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Introduction

Beancount for Obsidian

Beancount for Obsidian is a comprehensive financial dashboard for Obsidian.md that seamlessly integrates with Beancount, the popular plain-text accounting system.

This plugin transforms your Obsidian vault into a powerful financial analysis tool, allowing you to manage transactions, visualize your net worth, and track your portfolio without leaving your note-taking environment.

🌟 Core Value​

  • Privacy First: Your financial data stays in your local text files. No cloud servers, no third-party access.
  • Plain Text Accounting: Leverages the power and flexibility of Beancount.
  • Integrated Workflow: Manage your finances alongside your daily notes and journals.
  • Visual Analytics: Beautiful, interactive charts and dashboards.
  • Powerful Querying: Native support for Beancount Query Language (BQL) directly in your notes.

🚀 Key Features​

  • 📊 Unified Dashboard: A centralized hub featuring Overview, Transactions, Journal, Balance Sheet, and Commodities tabs.
  • 💸 Transaction Management: Unified entry modal for Transactions, Balance Assertions, and Notes with smart validation.
  • 🏦 Account Hierarchy: Interactive tree view with real-time balances and drill-down capability.
  • 📋 Journal View: Full Beancount ledger interface with direct file operations and Fava-style cards.
  • 🔍 BQL Integration: Execute live queries in your notes using Code Blocks or Inline Queries.
  • 🪙 Commodities & Pricing: Yahoo Finance integration for easy symbol search and automated price updates.
  • ⚙️ Smart Connection: Automatic detection of Python/Beancount environment (including WSL support).
  • 🎯 First-Time Onboarding: Friendly setup wizard with demo data option for quick start.
  • 📁 Structured Layout: Organize large ledgers across multiple files for better maintainability.

📚 Documentation Guide​

This documentation is structured to help you get the most out of the plugin:

  • Getting Started: Installation, setup instructions, and first-time onboarding wizard.
  • First-Time Setup: Complete guide to the onboarding process, demo data, and structured layout.
  • Core Features: Deep dive into the Dashboard, Adding Directives, and Snapshot views.
  • Configuration: Detailed explanation of all plugin settings including structured layout.
  • Queries: Master the Beancount Query Language (BQL) within Obsidian.

🔧 Requirements​

  1. Python 3.8+
  2. Beancount v3+ (pip install beancount)
  3. bean-query (pip install beanquery - separate package required)
  4. bean-price (optional, for price updates)

The plugin supports Windows, macOS, Linux, and WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux).