Command line utility for applying a budget template to ActualBudget.
npx bdoherty/actual-budget-template <budget-id> [month] [--preview] [--force]
actual-budget-template <budget-id> [month] [--preview] [--force]
- budget-id You can find your budget id in the "Advanced" section of the settings page.
- month The month in yyyy-MM format that you want to apply the budget template to. Defaults to the current month.
- --preview Displays a preview of what changes will be made, without making any updates.
- --force Applies to the budget template to all categories, even those with a Budgeted value. Can be combined with --preview.
This utility uses the Actual API. Currently, the API requires Actual must be running locally before you can apply a budget template.
Create a template by adding a note to a category and adding a line that begins with #template
.
You are welcome to have other lines in your note, but the #template
line must match the syntax.
Syntax | Description | How I use this |
---|---|---|
#template $50 |
Budget $50 each month | Regular monthly bills, such as internet |
#template up to $150 |
Budget up to $150 each month | Variable expenses, such as petrol and groceries |
#template $50 up to $300 |
Budget $50 each month up to a maximum of $300 | Funding rainy day categories, such as replacement shoes and bicycle repairs |
#template $500 by 2022-03 |
Break down large, less-frequent expenses into manageable monthly expenses | Saving for a replacement car in a few years |
#template $500 by 2021-03 repeat every 6 months |
Break down large, less-frequent expenses into manageable monthly expenses | Biannual credit card fees |
#template $500 by 2021-03 repeat every year |
Break down large, less-frequent expenses into manageable monthly expenses | Annual insurance premium |
#template $500 by 2021-03 repeat every 2 years |
Break down large, less-frequent expenses into manageable monthly expenses | Domain name renewal |
#template $500 by 2021-12 spend from 2021-03 |
Budget $500 by December. Any spending between March and December is OK. | Christmas presents, overseas holiday, or any other expenses that I will be partially paying for before the target period ends. |
#template $500 by 2021-12 spend from 2021-03 repeat every year |
||
#template $500 by 2021-12 spend from 2021-03 repeat every 2 years |
||
#template $10 repeat every week starting 2022-01-03 |
Budget $10 a week | |
#template $10 repeat every week starting 2022-01-03 up to 80 |
Budget $10 a week, up to a maximum of $80 | |
#template $10 repeat every 2 weeks starting 2022-01-04 |
Budget $10 fortnightly | |
#template $10 repeat every 9 weeks starting 2022-01-04 up to 30 |
Budget $10 every 9 weeks, up to a maximum of $30 |
- $ sign is optional,
#template $50
and#template 50
are the same. - Other currency symbols are not supported.
- Number formats that use comma for the decimal seperator are not supported (eg,
123,45
). You must use123.45
. - Thousands separators are not supported (eg,
1,234
). You must use1234
.
You can add multiple #template
lines for a single category note. Lines that don't have a 'by' keyword in them add together, where as lines that do have the 'by' keyword are run sequentially - only the next next due template line is applied.
For examples:
#template $600 by 2021-03 repeat every 6 months
#template $1200 by 2021-06 repeat every 6 months
#template
Netflix
#template $24.99
Disney Plus
#template $9.99
Amazon Prime
#template $7.99
#template $10 repeat every 2 weeks starting 2022-01-04
#template $100
- Actual
- Node https://nodejs.dev/
You can run this utility without installing it by running the following command. This about 20 seconds slower to run, as it downloads the software each time. As a benefit, you will always be using the latest version.
npx bdoherty/actual-budget-template <budget-id> [month] [--preview] [--force]
Alternatively you can create a new folder, and then run the following command within that folder from command prompt (on Windows) or Terminal (on Mac) to install the utility. The utility will run faster, as it doesn't need to download the software each time it runs.
npm i --prefix ./ bdoherty/actual-budget-template
You should then be able to run actual-budget-template
from command prompt / Terminal from this folder. If you want to upgrade the utility to the latest version, just run the above command from the same folder.
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