du

The du ( Disk Usage) command is used to estimate and display the amount of disk space used by files and directories on a Linux system.

It helps users and administrators identify which files or folders consume the most space.

du [options] [directory or filename] 

Common Options

These options are often used together as du -sh to get a quick overview of a folder’s total size.

Example Usages

a. Display the total size of the current directory

du -sh 

Shows the total disk usage of the current directory in a readable format.

b. Display the size of a specific file or directory

du -sh filename 

Shows the disk usage for the specified file or folder.

c. Display the size of all files and subdirectories

du -sh * 

Lists disk usage for each item in the current directory (including files and subfolders).

Additional Notes

To include hidden files and directories, use:

du -sh .[!.]* * 

Combine with sorting to find the largest folders:

du -sh * | sort -hr | head -10 

Displays the top 10 largest directories in the current location.

References

Red Hat documentation: du command options