Check Disk Space Ubuntu
December 6, 2024 · AI Conversations
df -h
### Explanation:
– `df`: Displays disk space usage.
– `-h`: Outputs the information in a human-readable format (e.g., GB/MB).
### Sample Output:
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda1 50G 10G 40G 20% /
tmpfs 16G 0 16G 0% /dev/shm
Here, the `Avail` column shows the available space.
### Check Specific Directory:
To check available space for a specific directory:
df -h /path/to/directory
### To Check Disk Usage by Files/Directories:
Use the `du` command for detailed usage:
du -h --max-depth=1 /path/to/directory
Replace `/path/to/directory` with the directory you want to analyze.
### 1. Check Space for `/home`
Run:
df -h /home
This will display disk space usage for the partition where the `/home` directory resides.
### Sample Output:
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda1 50G 10G 40G 20% /home
– **`Avail`**: Shows the available space in `/home`.
—
### 2. Detailed Usage Within Home
To see the disk usage of individual files and subdirectories in your home directory:
du -h --max-depth=1 ~
### Sample Output:
2.1G ./Documents
3.4G ./Downloads
1.2G ./Pictures
6.7G .
– The last line (`6.7G .`) indicates the total size used in the home directory.
—
### 3. Get Summary of Free and Used Space:
For an overall summary of the free and used space in the home directory partition:
df -Th /home
The `-T` option includes the filesystem type (e.g., ext4, ntfs).
### Command:
du -h --max-depth=1 ~
### Explanation:
– `du`: Disk usage command.
– `-h`: Outputs sizes in human-readable format (e.g., KB, MB, GB).
– `–max-depth=1`: Limits the depth of the directory traversal to one level.
– `~`: Refers to your home directory (e.g., `/home/yourusername`).
### Sample Output:
2.1G ./Documents
3.4G ./Downloads
1.2G ./Pictures
5.6G ./Videos
6.7G .
– Each folder in your home directory is listed with its size.
– The final line (`6.7G .`) shows the total size of the home directory.
—
### To Sort by Size:
If you want to sort the folders by size in descending order:
du -h --max-depth=1 ~ | sort -hr
### Sample Output:
6.7G .
5.6G ./Videos
3.4G ./Downloads
2.1G ./Documents
1.2G ./Pictures
—
### To Check Specific Subfolders:
Replace `~` with the path to the folder you want to analyze:
du -h --max-depth=1 ~/Downloads
This will show the space used by files and subfolders inside `Downloads`.
—
### 1. **Clear System Cache**
You can clear system cache stored in `/var/cache`:
sudo apt-get clean
This removes cached packages from the APT package manager.
—
### 2. **Clear Thumbnail Cache**
The thumbnail cache is stored in `~/.cache/thumbnails`. To clear it:
rm -rf ~/.cache/thumbnails/*
—
### 3. **Clear RAM Cache**
To clear RAM cache, use the following commands:
– Check RAM usage before clearing:
free -h
– Clear RAM cache:
sudo sync
sudo sysctl -w vm.drop_caches=3
This flushes the disk write buffer and clears caches.
—
### 4. **Clear Application Cache**
For specific applications, caches are usually stored in `~/.cache`. For example:
#### To clear the browser cache:
– **Google Chrome** or **Chromium**:
rm -rf ~/.cache/google-chrome/
rm -rf ~/.cache/chromium/
– **Firefox**:
rm -rf ~/.cache/mozilla/
#### Clear Python pip Cache:
rm -rf ~/.cache/pip
#### Clear npm Cache:
npm cache clean --force
—
### 5. **Clear Logs (Optional)**
Log files can accumulate over time. To clear logs in `/var/log`:
sudo rm -rf /var/log/*.log
—
### 6. **Clear Swap (Optional)**
To clear swap space, disable and enable it again:
sudo swapoff -a
sudo swapon -a
—
### Verify Disk Space After Clearing:
Check disk space again using:
df -h
### Steps to Clear Cache in Home Directory:
1. **Navigate to Home Cache Directory**:
The cache directory for your home is typically `~/.cache`.
cd ~/.cache
2. **List Cache Files and Folders**:
To see what is consuming space:
du -h --max-depth=1
3. **Clear All Cache in Home**:
To remove all cached files and folders:
rm -rf ~/.cache/*
4. **Clear Specific Application Cache**:
If you want to clear cache for specific applications:
– For **Google Chrome**:
rm -rf ~/.cache/google-chrome/
– For **Firefox**:
rm -rf ~/.cache/mozilla/
– For **npm**:
rm -rf ~/.cache/npm/
– For **pip**:
rm -rf ~/.cache/pip/
5. **Verify Space Usage**:
After clearing cache, check the space again:
du -h --max-depth=1 ~
—
### Important Notes:
– **What You Lose**: Deleting cache will force applications to regenerate their cached data, which might temporarily slow things down.
– **Safe to Delete**: The `~/.cache` folder contains non-essential data that is safe to remove.
—
### 1. **Remove npm Cache**
To clear the npm cache:
#### Check Cache Location:
npm config get cache
#### Clear Cache:
npm cache clean --force
This will clear the npm cache entirely.
—
### 2. **Remove nvm Cache**
The **nvm** cache includes downloaded Node.js tarballs.
#### Navigate to the nvm Cache Directory:
cd ~/.nvm/.cache
#### Remove All Cached Files:
rm -rf *
—
### 3. **Remove Docker Cache**
Docker uses a build cache and stores unused images and containers, which can consume significant space.
#### Remove Unused Data:
docker system prune -f
This removes:
– Unused containers
– Stopped containers
– Dangling images
– Build cache
#### Remove Unused Volumes (Optional):
To remove volumes not used by any container:
docker volume prune -f
#### Remove Specific Docker Images (Optional):
List all Docker images:
docker images
Remove specific images:
docker rmi <image_id>
#### Remove Specific Containers (Optional):
List all containers:
docker ps -a
Remove specific containers:
docker rm <container_id>
—
### 4. **Verify Disk Space After Clearing**:
Run the following command to verify the freed space:
df -h
—
### **Purpose of the `.config` Folder**
– Stores **configuration files** for applications and tools.
– Keeps user-specific settings separate from system-wide configurations (usually found in `/etc`).
– Ensures a consistent and centralized location for user-level configurations.
—
### **Examples of What You Might Find in `.config`**
– **Desktop Environments**: Settings for GNOME, KDE, or other desktop environments.
– E.g., `~/.config/gtk-3.0/` for GTK settings.
– **Applications**: Configuration files for applications like:
– `~/.config/Code/` for Visual Studio Code.
– `~/.config/google-chrome/` for Google Chrome.
– `~/.config/nvim/` for Neovim.
– **System Tools**: Tools like Git, Docker, and SSH may also store user-specific configurations there.
– E.g., `~/.config/git/config`.
—
### **Is It Safe to Delete?**
– **Not Entirely Safe**: Deleting `.config` removes all user-specific settings for applications. The apps will regenerate default configurations when you restart them, but you will lose any customizations or saved preferences.
– **Selective Deletion**: You can delete specific subdirectories or files for troubleshooting without affecting unrelated applications.
—
### **When to Manage or Clear `.config`?**
– **Troubleshooting**: If an application behaves unexpectedly, clearing its folder in `.config` can reset its settings to default.
– **Reclaiming Space**: If disk space is a concern, you can check the size of `.config`:
du -h ~/.config --max-depth=1
Delete large or unused application configurations:
rm -rf ~/.config/<application_name>
—
### **How to Backup `.config`?**
Before making changes, you can back up the folder:
cp -r ~/.config ~/.config_backup