From 17eed43ab95fe9eb591a4387ebd7108974023a0e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Stephen Waits Date: Mon, 12 Oct 2026 18:48:36 -0600 Subject: [PATCH] site, README: the GUI is the viewer; you work by talking to Claude or Codex Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01MtYEaR6M6Ybdhm6X98BWNu --- README.md | 6 +++--- site/index.html | 20 +++++++++++--------- 2 files changed, 14 insertions(+), 12 deletions(-) diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index b7e0acc..524073a 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ through MCP. Self-hosted, no rent. Desktop) and XLSX reports. - **`ledger-config`** — the company settings in a books dir's `wanderbooks.toml`. -- **`ledger-gui`** — the read-only desktop view for owners and their +- **`ledger-gui`** — the viewer: a read-only, live window on the books for owners and their accountant (egui). Answers first (cash, runway, profit, what needs attention), then every number drills down to its lines, its entry, the rendered receipt, and the journal history. Follows the journal live: @@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ See [`plan/STATUS.md`](plan/STATUS.md) for where things stand and ```bash cargo test # whole suite cargo run -p ledger-mcp -- --data-dir /tmp/books # MCP server over stdio -cargo run -p ledger-gui -- --demo # the desktop view, on a demo company +cargo run -p ledger-gui -- --demo # the viewer, on a demo company ``` New books, one command (installs Rust and wanderbooks if needed, makes the books dir with the MCP server registered for it, and starts the agent): @@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ crates/ledger-mcp/ # MCP server: 64 tools, resources, receipt policy crates/ledger-import/ # QBO CSV import, IIF/XLSX export crates/ledger-config/ # wanderbooks.toml company settings crates/ledger-cli/ # `wanderbooks new`: one-command books dir + agent -crates/ledger-gui/ # read-only live desktop view (egui) +crates/ledger-gui/ # the viewer: read-only, live (egui) docs/ # requirements, architecture, oracle, parity, glossary plan/ # STATUS.md, roadmap.md AGENTS.md # operating manual for agents working here diff --git a/site/index.html b/site/index.html index 5c6dcf5..e575fa1 100644 --- a/site/index.html +++ b/site/index.html @@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ footer { padding: 72px 0 48px; color: var(--faint); font-size: 14px; display: fl
The wanderbooks overview: cash, what you owe, spending, revenue, runway, a cash chart, and what needs attention
The wanderbooks overview in dark mode
-

The desktop view of a demo company. It leads with the answer, then the evidence.

+

The viewer, on a demo company. You work by talking to Claude or Codex; the viewer is for looking.

Just ask.

@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ footer { padding: 72px 0 48px; color: var(--faint); font-size: 14px; display: fl
  • Every receipt behind the year's entries, indexed by entry, date, and amount.
  • QuickBooks-compatible: the journal as an IIF file that imports into QuickBooks Desktop, if that's where their workflow lives.
  • The 1099 worksheet, with W-9 status.
    • -
  • A live, read-only view if they want to look around: share the books folder privately and they open it in the desktop view. Nothing they do can change your books.
    • +
  • A live, read-only view if they want to look around: share the books folder privately and they open it in the viewer. Nothing they do can change your books.
    • A profit and loss statement in wanderbooks with interval columns and drill-down
    @@ -221,9 +221,11 @@ footer { padding: 72px 0 48px; color: var(--faint); font-size: 14px; display: fl
    A transaction with its lines, its rendered receipt, and its history
    -

    Every number goes all the way down.

    -

    The desktop view is read-only and live: whatever your bookkeeper posts appears in a fraction of a second. Click any amount on a statement for the transactions behind it. Click a transaction for its lines, the receipt itself, and every event in its history.

    +

    Talk to change. Look in the viewer.

    +

    Everything that changes your books happens in conversation with Claude or Codex. The viewer is the other half: a live, read-only window on the books for browsing, searching, and reports. Whatever your bookkeeper posts shows up there in a fraction of a second, and every number goes all the way down: click an amount on a statement for the transactions behind it, then a transaction for its lines, the receipt itself, and its history.

