diff --git a/hledger-lib/hledger_journal.5 b/hledger-lib/hledger_journal.5 index 4b71c628e..83e917a2c 100644 --- a/hledger-lib/hledger_journal.5 +++ b/hledger-lib/hledger_journal.5 @@ -26,17 +26,14 @@ It\[aq]s safe, and encouraged, to run both hledger and ledger on the same journal file, eg to validate the results you\[aq]re getting. .PP You can use hledger without learning any more about this file; just use -the add or web commands to create and update it. -Many users, though, also edit the journal file directly with a text -editor, perhaps assisted by the helper modes for emacs or vim. +the add or web or import commands to create and update it. .PP -Helper modes exist for popular text editors, which make working with -journal files easier. -They add colour, formatting, tab completion, and helpful commands, and -are quite recommended if you edit your journal with a text editor. -They include ledger-mode or hledger-mode for Emacs, vim-ledger for Vim, -hledger-vscode for Visual Studio Code, and others. -See the Editor configuration at hledger.org for the latest information. +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 hledger-vscode for Visual Studio Code, make this easier, +adding colour, formatting, tab completion, and useful commands. +See Editor configuration at hledger.org for the full list. .SH FILE FORMAT .PP Here\[aq]s a description of each part of the file format (and @@ -95,18 +92,18 @@ dates documented in the hledger manual.) .PP 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, eg for more accurate balances, you can +When you want to model this, for more accurate daily balances, you can specify individual posting dates. .PP -Or, you can use the older \f[I]secondary date\f[R] feature. -(Ledger calls it auxiliary date or effective date.) But I would -recommend avoiding this feature; posting dates are almost always clearer -and simpler. -We support it mainly for compatibility. +Or, you can use the older \f[I]secondary date\f[R] feature (Ledger calls +it 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. .PP A secondary date is written after the primary date, following an equals sign. -The primary date\[aq]s year will be used if the year is omitted. +If the year is omitted, the primary date\[aq]s year is assumed. When running reports, the primary (left) date is used by default, but with the \f[C]--date2\f[R] flag (or \f[C]--aux-date\f[R] or \f[C]--effective\f[R]), the secondary (right) date will be used instead. diff --git a/hledger-lib/hledger_journal.info b/hledger-lib/hledger_journal.info index 8ab1c5be6..3ba94df5c 100644 --- a/hledger-lib/hledger_journal.info +++ b/hledger-lib/hledger_journal.info @@ -23,16 +23,14 @@ 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 commands to create and update it. Many users, -though, also edit the journal file directly with a text editor, perhaps -assisted by the helper modes for emacs or vim. +use the add or web or import commands to create and update it. - Helper modes exist for popular text editors, which make working with -journal files easier. They add colour, formatting, tab completion, and -helpful commands, and are quite recommended if you edit your journal -with a text editor. They include ledger-mode or hledger-mode for Emacs, -vim-ledger for Vim, hledger-vscode for Visual Studio Code, and others. -See the Editor configuration at hledger.org for the latest information. + 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 +hledger-vscode for Visual Studio Code, make this easier, adding colour, +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 @@ -125,17 +123,17 @@ File: hledger_journal.info, Node: Secondary dates, Next: Posting dates, Prev: 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, eg for more accurate 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 -auxiliary date or effective date.) But I would recommend avoiding this -feature; posting dates are almost always clearer and simpler. We -support it mainly for compatibility. + Or, you can use the older _secondary date_ feature (Ledger calls it +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. The primary date's year will be used if the year is -omitted. When running reports, the primary (left) date is used by +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. @@ -1727,116 +1725,116 @@ rules will have these tags added:  Tag Table: Node: Top76 -Node: Transactions2033 -Ref: #transactions2125 -Node: Dates3314 -Ref: #dates3413 -Node: Simple dates3478 -Ref: #simple-dates3604 -Node: Secondary dates4113 -Ref: #secondary-dates4267 -Node: Posting dates5601 -Ref: #posting-dates5730 -Node: Status7102 -Ref: #status7223 -Node: Description8931 -Ref: #description9065 -Node: Payee and note9385 -Ref: #payee-and-note9499 -Node: Comments9834 -Ref: #comments9960 -Node: Tags11130 -Ref: #tags11245 -Node: Postings12638 -Ref: #postings12766 -Node: Virtual Postings13792 -Ref: #virtual-postings13909 -Node: Account names15215 -Ref: #account-names15356 -Node: Amounts15843 -Ref: #amounts15982 -Node: Digit group marks16915 -Ref: #digit-group-marks17064 -Node: Amount display format18002 -Ref: #amount-display-format18159 -Node: Transaction prices19184 -Ref: #transaction-prices19350 -Node: Balance Assertions21616 -Ref: #balance-assertions21796 -Node: Assertions and ordering22829 -Ref: #assertions-and-ordering23017 -Node: Assertions and