Sort and Display Directories by Disk Usage (du + sort)

When disk space runs low on a Linux server, this guide covers the du + sort combination for quickly identifying which directories are the largest.

[01] Check the Current Directory’s Usage

1-1. Basic Command

Lists the subdirectories of the current directory ordered from largest to smallest.

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

Option	Description
du -h	Display sizes in human-readable units (K, M, G)
--max-depth=1	Only show one level below the current directory
sort -h	Sort considering human-readable units (K < M < G)
sort -r	Descending order (largest first)

Example output:

15G     .
8.2G    ./data
4.1G    ./logs
2.3G    ./backup
512M    ./config

1-2. Targeting a Specific Directory

Replace /var with any path to analyze that directory.

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

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[02] Filtering Directories Only

2-1. Exclude Files, Show Only Directories

Add grep to filter out files and keep only directory entries.

du -h --max-depth=1 | grep '/$' | sort -hr

grep '/$' filters only entries ending with / (directories).

2-2. Adjusting Depth

Increasing --max-depth lets you inspect deeper subdirectories.

# Check up to 2 levels deep
du -h --max-depth=2 | sort -hr | head -20

Appending head -20 displays only the top 20 entries for better readability.

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[03] Practical Examples

3-1. Finding Large Folders from the Root Directory

The first command to run when disk space is tight.

sudo du -h --max-depth=1 / | sort -hr | head -15

Scanning root (/) requires sudo and may take a while.

3-2. Cleaning Up the Home Directory

du -h --max-depth=1 ~ | sort -hr

3-3. Inspecting the Log Directory

sudo du -h --max-depth=2 /var/log | sort -hr | head -10