How to Find Large Files on Ubuntu (to Free Up Space)

Running low on storage? Ubuntu’s terminal has a quick command to help you hunt down those space-hogging files. Instead of manually digging through folders, you can use a simple command to locate large files and decide what can go.

Just open the terminal and type: sudo find / -type f -size +100M. Here, the +100M part tells Ubuntu to find files larger than 100 MB, but you can adjust this to any size that works for you. Starting from the root directory (/) means it’ll look everywhere, but if you want to search just your home folder, use find ~/ -type f -size +100M.

This command quickly lists all files meeting your size criteria, making it easy to decide what can go. A quick scan might reveal old downloads, cached videos, or backups you no longer need. So, give it a go, and make some space for the important stuff!

How to Find and Sort Large Files on a Specific Drive in Ubuntu

To scan a specific drive and find large files, open your terminal and use the following command:
sudo find /path/to/drive -type f -size +100M -exec ls -lh {} + | sort -k 5 -rh

Here’s what’s happening:

Replace /path/to/drive with the actual path to your drive (e.g., /media/username/drivename).
The -type f flag searches only for files (ignoring directories).
The -size +100M option locates files over 100 MB in size (you can change this to any size that suits).
Using -exec ls -lh {} gives you detailed file info, and then sort -k 5 -rh sorts them by size, showing the largest files first.

This command will quickly give you a sorted list of big files on your drive, so you can zero in on what’s taking up the most space. Then simply use a file browser on Ubuntu to delete those files.

To delete a file via Terminal, just navigate to the specific directory, and use this command: rm /path/to/your/file

How do you find your Ubuntu username?

Simply go into Terminal, and search whoami

Now use this command to do the search and sort:
sudo find /home/yourusername -type f -size +100M -exec ls -lh {} + | sort -k 5 -rh

Hope all this helps!