Every YNAB feature, plus a local mirror that makes reconciliation, payee trend analysis, and a ready-made ProjectionLab export instant instead of manual.
This CLI mirrors your budget locally so bank reconciliation and payee spend history become instant, offline, agent-native commands instead of manual math against a live API and a 200-request-per-hour ceiling. It also ships a one-shot export shaped for downstream net-worth tools like ProjectionLab.
Authentication
Uses a YNAB Personal Access Token (Account Settings -> Developer Settings -> New Token in the YNAB web app). Set YNAB_API_TOKEN, or run auth login to store it in the OS keychain.
Quick Start
# Verify the binary and config resolve before touching the network.
ynab-pp-cli doctor --dry-run
# Find your plan (budget) ID — everything else is scoped to it.
ynab-pp-cli plans list
# See current-month category balances at a glance.
ynab-pp-cli categories get 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000
# Get current balances shaped for a downstream net-worth tool.
ynab-pp-cli export balances --format projectionlab --agent
Unique Features
These capabilities aren't available in any other tool for this API.
Agent-native plumbing
-
export balances — One-shot export of current account balances reshaped into ProjectionLab's expected schema, ready to sync into a net-worth projection tool.
Use this to feed another finance tool's import step; it's the direct replacement for a hand-maintained account-mapping script.
ynab-pp-cli export balances --format projectionlab --agent
Local state that compounds
-
accounts reconcile — Diff the local cleared-transaction total against a bank statement balance and surface the transaction(s) most likely responsible for the gap.
Use this monthly instead of eyeballing a statement line by line.
ynab-pp-cli accounts reconcile a1b2c3d4 --statement-balance 1042.17 --agent
-
payees profile — Aggregated monthly spend stats, average transaction size, and typical categories for a single payee.
Use this to understand a recurring payee's spend pattern rather than scanning raw transaction lists.
ynab-pp-cli payees profile a1b2c3d4 --period 6m --agent
Recipes
Feed ProjectionLab
ynab-pp-cli export balances --format projectionlab --agent --select accounts.name,accounts.balance,accounts.type
Narrow the ProjectionLab-shaped export down to just the fields the downstream tool needs, keeping agent context small.
Batch-approve pending transactions
ynab-pp-cli transactions get 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000 --type unapproved --json
List everything awaiting approval before approving in bulk.
Reconcile against a bank statement
ynab-pp-cli accounts reconcile <account-id> --statement-balance 1042.17 --agent
Surfaces the exact transaction(s) causing a mismatch instead of scanning line by line.
Understand a recurring payee
ynab-pp-cli payees profile <payee-id> --period 6m --agent
Shows monthly spend, average transaction size, and typical categories for one payee instead of scanning raw transactions.
Usage
Run ynab-pp-cli --help for the full command reference and flag list.
Paths & environment variables
This CLI separates local files into four path kinds:
| Kind | Contents |
|---|
config | User-editable settings such as config.toml and saved profiles |
data | Durable local data: credentials.toml, data.db, cookies, browser-session proof files, and other auth sidecars |
state | Runtime state such as persisted queries, jobs, and teach.log |
cache | Regenerable HTTP/cache files |
Each kind resolves independently. The ladder is:
- Per-kind env var:
YNAB_CONFIG_DIR, YNAB_DATA_DIR, YNAB_STATE_DIR, or YNAB_CACHE_DIR
--home <dir> for this invocationYNAB_HOME for a flat relocated root- XDG env vars:
XDG_CONFIG_HOME, XDG_DATA_HOME, XDG_STATE_HOME, XDG_CACHE_HOME
- Platform defaults matching existing installs
For containers and agent sandboxes, prefer a single relocated root:
export YNAB_HOME=/srv/ynab
ynab-pp-cli doctor
Under YNAB_HOME=/srv/ynab, the four dirs resolve to /srv/ynab/config, /srv/ynab/data, /srv/ynab/state, and /srv/ynab/cache.
MCP servers do not receive CLI flags from the host. Put relocation in the host env block:
{
"mcpServers": {
"ynab": {
"command": "ynab-pp-mcp",
"env": {
"YNAB_HOME": "/srv/ynab"
}
}
}
}
Precedence matters in fleets: an ambient per-kind variable such as YNAB_DATA_DIR overrides an explicit --home for that kind. Use YNAB_HOME or the per-kind variables for durable fleet relocation; treat --home as the weaker per-invocation lever.
Relocation is one-way. Unsetting YNAB_HOME does not move files back to platform defaults, and doctor cannot find credentials left under a former root. Move the files manually before unsetting relocation variables.
