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About this manual and implementation status
What this manual covers, which interface to use, and where behavior is still planned.
Choose your starting point
This manual is the public reference for using Kabacus and understanding its accounting rules. It covers the KDE application, the web application and desktop shell, kabacus-cli, and shared servers. Start with Getting started if you keep your own books. Server operators should also read Running kabacus-server and Signing in and roles.
| You want to… | Use… |
|---|---|
| Keep books on one computer | A local .kabacus file; no account or server is needed. |
| Use books in a browser | The PWA, with browser-specific file storage. |
| Share books between devices or people | A server, HTTPS and sign-in. |
| Automate reports or bookkeeping | kabacus-cli or an MCP client; the same validation applies. |
Specification and current behavior
The specification describes the intended contract. This manual explains that contract in task-oriented language and calls out known gaps. It was checked against the application and engine specifications and the application source on November 8, 2026. Installed versions can differ; use your version’s command help before running examples. Screenshots show the real web interface with synthetic sample books, not a live household.
The shared libraries provide accounting, validation, reports and revisions for every interface. A different appearance does not imply different accounting. The website’s charcoal and red theme is separate from the application: the web app uses Verdure and the KDE app follows your system theme.
Known gaps and differences
- Dedicated mortgage and installment-loan pages, editing split transactions in the app, and selecting several ledgers within one database are listed as unfinished in the application specification.
- Delete, rename and balance-assertion rewrites are not general-purpose app workflows yet. Use the documented command or MCP operation only when its rewrite gates are enabled.
- The engine specification describes internal-user administration. The current server documentation centers on an external OIDC provider or explicit single-user authentication-off mode; do not assume an administration or registration portal exists.
- The engine specification favors .kabacus file exchange over journal-text export. The current CLI still implements export to a journal. Treat that as a version-specific interchange feature; a journal export does not preserve the complete audit history.
- Server-composed warnings and refusals may remain untranslated. Tablet layouts use an icon rail and have less test coverage than desktop and phone layouts.
How to read the manual
Steps describe actions in the application. Reference tables explain rules enforced by the shared engine. Examples use declared accounts and USD; substitute your own paths, currency and dates. A reserve in the app is a fund in the API and MCP vocabulary. A revision is a numbered change to the books, not a transaction number.