ncdu

Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted

Freedom report

Three barsScore 7.0

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely3 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

ncdu is ranked #20 of 104 in disk space analyzers on Freedom251. It runs on Linux, macOS, Self-hosted, Windows. There is a free plan.

ncdu plans and pricing

All plans

ncdu Free MIT-licensed software · Linux static binaries and packages for listed systems dev.yorhel.nl · 8 Oct 2026

Compared on disk space analyzers

Free plan: Yes
Desktop platforms: Linux, macOS
Treemap view: No
Application sizes: No
File-type breakdown: No
External drive scans: Yes
Exportable reports: Yes
Scan scope: files_folders

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The record

Purpose: ncdu is a text-mode disk usage analyzer designed to find space hogs, including on remote servers without a graphical setup.
Interface: It provides an interactive curses-based view of which directories use disk space.
Scanning: Version 2.5 added parallel scanning, which is disabled by default and can be enabled with a thread count option.
Export formats: It can export directory trees as JSON or in a compressed binary format that supports browsing trees too large to fit in memory.
File actions: The browser can delete files and directories, refresh directory data, and spawn a shell; delete and shell actions can be disabled.
Read-only mode: The manual documents a read-only option that disables deletion, and with a second occurrence also disables shell spawning.
License: The software is distributed under the MIT license.
Platforms: The maker lists Linux static binaries and packages for Linux, BSD, AIX, Solaris, macOS, and other systems, plus a Windows binary from another site.
Version choices: The site lists a Zig-based stable version and a maintained C-based LTS version; it says the C branch lags in features and performance.
Build requirements: The listed Zig version requires Zig 0.14 or 0.15, and the maker cautions that the Zig language and compiler are somewhat unstable.
Support: The maintainer welcomes bug reports by issue tracker or email but makes no promise to act on feedback or fix every bug.
Compatibility limits: The maintainer says users combining the software with proprietary software or operating systems such as macOS or Windows are mostly on their own for support.
Web export browser: The linked export browser accepts ncdu JSON, compressed JSON, and binary export files; uploads are visible to anyone with the URL and expire after 30 days.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Disk Space Analyzers in 2026#20 of 104

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Sources

dev.yorhel.nl/ncdu· checked 8 Oct 2026
dev.yorhel.nl/ncdu/man· checked 8 Oct 2026
dev.yorhel.nl/contributing· checked 8 Oct 2026
ncdu.blicky.net· checked 8 Oct 2026