Existing installs keep working because the platform-default rung matches the legacy layout. On the first auth write, stored secrets leave config.toml and are consolidated into credentials.toml under the data directory. Run ynab-pp-cli doctor --fail-on warn to check path and credential-location warnings in automation.
Commands
accounts
The accounts for a plan. Every transaction belongs to an account, and an account is either "on budget", where its activity is categorized and planned, or a tracking account, where only its balance is tracked (see the on_budget flag).
ynab-pp-cli accounts create - Creates a new accountynab-pp-cli accounts get - Returns all accountsynab-pp-cli accounts get-by-id - Returns a single account
categories
The categories for a plan, organized into category groups. Category amounts (assigned, activity, available) are specific to a month, and can be read and updated through the month-scoped category endpoints.
ynab-pp-cli categories create-category - Creates a new categoryynab-pp-cli categories get - Returns all categories grouped by category group. Amounts (assigned, activity, available, etc.) are specific to the current plan month (UTC).ynab-pp-cli categories get-category-by-id - Returns a single category. Amounts (assigned, activity, available, etc.) are specific to the current plan month (UTC).ynab-pp-cli categories update-category - Update a category
category-groups
Manage category groups
ynab-pp-cli category-groups create - Creates a new category groupynab-pp-cli category-groups update - Update a category group
money-movement-groups
Manage money movement groups
ynab-pp-cli money-movement-groups <plan_id> - Returns all money movement groups
money-movements
Money movements record money moved between two categories, or between a category and Ready to Assign, within a plan month. Movements performed together as a single action are linked by a money movement group.
ynab-pp-cli money-movements <plan_id> - Returns all money movements
months
Each plan contains one or more months, which is where Ready to Assign, Age of Money and category (assigned / activity / available) amounts are available.
ynab-pp-cli months get-plan - Returns all plan monthsynab-pp-cli months get-plan-plans - Returns a single plan month
payee-locations
When you enter a transaction and specify a payee on the YNAB mobile apps, the GPS coordinates for that location are stored, with your permission, so that the next time you are in the same place (like the Grocery store) we can pre-populate nearby payees for you! It’s handy and saves you time. This resource makes these locations available. Locations will not be available for all payees.
ynab-pp-cli payee-locations get - Returns all payee locationsynab-pp-cli payee-locations get-by-id - Returns a single payee location
payees
The payees for a plan. Transfers between accounts are represented with special transfer payees; a payee with transfer_account_id set is the transfer payee for that account.
ynab-pp-cli payees create - Creates a new payeeynab-pp-cli payees get - Returns all payeesynab-pp-cli payees get-by-id - Returns a single payeeynab-pp-cli payees update - Update a payee
plans
Plans are the top-level container for your YNAB data; accounts, categories, payees, and transactions all belong to a plan. Most endpoints require a plan_id, which can be obtained from "Get all plans". Alternatively, "last-used" can be used in place of a plan_id to specify the most recently used plan, and "default" can be used if default plan selection is enabled.
ynab-pp-cli plans get - Returns plans list with summary informationynab-pp-cli plans get-by-id - Returns a single plan with all related entities. This resource is effectively a full plan export.
scheduled-transactions
The scheduled transactions for a plan; upcoming and recurring transactions that have not yet been entered into an account. Each has a frequency along with the first and next dates it will occur (date_first and date_next).
ynab-pp-cli scheduled-transactions create - Creates a single scheduled transaction (a transaction with a future date).ynab-pp-cli scheduled-transactions delete - Deletes a scheduled transactionynab-pp-cli scheduled-transactions get - Returns all scheduled transactionsynab-pp-cli scheduled-transactions get-by-id - Returns a single scheduled transactionynab-pp-cli scheduled-transactions update - Updates a single scheduled transaction
settings
Manage settings
ynab-pp-cli settings <plan_id> - Returns settings for a plan
transactions
The transactions for a plan. Transaction amounts are specified in milliunits format. Split transactions are represented with subtransactions, and transfers between accounts are represented with transfer payees.
ynab-pp-cli transactions create - Creates a single transaction or multiple transactions. If you provide a body containing a transaction object, a single transaction will be created and if you provide a body containing a transactions array, multiple transactions will be created. Scheduled transactions (transactions with a future date) cannot be created on this endpoint.ynab-pp-cli transactions delete - Deletes a transactionynab-pp-cli transactions get - Returns plan transactions, excluding any pending transactionsynab-pp-cli transactions get-by-id - Returns a single transactionynab-pp-cli transactions import - Imports available transactions on all linked accounts for the given plan. Linked accounts allow transactions to be imported directly from a specified financial institution and this endpoint initiates that import. Sending a request to this endpoint is the equivalent of clicking "Import" on each account in the web application or tapping the "New Transactions" banner in the mobile applications. The response for this endpoint contains the transaction ids that have been imported.ynab-pp-cli transactions update - Updates multiple transactions, by id or import_id.ynab-pp-cli transactions update-plans - Updates a single transaction
user
The currently authenticated user
ynab-pp-cli user - Returns authenticated user information
Self-learning loop
This CLI caches per-question discovery so repeat queries skip the walk and structurally similar queries get answered via entity substitution. The loop also self-captures: every invocation is journaled locally, and failed-flag corrections plus fresh teaches surface as candidates on the next recall for confirm/reject judgment. Agents call recall before discovery and fire teach & after answering. See the ## Automatic learning section in SKILL.md for the full protocol.
