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Finding the Top 10 Biggest Files on an Ubuntu Server

Tutorial August 11, 2024
bash

sudo find /path/to/directory -type f -exec du -h {} + | sort -rh | head -n 10
  • sudo: Runs the command with superuser privileges, which might be necessary for accessing certain files or directories.
  • find /path/to/directory -type f: Searches for files (-type f) in the specified directory and its subdirectories. Replace /path/to/directory with the target directory, or use / to search the entire file system.
  • -exec du -h {} +: Executes the du (disk usage) command for each file found, with -h providing human-readable sizes (e.g., MB, GB).
  • sort -rh: Sorts the files in reverse order by size, with the largest files listed first.
  • head -n 10: Displays the top 10 files from the sorted list.