Optimizing Disk Space Usage with the du Command: A Comprehensive Guide

In daily life and work, we often need to manage a large number of files and directories. Sometimes, we may encounter situations where disk space is running low, and we need to identify the largest files or directories occupying space for cleanup or backup purposes. The du command can help us achieve this goal. Let's delve into how to use this command to find the directories that occupy the most space.

I. Introduction to the du Command

du stands for "disk usage" and is a command used to view the disk usage of directories or files. With this command, we can quickly identify which files or directories are consuming a significant amount of disk space.

II. Usage of the du Command

1. Basic Syntax

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

The --files0-from=F option reads file names terminated by NUL from file F and displays the disk usage of these files. If F is "-", file names are read from standard input. NUL, represented as '\0', can be written using printf.

1. Viewing the Disk Usage of All First-Level Subdirectories in the Current Directory

du -h -d 1

Here, -h represents human-readable output (e.g., in GB or MB), and -d 1 specifies viewing the disk usage of first-level subdirectories.

1. Viewing the Disk Usage of a Specified Directory/File