NAME

hledger-ui - curses-style interface for the hledger accounting tool

SYNOPSIS

hledger-ui [OPTIONS] [QUERYARGS]
hledger ui -- [OPTIONS] [QUERYARGS]

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-ui is hledger's curses-style interface. It reads a hledger journal file (~/.hledger.journal, $LEDGER_FILE, or -f FILE) and provides a simple full-screen console interface for viewing account balances and transactions. It is simpler and more efficient for browsing than the hledger CLI, but lighter and faster than hledger-web.

The journal file is ~/.hledger.journal, $LEDGER_FILE, or another file specified with -f. For more about the format, see hledger(1) or hledger_journal(5).

OPTIONS

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

Any QUERYARGS are interpreted as a hledger search query which filters the data.

--flat: show full account names, unindented
--no-elide: don't compress empty parent accounts on one line
--register=ACCTREGEX: start in the (first) matched account's register screen
--theme=default|terminal|greenterm: use this custom display theme
-V --value: show amounts as their current market value in their default valuation commodity (accounts screen only)
-h --help: show help
--version: show version information

hledger options:

The following common hledger options should also work:

-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
--ignore-assertions: ignore any failing balance assertions in the journal
--debug=N: show debug output if N is 1-9 (default: 0)
-b --begin=DATE: include postings/txns on or after this date
-e --end=DATE: include postings/txns before this date
-p --period=PERIODEXP: set start date, end date, and/or reporting interval all at once (overrides the flags above)
--date2 --aux-date: use postings/txns' 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 empty/zero things which are normally omitted
-B --cost: show amounts in their cost price's commodity

SCREENS

Accounts screen

This is the screen shown at startup by default. It shows a scrollable list of accounts and their balances - all accounts, or just the matched accounts if you specified a query on the command line. f toggles flat mode on and off. You can limit the depth of accounts displayed, to see less detail, by pressing -. + (or =) increases the depth limit again. Or, press a number key to set a specific depth limit, eg 1 to see just top level accounts. Use the cursor keys to move up or down, and cursor right (or enter) to view an account's transaction register.

Register screen

This screen shows a register of transactions affecting a particular account - all transactions, or just the matched ones if there was a query on the command line.

You can reach the register screen by pressing cursor right or enter on the accounts screen, or jump directly to it at startup by specifying an account with --register ACCTREGEX on the command line. The cursor left key returns to the accounts screen.

The register screen shows transactions (like the register in hledger-web, and other accounting systems), rather than postings (like hledger's register command). This means:

It shows transactions affecting a selected current account, rather than postings matching a pattern. Each line represents a whole transaction.
It lists the other account(s) involved in the transaction, in abbreviated form. (As an exception, if both real and virtual postings are involved, only the accounts affected by real postings are listed.)
The amount field shows the overall effect of the transaction on the current account; positive for an inflow to this account, negative for an outflow.
When possible, the balance field shows the current account's historic balance as of the transaction date, rather than a running total starting from 0.

Specifically, the register shows historic balances when no query other than a date limit is in effect. Eg:
```
$ hledger-ui
$ hledger-ui -b 'this month'
$ hledger-ui --register checking date:2015/10
```
whereas the following would revert to showing a running total instead, since they are not just date-limited:
```
$ hledger-ui checking
$ hledger-ui -b 'this month' --cleared
$ hledger-ui --register checking desc:market
```

Error screen

This screen will appear if there is a problem, such as a parse error, when you press g to reload. Once you have fixed the problem described, press g again to reload and restore normal operation.

ENVIRONMENT

LEDGER_FILE sets the default journal file path. If not set, it is ~/.hledger.journal.

COLUMNS sets the screen width to use (normally the full terminal width).

FILES

Reads data from a hledger journal file ($LEDGER_FILE or ~/.hledger.journal by default), or a CSV file plus associated CSV rules file.

BUGS

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

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

-V doesn't affect the register screen.

When you press g, the current and all previous screens are regenerated, which may cause a noticeable pause. Also there is no visual indication that this is in progress.

The register screen's switching between historic balance and running total based on query arguments may be confusing, and there is no column heading to indicate which is being displayed.

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