Export the context

On the Mac, with your ledger open:

1. Choose File ▸ Export for iPhone… (⌥⌘E).
2. Save the .bcdcontext file anywhere — the Desktop is fine, you can delete it afterwards.
3. AirDrop it to your iPhone. It opens directly in the companion (Beancount on your Home Screen), which confirms what it got: “Imported 84 accounts, 212 payees, 31 tags and 3 currencies.”

Any other route works as well: save it to iCloud Drive and open it from the Files app, or in the Companion use Ledger ▸ Import Context… and pick the file.

What is in the file

Included	Notes
Ledger title and currencies	Including your operating currencies, used as the default currency of a draft.
Accounts	Only those open on the day of the export, the most used first, each with the currencies it allows.
Payees, tags, links	The most used first.
Metadata	Every key and its known values.
Payee templates	For each payee, its last transaction. Choosing that payee on the phone pre-fills the draft with it.

Not included: balances, reports, the transactions of your ledger (other than those templates), or the ledger files themselves.

Caution

Because of the payee templates the file contains some real amounts and descriptions. Do not share it, and delete it from wherever you saved it once the iPhone has it.

When to export again

Whenever the phone’s suggestions feel out of date: after opening new accounts, or when new shops have become regulars. Importing a new context replaces the previous one. Your drafts are not affected.

In the Companion, the Ledger menu shows which context is loaded: the ledger’s title, how many accounts and when it was exported.