> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://thamizhiniyancs.gitbook.io/cheatsheets/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://thamizhiniyancs.gitbook.io/cheatsheets/linux/surfing-knowing-your-file-system/du.md).

# du

## Introduction

`du` is a command in linux (short for disk usage) which helps you identify what files/directories are consuming how much space.

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## Syntax

`du [OPTION]... [FILE]...`

`du [OPTION]... --files0-from=F`

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## Important Flags

<table><thead><tr><th width="291">Flag</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><code>-0, --null</code></td><td>End each output line with NULL</td></tr><tr><td><code>-a or --all</code></td><td>Displays disk usage information for all files and directories, including hidden ones.</td></tr><tr><td><code>--apparent-size</code></td><td>Print apparent sizes, rather than disk usage</td></tr><tr><td><code>-B, --block-size=SIZE</code></td><td>Scale sizes to SIZE before printing on console</td></tr><tr><td><code>-c or --total</code></td><td>Shows the total disk usage in addition to individual usage for directories and files.</td></tr><tr><td><code>-d, --max-depth=N</code></td><td>Print total for directory only if it is N or fewer levels below command line argument</td></tr><tr><td><code>-h or --human-readable</code></td><td>Displays sizes in human-readable format, using units such as KB, MB, GB, etc. This option makes it easier to interpret the disk usage information.</td></tr><tr><td><code>-S, -separate-dirs</code></td><td>For directories, don’t include size of subdirectories</td></tr><tr><td><code>-s or --summarize</code></td><td>Provides a summary of the disk usage for the specified directory or file, without displaying individual usage details for subdirectories.</td></tr><tr><td><code>--time</code></td><td>Show time of last modification of any file or directory</td></tr><tr><td><code>--exclude</code></td><td>Excludes specific directories or files from disk usage calculation based on patterns or names.</td></tr></tbody></table>

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## Examples

<table><thead><tr><th>Command</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><pre class="language-bash" data-overflow="wrap"><code class="lang-bash">du -a /home
</code></pre></td><td>To display the disk usage information for all files and directories, including hidden ones in the home directory.</td></tr><tr><td><pre class="language-bash" data-overflow="wrap"><code class="lang-bash">du -h /home
</code></pre></td><td>You can print sizes in human-readable format (e.g., 1K 234M 2G), using the `-h` option.</td></tr><tr><td><pre class="language-bash" data-overflow="wrap"><code class="lang-bash">du -a -h /home
</code></pre></td><td>Combine `-a` and `-h` flags together to check all files and folder sizes.</td></tr><tr><td><pre class="language-bash" data-overflow="wrap"><code class="lang-bash">du -c -h /home
</code></pre></td><td>Use -c option to print total size</td></tr><tr><td><pre class="language-bash" data-overflow="wrap"><code class="lang-bash">du -d 1 /home
</code></pre></td><td>To print sizes to particular level, use -d option with level no.</td></tr><tr><td><pre class="language-bash" data-overflow="wrap"><code class="lang-bash">du -d 2 /home
</code></pre></td><td>Now try with level 2, you will get some extra directories</td></tr><tr><td><pre class="language-bash" data-overflow="wrap"><code class="lang-bash">du -s /home
</code></pre></td><td>Get summary of file system using -s option</td></tr><tr><td><pre class="language-bash" data-overflow="wrap"><code class="lang-bash">du -sh --apparent-size /home
</code></pre></td><td>Print apparent sizes, rather than disk usage; although the apparent size is usually smaller, it may be larger due to holes in (‘sparse’) files, internal fragmentation, indirect blocks, and the like.</td></tr><tr><td><pre class="language-bash" data-overflow="wrap"><code class="lang-bash">du --time -h /home
</code></pre></td><td>Get the timestamp of last modified using --time option</td></tr><tr><td><pre class="language-bash" data-overflow="wrap"><code class="lang-bash">du --time -d 1 /home/
</code></pre></td><td>Check the timestamp of the last modification of files and directories to 1 level.</td></tr><tr><td><pre class="language-bash" data-overflow="wrap"><code class="lang-bash">du --max-depth=1 /path
</code></pre></td><td>To find the largest directories, you can use the du command with the --max-depth option.</td></tr><tr><td><pre class="language-bash" data-overflow="wrap"><code class="lang-bash">du -h /path
</code></pre></td><td>The du command supports the -h option to display sizes in a human-readable format (e.g., KB, MB, GB).</td></tr><tr><td><pre class="language-bash" data-overflow="wrap"><code class="lang-bash">find /path -type f -exec du -h {} + | sort -rh | head -n 10
</code></pre></td><td>You can combine the find command with du to identify large files.</td></tr><tr><td><pre class="language-bash" data-overflow="wrap"><code class="lang-bash">du -h --exclude=/path/to/exclude /path
</code></pre></td><td>To exclude specific directories, use the --exclude option with the du command.</td></tr></tbody></table>