Master Disk Space Insight with duf: Install, Use, and Customize

The traditional du (disk usage) and df (disk free) commands show how much space files or filesystems occupy, but they operate separately. duf is a Go‑written, cross‑platform utility that combines both functions, presenting results in a colour‑coded, adaptive table that can be sorted and filtered.

1. Installing duf

On Ubuntu, download the Debian package from the official GitHub releases and install it with dpkg:

$ wget https://github.com/muesli/duf/releases/download/v0.8.1/duf_0.8.1_linux_amd64.deb
$ dpkg -i duf_0.8.1_linux_amd64.deb

On macOS you can install via Homebrew or MacPorts:

$ brew install duf
# or
$ sudo port selfupdate && sudo port install duf

On Windows the tool is available through Chocolatey or Scoop:

$ choco install duf
# or
$ scoop install duf

2. Using duf

Running duf without arguments prints a colour‑coded table that lists all local disks, mounted cloud storage devices, and special mounts such as temporary locations.

$ duf

Common options let you filter and sort the output: --only local – display only local devices. --sort used – sort entries by used space. --sort size – sort entries by total size. --all – include all filesystems, even hidden ones. --json – output the result in JSON format. --inodes – show inode usage instead of block usage.

You can also query a specific path or mount point:

$ duf /home

3. Summary

The duf command merges the capabilities of du and df into a single, adaptive, colour‑rich table, making disk‑usage inspection faster, more visual, and easier to interpret than the original utilities.