      +
    • Browse and search every transaction, account, receipt, and document.
      • +
    • Reports over any dates, by month, quarter, or year, with comparisons; copy any of them into a spreadsheet.
    • Answers first: cash, runway, profit, and what needs attention, in a sentence.
    • Needs attention finds missing receipts, unposted drafts, overdue invoices, 1099 vendors without a W-9, and hands you the prompt to fix each.
    • All the data: the full journal, every receipt and document, light and dark.
      • @@ -237,8 +239,8 @@ footer { padding: 72px 0 48px; color: var(--faint); font-size: 14px; display: fl

      An AI is keeping your books, so the books have to be impossible to quietly get wrong.

      The engine enforces accounting

      Every entry balances exactly; money is exact decimal, never floating point. Posted entries are permanent; corrections are reversing entries. The receipt rule is enforced by the server, not left to the AI's judgment.

      -

      A tamper-evident journal

      Every change is an event hash-chained to the one before. The database is checked against the journal table by table, and rebuilt if it ever drifts; every receipt is checked against its hash. The desktop view shows you the result.

      -

      You approve what matters

      The bookkeeper previews every posting before it happens and waits for you. The desktop view can't change anything at all.

      +

      A tamper-evident journal

      Every change is an event hash-chained to the one before. The database is checked against the journal table by table, and rebuilt if it ever drifts; every receipt is checked against its hash. The viewer shows you the result.

      +

      You approve what matters

      The bookkeeper previews every posting before it happens and waits for you. The viewer can't change anything at all.

    @@ -248,16 +250,16 @@ footer { padding: 72px 0 48px; color: var(--faint); font-size: 14px; display: fl

    Linux

    Needs a C compiler and git (build-essential on Debian and Ubuntu). The installer tells you if anything's missing.

    macOS

    Needs Apple's command line tools: xcode-select --install.

    -

    Windows

    Run it inside WSL2 (wsl --install, then Ubuntu). On Windows 11 the desktop view opens as a normal window. Native Windows is on the way.

    +

    Windows

    Run it inside WSL2 (wsl --install, then Ubuntu). On Windows 11 the viewer opens as a normal window. Native Windows is on the way.

    -

    Already installed? wanderbooks new ~/Books/AnotherCompany. In a books folder, just agent starts your bookkeeper and just gui opens the desktop view.

    +

    Already installed? wanderbooks new ~/Books/AnotherCompany. In a books folder, just agent (or just codex) starts your bookkeeper and just gui opens the viewer.

    Questions

    What does it cost?

    Nothing. wanderbooks is free and open source (MIT or Apache-2.0), with no account and no subscription. The bookkeeper is the AI you already use: Claude Code (included with Claude Pro and Max, or on API credits) or Codex (included with ChatGPT plans, or on API credits). There's nothing else to buy.

    Wait, what's an MCP server?

    MCP is the standard way AI tools like Claude Code and Codex plug into other software. wanderbooks is an accounting engine that speaks it: your AI calls its tools to draft entries, attach receipts, and run reports, and the engine enforces the accounting rules. The one-line installer sets it up; you never have to touch it.

    -
    Do I need to be technical?

    You need to paste one command into a terminal, once. After that you talk to your bookkeeper in plain English and read your books in the desktop app.

    +
    Do I need to be technical?

    You need to paste one command into a terminal, once. After that you talk to your bookkeeper in plain English, in Claude Code or Codex, and look at your books in the viewer whenever you like.

    How does it find my receipts?

    Give your AI access to your email (in Claude, an email connector like Gmail's or the Claude browser extension with your mail open) and ask. It searches for the vendor and amount, files one clean PDF per receipt, and attaches it to the entry. It asks before downloading anything, and it never types passwords or account numbers.

    Where's my data, and what does the AI see?

    Your books are files on your computer: a journal, your receipts, and a settings file, in a git repository you control. Nothing is uploaded to wanderbooks; there is no wanderbooks server. What your bookkeeper reads to help you goes to your AI provider (Anthropic or OpenAI), like any other conversation with it.

    What if the AI gets something wrong?

    Every posting is previewed before it happens. If something slips through, it's corrected the way accountants do it, with a reversing entry, so the mistake and the fix are both on the record. The engine itself refuses anything that doesn't balance, anything without a required receipt, and anything in a closed period.