Receipt
A command-line finance toolkit for recording, categorizing, and analyzing receipts and expenses. Track purchases, monitor spending trends, forecast budgets, set alerts, compare periods, and annotate tax-relevant items — all stored locally with timestamped history, full-text search, and multi-format export.
Commands
The following commands are available via receipt <command> [args]:
Finance Operations
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
record <input> |
Record a receipt or purchase entry (e.g. "Lunch at cafe $12.50"). Called without args, shows recent record entries. |
categorize <input> |
Categorize a spending item (e.g. "Office supplies — Q1 budget"). Called without args, shows recent categorize entries. |
balance <input> |
Log a balance update or reconciliation note (e.g. "Monthly balance: $3,420"). Called without args, shows recent balance entries. |
trend <input> |
Record a spending trend observation (e.g. "Groceries up 15% vs last month"). Called without args, shows recent trend entries. |
forecast <input> |
Log a budget forecast (e.g. "Projected Q2 spend: $8,000"). Called without args, shows recent forecast entries. |
export-report <input> |
Save an export/report note (e.g. "Monthly PDF sent to accountant"). Called without args, shows recent export-report entries. |
budget-check <input> |
Record a budget check result (e.g. "Travel budget 78% used, $440 remaining"). Called without args, shows recent budget-check entries. |
summary <input> |
Log a summary note (e.g. "Week 12 total: $327.50 across 14 transactions"). Called without args, shows recent summary entries. |
alert <input> |
Record a spending alert (e.g. "Dining budget exceeded by $65"). Called without args, shows recent alert entries. |
history <input> |
Log a history note. Called without args, shows recent history entries. |
compare <input> |
Record a comparison note (e.g. "March vs February: +$200 on utilities"). Called without args, shows recent compare entries. |
tax-note <input> |
Annotate a tax-relevant item (e.g. "Home office deduction — $150/mo"). Called without args, shows recent tax-note entries. |
Utility Commands
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
stats |
Show summary statistics — entry counts per category, total entries, data size, and earliest record timestamp. |
export <fmt> |
Export all data in json, csv, or txt format. Output file saved to the data directory. |
search <term> |
Full-text search across all log files (case-insensitive). |
recent |
Show the 20 most recent activity entries from the global history log. |
status |
Health check — version, data directory path, total entries, disk usage, last activity, and OK status. |
help |
Display the full command reference. |
version |
Print the current version (v2.0.0). |
Data Storage
All data is persisted locally in ~/.local/share/receipt/:
- Per-command logs — Each command (record, categorize, balance, etc.) writes to its own
.logfile withYYYY-MM-DD HH:MM|<input>format. - Global history — Every action is also appended to
history.logwithMM-DD HH:MM <command>: <input>format for unified audit trail. - Export files — Generated exports are saved as
export.json,export.csv, orexport.txtin the same directory.
No external services, databases, or network connections are required. Everything runs locally via bash.
Requirements
- Bash 4+ (uses
localvariables,set -euo pipefail) - Standard Unix utilities:
date,wc,du,head,tail,grep,basename,cat - No root privileges needed
- No external dependencies or package installs
When to Use
- Logging daily purchases — Use
recordto capture receipts as they happen, building a searchable expense journal over time. - Organizing spending by category — Use
categorizeandbudget-checkto track how much goes to groceries, dining, transport, subscriptions, etc. - Monthly financial reviews — Use
summary,compare, andtrendto analyze spending patterns across periods. - Tax preparation — Use
tax-noteto flag deductible items throughout the year so they're easy to find at tax time. - Budget forecasting and alerts — Use
forecastto project upcoming spend andalertto document when budgets are exceeded.
Examples
# Record a new receipt
receipt record "Grocery store — $67.30, weekly shopping"
# Categorize a purchase
receipt categorize "Amazon order $42.99 — Office Supplies"
# Check budget status
receipt budget-check "Food budget: $320 of $400 used, 8 days remaining"
# Log a spending trend
receipt trend "Utility bills trending 12% higher than same quarter last year"
# Add a tax note
receipt tax-note "Professional development course $299 — deductible education expense"
# Compare two months
receipt compare "April total $2,180 vs March $1,950 — +$230, mostly dining"
# View summary statistics
receipt stats
# Export all data as CSV
receipt export csv
# Search for all entries mentioning 'Amazon'
receipt search Amazon
# View recent activity
receipt recent
How It Works
Each command follows the same pattern:
- With arguments — Timestamps the input, appends it to the command-specific log file, increments the entry count, and writes to the global history log.
- Without arguments — Displays the 20 most recent entries from that command's log file.
The stats command aggregates counts across all log files. The export command iterates through all logs and produces a unified output in your chosen format. The search command performs a case-insensitive grep across every log file.
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