Full disk
Every server has a fixed amount of disk space. When it fills up, your site can’t save new orders, uploads or sessions, and the database may stop altogether. It usually creeps up slowly — until one day everything breaks.
- At a glance
- Group
- Resources
- Mellonbot
- Can fix it
- What it does
- Clears old logs and caches you approve.
- Approval
- Always with your OK
What you’ll notice
- 01“No space left on device” errors
- 02Uploads fail or the site can’t save changes
- 03The database stops or refuses to write
- 04Backups and updates suddenly fail
Why it usually happens
- 01Log files that are never cleaned up
- 02Old backups piling up on the same server
- 03Caches, temporary files and old Docker images
- 04A growing uploads or media folder
Fix it yourself
How to fix it by hand
Comfortable with a terminal? Here’s what an experienced admin would do. Start with the read-only commands.
- 01
See how full the disk is
Look at the “Use%” column for the / line.
df -h - 02
Find the biggest folders
Start from the top and work down into whatever is largest.
sudo du -xh / --max-depth=2 2>/dev/null | sort -h | tail -20 - 03
Check how much the logs use
Logs are the most common culprit.
sudo du -sh /var/log/* | sort -h | tail -10 - 04
Shrink the system journal
Keeps the last two weeks of system logs and removes the rest.
sudo journalctl --vacuum-time=14d - 05
Clear the package cache
Removes downloaded update files that are no longer needed.
sudo apt clean
With Mellonbot
How Mellonbot fixes it
- Checks free space and warns you before the disk fills up, not after.
- Shows what’s using the space — logs, backups, caches — in plain English.
- Offers to clear old logs and caches you approve; nothing else is touched.
- Shows you exactly what it will delete and waits for your OK first.
Not sure this is your problem? Ask us →
FAQ
Full disk: common questions
Is it safe to delete old log files?
Old, rotated logs are generally safe to remove, but don’t delete a log a program is still writing to — trim or rotate it instead.
Why is my disk full when my site is small?
It’s rarely the site itself. Logs, old backups, caches and Docker images tend to grow quietly in the background.
Still have a question?
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