duf.md

duf

duf is a command-line disk usage viewer.

It provides a clearer and more readable alternative to the standard df command for inspecting mounted filesystems and available storage space.

The tool is installed through Homebrew and declared in the project Brewfile.

Installation

It is part of the curated Homebrew environment; see Homebrew setup to install everything at once.

Install duf directly:

brew install duf

Verify the installation:

duf --version
brew list --formula | grep -x duf

Usage

Display mounted filesystems:

duf

Display only local filesystems:

duf --only local

Display information for a specific path:

duf .

Display all filesystems, including pseudo and special filesystems:

duf --all

Relationship with dust

duf and dust solve different problems:

• duf shows available and used space for mounted filesystems;
• dust shows which directories and files consume space.

A useful diagnostic workflow is:

duf
dust -d 2 .

Use duf first to identify a nearly full volume, then use dust to locate the largest directories.

Useful use cases

duf is useful for checking:

• the main macOS filesystem;
• external drives;
• mounted disk images;
• network volumes;
• removable storage;
• available space before large Docker image pulls or builds.

Safety

duf is read-only.

It displays filesystem information and does not delete or modify files.

Troubleshooting

Display the available options:

duf --help

Confirm the executable path:

command -v duf

If a volume is missing, verify that it is currently mounted in Finder or with:

mount

Rollback

Remove duf with Homebrew:

brew uninstall duf

Then remove its entry from profiles/full/Brewfile.

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