $ hledger register 'credit card' @@ -266,10 +267,10 @@ OPTIONS $ hledger balance cur:\\$ Triple escaping (for add-on commands) - When you use hledger to run an external add-on command (described be- - low), 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 + When you use hledger to run an external add-on command (described + below), one level of shell-escaping is lost from any options or argu- + ments 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): $ hledger ui cur:'\\$' @@ -280,6 +281,7 @@ OPTIONS If you wondered why four backslashes, perhaps this helps: + unescaped: $ escaped: \$ double-escaped: \\$ @@ -315,8 +317,8 @@ OPTIONS This requires a well-configured environment. Here are some tips: - o A system locale must be configured, and it must be one that can de- - code the characters being used. In bash, you can set a locale like + o A system locale must be configured, and it must be one that can + decode the characters being used. In bash, you can set a locale like this: export LANG=en_US.UTF-8. There are some more details in Trou- bleshooting. This step is essential - without it, hledger will quit on encountering a non-ascii character (as with all GHC-compiled pro- @@ -393,9 +395,9 @@ ENVIRONMENT rent.journal, where current.journal is a symbolic link to YYYY.journal. On Mac computers, you can set this and other environment variables in a - more thorough way that also affects applications started from the GUI - (say, an Emacs dock icon). Eg on MacOS Catalina I have a ~/.MacOSX/en- - vironment.plist file containing + more thorough way that also affects applications started from the GUI + (say, an Emacs dock icon). Eg on MacOS Catalina I have a + ~/.MacOSX/environment.plist file containing { "LEDGER_FILE" : "~/finance/current.journal" @@ -403,16 +405,16 @@ ENVIRONMENT To see the effect you may need to killall Dock, or reboot. - COLUMNS The screen width used by the register command. Default: the + COLUMNS The screen width used by the register command. Default: the full terminal width. - NO_COLOR If this variable exists with any value, hledger will not use - ANSI color codes in terminal output. This overrides the + NO_COLOR If this variable exists with any value, hledger will not use + ANSI color codes in terminal output. This overrides the --color/--colour option. DATA FILES - hledger reads transactions from one or more data files. The default - data file is $HOME/.hledger.journal (or on Windows, something like + hledger reads transactions from one or more data files. The default + data file is $HOME/.hledger.journal (or on Windows, something like C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal). You can override this with the $LEDGER_FILE environment variable: @@ -429,15 +431,16 @@ DATA FILES $ cat some.journal | hledger -f- 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 exten- sions: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - journal hledger journal files and some Ledger .journal .j .hledger + journal hledger journal files and some Ledger .journal .j .hledger journals, for transactions .ledger - time- timeclock files, for precise time log- .timeclock + time- timeclock files, for precise time log- .timeclock clock ging timedot timedot files, for approximate time .timedot logging @@ -446,13 +449,13 @@ DATA FILES These formats are described in their own sections, 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 + hledger detects the format automatically based on the file extensions + shown above. If it can't recognise the file extension, it assumes + journal format. So for non-journal files, it's important to use a recognised file extension, so as to either read successfully or to show relevant error messages. - You can also force a specific reader/format by prefixing the file path + You can also force a specific reader/format by prefixing the file path with the format and a colon. Eg, to read a .dat file as csv format: $ hledger -f csv:/some/csv-file.dat stats @@ -462,24 +465,24 @@ DATA FILES $ echo 'i 2009/13/1 08:00:00' | hledger print -ftimeclock:- 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: o most directives do not affect sibling files - o balance assertions will not see any account balances from previous + o balance assertions will not see any account balances from previous files If you need either of those things, you can o use a single parent file which includes the others - o or concatenate the files into one before reading, eg: cat a.journal + o or concatenate the files into one before reading, eg: cat a.journal b.journal | hledger -f- CMD. Strict mode hledger checks input files for valid data. By default, the most impor- - tant errors are detected, while still accepting easy journal files + tant errors are detected, while still accepting easy journal files without a lot of declarations: o Are the input files parseable, with valid syntax ? @@ -490,7 +493,7 @@ DATA FILES With the -s/--strict flag, additional checks are performed: - o Are all accounts posted to, declared with an account directive ? + o Are all accounts posted to, declared with an account directive ? (Account error checking) o Are all commodities declared with a commodity directive ? (Commodity @@ -503,12 +506,13 @@ DATA FILES TIME PERIODS Smart dates hledger's user interfaces accept a flexible "smart date" syntax. Smart - dates allow some english words, can be relative to today's date, and + dates allow some english words, can be relative to today's date, and can have less-significant date parts omitted (defaulting to 1). Examples: - 2004/10/1, 2004-01-01, exact date, several separators allowed. Year + + 2004/10/1, 2004-01-01, exact date, several separators allowed. Year 2004.9.1 is 4+ digits, month is 1-12, day is 1-31 2004 start of year 2004/10 start of month @@ -523,8 +527,9 @@ TIME PERIODS 20181201 8 digit YYYYMMDD with valid year month and day 201812 6 digit YYYYMM with valid year and month - Counterexamples - malformed digit sequences might give surprising re- - sults: + Counterexamples - malformed digit sequences might give surprising + results: + 201813 6 digits with an invalid month is parsed as start of 6-digit year @@ -559,13 +564,14 @@ TIME PERIODS Examples: + -b 2016/3/17 begin on St. Patrick's day 2016 - -e 12/1 end at the start of december 1st of the current year + -e 12/1 end at the start of december 1st of the current year (11/30 will be the last date included) -b thismonth all transactions on or after the 1st of the current month -p thismonth all transactions in the current month - date:2016/3/17.. the above written as queries instead (.. can also be re- - placed with -) + date:2016/3/17.. the above written as queries instead (.. can also be + replaced with -) date:..12/1 date:thismonth.. date:thismonth @@ -575,30 +581,32 @@ TIME PERIODS ance and activity will divide their reports into multiple subperiods. The basic intervals can be selected with one of -D/--daily, -W/--weekly, -M/--monthly, -Q/--quarterly, or -Y/--yearly. More com- - plex intervals may be specified with a period expression. Report in- - tervals can not be specified with a query. + plex intervals may be specified with a period expression. Report + intervals can not be specified with a query. Period expressions The -p/--period option accepts period expressions, a shorthand way of - expressing a start date, end date, and/or report interval all at once. + expressing a start date, end date, and/or report interval all at once. - Here's a basic period expression specifying the first quarter of 2009. - Note, hledger always treats start dates as inclusive and end dates as + Here's a basic period expression specifying the first quarter of 2009. + Note, hledger always treats start dates as inclusive and end dates as exclusive: -p "from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1" - Keywords like "from" and "to" are optional, and so are the spaces, as - long as you don't run two dates together. "to" can also be written as + Keywords like "from" and "to" are optional, and so are the spaces, as + long as you don't run two dates together. "to" can also be written as ".." or "-". These are equivalent to the above: + -p "2009/1/1 2009/4/1" -p2009/1/1to2009/4/1 -p2009/1/1..2009/4/1 - Dates are smart dates, so if the current year is 2009, the above can + Dates are smart dates, so if the current year is 2009, the above can also be written as: + -p "1/1 4/1" -p "january-apr" -p "this year to 4/1" @@ -606,67 +614,76 @@ TIME PERIODS If you specify only one date, the missing start or end date will be the earliest or latest transaction in your journal: + -p "from 2009/1/1" everything after january 1, 2009 -p "from 2009/1" the same -p "from 2009" the same - -p "to 2009" everything before january + -p "to 2009" everything before january 1, 2009 - A single date with no "from" or "to" defines both the start and end + A single date with no "from" or "to" defines both the start and end date like so: - -p "2009" the year 2009; equivalent + + -p "2009" the year 2009; equivalent to "2009/1/1 to 2010/1/1" - -p "2009/1" the month of jan; equiva- + + + + -p "2009/1" the month of jan; equiva- lent to "2009/1/1 to 2009/2/1" - -p "2009/1/1" just that day; equivalent + -p "2009/1/1" just that day; equivalent to "2009/1/1 to 2009/1/2" Or you can specify a single quarter like so: - -p "2009Q1" first quarter of 2009, + + -p "2009Q1" first quarter of 2009, equivalent to "2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1" -p "q4" fourth quarter of the cur- rent year - The argument of -p can also begin with, or be, a report interval ex- - pression. The basic report intervals are daily, weekly, monthly, quar- - terly, or yearly, which have the same effect as the -D,-W,-M,-Q, or -Y - flags. Between report interval and start/end dates (if any), the word - in is optional. Examples: + The argument of -p can also begin with, or be, a report interval + expression. The basic report intervals are daily, weekly, monthly, + quarterly, or yearly, which have the same effect as the -D,-W,-M,-Q, or + -Y flags. Between report interval and start/end dates (if any), the + word in is optional. Examples: + -p "weekly from 2009/1/1 to 2009/4/1" -p "monthly in 2008" -p "quarterly" - Note that weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly intervals will always + Note that weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly intervals will always start on the first day on week, month, quarter or year accordingly, and - will end on the last day of same period, even if associated period ex- - pression specifies different explicit start and end date. + will end on the last day of same period, even if associated period + expression specifies different explicit start and end date. For example: - -p "weekly from 2009/1/1 starts on 2008/12/29, closest preceding Mon- + + -p "weekly from 2009/1/1 starts on 2008/12/29, closest preceding Mon- to 2009/4/1" day - -p "monthly in starts on 2018/11/01 + -p "monthly in starts on 2018/11/01 2008/11/25" - -p "quarterly from starts on 2009/04/01, ends on 2009/06/30, + -p "quarterly from starts on 2009/04/01, ends on 2009/06/30, 2009-05-05 to 2009-06-01" which are first and last days of Q2 2009 -p "yearly from starts on 2009/01/01, first day of 2009 2009-12-29" - The following more complex report intervals are also supported: bi- - weekly, fortnightly, bimonthly, every day|week|month|quarter|year, ev- - ery N days|weeks|months|quarters|years. + The following more complex report intervals are also supported: + biweekly, fortnightly, bimonthly, every day|week|month|quarter|year, + every N days|weeks|months|quarters|years. All of these will start on the first day of the requested period and end on the last one, as described above. Examples: + -p "bimonthly from 2008" periods will have boundaries on 2008/01/01, 2008/03/01, ... -p "every 2 weeks" starts on closest preceding Monday @@ -678,11 +695,13 @@ TIME PERIODS every Nth day of week, every WEEKDAYNAME (eg mon|tue|wed|thu|fri|sat|sun), every Nth day [of month], every Nth WEEK- - DAYNAME [of month], every MM/DD [of year], every Nth MMM [of year], ev- - ery MMM Nth [of year]. + DAYNAME [of month], every MM/DD [of year], every Nth MMM [of year], + every MMM Nth [of year]. Examples: + + -p "every 2nd day of periods will go from Tue to Tue week" -p "every Tue" same @@ -707,9 +726,9 @@ TIME PERIODS DEPTH With the --depth N option (short form: -N), commands like account, bal- ance and register will show only the uppermost accounts in the account - tree, down to level N. Use this when you want a summary with less de- - tail. This flag has the same effect as a depth: query argument (so -2, - --depth=2 or depth:2 are equivalent). + tree, down to level N. Use this when you want a summary with less + detail. This flag has the same effect as a depth: query argument (so + -2, --depth=2 or depth:2 are equivalent). QUERIES One of hledger's strengths is being able to quickly report on precise @@ -810,25 +829,27 @@ QUERIES only: inacct:ACCTNAME - tells hledger-web to show the transaction register for this ac- - count. Can be filtered further with acct etc. + tells hledger-web to show the transaction register for this + account. Can be filtered further with acct etc. Some of these can also be expressed as command-line options (eg depth:2 is equivalent to --depth 2). Generally you can mix options and query arguments, and the resulting query will be their intersection (perhaps excluding the -p/--period option). -VALUATION - Instead of reporting amounts in their original commodity, hledger can - convert them to cost/sale amount (using the conversion rate recorded in - the transaction), or to market value (using some market price on a cer- - tain date). This is controlled by the --value=TYPE[,COMMODITY] option, - but we also provide the simpler -B/-V/-X flags, and usually one of - those is all you need. +COSTING + The -B/--cost flag converts amounts to their cost or sale amount at + transaction time, if they have a transaction price specified. If this + flag is supplied, hledger will perform cost conversion first, and will + apply any market price valuations (if requested) afterwards. - -B: Cost - The -B/--cost flag converts amounts to their cost or sale amount at - transaction time, if they have a transaction price specified. +VALUATION + Instead of reporting amounts in their original commodity, hledger can + convert them to cost/sale amount (using the conversion rate recorded in + the transaction), and/or to market value (using some market price on a + certain date). This is controlled by the --cost and --value=TYPE[,COM- + MODITY] options, but we also provide the simpler -V/-X flags, and usu- + ally one of those is all you need. -V: Value The -V/--market flag converts amounts to market value in their default @@ -859,19 +880,19 @@ VALUATION 1. A declared market price or inferred market price: A's latest market price in B on or before the valuation date as declared by a P direc- - tive, or (with the --infer-value flag) inferred from transaction - prices. + tive, or (with the --infer-market-price flag) inferred from transac- + tion prices. 2. A reverse market price: the inverse of a declared or inferred market price from B to A. - 3. A a forward chain of market prices: a synthetic price formed by com- + 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. A any chain of market prices: a chain of any market prices, includ- - ing both forward and reverse prices (1 and 2 above), leading from A - to B. + 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 @@ -881,7 +902,7 @@ VALUATION Amounts for which no suitable market price can be found, are not con- verted. - --infer-value: market prices from transactions + --infer-market-price: 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 @@ -889,56 +910,57 @@ VALUATION prices (as Ledger does) ? We could produce value reports without need- ing P directives at all. - Adding the --infer-value flag to -V, -X or --value enables this. So - for example, hledger bs -V --infer-value will get market prices both - from P directives and from transactions. + Adding the --infer-market-price flag to -V, -X or --value enables this. + So for example, hledger bs -V --infer-market-price will get market + prices both from P directives and from transactions. (And 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. - --infer-value can infer market prices from: + --infer-market-price can infer market prices from: o multicommodity transactions with explicit prices (@/@@) - o multicommodity transactions with implicit prices (no @, two commodi- - ties, unbalanced). (With these, the order of postings matters. + o multicommodity transactions with implicit prices (no @, two commodi- + ties, unbalanced). (With these, the order of postings matters. hledger print -x can be useful for troubleshooting.) - o but not, currently, from "more correct" multicommodity transactions + o but not, currently, from "more correct" multicommodity transactions (no @, multiple commodities, balanced). 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-value flag is used: the price commodity from the latest - transaction-inferred price for A on or before valuation date. + 3. If there are no P directives at all (any commodity or date) and the + --infer-market-price flag is used: the price commodity from the lat- + est 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-value flag, transac- - tion prices determine it. + o If you have no P directives, and use the --infer-market-price flag, + transaction prices 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 @@ -965,19 +987,18 @@ 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 $103.00 assets:euros --value: Flexible valuation - -B, -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 cost, then, end, now or YYYY-MM-DD. + --value=TYPE[,COMM] TYPE is then, end, now or YYYY-MM-DD. COMM is an optional commodity symbol. Shows amounts converted to: - - cost commodity using transaction prices (then optionally to COMM using market prices at period end(s)) - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at posting dates - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using market prices at period end(s) - default valuation commodity (or COMM) using current market prices @@ -985,10 +1006,6 @@ VALUATION The TYPE part selects cost or value and valuation date: - --value=cost - Convert amounts to cost, using the prices recorded in transac- - tions. - --value=then Convert amounts to their value in the default valuation commod- ity, using market prices on each posting's date. @@ -1033,7 +1050,7 @@ VALUATION Show the cost of each posting: - $ hledger -f- print --value=cost + $ hledger -f- print --cost 2000-01-01 (a) 5 B @@ -1089,8 +1106,8 @@ VALUATION 2000-03-01 (a) 1 B - You may need to explicitly set a commodity's display style, when re- - verse prices are used. Eg this output might be surprising: + 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 @@ -1103,10 +1120,10 @@ 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 @@ -1122,109 +1139,98 @@ VALUATION b -0.50A Effect of valuation on reports - Here is a reference for how valuation is supposed to affect each part - of hledger's reports (and a glossary). (It's wide, you'll have to - scroll sideways.) It may be useful when troubleshooting. If you find - problems, please report them, ideally with a reproducible example. Re- - lated: #329, #1083. + Here is a reference for how valuation is supposed to affect each part + of hledger's reports (and a glossary). (It's wide, you'll have to + scroll sideways.) It may be useful when troubleshooting. If you find + problems, please report them, ideally with a reproducible example. + Related: #329, #1083. - Report -B, -V, -X --value=then --value=end --value=DATE, - type --value=cost --value=now - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + + Report -B, --cost -V, -X --value=then --value=end --value=DATE, + type --value=now + ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- print - posting cost value at re- value at posting value at re- value at - amounts port end or date port or DATE/today - today journal end - balance unchanged unchanged unchanged unchanged unchanged + 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 asser- - tions/as- - signments + tions/assign- + ments register + starting bal- cost value at day valued at day value at day value at + ance (-H) before each historical before DATE/today + report or posting was made report or + journal journal + start start + posting cost value at value at posting value at value at + amounts report end date report or DATE/today + or today journal end + summary post- summarised value at sum of postings value at value at + ing amounts cost period ends in interval, val- period ends DATE/today + with report ued at interval + interval start + running sum/average sum/average sum/average of sum/average sum/average + total/average of displayed of displayed displayed values of displayed of displayed + values values values values + + balance (bs, + bse, cf, is) + 