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<!-- hledger repo and http://hledger.org versions of this document are periodically bidirectionally synced -->
<!-- hledger.org and hledger repo versions last synced: 2014/5/1 -->
# User Manual
This manual is for
<!-- [hledger 0.22.1](http://hackage.haskell.org/package/hledger-0.22.1) -->
<!-- (and [hledger-web 0.22.4](http://hackage.haskell.org/package/hledger-web-0.22.4)). -->
hledger 0.22.98 (the latest pre-0.23 HEAD).
<!-- See also: [[0.22/manual|0.22 Manual]]. -->
<!-- hledger 0.23.98 (the latest pre-0.23 HEAD). -->
[hledger 0.23](http://hackage.haskell.org/package/hledger-0.23).
<!-- Other versions: [[0.22/manual|0.22 Manual]]. -->
It is partly an introduction, but mainly a reference manual for hledger.
For a more gradual introduction, see [[step-by-step]] and [[more docs]].
## Introduction
[[home|hledger]] is a program for tracking money, time,
@ -421,8 +421,8 @@ which have no commodity symbol (including [[#add|added]] amounts), with the D di
D £1,000.00
2010/1/1
a 2340 ; no symbol, will use default commodity and style
; (pound symbol on left, comma thousands separator, two decimal places)
a 2340 ; no symbol, so will use the default commodity above, and its style
; (pound symbol on left, comma thousands separator, at least two decimal places)
b
A default commodity directive can also influence the
@ -637,8 +637,10 @@ hledger provides a number of subcommands out of the box; run `hledger` with no a
More [add-on commands](#add-ons) will appear if you install additional `hledger-*` packages,
or if you put programs or scripts named `hledger-NAME` in your PATH.
To run a command, you just need to type its unique prefix, eg `hledger reg` is a shortcut for `hledger register`.
(Also, `hledger bs` is short for `hledger balancesheet`.)
To select which command to run, write it as the first command-line
argument. You can write its full name (eg `balance`), or one of the
standard short aliases displayed in parentheses in the command list
(eg `bs`), or any unambiguous prefix of a command (eg `inc`).
### Data entry
@ -650,31 +652,35 @@ For more interactive data entry, there is the `add` command and also the `web` a
The add command prompts interactively for new transactions, and appends
them to the journal file. Just run `hledger add` and follow the prompts.
You can add as many transactions as you like; when you are finished,
press control-d or control-c to exit.
enter `.` or press control-d or control-c to exit.
Additional convenience features:
- Sensible defaults are provided where possible.
You can set the initial defaults by providing them as command line arguments.
If there is a recent transaction with a description similar
to the one you entered, it will be displayed and used for defaults.
- add tries to provide useful defaults, using the most similar recent
transaction (by description) as a template.
- You can also set the initial defaults with command line arguments.
- [Readline-style edit keys](http://tiswww.case.edu/php/chet/readline/rluserman.html#SEC3)
may be used during data entry. Eg control-p recalls previous entries.
can be used during data entry.
- While entering account names, the tab key will auto-complete or list
the available completions, based on the existing transactions.
- The tab key will auto-complete whenever possible - accounts,
descriptions, dates (`yesterday`, `today`, `tomorrow`). If the input
area is empty, it will insert the default value.
- If the journal defines a [default commodity](#default-commodity),
- If the journal defines a [[#default-commodity|default commodity]],
it will be added to any bare numbers entered.
- A code (in parentheses) may be entered at the Date: prompt, following the date.
Comments and/or tags may be entered following a date or amount.
- A parenthesised transaction [[#entries|code]] may be entered following a date.
- [[#comments|Comments]] and tags may be entered following a description or amount.
- If you make a mistake, enter `<` at any prompt to restart the transaction.
An example:
- Input prompts are displayed in a different colour when the terminal supports it.
Here's [[step-by-step#record-a-transaction-with-hledger-add|an example]].
<!--
$ hledger add
(...)
Starting a new transaction.
@ -703,11 +709,16 @@ An example:
Starting a new transaction.
date ? [2013/04/09]: <CTRL-D>
$
-->
### Reporting
These are the commands for actually querying your ledger.
The most basic reporting commands are `print`, `register` and `balance`:
#### accounts
This command lists matched account names, in a flat list by default, or in hierarchy
with the `--tree` flag. With no query arguments, all account names are listed.
#### print
@ -746,6 +757,10 @@ summary postings within each interval:
$ hledger register --monthly rent
$ hledger register --monthly -E food --depth 4
Note that the report start/end dates will be "enlarged" in this case
so that they encompass the displayed intervals. This is so that the
first and last intervals will be "full" and comparable to the others.
The `--average`/`-A` flag shows the running average posting amount instead of the running total.
The `--related`/`-r` flag shows the *other* postings in the transactions
@ -759,50 +774,84 @@ Note, currently -w/--width can not have a space between flag and value ([#149](h
#### balance
The balance command displays accounts and their balances, indented to show the account hierarchy.
Examples:
The balance command displays accounts and their balances.
##### Simple balance reports
Simple balance reports have no [[#reporting-interval|reporting interval]].
They show the sum of matched postings in each account.
(If postings are not date-restricted, this is usually the same as the ending balance).
$ hledger balance
$ hledger balance food -p 'last month'
$ hledger balance -p 'last month' expenses:food
Accounts which have zero balance (and no non-zero subaccounts) will be
omitted by default; use `-E/--empty` to show them. "Boring parent"
accounts, which contain a single interesting subaccount and no balance
of their own, are elided into the subaccount's line for more compact output;
use `--no-elide` to prevent this.
