🧾 Ledger CLI: A Beginner’s Tutorial

Track your money using plain text files and the command line!

📦 Step 1: Install Ledger CLI

Mac (with Homebrew):

brew install ledger

Linux (Debian/Ubuntu):

sudo apt install ledger

Windows:

• Use WSL or download from https://ledger-cli.org

📁 Step 2: Create a .ledger File

Create a plain text file called my.ledger:

touch my.ledger

Then open it in your favorite editor (VS Code, Vim, etc).

✍️ Step 3: Add Your First Transaction

Paste this into my.ledger:

2025/07/22 Bought groceries
    Expenses:Groceries         $50.00
    Assets:Bank:Checking      -$50.00

This means:

• You spent $50 on groceries
• The money came from your bank account

📊 Step 4: See Your Account Balances

In the terminal, run:

ledger -f my.ledger balance

Output:

           $50.00  Expenses:Groceries
          -$50.00  Assets:Bank:Checking
--------------------
                   0

➕ Step 5: Add More Transactions

Append more entries like:

2025/07/23 Freelance income
    Assets:Bank:Checking      $500.00
    Income:Freelance         -$500.00

2025/07/24 Rent payment
    Expenses:Housing:Rent     $700.00
    Assets:Bank:Checking     -$700.00

Then run:

ledger -f my.ledger register

To see a checkbook-style ledger.

🔎 Step 6: Filter by Account

ledger -f my.ledger register Expenses

Or:

ledger -f my.ledger balance Income

🧠 Bonus Tips

• Transactions must balance to zero
• Indent all account lines with spaces, not tabs
• Use ; for comments

Example with a comment:

2025/07/25 Coffee at cafe
    Expenses:Food:Coffee      $3.50   ; morning espresso
    Assets:Cash              -$3.50

✅ Next Steps

• Try splitting an expense (e.g. part business, part personal)
• Create your own categories like Expenses:Business:Marketing
• Add Income:Property:Rent, Expenses:Health:Insurance, etc.

📚 Resources

• Official site: https://ledger-cli.org
• Cheatsheet: https://plaintextaccounting.org
• Book: Ledger CLI Pocket Reference