included files23717 -Ref: #assertions-and-included-files23960 -Node: Assertions and multiple -f options24293 -Ref: #assertions-and-multiple--f-options24549 -Node: Assertions and commodities24681 -Ref: #assertions-and-commodities24913 -Node: Assertions and prices26069 -Ref: #assertions-and-prices26283 -Node: Assertions and subaccounts26723 -Ref: #assertions-and-subaccounts26952 -Node: Assertions and virtual postings27276 -Ref: #assertions-and-virtual-postings27518 -Node: Assertions and precision27660 -Ref: #assertions-and-precision27853 -Node: Balance Assignments28120 -Ref: #balance-assignments28294 -Node: Balance assignments and prices29459 -Ref: #balance-assignments-and-prices29631 -Node: Directives29855 -Ref: #directives30014 -Node: Comment blocks35693 -Ref: #comment-blocks35838 -Node: Including other files36014 -Ref: #including-other-files36194 -Node: Default year36602 -Ref: #default-year36771 -Node: Declaring commodities37178 -Ref: #declaring-commodities37361 -Node: Default commodity39022 -Ref: #default-commodity39198 -Node: Market prices39832 -Ref: #market-prices39997 -Node: Declaring accounts40838 -Ref: #declaring-accounts41014 -Node: Account comments41939 -Ref: #account-comments42102 -Node: Account subdirectives42526 -Ref: #account-subdirectives42721 -Node: Account types43034 -Ref: #account-types43218 -Node: Account display order44860 -Ref: #account-display-order45030 -Node: Rewriting accounts46181 -Ref: #rewriting-accounts46366 -Node: Basic aliases47092 -Ref: #basic-aliases47238 -Node: Regex aliases47942 -Ref: #regex-aliases48114 -Node: Combining aliases48832 -Ref: #combining-aliases49010 -Node: end aliases50286 -Ref: #end-aliases50434 -Node: Default parent account50535 -Ref: #default-parent-account50701 -Node: Periodic transactions51585 -Ref: #periodic-transactions51784 -Node: Periodic rule syntax53656 -Ref: #periodic-rule-syntax53862 -Node: Two spaces between period expression and description!54566 -Ref: #two-spaces-between-period-expression-and-description54885 -Node: Forecasting with periodic transactions55569 -Ref: #forecasting-with-periodic-transactions55874 -Node: Budgeting with periodic transactions57900 -Ref: #budgeting-with-periodic-transactions58139 -Node: Auto postings / transaction modifiers58588 -Ref: #auto-postings-transaction-modifiers58800 -Node: Auto postings and dates61029 -Ref: #auto-postings-and-dates61286 -Node: Auto postings and transaction balancing / inferred amounts / balance assertions61461 -Ref: #auto-postings-and-transaction-balancing-inferred-amounts-balance-assertions61836 -Node: Auto posting tags62214 -Ref: #auto-posting-tags62453 +Node: Transactions1875 +Ref: #transactions1967 +Node: Dates3156 +Ref: #dates3255 +Node: Simple dates3320 +Ref: #simple-dates3446 +Node: Secondary dates3955 +Ref: #secondary-dates4109 +Node: Posting dates5445 +Ref: #posting-dates5574 +Node: Status6946 +Ref: #status7067 +Node: Description8775 +Ref: #description8909 +Node: Payee and note9229 +Ref: #payee-and-note9343 +Node: Comments9678 +Ref: #comments9804 +Node: Tags10974 +Ref: #tags11089 +Node: Postings12482 +Ref: #postings12610 +Node: Virtual Postings13636 +Ref: #virtual-postings13753 +Node: Account names15059 +Ref: #account-names15200 +Node: Amounts15687 +Ref: #amounts15826 +Node: Digit group marks16759 +Ref: #digit-group-marks16908 +Node: Amount display format17846 +Ref: #amount-display-format18003 +Node: Transaction prices19028 +Ref: #transaction-prices19194 +Node: Balance Assertions21460 +Ref: #balance-assertions21640 +Node: Assertions and ordering22673 +Ref: #assertions-and-ordering22861 +Node: Assertions and included files23561 +Ref: #assertions-and-included-files23804 +Node: Assertions and multiple -f options24137 +Ref: #assertions-and-multiple--f-options24393 +Node: Assertions and commodities24525 +Ref: #assertions-and-commodities24757 +Node: Assertions and prices25913 +Ref: #assertions-and-prices26127 +Node: Assertions and subaccounts26567 +Ref: #assertions-and-subaccounts26796 +Node: Assertions and virtual postings27120 +Ref: #assertions-and-virtual-postings27362 +Node: Assertions and precision27504 +Ref: #assertions-and-precision27697 +Node: Balance Assignments27964 +Ref: #balance-assignments28138 +Node: Balance assignments and prices29303 +Ref: #balance-assignments-and-prices29475 +Node: Directives29699 +Ref: #directives29858 +Node: Comment blocks35537 +Ref: #comment-blocks35682 +Node: Including other files35858 +Ref: #including-other-files36038 +Node: Default year36446 +Ref: #default-year36615 +Node: Declaring commodities37022 +Ref: #declaring-commodities37205 +Node: Default commodity38866 +Ref: #default-commodity39042 +Node: Market prices39676 +Ref: #market-prices39841 +Node: Declaring accounts40682 +Ref: #declaring-accounts40858 +Node: Account comments41783 +Ref: #account-comments41946 +Node: Account subdirectives42370 +Ref: #account-subdirectives42565 +Node: Account types42878 +Ref: #account-types43062 +Node: Account display order44704 +Ref: #account-display-order44874 +Node: Rewriting accounts46025 +Ref: #rewriting-accounts46210 +Node: Basic aliases46936 +Ref: #basic-aliases47082 +Node: Regex aliases47786 +Ref: #regex-aliases47958 +Node: Combining aliases48676 +Ref: #combining-aliases48854 +Node: end aliases50130 +Ref: #end-aliases50278 +Node: Default parent account50379 +Ref: #default-parent-account50545 +Node: Periodic transactions51429 +Ref: #periodic-transactions51628 +Node: Periodic rule syntax53500 +Ref: #periodic-rule-syntax53706 +Node: Two spaces between period expression and description!54410 +Ref: #two-spaces-between-period-expression-and-description54729 +Node: Forecasting with periodic transactions55413 +Ref: #forecasting-with-periodic-transactions55718 +Node: Budgeting with periodic transactions57744 +Ref: #budgeting-with-periodic-transactions57983 +Node: Auto postings / transaction modifiers58432 +Ref: #auto-postings-transaction-modifiers58644 +Node: Auto postings and dates60873 +Ref: #auto-postings-and-dates61130 +Node: Auto postings and transaction balancing / inferred amounts / balance assertions61305 +Ref: #auto-postings-and-transaction-balancing-inferred-amounts-balance-assertions61680 +Node: Auto posting tags62058 +Ref: #auto-posting-tags62297  End Tag Table diff --git a/hledger-lib/hledger_journal.m4.md b/hledger-lib/hledger_journal.m4.md index 5153199f2..b74ff5cc5 100644 --- a/hledger-lib/hledger_journal.m4.md +++ b/hledger-lib/hledger_journal.m4.md @@ -27,9 +27,17 @@ 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](#add) or [web](#web) commands to create and update it. -Many users, though, also edit the journal file directly with a text -editor, perhaps assisted by the helper modes for emacs or vim. +use the [add](#add) or [web](#web) or [import](#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 hledger-vscode for Visual Studio Code, +make this easier, adding colour, formatting, tab completion, and useful commands. +See [Editor configuration](editors.html) at hledger.org for the full list. -Helper modes exist for popular text editors, which make working with -journal files easier. They add colour, formatting, tab completion, and -helpful commands, and are quite recommended if you edit your journal -with a text editor. They include ledger-mode or hledger-mode for -Emacs, vim-ledger for Vim, hledger-vscode for Visual Studio Code, and -others. See the [Editor configuration](editors.html) at hledger.org -for the latest information. - _man_({{ # FILE FORMAT }}) @@ -127,19 +127,20 @@ dates](hledger.html#smart-dates) documented in the hledger manual.) 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, eg for more accurate balances, you can specify individual +model this, for more accurate daily balances, you can specify individual [posting dates](#posting-dates). -Or, you can use the older *secondary date* feature. -(Ledger calls it auxiliary date or effective date.) -But I would recommend avoiding this feature; posting dates are almost -always clearer and simpler. We support it mainly for compatibility. +Or, you can use the older *secondary date* feature +(Ledger calls it 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. The primary date's year will be used if the year is -omitted. When running reports, the primary (left) date is used by +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. diff --git a/hledger-lib/hledger_journal.txt b/hledger-lib/hledger_journal.txt index 9c42aa1db..79b0c5792 100644 --- a/hledger-lib/hledger_journal.txt +++ b/hledger-lib/hledger_journal.txt @@ -22,31 +22,28 @@ DESCRIPTION ting. You can use hledger without learning any more about this file; just use - the add or web commands to create and update it. Many users, though, - also edit the journal file directly with a text editor, perhaps as- - sisted by the helper modes for emacs or vim. + the add or web or import commands to create and update it. - Helper modes exist for popular text editors, which make working with - journal files easier. They add colour, formatting, tab completion, and - helpful commands, and are quite recommended if you edit your journal - with a text editor. They include ledger-mode or hledger-mode for - Emacs, vim-ledger for Vim, hledger-vscode for Visual Studio Code, and - others. See the Editor configuration at hledger.org for the latest in- - formation. + 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 + 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. FILE FORMAT - 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- + 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: @@ -56,7 +53,7 @@ FILE 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 @@ -70,35 +67,35 @@ FILE 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, eg for more accurate balances, you can specify in- - dividual posting dates. + 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.) But I would recommend avoiding this - feature; posting dates are almost always clearer and simpler. We sup- - port it mainly for compatibility. + 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. The primary date's year will be used if the year is omitted. - 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 @@ -112,11 +109,11 @@ FILE 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 re- + ports, and the deduction from checking should be reported on 6/1 for easy bank reconciliation: 2015/5/30 @@ -129,22 +126,22 @@ FILE 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- + 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: mark status @@ -153,23 +150,23 @@ FILE 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- + 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. - 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 @@ -180,34 +177,34 @@ FILE 