Ledger-v0: How I Built a Personal Ledger with iPhone Shortcuts and Gemini

Walter Da Conceição — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 09:25:14 +0000

What I built: The Ledger Sync System
I’ve been building a personal ledger web app to track my finances, but the biggest friction point was manual entry. I wanted a frictionless way to input transactions on the go.

My solution: A custom web app paired with an iPhone Shortcut. Instead of opening a web browser and fumbling with forms, I hit a button on my home screen, type my expense into a prompt, and the Shortcut sends the data directly to my ledger’s backend. Gemini played a crucial role here, acting as my "shortcut consultant" to handle the API calls and JSON formatting required to get the iOS Shortcut talking to my web server.

What I learned
This project forced me to step out of my comfort zone in two ways:

iOS Shortcuts Logic: I had never built a "pro" Shortcut before. I found that most online tutorials were outdated or didn't account for the latest iOS changes, leaving me stuck on things like dictionary handling and base64 encoding.
AI-Assisted Learning: Using Google Gemini felt like having a pair programmer who actually knew the current version of iOS. When I hit a wall with API headers or data passing, Gemini didn't just give me code; it helped me debug the "why" behind the failure.

My Google Gemini Feedback

The Good: Gemini was incredible at translating my "how do I do X in Shortcuts?" into actual logic flow. It felt like I was talking to a developer who understands the nuances of modern iOS.
The Bad: There were moments where the AI suggested actions that didn't exist in the specific version of iOS I was using, likely due to how rapidly Apple changes its Shortcut syntax. I had to learn to double-check its "suggested" actions against my actual shortcut interface.
The Ugly: The "mental leap" between knowing what I wanted the Shortcut to do and knowing how to structure the dictionary actions. It took a few back-and-forth prompts to get the JSON structure to talk to my web app properly, but the "aha!" moment when the data finally populated my database was worth it.

Looking Forward
Now that I’ve cracked the code on linking Shortcuts to a backend, I’m planning to add voice-to-text functionality. I want to be able to say, "Hey Siri, I just spent 5 dollars on coffee," and have it land in my ledger automatically.

DEV Community: Walter Da Conceição

Ledger-v0: How I Built a Personal Ledger with iPhone Shortcuts and Gemini