
hledger-ui(1)                hledger User Manuals                hledger-ui(1)



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, providing an  efficient
       full-window  text  UI  for  viewing accounts and transactions, and some
       limited data entry  capability.   It  is  easier  than  hledger's  com-
       mand-line interface, and sometimes quicker and more convenient than the
       web interface.

       Note hledger-ui has some different defaults: - it generates  rule-based
       transactions  and  postings  by default (-forecast and -auto are always
       on).  - it hides transactions dated in the future  by  default  (change
       this with -future or the F key).  Experimental.

       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.

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.

       --watch
              watch for data and date changes and reload automatically

       --theme=default|terminal|greenterm
              use this custom display theme

       --register=ACCTREGEX
              start in the (first) matched account's register screen

       --change
              show  period balances (changes) at startup instead of historical
              balances

       -F --flat
              show accounts as a list (default)

       -T --tree
              show accounts as a tree

       --future
              show transactions dated later than today (normally hidden)

       hledger input options:

       -f FILE --file=FILE
              use  a  different  input  file.   For  stdin,  use  -  (default:
              $LEDGER_FILE or $HOME/.hledger.journal)

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

       --separator=CHAR
              Field separator to expect when reading CSV (default: `,')

       --alias=OLD=NEW
              rename accounts named OLD to NEW

       --anon anonymize accounts and payees

       --pivot FIELDNAME
              use some other field or tag for the account name

       -I --ignore-assertions
              ignore any failing balance assertions

       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
              using period expressions syntax (overrides the flags above)

       --date2
              match  the  secondary  date  instead (see command help for other
              effects)

       -U --unmarked
              include only unmarked postings/txns (can combine with -P or -C)

       -P --pending
              include only pending postings/txns

       -C --cleared
              include only cleared postings/txns

       -R --real
              include only non-virtual postings

       -NUM --depth=NUM
              hide/aggregate accounts or postings more than NUM levels deep

       -E --empty
              show items with zero amount, normally hidden (and vice-versa  in
              hledger-ui/hledger-web)

       -B --cost
              convert  amounts  to  their  cost at transaction time (using the
              transaction price, if any)

       -V --value
              convert amounts to their market value on  the  report  end  date
              (using the most recent applicable market price, if any)

       --auto apply automated posting rules to modify transactions.

       --forecast
              apply  periodic  transaction  rules  to generate future transac-
              tions, to 6 months from now or report end date.

       When a reporting option appears more than once in the command line, the
       last one takes precedence.

       Some reporting options can also be written as query arguments.

       hledger help options:

       -h --help
              show general usage (or after COMMAND, command usage)

       --version
              show version

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

       A @FILE argument will be expanded to the contents of FILE, which should
       contain one command line option/argument per line.  (To  prevent  this,
       insert a -- argument before.)

KEYS
       ?  shows a help dialog listing all keys.  (Some of these also appear in
       the quick help at the bottom of each screen.) Press ? again (or ESCAPE,
       or LEFT) to close it.  The following keys work on most screens:

       The cursor keys navigate: right (or enter) goes deeper, left returns to
       the previous screen,  up/down/page up/page down/home/end  move  up  and
       down    through    lists.     Vi-style    (h/j/k/l)   and   Emacs-style
       (CTRL-p/CTRL-n/CTRL-f/CTRL-b) movement keys are also supported.  A tip:
       movement  speed is limited by your keyboard repeat rate, to move faster
       you may want to adjust it.  (If you're on a mac, the Karabiner  app  is
       one way to do that.)

       With  shift pressed, the cursor keys adjust the report period, limiting
       the  transactions  to  be  shown   (by   default,   all   are   shown).
       shift-down/up  steps  downward and upward through these standard report
       period   durations:   year,   quarter,   month,   week,   day.    Then,
       shift-left/right  moves to the previous/next period.  t sets the report
       period to today.  With the --watch option,  when  viewing  a  "current"
       period  (the  current  day,  week, month, quarter, or year), the period
       will move automatically to track the current date.  To set a  non-stan-
       dard period, you can use / and a date: query.

