How to uninstall Strata on Mac

Strata, also called Strata Files, is an open-source file manager for macOS from stratafiles.app and its GitHub project. Its privacy policy says the file index, content index and operation history are encrypted under ~/Library/Application Support/Strata, with the key in your login keychain, and that removing the app alone does not remove all saved data. That folder is an index Strata can rebuild, not a copy of your files, so nothing in it needs a backup unless you want the operation history. Saved S3 secret keys also live in the keychain. This guide covers the GitHub release for Apple silicon; no Homebrew cask for it was found.

Quit and remove the app

  1. Quit Strata from its menu or press Command + Q. Containers' and servers' working copies are cleared at quit. In the test it ran 5 processes, which Mole's Status page groups into one Strata row.
  2. If you installed the command line tool from Strata's Settings, it is a link at /usr/local/bin/strata that points into Strata.app and stops working once the app is gone. Run ls -l /usr/local/bin/strata first; only when the line ends in a path inside Strata.app, remove it with sudo rm /usr/local/bin/strata.
  3. Open Finder, go to Applications and drag Strata to the Trash.
  4. If you gave Strata Full Disk Access or Accessibility, open System Settings › Privacy & Security, select Strata in those lists and click the minus button.
  5. To remove the keychain items, open Keychain Access and search for Strata. The test did not sign in to any server, so the exact entry names were not checked.

The app registered no login item or launch agent in the test.

Where the data lives

Press Shift + Command + G in Finder to open each path. Skip any path that is not on your Mac.

Location What it holds What to do
~/Library/Application Support/Strata The encrypted file index, content index and operation history; on the test Mac 68 MB, only the whole-disk filename index index.sealed Remove. Mole lists it for review and does not select it.
~/Library/Caches/dev.strata.app Working copies made while browsing archives, containers and remote files Remove. Selected by default.
~/Library/Preferences/dev.strata.app.plist Settings and saved locations, such as favorites and saved servers Remove. Selected by default.
/usr/local/bin/strata A link to the command line tool inside Strata.app, only if you installed it Remove. Mole lists it for review and does not select it.

A temporary cache for dev.strata.app sits in your per-user cache folder (getconf DARWIN_USER_CACHE_DIR prints it), and Mole removes it with the app.

Check the result

pgrep -il strata
ls -l /usr/local/bin/strata
ls -ld "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Strata" "$HOME/Library/Caches/dev.strata.app" "$HOME/Library/Preferences/dev.strata.app.plist"
  • No output from pgrep means no Strata process is running. A printed line may also be an unrelated process with strata in its name, so read it before you quit it.
  • If ls -l /usr/local/bin/strata prints a line ending in Strata.app/..., the link is still there. No such file or directory means there is no link. If it points somewhere else, it is not Strata's command; leave it.
  • A path printed by the last ls still exists. No such file or directory means the path is gone.

What Mole lists

Mole selects the app, the preferences file, ~/Library/Caches/dev.strata.app when it exists and the temporary cache. It lists ~/Library/Application Support/Strata for review without selecting it, because Mole matched that folder by the app's name rather than its bundle ID. That unticked row is the most likely source of files people find left after removing Strata with its defaults. Mole also lists a /usr/local/bin/strata link that points into Strata.app for review without selecting it, and removing it asks for an administrator password. Mole does not touch keychain items or the Privacy & Security lists.

These defaults assume “Remove data and settings with apps” in General › Cleaning is off. With it on, Mole also ticks ~/Library/Application Support/Strata.

What this test covered

On October 20, 2026, the test downloaded Strata 0.6.3 for Apple silicon from its GitHub release, checked the archive against the published SHA256 checksum, copied it to Applications and opened it. First launch stopped at Strata's own Full Disk Access prompt, which was not granted. The test then removed it with a source-built Mole with the review rows ticked. Strata quit on request, and Mole moved the app and three rows to the Trash: the preferences file, the temporary cache and ~/Library/Application Support/Strata. Strata wrote its preferences file back once after removal, and Mole's final pass removed it again. A search by name of the Library folders, hidden home folders and the per-user temporary folders found nothing left, and there was no /usr/local/bin/strata link. Status showed one Strata row with 5 processes. The app updates through Sparkle; no update was run. Full Disk Access, the command line tool, saved servers, keychain items and Mole's notarized release build were not tested.