# hledger
## lightweight, portable, dependable accounting tools
hledger is a computer program for easily tracking money, time, or other commodities,
on unix, mac and windows.
It was inspired by and maintains substantial compatibility with [Ledger](faq.html#hledger-and-ledger).
hledger is first a command-line tool, but there is also a
web interface,
and a
Haskell library
for building your own programs and
scripts
(hledger is written in Haskell).
hledger is free software, available under the GNU GPLv3+,
created by [Simon Michael](http://joyful.com) and [contributors](contributors.html).
hledger aims to help both computer experts and regular folks gain more clarity and control over their time and money
(but currently it is a bit more suited to techies).
Despite its limited GUI, hledger is usable, capable and reliable.
For some of us, it is a simple, flexible, future-proof alternative to Quicken or GnuCash.
I've been using and improving it continuously since 2007, using it to:
- track spending and income
- see time reports by day/week/month/project
- get accurate numbers for client billing and tax filing
- track invoices
To get started, you could
**[download](download.html)**,
read the **[tutorial](step-by-step.html)**,
or **[join the IRC channel](http://hledger.org/irc)** and ask questions.
|-------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| IRC | [#hledger](http://hledger.org/irc) (see also [#ledger](http://webchat.freenode.net?channels=ledger&randomnick=1)) |
| Mail list | [hledger.org/list](http://hledger.org/list) |
| Twitter | [#ledgercli](https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ledgercli&src=typd&f=realtime), @LedgerTips |
