36 lines
1.4 KiB
Markdown
36 lines
1.4 KiB
Markdown
This is hledger’s command-line interface (there are also curses and web
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interfaces). Its basic function is to read a plain text file describing
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financial transactions (in accounting terms, a general journal) and
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print useful reports on standard output, or export them as CSV. hledger
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can also read CSV files, converting them semi-automatically to journal
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format. Additionally, hledger lists other hledger-\* executables found
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in the user’s \$PATH and can invoke them as subcommands.
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The journal file is `~/.hledger.journal` by default, or another file path
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specified by `$LEDGER_FILE`.
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(This should be a real environment variable, not a shell variable.)
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You can also specify a file with `-f FILE`,
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or standard input with `-f-`.
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Transactions are dated movements of money between two (or more) named
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accounts, and are recorded with journal entries like this:
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_journal_({{
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2015/10/16 bought food
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expenses:food $10
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assets:cash
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}})
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For more about the format, see hledger_journal(5).
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Most users use a text editor to edit the journal, usually with an editor
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mode such as ledger-mode for added convenience. hledger’s interactive
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add command is another way to record new transactions. hledger never
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changes existing transactions.
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To get started, you can either save some entries like the above in
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`~/.hledger.journal`, or run `hledger add` and follow the prompts. Then
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try some commands like `hledger print` or `hledger balance`.
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See COMMANDS and EXAMPLES below.
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