By default, simple balance reports display the accounts as a
hierarchy, with subaccounts indented below their parent. Each
account's balance is the "inclusive" balance - it includes the
balances of any subaccounts.
A final total is displayed, use `--no-total` to suppress this. Also, the
`--depth N` option shows accounts only to the specified depth, useful for
an overview:
"Boring parent accounts" (containing a single interesting subaccount
and no balance of their own) are elided into the following line for
more compact output. Use `--no-elide` to prevent this.
$ for y in 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010; do echo; echo $y; hledger -f $y.journal balance ^expenses --depth 2; done
Accounts which have zero balance (and no non-zero subaccounts) are
omitted. Use `-E/--empty` to show them.
With `--flat`, a simple list of full account names is displayed instead, each with it's inclusive balance (including any subaccount balances).
In this mode you can use `--drop N` to elide the first few account name components.
The `--depth` flag also works.
A final total is displayed by default; use `--no-total` to suppress it.
With a [reporting interval](#reporting-interval), multiple columns
will be shown, one for each period. There are three modes available:
##### Flat mode
1. By default each column shows the sum of postings in that period, ie
the account's change of balance in that period. This is good for a
To see a flat list of full account names instead of the hierarchy, use `--flat`.
In this mode, each account's balance is the "exclusive" balance - it excludes subaccount balances
(except when aggregating deeper accounts at the depth limit, see below).
Also, you can use `--drop N` to omit the first few account name components.
##### Depth limiting
With `--depth N`, balance shows accounts only to the specified depth.
In flat mode, it also aggregates and summarises deeper accounts at the depth limit.
This is very useful to summarise complex charts of accounts.
<!-- $ for y in 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010; do echo; echo $y; hledger -f $y.journal balance ^expenses --depth 2; done -->
##### Multi balance reports
With a [[#reporting-interval|reporting interval]], multiple balance
columns will be shown, one for each report period.
There are three types of multi-column balance report, showing different information:
1. 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.
<!--
multi-column income statement:
$ hledger balance ^income ^expense -p 'monthly this year' --depth 3
or cashflow statement:
or cashflow statement:
$ hledger balance ^assets ^liabilities 'not:(receivable|payable)' -p 'weekly this month'
-->
2. With `--cumulative`, the report shows the ending balance for each
account at the end of each period, starting from zero at the report
start date.
3. With `--historical/-H`, it shows the actual ending balance at the
end of each period, including any balance from postings before the
report start date. This is good for historical balance sheets:
2. With `--cumulative`: each column shows the ending balance for that
period, accumulating the changes across periods, starting from 0 at
the report start date. This mode is not often used.
3. With `--historical/-H`: each column shows the actual historical
ending balance for that period, accumulating the changes across
periods, starting from the actual balance at the report start date.
This is useful eg for a multi-year balance sheet.
<!--
$ hledger balance ^assets ^liabilities -YH
-->
Multi-column balance reports display accounts in flat mode by default;
to see the hierarchy, use `--tree`.
Note that with a reporting interval, the report start/end dates will
be "enlarged" 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.
#### incomestatement
@ -863,12 +912,26 @@ Examples:
### Add-ons
Add-on commands are executables named `hledger-*` installed in your
PATH. hledger will detect these at startup and offer them as extra
commands. Run `hledger` without a command to see a list.
Add-on commands are executables in your PATH whose name starts with
`hledger-` and ends with no file extension or one of these common
executable extensions:
`.hs`,`.lhs`,`.pl`,`.py`,`.rb`,`.rkt`,`.sh`,`.bat`,`.com`,`.exe`.
(Also, add-on names may not be the same as any built-in command or alias).
hledger-web is released along with hledger and supported on all the
major platforms, while other add-ons may or may not be.
hledger will detect these and act as a convenient front end, displaying them in
the command list and letting you invoke them with `hledger ADDON`.
There are some tricks when specifying options:
- Options appearing before ADDON will be visible only to hledger and not be passed to the add-on.
Eg: `hledger --help web` shows hledger's help, `hledger web --help` shows hledger-web's help.
- Options understood only by the add-on must go after a `--` argument so that hledger does not reject them.
Eg: `hledger web -- --server`.
Add-ons which are written in haskell can take advantage of hledger's library API
for journal parsing, reports, consistent command-line options etc.
One notable add-on is [[#web|hledger-web]], which is maintained along with
hledger and supported on the same major platforms. Other add-ons may
have different release schedules and platform support.
#### autosync
@ -958,10 +1021,6 @@ make them available. The scripts are designed to run interpreted on
unix systems (for tweaking), or you can compile them (for speed and
robustness).
#### accountnames.hs
Prints all account names in the default journal.
#### balance-csv.hs
Like the balance command, but with CSV output.
@ -987,6 +1046,9 @@ Prints only journal entries which are unique (by description).
Like the register command, but with CSV output.
#### rewrite.hs
Prints all journal entries, adding specified custom postings to matched entries.
<!-- unmaintained:
@ -1072,11 +1134,12 @@ A query term can be any of the following:
- `status:1` or `status:0` - match cleared/uncleared transactions
- `real:1` or `real:0` - match real/virtual-ness
- `empty:1` or `empty:0` - match if amount is/is not zero
- `amt:N` or `amt:=N`, `amt:<N`, `amt:>N` - match postings with a
single-commodity amount equal to, less than, or greater than N.
(Multi-commodity amounts are not tested, and always match.)
This has two modes of operation: if N is preceded by a `+` or `-` sign, the
actual signed numbers are compared; otherwise the unsigned absolute values are compared.
- `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 is preceded by a `+` or `-` sign
(or is 0), the two signed numbers are compared. Otherwise, the
absolute magnitudes are compared, ignoring sign.
- `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