How to Use du Command in Linux: Disk Usage Explained

Use the du command in Linux to check disk usage of files and directories. Run du [options] [path] to see sizes, with options like -h for human-readable output and -s for summary.

Syntax

The basic syntax of the du command is:

• du [options] [path]

Here, path is the file or directory you want to check. If omitted, it defaults to the current directory.

Common options include:

• -h: Show sizes in human-readable format (e.g., KB, MB)
• -s: Show only the total size for the specified path
• -a: Show sizes for all files, not just directories
• --max-depth=N: Limit directory depth shown

bash

du [options] [path]

Example

This example shows how to check the disk usage of the current directory in a human-readable summary:

bash

du -sh .

Output

1.2G	.

Common Pitfalls

Common mistakes when using du include:

• Not using -h and getting sizes in bytes, which are hard to read.
• Forgetting -s and getting a long list of all subdirectories.
• Using du on very large directories without limiting depth, causing slow output.

Example of a wrong and right way:

bash

du .
du -sh .

Output

4096	.
2048	./folder2
6144	.
1.2G	.

Quick Reference

Option	Description
-h	Human-readable sizes (KB, MB, GB)
-s	Show only total size for each argument
-a	Show sizes for all files, not just directories
--max-depth=N	Limit output to N levels of directories
-c	Display a grand total at the end

Key Takeaways

Use du -sh [path] for a quick, readable summary of disk usage.

Add --max-depth=N to limit output depth and speed up results.

Without -h, sizes are shown in bytes and hard to read.

Use -a to see sizes of individual files, not just directories.

Avoid running du on large directories without options to prevent long outputs.