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 + 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 + cashed 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- + ter the first |). This may be worthwhile if you need to do more pre- cise 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- + 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 + 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 (;). @@ -232,24 +229,24 @@ FILE 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: @@ -263,57 +260,57 @@ FILE 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: @@ -325,34 +322,34 @@ FILE 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, income, 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- + After the account name, there is usually an amount. (Important: be- tween 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 @@ -380,8 +377,8 @@ FILE FORMAT 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 @@ -389,7 +386,7 @@ FILE FORMAT INR 9,99,99,999.00 1 000 000.9455 - Note, a number containing a single group mark and no decimal mark is + Note, a number containing a single group mark and no decimal mark is ambiguous. Are these group marks or decimal marks ? 1,000 @@ -397,9 +394,9 @@ FILE FORMAT 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, + 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: commodity $1,000.00 @@ -408,33 +405,33 @@ FILE FORMAT commodity 1 000 000.9455 Amount display format - For each commodity, hledger chooses a consistent format to use when - displaying amounts. (Except price amounts, which are always displayed + For each commodity, hledger chooses a consistent format to use when + displaying amounts. (Except price amounts, which are always displayed as written). The display format is chosen as follows: - o If there is a commodity directive for the commodity, that format is + o If there is a commodity directive for the commodity, that format is used (see examples above). - o Otherwise the format of the first posting amount in that commodity + o Otherwise the format of the first posting amount in that commodity seen in the journal is used. But the number of decimal places ("pre- - cision") will be the maximum from all posting amounts in that comm- + cision") will be the maximum from all posting amounts in that comm- modity. - o Or if there are no such amounts in the journal, a default format is + o Or if there are no such amounts in the journal, a default format is used (like $1000.00). Price amounts, and amounts in D directives don't affect the amount dis- - play format directly, but occasionally they can do so indirectly. (Eg - when D's default commodity is applied to a commodity-less amount, or - when an amountless posting is balanced using a price's commodity, or - when -V is used.) If you find this causing problems, use a commodity + play format directly, but occasionally they can do so indirectly. (Eg + when D's default commodity is applied to a commodity-less amount, or + when an amountless posting is balanced using a price's commodity, or + when -V is used.) If you find this causing problems, use a commodity directive to set the display format. Transaction prices Within a transaction, you can note an amount's price in another commod- - ity. 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 + ity. 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 cer- tain date. @@ -463,7 +460,7 @@ FILE FORMAT (Ledger users: Ledger uses a different syntax for fixed prices, {=UNIT- PRICE}, which hledger currently ignores). - Use the -B/--cost flag to convert amounts to their transaction price's + 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: @@ -474,8 +471,8 @@ FILE FORMAT $-135 assets:dollars $135 assets:euros # <- the euros' cost - 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 + 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 transaction is equivalent, -B shows something different: @@ -488,9 +485,9 @@ FILE FORMAT EUR100 assets:euros 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 + 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 @@ -502,32 +499,32 @@ FILE FORMAT 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 can pro- - tect you from, eg, inadvertently disrupting reconciled balances while - cleaning up old entries. You can disable them temporarily with the + and report an error if any of them fail. Balance assertions can pro- + tect 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 + for reading Ledger files. (Note: this flag currently does not disable balance assignments, below). 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 dif- + 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 dif- ferent from Ledger, which sorts assertions only by parse order. (Also, - Ledger assertions do not see the accumulated effect of repeated post- + Ledger assertions do not see the accumulated effect of repeated post- ings 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 same-dated - transactions or postings, assertions might break and require updating. + 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. Assertions and included files - With included files, things are a little more complicated. Including - preserves the ordering of postings and assertions. If you have multi- - ple 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 + With included files, things are a little more complicated. Including + preserves the ordering of postings and assertions. If you have multi- + ple 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. Assertions and multiple -f options @@ -535,8 +532,8 @@ FILE FORMAT -f options. Use include or concatenate the files instead. 