To see how much space Ubuntu has available, run df -h or open a graphical storage tool. To find what is using space, inspect folders with Disk Usage Analyzer or du. Start cleanup with personal files you recognize, check Trash, and back up important files before deleting them.
Check available space in Ubuntu
Ubuntu’s desktop help lists three graphical options: Disk Usage Analyzer, System Monitor, and Usage. They show storage in different ways, so choose based on whether you want a visual folder scan or a filesystem summary.
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| Tool | What it shows | Useful when |
|---|---|---|
| Disk Usage Analyzer | File locations, usage, and capacity; it can scan a selected folder. | You want to explore which folders are large. |
| System Monitor | Filesystem totals, free and available space, and used space in its File Systems tab. | You want a filesystem-level overview. |
| Usage | Total used and available space, plus usage by common directories in its Storage tab. | You want a simple storage overview. Its layout and available controls can vary by Ubuntu release. |
These tools are described in Ubuntu desktop help for checking disk space. The Usage tool may let you select a user directory to free space; inspect the selected directory and its contents before confirming removal.
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Use the terminal for filesystem availability
Run:
df -hWith no path argument, df lists currently mounted filesystems. The -h option displays sizes in human-readable units. To check the filesystem containing the root directory, use df -h /; to check the one containing your home directory, use df -h "$HOME".
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df tells you filesystem capacity and availability, not which individual files are taking up space. These commands follow the GNU df reference in Ubuntu Noble documentation, which identifies coreutils version 9.4-3ubuntu6.3: Ubuntu Noble manpage for df.
Find the folders using space
Use du to estimate space used by files and directories it can traverse. To see a summary of the first level of folders in your home directory, run:
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du -h --max-depth=1 "$HOME" | sort -hFor a first-level summary under /var, which may include locations your user cannot read, run:
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sudo du -h --max-depth=1 /var | sort -hsort -h orders the human-readable sizes so larger entries are easier to spot. Use targeted scans rather than starting with the whole filesystem: scanning a large tree can take time, and permission restrictions may prevent du from traversing some locations.
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du and df answer different questions, so their totals may not match. Filesystem blocks, sparse files, permissions, mount points, and deleted files that are still open by a running program can all affect the comparison. The Ubuntu community guide to recovering disk space discusses the distinction and common causes; it is community-maintained, not a release-specific official procedure.
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Identify the full filesystem. Run
df -hand check which filesystem is short on space. If/boot, your home directory, or another separately mounted filesystem is full, cleaning files on the root filesystem may not help.Rank #4
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Locate likely large folders. Use one of the graphical tools or a targeted
duscan. Size alone does not show whether a folder is safe to remove.Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
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Review personal files first. Check Downloads, old files, duplicate copies, backups saved in the wrong location, and Trash. Delete only items you recognize and no longer need. Ubuntu’s desktop help recommends removing files that are no longer important or useful; its disk-space help also describes graphical ways to inspect storage.
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Protect files you want to keep. Back up important files before deleting them from the computer. If you move a file to a backup destination, open the backed-up copy to verify it is readable before removing the original. Ubuntu recommends backing up important files before deletion in its desktop storage guidance. An external drive is one optional backup destination, not a requirement for checking or cleaning disk space.
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Check the result. Run
df -hagain to confirm whether available space increased on the filesystem you intended to clean.
What not to delete casually
A large system directory is not automatically disposable. Avoid broad rm commands and manual deletion from /usr, /var/lib, or /boot unless you understand exactly what the files do. Do not truncate logs using an unexplained command.
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