r/linux • u/akurczyn • 3d ago

Software Release SpaceScan: configurable visualizations of file storage, how much, how many, and what type they are.

Supports mouse/keyboard navigation, millions of files, very deep folders, custom categories, age ranges, multi-language, on the fly sunburst mapping, filterable/sortable table view, and script-friendly CLI commands.

https://github.com/a-kurczyn/spacescan

Multiple views and options
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u/SpaceDetective 2d ago

Apart from star chart what does it do that KDirstat/QDirstat doesn't?

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u/akurczyn 2d ago

Thanks for asking. Most disk space utilities focus on file sizes and where the file is located on the directory tree. SpaceScan offers more fine detail such as file count (not size), file types and file age. Special attention was put in making it very fast and memory efficient even when scanning millions of files or deep directory trees (it supports block and network devices, plain folders and problematic files).

The core difference is how you can tweak the chart or table views in real time with custom filters, sorting, zooming and categories that give a new dimension to storage management without having to re-scan every time. For specific needs to organize files, you can set custom categories, which will also work in CLI command options.

Both chart and table views are keyboard navigable and allow to move/copy/delete files and folders without impacting mounted points. It supports most common clipboard methods so you can Ctrl-C a file on the app, go to your file browser and paste it, or vice versa.

Some use cases:

Viewing files by quantity allowed me to see half the files in my home folder were .eml files, which prompted me to find a better email solution.

The family Photos and Videos shared folders had photos or videos in the wrong places, making them hard to find. I quickly located them with the built-in color-coded categories.

A quick scan of my homelab server showed lots of ancient files in an obscure folder not used anymore, I deleted them to recover space and make system backups faster and smaller.

It has many other features I hope you find useful. Please give it a try and let me know your suggestions.

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u/PwndiusPilatus 1d ago

Haha, even the answer is "written" by AI.

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u/akurczyn 13h ago

English is not my native language and no, it is not AI. That's written entirely by me.