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 + 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 "par- tial" balance assertion. @@ -544,7 +541,7 @@ FILE 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). @@ -564,7 +561,7 @@ FILE 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 @@ -578,21 +575,21 @@ FILE 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 @@ -606,16 +603,16 @@ FILE 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 @@ -633,14 +630,14 @@ FILE 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 @@ -651,79 +648,77 @@ FILE 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 + here is a table summarising the directives and their effects, with links to more detailed docs. - direc- end di- subdi- purpose can affect (as of + direc- end di- subdi- purpose can affect (as of tive rective 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, de- all entries in all + text clare account types & dis- files, before or play order after alias end rewrite account names following in- aliases line/included en- - tries until end of + tries until end of current file or end directive - - - - - - apply end apply prepend a common parent to following in- + apply end apply prepend a common parent to following in- account account account names line/included en- - tries until end of + tries until end of current file or end directive comment end com- ignore part of journal following in- ment line/included en- - tries until end of + tries until end of current file or end directive - commod- format declare a commodity and its number notation: + commod- format declare a commodity and its number notation: ity number notation & display following entries style in that commodity - in all files; dis- + in all files; dis- play style: amounts of that commodity in reports - D declare a commodity to be default commodity: + 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- + 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- + tries in that com- modity until end of - current file; dis- + current file; dis- play style: amounts of that commodity in reports include include entries/directives what the included from another file directives affect P declare a market price for a amounts of that - commodity commodity in re- - ports, when -V is + commodity commodity in re- + ports, when -V is used - Y declare a year for yearless following in- + Y declare a year for yearless following in- dates line/included en- - tries until end of + tries until end of current file And some definitions: subdirec- optional indented directive line immediately following a par- tive ent directive - number how to interpret numbers when parsing journal entries (the - notation identity of the decimal separator character). (Currently - each commodity can have its own notation, even in the same + number how to interpret numbers when parsing journal entries (the + notation identity of the decimal separator character). (Currently + each commodity can have its own notation, even in the same file.) display how to display amounts of a commodity in reports (symbol side style and spacing, digit groups, decimal separator, decimal places) @@ -734,34 +729,34 @@ FILE FORMAT affect, and whether they are focussed on input (parsing) or output (re- ports). Some directives have multiple effects. - If you have a journal made up of multiple files, or pass multiple -f - options on the command line, note that directives which affect input - typically last only until the end of their defining file. This pro- + If you have a journal made up of multiple files, or pass multiple -f + options on the command line, note that directives which affect input + typically last only until the end of their defining file. This pro- vides more simplicity and predictability, eg reports are not changed by - writing file options in a different order. It can be surprising at + writing file options in a different order. It can be surprising at times though. 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 path/to/file.journal - If the path does not begin with a slash, it is relative to the current - file. The include file path may contain common glob patterns (e.g. + If the path does not begin with a slash, it is relative to the current + file. The include file path may contain common glob patterns (e.g. *). - The include directive can only be used in journal files. It can in- + The include directive can only be used in journal files. It can in- clude journal, timeclock or timedot files, but not CSV files. 