Running Stata

Running Stata

Rule: run Stata in batch jobs, write logs, put temp files on scratch, and request only the cores Stata will use.

What you get: the stata module is a complete MP install — no package-bootstrap step (unlike R, whose base module ships nothing). ssc install packages land in your personal ado directory.

Slurm template

#!/bin/bash
#SBATCH --job-name=stata-job
# default_queue caps at 4h; for long/large work use cpunormal or gpunormal (see managing-jobs)
#SBATCH --partition=default_queue
#SBATCH --time=01:00:00
#SBATCH --cpus-per-task=4
#SBATCH --mem=16G
#SBATCH --output=logs/%x_%j.out

set -euo pipefail

module purge
module load stata

# These only affect external BLAS calls; native Stata/MP threading is controlled
# by `set processors` (below), not by these. Harmless to keep for portability.
export OMP_NUM_THREADS=${SLURM_CPUS_PER_TASK:-1}
export OPENBLAS_NUM_THREADS=${SLURM_CPUS_PER_TASK:-1}
# The stata/19 module defaults STATATMP=/gpfs/scratch60; override for per-job isolation:
export STATATMP=/gpfs/scratch60/$USER/stata-tmp/${SLURM_JOB_ID}

mkdir -p "$STATATMP" logs
trap 'rm -rf "$STATATMP"' EXIT

cd /gpfs/project/myproject/code
stata-mp -b do src/main.do

Two log gotchas, both verified on the cluster:

• Read the .log, not the .out. Under stata-mp -b, Stata sends all output to its own log file; the Slurm --output .out file ends up empty. The log using inside your do-file (below) is what you read.
• stata-mp -b do src/main.do also writes main.log in the working directory (named after the do-file), in addition to your log using. Either expect/clean up that stray file or name your log using differently.
• Check the log for errors — batch mode can exit 0 on a Stata error. Grep the .log for an r(###) return code; set -e will not catch a do-file error on its own.

Do-file preamble

capture log close _all
local jobid : env SLURM_JOB_ID
if "`jobid'" == "" local jobid local
log using "logs/main_`jobid'.log", replace text

local ncpus : env SLURM_CPUS_PER_TASK
if "`ncpus'" == "" local ncpus 1
set processors `ncpus'

local statatmp : env STATATMP
di "STATATMP=`statatmp'"

set more off
version 19

Memory hygiene

compress
describe
memory report

Use frames, tempfile, and preserve/restore deliberately. Drop unneeded variables before merges.

Job arrays

local task_id : env SLURM_ARRAY_TASK_ID
if "`task_id'" == "" local task_id 1

di "Running task `task_id'"

Each array task should write a separate output file.

License courtesy

Stata MP licenses are shared. Do not leave interactive Stata sessions idle. Do not request more CPUs than set processors uses.

Checklist

• [ ] Stata runs via stata-mp -b do, not interactively on the login node.
• [ ] Logs are written to logs/.
• [ ] STATATMP points to scratch and is cleaned up.
• [ ] set processors matches SLURM_CPUS_PER_TASK.
• [ ] Each array task writes separate output.
• [ ] Idle Stata sessions are closed.

Further reading

• Stata batch mode (gswb PDF) — -b do, log behavior, exit codes.
• Stata set processors — MP core control.
• Stata frames reference — multiple in-memory datasets.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: yale-som-hpc
• Source: yale-som-hpc/claude-code-marketplace
• License: Unlicense

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.