Where Does Stata Store Ado Files and Settings?
Stata keeps settings in the user profile folder with ado packages in PLUS and PERSONAL subdirectories.
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Stata splits user files by role: settings and window layouts in the profile folder, community packages in PLUS, and personal ado files in PERSONAL. Do files live wherever you save them.
Upgrades preserve the profile folder, which is why old settings haunt new versions. A clean major upgrade sometimes wants the profile renamed so defaults regenerate.
Where Stata stores this, by platform
%APPDATA%\Stata
Versioned subfolders with stata.prof settings plus ado/PLUS and ado/PERSONAL packages. Do files stay in user folders. Rename the version folder to reset preferences.
~/Library/Application Support/Stata
Same profile layout on Mac. Ado packages in the ado subfolders travel across versions when copied over.
~/.stata
Dot folder home for the same tree on Linux. Keep PLUS and PERSONAL backed up; they represent downloaded and written work respectively.
Frequently asked questions
where are stata ado packages stored
In the ado/PLUS folder inside the Stata profile directory for SSC installs, and ado/PERSONAL for your own files. Both ride along when the profile folder is copied.
how do i reset stata settings
Quit Stata and rename the versioned profile folder. Relaunching rebuilds defaults while leaving ado packages restorable from the renamed copy.
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