Installation

Strata installs like any other FreeCAD add-on. It takes about two minutes.

Requirements

FreeCAD

Version 1.0 or newer. Developed and tested on FreeCAD 1.1.4 on Windows 11.

Git

Any recent version. Strata uses Git to store history; you never use it yourself.

Operating system

Windows is fully tested. On Linux the engine’s test suite passes on every change; the FreeCAD interface has not been tested there yet. macOS has not been tested. Reports are welcome.

Installing Git

Windows

Download and run the installer from git-scm.com. The default options are fine. Strata also finds the Git that comes with GitHub Desktop.

Linux

Install the git package, for example sudo apt install git on Debian or Ubuntu, sudo dnf install git on Fedora.

macOS

Run xcode-select --install, or install Git with Homebrew: brew install git.

Strata looks for Git on the PATH and, on Windows, in the default Git for Windows and GitHub Desktop locations. If it cannot find Git, it tells you when you first turn on version control.

Strata is not yet in FreeCAD’s official add-on list, so you add its repository once:

  1. In FreeCAD open Edit  Preferences  Addon Manager.

  2. Under Custom repositories click + and enter

    Repository URL

    github.com/Foadsf/freecad-strata

    Branch

    main

  3. Click OK and open Tools  Addon manager.

  4. Type strata in the search box. The entry is called freecad-strata, after its repository.

  5. Select it, click Install and restart FreeCAD when asked.

The Addon Manager installs Strata into a folder named freecad-strata inside FreeCAD’s Mod folder, and offers updates when new versions are published.

Option B: install by hand

Copy or clone the repository into FreeCAD’s user Mod folder, as a folder named Strata:

FreeCAD Windows Linux macOS

1.1

%APPDATA%\FreeCAD\v1-1\Mod\Strata

~/.local/share/FreeCAD/v1-1/Mod/Strata

~/Library/Application Support/FreeCAD/v1-1/Mod/Strata

1.0

%APPDATA%\FreeCAD\Mod\Strata

~/.local/share/FreeCAD/Mod/Strata

~/Library/Application Support/FreeCAD/Mod/Strata

For example, with Git:

Windows (PowerShell), FreeCAD 1.1
git clone https://github.com/Foadsf/freecad-strata.git "$env:APPDATA\FreeCAD\v1-1\Mod\Strata"
Linux, FreeCAD 1.1
git clone https://github.com/Foadsf/freecad-strata.git ~/.local/share/FreeCAD/v1-1/Mod/Strata

Restart FreeCAD afterwards.

Use either the Addon Manager or a manual install, not both. Two copies would load Strata twice.

Check the installation

After restarting FreeCAD you should see:

  • the Versions and history panel on the right (press Ctrl+Shift+H if it is hidden),

  • five new entries at the bottom of the Tools menu, with their keyboard shortcuts,

  • a Strata toolbar, and a Strata entry in the workbench selector.

Strata commands in the Tools menu

If none of these appear, open View  Panels  Report view and look for a line starting with Strata failed to start. See Strata does not appear for help.

Update

Addon Manager

Tools  Addon manager shows an update for freecad-strata when one is available. Click Update and restart FreeCAD.

Manual install

run git pull in the Strata folder, or replace its contents with the new release, then restart FreeCAD.

Updating Strata never touches your projects or their history.

Uninstall

Addon Manager

select freecad-strata and click Uninstall, then restart FreeCAD.

Manual install

close FreeCAD and delete the Strata folder from Mod.

Your projects keep their history in their own .strata folders. Re-installing Strata later picks it up again.

On Windows, FreeCAD 1.1.4’s Addon Manager may report Failed to remove some files. The add-on’s files are removed, but an empty Mod\freecad-strata folder remains because the Addon Manager’s own update check left FreeCAD’s working directory inside it. Close FreeCAD and delete that empty folder.