       /  lets  you  set a general filter query limiting the data shown, using
       the same query terms as in hledger and hledger-web.  While editing  the
       query,  you  can  use CTRL-a/e/d/k, BS, cursor keys; press ENTER to set
       it, or ESCAPEto cancel.  There are also keys for quickly adjusting some
       common  filters  like account depth and transaction status (see below).
       BACKSPACE or DELETE removes all filters, showing all transactions.

       As mentioned above, hledger-ui shows auto-generated  periodic  transac-
       tions,  and  hides  future  transactions  (auto-generated  or  not)  by
       default.  F toggles showing and hiding these future transactions.  This
       is  similar  to using a query like date:-tomorrow, but more convenient.
       (experimental)

       ESCAPE removes all filters and jumps back to the top  screen.   Or,  it
       cancels a minibuffer edit or help dialog in progress.

       CTRL-l redraws the screen and centers the selection if possible (selec-
       tions near the top won't be centered, since we don't scroll  above  the
       top).

       g  reloads from the data file(s) and updates the current screen and any
       previous screens.  (With large files, this  could  cause  a  noticeable
       pause.)

       I  toggles  balance  assertion  checking.  Disabling balance assertions
       temporarily can be useful for troubleshooting.

       a runs command-line hledger's add  command,  and  reloads  the  updated
       file.  This allows some basic data entry.

       A  is  like  a,  but  runs  the  hledger-iadd  tool,  which  provides a
       curses-style interface.  This key will be available if hledger-iadd  is
       installed in $PATH.

       E   runs   $HLEDGER_UI_EDITOR,   or   $EDITOR,   or  a  default  (emac-
       sclient -a "" -nw) on the journal file.  With some editors (emacs, vi),
       the  cursor  will be positioned at the current transaction when invoked
       from the register and transaction screens, and at  the  error  location
       (if possible) when invoked from the error screen.

       q quits the application.

       Additional screen-specific keys are described below.

SCREENS
   Accounts screen
       This  is  normally  the  first screen displayed.  It lists accounts and
       their balances, like hledger's balance command.  By default,  it  shows
       all  accounts  and their latest ending balances (including the balances
       of subaccounts).  if you specify a query on the command line, it  shows
       just the matched accounts and the balances from matched transactions.

       Account  names  are shown as a flat list by default.  Press T to toggle
       tree mode.  In flat mode, account  balances  are  exclusive  of  subac-
       counts,  except  where  subaccounts  are  hidden  by a depth limit (see
       below).  In tree mode, all account balances  are  inclusive  of  subac-
       counts.

       To  see  less detail, press a number key, 1 to 9, to set a depth limit.
       Or use - to decrease and +/= to increase the depth limit.  0 shows even
       less  detail, collapsing all accounts to a single total.  To remove the
       depth limit, set it higher than the maximum  account  depth,  or  press
       ESCAPE.

       H toggles between showing historical balances or period balances.  His-
       torical balances (the default) are ending balances at the  end  of  the
       report  period,  taking  into account all transactions before that date
       (filtered by the filter query if any),  including  transactions  before
       the  start  of  the report period.  In other words, historical balances
       are what you would see on a bank statement  for  that  account  (unless
       disturbed  by  a  filter  query).   Period balances ignore transactions
       before the report start date, so they show the change in balance during
       the report period.  They are more useful eg when viewing a time log.

       U toggles filtering by unmarked status, including or excluding unmarked
       postings in the balances.  Similarly, P toggles pending postings, and C
       toggles  cleared postings.  (By default, balances include all postings;
       if you activate one or two status  filters,  only  those  postings  are
       included; and if you activate all three, the filter is removed.)

       R toggles real mode, in which virtual postings are ignored.

       Z  toggles  nonzero  mode, in which only accounts with nonzero balances
       are shown (hledger-ui shows zero items by default, unlike  command-line
       hledger).

