Always Check Disk Space Before Installing Dependencies!
Recently, I had a nerve-wracking experience with my server. I was in the middle of installing some new dependencies when things suddenly went south. The installation process was running smoothly—until it wasn’t. Without realizing it, I’d maxed out my server’s disk usage. As a result, I couldn’t even SSH into the server to see what went wrong or free up some space. Eventually, I had no choice but to reboot the server to get back in.
This experience was a big reminder that disk space isn’t just something to keep an eye on occasionally. It’s a critical factor to check before installing anything new on a server. Running out of disk space can cause unexpected downtimes, prevent crucial services from running, and in some cases, even make SSH inaccessible—as I learned the hard way.
On the bright side, I discovered a handy tool called ncdu! It's a disk usage
analyzer that makes it easy to visualize disk usage and pinpoint files or
directories hogging the most space. With ncdu, you can scan a directory and
quickly find unnecessary files or large logs to delete.
Key Takeaways
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Always check disk usage – Before installing dependencies or running any operations that might consume space, run a quick check on available disk space using commands like
df -h,du, orncdu. -
Monitor disk usage regularly – Set up alerts or monitoring tools to notify you when disk usage reaches a critical level.
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Keep a buffer of free space – Aim to keep a reasonable percentage of disk space free. This way, even if your application needs to expand temporarily, you’ll have room.
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Schedule maintenance – Regularly remove unnecessary files, logs, and outdated dependencies to keep your server’s storage under control.
It’s easy to overlook disk space until it’s too late, but with these steps in place, you can avoid disruptions and maintain smoother operations on your server. A little proactive monitoring goes a long way!