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- + 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- + played val- played val- valued played val- played values + ues ues ues + + balance (bs, + 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 + before all postings respective post- all postings + report start before ing dates before + report start report start + balance sums of same as sums of values of balance value at + changes (bal, costs of --value=end postings in change in DATE/today of + is, bs postings in period at respec- each period, sums of post- + --change, cf period tive posting valued at ings + --change) dates period ends - starting cost value at day valued at day value at day value at - balance before re- each historical before re- DATE/today - (-H) port or posting was made port or - journal journal - start start - posting cost value at re- value at posting value at re- value at - amounts port end or date port or DATE/today - today journal end - summary summarised value at pe- sum of postings value at pe- value at - posting cost riod ends in interval, val- riod ends DATE/today - amounts ued at interval - with re- start - port in- - terval - running sum/average sum/average sum/average of sum/average sum/average - total/av- of displayed of displayed displayed values of displayed of displayed - erage values values values values - - balance - (bs, bse, - cf, is) - balance sums of value at re- value at posting value at re- value at - changes costs port end or date port or DATE/today of - 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 - (--bud- - get) - grand to- sum of dis- sum of dis- sum of displayed sum of dis- sum of dis- - tal played val- played val- valued played val- played values - ues ues ues - - balance - (bs, bse, - cf, is) - with re- - port in- - terval - starting sums of value at re- sums of values of value at re- sums of post- - balances costs of port start postings before port start ings before - (-H) postings be- of sums of report start at of sums of report start - fore report all postings respective post- all postings - start before re- ing dates before re- - port start port start - balance sums of same as sums of values of balance value at - changes costs of --value=end postings in pe- change in DATE/today of - (bal, is, postings in riod at respec- each period, sums of post- - bs period tive posting valued at ings - --change, dates period ends - cf - --change) - end bal- sums of same as sums of values of period end value at - ances costs of --value=end postings from be- balances, DATE/today of - (bal -H, postings fore period start valued at sums of post- - is --H, from before to period end at period ends ings - bs, cf) report start respective post- - to period ing dates - end - budget like balance like balance like balance like bal- like balance - amounts changes/end changes/end changes/end bal- ances changes/end - (--bud- balances balances ances balances - get) - row to- sums, aver- sums, aver- sums, averages of sums, aver- sums, aver- - tals, row ages of dis- ages of dis- displayed values ages of dis- ages of dis- - averages played val- played val- played val- played values - (-T, -A) ues ues ues - column sums of dis- sums of dis- sums of displayed sums of dis- sums of dis- - totals played val- played val- values played val- played values - ues ues ues - - - grand to- sum, average sum, average sum, average of sum, average sum, average - tal, of column of column column totals of column of column to- - grand av- totals totals totals tals - erage + end balances sums of same as sums of values of period end value at + (bal -H, is costs of --value=end postings from balances, DATE/today of + --H, bs, cf) postings before period valued at sums of post- + from before start to period period ends ings + report start end at respective + to period posting dates + end + budget like balance like balance like balance like bal- like balance + 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- + (-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- + 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 + grand average of column of column column totals of column of column + totals totals totals totals --cumulative is omitted to save space, it works like -H but with a zero @@ -1296,8 +1302,8 @@ PIVOTING -------------------- 0 - One way to show only amounts with a member: value (using a query, de- - scribed below): + One way to show only amounts with a member: value (using a query, + described below): $ hledger balance --pivot member tag:member=. -2 EUR John Doe @@ -1423,8 +1429,8 @@ COMMANDS o activity - show postings-per-interval bar charts - o balance (bal) - show balance changes/end balances/budgets in any ac- - counts + o balance (bal) - show balance changes/end balances/budgets in any + accounts o codes - show transaction codes @@ -1446,8 +1452,8 @@ COMMANDS o print-unique - show only transactions with unique descriptions - o register (reg) - show postings in one or more accounts & running to- - tal + o register (reg) - show postings in one or more accounts & running + total o register-match - show a recent posting that best matches a descrip- tion @@ -1475,8 +1481,8 @@ COMMANDS o interest - generates interest transactions according to various schemes - o stockquotes - downloads market prices for your commodities from Al- - phaVantage (experimental) + o stockquotes - downloads market prices for your commodities from + AlphaVantage (experimental) Next, the detailed command docs, in alphabetical order. @@ -1540,8 +1546,8 @@ COMMANDS Features: - o add tries to provide useful defaults, using the most similar (by de- - scription) recent transaction (filtered by the query, if any) as a + 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. @@ -1561,7 +1567,7 @@ 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 the tutorial for a detailed explanation): @@ -1591,66 +1597,81 @@ 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 aregister, areg - Show transactions affecting a particular account, and the account's - running balance. - aregister shows the transactions affecting a particular account (and - its subaccounts), from the point of view of that account. Each line - shows: + Show the transactions and running historical balance in an account, + with each line item representing one transaction. - o the transaction's (or posting's, see below) date + aregister shows the transactions affecting a particular account and its + subaccounts, with each line item representing a whole transaction - as + in bank statements, hledger-ui, hledger-web and other accounting apps. - o the names of the other account(s) involved + Note this is unlike the register command, which shows individual post- + ings and does not always show a single account or a historical balance. - o the net change to this account's balance + A reminder, "historical" balances include any balance from transactions + before the report start date, so (if opening balances are recorded cor- + rectly) aregister will show the real-world balances of an account, as + you would see in a bank statement. - o the account's historical running balance (including balance from - transactions before the report start date). + As a quick rule of thumb, use aregister for reconciling real-world + asset/liability accounts and register for reviewing detailed rev- + enues/expenses. - With aregister, each line represents a whole transaction - as in - hledger-ui, hledger-web, and your bank statement. By contrast, the - register command shows individual postings, across all accounts. You - might prefer aregister for reconciling with real-world asset/liability - accounts, and register for reviewing detailed revenues/expenses. - - An account must be specified as the first argument, which should be the - full account name or an account pattern (regular expression). aregis- - ter will show transactions in this account (the first one matched) and - any of its subaccounts. + aregister shows the register for just one account (and its subac- + counts). This account must be specified as the first argument. You + can write either the full account name, or a case-insensitive regular + expression which will select the alphabetically first matched account. + (Eg if you have assets:aaa:checking and assets:bbb:checking accounts, + hledger areg checking would select assets:aaa:checking.) Any additional arguments form a query which will filter the transac- tions shown. + Each aregister line item shows: + + 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 + (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 the -E/--empty flag to show them. - This command also supports the output destination and output format op- - tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, and json. + aregister ignores a depth limit, so its final total will always match a + balance report with similar arguments. + + 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. Examples: - Show all transactions and historical running balance in the first ac- - count whose name contains "checking": + Show all transactions and historical running balance in the first + account whose name contains "checking": $ hledger areg checking - Show transactions and historical running balance in all asset accounts + Show transactions and historical running balance in all asset accounts during july: $ hledger areg assets date:jul @@ -1660,38 +1681,39 @@ COMMANDS Show accounts and their balances. The balance command is hledger's most versatile command. Note, despite - the name, it is not always used for showing real-world account bal- - ances; the more accounting-aware balancesheet and incomestatement may + the name, it is not always used for showing real-world account bal- + ances; the more accounting-aware balancesheet and incomestatement may be more convenient for that. By default, it displays all accounts, and each account's change in bal- ance during the entire period of the journal. Balance changes are cal- - culated by adding up the postings in each account. You can limit the - postings matched, by a query, to see fewer accounts, changes over a + culated by adding up the postings in each account. You can limit the + postings matched, by a query, to see fewer accounts, changes over a different time period, changes from only cleared transactions, etc. If you include an account's complete history of postings in the report, - the balance change is equivalent to the account's current ending bal- - ance. For a real-world account, typically you won't have all transac- + the balance change is equivalent to the account's current ending bal- + ance. For a real-world account, typically you won't have all transac- tions in the journal; instead you'll have all transactions after a cer- - tain date, and an "opening balances" transaction setting the correct - starting balance on that date. Then the balance command will show + tain date, and an "opening balances" transaction setting the correct + starting balance on that date. Then the balance command will show real-world account balances. In some cases the -H/--historical flag is used to ensure this (more below). - This command also supports the output destination and output format op- - tions The output formats supported are (in most modes): txt, csv, html, - and json. + This command also supports the output destination and output format + options The output formats supported are (in most modes): txt, csv, + html, and json. The balance command can produce several styles of report: + Single-period flat balance report - This is the default for hledger's balance command: a flat list of all - (or with a query, matched) accounts, showing full account names. Ac- - counts are sorted by declaration order if any, and then by account + This is the default for hledger's balance command: a flat list of all + (or with a query, matched) accounts, showing full account names. + Accounts are sorted by declaration order if any, and then by account name. Accounts which have zero balance are not shown unless -E/--empty - is used. The reported balances' total is shown as the last line, un- - less disabled by -N/--no-total. + is used. The reported balances' total is shown as the last line, + unless disabled by -N/--no-total. $ hledger bal $1 assets:bank:saving @@ -1704,9 +1726,10 @@ COMMANDS -------------------- 0 + Single-period tree-mode balance report With the -t/--tree flag, accounts are displayed hierarchically, showing - subaccounts as short names indented below their parent. (This is the + subaccounts as short names indented below their parent. (This is the default style in Ledger and in older hledger versions.) $ hledger balance @@ -1723,21 +1746,199 @@ COMMANDS -------------------- 0 - For more compact output, "boring" accounts containing a single inter- + For more compact output, "boring" accounts containing a single inter- esting subaccount and no balance of their own (assets:bank and liabili- - ties here) are elided into the following line, unless --no-elide is + ties here) are elided into the following line, unless --no-elide is used. And accounts which have zero balance and no non-zero subaccounts are omitted, unless -E/--empty is used. - Account balances in tree mode are "inclusive" - they include the bal- + Account balances in tree mode are "inclusive" - they include the bal- ances of any subaccounts. Eg, the assets $-1 balance here includes the $1 from assets:bank:saving and the $-2 from assets:cash. (And it would include balance posted to the assets account itself, if there was any). Note this causes some repetition, and the final total (0) is the sum of the top-level balances, not of all the balances shown. - Each group of sibling accounts is sorted separately, by declaration or- - der and then by account name. + Each group of sibling accounts is sorted separately, by declaration + order and then by account name. + + Multi-period balance report + Multi-period balance reports are a very useful hledger feature, acti- + vated if you provide one of the reporting interval flags, such as + -M/--monthly. They are similar to single-period balance reports, but + they show the report as a table, with columns representing one or more + successive time periods. This is the usually the preferred style of + balance report in hledger (even for a single period). + + Multi-period balance reports come in several types, showing different + information: + + 1. A balance change report: by default, each column shows the sum of + postings in that period, ie the account's change of balance in that + period. This is useful eg for a monthly income statement: + + $ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E + Balance changes in 2008: + + || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 + ===================++================================= + expenses:food || 0 $1 0 0 + expenses:supplies || 0 $1 0 0 + income:gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 + income:salary || $-1 0 0 0 + -------------------++--------------------------------- + || $-1 $1 0 0 + + 2. A cumulative end balance report: with --cumulative, each column + shows the end balance for that period, accumulating the changes + across periods, starting from 0 at the report start date: + + $ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E --cumulative + Ending balances (cumulative) in 2008: + + || 2008/03/31 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 + ===================++================================================= + expenses:food || 0 $1 $1 $1 + expenses:supplies || 0 $1 $1 $1 + income:gifts || 0 $-1 $-1 $-1 + income:salary || $-1 $-1 $-1 $-1 + -------------------++------------------------------------------------- + || $-1 0 0 0 + + 3. A historical end balance report: with --historical/-H, each column + shows the actual historical end balance for that period, accumulat- + ing the changes across periods, and including the balance from any + postings before the report start date. This is useful eg for a + multi-period balance sheet, and when you want to see balances only + after a certain date: + + $ hledger balance ^assets ^liabilities --quarterly --historical --begin 2008/4/1 + Ending balances (historical) in 2008/04/01-2008/12/31: + + || 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 + ======================++===================================== + assets:bank:checking || $1 $1 0 + assets:bank:saving || $1 $1 $1 + assets:cash || $-2 $-2 $-2 + liabilities:debts || 0 0 $1 + ----------------------++------------------------------------- + || 0 0 0 + + Note that --cumulative or --historical/-H disable --row-total/-T, since + summing end balances generally does not make sense. + + With a reporting interval (like --quarterly above), the report + start/end dates will be adjusted if necessary so that they encompass + the displayed report periods. This is so that the first and last peri- + ods will be "full" and comparable to the others. + + The -E/--empty flag does two things in multicolumn balance reports: + first, the report will show all columns within the specified report + period (without -E, leading and trailing columns with all zeroes are + not shown). Second, all accounts which existed at the report start + date will be considered, not just the ones with activity during the + report period (use -E to include low-activity accounts which would oth- + erwise would be omitted). + + The -T/--row-total flag adds an additional column showing the total for + each row. + + The -A/--average flag adds a column showing the average value in each + row. + + Here's an example of all three: + + $ hledger balance -Q income expenses --tree -ETA + Balance changes in 2008: + + || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 Total Average + ============++=================================================== + expenses || 0 $2 0 0 $2 $1 + food || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 + supplies || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 + income || $-1 $-1 0 0 $-2 $-1 + gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 $-1 0 + salary || $-1 0 0 0 $-1 0 + ------------++--------------------------------------------------- + || $-1 $1 0 0 0 0 + + (Average is rounded to the dollar here since all journal amounts are) + + The --transpose flag can be used to exchange the rows and columns of a + multicolumn report. + + When showing multicommodity amounts, multicolumn balance reports will + elide any amounts which have more than two commodities, since otherwise + columns could get very wide. The --no-elide flag disables this. Hid- + ing totals with the -N/--no-total flag can also help reduce the width + of multicommodity reports. + + When the report is still too wide, a good workaround is to pipe it into + less -RS (-R for colour, -S to chop long lines). Eg: hledger bal -D + --color=yes | less -RS. + + Depth limiting + With a depth:N query, or --depth N option, or just -N, balance reports + will show accounts only to the specified depth. This is very useful to + hide low-level accounts and get an overview. Eg, limiting to depth 1 + shows the top-level accounts: + + $ hledger balance -N -1 + $-1 assets + $2 expenses + $-2 income + $1 liabilities + + Accounts at the depth limit will include the balances of any hidden + subaccounts (even in flat mode, which normally shows exclusive bal- + ances). + + You can also drop account name components from the start of account + names, using --drop N. This can be useful to hide unwanted top-level + detail. + + Colour support + In terminal output, when colour is enabled, the balance command shows + negative amounts in red. + + Sorting by amount + With -S/--sort-amount, accounts with the largest (most positive) bal- + ances are shown first. For example, hledger bal expenses -MAS shows + your biggest averaged monthly expenses first. + + Revenues and liability balances are typically negative, however, so -S + shows these in reverse order. To work around this, you can add + --invert to flip the signs. Or, use one of the sign-flipping reports + like balancesheet or incomestatement, which also support -S. Eg: + hledger is -MAS. + + Percentages + With -% or --percent, balance reports show each account's value + expressed as a percentage of the column's total. This is useful to get + an overview of the relative sizes of account balances. For example to + obtain an overview of expenses: + + $ hledger balance expenses -% + 100.0 % expenses + 50.0 % food + 50.0 % supplies + -------------------- + 100.0 % + + Note that --tree does not have an effect on -%. The percentages are + always relative to the total sum of each column, they are never rela- + tive to the parent account. + + Since the percentages are relative to the columns sum, it is usually + not useful to calculate percentages if the signs of the amounts are + mixed. Although the results are technically correct, they are most + likely useless. Especially in a balance report that sums up to zero + (eg hledger balance -B) all percentage values will be zero. + + This flag does not work if the report