Export data

Get transactions out as CSV, in GnuCash's simple or complex layout, and the account tree as CSV or as a file of accounts and commodities.

To use your data in a spreadsheet, send it to an accountant, or load it into another book, export it. red-ale has three exports. None changes the book.

Export	Gives	Format
export.csvTransactions	Transactions of chosen accounts and dates	CSV text in the result
export.csvTree	The account tree: type, name, code, commodity, flags	CSV text in the result
export.accounts	The accounts and their commodities, to be imported as a new book's chart	A file of a book with no transactions

Steps

Transactions. Call export.csvTransactions with the accounts to export (a transaction appears under the first of them it has a split in), optionally from and to, and a layout: simple, one line per split with the other account in the line, or complex (the default), GnuCash's full layout with one line per split and its memo, action and price. separator and quotes shape the CSV; locale decides how dates and numbers are written. The CSV is in the result as csv. From the command line, --output transactions.csv writes it to a file.
The account tree. export.csvTree gives one row per account in the layout that Import transactions and GnuCash's account import read.
A chart of accounts. export.accounts writes the accounts and commodities, without the transactions, to a new book at path. It refuses a path that exists. Use it to start a new year's book with the same chart.
A report's figures. Reports with a CSV export give theirs through report.exportCsv (see Run and export a report).

Example

Example: with a new, empty book open as book.gnucash, at 2024-07-01T12:00:00Z.

JSON-RPC

Request:

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"account.create","params":{"name":"Checking","type":"BANK","commodity":"USD"}}

Response:

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "result": "…"
}

Request:

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":2,"method":"account.create","params":{"name":"Food","type":"EXPENSE","commodity":"USD"}}

Response:

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 2,
  "result": "…"
}

Request:

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":3,"method":"transaction.post","params":{"datePosted":"2024-06-03","description":"Coffee","splits":[{"account":"Food","value":"3.50"},{"account":"Checking","value":"-3.50"}]}}

Response:

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 3,
  "result": "…"
}

Request:

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":4,"method":"export.csvTransactions","params":{"accounts":["Checking"],"layout":"simple"}}

Response:

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 4,
  "result": {
    "csv": "Date,Account Name,Number,Description,Full Category Path,Reconcile,Amount With Sym,Amount Num.,Value With Sym,Value Num.,Rate/Price\r\n06/03/24,Checking,,Coffee,Food,n,-$3.50,-3.50,-$3.50,-3.50,1.00\r\n",
    "transactions": 1,
    "lines": 1
  }
}

Request:

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":5,"method":"export.csvTree","params":{}}

Response:

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 5,
  "result": {
    "csv": "Type,Full Account Name,Account Name,Account Code,Description,Account Color,Notes,Symbol,Namespace,Hidden,Tax Info,Placeholder\r\nEXPENSE,Food,Food,,,,,USD,CURRENCY,F,F,F\r\nBANK,Checking,Checking,,,,,USD,CURRENCY,F,F,F\r\n",
    "rows": 2
  }
}

Request:

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":6,"method":"export.accounts","params":{"path":"chart"}}

Response:

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 6,
  "result": {
    "path": "…",
    "accounts": 3,
    "commodities": "…"
  }
}

Command line

red-ale exec --book book.gnucash --script - <<'EOF'
account.create {"name":"Checking","type":"BANK","commodity":"USD"}
account.create {"name":"Food","type":"EXPENSE","commodity":"USD"}
transaction.post {"datePosted":"2024-06-03","description":"Coffee","splits":[{"account":"Food","value":"3.50"},{"account":"Checking","value":"-3.50"}]}
export.csvTransactions {"accounts":["Checking"],"layout":"simple"}
export.csvTree {}
export.accounts {"path":"chart"}
EOF

It prints:

[
  "…",
  "…",
  "…",
  {
    "csv": "Date,Account Name,Number,Description,Full Category Path,Reconcile,Amount With Sym,Amount Num.,Value With Sym,Value Num.,Rate/Price\r\n06/03/24,Checking,,Coffee,Food,n,-$3.50,-3.50,-$3.50,-3.50,1.00\r\n",
    "transactions": 1,
    "lines": 1
  },
  {
    "csv": "Type,Full Account Name,Account Name,Account Code,Description,Account Color,Notes,Symbol,Namespace,Hidden,Tax Info,Placeholder\r\nEXPENSE,Food,Food,,,,,USD,CURRENCY,F,F,F\r\nBANK,Checking,Checking,,,,,USD,CURRENCY,F,F,F\r\n",
    "rows": 2
  },
  {
    "path": "…",
    "accounts": 3,
    "commodities": "…"
  }
]

MCP tool call

Tool call:

{"name":"account.create","arguments":{"name":"Checking","type":"BANK","commodity":"USD"}}

Result:

{
  "content": [
    {
      "type": "text",
      "text": "\"…\""
    }
  ]
}

Tool call:

{"name":"account.create","arguments":{"name":"Food","type":"EXPENSE","commodity":"USD"}}

Result:

{
  "content": [
    {
      "type": "text",
      "text": "\"…\""
    }
  ]
}

Tool call:

{"name":"transaction.post","arguments":{"datePosted":"2024-06-03","description":"Coffee","splits":[{"account":"Food","value":"3.50"},{"account":"Checking","value":"-3.50"}]}}

Result:

{
  "content": [
    {
      "type": "text",
      "text": "\"…\""
    }
  ]
}

Tool call:

{"name":"export.csvTransactions","arguments":{"accounts":["Checking"],"layout":"simple"}}

Result:

{
  "structuredContent": {
    "csv": "Date,Account Name,Number,Description,Full Category Path,Reconcile,Amount With Sym,Amount Num.,Value With Sym,Value Num.,Rate/Price\r\n06/03/24,Checking,,Coffee,Food,n,-$3.50,-3.50,-$3.50,-3.50,1.00\r\n",
    "transactions": 1,
    "lines": 1
  }
}

Tool call:

{"name":"export.csvTree","arguments":{}}

Result:

{
  "structuredContent": {
    "csv": "Type,Full Account Name,Account Name,Account Code,Description,Account Color,Notes,Symbol,Namespace,Hidden,Tax Info,Placeholder\r\nEXPENSE,Food,Food,,,,,USD,CURRENCY,F,F,F\r\nBANK,Checking,Checking,,,,,USD,CURRENCY,F,F,F\r\n",
    "rows": 2
  }
}

Tool call:

{"name":"export.accounts","arguments":{"path":"chart"}}

Result:

{
  "structuredContent": {
    "path": "…",
    "accounts": 3,
    "commodities": "…"
  }
}