Download
Grab the latest version from the Releases page:
| File | Notes |
|---|
| Installer | Strata-Setup-<version>.exe | Installs for your user account (no admin needed), adds Start menu and desktop shortcuts, uninstalls from Settings › Apps. |
| Portable | Strata-<version>-Portable.exe | A single file. Nothing is installed: settings and saved scans live in a Strata Data folder next to the .exe. |
Requires Windows 10 or 11 (x64) and the WebView2 runtime, which is part of Windows 11 and of up-to-date Windows 10 (the installer adds it if it's missing; for the portable build, install it from Microsoft if Strata doesn't start). Each release has a SHA256SUMS.txt for verification.
[!NOTE]
The builds aren't code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen may say "Windows protected your PC". Click More info › Run anyway.
Linux
Strata runs on the common x64 distributions. Pick the package for yours:
| Distribution | File | Install |
|---|
| Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint, Pop!_OS, elementary | Strata-<version>-amd64.deb | sudo apt install ./Strata-<version>-amd64.deb |
| Fedora, RHEL, Rocky, AlmaLinux, openSUSE | Strata-<version>-x86_64.rpm | sudo dnf install ./Strata-<version>-x86_64.rpm (openSUSE: sudo zypper install …) |
| Arch, Manjaro, EndeavourOS | Strata-<version>-x64.pacman | sudo pacman -U ./Strata-<version>-x64.pacman |
| Any distribution | Strata-<version>-x86_64.AppImage | chmod +x Strata-*.AppImage && ./Strata-*.AppImage |
| Any distribution, no install | Strata-<version>-x64.tar.gz | Extract and run ./strata |
The packages add Strata to your application menu; from a terminal, run strata.
Needs WebKitGTK 4.1 and GTK 3 (Ubuntu 22.04+, Debian 12+, current Fedora and Arch); the packages pull them in. The AppImage also needs FUSE: sudo apt install libfuse2t64 (or libfuse2), sudo dnf install fuse-libs.
Updates
Strata only looks for updates when you let it: it asks the first time, and you can change it in Settings › Updates (stable or beta channel, Check now). It reads one small file from github.com; nothing about you or your files is sent, and every update is verified with a signature before it's installed.
| Build | Updates |
|---|
Windows installer, Windows portable .exe, Linux AppImage, .deb, .rpm | Inside Strata: Update to x.y.z, then Install and restart. The portable .exe replaces itself in place; the .deb and .rpm ask for your password. |
.pacman, .tar.gz | Strata tells you when there's a new version and opens the download page. |
Release notes are in the app (Settings › Updates › What's new), on each GitHub release, and on the website's changelog.
Features
Map
- Three views of the same data: a cushion-shaded treemap where every block is a file, a sunburst of folder rings, and columns that go one folder deeper each step.
- Hover to inspect, click to select, double-click to zoom in, right-click for actions. Breadcrumb and keyboard navigation included.
- Folder tree sorted by size, kept in sync with the map, and a by-file-type legend that highlights a type on the map.
Find
- Search by name, glob, size and type:
*.mkv >1 GB, type:video, backup <500MB.
- Smart views: largest files, duplicates (verified by content), files untouched for a year, caches & temp, dev artifacts.
Scan
- Fast scan (Windows) reads the NTFS master file table directly, typically 10–20× faster than walking folders. It needs admin rights, and Strata offers to restart elevated and resume the scan.
- A normal scan is also quick: it walks folders on several threads, and a 560k-file system drive takes seconds on an NVMe SSD.
- On Linux, every mounted drive shows up (ext4, Btrfs, XFS, ZFS, NTFS, exFAT, network shares…). A scan stays on one file system, like
du -x: other mounts, /proc and /sys aren't counted, hard links count once and sparse files count what they really use.
- Live progress: a map that fills in as folders finish, the biggest files found so far, and pause / resume / cancel. You can explore partial results while the scan keeps going, and the map refreshes in place when it finishes.
Clean up
- Suggestions with reasons: Windows temp and update leftovers, browser and shader caches, crash dumps, old installers and disk images, large old media, duplicates,
node_modules and other build output. On Linux also ~/.cache, thumbnails, /tmp, core dumps and the APT, DNF, Pacman and Zypper package caches. Each one is marked Safe or Review.
- Safe by default: everything goes to the Recycle Bin (the desktop Trash on Linux) unless you choose otherwise, files in use are skipped, system locations are refused, and a 7-day History can restore what you removed.
General
- Private: works entirely offline, with no account, telemetry or network access.
- Four accent colors, optional cushion shading, and saved recent scans that reopen instantly.
Screenshots
The screenshots use a made-up drive. Regenerate them with npm run screenshots.
Usage
- Pick something to map: a drive card, Choose a folder…, or drag a folder onto the window.
- Explore: the biggest blocks are the biggest files. Double-click to dive into a folder, and use the breadcrumb or Backspace to come back.
- Clean up: use Add to cleanup on anything you select, or open Clean up in the header to review suggestions, then move them to the Recycle Bin (or Trash).
Keyboard shortcuts
| Keys | Action |
|---|
| Ctrl + K | Search |
| Enter | Zoom into the selected folder |
| Backspace / Alt + ↑ | Zoom out to the parent folder |
| Delete | Move the selection to the Recycle Bin (asks first) |
| Esc | Close a dialog, clear the search or highlight, leave the cleanup review |
Search syntax
| Example | Matches |
|---|
report | Names containing "report" |
*.mkv | Names matching a glob (* and ?) |
>1 GB, <500MB, >=2gb | Files by size (units: B, KB, MB, GB, TB; MB if omitted) |
type:video | Files of a type: video, image, audio, doc, archive, code, app, system |
*.iso >1 GB | All terms combined |
Search covers the folder you're zoomed into.
