df Command in Linux with Examples
Last Updated : 20 Mar, 2025
There might come a situation while using Linux when you want to know the amount of space consumed by a particular file system on your LINUX system or how much space is available on a particular file system. LINUX being command friendly provides a command line utility for this i.e. 'df' command that displays the amount of disk space available on the file system containing each file name argument.
What is the 'df' Command?
The 'df' command stands for "disk free" and is used to display information about the file systems on your Linux system. It provides a snapshot of disk usage, showing the total space, used space, available space, and the percentage of use for each mounted file system.
- If no file name is passed as an argument with the 'df' command then it shows the space available on all currently mounted file systems
- You should know that the
df command cannot display available space on unmounted file systems. and the reason for this is that doing this on some systems requires very deep knowledge of file system structures. - By default, 'df' shows the disk space in 1K blocks.
- df displays the values in the units of the first available SIZE from '--block-size' (which is an option) and from the 'DF_BLOCK_SIZE', 'BLOCKSIZE', and 'BLOCK_SIZE' environment variables.
- By default, units are set to 1024 bytes or 512 bytes(if POSIXLY_CORRECT is set). Here, SIZE is an integer and optional unit and units are K, M, G, T, P, E, Z, Y (as K in kilo).
Syntax:
df [OPTION]...[FILE]...
OPTION : to the options compatible with df command
FILE : specific filename in case you want to know
the disk space usage of a particular file system only.
Example:
df -h /home
-h displays disk space usage in a human-readable format (e.g., MB, GB) and /home specifies the file or directory whose file system usage you want to check.
Using the 'df' command
Suppose you have a file named kt.txt and you want to know the used disk space on the file system that contains this file then you can use df in this case as:
// using df for a specific file //
$df kt.txt
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/the2 1957124 1512 1955612 1% /snap/core
/* the df only showed the disk usage
details of the file system that
contains file kt.txt */
Now, what if you don't give any filename 't' 'df', in that case df displays the disk usage information for all mounted file systems as shown below:
//using df without any filename //
$df
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/loop0 18761008 15246876 2554440 86% /
none 4 0 4 0% /sys/fs/cgroup
udev 493812 4 493808 1% /dev
tmpfs 100672 1364 99308 2% /run
none 5120 0 5120 0% /run/lock
none 503352 1764 501588 1% /run/shm
none 102400 20 102380 1% /run/user
/dev/the2 1957124 1512 1955612 1% /snap/core
/* in this case df displayed
the disk usage details of all
mounted file systems */
Options for df command
The 'df' command comes with a variety of options that allow you to customize its output. Here are some of the most commonly used options:
| Option | Description |
|---|
-a, --all | Includes all file systems, including dummy file systems with zero block sizes. |
|---|
-B, --block-size=S | Scales sizes by the specified size (e.g., -BM shows sizes in megabytes). |
|---|
--total | Displays a grand total of all file systems. |
|---|
-h, --human-readable | Prints sizes in human-readable format (e.g., KB, MB, GB). |
|---|
-H, --si | Uses powers of 1000 (e.g., kB, MB) instead of 1024. |
|---|
-i, --inodes | Displays information about inodes instead of block usage. |
|---|
-k | Displays file system information and usage in 1K blocks (default behavior). |
|---|
-l, --local | Displays only local file systems, excluding network file systems. |
|---|
-P, --portability | Uses the POSIX output format. |
|---|
-t, --type=TYPE | Displays only file systems of the specified type (e.g., -t ext4). |
|---|
-T, --print-type | Displays the type of each file system. |
|---|
-x, --exclude-type=TYPE | Excludes file systems of the specified type from the output. |
|---|
--no-sync | Does not invoke sync before getting usage info (default). |
|---|
--sync | Invokes sync before getting usage info, ensuring the output is fully up to date. |
|---|
--help | Displays a help message and exits. |
|---|
--version | Displays version information and exits. |
|---|
-v | Ignored, included for compatibility reasons. |
|---|
Examples of using 'df' with options
1. Using '-a'
If there is a need to display all file systems along with those which has zero block sizes then use -a option with df.
//using df with -a//
$df -a
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/loop0 18761008 15246876 2554440 86% /
none 4 0 4 0% /sys/fs/cgroup
udev 493812 4 493808 1% /dev
tmpfs 100672 1364 99308 2% /run
none 5120 0 5120 0% /run/lock
none 503352 1764 501588 1% /run/shm
none 102400 20 102380 1% /run/user
/dev/sda3 174766076 164417964 10348112 95% /host
systemd 0 0 0 - /sys/fs/cgroup
/* in this case
systemd file system
having zero block
size is also displayed */
2. Using '-h'
This is used to make df command display the output in human-readable format.