contains any mixed commodity + accounts. If there are mixed commodity accounts in the report be sure + to use -V or -B to coerce the report into using a single commodity. + Customising single-period balance reports You can customise the layout of single-period balance reports with @@ -1785,9 +1986,9 @@ COMMANDS o %, - render on one line, comma-separated - There are some quirks. Eg in one-line mode, %(depth_spacer) has no ef- - fect, instead %(account) has indentation built in. Experimentation may - be needed to get pleasing results. + 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: @@ -1803,192 +2004,15 @@ COMMANDS o %20(total) %2(depth_spacer)%-(account) - the default format for the single-column balance report - Depth limiting - With a depth:N query, or --depth N option, or just -N, balance reports - will show accounts only to the specified depth. This is very useful to - hide low-level accounts and get an overview. Eg, limiting to depth 1 - shows the top-level accounts: - - $ hledger balance -N -1 - $-1 assets - $2 expenses - $-2 income - $1 liabilities - - Accounts at the depth limit will include the balances of any hidden - subaccounts (even in flat mode, which normally shows exclusive bal- - ances). - - You can also drop account name components from the start of account - names, using --drop N. This can be useful to hide unwanted top-level - detail. - - Colour support - In terminal output, when colour is enabled, the balance command shows - negative amounts in red. - - Sorting by amount - With -S/--sort-amount, accounts with the largest (most positive) bal- - ances are shown first. For example, hledger bal expenses -MAS shows - your biggest averaged monthly expenses first. - - Revenues and liability balances are typically negative, however, so -S - shows these in reverse order. To work around this, you can add --in- - vert to flip the signs. Or, use one of the sign-flipping reports like - balancesheet or incomestatement, which also support -S. Eg: hledger is - -MAS. - - Percentages - With -% or --percent, balance reports show each account's value ex- - pressed as a percentage of the column's total. This is useful to get - an overview of the relative sizes of account balances. For example to - obtain an overview of expenses: - - $ hledger balance expenses -% - 100.0 % expenses - 50.0 % food - 50.0 % supplies - -------------------- - 100.0 % - - Note that --tree does not have an effect on -%. The percentages are - always relative to the total sum of each column, they are never rela- - tive to the parent account. - - Since the percentages are relative to the columns sum, it is usually - not useful to calculate percentages if the signs of the amounts are - mixed. Although the results are technically correct, they are most - likely useless. Especially in a balance report that sums up to zero - (eg hledger balance -B) all percentage values will be zero. - - This flag does not work if the report contains any mixed commodity ac- - counts. If there are mixed commodity accounts in the report be sure to - use -V or -B to coerce the report into using a single commodity. - - Multi-period balance report - Multi-period balance reports are a very useful hledger feature, acti- - vated if you provide one of the reporting interval flags, such as - -M/--monthly. They are similar to single-period balance reports, but - they show the report as a table, with columns representing one or more - successive time periods. This is the usually the preferred style of - balance report in hledger (even for a single period). - - Multi-period balance reports come in several types, showing different - information: - - 1. A balance change report: by default, each column shows the sum of - postings in that period, ie the account's change of balance in that - period. This is useful eg for a monthly income statement: - - $ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E - Balance changes in 2008: - - || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 - ===================++================================= - expenses:food || 0 $1 0 0 - expenses:supplies || 0 $1 0 0 - income:gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 - income:salary || $-1 0 0 0 - -------------------++--------------------------------- - || $-1 $1 0 0 - - 2. A cumulative end balance report: with --cumulative, each column - shows the end balance for that period, accumulating the changes - across periods, starting from 0 at the report start date: - - $ hledger balance --quarterly income expenses -E --cumulative - Ending balances (cumulative) in 2008: - - || 2008/03/31 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 - ===================++================================================= - expenses:food || 0 $1 $1 $1 - expenses:supplies || 0 $1 $1 $1 - income:gifts || 0 $-1 $-1 $-1 - income:salary || $-1 $-1 $-1 $-1 - -------------------++------------------------------------------------- - || $-1 0 0 0 - - 3. A historical end balance report: with --historical/-H, each column - shows the actual historical end balance for that period, accumulat- - ing the changes across periods, and including the balance from any - postings before the report start date. This is useful eg for a - multi-period balance sheet, and when you want to see balances only - after a certain date: - - $ hledger balance ^assets ^liabilities --quarterly --historical --begin 2008/4/1 - Ending balances (historical) in 2008/04/01-2008/12/31: - - || 2008/06/30 2008/09/30 2008/12/31 - ======================++===================================== - assets:bank:checking || $1 $1 0 - assets:bank:saving || $1 $1 $1 - assets:cash || $-2 $-2 $-2 - liabilities:debts || 0 0 $1 - ----------------------++------------------------------------- - || 0 0 0 - - Note that --cumulative or --historical/-H disable --row-total/-T, since - summing end balances generally does not make sense. - - With a reporting interval (like --quarterly above), the report - start/end dates will be adjusted if necessary so that they encompass - the displayed report periods. This is so that the first and last peri- - ods will be "full" and comparable to the others. - - The -E/--empty flag does two things in multicolumn balance reports: - first, the report will show all columns within the specified report pe- - riod (without -E, leading and trailing columns with all zeroes are not - shown). Second, all accounts which existed at the report start date - will be considered, not just the ones with activity during the report - period (use -E to include low-activity accounts which would otherwise - would be omitted). - - The -T/--row-total flag adds an additional column showing the total for - each row. - - The -A/--average flag adds a column showing the average value in each - row. - - Here's an example of all three: - - $ hledger balance -Q income expenses --tree -ETA - Balance changes in 2008: - - || 2008q1 2008q2 2008q3 2008q4 Total Average - ============++=================================================== - expenses || 0 $2 0 0 $2 $1 - food || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 - supplies || 0 $1 0 0 $1 0 - income || $-1 $-1 0 0 $-2 $-1 - gifts || 0 $-1 0 0 $-1 0 - salary || $-1 0 0 0 $-1 0 - ------------++--------------------------------------------------- - || $-1 $1 0 0 0 0 - - (Average is rounded to the dollar here since all journal amounts are) - - The --transpose flag can be used to exchange the rows and columns of a - multicolumn report. - - When showing multicommodity amounts, multicolumn balance reports will - elide any amounts which have more than two commodities, since otherwise - columns could get very wide. The --no-elide flag disables this. Hid- - ing totals with the -N/--no-total flag can also help reduce the width - of multicommodity reports. - - When the report is still too wide, a good workaround is to pipe it into - less -RS (-R for colour, -S to chop long lines). Eg: hledger bal -D - --color=yes | less -RS. - Budget report - With --budget, extra columns are displayed showing budget goals for - each account and period, if any. Budget goals are defined by periodic - transactions. This is very useful for comparing planned and actual in- - come, expenses, time usage, etc. --budget is most often combined with - a report interval. + There is also a special balance report mode for showing budget perfor- + mance. The --budget flag activates extra columns showing the budget + goals for each account and period, if any. For this report, budget + goals are defined by periodic transactions. This is very useful for + comparing planned and actual income, expenses, time usage, etc. - For example, you can take average monthly expenses in the common ex- - pense categories to construct a minimal monthly budget: + For example, you can take average monthly expenses in the common + expense categories to construct a minimal monthly budget: ;; Budget ~ monthly @@ -2034,26 +2058,26 @@ 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 flat mode. Eg assets, + o All parent accounts are always shown, even in flat mode. Eg assets, assets:bank, and expenses above. - o Amounts always include all subaccounts, budgeted or unbudgeted, even + o Amounts always include all subaccounts, budgeted or unbudgeted, even in flat mode. This means that the numbers displayed will not always add up! Eg above, - the expenses actual amount includes the gifts and supplies transac- - tions, but the expenses:gifts and expenses:supplies accounts are not + the expenses actual amount includes the gifts and supplies transac- + tions, but the expenses:gifts and expenses:supplies accounts are not shown, as they have no budget amounts declared. - This can be confusing. When you need to make things clearer, use the - -E/--empty flag, which will reveal all accounts including unbudgeted + 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 @@ -2095,12 +2119,12 @@ COMMANDS 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 @@ -2119,9 +2143,9 @@ 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 @@ -2134,12 +2158,12 @@ COMMANDS || $400 [80% of $500] Nested budgets - 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: @@ -2149,14 +2173,14 @@ 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 to- - wards its $100 budget and $1100 of expenses:personal , and transactions - in any other subaccount of expenses:personal would be counted towards - only towards the budget of expenses:personal. + 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: @@ -2181,9 +2205,9 @@ 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: @@ -2199,7 +2223,7 @@ 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 @@ -2218,17 +2242,17 @@ COMMANDS balancesheet 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. The asset and liability accounts shown are those accounts declared with - the Asset or Cash or Liability type, or otherwise all accounts under a - top-level asset or liability account (case insensitive, plurals al- - lowed). + the Asset or Cash or Liability type, or otherwise all accounts under a + top-level asset or liability account (case insensitive, plurals + allowed). - (This report is essentially similar to "hledger balance --historical + (This report is essentially similar to "hledger balance --historical assets liabilities", with liabilities sign-flipped.) Example: @@ -2253,31 +2277,31 @@ COMMANDS 0 With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for each - report period. As with multicolumn balance reports, you can alter the - report mode with --change/--cumulative/--historical. Normally bal- - ancesheet shows historical ending balances, which is what you need for - a balance sheet; note this means it ignores report begin dates (and - -T/--row-total, since summing end balances generally does not make - sense). Instead of absolute values percentages can be displayed with + report period. As with multicolumn balance reports, you can alter the + report mode with --change/--cumulative/--historical. Normally bal- + ancesheet shows historical ending balances, which is what you need for + a balance sheet; note this means it ignores report begin dates (and + -T/--row-total, since summing end balances generally does not make + sense). Instead of absolute values percentages can be displayed with -%. - This command also supports the output destination and output format op- - tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experimen- - tal) json. + This command also supports the output destination and output format + options The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experi- + mental) json. balancesheetequity balancesheetequity, bse - This command displays a balance sheet, showing historical ending bal- - ances of asset, liability and equity accounts. Amounts are shown with + This command displays a balance sheet, showing historical ending bal- + ances of asset, liability and equity accounts. Amounts are shown with normal positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. - The asset, liability and equity accounts shown are those accounts de- - clared with the Asset, Cash, Liability or Equity type, or otherwise all - accounts under a top-level asset, liability or equity account (case in- - sensitive, plurals allowed). + The asset, liability and equity accounts shown are those accounts + declared with the Asset, Cash, Liability or Equity type, or otherwise + all accounts under a top-level asset, liability or equity account (case + insensitive, plurals allowed). - (This report is essentially similar to "hledger balance --historical - assets liabilities equity", with liabilities and equity sign-flipped.) + (This report is essentially similar to "hledger balance --historical + assets liabilities equity", with liabilities and equity sign-flipped.) Example: @@ -2305,9 +2329,9 @@ COMMANDS -------------------- 0 - This command also supports the output destination and output format op- - tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experimen- - tal) json. + This command also supports the output destination and output format + options The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experi- + mental) json. cashflow cashflow, cf @@ -2317,8 +2341,8 @@ COMMANDS The "cash" accounts shown are those accounts declared with the Cash type, or otherwise all accounts under a top-level asset account (case - insensitive, plural allowed) which do not have fixed, investment, re- - ceivable or A/R in their name. + insensitive, plural allowed) which do not have fixed, investment, + receivable or A/R in their name. (This report is essentially similar to "hledger balance --change assets not:fixed not:investment not:receivable".) @@ -2345,9 +2369,9 @@ COMMANDS mode with --change/--cumulative/--historical. Instead of absolute val- ues percentages can be displayed with -%. - This command also supports the output destination and output format op- - tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experimen- - tal) json. + 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 @@ -2373,16 +2397,16 @@ COMMANDS o parseable - data files are well-formed and can be successfully parsed - o autobalanced - all transactions are balanced, inferring missing - amounts where necessary, and possibly converting commodities using + o autobalanced - all transactions are balanced, inferring missing + amounts where necessary, and possibly converting commodities using transaction prices or automatically-inferred transaction prices - o assertions - all balance assertions in the journal are passing. + 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 @@ -2390,26 +2414,26 @@ COMMANDS o commodities - all commodity symbols used have been declared 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 (similar to the old + o ordereddates - transactions are ordered by date (similar to the old check-dates command) o payees - all payees used by transactions have been declared - o uniqueleafnames - all account leaf names are unique (similar to the + o uniqueleafnames - all account leaf names are unique (similar to the old check-dupes command). 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: @@ -2417,65 +2441,65 @@ COMMANDS close close, equity - Prints a "closing balances" transaction and an "opening balances" + Prints a "closing balances" transaction and an "opening balances" transaction that bring account balances to and from zero, respectively. These can be added to your journal file(s), eg to bring asset/liability - balances forward into a new journal file, or to close out revenues/ex- - penses to retained earnings at the end of a period. + balances forward into a new journal file, or to close out rev- + enues/expenses to retained earnings at the end of a period. - You can print just one of these transactions by using the --close or - --open flag. You can customise their descriptions with the --close- + You can print just one of these transactions by using the --close or + --open flag. You can customise their descriptions with the --close- desc and --open-desc options. One amountless posting to "equity:opening/closing balances" is added to - balance the transactions, by default. You can customise this account - name with --close-acct and --open-acct; if you specify only one of + balance the transactions, by default. You can customise this account + name with --close-acct and --open-acct; if you specify only one of these, it will be used for both. With --x/--explicit, the equity posting's amount will be shown. And if - it involves multiple commodities, a posting for each commodity will be + it involves multiple commodities, a posting for each commodity will be shown, as with the print command. - With --interleaved, the equity postings are shown next to the postings + With --interleaved, the equity postings are shown next to the postings they balance, which makes troubleshooting easier. By default, transaction prices in the journal are ignored when generat- - ing the closing/opening transactions. With --show-costs, this cost in- - formation is preserved (balance -B reports will be unchanged after the - transition). Separate postings are generated for each cost in each - commodity. Note this can generate very large journal entries, if you + ing the closing/opening transactions. With --show-costs, this cost + information is preserved (balance -B reports will be unchanged after + the transition). Separate postings are generated for each cost in each + commodity. Note this can generate very large journal entries, if you have many foreign currency or investment transactions. close usage If you split your journal files by time (eg yearly), you will typically - run this command at the end of the year, and save the closing transac- - tion as last entry of the old file, and the opening transaction as the - first entry of the new file. This makes the files self contained, so - that correct balances are reported no matter which of them are loaded. - Ie, if you load just one file, the balances are initialised correctly; - or if you load several files, the redundant closing/opening transac- - tions cancel each other out. (They will show up in print or register - reports; you can exclude them with a query like not:desc:'(open- + run this command at the end of the year, and save the closing transac- + tion as last entry of the old file, and the opening transaction as the + first entry of the new file. This makes the files self contained, so + that correct balances are reported no matter which of them are loaded. + Ie, if you load just one file, the balances are initialised correctly; + or if you load several files, the redundant closing/opening transac- + tions cancel each other out. (They will show up in print or register + reports; you can exclude them with a query like not:desc:'(open- ing|closing) balances'.) If you're running a business, you might also use this command to "close - the books" at the end of an accounting period, transferring income - statement account balances to retained earnings. (You may want to + the books" at the end of an accounting period, transferring income + statement account balances to retained earnings. (You may want to change the equity account name to something like "equity:retained earn- ings".) - By default, the closing transaction is dated yesterday, the balances - are calculated as of end of yesterday, and the opening transaction is - dated today. To close on some other date, use: hledger close -e OPEN- - INGDATE. Eg, to close/open on the 2018/2019 boundary, use -e 2019. + By default, the closing transaction is dated yesterday, the balances + are calculated as of end of yesterday, and the opening transaction is + dated today. To close on some other date, use: hledger close -e OPEN- + INGDATE. Eg, to close/open on the 2018/2019 boundary, use -e 2019. You can also use -p or date:PERIOD (any starting date is ignored). - Both transactions will include balance assertions for the closed/re- - opened accounts. You probably shouldn't use status or realness filters - (like -C or -R or status:) with this command, or the generated balance - assertions will depend on these flags. Likewise, if you run this com- - mand with --auto, the balance assertions will probably always require - --auto. + Both transactions will include balance assertions for the + closed/reopened accounts. You probably shouldn't use status or real- + ness filters (like -C or -R or status:) with this command, or the gen- + erated balance assertions will depend on these flags. Likewise, if you + run this command with --auto, the balance assertions will probably + always require --auto. Examples: @@ -2515,13 +2539,13 @@ 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. @@ -2561,7 +2585,7 @@ 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: @@ -2573,13 +2597,13 @@ COMMANDS diff 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. @@ -2603,17 +2627,17 @@ COMMANDS files files List all files included in the journal. With a REGEX argument, only - file names matching the regular expression (case sensitive) are shown. + file names matching the regular expression (case sensitive) are shown. help help - Show the hledger user manual in one of several formats, optionally po- - sitioned at a given TOPIC (if possible). TOPIC is any heading, or - heading prefix, in the manual. Some examples: commands, print, 'auto + Show the hledger user manual in one of several formats, optionally + positioned at a given TOPIC (if possible). TOPIC is any heading, or + heading prefix, in the manual. Some examples: commands, print, 'auto postings', periodic. - This command shows the user manual built in to this hledger version. - It can be useful if the correct version of the hledger manual, or the + This command shows the user manual built in to this hledger version. + It can be useful if the correct version of the hledger manual, or the usual viewing tools, are not installed on your system. By default it uses the best viewer it can find in $PATH, in this order: @@ -2623,9 +2647,9 @@ COMMANDS import import - Read new transactions added to each FILE since last run, and add them - to the main journal file. Or with --dry-run, just print the transac- - tions that would be added. Or with --catchup, just mark all of the + Read new transactions added to each FILE since last run, and add them + to the main journal file. Or with --dry-run, just print the transac- + tions that would be added. Or with --catchup, just mark all of the FILEs' transactions as imported, without actually importing any. The input files are specified as arguments - no need to write -f before @@ -2636,23 +2660,23 @@ COMMANDS ing transactions are always added to the input files in increasing date order, and by saving .latest.FILE state files. - The --dry-run output is in journal format, so you can filter it, eg to + The --dry-run output is in journal format, so you can filter it, eg to see only uncategorised transactions: $ hledger import --dry ... | hledger -f- print unknown --ignore-assertions Importing balance assignments - Entries added by import will have their posting amounts made explicit - (like hledger print -x). This means that any balance assignments in - imported files must be evaluated; but, imported files don't get to see - the main file's account balances. As a result, importing entries with + 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 @@ -2661,16 +2685,17 @@ COMMANDS incomestatement incomestatement, is - This command displays an income statement, showing revenues and ex- - penses during one or more periods. Amounts are shown with normal posi- - tive sign, as in conventional financial statements. + + This command displays an income statement, showing revenues and + expenses during one or more periods. Amounts are shown with normal + positive sign, as in conventional financial statements. The revenue and expense accounts shown are those accounts declared with - the Revenue or Expense type, or otherwise all accounts under a top- - level revenue or income or expense account (case insensitive, plurals + the Revenue or Expense type, or otherwise all accounts under a top- + level revenue or income or expense account (case insensitive, plurals allowed). - (This report is essentially similar to "hledger balance --change rev- + (This report is essentially similar to "hledger balance --change rev- enues expenses", with revenues sign-flipped.) Example: @@ -2697,22 +2722,22 @@ COMMANDS 0 With a reporting interval, multiple columns will be shown, one for each - report period. Normally incomestatement shows revenues/expenses per - period, though as with multicolumn balance reports you can alter the - report mode with --change/--cumulative/--historical. Instead of abso- + report period. Normally incomestatement shows revenues/expenses per + period, though as with multicolumn balance reports you can alter the + report mode with --change/--cumulative/--historical. Instead of abso- lute values percentages can be displayed with -%. - This command also supports the output destination and output format op- - tions The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experimen- - tal) json. + This command also supports the output destination and output format + options The output formats supported are txt, csv, html, and (experi- + mental) json. notes notes List the unique notes that appear in transactions. - This command lists the unique notes that appear in transactions, in al- - phabetic order. You can add a query to select a subset of transac- - tions. The note is the part of the transaction description after a | + 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: @@ -2725,10 +2750,15 @@ COMMANDS payees List the unique payee/payer names that appear in transactions. - This command lists the unique payee/payer names that appear in transac- - tions, in alphabetic order. You can add a query to select a subset of - transactions. The payee/payer is the part of the transaction descrip- - tion before a | character (or if there is no |, the whole description). + 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 | + character (or if there is no |, the whole description). + + You can add query arguments to select a subset of transactions. This + implies --used. Example: @@ -2740,20 +2770,32 @@ COMMANDS prices prices Print market price directives from the journal. With --costs, also - print synthetic market prices based on transaction prices. With --in- - verted-costs, also print inverse prices based on transaction prices. - Prices (and postings providing prices) can be filtered by a query. - Price amounts are always displayed with their full precision. + print synthetic market prices based on transaction prices. With + --inverted-costs, also print inverse prices based on transaction + prices. Prices (and postings providing prices) can be filtered by a + query. Price amounts are always displayed with their full precision. print print 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). + 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- + 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. Eg: + all transactions). + + 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 + directives and file-level comments. + + Eg: $ hledger print 2008/01/01 income @@ -2787,53 +2829,50 @@ COMMANDS There are some situations where print's output can become unparseable: - o Rounding amounts according to commodity display styles can cause - transactions to appear unbalanced. - - 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. Normally, the journal entry's explicit or implicit amount style is pre- served. For example, when an amount is omitted in the journal, it will - not appear in the output. Similarly, when a transaction price is im- - plied but not written, it will not appear in the output. You can use - the -x/--explicit flag to make all amounts and transaction prices ex- - plicit, which can be useful for troubleshooting or for making your + not appear in the output. Similarly, when a transaction price is + implied but not written, it will not appear in the output. You can use + the -x/--explicit flag to make all amounts and transaction prices + explicit, which can be useful for troubleshooting or for making your journal more readable and robust against data entry errors. -x is also implied by using any of -B,-V,-X,--value. - Note, -x/--explicit will cause postings with a multi-commodity amount - (these can arise when a multi-commodity transaction has an implicit - amount) to be split into multiple single-commodity postings, keeping + Note, -x/--explicit will cause postings with a multi-commodity amount + (these can arise when a multi-commodity transaction has an implicit + amount) to be split into multiple single-commodity postings, keeping the output parseable. - With -B/--cost, amounts with transaction prices are converted to cost + With -B/--cost, amounts with transaction prices are converted to cost using that price. This can be used for troubleshooting. - With -m/--match and a STR argument, print will show at most one trans- - action: the one one whose description is most similar to STR, and is - most recent. STR should contain at least two characters. If there is + With -m/--match and a STR argument, print will show at most one trans- + action: the one one whose description is most similar to STR, and is + most recent. STR should contain at least two characters. If there is no similar-enough match, no transaction will be shown. With --new, for each FILE being read, hledger reads (and writes) a spe- - cial state file (.latest.FILE in the same directory), containing the - latest transaction date(s) that were seen last time FILE was read. - When this file is found, only transactions with newer dates (and new - transactions on the latest date) are printed. This is useful for ig- - noring already-seen entries in import data, such as downloaded CSV + cial state file (.latest.FILE in the same directory), containing the + latest transaction date(s) that were seen last time FILE was read. + When this file is found, only transactions with newer dates (and new + transactions on the latest date) are printed. This is useful for + ignoring already-seen entries in import data, such as downloaded CSV files. Eg: $ hledger -f bank1.csv print --new (shows transactions added since last print --new on this file) - This assumes that transactions added to FILE always have same or in- - creasing dates, and that transactions on the same day do not get re- - ordered. See also the import command. + This assumes that transactions added to FILE always have same or + increasing dates, and that transactions on the same day do not get + reordered. See also the import command. - This command also supports the output destination and output format op- - tions 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: @@ -2852,20 +2891,20 @@ 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.) print-unique @@ -2889,14 +2928,14 @@ 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 @@ -2907,8 +2946,8 @@ COMMANDS With --date2, it shows and sorts by secondary date instead. - The --historical/-H flag adds the balance from any undisplayed prior - postings to the running total. This is useful when you want to see + 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 @@ -2918,30 +2957,30 @@ 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 ac- - count and one commodity. + 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 to- - gether with the related 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 in- - terval, aggregating the postings to each account: + 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 @@ -2958,28 +2997,28 @@ COMMANDS 2008/11 0 $-2 2008/12 0 $-2 - Often, you'll want to see just one line per interval. The --depth op- - tion helps with this, causing subaccounts to be aggregated: + Often, you'll want to see just one line per interval. The --depth + option helps with this, causing subaccounts to be aggregated: $ hledger register --monthly assets --depth 1h 2008/01 assets $1 $1 2008/06 assets $-1 0 2008/12 assets $-1 $-1 - Note when using report intervals, if you specify start/end dates these - will be adjusted outward if necessary to contain a whole number of in- - tervals. 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. 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 de- - scription width as part of --width's argument, comma-separated: --width - W,D . Here's a diagram (won't display correctly in --help): + The description and account columns normally share the space equally + (about half of (width - 40) each). You can adjust this by adding a + description width as part of --width's argument, comma-separated: + --width W,D . Here's a diagram (won't display correctly in --help): <--------------------------------- width (W) ----------------------------------> date (10) description (D) account (W-41-D) amount (12) balance (12) @@ -2994,28 +3033,28 @@ 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 op- - tions 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. register-match register-match Print the one posting whose transaction description is closest to DESC, - in the style of the register command. If there are multiple equally - good matches, it shows the most recent. Query options (options, not - arguments) can be used to restrict the search space. Helps ledger-au- - tosync detect already-seen transactions when importing. + in the style of the register command. If there are multiple equally + good matches, it shows the most recent. Query options (options, not + arguments) can be used to restrict the search space. Helps ledger- + autosync detect already-seen transactions when importing. rewrite 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: @@ -3031,7 +3070,7 @@ 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: @@ -3041,16 +3080,16 @@ 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 in- - cludes a commodity name, the new posting amount will be in the new com- - modity; otherwise, it will be in the matched posting amount's commod- - ity. + 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. @@ -3065,7 +3104,7 @@ 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. @@ -3078,12 +3117,12 @@ 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' @@ -3107,10 +3146,10 @@ 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: @@ -3118,14 +3157,14 @@ 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. @@ -3145,9 +3184,9 @@ COMMANDS originating from unrealized profit and loss account(s) are assumed to be your investments or withdrawals. - At a minimum, you need to supply a query (which could be just an ac- - count name) to select your investments with --inv, and another query to - identify your profit and loss transactions with --pnl. + At a minimum, you need to supply a query (which could be just an + account name) to select your investments with --inv, and another query + to identify your profit and loss transactions with --pnl. This command will compute and display the internalized rate of return (IRR) and time-weighted rate of return (TWR) for your investments for @@ -3157,8 +3196,8 @@ COMMANDS Note, in some cases this report can fail, for these reasons: o Error (NotBracketed): No solution for Internal Rate of Return (IRR). - Possible causes: IRR is huge (>1000000%), balance of investment be- - comes negative at some point in time. + 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 Return (IRR). Either search does not converge to a solution, or con- @@ -3187,8 +3226,8 @@ COMMANDS would be smaller (in absolute numbers), and will be a smaller percent- age of your initial investment, and if you are adding to your invest- ment, you will receive bigger absolute gains (but probably at the same - rate of return). IRR is a way to compute rate of return for each pe- - riod between in-flow or out-flow of money, and then combine them in a + rate of return). IRR is a way to compute rate of return for each + period between in-flow or out-flow of money, and then combine them in a way that gives you an annual rate of return that investment is expected to generate. @@ -3199,13 +3238,13 @@ COMMANDS Presumably, you will also record changes in the value of your invest- ment, and balance them against "profit and loss" (or "unrealized - gains") account. Note that in order for IRR to compute the precise ef- - fect of your in-flows and out-flows on the rate of return, you will + gains") account. Note that in order for IRR to compute the precise + effect of your in-flows and out-flows on the rate of return, you will need to record the value of your investement on or close to the days when in- or out-flows occur. - Implementation of IRR in hledger should match the XIRR formula in Ex- - cel. + Implementation of IRR in hledger should match the XIRR formula in + Excel. Second way to compute rate of return that roi command implements is called "time-weighted rate of return" or "TWR". Like IRR, it will also @@ -3213,25 +3252,25 @@ COMMANDS out-flows to compute rate of return per each period and then a compound rate of return. However, internal workings of TWR are quite different. - In technical terms, IRR uses the same approach as computation of net + 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. - 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: * Explanation of rate of return * Explanation of IRR * Ex- - planation of TWR * Examples of computing IRR and TWR and discussion of - the limitations of both metrics + References: * Explanation of rate of return * Explanation of IRR * + Explanation of TWR * Examples of computing IRR and TWR and discussion + of the limitations of both metrics More examples: - Lets say that we found an investment in Snake Oil that is proising to + Lets say that we found an investment in Snake Oil that is proising to give us 10% annually: 2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil @@ -3242,7 +3281,7 @@ COMMANDS investment:snake oil = $110 equity:unrealized gains - For now, basic computation of the rate of return, as well as IRR and + For now, basic computation of the rate of return, as well as IRR and TWR, gives us the expected 10%: $ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" @@ -3252,10 +3291,10 @@ COMMANDS | 1 || 2019-01-01 | 2019-12-31 || 0 | 100 | 110 | 10 || 10.00% | 10.00% | +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+--------+ - However, lets say that shorty after investing in the Snake Oil we - started to have second thoughs, so we prompty withdrew $90, leaving - only $10 in. Before Christmas, though, we started to get the "fear of - mission out", so we put the $90 back in. So for most of the year, our + However, lets say that shorty after investing in the Snake Oil we + started to have second thoughs, so we prompty withdrew $90, leaving + only $10 in. Before Christmas, though, we started to get the "fear of + mission out", so we put the $90 back in. So for most of the year, our investment was just $10 dollars, and it gave us just $1 in growth: 2019-01-01 Investing in Snake Oil @@ -3286,10 +3325,10 @@ COMMANDS Here, IRR tells us that we made close to 10% on the $10 dollars that we had in the account most of the time. And TWR is ... just 1%? Why? - Based on the transactions in our journal, TWR "think" that we are buy- - ing back $90 worst of Snake Oil at the same price that it had at the + Based on the transactions in our journal, TWR "think" that we are buy- + ing back $90 worst of Snake Oil at the same price that it had at the beginning of they year, and then after that our $100 investment gets $1 - increase in value, or 1% of $100. Let's take a closer look at what is + increase in value, or 1% of $100. Let's take a closer look at what is happening here by asking for quarterly reports instead of annual: $ hledger roi -Q --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" @@ -3302,10 +3341,10 @@ COMMANDS | 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10 | 90 | 101 | 1 || 37.80% | 4.03% | +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+-----++--------+-------+ - Now both IRR and TWR are thrown off by the fact that all of the growth - for our investment happens in Q4 2019. This happes because IRR compu- + Now both IRR and TWR are thrown off by the fact that all of the growth + for our investment happens in Q4 2019. This happes because IRR compu- tation is still yielding 9.32% and TWR is still 1%, but this time these - are rates for three month period instead of twelve, so in order to get + are rates for three month period instead of twelve, so in order to get an annual rate they should be multiplied by four! Let's try to keep a better record of how Snake Oil grew in value: @@ -3350,10 +3389,10 @@ COMMANDS | 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10.75 | 90 | 101.00 | 0.25 || 8.05% | 1.00% | +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ - Something is still wrong with TWR computation for Q4, and if you have - been paying attention you know what it is already: big $90 buy-back is - recorded prior to the only transaction that captures the change of - value of Snake Oil that happened in this time period. Lets combine + Something is still wrong with TWR computation for Q4, and if you have + been paying attention you know what it is already: big $90 buy-back is + recorded prior to the only transaction that captures the change of + value of Snake Oil that happened in this time period. Lets combine transactions from 30th and 31st of Dec into one: 2019-12-30 Fear of missing out and growth of Snake Oil @@ -3374,7 +3413,7 @@ COMMANDS | 4 || 2019-10-01 | 2019-12-31 || 10.75 | 90 | 101.00 | 0.25 || 8.05% | 9.57% | +---++------------+------------++---------------+----------+-------------+------++--------+--------+ - And for annual report, TWR now reports the exact profitability of our + And for annual report, TWR now reports the exact profitability of our investment: $ hledger roi -Y --inv investment --pnl "unrealized" @@ -3388,8 +3427,8 @@ COMMANDS stats Show some journal statistics. - The stats command displays summary information for the whole journal, - or a matched part of it. With a reporting interval, it shows a report + The stats command displays summary information for the whole journal, + or a matched part of it. With a reporting interval, it shows a report for each report period. Example: @@ -3407,35 +3446,35 @@ COMMANDS Commodities : 1 ($) Market prices : 12 ($) - This command also supports output destination and output format selec- + This command also supports output destination and output format selec- tion. tags tags - List the unique tag names used in the journal. With a TAGREGEX argu- + List the unique tag names used in the journal. With a TAGREGEX argu- ment, only tag names matching the regular expression (case insensitive) - are shown. With QUERY arguments, only transactions matching the query + are shown. With QUERY arguments, only transactions matching the query are considered. With the --values flag, the tags' unique values are listed instead. - With --parsed flag, all tags or values are shown in the order they are + With --parsed flag, all tags or values are shown in the order they are parsed from the input data, including duplicates. - With -E/--empty, any blank/empty values will also be shown, otherwise + With -E/--empty, any blank/empty values will also be shown, otherwise they are omitted. test test Run built-in unit tests. - This command runs the unit tests built in to hledger and hledger-lib, - printing the results on stdout. If any test fails, the exit code will + 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 -- @@ -3444,7 +3483,7 @@ 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). About add-on commands @@ -3452,16 +3491,16 @@ COMMANDS o whose name starts with hledger- - o whose name ends with a recognised file extension: .bat,.com,.exe, + o whose name ends with a recognised file extension: .bat,.com,.exe, .hs,.lhs,.pl,.py,.rb,.rkt,.sh or none o and (on unix, mac) which are executable by the current user. - Add-ons are a relatively easy way to add local features or experiment - with new ideas. They can be written in any language, but haskell - scripts have a big advantage: they can use the same hledger library - functions that built-in commands use for command-line options, parsing - and reporting. Some experimental/example add-on scripts can be found + Add-ons are a relatively easy way to add local features or experiment + with new ideas. They can be written in any language, but haskell + scripts have a big advantage: they can use the same hledger library + functions that built-in commands use for command-line options, parsing + and reporting. Some experimental/example add-on scripts can be found in the hledger repo's bin/ directory. Note in a hledger command line, add-on command flags must have a double @@ -3485,17 +3524,17 @@ COMMANDS JOURNAL FORMAT hledger's default file format, representing a General Journal. - hledger's usual data source is a plain text file containing journal en- - tries in hledger journal format. This file represents a standard ac- - counting general journal. I use file names ending in .journal, but + 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 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 - journal format, so hledger can work with compatible ledger journal - files as well. It's safe, and encouraged, to run both hledger and + 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 get- ting. @@ -3503,26 +3542,26 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT the add or web or 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 + 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 configura- tion at hledger.org for the full list. - Here's a description of each part of the file format (and hledger's - data model). These are mostly in the order you'll use them, but in - some cases related concepts have been grouped together for easy refer- - ence, or linked before they are introduced, so feel free to skip over + Here's a description of each part of the file format (and hledger's + data model). These are mostly in the order you'll use them, but in + some cases related concepts have been grouped together for easy refer- + ence, or linked before they are introduced, so feel free to skip over anything that looks unnecessary right now. Transactions - Transactions are the main unit of information in a journal file. They - represent events, typically a movement of some quantity of commodities + Transactions are the main unit of information in a journal file. They + represent events, typically a movement of some quantity of commodities between two or more named accounts. - Each transaction is recorded as a journal entry, beginning with a sim- - ple date in column 0. This can be followed by any of the following op- - tional fields, separated by spaces: + Each transaction is recorded as a journal entry, beginning with a sim- + ple date in column 0. This can be followed by any of the following + optional fields, separated by spaces: o a status character (empty, !, or *) @@ -3530,11 +3569,11 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT o a description (any remaining text until end of line or a semicolon) - o a comment (any remaining text following a semicolon until end of + o a comment (any remaining text following a semicolon until end of line, and any following indented lines beginning with a semicolon) o 0 or more indented posting lines, describing what was transferred and - the accounts involved (indented comment lines are also allowed, but + 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: @@ -3545,35 +3584,35 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT Dates Simple dates - Dates in the journal file use simple dates format: YYYY-MM-DD or + 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 cur- - rent transaction, the default year set with a default year directive, - or the current date when the command is run. Some examples: + omitted, in which case it will be inferred from the context: the cur- + rent transaction, the default year set with a default year 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 + (The UI also accepts simple dates, as well as the more flexible smart dates documented in the hledger manual.) Secondary dates - Real-life transactions sometimes involve more than one date - eg the + Real-life transactions sometimes involve more than one date - eg the date you write a cheque, and the date it clears in your bank. When you - want to model this, for more accurate daily balances, you can specify + want to model this, for more accurate daily balances, you can specify individual posting dates. - Or, you can use the older secondary date feature (Ledger calls it aux- - iliary date or effective date). Note: we support this for compatibil- - ity, but I usually recommend avoiding this feature; posting dates are + Or, you can use the older secondary date feature (Ledger calls it aux- + iliary date or effective date). Note: we support this for compatibil- + ity, but I usually recommend avoiding this feature; posting dates are almost always clearer and simpler. 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 running reports, the primary (left) date is used by default, but - with the --date2 flag (or --aux-date or --effective), the secondary + 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 (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", as shown here: 2010/2/23=2/19 movie ticket @@ -3587,11 +3626,11 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT 2010-02-19 movie ticket assets:checking $-10 $-10 Posting dates - You can give individual postings a different date from their parent - transaction, by adding a posting comment containing a tag (see below) + 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 dates - precisely. Eg in this example the expense should appear in May re- - ports, and the deduction from checking should be reported on 6/1 for + 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: 2015/5/30 @@ -3604,23 +3643,24 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT $ 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. You can set the secondary date - similarly, with date2:DATE2. The date: or date2: tags must have a - valid simple date value if they are present, eg a date: tag with no + DATE should be a simple date; if the year is not specified it will use + the year of the transaction's date. You can set the secondary date + similarly, with date2:DATE2. The date: or date2: tags must have a + valid simple date value if they are present, eg a date: tag with no value is not allowed. Ledger's earlier, more compact bracketed date syntax is also supported: - [DATE], [DATE=DATE2] or [=DATE2]. hledger will attempt to parse any + [DATE], [DATE=DATE2] or [=DATE2]. 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 + With this syntax, DATE infers its year from the transaction and DATE2 infers its year from DATE. Status - Transactions, or individual postings within a transaction, can have a - status mark, which is a single character before the transaction de- - scription or posting account name, separated from it by a space, indi- - cating one of three statuses: + Transactions, or individual postings within a transaction, can have a + status mark, which is a single character before the transaction + description or posting account name, separated from it by a space, + indicating one of three statuses: + mark status ------------------ @@ -3628,25 +3668,26 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT ! pending * cleared - When reporting, you can filter by status with the -U/--unmarked, - -P/--pending, and -C/--cleared flags; or the status:, status:!, and + 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 un- - marked for clarity. + 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 pend- + To replicate Ledger and old hledger's behaviour of also matching pend- ing, combine -U and -P. - Status marks are optional, but can be helpful eg for reconciling with + Status marks are optional, but can be helpful eg for reconciling with real-world accounts. Some editor modes provide highlighting and short- - cuts for working with status. Eg in Emacs ledger-mode, you can toggle + cuts 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. + What "uncleared", "pending", and "cleared" actually mean is up to you. Here's one suggestion: + status meaning -------------------------------------------------------------------------- uncleared recorded but not yet reconciled; needs review @@ -3655,36 +3696,36 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT cleared complete, reconciled as far as possible, and considered cor- rect - 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 un- - cashed checks), and no flags to see the most up-to-date state of your + 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. Description - A transaction's description is the rest of the line following the date - and status mark (or until a comment begins). Sometimes called the + 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 + wish, or left blank. Transaction descriptions can be queried, unlike comments. Payee and note You can optionally include a | (pipe) character in descriptions to sub- divide the description into separate fields for payee/payer name on the - left (up to the first |) and an additional note field on the right (af- - ter the first |). This may be worthwhile if you need to do more pre- - cise querying and pivoting by payee or by note. + 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. Comments Lines in the journal beginning with a semicolon (;) or hash (#) or star - (*) are comments, and will be ignored. (Star comments cause org-mode - nodes to be ignored, allowing emacs users to fold and navigate their + (*) are comments, and will be ignored. (Star comments cause org-mode + nodes to be ignored, allowing emacs users to fold and navigate their journals with org-mode or orgstruct-mode.) - You can attach comments to a transaction by writing them after the de- - scription and/or indented on the following lines (before the postings). - Similarly, you can attach comments to an individual posting by writing - them after the amount and/or indented on the following lines. Transac- - tion and posting comments must begin with a semicolon (;). + You can attach comments to a transaction by writing them after the + description and/or indented on the following lines (before the post- + ings). Similarly, you can attach comments to an individual posting by + writing them after the amount and/or indented on the following lines. + Transaction and posting comments must begin with a semicolon (;). Some examples: @@ -3706,24 +3747,24 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT ; another comment line for posting 2 ; a file comment (because not indented) - You can also comment larger regions of a file using comment and end + You can also comment larger regions of a file using comment and end comment directives. Tags - Tags are a way to add extra labels or labelled data to postings and + Tags are a way to add extra labels or labelled data to postings and transactions, which you can then search or pivot on. - A simple tag is a word (which may contain hyphens) followed by a full + A simple tag is a word (which may contain hyphens) followed by a full colon, written inside a transaction or posting comment line: 2017/1/16 bought groceries ; sometag: - Tags can have a value, which is the text after the colon, up to the + Tags can have a value, which is the text after the colon, up to the next comma or end of line, with leading/trailing whitespace removed: expenses:food $10 ; a-posting-tag: the tag value - Note this means hledger's tag values can not contain commas or new- + Note this means hledger's tag values can not contain commas or new- lines. Ending at commas means you can write multiple short tags on one line, comma separated: @@ -3737,57 +3778,57 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT o "tag2" is another tag, whose value is "some value ..." - Tags in a transaction comment affect the transaction and all of its - postings, while tags in a posting comment affect only that posting. - For example, the following transaction has three tags (A, TAG2, third- + Tags in a transaction comment affect the transaction and all of its + postings, while tags in a posting comment affect only that posting. + For example, the following transaction has three tags (A, TAG2, third- tag) and the posting has four (those plus posting-tag): 1/1 a transaction ; A:, TAG2: ; third-tag: a third transaction tag, <- with a value (a) $1 ; posting-tag: - Tags are like Ledger's metadata feature, except hledger's tag values + Tags are like Ledger's metadata feature, except hledger's tag values are simple strings. Postings - A posting is an addition of some amount to, or removal of some amount - from, an account. Each posting line begins with at least one space or + 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: o (optional) a status character (empty, !, or *), followed by a space - o (required) an account name (any text, optionally containing single + o (required) an account name (any text, optionally containing single spaces, until end of line or a double space) o (optional) two or more spaces or tabs followed by an amount. - Positive amounts are being added to the account, negative amounts are + Positive amounts are being added to the account, negative amounts are being removed. The amounts within a transaction must always sum up to zero. As a con- - venience, one amount may be left blank; it will be inferred so as to + venience, one amount may be left blank; it will be inferred so as to balance the transaction. - Be sure to note the unusual two-space delimiter between account name - and amount. This makes it easy to write account names containing spa- - ces. But if you accidentally leave only one space (or tab) before the + Be sure to note the unusual two-space delimiter between account name + and amount. This makes it easy to write account names containing spa- + ces. But if you accidentally leave only one space (or tab) before the amount, the amount will be considered part of the account name. Virtual postings A posting with a parenthesised account name is called a virtual posting - or unbalanced posting, which means it is exempt from the usual rule + or unbalanced posting, which means it is exempt from the usual rule that a transaction's postings must balance add up to zero. - This is not part of double entry accounting, so you might choose to - avoid this feature. Or you can use it sparingly for certain special - cases where it can be convenient. Eg, you could set opening balances + This is not part of double entry accounting, so you might choose to + avoid this feature. Or you can use it sparingly for certain special + cases where it can be convenient. Eg, you could set opening balances without using a balancing equity account: 1/1 opening balances (assets:checking) $1000 (assets:savings) $2000 - A posting with a bracketed account name is called a balanced virtual + A posting with a bracketed account name is called a balanced virtual posting. The balanced virtual postings in a transaction must add up to zero (separately from other postings). Eg: @@ -3799,34 +3840,34 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT [assets:checking:available] $10 ; <- (something:else) $5 ; <- not required to balance - Ordinary non-parenthesised, non-bracketed postings are called real - postings. You can exclude virtual postings from reports with the + Ordinary non-parenthesised, non-bracketed postings are called real + postings. You can exclude virtual postings from reports with the -R/--real flag or real:1 query. Account names - Account names typically have several parts separated by a full colon, - from which hledger derives a hierarchical chart of accounts. They can - be anything you like, but in finance there are traditionally five top- + Account names typically have several parts separated by a full colon, + from which hledger derives a hierarchical chart of accounts. They can + be anything you like, but in finance there are traditionally five top- level accounts: assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses, and equity. - Account names may contain single spaces, eg: assets:accounts receiv- - able. Because of this, they must always be followed by two or more + Account names may contain single spaces, eg: assets:accounts receiv- + able. Because of this, they must always be followed by two or more spaces (or newline). Account names can be aliased. Amounts - After the account name, there is usually an amount. (Important: be- - tween account name and amount, there must be two or more spaces.) + 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 - formats. Here are some examples. Amounts have a number (the "quan- + hledger's amount format is flexible, supporting several international + formats. Here are some examples. Amounts have a number (the "quan- tity"): 1 - ..and usually a currency or commodity name (the "commodity"). This is - a symbol, word, or phrase, to the left or right of the quantity, with + ..and usually a currency or commodity name (the "commodity"). This is + a symbol, word, or phrase, to the left or right of the quantity, with or without a separating space: $1 @@ -3838,13 +3879,13 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT 3 "no. 42 green apples" Amounts can be preceded by a minus sign (or a plus sign, though plus is - the default), The sign can be written before or after a left-side com- + the default), The sign can be written before or after a left-side com- modity symbol: -$1 $-1 - One or more spaces between the sign and the number are acceptable when + One or more spaces between the sign and the number are acceptable when parsing (but they won't be displayed in output): + $1 @@ -3855,14 +3896,14 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT 1E-6 EUR 1E3 + Decimal marks, digit group marks A decimal mark can be written as a period or a comma: 1.23 1,23456780000009 - Digit group marks - In the integer part of the quantity (left of the decimal mark), groups - of digits can optionally be separated by a "digit group mark" - a + In the integer part of the quantity (left of the decimal mark), groups + of digits can optionally be separated by a "digit group mark" - a space, comma, or period (different from the decimal mark): $1,000,000.00 @@ -3870,69 +3911,82 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT INR 9,99,99,999.00 1 000 000.9455 - Note, a number containing a single group mark and no decimal mark is - ambiguous. Are these group marks or decimal marks ? + Note, a number containing a single digit group mark and no decimal mark + is ambiguous. Are these digit group marks or decimal marks ? 