In Linux, an inode<\/strong> is a data structure that stores information about a file or directory, such as its permissions, ownership, timestamps, and disk block locations. Every file and directory consumes one inode. Even if sufficient disk space is available, a filesystem can become unusable when all available inodes are exhausted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The following shell command helps identify the number of inodes (files and directories) used within each subdirectory of the current directory. This is particularly useful when troubleshooting Disk Quota<\/strong> issues on cPanel servers or identifying directories consuming an unusually high number of inodes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before running the command, ensure the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Log in to the server using SSH.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Move to the directory whose inode usage you want to analyze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Execute the following command:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Example output:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Output Explanation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nPrerequisites<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
find<\/code>, cut<\/code>, grep<\/code>, sort<\/code>, wc<\/code>, and printf<\/code> must be available (installed by default on most Linux distributions).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nSteps to Calculate Inode Usage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Step 1: Connect to the Server<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
ssh username@server-ip\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nStep 2: Navigate to the Target Directory<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
cd \/home\/username\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nStep 3: Run the Inode Usage Command<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
printf \"===\\nInode usage :$(pwd)\\n===\\n\\n\"; \\\nfor i in `find -maxdepth 1 -type d | cut -d '\/' -f2 | grep -xv . | sort`; do\n tot=$(find \"$i\" | wc -l)\n printf \"$tot\\t\\t -> $i\\n\"\ndone\nprintf \"Total:\\t\\t $(find \"$(pwd)\" | wc -l)\\n\"\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nStep 4: Review the Output<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
===\nInode usage : \/home\/username\n===\n\n1050 -> public_html\n425 -> mail\n120 -> logs\n35 -> tmp\n\nTotal: 1630\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n