hledger/site/doc/1.0/hledger-web.md

# hledger-web

This doc is for version **1.0**. <span class="docversions"></span>

-   toc

## NAME

hledger-web - web interface for the hledger accounting tool

## SYNOPSIS

`hledger-web [OPTIONS]`\
`hledger web -- [OPTIONS]`

<style>
.highslide img {max-width:250px; float:right; margin:0 0 1em 1em;}
.highslide-caption {color:white; background-color:black;}
</style>
<a href="images/hledger-web/normal/register.png" class="highslide" onclick="return hs.expand(this)"><img src="images/hledger-web/normal/register.png" title="Account register view with accounts sidebar" /></a>
<a href="images/hledger-web/normal/journal.png" class="highslide" onclick="return hs.expand(this)"><img src="images/hledger-web/normal/journal.png" title="Journal view" /></a>

<a href="images/hledger-web/normal/help.png" class="highslide" onclick="return hs.expand(this)"><img src="images/hledger-web/normal/help.png" title="Help dialog" /></a>
<a href="images/hledger-web/normal/add.png" class="highslide" onclick="return hs.expand(this)"><img src="images/hledger-web/normal/add.png" title="Add form" /></a>

## DESCRIPTION

hledger is a cross-platform program for tracking money, time, or any
other commodity, using double-entry accounting and a 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
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.

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.

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),
hledger\_journal(5) etc.

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 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).

``` {.shell}
$ hledger web
Starting web app on port 5000 with base url http://localhost:5000
Starting web browser if possible
Web app will auto-exit after a few minutes with no browsers (or press ctrl-c)
```

With `--server`, it starts the web app in non-transient mode and logs
requests to the console. Typically when running hledger web as part of a
website you'll want to use `--base-url` to set the
protocol/hostname/port/path to be used in hyperlinks. The `--file-url`
option allows static files to be served from a different url, eg for
better caching or cookie-less serving.

You can use `--port` to listen on a different TCP port, eg if you are
running multiple hledger-web instances. This need not be the same as the
PORT in the base url.

Note there is no built-in access control, so you will need to hide
hledger-web behind an authenticating proxy (such as apache or nginx) if
you want to restrict who can see and add entries to your journal.

Command-line options and arguments may be used to set an initial filter
on the data. This is not shown in the web UI, but it will be applied in
addition to any search query entered there.

With journal and timeclock files (but not CSV files, currently) the web
app detects changes made by other means and will show the new data on
the next request. If a change makes the file unparseable, hledger-web
will show an error until the file has been fixed.

## OPTIONS

Note: if invoking hledger-web as a hledger subcommand, write `--` before
options as shown above.

`--server`
:   disable browser-opening and auto-exit-on-idle, and log all requests
    to stdout

`--port=PORT`
:   set the TCP port to listen on (default: 5000)

`--base-url=URL`
:   set the base url (default: http://localhost: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
    normally serves static files itself, but if you wanted to serve them
    from another server for efficiency, you would set the url with this.

hledger general options:

`-h`
:   show general usage (or after COMMAND, the command's usage)

`--help`
:   show the current program's manual as plain text (or after an add-on
    COMMAND, the add-on's manual)

`--man`
:   show the current program's manual with man

`--info`
:   show the current program's manual with info

`--version`
:   show version

`--debug[=N]`
:   show debug output (levels 1-9, default: 1)

`-f FILE --file=FILE`
:   use a different input file. For stdin, use -

`--rules-file=RULESFILE`
:   Conversion rules file to use when reading CSV (default: FILE.rules)

`--alias=OLD=NEW`
:   display accounts named OLD as NEW

`-I --ignore-assertions`
:   ignore any failing balance assertions in the journal

hledger reporting options:

`-b --begin=DATE`
:   include postings/txns on or after this date

`-e --end=DATE`
:   include postings/txns before this date

`-D --daily`
:   multiperiod/multicolumn report by day

`-W --weekly`
:   multiperiod/multicolumn report by week

`-M --monthly`
:   multiperiod/multicolumn report by month

`-Q --quarterly`
:   multiperiod/multicolumn report by quarter

`-Y --yearly`
:   multiperiod/multicolumn report by year

`-p --period=PERIODEXP`
:   set start date, end date, and/or reporting interval all at once
    (overrides the flags above)

`--date2`
:   show, and match with -b/-e/-p/date:, secondary dates instead

`-C --cleared`
:   include only cleared postings/txns

`--pending`
:   include only pending postings/txns

`-U --uncleared`
:   include only uncleared (and pending) postings/txns

`-R --real`
:   include only non-virtual postings

`--depth=N`
:   hide accounts/postings deeper than N

`-E --empty`
:   show items with zero amount, normally hidden

`-B --cost`
:   convert amounts to their cost at transaction time (using the
    [transaction price](journal.html#transaction-prices), if any)

`--pivot TAG`
:   will transform the journal before any other processing by replacing
    the account name of every posting having the tag TAG with content
    VALUE by the account name "TAG:VALUE". The TAG will only match if it
    is a full-length match. The pivot will only happen if the TAG is on
    a posting, not if it is on the transaction. If the tag value is a
    multi:level:account:name the new account name will
    be "TAG:multi:level:account:name".

`--anon`
:   show anonymized accounts and payees

## ENVIRONMENT

**LEDGER\_FILE** The journal file path when not specified with `-f`.
Default: `~/.hledger.journal` (on windows, perhaps
`C:/Users/USER/.hledger.journal`).

## FILES

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`).

## BUGS

The need to precede options with `--` when invoked from hledger is
awkward.

`-f-` doesn't work (hledger-web can't read from stdin).

Query arguments and some hledger options are ignored.

Does not work in text-mode browsers.

Does not work well on small screens.