1,000 1.000 - hledger will treat them both as decimal marks by default (cf #793). If - you use digit group marks, to prevent confusion and undetected typos we - recommend you write commodity directives at the top of the file to ex- - plicitly declare the decimal mark (and optionally a digit group mark). - Note, these formats ("amount styles") are specific to each commodity, - so if your data uses multiple formats, hledger can handle it: + If you don't tell it otherwise, hledger will assume both of the above + are decimal marks, parsing both numbers as 1. To prevent confusion and + undetected typos, especially if your data contains digit group marks, + we recommend you explicitly declare the decimal mark (and optionally a + digit group mark), for each commodity, using commodity directives + (described below): + # number formats for $, EUR, INR and the no-symbol commodity: commodity $1,000.00 commodity EUR 1.000,00 commodity INR 9,99,99,999.00 - commodity 1 000 000.9455 + commodity 1 000 000.9455 + + Note, commodity directives declare both the number format for parsing + input, and the display style for showing output. For the former, they + are position-sensitive, affecting only following amounts, so commodity + directives should be at the top of your journal file. This is dis- + cussed more on #793. + Commodity display style For the amounts in each commodity, hledger chooses a consistent display - style. (Excluding price amounts, which are always displayed as writ- - ten). The display style is chosen as follows: + style to use in most reports. (Except for price amounts, which are + always displayed as written). The display style is inferred as fol- + lows. - o If there is a commodity directive (or default commodity directive) - for the commodity, its style is used (see examples above). + First, if a default commodity is declared with D, this commodity and + its style is applied to any no-symbol amounts in the journal. - o Otherwise the style is inferred from the amounts in that commodity - seen in the journal. + Then each commodity's style is inferred from one of the following, in + order of preference: - o Or if there are no such amounts in the journal, a default style is - used (like $1000.00). + o The commodity directive for that commodity (including the no-symbol + commodity), if any. - A style is inferred from the journal amounts in a commodity as follows: + o The amounts in that commodity seen in the journal's transactions. + (Posting amounts only; prices and periodic or auto rules are ignored, + currently.) - o Use the general style (decimal mark, symbol placement) of the first + o The built-in fallback style, which looks like this: $1000.00. (Sym- + bol on the left, period decimal mark, two decimal places.) + + A style is inferred from journal amounts as follows: + + o Use the general style (decimal mark, symbol placement) of the first amount - o Use the first-seen digit group style (digit group mark, digit group + o Use the first-seen digit group style (digit group mark, digit group sizes), if any o Use the maximum number of decimal places of all. - Transaction price amounts don't affect the commodity display style di- - rectly, but occasionally they can do so indirectly (eg when a posting's - amount is inferred using a transaction price). If you find this caus- - ing problems, use a commodity directive to fix the display style. + Transaction price amounts don't affect the commodity display style + directly, but occasionally they can do so indirectly (eg when a post- + ing's amount is inferred using a transaction price). If you find this + causing problems, use a commodity directive to fix the display style. - In summary, each commodity's amounts will be normalised to + 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 + places, use a commodity directive. Some examples: - o the style declared by a commodity directive - - o or, 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 places, use a commodity directive to set the commod- - ity's display style. For example: - - # declare euro, dollar and bitcoin commodities and set their display styles: + # declare euro, dollar, bitcoin and no-symbol commodities and set their + # input number formats and output display styles: commodity EUR 1.000, commodity $1000.00 commodity 1000.00000000 BTC + commodity 1 000. Rounding Amounts are stored internally as decimal numbers with up to 255 decimal @@ -4068,7 +4122,7 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT To assert the balance of more than one commodity in an account, you can write multiple postings, each asserting one commodity's balance. - You can make a stronger "total" balance assertion by writing a double + You can make a stronger "total" balance assertion by writing a double equals sign (== EXPECTEDBALANCE). This asserts that there are no other unasserted commodities in the account (or, that their balance is 0). @@ -4088,7 +4142,7 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT a 0 == $1 It's not yet possible to make a complete assertion about a balance that - has multiple commodities. One workaround is to isolate each commodity + has multiple commodities. One workaround is to isolate each commodity into its own subaccount: 2013/1/1 @@ -4102,21 +4156,21 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT a:euro 0 == 1EUR Assertions and prices - Balance assertions ignore transaction prices, and should normally be + Balance assertions ignore transaction prices, and should normally be written without one: 2019/1/1 (a) $1 @ EUR1 = $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 to - generate balance assertions with prices), and because balance assign- + 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 to + generate balance assertions with prices), and because balance assign- ments do use them (see below). 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 + 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 @@ -4130,16 +4184,16 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT tual. They are not affected by the --real/-R flag or real: query. Assertions and precision - Balance assertions compare the exactly calculated amounts, which are - not always what is shown by reports. Eg a commodity directive may - limit the display precision, but this will not affect balance asser- + Balance assertions compare the exactly calculated amounts, which are + not always what is shown by reports. Eg a commodity directive may + limit the display precision, but this will not affect balance asser- tions. Balance assertion failure messages show exact amounts. Balance assignments - Ledger-style balance assignments are also supported. These are like - balance assertions, but with no posting amount on the left side of the - equals sign; instead it is calculated automatically so as to satisfy - the assertion. This can be a convenience during data entry, eg when + Ledger-style balance assignments are also supported. These are like + balance assertions, but with no posting amount on the left side of the + equals sign; instead it is calculated automatically so as to satisfy + the assertion. This can be a convenience during data entry, eg when setting opening balances: ; starting a new journal, set asset account balances @@ -4157,14 +4211,14 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT expenses:misc 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 assign- + at that point (which depends on the previously-dated postings of the + commodity to that account since the last balance assertion or assign- ment). Note that using balance assignments makes your journal a little less explicit; to know the exact amount posted, you have to run hledger or do the calculations yourself, instead of just reading it. Balance assignments and prices - A transaction price in a balance assignment will cause the calculated + A transaction price in a balance assignment will cause the calculated amount to have that price attached: 2019/1/1 @@ -4175,22 +4229,23 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT (a) $1 @ EUR2 = $1 @ EUR2 Directives - A directive is a line in the journal beginning with a special keyword, + A directive is a line in the journal beginning with a special keyword, that influences how the journal is processed. hledger's directives are based on a subset of Ledger's, but there are many differences (and also some differences between hledger versions). Directives' behaviour and interactions can get a little bit complex, so - here is a table summarising the directives and their effects, with - links to more detailed docs. Note part of this table is hidden when + here is a table summarising the directives and their effects, with + links to more detailed docs. Note part of this table is hidden when viewed in a web browser - scroll it sideways to see more. - direc- end di- subdi- purpose can affect (as of - tive rective rec- 2018/06) + + direc- end subdi- purpose can affect (as of + tive directive rec- 2018/06) tives ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - account any document account names, de- all entries in all - text clare account types & dis- files, before or + account any document account names, all entries in all + text declare account types & dis- files, before or play order after alias end rewrite account names following entries aliases until end of cur- @@ -4213,84 +4268,87 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT in reports D declare a commodity to be default commodity: used for commodityless following commod- - amounts, and its number no- ityless entries un- - tation & display style til end of current - file; number nota- - tion: following en- - tries in that com- - modity until end of - current file; dis- - play style: amounts - of that commodity - in reports + amounts, and its number ityless entries + notation & display style until end of cur- + rent file; number + notation: following + entries in that + commodity until end + of current file; + display style: + amounts of that + commodity in + reports include include entries/directives what the included from another file directives affect [payee] declare a payee name following entries - until end of cur- + until end of cur- rent file - P declare a market price for a amounts of that - commodity commodity in re- - ports, when -V is + commodity commodity in + reports, when -V is used - Y declare a year for yearless following entries - dates until end of cur- + Y declare a year for yearless following entries + dates until end of cur- rent file - = declare an auto posting all entries in par- - rule, adding postings to ent/current/child + = declare an auto posting all entries in par- + rule, adding postings to ent/current/child other transactions files (but not sib- ling files, see #1212) And some definitions: - subdi- optional indented directive line immediately following a parent + + subdi- optional indented directive line immediately following a parent rec- directive tive + + number how to interpret numbers when parsing journal entries (the iden- - nota- tity of the decimal separator character). (Currently each com- + nota- tity of the decimal separator character). (Currently each com- tion modity can have its own notation, even in the same file.) - dis- how to display amounts of a commodity in reports (symbol side + dis- how to display amounts of a commodity in reports (symbol side play and spacing, digit groups, decimal separator, decimal places) style - direc- which entries and (when there are multiple files) which files + direc- which entries and (when there are multiple files) which files tive are affected by a directive scope As you can see, directives vary in which journal entries and files they - affect, and whether they are focussed on input (parsing) or output (re- - ports). Some directives have multiple effects. + affect, and whether they are focussed on input (parsing) or output + (reports). Some directives have multiple effects. Directives and multiple files - If you use multiple -f/--file options, or the include directive, - hledger will process multiple input files. But note that directives + If you use multiple -f/--file options, or the include directive, + hledger will process multiple input files. But note that directives which affect input (see above) typically last only until the end of the file in which they occur. This may seem inconvenient, but it's intentional; it makes reports sta- - ble 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 + ble 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 direc- + It can be surprising though; for example, it means that alias direc- tives do not affect parent or sibling files (see below). Comment blocks - A line containing just comment starts a commented region of the file, + A line containing just comment starts a commented region of the file, and a line containing just end comment (or the end of the current file) ends it. See also comments. Including other files - You can pull in the content of additional files by writing an include + You can pull in the content of additional files by writing an include directive, like this: include FILEPATH - Only journal files can include, and only journal, timeclock or timedot + Only journal files can include, and only journal, timeclock or timedot files can be included (not CSV files, currently). - If the file path does not begin with a slash, it is relative to the + If the file path does not begin with a slash, it is relative to the current file's folder. A tilde means home directory, eg: include ~/main.journal. @@ -4298,18 +4356,18 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT The path may contain glob patterns to match multiple files, eg: include *.journal. - There is limited support for recursive wildcards: **/ (the slash is re- - quired) matches 0 or more subdirectories. It's not super convenient - since you have to avoid include cycles and including directories, but + 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. The path may also be prefixed to force a specific file format, overrid- - ing the file extension (as described in hledger.1 -> Input files): in- - clude timedot:~/notes/2020*.md. + ing the file extension (as described in hledger.1 -> Input files): + include timedot:~/notes/2020*.md. Default year - You can set a default year to be used for subsequent dates which don't - specify a year. This is a line beginning with Y followed by the year. + You can set a default year to be used for subsequent dates which don't + specify a year. This is a line beginning with Y followed by the year. Eg: Y2009 ; set default year to 2009 @@ -4329,9 +4387,9 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT assets Declaring payees - The payee directive can be used to declare a limited set of payees - which may appear in transaction descriptions. The "payees" check will - report an error if any transaction refers to a payee that has not been + The payee directive can be used to declare a limited set of payees + which may appear in transaction descriptions. The "payees" check will + report an error if any transaction refers to a payee that has not been declared. Eg: payee Whole Foods @@ -4339,20 +4397,20 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT Declaring commodities The commodity directive has several functions: - 1. It declares commodities which may be used in the journal. This is + 1. It declares commodities which may be used in the journal. This is currently not enforced, but can serve as documentation. - 2. It declares what 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 + 2. It declares what 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). - 3. It declares a commodity's display style in output - decimal and + 3. It declares a commodity's display style in output - decimal and digit group marks, number of decimal places, symbol placement etc. - You are likely to run into one of the problems solved by commodity di- - rectives, sooner or later, so it's a good idea to just always use them - to declare your commodities. + You are likely to run into one of the problems solved by commodity + directives, sooner or later, so it's a good idea to just always use + them to declare your commodities. A commodity directive is just the word commodity followed by an amount. It may be written on a single line, like this: @@ -4364,8 +4422,8 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT ; separating thousands with comma. commodity 1,000.0000 AAAA - or on multiple lines, using the "format" subdirective. (In this case - the commodity symbol appears twice and should be the same in both + or on multiple lines, using the "format" subdirective. (In this case + the commodity symbol appears twice and should be the same in both places.): ; commodity SYMBOL @@ -4378,29 +4436,29 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT format INR 1,00,00,000.00 The quantity of the amount does not matter; only the format is signifi- - cant. The number must include a decimal mark: either a period or a + cant. The number must include a decimal mark: either a period or a comma, followed by 0 or more decimal digits. - 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.) Commodity error checking - 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 checking, + 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 checking, see the notes there for more details. Default commodity - The D directive sets a default commodity, to be used for amounts with- - out a commodity symbol (ie, plain numbers). This commodity will be ap- - plied to all subsequent commodity-less amounts, or until the next D di- - rective. (Note, this is different from Ledger's D.) + The D directive sets a default commodity, to be used for amounts with- + out a commodity symbol (ie, plain numbers). This commodity will be + applied to all subsequent commodity-less amounts, or until the next D + directive. (Note, this is different from Ledger's D.) - For compatibility/historical reasons, D also acts like a commodity di- - rective, setting the commodity's display style (for output) and decimal - mark (for parsing input). As with commodity, the amount must always be - written with a decimal mark (period or comma). If both directives are - used, commodity's style takes precedence. + For compatibility/historical reasons, D also acts like a commodity + directive, setting the commodity's display style (for output) and deci- + mal mark (for parsing input). As with commodity, the amount must + always be written with a decimal mark (period or comma). If both + directives are used, commodity's style takes precedence. The syntax is D AMOUNT. Eg: @@ -4413,9 +4471,9 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT b Declaring market prices - The P directive declares a market price, which is an exchange rate be- - tween two commodities on a certain date. (In Ledger, they are called - "historical prices".) These are often obtained from a stock exchange, + The P directive declares a market price, which is an exchange rate + between two commodities on a certain date. (In Ledger, they are called + "historical prices".) These are often obtained from a stock exchange, cryptocurrency exchange, or the foreign exchange market. Here is the format: @@ -4426,78 +4484,78 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT o COMMODITYA is the symbol of the commodity being priced - o COMMODITYBAMOUNT is an amount (symbol and quantity) in a second com- + o COMMODITYBAMOUNT is an amount (symbol and quantity) in a second com- modity, giving the price in commodity B of one unit of commodity A. - These two market price directives say that one euro was worth 1.35 US + These two market price directives say that one euro was worth 1.35 US dollars during 2009, and $1.40 from 2010 onward: P 2009/1/1 EUR $1.35 P 2010/1/1 EUR $1.40 - The -V, -X and --value flags use these market prices to show amount + The -V, -X and --value flags use these market prices to show amount values in another commodity. See Valuation. Declaring accounts account directives can be used to declare accounts (ie, the places that - amounts are transferred from and to). Though not required, these dec- + amounts are transferred from and to). Though not required, these dec- larations can provide several benefits: o They can document your intended chart of accounts, providing a refer- ence. - o They can help hledger know your accounts' types (asset, liability, - equity, revenue, expense), useful for reports like balancesheet and + o They can help hledger know your accounts' types (asset, liability, + equity, revenue, expense), useful for reports like balancesheet and incomestatement. - o They control account display order in reports, allowing non-alpha- + o They control account display order in reports, allowing non-alpha- betic sorting (eg Revenues to appear above Expenses). - o They can store extra information about accounts (account numbers, + o They can store extra information about accounts (account numbers, notes, etc.) - o They help with account name completion in the add command, hledger- + o They help with account name completion in the add command, hledger- iadd, hledger-web, ledger-mode etc. - o In strict mode, they restrict which accounts may be posted to by + o In strict mode, they restrict which accounts may be posted to by transactions, which helps detect typos. - The simplest form is just the word account followed by a hledger-style + The simplest form is just the word account followed by a hledger-style account name, eg this account directive declares the assets:bank:check- ing account: account assets:bank:checking Account error checking - By default, accounts come into existence when a transaction references - them by name. This is convenient, but it means hledger can't warn you + By default, accounts come into existence when a transaction references + them by name. 