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 @@ -783,18 +778,18 @@ FILE 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 to expect when parsing input - - useful to disambiguate international number formats in your data. + - 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 the amount display format to use 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 + 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. A commodity directive is just the word commodity followed by an amount. @@ -807,8 +802,8 @@ FILE 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 @@ -821,14 +816,14 @@ FILE 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. Default commodity - The D directive sets a default commodity (and display format), to be + The D directive sets a default commodity (and display format), to be used for amounts without a commodity symbol (ie, plain numbers). (Note - this differs from Ledger's default commodity directive.) The commodity - and display format will be applied to all subsequent commodity-less + this differs from Ledger's default commodity directive.) The commodity + and display format will be applied to all subsequent commodity-less amounts, or until the next D directive. ; commodity-less amounts should be treated as dollars @@ -843,9 +838,9 @@ FILE FORMAT a decimal point. 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 be- + tween 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: @@ -856,16 +851,16 @@ FILE 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/--value flag can be used to convert reported amounts to another + The -V/--value flag can be used to convert reported amounts to another commodity using these prices. Declaring accounts @@ -875,20 +870,20 @@ FILE FORMAT o They can document your intended chart of accounts, providing a refer- ence. - o They can store extra information about accounts (account numbers, + o They can store extra information about accounts (account numbers, notes, etc.) - 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 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. - 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: account assets:bank:checking @@ -896,7 +891,7 @@ FILE FORMAT 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 @@ -910,7 +905,7 @@ FILE 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 @@ -923,18 +918,18 @@ FILE FORMAT [LEDGER-STYLE SUBDIRECTIVES, IGNORED] Account types - hledger recognises five types (or classes) of account: Asset, Liabil- - ity, Equity, Revenue, Expense. This is used by a few accounting-aware + hledger recognises five types (or classes) of account: Asset, Liabil- + ity, Equity, Revenue, Expense. This is used by a few accounting-aware reports such as balancesheet, incomestatement and cashflow. Auto-detected account types If you name your top-level accounts with some variation of assets, lia- - bilities/debts, equity, revenues/income, or expenses, their types are + bilities/debts, equity, revenues/income, or expenses, their types are detected automatically. Account types declared with tags - More generally, you can declare an account's type with an account di- - rective, by writing a type: tag in a comment, followed by one of the + More generally, you can declare an account's type with an account di- + rective, by writing a type: tag in a comment, followed by one of the words Asset, Liability, Equity, Revenue, Expense, or one of the letters ALERX (case insensitive): @@ -945,8 +940,8 @@ FILE FORMAT account expenses ; type:Expenses Account types declared with account type codes - Or, you can write one of those letters separated from the account name - by two or more spaces, but this should probably be considered depre- + Or, you can write one of those letters separated from the account name + by two or more spaces, but this should probably be considered depre- cated as of hledger 1.13: account assets A @@ -956,7 +951,7 @@ FILE FORMAT account expenses X Overriding auto-detected types - If you ever override the types of those auto-detected english account + If you ever override the types of those auto-detected english account names mentioned above, you might need to help the reports a bit. Eg: ; make "liabilities" not have the liability type - who knows why @@ -967,8 +962,8 @@ FILE FORMAT account - ; type:L 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: @@ -990,20 +985,20 @@ FILE FORMAT Undeclared accounts, if any, are displayed last, in alphabetical 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, + Note that sorting is done at each level of the account tree (within + 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 + would influence the position of zoo among other's subaccounts, but not the position of other among the top-level accounts. This means: - o you will sometimes declare parent accounts (eg account other above) + 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 - o sibling accounts stay together (you couldn't display x:y in between + o sibling accounts stay together (you couldn't display x:y in between a:b and a:c). Rewriting accounts @@ -1021,14 +1016,14 @@ FILE FORMAT o customising reports Account aliases also rewrite account names in account directives. They - do not affect account names being entered via hledger add or hledger- + do not affect account names being entered via hledger add or hledger- web. See also Rewrite account names. 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 + 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 @@ -1036,49 +1031,49 @@ FILE 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- + 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: 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: @@ -1089,22 +1084,22 @@ FILE FORMAT o aliases defined after/below the entry do not affect it. - This gives nearby aliases precedence over distant ones, and helps pro- - vide semantic stability - aliases will keep working the same way inde- + This gives nearby aliases precedence over distant ones, and helps pro- + vide semantic stability - aliases will keep working the same way inde- pendent 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. 