Six read-only commands report on a database and the installation: ping, info, health, metrics, describe, and doctor. Each prints human-readable output by default and a compact envelope with --json, so the same command serves both a quick eyeball and a script. None of them writes anything. Examples use a durable database at ./mydb.

ping — liveness

ping confirms the binary responds and reports its version:

strata ./mydb ping

pong 1.0.0

strata --json ./mydb ping

{"data":{"version":"1.0.0"},"type":"pong"}

info — top-line facts

info prints the essential facts about an open database — branch and space counts, the default branch, whether it is durable and open, and its storage target:

strata ./mydb info

{
  "branch_count": 1,
  "created": false,
  "default_branch": "default",
  "durable": true,
  "open": true,
  "space_count": 1,
  "target": "durable_local",
  "version": "1.0.0"
}

health — subsystem checks

health reports the status of each control-plane subsystem and an overall status. Everything healthy looks like this:

strata ./mydb health

{
  "branch_catalog": "healthy",
  "branch_count": 1,
  "default_branch": "default",
  "identity": "healthy",
  "registry": "healthy",
  "space_catalog": "healthy",
  "status": "healthy"
}

Watch the top-level status: it is the single field to alert on.

metrics — operational facts

metrics reports operational state — control status, durability, open state, target, and the branch and space counts:

strata ./mydb metrics

{
  "branch_count": 1,
  "control_status": "healthy",
  "durable": true,
  "open": true,
  "space_count": 1,
  "target": "durable_local"
}

describe — full snapshot

describe is the widest view: which capabilities are present, the current and available branches and spaces, and per-primitive counts. It is the fastest way to see what a database actually contains:

strata ./mydb describe

{
  "branch": "default",
  "branches": [
    "default"
  ],
  "capabilities": {
    "arrow": true,
    "event": true,
    "graph_core": true,
    "inference": true,
    "json": true,
    "kv": true,
    "vector": true,
    "vector_index": true
  },
  "config": {
    "created": false,
    "default_branch": "default",
    "durable": true,
    "target": "durable_local"
  },
  "default_branch": "default",
  "primitives": {
    "event_count": 0,
    "graphs": [],
    "json_count": 0,
    "kv_count": 2,
    "vector_collections": []
  },
  "spaces": [
    "default"
  ],
  "target": "durable_local",
  "version": "1.0.0"
}

doctor — installation and database check

doctor checks the installation: the binary version, the Strata home directory, whether it is on your PATH, the platform, and any issues. With no target it checks the install alone and exits zero when clean:

strata doctor

{
  "binary": "1.0.0",
  "database": null,
  "home": "~/.strata",
  "issues": [],
  "path_ok": true,
  "platform": "linux-x86_64"
}

Pass a database as the global target — before the doctor verb — to also open it and report its facts under database:

strata ./mydb doctor

The database object then carries exists, open_ok, path, and the same info block shown above. doctor exits non-zero when anything in issues needs attention, which makes it a natural preflight check in scripts and CI.

Next

• Error Handling — decode failures when a check goes red.
• Database Configuration — read a database’s config.
• Agents and MCP — the self-describing surface behind these facts.