How to Find What Is Filling Up Disk Space on a VPS

Running out of disk space on a VPS causes service failures, database crashes, and package installation errors. Finding the exact files and directories consuming space is the fastest way to fix it.

Step 1: Check Overall Disk Usage

Start by checking disk usage across all mounted filesystems.

df -h

Look for partitions that are close to 100% usage.

Step 2: Identify Large Directories

Use du to find directories consuming the most space.

sudo du -h --max-depth=1 / | sort -hr

This shows top-level directories by size.

Step 3: Drill Down into a Specific Directory

Once you identify a large directory, inspect it further.

sudo du -h --max-depth=1 /var | sort -hr

Common problem areas include /var/log, /var/lib, and /home.

Step 4: Find Large Files

Locate individual files consuming excessive space.

sudo find / -type f -size +1G 2>/dev/null

This lists files larger than 1GB.

Step 5: Check Log File Growth

Logs often grow silently and fill disks.

sudo ls -lh /var/log
sudo du -h /var/log | sort -hr | head

Rotate or clean logs if necessary.

Step 6: Check Docker Disk Usage

Docker is a common source of disk exhaustion.

docker system df

Unused images, volumes, and containers should be cleaned regularly.

Step 7: Clean Package Cache

Old package files can consume significant space.

sudo apt clean
sudo apt autoremove -y

This safely removes unused packages and cache.

You may also want to review this related article: Check and Reduce High Memory (RAM) Usage on Linux

Optional Step: Monitor Disk Usage Continuously

Prevent future disk issues with monitoring.

watch -n 5 df -h