       Press right or enter to view an account's transactions register.

   Register screen
       This screen shows the transactions affecting a particular account, like
       a check register.  Each line represents one transaction and shows:

       o the other account(s) involved, in abbreviated form.   (If  there  are
         both  real  and virtual postings, it shows only the accounts affected
         by real postings.)

       o the overall change to the current account's balance; positive for  an
         inflow to this account, negative for an outflow.

       o the running historical total or period total for the current account,
         after the transaction.  This can be toggled with H.  Similar  to  the
         accounts  screen,  the  historical  total is affected by transactions
         (filtered by the filter query) before the report  start  date,  while
         the period total is not.  If the historical total is not disturbed by
         a filter query, it will be the running historical balance  you  would
         see on a bank register for the current account.

       Transactions  affecting  this account's subaccounts will be included in
       the register if the accounts screen is in tree mode, or if it's in flat
       mode  but  this  account  has  subaccounts which are not shown due to a
       depth limit.  In other words, the register always  shows  the  transac-
       tions contributing to the balance shown on the accounts screen.
       Tree mode/flat mode can be toggled with T here also.

       U  toggles  filtering  by  unmarked  status, showing or hiding unmarked
       transactions.  Similarly, P toggles pending transactions, and C toggles
       cleared  transactions.  (By default, transactions with all statuses are
       shown; if you activate one or two status filters, only  those  transac-
       tions  are  shown;  and  if  you  activate  all  three,  the  filter is
       removed.)q

       R toggles real mode, in which virtual postings are ignored.

       Z toggles nonzero mode, in which only transactions  posting  a  nonzero
       change  are  shown (hledger-ui shows zero items by default, unlike com-
       mand-line hledger).

       Press right (or enter) to view the selected transaction in detail.

   Transaction screen
       This screen shows a single transaction, as  a  general  journal  entry,
       similar  to  hledger's  print command and journal format (hledger_jour-
       nal(5)).

       The transaction's date(s)  and  any  cleared  flag,  transaction  code,
       description,  comments,  along  with  all  of  its account postings are
       shown.  Simple transactions have two postings, but there  can  be  more
       (or in certain cases, fewer).

       up  and  down will step through all transactions listed in the previous
       account register screen.  In the title bar, the numbers in  parentheses
       show  your  position  within  that  account  register.   They will vary
       depending on which account register you came from (remember most trans-
       actions appear in multiple account registers).  The #N number preceding
       them is the transaction's position within the complete unfiltered jour-
       nal, which is a more stable id (at least until the next reload).

   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,  press  g
       again to reload and resume normal operation.  (Or, you can press escape
       to cancel the reload attempt.)

ENVIRONMENT
       COLUMNS The screen width to use.  Default: the full terminal width.

       LEDGER_FILE The journal file path when not specified with -f.  Default:
       ~/.hledger.journal  (on  windows,  perhaps C:/Users/USER/.hledger.jour-
       nal).

FILES
       Reads data from one or more files in hledger journal, timeclock,  time-
       dot,   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 awk-
       ward.

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

       -V affects only the accounts screen.

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

       --watch is not yet fully robust.  It works well for normal  usage,  but
       many  file  changes  in  a  short time (eg saving the file thousands of
       times with an editor macro) can cause problems at least on OSX.   Symp-
       toms  include:  unresponsive UI, periodic resetting of the cursor posi-
       tion, momentary display of parse errors, high CPU usage eventually sub-
       siding, and possibly a small but persistent build-up of CPU usage until
       the program is restarted.



REPORTING BUGS
       Report bugs at http://bugs.hledger.org (or on the #hledger IRC  channel
       or hledger mail list)


AUTHORS
       Simon Michael <simon@joyful.com> and contributors


COPYRIGHT
       Copyright (C) 2007-2016 Simon Michael.
       Released under GNU GPL v3 or later.


SEE ALSO
       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)

       http://hledger.org



hledger-ui 1.12                  December 2018                   hledger-ui(1)
