Actual Budget Chart Usage Guide

Actual Budget is a self-hosted personal finance manager that helps you track your spending, set budgets, and gain control over your finances. This Helm chart makes it easy to deploy Actual Budget on Kubernetes.

• Official Website: https://actualbudget.org
• GitHub Repository: https://github.com/actualbudget/actual
• Documentation: https://actualbudget.org/docs
• ArtifactHub: Actual Budget Helm Chart

Why use this chart?

• Quick, reliable deployment of Actual Budget on any Kubernetes cluster
• Community-maintained and up-to-date
• Great for self-hosters and teams needing private finance management
• Supports multiple authentication methods including OpenID Connect
• Configurable persistence and resource management

Prerequisites

• Kubernetes cluster (1.16+)
• Helm 3.x
• Ingress controller (optional, for external access)
• Storage class (for persistent data)

Quick Start

1. Add the Helm Repository

helm repo add community-charts https://community-charts.github.io/helm-charts
helm repo update

2. Basic Installation

helm install my-actualbudget community-charts/actualbudget -n <your-namespace>

Replace <your-namespace> with your target namespace.

3. Access the Application

After installation, access Actual Budget:

# Port forward to access locally
kubectl port-forward svc/my-actualbudget 5006:5006

# Or access via ingress (if configured)
# Navigate to your configured domain

Basic Configuration

Enable Persistence

For production deployments, always enable persistence:

persistence:
  enabled: true
  size: 20Gi
  storageClass: "standard"

Configure Ingress

Enable external access via ingress:

ingress:
  enabled: true
  className: nginx
  hosts:
    - host: actualbudget.yourdomain.com
      paths:
        - path: /
          pathType: ImplementationSpecific
  tls:
    - secretName: actualbudget-tls
      hosts:
        - actualbudget.yourdomain.com

Set Resource Limits

Configure appropriate resource allocation:

resources:
  limits:
    cpu: 500m
    memory: 1Gi
  requests:
    cpu: 200m
    memory: 512Mi

Complete Example

Here's a complete configuration for a production deployment:

# values.yaml
replicaCount: 1
strategy:
  type: Recreate

# Persistence
persistence:
  enabled: true
  size: 20Gi
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteOnce

# File storage
files:
  dataDirectory: /data
  server: /data/server-files
  user: /data/user-files

# Ingress
ingress:
  enabled: true
  className: nginx
  hosts:
    - host: actualbudget.yourdomain.com
      paths:
        - path: /
          pathType: ImplementationSpecific

# Resources
resources:
  limits:
    cpu: 500m
    memory: 1Gi
  requests:
    cpu: 200m
    memory: 512Mi

# Authentication (password-based)
login:
  method: password
  allowedLoginMethods:
    - password

Install with custom values:

helm install my-actualbudget community-charts/actualbudget \
  -f values.yaml \
  -n <your-namespace>

Common Operations

Upgrade the Chart

helm repo update
helm upgrade my-actualbudget community-charts/actualbudget -n <your-namespace>

Uninstall the Chart

helm uninstall my-actualbudget -n <your-namespace>

warning

Uninstalling will remove all Kubernetes resources. If persistence is enabled, PVC data will be retained based on your storage class reclaim policy.

Check Status

# Check release status
helm status my-actualbudget -n <your-namespace>

# Check resources
kubectl get all -l app.kubernetes.io/name=actualbudget -n <your-namespace>

# Check logs
kubectl logs -f deployment/my-actualbudget -n <your-namespace>

First Time Setup

1. Access the Application: Navigate to your configured URL or use port-forward
2. Create Account: On first access, create your admin account
3. Import Data: Import your existing budget data or start fresh
4. Configure Sync: Set up synchronization with your devices

Environment Variables

The chart automatically configures these environment variables:

Variable	Description	Default
ACTUAL_PORT	Server port	5006
ACTUAL_DATA_DIR	Data directory	/data
ACTUAL_SERVER_FILES	Server files path	/data/server-files
ACTUAL_USER_FILES	User files path	/data/user-files
ACTUAL_LOGIN_METHOD	Authentication method	password

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Pod not starting: Check resource limits and storage configuration
2. Can't access application: Verify ingress configuration and service
3. Data not persisting: Ensure persistence is enabled and PVC is bound

Debug Commands

# Check pod status
kubectl get pods -n <your-namespace>

# Check pod events
kubectl describe pod <pod-name> -n <your-namespace>

# Check logs
kubectl logs <pod-name> -n <your-namespace>

# Check PVC status
kubectl get pvc -n <your-namespace>

For detailed troubleshooting, see the troubleshooting guide.

Next Steps

• Learn about configuration options
• Set up authentication methods
• Configure storage and persistence
• Explore advanced configuration options
• Troubleshoot common issues in the troubleshooting guide