https://linuxeries.org/tags/filesystem/ Recent content in Filesystem on ShieldedBytes Hugo en Thu, 08 Oct 2026 09:17:03 +0200 https://linuxeries.org/post/2026-10-08-when-usr-shows-100-used-but-df-says-space-is-/ Thu, 08 Oct 2026 09:17:03 +0200 https://linuxeries.org/post/2026-10-08-when-usr-shows-100-used-but-df-says-space-is-/ <h2 id="why-inode-exhaustion-happens">Why Inode Exhaustion Happens</h2> <p>On a busy server you’ll often see <code>df</code> still showing plenty of space, but <code>df -i</code> screaming 100 % inode usage on a mount like <code>/usr</code>. The kernel will happily refuse to create any more files, even though there’s room on disk. The culprit is usually a deluge of tiny files—think logs, temp data, or a mis‑configured service that never cleans up.</p> <h3 id="spotting-the-problem-quickly">Spotting the Problem Quickly</h3> <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-bash" data-lang="bash"><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="c1"># Space vs. inodes</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl">df -h /usr </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl">df -i /usr </span></span></code></pre></div><p>If the first command reports 20 GB free but the second is 100 % used, you’ve hit an inode shortage. Now find the directory that’s eating them.</p>