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 - the error later, as an extra account in balance reports, or an incor- + the error later, as an extra account in balance reports, or an incor- rect balance when reconciling. - 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 de- - clared by an account directive. Some notes: + 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: - o The declaration is case-sensitive; transactions must use the correct + o The declaration is case-sensitive; transactions must use the correct account name capitalisation. - o The account directive's scope is "whole file and below" (see direc- + o The account directive's scope is "whole file and below" (see direc- tives). This means it affects all of the current file, and any files - it includes, but not parent or sibling files. The position of ac- - count directives within the file does not matter, though it's usual + 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. - o Accounts can only be declared in journal files (but will affect in- - cluded files in other formats). + o Accounts can only be declared in journal files (but will affect + included files in other formats). - o It's currently not possible to declare "all possible subaccounts" + o It's currently not possible to declare "all possible subaccounts" with a wildcard; every account posted to must be declared. Account comments Comments, beginning with a semicolon, can be added: - o on the same line, after two or more spaces (because ; is allowed in + o on the same line, after two or more spaces (because ; is allowed in account names) o on the next lines, indented @@ -4511,7 +4569,7 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT Same-line comments are not supported by Ledger, or hledger <1.13. Account subdirectives - We also allow (and ignore) Ledger-style indented subdirectives, just + We also allow (and ignore) Ledger-style indented subdirectives, just for compatibility.: account assets:bank:checking @@ -4524,27 +4582,27 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT [LEDGER-STYLE SUBDIRECTIVES, IGNORED] Account types - hledger recognises five main types of account, corresponding to the ac- - count classes in the accounting equation: + hledger recognises five main types of account, corresponding to the + account classes in the accounting equation: Asset, Liability, Equity, Revenue, Expense. These account types are important for controlling which accounts appear - in the balancesheet, balancesheetequity, incomestatement reports (and + in the balancesheet, balancesheetequity, incomestatement reports (and probably for other things in future). - Additionally, we recognise the Cash type, which is also an Asset, and - which causes accounts to appear in the cashflow report. ("Cash" here - means liquid assets, eg bank balances but typically not investments or + Additionally, we recognise the Cash type, which is also an Asset, and + which causes accounts to appear in the cashflow report. ("Cash" here + means liquid assets, eg bank balances but typically not investments or receivables.) Declaring account types Generally, to make these reports work you should declare your top-level accounts and their types, using account directives with type: tags. - The tag's value should be one of: Asset, Liability, Equity, Revenue, - Expense, Cash, A, L, E, R, X, C (all case insensitive). The type is - inherited by all subaccounts except where they override it. Here's a + The tag's value should be one of: Asset, Liability, Equity, Revenue, + Expense, Cash, A, L, E, R, X, C (all case insensitive). The type is + inherited by all subaccounts except where they override it. Here's a complete example: account assets ; type: Asset @@ -4556,21 +4614,24 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT account expenses ; type: Expense Auto-detected account types - If you happen to use common english top-level account names, you may - not need to declare account types, as they will be detected automati- + If you happen to use common english top-level account names, you may + not need to declare account types, as they will be detected automati- cally using the following rules: + If name matches regular account type is: expression: ---------------------------------------------- ^assets?(:|$) Asset + ^(debts?|lia- Liability bilit(y|ies))(:|$) ^equity(:|$) Equity ^(income|revenue)s?(:|$) Revenue ^expenses?(:|$) Expense - If account type is Asset and name does not contain regu- account type + + If account type is Asset and name does not contain regu- account type lar expression: is: -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (investment|receivable|:A/R|:fixed) Cash @@ -4580,11 +4641,11 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT Interference from auto-detected account types If you assign any account type, it's a good idea to assign all of them, - to prevent any confusion from mixing declared and auto-detected types. - Although it's unlikely to happen in real life, here's an example: with - the following journal, balancesheetequity shows "liabilities" in both - Liabilities and Equity sections. Declaring another account as type:Li- - ability would fix it: + to prevent any confusion from mixing declared and auto-detected types. + Although it's unlikely to happen in real life, here's an example: with + the following journal, balancesheetequity shows "liabilities" in both + Liabilities and Equity sections. Declaring another account as + type:Liability would fix it: account liabilities ; type:Equity @@ -4594,8 +4655,8 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT equity -2 Old account type syntax - In some hledger journals you might instead see this old syntax (the - letters ALERX, separated from the account name by two or more spaces); + In some hledger journals you might instead see this old syntax (the + letters ALERX, separated from the account name by two or more spaces); this is deprecated and may be removed soon: account assets A @@ -4605,8 +4666,8 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT account expenses X Account display order - Account directives also set the order in which accounts are displayed, - eg in reports, the hledger-ui accounts screen, and the hledger-web + Account directives also set the order in which accounts are displayed, + eg in reports, the hledger-ui accounts screen, and the hledger-web sidebar. By default accounts are listed in alphabetical order. But if you have these account directives in the journal: @@ -4638,8 +4699,8 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT the position of other among the top-level accounts. This means: o you will sometimes declare parent accounts (eg account other above) - that you don't intend to post to, just to customize their display or- - der + that you don't intend to post to, just to customize their display + order o sibling accounts stay together (you couldn't display x:y in between a:b and a:c). @@ -4674,49 +4735,49 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT 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 re- - place any occurrence of the old account name with the new one. Subac- - counts are also affected. Eg: + OLD and NEW are case sensitive full account names. hledger will + replace any occurrence of the old account name with the new one. Sub- + accounts are also affected. Eg: alias checking = assets:bank:wells fargo:checking ; rewrites "checking" to "assets:bank:wells fargo:checking", or "checking:a" to "assets:bank:wells fargo:checking:a" Regex aliases - There is also a more powerful variant that uses a regular expression, + There is also a more powerful variant that uses a regular expression, indicated by the forward slashes: alias /REGEX/ = REPLACEMENT or --alias '/REGEX/=REPLACEMENT'. - REGEX is a case-insensitive regular expression. Anywhere it matches - inside an account name, the matched part will be replaced by REPLACE- - MENT. If REGEX contains parenthesised match groups, these can be ref- + REGEX is a case-insensitive regular expression. Anywhere it matches + inside an account name, the matched part will be replaced by REPLACE- + MENT. If REGEX contains parenthesised match groups, these can be ref- erenced by the usual numeric backreferences in REPLACEMENT. Eg: alias /^(.+):bank:([^:]+):(.*)/ = \1:\2 \3 ; rewrites "assets:bank:wells fargo:checking" to "assets:wells fargo checking" - Also note that REPLACEMENT continues to the end of line (or on command - line, to end of option argument), so it can contain trailing white- + Also note that REPLACEMENT continues to the end of line (or on command + line, to end of option argument), so it can contain trailing white- space. Combining aliases - You can define as many aliases as you like, using journal directives + You can define as many aliases as you like, using journal directives and/or command line options. - Recursive aliases - where an account name is rewritten by one alias, - then by another alias, and so on - are allowed. Each alias sees the + Recursive aliases - where an account name is rewritten by one alias, + then by another alias, and so on - are allowed. Each alias sees the effect of previously applied aliases. - In such cases it can be important to understand which aliases will be - applied and in which order. For (each account name in) each journal + In such cases it can be important to understand which aliases will be + applied and in which order. For (each account name in) each journal entry, we apply: - 1. alias directives preceding the journal entry, most recently parsed + 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: @@ -4740,8 +4801,8 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT hledger -f a.aliases -f b.journal - account aliases defined in a.aliases will not affect b.journal. In- - cluding the aliases doesn't work either: + account aliases defined in a.aliases will not affect b.journal. + Including the aliases doesn't work either: include a.aliases @@ -4768,9 +4829,9 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT end aliases Default parent account - You can specify a parent account which will be prepended to all ac- - counts within a section of the journal. Use the apply account and end - apply account directives like so: + You can specify a parent account which will be prepended to all + accounts within a section of the journal. Use the apply account and + end apply account directives like so: apply account home @@ -4804,8 +4865,8 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT account. Periodic transactions - Periodic transaction rules describe transactions that recur. They al- - low hledger to generate temporary future transactions to help with + Periodic transaction rules describe transactions that recur. They + allow hledger to generate temporary future transactions to help with forecasting, so you don't have to write out each one in the journal, and it's easy to try out different forecasts. @@ -4825,8 +4886,8 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT 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 im- - provement, but is worth studying. + 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 @@ -4879,8 +4940,8 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT o Do write two spaces between your period expression and your transac- tion description, if any. - o Don't accidentally write two spaces in the middle of your period ex- - pression. + o Don't accidentally write two spaces in the middle of your period + expression. Forecasting with periodic transactions The --forecast flag activates any periodic transaction rules in the @@ -4934,10 +4995,11 @@ JOURNAL FORMAT See also: Budgeting and Forecasting. + Auto postings "Automated postings" or "auto postings" are extra postings which get - added automatically to transactions which match certain queries, de- - fined by "auto posting rules", when you use the --auto flag. + added automatically to transactions which match certain queries, + defined by "auto posting rules", when you use the --auto flag. An auto posting rule looks a bit like a transaction: @@ -5064,8 +5126,9 @@ CSV FORMAT layout, date format etc.), and how to construct hledger journal entries (transactions) from it. Often there will also be a list of conditional rules for categorising transactions based on their descriptions. - Here's an overview of the CSV rules; these are described more fully be- - low, after the examples: + Here's an overview of the CSV rules; these are described more fully + below, after the examples: + skip skip one or more header lines or matched CSV records @@ -5406,8 +5469,8 @@ CSV FORMAT can be left unnamed. Currently there must be least two items (there must be at least one comma). - Note, always use comma in the fields list, even if your CSV uses an- - other separator character. + Note, always use comma in the fields list, even if your CSV uses + another separator character. Here are the standard hledger field/pseudo-field names. For more about the transaction parts they refer to, see the manual for hledger's jour- @@ -5445,26 +5508,26 @@ CSV FORMAT 2's amount to cost if there's a transaction price, which can be useful. If you have an existing rules file using the unnumbered form, you might - want to use the numbered form in certain conditional blocks, without - having to update and retest all the old rules. To facilitate this, - posting 1 ignores amount/amount-in/amount-out if any of + want to use the numbered form in certain conditional blocks, without + having to update and retest all the old rules. To facilitate this, + posting 1 ignores amount/amount-in/amount-out if any of amount1/amount1-in/amount1-out are assigned, and posting 2 ignores them - if any of amount2/amount2-in/amount2-out are assigned, avoiding con- + if any of amount2/amount2-in/amount2-out are assigned, avoiding con- flicts. currency If the CSV has the currency symbol in a separate field (ie, not part of - the amount field), you can use currencyN to prepend it to posting N's + the amount field), you can use currencyN to prepend it to posting N's amount. Or, currency with no number affects all postings. balance - 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. - Also, for compatibility with hledger <1.17: balance with no number is + Also, for compatibility with hledger <1.17: balance with no number is equivalent to balance1. - You can adjust the type of assertion/assignment with the balance-type + You can adjust the type of assertion/assignment with the balance-type rule (see below). comment @@ -5476,11 +5539,11 @@ CSV FORMAT field assignment HLEDGERFIELDNAME FIELDVALUE - Instead of or in addition to a fields list, you can use a "field as- - signment" rule to set the value of a single hledger field, by writing - its name (any of the standard hledger field names above) followed by a - text value. The value may contain interpolated CSV fields, referenced - by their 1-based position in the CSV record (%N), or by the name they + Instead of or in addition to a fields list, you can use a "field + assignment" rule to set the value of a single hledger field, by writing + its name (any of the standard hledger field names above) followed by a + text value. The value may contain interpolated CSV fields, referenced + by their 1-based position in the CSV record (%N), or by the name they were given in the fields list (%CSVFIELDNAME). Some examples: # set the amount to the 4th CSV field, with " USD" appended @@ -5489,14 +5552,14 @@ CSV FORMAT # combine three fields to make a comment, containing note: and date: tags comment note: %somefield - %anotherfield, date: %1 - Interpolation strips outer whitespace (so a CSV value like " 1 " be- - comes 1 when interpolated) (#1051). See TIPS below for more about ref- - erencing other fields. + Interpolation strips outer whitespace (so a CSV value like " 1 " + becomes 1 when interpolated) (#1051). See TIPS below for more about + referencing other fields. separator - You can use the separator rule to read other kinds of character-sepa- - rated data. The argument is any single separator character, or the - words tab or space (case insensitive). Eg, for comma-separated values + You can use the separator rule to read other kinds of character-sepa- + rated data. The argument is any single separator character, or the + words tab or space (case insensitive). Eg, for comma-separated values (CSV): separator , @@ -5509,7 +5572,7 @@ CSV FORMAT separator TAB - If the input file has a .csv, .ssv or .tsv file extension (or a csv:, + If the input file has a .csv, .ssv or .tsv file extension (or a csv:, ssv:, tsv: prefix), the appropriate separator will be inferred automat- ically, and you won't need this rule. @@ -5524,8 +5587,8 @@ CSV FORMAT RULE RULE - Conditional blocks ("if blocks") are a block of rules that are applied - only to CSV records which match certain patterns. They are often used + Conditional blocks ("if blocks") are a block of rules that are applied + only to CSV records which match certain patterns. They are often used for customising account names based on transaction descriptions. Matching the whole record @@ -5533,32 +5596,32 @@ CSV FORMAT REGEX - REGEX is a case-insensitive regular expression which tries to match - anywhere within the CSV record. It is a POSIX ERE (extended regular - expression) that also supports GNU word boundaries (\b, \B, \<, \>), + REGEX is a case-insensitive regular expression which tries to match + anywhere within the CSV record. It is a POSIX ERE (extended regular + expression) that also supports GNU word boundaries (\b, \B, \<, \>), and nothing else. If you have trouble, be sure to check our https://hledger.org/hledger.html#regular-expressions doc. - Important note: the record that is matched is not the original record, - but a synthetic one, with any enclosing double quotes (but not enclos- + Important note: the record that is matched is not the original record, + but a synthetic one, with any enclosing double quotes (but not enclos- ing whitespace) removed, and always comma-separated (which means that a - field containing a comma will appear like two fields). Eg, if the - original record is 2020-01-01; "Acme, Inc."; 1,000, the REGEX will ac- - tually see 2020-01-01,Acme, Inc., 1,000). + field containing a comma will appear like two fields). Eg, if the + original record is 2020-01-01; "Acme, Inc."; 1,000, the REGEX will + actually see 2020-01-01,Acme, Inc., 1,000). Matching individual fields Or, MATCHER can be a field matcher, like this: %CSVFIELD REGEX - which matches just the content of a particular CSV field. CSVFIELD is - a percent sign followed by the field's name or column number, like + which matches just the content of a particular CSV field. CSVFIELD is + a percent sign followed by the field's name or column number, like %date or %1. Combining matchers A single matcher can be written on the same line as the "if"; or multi- ple matchers can be written on the following lines, non-indented. Mul- - tiple matchers are OR'd (any one of them can match), unless one begins + tiple matchers are OR'd (any one of them can match), unless one begins with an & symbol, in which case it is AND'ed with the previous matcher. if @@ -5567,9 +5630,9 @@ CSV FORMAT RULE Rules applied on successful match - After the patterns there should be one or more rules to apply, all in- - dented by at least one space. Three kinds of rule are allowed in con- - ditional blocks: + After the patterns there should be one or more rules to apply, all + indented by at least one space. Three kinds of rule are allowed in + conditional blocks: o field assignments (to set a hledger field) @@ -5626,17 +5689,17 @@ CSV FORMAT ... CSVFIELDNAMEn VALUE3n - Each line starting with MATCHER should contain enough (possibly empty) + Each line starting with MATCHER should contain enough (possibly empty) values for all the listed fields. - Rules would be checked and applied in the order they are listed in the + Rules would be checked and applied in the order they are listed in the table and, like with if blocks, later rules (in the same or another ta- ble) or if blocks could override the effect of any rule. - Instead of ',' you can use a variety of other non-alphanumeric charac- + Instead of ',' you can use a variety of other non-alphanumeric charac- ters as a separator. First character after if is taken to be the sepa- - rator for the rest of the table. It is the responsibility of the user - to ensure that separator does not occur inside MATCHERs and values - + rator for the rest of the table. It is the responsibility of the user + to ensure that separator does not occur inside MATCHERs and values - there is no way to escape separator. Example: @@ -5647,7 +5710,7 @@ CSV FORMAT 2020/01/12.