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Installation

Paisa is available in two formats: a Desktop Application and a CLI (Command Line Interface). Both provide the same list of features, with the primary difference being how the user interface is launched.

Desktop Application

  • Download the prebuilt binary named paisa-app-linux-amd64.deb
  • You can install it either by double clicking the deb file or run the following commands in a Terminal
# cd ~/Downloads
# sudo dpkg -i paisa-app-linux-amd64.deb
  • Download the prebuilt binary named paisa-app-macos-amd64.dmg
  • Open the dmg file and drag the Paisa app into Application folder
  • Since the app is not signed1, Mac will show a warning when you try to open the app. You can check the support page for more details. If you don't get any option to open the app, go to the Application folder, right click on the icon and select open. Usually, this should present you with an option to open.
  • Paisa will store all your journals, configuration files, and other related files in a folder named paisa which will be located in your Documents folder. When you open the app on your Mac for the first time, a permission dialog will appear. Click Allow, then close and reopen the app.
  • Download the prebuilt binary named paisa-app-windows-amd64.exe
  • Since the app is not signed1, Windows will show multiple warnings, You might have to click Keep anyway, More info, Run anyway etc.
  • Paisa will store all your journals, configuration files, and other related files in a folder named paisa which will be located in your Documents folder.

Third Party Hosted Options 2

Run on PikaPods
PikaPods lets you run Paisa on a server with a few clicks. It handles app upgrades, backup and hosting for you. Make sure to setup a user account post installation.

CLI

  • Download the prebuilt binary named paisa-cli-linux-amd64
  • Run the following commands in a Terminal
# cd ~/Downloads
# mv paisa-cli-linux-amd64 paisa
# chmod u+x paisa
# mv paisa /usr/local/bin
  • Download the prebuilt binary named paisa-cli-macos-amd64
  • Run the following commands in a Terminal
# cd ~/Downloads
# mv paisa-cli-macos-amd64 paisa
# chmod u+x paisa
# xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine paisa
# mv paisa /usr/local/bin
  • Download the prebuilt binary named paisa-cli-windows-amd64.exe
  • Since the binary is not signed1 with a certificate, you might get a warning from Windows. You would have to click keep anyway.
  • Run the following command in a Windows PowerShell. Make sure you are in the correct folder. You should see something like PS C:\Users\yourname>
PS C:\Users\john> mv .\Downloads\paisa-cli-windows-amd64.exe .\paisa.exe
  • The paisa.exe binary will be placed in the user's home directory. You can access it via PowerShell. Just open a new PowerShell window, which will start in the home directory. Then, you can run .\paisa.exe serve

Tip

Paisa depends on the ledger binary. The prebuilt paisa binaries come with an embedded ledger binary and will use it if it's not already installed on your system. If you prefer to install the ledger yourself, follow the installation instructions on ledger site.

CLI Quick Start

Paisa will store all your journals, configuration files, and other related files in a folder named paisa which will be located in your Documents folder.

# paisa serve

# paisa serve

PS C:\Users\john> .\paisa.exe serve

Go to http://localhost:7500. Read the tutorial to learn more.

Docker

Paisa CLI is available on dockerhub. The default image only supports ledger. paisa:<version>-hledger, paisa:<version>-beancount or paisa:<version>-all image variants can be used if you want to use paisa with others.

# mkdir -p /home/john/Documents/paisa/
# docker run -p 7500:7500 -v /home/john/Documents/paisa/:/root/Documents/paisa/ ananthakumaran/paisa:latest

# mkdir -p /Users/john/Documents/paisa/
# docker run -p 7500:7500 -v /Users/john/Documents/paisa/:/root/Documents/paisa/ ananthakumaran/paisa:latest

Nix Flake

Paisa CLI is available as a nix flake.

# nix profile install github:ananthakumaran/paisa

# nix profile install github:ananthakumaran/paisa

  1. I offer Paisa as a free app, and I don't generate any revenue from it. Code signing would require me to pay $99 for Mac and approximately $300 for Windows each and every year to get the necessary certificates. I can't justify spending that much for an app that doesn't generate any income. Unfortunately, as a result, you would have to jump through hoops to get it working. ↩↩↩

  2. As the name implies, these are third party hosting solutions operated by independent companies. I may receive affiliate compensation for linking to their websites. ↩