Getting Started
===============

If you're new to Beancount or double-entry accounting in general, we
recommend `Command-line Accounting in Context
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e4Vz3wZB_8-ZcAwIFde8X5CjzKshE4-OXtVVHm4RQ8s/>`_,
a motivational document written by Martin Blais, the author of Beancount.

To learn how to create your beancount file, refer to `Getting Started with
Beancount
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P5At-z1sP8rgwYLHso5sEy3u4rMnIUDDgob9Y_BYuWE/>`_
guide. Martin Blais has written a great deal of very detailed documentation for
Beancount, see the `Beancount Documentation
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RaondTJCS_IUPBHFNdT8oqFKJjVJDsfsn6JEjBG04eA>`_
page for an index of the available documentation.

Installation
------------

Fava is known to run on macOS, Linux, and Windows.  You will need `Python 3
<https://www.python.org/downloads/>`_.  Then you can use ``pip`` to install
Fava or update your existing Installation by running::

    pip install --upgrade fava

which will also pull in all required dependencies including Beancount. If you
do not have Beancount installed already, you might want to have a look at its
`installation instructions
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FqyrTPwiHVLyncWTf3v5TcooCu9z5JRX8Nm41lVZi0U>`_.

If you want to export query results to Microsoft Excel or LibreOffice Calc, use
the following command to install the optional dependencies for this feature::

   pip install --upgrade fava[excel]


Starting Fava
-------------

After installing Fava, you can start it by running::

    fava ledger.beancount

pointing it to your Beancount file -- and visit the web interface at
`http://localhost:5000 <http://localhost:5000>`_.

There are some command-line options available, run ``fava --help`` for an overview.

For more information on Fava's features, refer to the help pages that are
available through Fava's web-interface.  Fava comes with Gmail-style keyboard
shortcuts; press ``?`` to show an overview.