FAQ

Straight answers to the questions people ask before they trust a program with their bank data.

Privacy and safety

Is my data sent anywhere?

Only where you allow it, and never in full. The bank data comes in from Enable Banking; nothing from your database goes back. A model backend receives redacted merchant descriptors (for categorization) and redacted, already computed tool results (for the coach): pseudonyms such as adult-1, hashed transaction refs, no IBAN, no real name. Alert channels are off until you enable one, and their messages are minimal. There is no telemetry, CDN or analytics. coach privacy status lists every outbound path and coach privacy report shows a local journal of every call (host, size, purpose, never a payload). See Privacy modes and Privacy.

Can I run it fully offline?

Yes, in two steps. [privacy] local_only = true makes every model call go to Ollama on your own machine and turns off web search and external alert channels; the bank sync is then the only network use. [privacy] offline = true goes further: nothing leaves the machine, so there is no bank sync either and you bring transactions in with file imports. See Privacy modes.

Does it work without a model?

Yes. Syncing, imports, rules, your corrections, budgets, forecasts, subscriptions, loans and every page of the web app are plain code. Without a model, only the merchants your rules and memory do not recognise stay uncategorized (you can review them by hand), and the "Ask the coach" page is unavailable. See AI models.

Why can't the coach change my data?

Because a model can be wrong, and because merchant names and transfer descriptions are written by strangers and can hide an instruction ("ignore your rules and..."). So the coach only reads computed results and can only propose a memory change. A proposal is sealed; you review it under Memory > Proposals and accept it yourself, in a terminal (coach memory accept <id>). Text in your data that looks like an instruction is treated as data and flagged. See Memory & set-up.

Where are my data and keys stored?

In your home folder (~/.ai-finance-coach by default, or coach-home/ with Docker). The database is encrypted with SQLCipher. The keys live in the macOS Keychain, or in files readable by you only (mode 0600) in Docker. The web app listens on 127.0.0.1 only, behind a one-time login link. See Install.

Is it safe to let Claude Code work in this folder?

Treat any coding agent as untrusted code running as you. The project ships a template of permission rules (docs/claude-settings.example.json), finance tools that only return redacted data, and confirmations that need a human at a terminal. Rules mitigate; they do not prevent. See Claude Code & skills and Security.

Banks and countries

Which banks does it support?

Any bank Enable Banking reaches in your country, through PSD2: you link them with your own free Enable Banking application in restricted mode. The coach also ships description parsers tuned for Fortuneo, CIC, Caisse d'Epargne and Revolut, a generic Italian one and a generic fallback. Banks you cannot link can be imported from CSV, OFX or CAMT.053 files. See Connect your banks.

Is it France and Italy only?

It is built for one household in France or Italy: the category taxonomy, the bank parsers, the subscription cancellation rules and the tax candidates are French and Italian. The web app speaks English, French and Italian. Another country works for syncing and budgets but needs parsers and rules to be as useful.

What happens when a bank consent expires?

A PSD2 consent lasts at most 180 days. From 14 days before the end, the Connections page turns amber, you get a consent alert and the daily job warns at every run. Click Reconnect (or run coach reconnect "<bank>"), log in at your bank again, and you are done: every account keeps its history, label and owner. See Connect your banks.

Why does it sync at most four times a day?

PSD2 limits how often an app may read an account without you being present. [sync] daily_limit = 4 keeps the coach under that cap, per account. See Connect your banks.

Cost

What does it cost?

The coach is free and open source (MIT). Enable Banking's restricted mode is free for your own accounts. The only cost is the model you choose: nothing with Ollama, your existing Claude subscription with Claude Code, or pay-per-use with the Anthropic API or an OpenAI-compatible provider. The AI usage page shows every call with its tokens and an estimated cost, and [usage] monthly_warn_usd can raise an alert. See Quality & AI usage.

Which model should I pick?

Any backend works for categorization; the coach needs a model with tool calling. Claude Code suits personal, low-frequency use; an API key suits automation; Ollama keeps everything local. See AI models.

The household

Can my partner and kids log in?

Yes. Each person can have their own login of the web app: an adult sees everything, a child sees only their own money (pocket money, spending, their budget). The owner creates logins in a terminal with coach users add, and hands over a one-time link with coach ui --login-link --user ID. See Household & kids.

Can it handle several households or a small business?

No. It is built for one household: its members, accounts, loans, contracts and possibly a rental property.

Accuracy and advice

How accurate is categorization?

It depends on your banks and on how much you have taught it. Most transactions are settled by the bank parsers, your memory, rules and a local nearest-neighbour step; a model labels only the long tail. You can measure it: label a sample on the Gold set page and coach eval classify scores the categorization against your labels, by transaction and by money, offline. Every correction you make on Review becomes permanent memory. See Categories & review and Quality.

Can I trust the numbers in the coach's answers?

The figures come from the tools, not from the model: the coach quotes amounts that code computed and cites the payments behind them. A number in an answer that cannot be traced to a computed figure is flagged on screen. The wording can still be wrong, so every answer carries an "AI-generated" label. See Ask the coach.

Is this financial advice?

No. The coach explains your own spending and saving habits. It does not recommend funds, shares, crypto, loans or insurers, and gives no tax or legal advice. Estimates (a renegotiation, a cancellation date, tax candidates) are labelled as estimates; check them with a regulated professional.

Running it

Can I try it before connecting my bank?

Yes: the repository ships an invented household (the Rossi family) with a scripted coach that makes real tool calls on invented data. No bank, model or key needed. See Try the demo.

Can I run it on a server and use it from my phone?

Yes, in Docker on a home server, with the app on the server's loopback and Tailscale's HTTPS in front. Never expose it to the internet. See Run it on a server.

How do I back it up?

coach backup writes an encrypted archive of the database and the memory and keeps the newest ones. Keep db_key and backup_key in your password manager, separately. See Daily job & backups.

How do I delete everything?

coach wipe --dry-run lists what would be deleted. coach wipe itself only runs in a terminal, writes a safety export first and asks you to type a confirmation phrase. It cannot be undone. See Install.