Counterpoise is an open-source ledger with real double-entry bookkeeping and a built-in MCP server. Your books stay on your server.
This video has music and no speech. All of its content is on-screen text and stylized drawings of the app.
A long Costco receipt scrolls. The text reads: 28 items. 6 categories. One photo. No manual entry.
A person sends a photo of the receipt to an AI assistant and asks it to enter the purchase and split it by category. The assistant calls Counterpoise tools through MCP. In the Journal view, six expense lines fill: Groceries, Household, Clothing, Pharmacy, Pets, and Electronics. One credit line goes to the credit card. Debits equal credits, and the status changes to Balanced. The text reads: Each entry must balance. Agent entries also.
The person asks three more questions. "Where did the money go this month?" gives an income statement. "Reconcile my bank feed." matches five bank items. "How are my investments doing?" shows positions and gains. The text reads: More than 60 tools. Your agent can read and write your books.
Four cards show the dashboard, the recurring calendar, the dark theme, and the phone layout.
The video ends with the Counterpoise name and the text: Open source. Self-hosted. Balanced to the penny.
Counterpoise has a built-in MCP server with more than 60 tools. Connect an assistant such as Claude, and it can read and write your books. Send it a photo of a long receipt, and it makes one transaction with the correct expense category for each item.
Each entry that an assistant makes must balance, as all other entries must. Access is over stdio or HTTP, with per-user API keys that you manage on the Account page. Keys are stored as scrypt hashes.
Every transaction has balanced debits and credits. Counterpoise keeps the books the way an accountant does, with no extra work for you.
Record a purchase in seconds, or split one receipt across many categories.
Track stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds in the same books as your bank accounts.
Connect your bank through Plaid. Counterpoise matches each imported item to the entries you already recorded.
Set up bills and paychecks one time. Counterpoise makes the entries on schedule.
See where your money goes, and what you own and owe.
Counterpoise is fast to use on a desktop and on a phone.
You need only Docker. Run these commands, then open http://localhost:3000 and make your account.
For sample data, add the demo book with one click. It is a full example household with three years of history.
git clone --branch v1.60.2 https://github.com/jeffjjohnston/counterpoise-ledger.git counterpoise
cd counterpoise
docker volume create counterpoise_data
mkdir -p backups
docker run --rm -v "$PWD/backups:/backups" alpine:3.22 chown 1000:1000 /backups
cp .env.example .env.production.local # then edit it
docker compose --env-file .env.production.local up -d --build --waitFor configuration, bank sync, backups, and upgrades, read the Docker deployment documentation.