If you are running a Linux server, it’s essential to keep an eye on the disk space usage. Over time, your server may accumulate a lot of large files that are no longer necessary, taking up valuable disk space. In this article, we will discuss how to find large files on a Linux server to clean up space.

1. Using the find command The find command is a powerful tool that can be used to search for files and directories on a Linux server. You can use the find command to search for files that are larger than a specific size. For example, the following command will search for files that are larger than 100MB in the /var directory:

find /var -type f -size +100M -exec ls -lh {} \; | awk '{ print $NF ": " $5 }'

This command will output a list of files that are larger than 100MB in the /var directory, along with their size.

2. Using the du command The du command is another useful tool for finding large files on a Linux server. You can use the du command to display the disk usage of a particular directory or file. For example, the following command will display the disk usage of all files and directories in the /var directory, sorted by size:

du -ah /var | sort -hr

This command will output a list of all files and directories in the /var directory, sorted by size.

3. Using a graphical file manager If you prefer a graphical user interface, you can use a file manager such as Nautilus or Thunar to find large files on your Linux server. Simply open the file manager and navigate to the directory you want to search. Then, use the search function to search for files larger than a specific size.
4. Using a disk usage analyzer There are several disk usage analyzers available for Linux, such as Baobab and Filelight. These tools provide a graphical representation of your disk usage and can help you identify large files and directories that are taking up space.
5. Using a specialized tool There are also specialized tools available for finding large files on a Linux server, such as ncdu and fslint. These tools provide advanced features such as interactive disk usage analysis and duplicate file detection.

In conclusion, there are several ways to find large files on a Linux server to clean up space. You can use the find command, the du command, a graphical file manager, a disk usage analyzer, or a specialized tool. By regularly cleaning up large files on your server, you can ensure that you have enough disk space for your applications and prevent your server from running out of space.