ynab-pp-cli recall <query> - Look up cached resources for a query before running discoveryynab-pp-cli teach - Record a query -> resource mapping (silent on success, safe to background with &)ynab-pp-cli learnings list - Inspect taught rowsynab-pp-cli learnings forget <query> - Undo a teachynab-pp-cli learnings candidates - List auto-captured candidates awaiting confirm/rejectynab-pp-cli learnings stats - Local loop metrics: recall hit rate, teach-to-reuse, playbook resolution, candidate countsynab-pp-cli teach-pattern - Install a query/resource template up frontynab-pp-cli teach-lookup - Add an entity mapping (e.g. country code, team alias) for pattern substitution
Pass --no-learn or set YNAB_NO_LEARN=true to disable the loop for deterministic flows.
The local store's schema version stamp is one-way: once this version of ynab-pp-cli opens the database, older binaries refuse it with a version error — upgrade the binary rather than downgrading.
Output Formats
# Human-readable table (default in terminal, JSON when piped)
ynab-pp-cli accounts get mock-value
# JSON for scripting and agents
ynab-pp-cli accounts get mock-value --json
# Filter to specific fields
ynab-pp-cli accounts get mock-value --json --select data
# Dry run — show the request without sending
ynab-pp-cli accounts get mock-value --dry-run
# Agent mode — JSON + compact + no prompts in one flag
ynab-pp-cli accounts get mock-value --agent
Agent Usage
This CLI is designed for AI agent consumption:
- Non-interactive - never prompts, every input is a flag
- Pipeable -
--json output to stdout, errors to stderr
- Filterable -
--select <field>[,<field>...] returns only fields you need
- Previewable -
--dry-run shows the request without sending
- Explicit retries - add
--idempotent to create retries and add --ignore-missing to delete retries when a no-op success is acceptable
- Confirmable -
--yes for explicit confirmation of destructive actions
- Piped input - write commands can accept structured input when their help lists
--stdin
- Offline-friendly - sync/search commands can use the local SQLite store when available
- Agent-safe by default - no colors or formatting unless
--human-friendly is set
Exit codes: 0 success, 2 usage error, 3 not found, 4 auth error, 5 API error, 7 rate limited, 10 config error.
Health Check
ynab-pp-cli doctor
Verifies configuration, credentials, and connectivity to the API.
Configuration
Run ynab-pp-cli doctor to see the resolved config, data, state, and cache directories. The platform-default config path is ~/.config/ynab-endpoints-pp-cli/config.toml; --home, YNAB_HOME, and per-kind env vars can relocate it.
Static request headers can be configured under headers; per-command header overrides take precedence.
Environment variables:
| Name | Kind | Required | Description |
|---|
YNAB_API_TOKEN | per_call | No | Set to your API credential. |
YNAB_ENDPOINTS_TOKEN | per_call | No | Set to your API credential. |
agentcookie (optional)
If you use agentcookie to sync secrets across machines, this CLI auto-adopts agentcookie-managed credentials with no extra setup. When the daemon writes to this CLI's config, ynab-pp-cli doctor reports agentcookie: detected and auth-status labels the source as agentcookie. Skip this section if you don't use agentcookie - the CLI works the same as any other.
Troubleshooting
Authentication errors (exit code 4)
- Run
ynab-pp-cli doctor to check credentials
- Verify the environment variable is set:
echo $YNAB_API_TOKEN
Not found errors (exit code 3)
- Check the resource ID is correct
- Run the
list command to see available items
API-specific
- 401 Unauthorized on every command — Re-check YNAB_API_TOKEN or run 'ynab-pp-cli auth login' — tokens don't expire but can be revoked from YNAB's Developer Settings.
- 429 / rate limited — YNAB caps tokens at 200 requests/hour. Narrow --since-date on transaction/list calls and avoid re-fetching the same data in a tight loop.
- Amounts look 1000x too large or too small — The raw API uses milliunits; this CLI converts to/from whole currency units at the boundary automatically — don't do the math yourself.
Sources & Inspiration
This CLI was built by studying these projects and resources:
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