Ghostfolio Bug: Wrong Buy Amount With CHF Currency

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Experiencing issues with Ghostfolio? This article dives into a specific bug report concerning the incorrect display of buy amounts when using the CHF currency. If you're encountering similar problems, or just want to stay informed about Ghostfolio's development, keep reading!

Bug Report Overview

This bug report, submitted by a Ghostfolio user, highlights a discrepancy in how buy amounts are displayed in the Overview -> Summary section when purchasing stocks with Swiss Francs (CHF). The reported issue indicates that the total "BUY" amount shown is significantly lower than the actual amount paid for the stock. While the individual transaction amounts are correctly displayed under the activity section, the summarized value is inaccurate.

This can lead to confusion and misrepresentation of portfolio performance, as the % gain calculation relies on the total "buy" value. If you're using CHF as your base currency in Ghostfolio, you'll definitely want to be aware of this issue. Let's break down the details and explore the potential impact.

Issue Details: CHF Currency Bug in Ghostfolio

The core of this issue lies in the discrepancy between the actual purchase amount and the summarized buy amount displayed in Ghostfolio's Overview -> Summary section. Specifically, when a user purchases a stock using CHF, the total "BUY" amount reflected in the summary is lower than the actual transaction value. This miscalculation impacts the overall portfolio overview, potentially skewing performance metrics like % gain.

To illustrate, consider the scenario outlined in the bug report: a user buys 1000 CHF worth of an ETF. However, instead of reflecting 1000 CHF in the summary, Ghostfolio displays a lower amount, such as 800.12 CHF. While the individual buy transaction is correctly recorded in the activity log, the aggregated summary figure is off. This discrepancy could lead to an inaccurate perception of investment performance, as the % gain is calculated based on the flawed total "buy" value.

The user also notes that the incorrect amount displayed (800.12 CHF) is roughly equivalent to 1000 USD, hinting at a potential currency conversion issue within the application's calculations. This observation is crucial for developers as it provides a direction for debugging. Let's dive deeper into reproducing the issue and understanding its scope.

How to Reproduce the Bug

Reproducing a bug is the first step towards fixing it. Here's how you can try to replicate this issue in your Ghostfolio instance:

  1. Set CHF as Your Base Currency: Begin by configuring your Ghostfolio account to use CHF as the base currency. This is crucial as the bug seems to be specific to CHF transactions.
  2. Purchase Stock with CHF: Execute a buy order for a stock, ensuring the transaction is denominated in CHF. For instance, purchase 1000 CHF worth of an ETF (like the example IE00BJ0KDQ92).
  3. Check Overview -> Summary: Navigate to the Overview section and then to the Summary tab. Here, examine the total "buy" amount displayed.

If the bug is present, you should observe that the total "buy" amount is less than the actual CHF amount spent on the stock purchase (e.g., it might show 800.12 CHF instead of 1000 CHF). By following these steps, you can confirm whether you're experiencing the same issue. Knowing how to reproduce the bug is essential for both users reporting it and developers working on a fix. Next, let's consider the expected behavior and the impact of this bug.

Expected Behavior vs. Actual Behavior

Understanding the discrepancy between expected and actual behavior is key to grasping the impact of this bug. In this case, the expected behavior is straightforward: when a user purchases stock worth 1000 CHF, the total buy amount in the Overview -> Summary should accurately reflect 1000 CHF. This value serves as the baseline for calculating investment performance, including the crucial % gain metric.

However, the actual behavior deviates from this expectation. As the bug report highlights, Ghostfolio incorrectly displays a lower buy amount (e.g., 800.12 CHF instead of 1000 CHF). This inaccurate figure skews the portfolio overview, leading to a misrepresentation of investment gains or losses. The % gain, calculated using the flawed buy amount, will not reflect the true performance of the investment. This can be misleading for users trying to assess their portfolio's health and make informed decisions. This inaccurate reflection of financial data can have significant implications for user trust and financial planning.

Visual Evidence: Screenshots of the Bug

The bug report includes valuable screenshots that visually demonstrate the issue. These images provide concrete evidence of the discrepancy and help to clarify the problem.

  • Buying Stock Screenshot: This image captures the transaction details at the point of purchase. It clearly shows that the user bought stock worth 1000 CHF. This serves as the baseline for comparison.
  • Overview Page Screenshot: This screenshot displays the Overview section of Ghostfolio, highlighting the Summary tab. It reveals the incorrect total "buy" amount displayed, which is significantly lower than the actual purchase value.
  • Summary Page Screenshot: This image zooms in on the Summary page, further emphasizing the inaccurate buy amount. The screenshot clearly shows the discrepancy between the expected 1000 CHF and the displayed 800.12 CHF.
  • Activity Tab Screenshot: The inclusion of this screenshot confirms that the individual buy transaction is recorded correctly in the activity log. This isolates the issue to the summarized value in the Overview, suggesting a problem with aggregation or calculation rather than data entry.

These screenshots collectively paint a clear picture of the bug, making it easier for developers to understand the problem and devise a solution. Visual evidence is invaluable in bug reporting, as it leaves little room for ambiguity.

