df Command - Disk Space Analysis
Summary
The df command is a powerful tool used to report file system disk space usage. It displays information about the total space, used space, available space, and mount points of file systems. It is useful for monitoring disk usage and identifying potential space issues.
Introduction
The df command (short for "disk free") is a standard Unix command used to display the amount of available disk space for file systems on which the invoking user has appropriate read access. df is typically used to check remaining space on a disk partition. It is a fundamental command for system administrators and users alike to monitor and manage storage resources on a Linux system.
Use case and Examples
Basic Usage - Display disk space usage in human-readable format
This command displays disk space usage for all mounted file systems in a human-readable format (e.g., using units like K, M, G, T). This is generally the most convenient way to usedf. Display disk space usage for a specific file system
This command shows disk space usage specifically for the file system mounted at/home. Display inode information instead of block usage
This command displays the number of used and free inodes on the file system, rather than disk space. Inodes are data structures used to represent file system objects.Exclude a specific filesystem type
This command shows disk space usage, excluding thetmpfs filesystem type, which is often used for temporary filesystems in memory. Commonly used flags
| Flag | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
-h or --human-readable | Display sizes in human readable format (e.g., 1K 234M 2G). | df -h |
-i or --inodes | List inode information instead of block usage. | df -i |
-k | Display sizes in kilobytes. | df -k |
-m | Display sizes in megabytes. | df -m |
-T or --print-type | Print the filesystem type. | df -T |
-x <type> or --exclude-type=<type> | Exclude filesystems of type <type>. | df -x tmpfs |
-a or --all | Include pseudo, duplicate, and inaccessible file systems in the listing. | df -a |
--total | Produce a grand total. | df --total |