stata

# Stata Skill — pystata on StataNow 19.5 BE Run Stata entirely through **pystata**, the official Python integration that ships with Stata. Configure the session once, then issue every command — and run every `.do` file — with `stata.run()`. Data crosses between Python and Stata in memory through pandas, so there is no need to write intermediate `.dta` files or read `.log` files unless the user wants them. ## The one rule that matters most **Always execute Stata through pystata.** Both individual commands and entire `.do` files go through `stata.run(...)`. Never launch `StataBE-64.exe` as a subprocess and never run a do-file in batch mode — pystata keeps a single live Stata session in the Python process, gives direct access to data and stored results, and raises real Python exceptions on errors. Running a do-file is just `stata.run('do "path/to/file.do"')`. ## Setup This machine has **StataNow 19.5 BE** at `C:\Program Files\StataNow19`, and it is already on PATH. `pystata` and `stata_setup` are installed for the system Python (3.14). Basic Edition (BE) is the only licensed edition; `"se"` and `"mp"` cannot be initialized. Configure once per Python process: ```python import stata_setup stata_setup.config(r"C:\Program Files\StataNow19", "be") from pystata import stata ``` For clean output without the StataCorp splash banner, drive `pystata.config` directly instead: ```python import sys sys.path.insert(0, r"C:\Program Files\StataNow19\utilities") import pystata pystata.c...