How to Find Large Files on Linux

When a Linux server runs out of disk space, one of the first things to check is whether a few large files are using most of the storage. The find command is ideal for this.

Find files larger than 100MB

find . -type f -size +100M

This searches from the current directory and returns files larger than 100MB.

Search a specific path

find /var/log -type f -size +100M

This searches only inside /var/log.

List large files with details

find . -type f -size +100M -exec ls -lh {} \;

This shows the file size and path in a more readable format.

Find old large files

find . -type f -size +100M -mtime +30

This finds files larger than 100MB that were modified more than 30 days ago.

Practice next

Use the Find Command Quiz to test yourself or keep the Find Command Cheat Sheet open as a reference.