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 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 + 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: apply account home @@ -1121,7 +1116,7 @@ FILE FORMAT home:food $10 home:cash $-10 - If end apply account is omitted, the effect lasts to the end of the + If end apply account is omitted, the effect lasts to the end of the file. Included files are also affected, eg: apply account business @@ -1130,50 +1125,50 @@ FILE FORMAT apply account personal include personal.journal - Prior to hledger 1.0, legacy account and end spellings were also sup- + Prior to hledger 1.0, legacy account and end spellings were also sup- ported. - 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 + 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. Periodic transactions - Periodic transaction rules describe transactions that recur. They al- - low 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. Secondly, they are also + Periodic transaction rules describe transactions that recur. They al- + low 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. Secondly, they are also used to define the budgets shown in budget reports. - Periodic transactions can be a little tricky, so before you use them, + Periodic transactions can be a little tricky, so before you use them, read this whole section - or at least these tips: - 1. Two spaces accidentally added or omitted will cause you trouble - + 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-fore- + 3. Forecasted transactions will begin only after the last non-fore- casted transaction's date. - 4. Forecasted transactions will end 6 months from today, by default. + 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- + 5. period expressions can be tricky. Their documentation needs im- provement, 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 an + 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 an error. 7. Other period expressions with an interval are automatically expanded - to cover a whole number of that interval. (This is done to improve + 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 day of month from + 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. Periodic rule syntax @@ -1185,17 +1180,17 @@ FILE FORMAT 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 + 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. - 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 - date, unless a Y default year directive is in effect, in which case + 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 + date, unless a Y default year directive is in effect, in which case they will be relative to Y/1/1. Two spaces between period expression and description! - If the period expression is followed by a transaction description, + If the period expression is followed by a transaction description, these must be separated by two or more spaces. This helps hledger know where the period expression ends, so that descriptions can not acciden- tally alter their meaning, as in this example: @@ -1209,82 +1204,82 @@ FILE FORMAT So, - o Do write two spaces between your period expression and your transac- + 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- + o Don't accidentally write two spaces in the middle of your period ex- pression. Forecasting with periodic transactions - With the --forecast flag, each periodic transaction rule generates fu- - ture transactions recurring at the specified interval. These are not - saved in the journal, but appear in all reports. They will look like + With the --forecast flag, each periodic transaction rule generates fu- + ture transactions recurring at the specified interval. These are not + saved in the journal, but appear in all reports. They will look like normal transactions, but with an extra tag: - o generated-transaction:~ PERIODICEXPR - shows that this was generated + o generated-transaction:~ PERIODICEXPR - shows that this was generated by a periodic transaction rule, and the period - There is also a hidden tag, with an underscore prefix, which does not + There is also a hidden tag, with an underscore prefix, which does not appear in hledger's output: o _generated-transaction:~ PERIODICEXPR - This can be used to match transactions generated "just now", rather + This can be used to match transactions generated "just now", rather than generated in the past and saved to the journal. - Forecast transactions start on the first occurrence, and end on the - last occurrence, of their interval within the forecast period. The + Forecast transactions start on the first occurrence, and end on the + last occurrence, of their interval within the forecast period. The forecast period: o begins on the later of o the report start date if specified with -b/-p/date: - o the day after the latest normal (non-periodic) transaction in the + o the day after the latest normal (non-periodic) transaction in the journal, or today if there are no normal transactions. - o ends on the report end date if specified with -e/-p/date:, or 180 + o ends on the report end date if specified with -e/-p/date:, or 180 days from today. - where "today" means the current date at report time. The "later of" - rule ensures that forecast transactions do not overlap normal transac- + where "today" means the current date at report time. The "later of" + rule ensures that forecast transactions do not overlap normal transac- tions in time; they will begin only after normal transactions end. - Forecasting can be useful for estimating balances into the future, and - experimenting with different scenarios. Note the start date logic + Forecasting can be useful for estimating balances into the future, and + experimenting with different scenarios. Note the start date logic means that forecasted transactions are automatically replaced by normal transactions as you add those. Forecasting can also help with data entry: describe most of your trans- - actions with periodic rules, and every so often copy the output of + actions with periodic rules, and every so often copy the output of print --forecast to the journal. You can generate one-time transactions too: just write a period expres- - sion specifying a date with no report interval. (You could also write - a normal transaction with a future date, but remember this disables + sion specifying a date with no report interval. (You could also write + a normal transaction with a future date, but remember this disables forecast transactions on previous dates.) Budgeting with periodic transactions - 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 - spending $2000 on rent (and also, a goal of depositing $2000 into - checking) every month. Goals and actual performance can then be com- + 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 + spending $2000 on rent (and also, a goal of depositing $2000 into + checking) every month. Goals and actual performance can then be com- pared in budget reports. - For more details, see: balance: Budget report and Budgeting and Fore- + For more details, see: balance: Budget report and Budgeting and Fore- casting. Auto postings / transaction modifiers Transaction modifier rules, AKA auto posting rules, describe changes to - be applied automatically to certain matched transactions. Currently - just one kind of change is possible - adding extra postings, which we - call "automated postings" or just "auto postings". These rules become + be applied automatically to certain matched transactions. Currently + just one kind of change is possible - adding extra postings, which we + call "automated postings" or just "auto postings". These rules become active when you use the --auto flag. A transaction modifier rule looks much like a normal transaction except - the first line is an equals sign followed by a query that matches cer- - tain postings (mnemonic: = suggests matching). And each "posting" is + the first line is an equals sign followed by a query that matches cer- + tain postings (mnemonic: = suggests matching). And each "posting" is actually a posting-generating rule: = QUERY @@ -1292,20 +1287,20 @@ FILE FORMAT ACCT [AMT] ... - These posting-generating rules look like normal postings, except the + These posting-generating rules look like normal postings, except the amount can be: - o a normal amount with a commodity symbol, eg $2. This will be used + o a normal amount with a commodity symbol, eg $2. This will be used as-is. o a number, eg 2. The commodity symbol (if any) from the matched post- ing will be added to this. - o a numeric multiplier, eg *2 (a star followed by a number N). The + o 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. - o a multiplier with a commodity symbol, eg *$2 (a star, number N, and + o 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. @@ -1345,20 +1340,20 @@ FILE FORMAT assets:checking $20 Auto postings and dates - A posting date (or secondary date) in the matched posting, or (taking - precedence) a posting date in the auto posting rule itself, will also + A posting date (or secondary date) in the matched posting, or (taking + precedence) a posting date in the auto posting rule itself, will also be used in the generated posting. Auto postings and transaction balancing / inferred amounts / balance asser- tions Currently, transaction modifiers are applied / auto postings are added: - o after missing amounts are inferred, and transactions are checked for + o after missing amounts are inferred, and transactions are checked for balancedness, o but before balance assertions are checked. - Note this means that journal entries must be balanced both before and + 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 for background. @@ -1368,11 +1363,11 @@ FILE FORMAT o generated-posting:= QUERY - shows this was generated by an auto post- ing rule, and the query - o _generated-posting:= QUERY - a hidden tag, which does not appear in + o _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 transaction modifier + Also, any transaction that has been changed by transaction modifier rules will have these tags added: o modified: - this transaction was modified @@ -1383,7 +1378,7 @@ FILE FORMAT 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) @@ -1397,7 +1392,7 @@ COPYRIGHT SEE ALSO - hledger(1), hledger-ui(1), hledger-web(1), hledger-api(1), + hledger(1), hledger-ui(1), hledger-web(1), hledger-api(1), hledger_csv(5), hledger_journal(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_time- dot(5), ledger(1)