Mac storage basics · Checking your storage

How do I see what's using disk space from Terminal?

Q: How do I see what's using disk space from Terminal?

Two built-in commands cover most needs: - df -h shows each mounted volume with its size, used and available space. - du -sh ~/* shows the size of each item in your home folder; add | sort -h to list them smallest to largest. Run du on a specific folder (for example your Library) to dig further. Some folders will report "Operation not permitted" unless Terminal has Full Disk Access, and sizes of APFS clones and sparse files can look larger than the space they really use. If you'd rather not use Terminal, Finder's Calculate all sizes or Storage Studio's What's Using Space gives the same picture with clickable rows. See folder sizes in Finder.

Short answer: Run df -h to see each volume's free space, and du -sh ~/* | sort -h to rank the items in your home folder by size. Some folders need Full Disk Access for Terminal.

Two built-in commands cover most needs:

df -h shows each mounted volume with its size, used and available space.
du -sh ~/* shows the size of each item in your home folder; add | sort -h to list them smallest to largest.

Run du on a specific folder (for example your Library) to dig further. Some folders will report "Operation not permitted" unless Terminal has Full Disk Access, and sizes of APFS clones and sparse files can look larger than the space they really use.

If you'd rather not use Terminal, Finder's Calculate all sizes or Storage Studio's What's Using Space gives the same picture with clickable rows. See folder sizes in Finder.

Last reviewed October 1, 2026

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How do I see what's using disk space from Terminal?

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