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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/aplus-linux-df

Which Linux command reports free and used space on mounted file systems?

df reports file system space usage.

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  1. du
  2. df ✔
  3. ps

Why: df shows the space available on each file system. du, by contrast, estimates the space used by files and directories.

Huh, didn't know that: If no file name is given, df shows the space available on all currently mounted file systems.

The dad joke
df: because 'disk full' should never be a surprise at 3 a.m.
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References

Answer: df. df shows the space available on each file system. du, by contrast, estimates the space used by files and directories.

  1. df(1), Debian manpages manpages.debian.org/bookworm/coreutils/df.1.en.html
    df - report file system space usage
    Checked 2026-10-10.
  2. du(1), Debian manpages manpages.debian.org/bookworm/coreutils/du.1.en.html
    du - estimate file space usage
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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