Linux System Maintenance: Disk Cleanup and Space Management

This article explains the necessity and methods of disk cleanup and space management for Linux servers. When disk space is insufficient, the system may become slow, applications cannot be updated, and even services may be affected, so regular cleanup and management are necessary. First, diagnose space usage: use `df -h` to check overall disk usage, `du -sh` to locate large directories, and `find` to search for large files (e.g., files exceeding 100MB). For cleanup, log files (e.g., `/var/log`) are a major space consumer. They can be automatically rotated using `logrotate` or manually emptied/deleted. System cache can be released by syncing data with `sync` and then setting `sysctl -w vm.drop_caches=3`. Temporary files (`/tmp`, `/var/tmp`) and APT cache (`apt clean`) can also be safely cleaned. Redundant files in user directories should be deleted after confirmation. If space remains insufficient after cleanup, a new disk can be mounted (requires formatting, creating a mount point, and configuring `/etc/fstab`). Partition expansion should be done cautiously with data backup. Daily maintenance suggestions: regularly check disk usage (cleanup is required when exceeding 80%), configure log rotation, avoid storing data in the root directory, and do not arbitrarily delete system files. The core is "locate -"