Find Large Size Directories in the Command Line

find-large-size-directories-in-cli.md

Find Large Size Directories in the Command Line

When managing your files and directories in the command line, it's often useful to identify large directories that may be consuming a significant amount of storage space. This custom shell function, find-large-dirs(), allows you to search for directories larger than a specified size.

How to Use the Function in Your Shell Configuration Files

You can add the find-large-dirs() function to your shell configuration files (.bashrc, .bash_profile, or .zshrc) to make it available every time you start a new terminal session. Follow these steps to add and use the function in your shell configuration:

1. Open Visual Studio Code or your preferred code editor.

2. For Bash (.bashrc or .bash_profile) and Zsh (.zshrc):

   a. Bash Configuration: If you're using Bash, open your Bash configuration file. Depending on your system, it might be either ~/.bashrc or ~/.bash_profile.

   b. Zsh Configuration: If you're using Zsh, open your Zsh configuration file, which is typically ~/.zshrc.

3. Copy and Paste: Copy and paste the following shell function at the end of your configuration file:

   # Function to find directories larger than a specified size
   find-large-dirs() {
       local size_arg="${1:-500M}"  # Default size is 500M if not provided
   
       if [[ ! "$size_arg" =~ ^[0-9]+[BbKkMmGg]$ ]]; then
           echo "Invalid size format. Please use B, K, M, or G suffix (case-insensitive)."
           return 1
       fi
   
       find . -type d -exec du -sh {} + | awk -v size_arg="$size_arg" '
           function convert_to_bytes(size) {
               if (size ~ /[0-9]+[Bb]$/) return size + 0
               if (size ~ /[0-9]+[Kk]$/) return size * 1024
               if (size ~ /[0-9]+[Mm]$/) return size * 1024 * 1024
               if (size ~ /[0-9]+[Gg]$/) return size * 1024 * 1024 * 1024
               return 0
           }
       
           {
               size = convert_to_bytes($1)
               if (size > convert_to_bytes(size_arg)) {
                   size_str = sprintf("%.0f", size)
                   print size_str "\t" $0
               }
           }' | sort -n | cut -f2-
   }

4. Save the Changes: Save the changes to your configuration file.

5. Reload the Configuration:

   • For Bash: In your terminal, either restart your terminal or run:

     source ~/.bashrc

   • For Zsh: In your terminal, either restart your terminal or run:

     source ~/.zshrc

6. Usage: You can now use the find-large-dirs function in your Bash or Zsh shell. For example, to find directories larger than 1 gigabyte:

   find-large-dirs 1G

Conclusion

By adding the find-large-dirs function to your shell configuration, you can easily identify large directories in your command-line environment, regardless of whether you use Bash or Zsh. This custom function is a valuable tool for managing disk space and organizing your files and folders more efficiently.