Expense Tracker CLI Application

This is a simple command-line application for tracking your personal expenses. It allows you to add, view, delete, and summarize your expenses. Additionally, it supports expense categories, monthly budgets, and exporting expenses to a CSV file.

Features

• Add Expense: Add an expense with a description, amount, and optional category.
• Delete Expense: Delete an expense by its ID.
• List Expenses: View all expenses or filter by category.
• Expense Summary: Get a summary of total expenses, including monthly summaries.
• Set Budget: Set a budget for the current month and receive a warning if exceeded.
• CSV Export: Export your expenses to a CSV file.

Setup

Prerequisites

• .NET SDK 6.0 or later
• Any text editor or IDE (e.g., Visual Studio, VS Code)

Clone the repository

git clone <https://github.com/FQanbari/ExpenseTracker.git>
cd ExpenseTracker

Build the project

dotnet build

Run the project

dotnet run -- [command] [arguments]

Usage

Add an Expense

dotnet run -- add --description "Lunch" --amount 15 --category "Food"

Example Output:

Expense added successfully (ID: 1)

List All Expenses

dotnet run -- list

Example Output:

ID   Date       Description   Amount  Category
1    2024-09-01  Lunch         $15    Food

List Expenses by Category

dotnet run -- list --category "Food"

Example Output:

ID   Date       Description   Amount  Category
1    2024-09-01  Lunch         $15    Food

Delete an Expense

dotnet run -- delete --id 1

Example Output:

Expense deleted successfully

Get a Summary of Total Expenses

dotnet run -- summary

Example Output:

Total expenses: $30

Get a Summary of Expenses for a Specific Month

dotnet run -- summary --month 9

Example Output:

Total expenses for September: $30

Set a Monthly Budget

dotnet run -- set-budget --amount 500

Example Output:

Budget set for the current month: $500

Export Expenses to CSV

dotnet run -- export --file expenses.csv

Commands Overview

Command	Description
add --description --amount [--category]	Add a new expense with an optional category.
delete --id [expense-id]	Delete an expense by ID.
list [--category]	List all expenses, optionally filtered by category.
summary	Get a total summary of expenses.
summary --month [month-number]	Get a summary of expenses for a specific month.
set-budget --amount [amount]	Set a budget for the current month.
export --file [file-path]	Export expenses to a CSV file at the specified file path.

Error Handling

• Invalid inputs (e.g., negative amounts, non-existent IDs) will return appropriate error messages.
• If the budget is exceeded, a warning will be displayed when running the summary command.

Data Storage

The expenses are stored in a local JSON file (expenses.json). You can modify this file to manage persistent data across sessions. The file is loaded when the program starts and saved each time you add, update, or delete expenses.

Additional Features

• Expense Categories: You can add a category to each expense to better organize your data.
• Budget Tracking: Set a budget and receive warnings when expenses exceed that amount.
• CSV Export: Export your expenses to a CSV file for easy viewing and analysis.

Future Improvements

• Ability to update an existing expense.
• Multiple user profiles to track expenses for different users.
• Enhanced filtering options (e.g., filter by date ranges).
• Interactive CLI for a more user-friendly experience.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

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This project is base Roadmap for backend: https://roadmap.sh/projects/expense-tracker