What is the STA file format?
.sta files are associated with the Abaqus FEA software suite, developed by Dassault Systèmes SIMULIA.
.sta files store information regarding Abaqus job progress during a finite element analysis simulation. Abaqus is a finite element analysis software package designed for modularity and extensibility. Each .sta file condenses convergence data for every solution increment into a single fixed-width 80-character record - a lightweight alternative to the more verbose .msg message file that can be monitored live with tail -f while a job is running.
The Abaqus package is used for modeling and simulating static and dynamic models of physical systems. Abaqus modules provide tools for calculating and modeling such engineering problems as:
- dynamic and static stress calculations,
- heat transfer analysis,
- material endurance and fracture,
- geometric analysis of linear and nonlinear systems,
- mass transfer and diffusion.
Progress information is stored by Abaqus in dedicated .sta files. The file opens with a SUMMARY OF JOB INFORMATION banner and fixed column headings, then logs one record per increment capturing step number, iteration counts, time increment and convergence status. A .sta file lives alongside the same-named .odb, .inp and .dat output files that together make up a complete Abaqus job.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWAn .sta is an inert plain-text log with no executable content, so opening or reading one is safe. It can, however, reveal details about a proprietary simulation (job name, model size, convergence behaviour), so treat it as you would any internal engineering data. There is nothing to 'catch' from the file itself; the only practical caution is not to confuse it with the binary .odb results or to edit it expecting to change the analysis (it's an output log, read-only in effect).
Format details
in a nutshell- Stata dataset / do-file (rare on .sta) - Stata statistics software primarily uses .dta for data and .do for scripts; .sta appears only in older/third-party contexts.
- SigmaPlot / Statistica data file - Some statistics packages (e.g. older Statistica) used .sta for tabular data sets.
- CryEngine / game state files - Various games and tools use .sta generically for saved 'state' data.
Programs that open STA files
Windows3 apps
Windows Notepad
Built-in Right-click > Open with > Notepad to read the status log. Fixed-width columns stay aligned in a monospace font. 
Abaqus/CAE
Paid The job's status is shown in the Job Monitor (which reads the .sta/.msg). You can also open the .sta directly in any text editor to read the increment log.
Notepad / VS Code
Open-source Open the .sta as plain text to read the per-increment summary. Best free way to inspect it; no Abaqus license needed. 
Linux2 apps
Abaqus/CAE (Linux)
Paid Use the Job Monitor, or tail the .sta from the terminal: 'tail -f job.sta' to watch increments live.
Any text editor (gedit / less / tail)
Open-source Open or tail the .sta to read the increment summaries; common on HPC clusters where Abaqus jobs run. Technical details
deep spec| Format type | Plain-text ASCII log - no binary content; human-readable in any text editor |
| Record structure | Fixed-width 80-character lines; one record per solution increment following a header banner |
| File header | Begins with a `SUMMARY OF JOB INFORMATION` banner followed by fixed column titles: STEP, INC, ATT, EQUIL ITER, TOTAL ITER, TOTAL TIME, STEP TIME, INC OF TIME |
| Increment columns | Step, increment, attempt, severe discontinuity iterations, equilibrium iterations, total iterations, total time/frequency, step time, increment of time, and DOF monitor value |
| MIME type | `text/plain` |
| Encoding | ASCII (UTF-8 compatible); no multi-byte characters in normal use |
| Compression | None - stored as raw uncompressed text |
| Typical file size | 1 KB to a few MB; grows by approximately one 80-character line per solution increment |
| Write timing | Flushed to disk at the end of each increment, enabling real-time job monitoring with `tail -f` |
| Solver variants | Abaqus/Standard and Abaqus/Explicit produce slightly different column layouts within the same `.sta` plain-text format |
| Role in job output set | Condensed per-increment summary of the more verbose `.msg` file; co-located with `.odb`, `.inp`, `.dat`, `.msg` and `.fil` from the same job |
| Magic bytes / file signature | None - plain text with no binary header; identified by the `SUMMARY OF JOB INFORMATION` banner and co-location with same-named `.odb` or `.inp` files |
| Supported platforms | Windows and Linux (wherever Abaqus FEA is installed) |
| Released | With Abaqus FEA (HKS, 1978); .sta as the per-job status log has existed for decades |
| Latest version | Format unversioned; current with Abaqus 2024/2025 (SIMULIA) |
| Specification | help.3ds.com |
STA conversions
Community Q&A
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