Technical Details: Environment and Version

The bug report also provides crucial technical details about the user's environment, which can aid in debugging. These details include:

  • Ghostfolio Version: The user is running Ghostfolio version 2.208.0. Knowing the specific version helps developers pinpoint the introduction of the bug, if it's a recent issue, or track its persistence across versions.
  • Self-Hosted: The user has a self-hosted instance of Ghostfolio. This information is relevant as self-hosted environments can have unique configurations that might influence the bug's behavior.
  • Experimental Features: Experimental features are disabled. This eliminates the possibility of conflicts or interactions with unstable features.
  • Browser and OS: The user is using LibreWolf on Linux. Browser-specific or OS-specific issues are not uncommon, so this detail can be important.

These environmental factors provide context for the bug and can guide developers in replicating the issue under similar conditions. The more information provided in a bug report, the easier it is to diagnose and resolve the problem. Let's explore the potential causes of this CHF currency bug.

Potential Causes of the Bug

While the exact cause of the bug requires investigation by Ghostfolio developers, we can speculate on potential underlying issues. Based on the reported symptoms, here are some possibilities:

  1. Currency Conversion Error: The user's observation that the incorrect amount (800.12 CHF) is roughly equivalent to 1000 USD suggests a possible currency conversion issue. Ghostfolio might be inadvertently converting the CHF amount to USD at some point in the calculation, leading to the discrepancy.
  2. Data Aggregation Problem: The fact that the individual transaction is correctly recorded in the activity log but the summarized amount is wrong points to a potential problem with data aggregation. The function responsible for summing up the buy amounts might be miscalculating when dealing with CHF.
  3. Rounding Errors: Rounding errors can sometimes accumulate and lead to significant discrepancies, especially in financial calculations. It's possible that rounding errors are contributing to the difference between the actual and displayed buy amounts.
  4. Base Currency Handling: The bug might stem from how Ghostfolio handles the base currency setting. If the application isn't consistently using CHF throughout the calculations, it could lead to inconsistencies.

These are just potential causes, and the actual reason might be more complex. Developers will need to analyze the code and database interactions to pinpoint the root cause.

Impact on Users

The CHF currency bug, while seemingly isolated, can have a significant impact on Ghostfolio users who rely on accurate portfolio data for financial planning. The primary impact is the misrepresentation of investment performance. If the total buy amount is incorrect, the calculated % gain will also be inaccurate, potentially leading to a false sense of profit or loss. This can distort investment decisions and hinder effective portfolio management.

Furthermore, the bug erodes user trust in the platform. Financial applications need to be reliable and accurate; discrepancies like this can make users question the integrity of the data and the platform as a whole. Users might hesitate to make critical decisions based on potentially flawed information.

The bug also adds cognitive burden for users. They need to manually verify and correct the displayed data, which is time-consuming and frustrating. This detracts from the user experience and reduces the efficiency of using Ghostfolio. Ultimately, addressing this bug is crucial for maintaining the credibility and usefulness of the platform.

Ghostfolio's Response and Resolution

As this is a bug report, the expectation is for Ghostfolio developers to acknowledge the issue, investigate the cause, and implement a fix. The resolution process typically involves:

  1. Acknowledgement: The developers should acknowledge the bug report and confirm that they are aware of the issue.
  2. Investigation: This involves analyzing the code, database interactions, and user environment details to pinpoint the root cause of the bug.
  3. Fix Implementation: Once the cause is identified, developers will implement a fix, which might involve code changes, database adjustments, or configuration updates.
  4. Testing: The fix needs to be thoroughly tested to ensure it resolves the issue without introducing new problems. This might involve unit tests, integration tests, and user testing.
  5. Deployment: The corrected version of Ghostfolio is then deployed, either as a new release or a patch.
  6. Communication: The developers should communicate the progress of the bug fix to the user community, including the estimated timeline and the details of the resolution.

Users can stay informed by monitoring the bug report on GitHub, participating in community discussions, and checking for updates in Ghostfolio's release notes. A swift and transparent response from the developers is crucial for maintaining user confidence.

Workarounds and Temporary Solutions

While waiting for an official fix, there might be some temporary workarounds that users can employ to mitigate the impact of the bug. These are not ideal solutions, but they can help in the interim:

  1. Manual Calculation: Users can manually calculate the correct total buy amount by summing up the individual transaction amounts in CHF. This provides an accurate baseline for performance calculations.
  2. External Tracking: Consider using an external spreadsheet or portfolio tracker to cross-validate Ghostfolio's data and ensure accuracy.
  3. Currency Conversion Awareness: Be mindful of the potential currency conversion issue and double-check the displayed amounts, especially when dealing with CHF transactions.
  4. Reporting Inaccuracies: Continue to report any inconsistencies or discrepancies to the Ghostfolio community and developers. This helps in tracking the bug and validating the fix.

These workarounds are temporary measures, and the ultimate solution is an official fix from the Ghostfolio team. However, they can help users maintain a more accurate view of their portfolio in the short term.

Conclusion: Staying Informed and Contributing

The CHF currency bug in Ghostfolio highlights the importance of bug reporting and community involvement in software development. By identifying and reporting issues, users play a crucial role in improving the platform's quality and reliability.

This article has provided a comprehensive overview of the bug, including the issue details, reproduction steps, expected vs. actual behavior, visual evidence, technical details, potential causes, user impact, and possible workarounds. By staying informed about such issues, users can make better decisions about their investment tracking and portfolio management.

If you're experiencing similar issues or have additional insights, consider participating in the Ghostfolio community forums or contributing to the bug report on GitHub. Your feedback can help developers prioritize and address critical bugs, ensuring a more robust and accurate platform for everyone.