Errors

Errors (⌘8) lists everything Beancount and your plugins reported the last time the ledger was loaded: syntax errors, transactions that do not balance, postings to accounts that are not open, failed balance assertions, and so on. They are the same messages bean-check prints.

The sidebar shows the number of errors as a badge, and the status dot turns orange while there are any.

Reading the list

Each error shows its message and, beneath it, where: 2026.beancount:1482 · BalanceError — file, line and kind.

Click an error to open the editor on that line. Fix it, press ⌘S, and the list updates.

Some errors belong to entries created by a plugin rather than written in a file. They say Generated entry instead of a location, and cannot be clicked.

With no errors, the screen says Beancount loaded the ledger without complaints.

Errors do not block the app

A ledger with errors still loads. Reports, Portfolio and Journal show whatever Beancount made of it — usually everything except the offending entry. Keep in mind that figures may be incomplete until the errors are fixed.

Errors do change one thing: saving with errors never commits on its own. The app saves, and then asks whether you want to commit anyway. See Saving and committing.

Other places errors show up

• In the editor: red underlines on the lines, a count in the status bar and in the file menu.
• In the Journal: a failed balance is drawn in red with “off by …”, and a pending ! transaction in orange.

When the ledger does not load at all

If the main file cannot be read, or the engine fails, the app shows Could Not Load the Ledger with the reason and a Try Again button. See Troubleshooting.