Fob
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Use with AI agents

AI coding agents such as Claude Code, Cursor or Codex can already run terminal commands, so they can drive fob-actual directly. Ask in plain language, for example "how much did we spend on groceries each month this year?", and the agent runs the commands, reads the JSON and answers.

Video coming soon
Ask your budget questions with Claude Code and fob-actual (3–4 min)

1. Install and connect#

Install the CLI and connect your budget yourself first (install, connect), so the agent never needs your password. Check with fob-actual auth status.

2. Tell the agent about fob-actual#

Add a short note to your project's agent instructions (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, .cursorrules or similar):

## Budget (Actual)

Use the `fob-actual` CLI for anything about our budget.

- Start with `fob-actual auth status` to confirm which budget is bound.
- Discover commands with `fob-actual --help` and `fob-actual <resource> <action> --help`.
- Use `--json` and parse it. Amounts in JSON are integer minor units: divide by 100.
- For questions across accounts, use `fob-actual query run` (ActualQL).
- Run every write with `--dry-run` first and show me the result. Never pass `--yes` without asking me.
- Docs (raw Markdown): https://finopsbricks.com/llms.txt

3. Ask#

Some requests that work well:

  • "What did we spend per category last month, compared with what we budgeted?"
  • "Which payees look like duplicates? Show me before merging anything."
  • "Import the transactions in september.csv into Checking." The agent converts the CSV to the JSON format, runs transactions import --dry-run, and shows you what would be added.
  • "Find uncategorized transactions and suggest a category for each."

Docs for agents#

Every docs page is also served as raw Markdown, which is easier for agents to read than HTML: