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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Start with df -h to see which mounted filesystem is running out of space. Then use du -h --max-depth=1 /path | sort -h to identify the largest directories on that filesystem. If the filesystem still has free capacity but applications cannot create files, run df -i to check whether its inodes are exhausted.
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The three commands that answer different questions
Linux disk investigations are easiest when you separate capacity, directory usage and inode availability. These commands have different scopes:
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| Command | What it measures | Scope | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
df -h |
Used, available and percentage-used storage blocks | Every mounted filesystem | Find which filesystem is full |
du -h --max-depth=1 /path | sort -h |
Recursive space totals for directories | Each immediate subdirectory below a path | Find which directory is consuming the filesystem |
df -i |
Used, available and percentage-used inodes | Every mounted filesystem | Detect inode exhaustion when capacity remains |
df is normally quick because it reads filesystem-level accounting. du has to walk directories and total files, so it takes longer on a large tree. Run df first, then narrow the search with du.
Step 1: identify the full filesystem with df
List every mounted filesystem
Run:
df -hWith no path argument, df lists every mounted filesystem. The human-readable option, -h, displays sizes using powers of 1024, so one displayed M represents 1,048,576 bytes. The output includes the filesystem, total size, used space, available space, percentage used and mount point. Look for the row whose percentage is closest to full, then note its mount point; that path is the starting point for the directory investigation.
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Check the filesystem containing a particular path
When you already suspect a location, pass that path to df:
df -h /vardf -h /tmpdf -h /home
In this form, df reports the filesystem that holds the supplied path. This matters when directories such as /var or /tmp are separate mounts: the path may not consume space on the root filesystem at all.
Use decimal units only when you need them
df -H is similar to df -h, but uses powers of 1000. Choose one convention and keep it in mind when comparing output with monitoring systems or storage specifications. A value shown with -h is not using the same byte conversion as a value shown with -H.
Limit the listing to local filesystems
Remote filesystems are included by default. Add -l when you want only local filesystems:
df -lhThis can make a server-wide view easier to scan when network-mounted filesystems are not part of the incident. It does not change the accounting for a local filesystem; it changes which rows are listed.
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Step 2: find the directories using the space with du
Measure the immediate subdirectories
After df identifies a full mount point, inspect its first directory level. For example, if the affected mount point is /var, run:
du -h --max-depth=1 /var | sort -hdu calculates recursive totals. The --max-depth=1 option reports the total for /var and each immediate child, rather than printing every nested directory. sort -h orders the human-readable sizes, putting the smallest values first and the largest last so the biggest consumers stand out.
Stay on the filesystem you are investigating
Use -x when other filesystems are mounted below the path:
du -h -x --max-depth=1 /var | sort -hThe -x option keeps the walk on one filesystem. Without it, a directory such as /var can include a separately mounted child, making the totals harder to compare with the single filesystem row reported by df.
Repeat the scan inside the largest directory
If the largest entry is, for example, /var/lib, descend one level and run the same pattern:
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du -h -x --max-depth=1 /var/lib | sort -hContinue into the largest child until the output identifies the directory level that needs attention. This top-down approach avoids producing an unwieldy listing of every file on a busy server.
Measure one path or only its grand total
With no path, du measures the current directory recursively:
du -hUse -s when you need only a grand total for each path supplied:
du -sh /var/logdu -sh /home/*
The summary form is useful after the first pass, when you want to compare selected directories without printing their descendants.
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Storage is tracked in two different ways. Filesystem blocks account for byte capacity; inodes account for file and directory entries. A filesystem can have free blocks while having no inodes left, which prevents new files from being created.
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Run:
df -iRead the inode-used percentage and the available inode count for the same mount point you examined with df -h. If inode usage is exhausted while block usage remains below full, the problem is the number of filesystem objects rather than their combined size. This explains cases where an application reports “no space” even though a human-readable capacity check appears to show room.
A complete investigation workflow
- Take the filesystem-level snapshot. Run
df -hand record the mount point with the highest usage percentage. - Verify the suspected path. Pass that mount point to
df -h /pathif you need to confirm which filesystem owns a particular directory. - Check the inode dimension. Run
df -i. If inode usage is the limiting percentage, investigate the quantity of files rather than looking only for large files. - Keep the directory walk comparable. Run
du -h -x --max-depth=1 /path | sort -hat the full filesystem’s mount point. The-xboundary keeps the result aligned with that filesystem. - Drill into the largest result. Repeat the same
ducommand on the largest child directory, increasing detail one level at a time. - Use a summary where appropriate. Once you have a short list of candidates, use
du -shon those paths for clean totals. - Check the local manuals before adapting flags. Confirm the accepted options with
man dfandman du, especially on a non-GNU system.
How to interpret the two kinds of totals
Why df and du do not answer the same question
df reports the filesystem’s accounting for blocks, regardless of which directory owns them. du walks the directory tree and adds the usage it encounters below a path. Use the former to select the filesystem and the latter to select a directory within it. Treating a du total as a replacement for df can lead to the wrong conclusion when the command crosses a mount boundary or when you scan a subdirectory instead of the filesystem root.
Why the first du pass should use a shallow depth
A recursive walk can contain a very large number of entries. Limiting the first pass to depth one gives a decision-ready breakdown without flooding the terminal. Once a large branch is identified, repeating the command below that branch provides detail where it matters.
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Human-readable output is convenient for people but not naturally ordered as plain text. Piping to sort -h makes values such as K, M and G sort by their quantities rather than alphabetically. The largest directory therefore appears at the bottom of the result, where it is easy to select for the next pass.
GNU and non-GNU differences
The long option --max-depth is GNU coreutils syntax. Solaris and some BSD implementations of du use different option sets, and a command copied from a GNU Linux host may be rejected or interpreted differently elsewhere. Check the target server’s installed documentation:
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man df
man duThe same caution applies when you move a troubleshooting procedure between distributions or between Linux and another Unix-like operating system. The exact output layout and available flags depend on the installed implementation. The Ubuntu documentation considered for this procedure applies to the focal (20.04) release, so verify behavior against the version actually running on your server.
Useful command patterns
| Goal | Command | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Show all mounted filesystems in binary human units | df -h |
The mount point with the highest used percentage |
| Show the filesystem containing one directory | df -h /path |
The filesystem that owns /path |
| Show local filesystems only | df -lh |
Rows for local mounts, excluding remote filesystems |
| Show directory totals one level deep | du -h --max-depth=1 /path | sort -h |
The largest immediate child |
| Keep the walk on one filesystem | du -h -x --max-depth=1 /path | sort -h |
Totals that do not include other mounted filesystems |
| Show one grand total | du -sh /path |
The combined recursive total for that path |
| Check inode consumption | df -i |
Inode usage and remaining inodes per mount |
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
Scanning the wrong mount point
Running du on / when df shows that /var is a separate full filesystem can send the investigation in the wrong direction. Start the directory walk at the mount point reported by df, and use -x when nested mounts could distort the totals.
Confusing binary and decimal display
Do not compare a number from df -h directly with one from df -H without accounting for their unit systems. The first uses powers of 1024; the second uses powers of 1000.
Assuming free bytes rule out a full filesystem
If writes fail despite available capacity in df -h, run df -i. Inode exhaustion is a separate limit and can prevent file creation before byte capacity reaches 100 percent.
Assuming every du flag is portable
Long GNU options are not universal. A failed --max-depth invocation is a portability signal, not evidence that the filesystem is damaged; consult the local du(1) manual and use the syntax supported by that host.
Expecting an instant answer from du
df is a cheap filesystem-level check, while du must traverse the directory tree. On a large filesystem, allow the walk to finish and begin with a shallow depth so the first result is manageable.
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- Run
df -hand identify the full mount point. - Run
df -ibefore assuming the issue is byte capacity. - Run
du -h -x --max-depth=1 /mount-point | sort -h. - Repeat the
duscan inside the largest directory. - Use
du -shto compare selected paths once the search is narrowed. - Check
man dfandman duwhen the host is not using GNU coreutils or when a flag behaves unexpectedly.
This sequence answers the three operational questions in order: which filesystem is constrained, which directory accounts for its usage, and whether the real limit is inode count rather than storage blocks.
Quick Recap
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