Files and paths · Lesson 5 of 36 · 8 minutes

Directory size map

Combine find, du, and df to reason about storage safely.

Open the lab Course map

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learner@clairos:~ $

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Your objectives

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1
Find text files
Run find /home/learner -name txt.
Hint & worked example
Search directory trees by criteria rather than relying on one shallow listing.
The command outcome must match the task, including successful access or the explicitly requested failure.
```
find /home/learner -name txt
```
Remember: Quote wildcard patterns so find receives them instead of the shell expanding them first.
2
Size home
Run du -sh /home/learner.
Hint & worked example
Estimate usage attributed to files or directories; compare it with filesystem capacity when investigating storage.
The command outcome must match the task, including successful access or the explicitly requested failure.
```
du -sh /home/learner
```
Remember: du describes file usage, whereas df describes filesystem capacity.
3
Show filesystems
Run df -h.
Hint & worked example
Inspect the virtual filesystem capacity report. Real systems can run out of space or inodes independently.
The command outcome must match the task, including successful access or the explicitly requested failure.
```
df -h
```
Remember: Available space is a snapshot, not a guarantee that a later write will succeed.

Understand the pattern

Operators should measure before deleting or moving data.

find: Search directory trees by criteria rather than relying on one shallow listing.
Quote wildcard patterns so find receives them instead of the shell expanding them first.
du: Estimate usage attributed to files or directories; compare it with filesystem capacity when investigating storage.
du describes file usage, whereas df describes filesystem capacity.
df: Inspect the virtual filesystem capacity report. Real systems can run out of space or inodes independently.
Available space is a snapshot, not a guarantee that a later write will succeed.

Worked example and expected result

$ find /home/learner -name txt

/home/learner/archive/old-note.txt
/home/learner/backups/manifest.txt
/home/learner/data/baseline.txt
/home/learner/data/checksums.txt
/home/learner/data/package-owners.txt
/home/learner/data/ports.txt
/home/learner/data/users-a.txt
/home/learner/data/users-b.txt
/home/learner/notes/todo.txt
/home/learner/projects/hello.txt
/home/learner/README.txt

Exit status: 0. The command completed successfully in the training fixture.

$ du -sh /home/learner

3K	/home/learner

Exit status: 0. The command completed successfully in the training fixture.

$ df -h

Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
lab-root         20G  6.4G   14G  32% /
lab-logs        2.0G  180M  1.9G   9% /var/log

Exit status: 0. The command completed successfully in the training fixture.

Try a variation

Repeat this workflow in the sandbox with a different scratch filename. Keep the system fixtures unchanged and compare the observed output with your expectation before moving on.

Explain it

In “Directory size map”, which interpretation is safe?A successful first check guarantees that every dependent service is healthy.du describes file usage, whereas df describes filesystem capacity.A command appearing in history proves it completed successfully.

Apply it elsewhere

Before adapting the du workflow from “Directory size map” to another server, what should you do?Confirm the current directory, target identity, permissions, and the installed command behavior first.Paste the training paths unchanged into production.Skip output inspection whenever the command is familiar.

Keep the momentum.

Complete the lab, then explain and apply the pattern.

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