This guide covers the different ways to open a StrataDB database and configure its behavior.

Opening Methods

Ephemeral (In-Memory)

For testing and development. No files are created on disk.

strata --cache

Persistent

Creates or opens a database at the specified path:

strata --db /path/to/data

If the directory doesn’t exist, it is created. If a database already exists at that path, it is opened and any WAL entries are replayed for recovery.

Database Operations

Ping

Verify the database is responsive:

strata --cache ping

Output:

PONG

Info

Get database statistics:

$ strata --cache
strata:default/default> info
version: 0.1.0
branches: 1
total_keys: 0

Or from the shell:

strata --cache info

Flush

Force pending writes to disk (relevant in Buffered durability mode):

strata --db ./data flush

Compact

Trigger storage compaction:

strata --db ./data compact

Shell Flags

The CLI supports several flags for controlling behavior:

FlagDescription
--db <path>Open a persistent database at the given path
--cacheOpen an ephemeral in-memory database
--branch <name>Set the active branch (default: default)
--space <name>Set the active space (default: default)
--jsonOutput results as JSON
--rawOutput raw values without formatting
--read-onlyOpen in read-only mode

Examples

# Persistent database with specific branch
strata --db ./data --branch experiment kv get config

# Ephemeral with JSON output
strata --cache --json kv get key

# Read-only access
strata --db ./data --read-only kv list

Next