David, you've missed the point of the initial summary. Rather than being irrelevant, those first two points show exactly how "tags" are treated within the GnuCash architecture.
In fact, the lead developer in https://github.com/Gnucash/gnucash/pull/1623#issuecomment-1585771847 explicitly states that he does not support adding a dedicated, formal "tagging" structure to reports. Instead, he advocates using standard filter reports, relying on string or regex matching within an arbitrary, selected text field. Calling this a native "Tag" system is structurally inaccurate. The official development stance treats it purely as a text filtering workaround. Even if independent tools or custom scripts are developed to bridge this gap, it would be preferable if those tools used consistent terminology that aligns with GnuCash's core filtering philosophy rather than introducing misleading labels. Regards On Wed, 7 Oct 2026 at 16:32, David T. <[email protected]> wrote: > > Welp, just goes to show the limitations of AI. > > The first two points, while accurate, are decidedly not relevant to the > current discussion in any way shape or form. > > The third and fourth points are relevant, but not helpful, since the OP is > attempting to build a reporting tool to help users work around and with these > specific issues. > > Finally, I believe that the so-called advanced user option was raised either > as a hypothetical solution or as a solution that one user had implemented. I > do not know that it has been adopted by any other users. Again, though, it is > rather beside the point of the current discussion. > > On a tangential point, in my limited experience using AI, I have found that > the results one gets are heavily influenced by the specific prompt a human > inputs as well as the agent that was used. It would seem to me that if you're > going to present your AI result, it would be helpful to provide both the > prompt and the agent you used to get your results. > > Finally, in a devil's advocate mode, I'll note that inserting a unique string > into a field of your data set is, in fact, tagging that record. It might not > fit user *expectations*, but those are tags. > > David T. > > > On October 7, 2026 2:42:47 AM GMT+05:30, flywire <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> AI generated >> >> Here is a high-level summary of how tags exist within GnuCash: >> * Codebase Meaning: Inside the raw source code, "tag" refers only to >> Git release tags, backend XML file elements, or database storage >> structures. >> * HTML/Report Tags: Standard HTML tags (<table>, <tr>, <td>) are used >> exclusively by the reporting engine to display, style, and generate >> financial reports. >> * No Native Feature: GnuCash has no built-in transaction tagging >> system. It relies entirely on a strict, hierarchical Chart of >> Accounts. >> * Text-Based Workaround: Users can simulate tags by typing unique >> strings (like #vacation2026) into the Description or Notes fields >> (transaction-level) or the Memo field (split-level), then isolating >> them using the filter settings in a Transaction Report. (Notes are >> hidden by default unless they use the Double Line register view.) >> * Account-Based Workaround: Advanced users can create zero-balance >> "Tag Accounts" to route offsetting split transactions, keeping data >> organized within double-entry rules. >> >> Regards >> ________________________________ >> gnucash-user mailing list >> [email protected] >> To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: >> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user >> ________________________________ >> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. >> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All. > > > David T. _______________________________________________ gnucash-user mailing list [email protected] To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user ----- Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
