EnvelopeCLI

A terminal-based zero-based budgeting application inspired by YNAB. Every dollar gets a job.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Installation
• Quick Start
• CLI Reference
• TUI Keyboard Shortcuts
• Data Storage
• Project Structure
• Development
• License
• Author

Features

Core Budgeting

• Zero-based budgeting - Assign every dollar to a category before you spend it
• Expected income tracking - Set expected income per period with warnings when over-budgeting
• Budget targets - Set recurring targets (weekly, monthly, yearly, or by specific date) with auto-fill
• Fund movement - Move money between categories as priorities change
• Rollover support - Carry over surplus or deficit from previous periods
• Overspending alerts - Track and resolve overspent categories

Account Management

• Multiple account types - Checking, savings, credit cards, cash, investments, lines of credit
• On/off-budget accounts - Track investment accounts without affecting your budget
• Account archiving - Hide accounts without losing historical data
• Net worth tracking - See your complete financial picture

Transaction Management

• Full transaction tracking - Date, payee, category, memo, and cleared status
• CSV import - Import transactions from your bank
• Transfers - Move money between accounts with linked transactions
• Bulk operations - Categorize multiple transactions at once
• Reconciliation - Match your records with bank statements

Reporting

• Budget overview - See budgeted, spent, and available by category
• Spending analysis - Track spending by category with percentage breakdowns
• Account register - Filter transactions by date, payee, or category
• Net worth report - Assets vs liabilities summary

Data & Security

• Local-first storage - All data stored on your machine in JSON format
• AES-256-GCM encryption - Optional passphrase-protected encryption with Argon2 key derivation
• Automatic backups - Configurable backup retention
• Multi-format export - CSV, JSON, or YAML for portability

Interface

• Interactive TUI - Full terminal interface with vim-style navigation
• CLI commands - Script-friendly command-line interface for automation
• Command palette - Quick access to all actions with : key

Installation

Via Cargo (Recommended)

cargo install envelope-cli

Via Homebrew (macOS/Linux)

brew tap KayleeBeyene/tap
brew install envelope-cli

Note: Use envelope-cli (not envelope) to avoid conflict with an unrelated package in homebrew-core.

Via Shell Script (macOS/Linux)

curl -fsSL https://github.com/KayleeBeyene/EnvelopeCLI/releases/latest/download/envelope-installer.sh | sh

Via PowerShell (Windows)

irm https://github.com/KayleeBeyene/EnvelopeCLI/releases/latest/download/envelope-installer.ps1 | iex

From Source

git clone https://github.com/KayleeBeyene/EnvelopeCLI.git
cd EnvelopeCLI
cargo install --path .

Requires Rust 1.70+

Quick Start

# Initialize with default categories
envelope init

# Create your first account
envelope account create "Checking" --balance 2500.00

# Launch the TUI
envelope tui

CLI Reference

Account Commands

envelope account create "Savings" --type savings --balance 5000.00
envelope account create "Visa" --type credit --balance 1200.00
envelope account list                    # Show all active accounts
envelope account list --all              # Include archived accounts
envelope account show "Checking"         # View account details
envelope account edit "Checking" --name "Primary Checking"
envelope account archive "Old Account"   # Hide without deleting
envelope account unarchive "Old Account"

Transaction Commands

envelope transaction add "Checking" -50.00 --payee "Grocery Store" --category "Groceries"
envelope transaction list --account "Checking" --limit 20
envelope txn add "Checking" 2000.00 --payee "Employer" --memo "Paycheck"

Transfer Between Accounts

envelope transfer "Checking" "Savings" 500.00 --memo "Monthly savings"

Budget Commands

envelope budget overview                       # Current month overview
envelope budget overview --period 2025-01      # Specific month
envelope budget assign "Groceries" 400.00      # Assign funds to category
envelope budget move "Dining Out" "Groceries" 50.00  # Move funds between categories
envelope budget rollover                       # Apply previous month's rollover
envelope budget overspent                      # List overspent categories
envelope budget periods --count 6              # Show recent budget periods

