Install with Homebrew

For a Mac (or Linux) that already has Homebrew. There's no Docker here: Delta runs as a normal background service, and only this computer can reach it.

You need	Account	When
Homebrew	None	Now
Plaid keys	Plaid (free)	In the browser, after install
Tailscale	Tailscale (free)	Only to use Delta from your phone

Install

brew install zeapsu/tap/delta
brew services start delta

Open http://127.0.0.1:3000 (or run delta open), then follow the cards: your name, your Plaid keys, then Connect account. Delta keeps running in the background and starts again after a restart.

The install builds Delta on your computer, so the first one takes a few minutes.

Use it on your phone

1. Install Tailscale on this computer and your phone, and sign in on both with the same account.
2. Run delta phone.

Delta then listens only on this computer's Tailscale address, and prints it. Use that address on this computer too. delta local goes back to this computer only.

Connect an agent

Settings → Agents creates a token and shows a ready config. From a terminal: delta token create laptop (add --scope write to let the agent edit budgets and categories). More: Connect an agent.

Commands

Command	Does
delta open	Open Delta in the browser
delta phone / delta local	Listen on your Tailscale address / this computer only
delta token create <name>	New agent token. Also list, revoke <id>
delta backup	Back up the database now
delta unlink	Remove every bank from Plaid
brew services restart delta	Restart Delta

Where things are

Everything is in $(brew --prefix)/var/delta:

• delta.db: your data, including Plaid access tokens. Keep it private.
• backups/: a backup every day, the last 7 kept.
• delta.env: settings, such as PORT=3001 if port 3000 is taken, or Plaid keys if you'd rather not paste them in the browser. Restart after editing.

The log is $(brew --prefix)/var/log/delta.log. Delta syncs your banks every 6 hours while the computer is awake.

Update

When a new release is out, an Update pill appears in Delta's header. Clicking it copies:

delta backup && brew upgrade delta && brew services restart delta

Uninstall

delta unlink                 # Plaid bills per bank until it's removed
brew services stop delta
brew uninstall delta
rm -r "$(brew --prefix)/var/delta"   # your data and backups; keep it to reinstall later

Then remove Delta from your agents' configs: see Uninstall.