Scan options
| Option | What it does |
|---|
| Fast scan (read the MFT) | Windows only. Reads the NTFS file table instead of listing folders. Needs administrator rights, and Strata offers to restart elevated. Falls back to a normal scan on other file systems. |
| Include hidden & system files | Counts pagefile.sys, hiberfil.sys, $Recycle.Bin, hidden folders… On Linux: dot-folders such as ~/.cache and ~/.local. |
| Follow junctions & symlinks | Descends into links (with loop protection). Off by default so the same bytes aren't counted twice. |
On Linux, Strata runs as your user, so folders you can't read (other users' homes, parts of /var) are marked and skipped, and system package caches need sudo to clean (each suggestion names the command).
Safety
Strata deletes files, so it's careful about it:
- Nothing is deleted without a confirmation that lists what will go and how much space it frees.
- The Recycle Bin is the default (on Linux, the freedesktop.org Trash your file manager uses). Permanent deletion is an explicit opt-in.
- Drive roots and core system folders (Windows, Program Files, ProgramData, user profile roots; on Linux
/usr, /etc, /var, /home, your home folder, mount points…) are refused.
- Temp and cache folders are emptied, not removed. Files in use are skipped and reported.
- Junctions and symlinks are removed as links and never followed during deletion.
- Duplicates are only pre-selected inside your personal folders (Downloads, Documents, Pictures…). Copies inside apps or tools are flagged Review.
- History keeps 7 days of what was removed and restores Recycle Bin items to their original place.
Building from source
Prerequisites: Windows 10/11 or Linux, Node.js 20 or newer (22+ for npm run screenshots), Git, and Rust for the scanner and the app:
- Windows:
rustup with the default x86_64-pc-windows-msvc toolchain, which needs the Visual Studio Build Tools ("Desktop development with C++"). The rustup installer offers to set them up. The WebView2 runtime is part of Windows 11 and of up-to-date Windows 10.
- Linux:
rustup, plus rustup target add x86_64-unknown-linux-musl and your distribution's musl-tools (or musl-gcc) for the scanner's static binary. The app itself needs WebKitGTK 4.1 and GTK 3 with their development files, for example on Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt install libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev libgtk-3-dev libayatana-appindicator3-dev librsvg2-dev libxdo-dev libssl-dev build-essential. See Tauri's prerequisites for other distributions.
git clone https://github.com/florentvdry/strata.git
cd strata
npm install
npm start
| Script | Does |
|---|
npm start | Builds the scanner if needed and runs the app (tauri dev) |
npm run build:scanner | Builds the scanner (scanner/, Rust) → bin/strata-scan(.exe) |
npm run build | Builds the app and, on Windows, the installer (the app needs the scanner built first; this does it) |
npm run build:linux | Builds the .deb, .rpm and AppImage |
npm run package | After a build: names the files for a release in dist/ (portable .exe, .pacman, .tar.gz, signatures) |
npm run check | Checks the UI's import map and vendored libraries, and CHANGELOG.md |
npm run test:rust | The scanner's unit tests, including the NTFS fast scan on disk images |
npm run test:app | The app's Rust tests: settings, protected locations, the portable file swap |
npm run test:scripts | The release tooling's tests (changelog, update manifest) |
npm run test:scanner | Runs the built scanner against a temporary folder tree: scan, pause, snapshot, duplicates, Recycle Bin / Trash, restore |
npm run check:fast-scan | Windows, as administrator: checks that the NTFS fast scan finds the same tree as a folder walk |
npm run screenshots | Regenerates docs/screenshots/ from a made-up drive (needs Playwright with Chromium) |
npm run release -- <version> | Moves the changelog's Unreleased notes under a version and bumps every version number; see docs/RELEASING.md |
npm run build:icon | Redraws assets/icon.png and assets/icon.ico |
Project structure
strata/
├─ scanner/ The scanner (Rust), for Windows and Linux: folder walk, NTFS MFT reader,
│ │ duplicate finder, Recycle Bin / Trash, deletion
│ ├─ src/platform/ What differs between Windows and Linux
│ ├─ tests/fixtures/ NTFS disk images for the fast-scan tests
│ └─ fuzz/ Fuzz targets for the NTFS reader
├─ src/app/ The app (Tauri, Rust): window, scanner processes, files, settings, history, updates
├─ src/renderer/ UI, Preact + htm with no build step
│ ├─ views/ Start, Scanning, Explorer, Cleanup
│ ├─ components/ Space map (treemap, sunburst, columns), dialogs, icons
│ └─ lib/ Scan file parser and tree model, search, cleanup rules, formatting
├─ scripts/ Scanner build and tests, changelog and release tooling, icon, screenshots
├─ assets/ App icon
└─ docs/ Architecture notes and screenshots
See docs/ARCHITECTURE.md for how the pieces fit together, and docs/PROTOCOL.md for the scanner's commands, messages and scan file format.
Where Strata keeps its data
| Version | Location |
|---|
| Installed | %APPDATA%\Strata |
| Portable | Strata Data\ next to the .exe |
| Linux | ~/.config/Strata (or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/Strata) |
This folder holds the last 8 scans, settings and the 7-day cleanup history. Delete it to reset Strata.
Contributing
Bug reports, ideas and pull requests are welcome. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md first, and follow the Code of Conduct. Report security issues privately as described in SECURITY.md.
Acknowledgements
License
MIT © 2026 Florent Vandroy
