gdu

What gdu is

gdu is a free disk usage analyzer written in Go, with a console interface for inspecting files and folders. It is intended primarily for SSDs, where it can use parallel processing fully, and it also works with HDDs. Choose interactive or non-interactive console operation, export scan results as JSON, or serve a browser-based interface. The browser view includes a donut chart, sortable table, size bars, breadcrumb navigation, and a treemap.

Gdu can scan external drives, export reports, and save analysis data for reloading with SQLite or BadgerDB. An option enables browsing ZIP, JAR, TAR, TAR.GZ, TAR.BZ2, and TAR.XZ archives. Installation options include Homebrew, Winget, Scoop, Snap, Conda, and Go, and the project documents Docker usage. It is available for Linux, macOS, and Windows, as well as through its browser interface, and is distributed under the MIT license. The web UI has no authentication and exposes file names and sizes to clients that can reach its port; the project recommends binding it to localhost. Reveal and delete actions require a loopback-origin request with a random token generated for each server run, and the --no-delete flag prevents deletion operations. The GitHub profile identifies maintainer Daniel Milde and lists Prague.

Who it suits

gdu suits people who want to inspect disk usage from a console or a browser interface, including users scanning external drives. Its JSON export, saved scan data, and archive browsing option also serve workflows that need those specific capabilities.

Getting started

1. Visit the gdu GitHub project.
2. Choose an installation route such as Homebrew, Winget, Scoop, Snap, Conda, or Go.
3. Alternatively, follow the project's documented Docker usage.
4. Run gdu in interactive or non-interactive console mode, or serve its browser interface.
5. Export results as JSON or reports, or save scan data with SQLite or BadgerDB.

Verdict

Choose gdu if you want a free, Go-based disk usage analyzer with console and browser interfaces, report export, and external-drive scanning. Its browser interface exposes file names and sizes to reachable clients, so the project recommends binding it to localhost. Look elsewhere if application-size or file-type breakdowns are essential.