ncdu Command
The ncdu (NCurses Disk Usage) command is a powerful and interactive disk usage analyzer for Linux and Unix-like systems. It provides a fast and easy way to see what's taking up space on your disk, allowing you to navigate through directories and identify large files or folders.
Syntax
Description
When executed, ncdu scans the specified directory (or the current directory if none is provided) and then presents an interactive, ncurses-based interface. This interface displays a list of directories and files, sorted by size, allowing you to drill down into subdirectories to pinpoint disk space hogs. It's an excellent alternative to du -sh * for visual exploration.
Key features of ncdu:
- Interactive, text-based user interface.
- Quickly scans and displays disk usage.
- Allows navigation into subdirectories.
- Can delete files/directories from within the interface.
- Shows percentage of parent directory size.
Common Options
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
-x, --one-file-system |
Do not cross filesystem boundaries. |
-q, --quiet |
Quiet mode, do not show progress. |
-o <file> |
Export the scanned directory tree to a file (JSON format). |
-f <file> |
Import a directory tree from a file (previously exported with -o). |
-r, --read-only |
Read-only mode (cannot delete files). |
-0, --null |
End lines with NUL characters (for scripting). |
Examples
Analyze current directory disk usage
Scans the current directory and launches the interactive interface.
Analyze a specific directory
Scans the /var/log directory to analyze its disk usage.
Export scan results to a file
Scans /home/user/ and saves the results to disk_usage.json in JSON format.
Import and view previously exported results
Loads and displays the disk usage information from a previously saved JSON file.
Analyze without crossing filesystem boundaries
Analyzes the root filesystem (/) but does not include mounted filesystems (like /home if it's on a separate partition).