HLedger Formatter

A VS Code extension to make editing hledger journal files a bit more fun.

HLedger is an awesome plain text cli accounting tool. This extension adds syntax highlighting, formatting, sorting, and other quality-of-life improvements to make editing these files easier.

Features

• Automatically aligns account names and amounts in hledger journal files
• Autocomplete suggestions based on your account types
• Balancing amount suggestions, press tab to automatically add the balanced amount ($100 -> -$100)
• Rich syntax highlighting with hierarchical account coloring
• Sort journal entries by date (Shift+Cmd+S)
• Handles all supported comment styles (;, #, *, and comment blocks) for formatting and toggling
• Format on save / Sort on save options (disabled by default)
• Toggle comment lines (Cmd+/)
• Create new monthly journal files (Cmd+N)
• Matches HLedger defaults, but highly configurable to your preference (See VSCode settings under "HLedger")

Demo

Syntax Highlighting (details)

Rich syntax highlighting with hierarchical account coloring and project tags:

Automatic Formatting

Aligns amounts to a configurable column position for clean, readable journal files:

Sort by Date

Automatically sorts transactions chronologically:

Autocomplete / Balancing Suggestions

Intelligent suggestions for both the standard categories and your own, and a suggestion for balancing amounts. For more info see AUTOCOMPLETE.md.

Supported File Types

• .journal
• .hledger
• .ledger

Usage

1. Open a hledger journal file
2. Use one of these methods to format:
   • Press Shift+Alt+F to format the entire document
   • Save the file (if format on save is enabled)
   • Right-click and select "Format hledger Journal" from the context menu
3. Additional commands:
   • Press Shift+Cmd+S to sort entries by date
   • Press Cmd+/ to toggle comments on selected lines
   • Press Cmd+N to create a new monthly journal file

Extension Settings

This extension contributes the following settings:

Formatting

• hledger-formatter.formatOnSave: Enable/disable formatting on save (default: false)
• hledger-formatter.sortOnSave: Enable/disable sorting entries by date on save (default: false)
• hledger-formatter.amountColumnPosition: Column position for aligning amounts when using fixed column mode (default: 42, range: 20-100)
• hledger-formatter.amountAlignment: Choose between a fixed column or per-transaction widest alignment (default: widest)
• hledger-formatter.indentationWidth: Posting indentation width in spaces (default: 4)
• hledger-formatter.negativeCommodityStyle: Render negatives as -$ or $- (default: $-)
• hledger-formatter.dateFormat: Preferred transaction date layout (YYYY-MM-DD, YYYY/MM/DD, YYYY.MM.DD)
• hledger-formatter.commentCharacter: Default character used when toggling comments (;, #, or *; default: ;)

Autocomplete / Suggestions

• hledger-formatter.suggestBalancingAmounts: Enable/disable inline ghost text suggestions for balancing amounts (default: true)
• hledger-formatter.defaultAccountCategories: Include standard account categories in autocomplete (options: none, lowercase, uppercase, capitalize; default: lowercase)

Example

Before formatting:

2023-01-05   Grocery Store
  expenses:food      $85.50
    assets:bank:checking    $-85.50


2023-01-10 Coffee Shop
 expenses:dining:coffee  $4.75
   assets:cash  $-4.75

After formatting:

2023-01-05 Grocery Store
  expenses:food                           $85.50
  assets:bank:checking                   -$85.50

2023-01-10 Coffee Shop
  expenses:dining:coffee                  $4.75
  assets:cash                            -$4.75

Release Notes

See CHANGELOG.md for a full list of changes in each release.

Requirements

• VS Code 1.92.0 or newer

Contributing

This is an open source project and contributions are welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for detailed information on:

• Setting up your development environment
• Running tests and building the extension
• Submitting pull requests

Feel free to:

• Report bugs or request features via GitHub Issues
• Submit pull requests with improvements
• Share feedback and suggestions

Other Distributions

In addition to the VSCode Marketplace, this package is also available on the OpenVSX Registry: iiatlas/hledger-formatter.

Support

For help and support, see SUPPORT.md

• Issues & Bug Reports: GitHub Issues
• Source Code: GitHub Repository
• VS Code Marketplace: hledger-formatter

License

MIT - see the LICENSE file for details