ledger

Ledger is an open-source, double-entry accounting program for the UNIX command line. Transactions are written to a plain text file in Ledger's own format, and the ledger command reads that file to produce balances, account histories and other reports. The program does not create or modify the underlying data; the text file remains the source of truth. Begun in 2003 by John Wiegley and released under the BSD license, Ledger has also inspired ports to other languages.

Ledger enforces double-entry accounting, so every entry must balance or an error is raised and the report is not generated. It is currency-agnostic, supporting multiple currencies in a single account, conversions between them, and mixed-currency transactions. Data files accept UTF-8, ISO-format dates, and both US and European decimal formats. Accounts and currencies are created as they appear in the data, and calculated values can be omitted where they can be derived. The command-line interface offers a set of base commands that can be extended for tasks such as monthly reports, average reports, balance checks, account reconciliation and capital gains tracking on stocks.