//using -h with df//
$df -h kt.txt
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/the2 1.9G 1.5M 1.9G 1% /snap/core
/*this output is
easily understandable by
the user and all
cause of -h option */
In the above, G and M represents Gigabytes and Megabytes respectively. You can use '-h' with df only to produce the output in readable format for all the mounted file systems rather than just of the file system containing 'kt.txt' file.
3. Using '-k'
This displays the file system information and usage in 1K blocks.
//using -k with df//
$df -k kt.txt
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/the2 1957124 1512 1955612 1% /snap/core
/* no change cause the
output was initially
shown in the usage
of 1K bytes only */
4. Using '--total'
This option is used to produce total for a size, used and available columns in the output.
//using --total with df//
$df --total
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/loop0 18761008 15246876 2554440 86% /
none 4 0 4 0% /sys/fs/cgroup
udev 493812 4 493808 1% /dev
tmpfs 100672 1364 99308 2% /run
none 5120 0 5120 0% /run/lock
none 503352 1764 501588 1% /run/shm
none 102400 20 102380 1% /run/user
/dev/the2 1957124 1512 1955612 1% /snap/core
total 21923492 15251540 5712260 92% -
/* the total row
is added in the
output */
5. Using '-T'
With the help of this option, you will be able to see the corresponding type of the file system as shown.
/using -T with df//
$df -T kt.txt
Filesystem Type 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/the2 squashfs 1957124 1512 1955612 1% /snap/core
/* you can use
-T with df only
to display type of
all the mounted
file systems */
6. Using '-t'
This is used when you wish the disk usage information of the file systems having a particular type only.
//using -t with df//
$df -t squashfs
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/loop0 18761008 15246876 2554440 86% /
/dev/the2 1957124 1512 1955612 1% /snap/core
/*so the df
displayed only the
info of the file
systems having type
squashfs */
7. Using '-x'
Now, you can also tell df to display the disk usage info of all the file systems except those having a particular type with the help of '-x' option.
//using -x with df//
$df -x squashfs
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
none 4 0 4 0% /sys/fs/cgroup
udev 493812 4 493808 1% /dev
tmpfs 100672 1364 99308 2% /run
none 5120 0 5120 0% /run/lock
none 503352 1764 501588 1% /run/shm
none 102400 20 102380 1% /run/user
/* in this case info of
/dev/the2 and /dev/loop0
file systems aren't
displayed cause they are
of type squashfs */
8. Using '-i'
This option is used to display inode information in the output.
//using -i with df//
$df -i kt.txt
Filesystem Inodes IUsed IFree Iuse% Mounted on
/dev/the2 489281 48 489233 1% /snap/core
/*showing inode info
of file system
having file kt.txt */
When -i option is used then the second, third, and fourth columns displays inode-related figures instead of disk related.
9. Using '--sync'
By default, the df command produces output with - -no-sync option which will not perform the sync system call prior to reporting usage information. Now we can use - -sync option which will force a sync resulting in the output being fully up to date.
//using --sync option//
$df --sync
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/loop0 18761008 15246876 2554440 86% /
none 4 0 4 0% /sys/fs/cgroup
udev 493812 4 493808 1% /dev
tmpfs 100672 1364 99308 2% /run
none 5120 0 5120 0% /run/lock
none 503352 1764 501588 1% /run/shm
none 102400 20 102380 1% /run/user
/dev/the2 1957124 1512 1955612 1% /snap/core
/* in this case
no change in the output
is observed cause it is
possible that there is no
update info present to
be reflected */
10. Using '-l'
When we run df command then by default it shows any externally mounted file systems which include those from external NFS or Samba servers. We can hide the info of these external file systems from output with -l option syntax of which is shown below.
$df -l
Also Read:
Conclusion
The 'df' command in Linux is an essential tool for monitoring disk space usage across your system's file systems. df offers a wide range of options to cater to your needs whether you need to quickly check the available space, examine inodes, or filter by specific file system types. The 'df' command users can effectively manage disk space, prevent system overloads, and maintain overall system health. Regular use of 'df' ensures that you are aware of your system’s storage status, allowing for proactive measures in disk management and system maintenance.
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