*Plumbing LLC,expenses:house:upkeep,emergency plumbing call-out end - This rule can be used inside if blocks (only), to make hledger stop + This rule can be used inside if blocks (only), to make hledger stop reading this CSV file and move on to the next input file, or to command execution. Eg: @@ -5658,10 +5721,10 @@ CSV FORMAT 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 strptime date - parsing pattern, which must parse the CSV date value completely. Some + 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 date + parsing pattern, which must parse the CSV date value completely. Some examples: # MM/DD/YY @@ -5689,22 +5752,22 @@ CSV FORMAT decimal-mark , - hledger automatically accepts either period or comma as a decimal mark - when parsing numbers (cf Amounts). However if any numbers in the CSV - contain digit group marks, such as thousand-separating commas, you - should declare the decimal mark explicitly with this rule, to avoid + hledger automatically accepts either period or comma as a decimal mark + when parsing numbers (cf Amounts). However if any numbers in the CSV + contain digit group marks, such as thousand-separating commas, you + should declare the decimal mark explicitly with this rule, to avoid misparsed numbers. newest-first - hledger always sorts the generated transactions by date. Transactions - on the same date should appear in the same order as their CSV records, - as hledger can usually auto-detect whether the CSV's normal order is + hledger always sorts the generated transactions by date. Transactions + on the same date should appear in the same order as their CSV records, + as hledger can usually auto-detect whether the CSV's normal order is oldest first or newest first. But if all of the following are true: - o the CSV might sometimes contain just one day of data (all records + o the CSV might sometimes contain just one day of data (all records having the same date) - o the CSV records are normally in reverse chronological order (newest + o the CSV records are normally in reverse chronological order (newest at the top) o and you care about preserving the order of same-day transactions @@ -5717,9 +5780,9 @@ CSV FORMAT 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 + 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 several rules files, eg: # someaccount.csv.rules @@ -5734,10 +5797,10 @@ CSV FORMAT 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 + 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 assertions will consider all commodities and all subaccounts @@ -5752,29 +5815,29 @@ CSV FORMAT Tips Rapid feedback - It's a good idea to get rapid feedback while creating/troubleshooting + It's a good idea to get rapid feedback while creating/troubleshooting CSV rules. Here's a good way, using entr from http://eradman.com/entr- project : $ ls foo.csv* | entr bash -c 'echo ----; hledger -f foo.csv print desc:SOMEDESC' - A desc: query (eg) is used to select just one, or a few, transactions - of interest. "bash -c" is used to run multiple commands, so we can - echo a separator each time the command re-runs, making it easier to + A desc: query (eg) is used to select just one, or a few, transactions + of interest. "bash -c" is used to run multiple commands, so we can + echo a separator each time the command re-runs, making it easier to read the output. Valid CSV - hledger accepts CSV conforming to RFC 4180. When CSV values are en- - closed in quotes, note: + hledger accepts CSV conforming to RFC 4180. When CSV values are + enclosed in quotes, note: o they must be double quotes (not single quotes) o spaces outside the quotes are not allowed File Extension - To help hledger identify the format and show the right error messages, - CSV/SSV/TSV files should normally be named with a .csv, .ssv or .tsv - filename extension. Or, the file path should be prefixed with csv:, + To help hledger identify the format and show the right error messages, + CSV/SSV/TSV files should normally be named with a .csv, .ssv or .tsv + filename extension. Or, the file path should be prefixed with csv:, ssv: or tsv:. Eg: $ hledger -f foo.ssv print @@ -5783,48 +5846,48 @@ CSV FORMAT $ cat foo | hledger -f ssv:- foo - You can override the file extension with a separator rule if needed. + You can override the file extension with a separator rule if needed. See also: Input files in the hledger manual. Reading multiple CSV files - If you use multiple -f options to read multiple CSV files at once, - hledger will look for a correspondingly-named rules file for each CSV - file. But if you use the --rules-file option, that rules file will be + 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 used for all the CSV files. Valid transactions After reading a CSV file, hledger post-processes and validates the gen- erated journal entries as it would for a journal file - balancing them, - applying balance assignments, and canonicalising amount styles. Any - errors at this stage will be reported in the usual way, displaying the + applying balance assignments, and canonicalising amount styles. Any + errors at this stage will be reported in the usual way, displaying the problem entry. There is one exception: balance assertions, if you have generated them, - will not be checked, since normally these will work only when the CSV - data is part of the main journal. If you do need to check balance as- - sertions generated from CSV right away, pipe into another hledger: + will not be checked, since normally these will work only when the CSV + data is part of the main journal. If you do need to check balance + assertions generated from CSV right away, pipe into another hledger: $ hledger -f file.csv print | hledger -f- print Deduplicating, importing - When you download a CSV file periodically, eg to get your latest bank - transactions, the new file may overlap with the old one, containing + When you download a CSV file periodically, eg to get your latest bank + transactions, the new file may overlap with the old one, containing some 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 file.) This + 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. # Note, no -f flags needed here. $ hledger import *.csv [--dry] - This method works for most CSV files. (Where records have a stable + This method works for most CSV files. (Where records have a stable chronological order, and new records appear only at the new end.) - A number of other tools and workflows, hledger-specific and otherwise, + A number of other tools and workflows, hledger-specific and otherwise, exist for converting, deduplicating, classifying and managing CSV data. See: @@ -5842,8 +5905,8 @@ CSV FORMAT the Nth posting's amount. N is usually 1 or 2 but can go up to 99. 2. If the CSV has separate Debit and Credit amount fields: - Assign to amountN-in and amountN-out. This sets posting N's amount to - whichever of these has a non-zero value, guessing an appropriate sign. + Assign to amountN-in and amountN-out. This sets posting N's amount to + whichever of these has a non-zero value, guessing an appropriate sign. o If hledger guesses the wrong sign: Prepend a minus sign to flip it. Eg: @@ -5950,10 +6013,18 @@ CSV FORMAT Note we used a temporary field name (cur) that is not currency - that would trigger the prepending effect, which we don't want here. + Amount decimal places + Like amounts in a journal file, the amounts generated by CSV rules like + amount1 influence commodity display styles, such as the number of deci- + mal 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). + Referencing other fields - In field assignments, you can interpolate only CSV fields, not hledger - fields. In the example below, there's both a CSV field and a hledger - field named amount1, but %amount1 always means the CSV field, not the + 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 + field named amount1, but %amount1 always means the CSV field, not the hledger field: # Name the third CSV field "amount1" @@ -5965,7 +6036,7 @@ CSV FORMAT # 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 lit- + Here, since there's no CSV amount1 field, %amount1 will produce a lit- eral "amount1": fields date,description,csvamount @@ -5973,7 +6044,7 @@ CSV FORMAT # Can't interpolate amount1 here comment %amount1 - When there are multiple field assignments to the same hledger field, + 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 C if "something" is matched, but never A: @@ -5983,15 +6054,15 @@ CSV FORMAT comment C 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, - o include - all includes are inlined, from top to bottom, depth first. - (At each include point the file is inlined and scanned for further + o 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 re- - peated, the last one wins: + Then "global" rules are evaluated, top to bottom. If a rule is + repeated, the last one wins: o skip (at top level) @@ -6004,33 +6075,33 @@ CSV FORMAT Then for each CSV record in turn: - o test all if blocks. If any of them contain a end rule, skip all re- - maining CSV records. Otherwise if any of them contain a skip rule, - skip that many CSV records. If there are multiple matched skip + o 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. - o collect all field assignments at top level and in matched if blocks. - When there are multiple assignments for a field, keep only the last + o 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. - o compute a value for each hledger field - either the one that was as- - signed to it (and interpolate the %CSVFIELDNAME references), or a de- - fault + o compute a value for each hledger field - either the one that was + assigned to it (and interpolate the %CSVFIELDNAME references), or a + default o generate a synthetic hledger transaction 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 successfully, - the transactions are passed as input to whichever hledger command the + 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 successfully, + the transactions are passed as input to whichever hledger command the user specified. TIMECLOCK FORMAT The time logging format of timeclock.el, as read by hledger. - hledger can read time logs in timeclock format. As with Ledger, these + hledger can read time logs in timeclock format. As with Ledger, 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. + 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). @@ -6039,9 +6110,9 @@ TIMECLOCK FORMAT i 2015/03/31 22:21:45 another account 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 + 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: $ hledger -f t.timeclock print @@ -6062,70 +6133,70 @@ TIMECLOCK FORMAT To generate time logs, ie to clock in and clock out, you could: - o use emacs and the built-in timeclock.el, or the extended timeclock- + o use emacs and the built-in timeclock.el, or the extended timeclock- x.el and perhaps the extras in ledgerutils.el o at the command line, use these bash aliases: shell alias ti="echo - i `date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S'` \$* >>$TIMELOG" alias to="echo o + i `date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S'` \$* >>$TIMELOG" alias to="echo o `date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S'` >>$TIMELOG" o 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 + rely on a "timeclock" executable which I think is just the ledger 2 executable renamed. TIMEDOT FORMAT hledger's human-friendly time logging format. - Timedot is a plain text format for logging dated, categorised quanti- - ties (of time, usually), supported by hledger. It is convenient for - approximate and retroactive time logging, eg when the real-time clock- - in/out required with a timeclock file is too precise or too interrup- - tive. It can be formatted like a bar chart, making clear at a glance + Timedot is a plain text format for logging dated, categorised quanti- + ties (of time, usually), supported by hledger. It is convenient for + approximate and retroactive time logging, eg when the real-time clock- + in/out required with a timeclock file is too precise or too interrup- + tive. It can be formatted like a bar chart, making clear at a glance where time was spent. - Though called "timedot", this format is read by hledger as commodity- - less quantities, so it could be used to represent dated quantities + Though called "timedot", this format is read by hledger as commodity- + less quantities, so it could be used to represent dated quantities other than time. In the docs below we'll assume it's time. - A timedot file contains a series of day entries. A day entry begins - with a non-indented hledger-style simple date (Y-M-D, Y/M/D, Y.M.D..) - Any additional text on the same line is used as a transaction descrip- + A timedot file contains a series of day entries. A day entry begins + with a non-indented hledger-style simple date (Y-M-D, Y/M/D, Y.M.D..) + Any additional text on the same line is used as a transaction descrip- tion for this day. This is followed by optionally-indented timelog items for that day, one - per line. Each timelog item is a note, usually a hledger:style:ac- - count:name representing a time category, followed by two or more spa- - ces, and a quantity. Each timelog item generates a hledger transac- - tion. + per line. Each timelog item is a note, usually a + hledger:style:account:name representing a time category, followed by + two or more spaces, and a quantity. Each timelog item generates a + hledger transaction. Quantities can be written as: - o dots: a sequence of dots (.) representing quarter hours. Spaces may + o dots: a sequence of dots (.) representing quarter hours. Spaces may optionally be used for grouping. Eg: .... .. o an integral or decimal number, representing hours. Eg: 1.5 - o an integral or decimal number immediately followed by a unit symbol - s, m, h, d, w, mo, or y, representing seconds, minutes, hours, days + o an integral or decimal number immediately followed by a unit symbol + s, m, h, d, w, mo, or y, representing seconds, minutes, hours, days weeks, months or years respectively. Eg: 90m. The following equiva- - lencies are assumed, currently: 1m = 60s, 1h = 60m, 1d = 24h, 1w = + lencies are assumed, currently: 1m = 60s, 1h = 60m, 1d = 24h, 1w = 7d, 1mo = 30d, 1y=365d. - There is some flexibility allowing notes and todo lists to be kept + There is some flexibility allowing notes and todo lists to be kept right in the time log, if needed: o Blank lines and lines beginning with # or ; are ignored. o Lines not ending with a double-space and quantity are parsed as items - taking no time, which will not appear in balance reports by default. + taking no time, which will not appear in balance reports by default. (Add -E to see them.) - o Org mode headlines (lines beginning with one or more * followed by a - space) can be used as date lines or timelog items (the stars are ig- - nored). Also all org headlines before the first date line are ig- - nored. This means org users can manage their timelog as an org out- - line (eg using org-mode/orgstruct-mode in Emacs), for organisation, - faster navigation, controlling visibility etc. + o Org mode headlines (lines beginning with one or more * followed by a + space) can be used as date lines or timelog items (the stars are + ignored). Also all org headlines before the first date line are + ignored. This means org users can manage their timelog as an org + outline (eg using org-mode/orgstruct-mode in Emacs), for organisa- + tion, faster navigation, controlling visibility etc. Examples: @@ -6189,7 +6260,7 @@ TIMEDOT FORMAT ------------++---------------------------------------- || 7.75 2.25 8.00 - I prefer to use period for separating account components. We can make + I prefer to use period for separating account components. We can make this work with an account alias: 2016/2/4 @@ -6206,9 +6277,9 @@ TIMEDOT FORMAT Here is a sample.timedot. COMMON TASKS - Here are some quick examples of how to do some basic tasks with - hledger. For more details, see the reference section below, the - hledger_journal(5) manual, or the more extensive docs at + Here are some quick examples of how to do some basic tasks with + hledger. For more details, see the reference section below, the + hledger_journal(5) manual, or the more extensive docs at https://hledger.org. Getting help @@ -6224,26 +6295,26 @@ COMMON TASKS https://hledger.org#help-feedback Constructing command lines - hledger has an extensive and powerful command line interface. We + hledger has an extensive and powerful command line interface. We strive to keep it simple and ergonomic, but you may run into one of the confusing real world details described in OPTIONS, below. If that hap- pens, here are some tips that may help: - o command-specific options must go after the command (it's fine to put + o command-specific options must go after the command (it's fine to put all options there) (hledger CMD OPTS ARGS) - o running add-on executables directly simplifies command line parsing + 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 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 @@ -6251,9 +6322,9 @@ 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 @@ -6277,20 +6348,20 @@ 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 re- - cent starting date, like today or the start of the week. You can al- - ways come back later and add more accounts and older transactions, eg + 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 @@ -6300,19 +6371,19 @@ 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 @@ -6349,18 +6420,18 @@ 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 @@ -6376,22 +6447,22 @@ 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 al- - ready-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: @@ -6401,26 +6472,26 @@ 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 re- - ported by hledger reg checking -C. This will be easier if you gen- - erally record transaction dates quite similar to your bank's clear- - ing dates. + 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-up- - dating register while you edit the journal: hledger-ui --watch --regis- - ter checking -C + 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 @@ -6492,7 +6563,7 @@ 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 --flat -2 @@ -6502,7 +6573,7 @@ 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 --flat -2 @@ -6569,15 +6640,15 @@ 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. 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 locale @@ -6593,20 +6664,20 @@ LIMITATIONS In a Cygwin/MSYS/Mintty window, the tab key is not supported in hledger add. - Not all of Ledger's journal file syntax is supported. See file format + Not all of Ledger's journal file syntax is supported. See file format differences. - On large data files, hledger is slower and uses more memory than + On large data files, hledger is slower and uses more memory than Ledger. TROUBLESHOOTING - Here are some issues you might encounter when you run hledger (and re- - member you can also seek help from the IRC channel, mail list or bug + Here are some issues you might encounter when you run hledger (and + remember you can also seek help from the IRC channel, mail list or bug tracker): Successfully installed, but "No command 'hledger' found" stack and cabal install binaries into a special directory, which should - be added to your PATH environment variable. Eg on unix-like systems, + 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 @@ -6638,8 +6709,8 @@ TROUBLESHOOTING $ LANG=en_US.utf8 hledger -f my.journal print # ensure it is used for this command If available, C.UTF-8 will also work. If your preferred locale isn't - listed by locale -a, you might need to install it. Eg on Ubuntu/De- - bian: + listed by locale -a, you might need to install it. Eg on + Ubuntu/Debian: $ apt-get install language-pack-fr $ locale -a