As a Linux administrator, you must periodically check which files and directories are taking up significant disk space. Identifying unnecessary data and removing it is essential for maintaining an efficient system.

This short guide explains how to locate the largest files and folders within your Linux filesystem using the du (disk usage) and find commands. For more information on these commands, refer to the links below:

• Learn 10 Useful ‘du’ (Disk Usage) Commands in Linux
• Master the ‘Find’ Command with these 35 Practical Examples

How to Find Largest Files and Folders in Linux

To find the top largest directories under the /home partition, execute the following command:

<code># du -a /home | sort -n -r | head -n 5</code>

The above command lists the five largest directories located in my /home partition.

Locate Biggest Directories in Linux

To list the largest directories in the current working directory, use:

<code># du -a | sort -n -r | head -n 5</code>

Here’s a breakdown of each component in this command:

• du command: Estimates file space usage.
• -a : Lists all files and directories.
• sort command : Sorts lines of text files.
• -n : Compares values numerically.
• -r : Reverses the output order.
• head : Outputs the first part of files.
• -n : Displays the first 'n' lines. (In this case, we show the top 5.)

Some users may prefer to view results in a human-readable format—like KB, MB, or GB—rather than raw numbers.

<code># du -hs * | sort -rh | head -5</code>

The output shows the top directories consuming the most disk space. If any appear unimportant, consider deleting certain subdirectories or the entire folder to free space.

To include subdirectories when listing large files and folders, run:

<code># du -Sh | sort -rh | head -5</code>

Explanation of options used in the previous command:

• du command: Estimates file space usage.
• -h : Makes sizes human-readable (e.g., 10MB).
• -S : Excludes subdirectory sizes from totals.
• -s : Shows only total per argument.
• sort command : Sorts text lines.
• -r : Reverses the comparison result.
• -h : Enables sorting of human-readable sizes (e.g., 2K, 1G).
• head : Outputs the first portion of files.

Display Only the Largest File Sizes

If you want to display only the biggest file sizes, run:

<code># find -type f -exec du -Sh {}   | sort -rh | head -n 5</code>

To search for large files in a specific location, simply add the desired path after the find command:

<code># find /home/tecmint/Downloads/ -type f -exec du -Sh {}   | sort -rh | head -n 5
OR
# find /home/tecmint/Downloads/ -type f -printf "%s %p\n" | sort -rn | head -n 5</code>

The above commands will list the largest files found inside the /home/tecmint/Downloads directory.

That concludes this guide. Locating the largest files and folders doesn’t have to be difficult—any beginner admin can do it with ease. If you found this article helpful, feel free to share it across your social networks and support TecMint.

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