Target Commands (Recurring Goals)

envelope target set "Rent" 1500.00 --cadence monthly
envelope target set "Car Insurance" 600.00 --cadence yearly
envelope target set "Vacation" 2000.00 --cadence by-date --date 2025-06-01
envelope target list                           # Show all targets
envelope target show "Rent"                    # View target details
envelope target auto-fill                      # Fill budgets from targets
envelope target delete "Rent"                  # Remove a target

Income Commands

envelope income set 5000.00                       # Set expected income for current month
envelope income set 5000.00 --period 2025-01      # Set for specific month
envelope income set 5000.00 --notes "Salary only" # With notes
envelope income show                              # Show expected income for current month
envelope income show --period 2025-01             # Show for specific month
envelope income compare                           # Compare expected income vs budgeted
envelope income remove                            # Remove expected income for current month

Category Commands

envelope category create "Coffee" --group "Wants"
envelope category list
envelope category create-group "Side Hustle"

Report Commands

envelope report budget                         # Budget overview
envelope report spending --period 2025-01      # Spending by category
envelope report spending --top 5               # Top 5 spending categories
envelope report register "Checking"            # Account transaction history
envelope report net-worth                      # Assets vs liabilities
envelope report register "Checking" --output transactions.csv

Export Commands

envelope export all backup.json --format json --pretty
envelope export all backup.yaml --format yaml
envelope export transactions transactions.csv
envelope export accounts accounts.csv
envelope export allocations budget-history.csv --months 12
envelope export info                           # Show data summary

Import Transactions

envelope import bank-export.csv --account "Checking"

Encryption Commands

envelope encrypt enable                        # Enable AES-256-GCM encryption
envelope encrypt status                        # Check encryption status
envelope encrypt verify                        # Verify your passphrase
envelope encrypt change-passphrase             # Change passphrase
envelope encrypt disable                       # Remove encryption

Backup Commands

envelope backup create                         # Create manual backup
envelope backup list                           # List available backups
envelope backup restore <backup-file>          # Restore from backup

Other Commands

envelope config                                # Show configuration and paths
envelope init                                  # Initialize new budget
envelope tui                                   # Launch interactive TUI
envelope --help                                # Show all commands

TUI Keyboard Shortcuts

Global

Register View (Transactions)

Budget View

Sidebar

Dialogs

Data Storage

All data is stored locally in ~/.config/envelope-cli/ (Linux/macOS) or %APPDATA%\envelope-cli\ (Windows):

~/.config/envelope-cli/
├── config.json          # Settings and encryption config
├── data/
│   ├── accounts.json    # Account definitions
│   ├── categories.json  # Category groups and categories
│   ├── allocations.json # Budget allocations per period
│   ├── transactions.json
│   ├── payees.json      # Payee rules for auto-categorization
│   └── targets.json     # Recurring budget targets
├── audit.log            # Change history
└── backups/             # Automatic backups

Path Resolution

1. ENVELOPE_CLI_DATA_DIR environment variable (if set)
2. $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/envelope-cli (if XDG_CONFIG_HOME is set)
3. ~/.config/envelope-cli (Linux/macOS default)
4. %APPDATA%\envelope-cli (Windows default)

Use envelope config to see the active paths on your system.

Project Structure

src/
├── main.rs              # CLI entry point
├── lib.rs               # Library root
├── cli/                 # CLI command handlers
├── tui/                 # Terminal UI (ratatui)
│   ├── app.rs           # Application state
│   ├── views/           # Main views (accounts, register, budget)
│   ├── dialogs/         # Modal dialogs
│   └── widgets/         # Reusable UI components
├── models/              # Data models (Account, Transaction, Category, etc.)
├── services/            # Business logic layer
├── storage/             # JSON persistence layer
├── reports/             # Report generation
├── export/              # CSV, JSON, YAML export
├── crypto/              # Encryption (AES-256-GCM, Argon2)
├── backup/              # Backup management
├── audit/               # Audit logging
└── error.rs             # Error types

Development

cargo build              # Build
cargo test               # Run tests
cargo run -- --help      # Run with args
cargo clippy             # Lint
cargo fmt                # Format

License

MIT License - See LICENSE for details.

Author

Kaylee Beyene (@coderkaylee)