The Tool Desk
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An inode is the filesystem record that stores a file’s metadata—such as its type, permissions, owner, timestamps, size information and link count—and its inode number. The filename is kept separately in a directory entry, while the file’s contents occupy data blocks.
Linux can therefore report “No space left on device” even when df -h shows free gigabytes: the filesystem may have exhausted its inode supply after creating a very large number of files. Use df -i to measure inode capacity, stat to inspect one file, and a filesystem-bounded find scan to locate directories containing the most entries.
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Linux’s inode(7) documentation describes the basic rule: each file has an inode containing metadata about that file. The inode is identified by an inode number, and system calls such as stat(2) and statx(2) can retrieve its information.
An inode normally records:
- the file type, such as regular file, directory, symbolic link, socket or device
- permission bits and, where supported, extended attributes
- numeric user and group ownership
- access, modification and metadata-change timestamps
- the number of hard links to the inode
- the file size and the map of data blocks containing its contents
- the inode number used to identify the record within that filesystem
The inode number is not a machine-wide identifier. It is guaranteed to be unique only within its own filesystem, so two mounted filesystems can legitimately contain files with the same inode number.
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Inode, directory entry and data blocks
These three pieces are easy to confuse:
| Piece | What it does |
|---|---|
| Inode | Stores metadata and references that describe the file. |
| Directory entry | Maps a human-readable filename to an inode number. A directory is itself a file whose contents can be traversed to find those mappings. |
| Data blocks | Store the file’s actual contents. The inode records how to locate those blocks. |
Ext4 documentation describes inode metadata as including timestamps, block maps and extended attributes. Because names, metadata and contents are separate, creating many tiny files can consume thousands or millions of inodes while using comparatively few data blocks.
Why free disk space can coexist with “No space left on device”
A filesystem tracks at least two different resources: data blocks for file contents and inodes for file records. A write to a large existing file mainly needs free blocks. Creating a new file needs an available inode as well as directory space and, eventually, data blocks.
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| Observation | Likely resource under pressure | What to check |
|---|---|---|
df -h is near 100% and df -i is not |
Data blocks | Find large files, deleted-but-open files and filesystem-specific reserved space. |
df -i is near 100% while df -h still has room |
Inodes | Look for a very large number of files, often small files, on the affected mount. |
| Both reports are near 100% | Blocks and inodes may both be constrained | Deal with the mount deliberately; removing a few large files may not solve inode exhaustion. |
Filesystem design matters. Some filesystems allocate inode records dynamically; others create a fixed inode pool when the filesystem is made. Read the filesystem type shown by df -T before assuming that resizing or reformatting has the same effect everywhere.
Check inode usage for a filesystem with df
GNU Coreutils’ df switches from block statistics to inode statistics when you use -i.
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df -i
# Show the filesystem that contains /var
df -i /var
# Include the filesystem type
df -iT /var
# Restrict the report to local filesystems
df -ilA typical report includes these columns:
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
Inodes or itotal |
Total inode capacity reported for the filesystem. |
IUsed or iused |
Inodes currently allocated. |
IFree or ifree |
Inodes still available. |
IUse% or ipcent |
Percentage of inode capacity in use. |
Mounted on |
The mount point whose filesystem is being reported. |
How a path argument changes the result
df -i /var does not count only files directly inside /var. It reports the filesystem containing that path. If /var is a separate mount, you receive that mount’s inode totals; if it is part of the root filesystem, you receive the root filesystem’s totals. Use the mount point printed by df as the boundary for later investigation.
Read inode percentage separately from byte percentage
After checking inode capacity, check data-block capacity for the same path:
df -h /var
df -P /varThe human-readable form, df -h, is convenient for people; df -P uses a portable, predictable layout that is useful in scripts. Compare the two reports rather than treating one percentage as a substitute for the other. A mount can be 99% full by bytes and 20% full by inodes, or the reverse.
Use the filesystem type as part of the diagnosis
Run df -iT /mountpoint when you need the inode report and filesystem type together. Output varies with the filesystem, operating-system distribution and mount visibility. A container, chroot or restricted service account may see a different set of mounts from the host, and permission errors can prevent complete inspection.
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Inspect one file’s inode with stat
Use stat when the question concerns one path rather than a whole filesystem:
stat /path/to/file
# Inode number, hard-link count, size, and name
stat -c '%i %h %s %n' /path/to/fileThe default output includes the inode number, file type, permissions, owner and group, timestamps, size, block information and link count. In the concise format, %i expands to the inode number, %h to the hard-link count, %s to the size in bytes and %n to the name.
Hard links and inode consumption
Multiple hard-link names can refer to one inode. Creating another hard-link name therefore adds a directory entry but does not allocate another inode for the same file. The inode remains allocated until its link count reaches zero and no process still has the file open. This is why counting names and counting inodes are related but not identical operations.
Locate directories with unusually many entries
df -i identifies the affected filesystem, but it does not identify the directory or service responsible. Once you know the correct mount point, count directory entries without crossing into another filesystem:
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find /var -xdev -printf '%hn' 2>/dev/null
| sort | uniq -c | sort -nr | headReplace /var with the mount path reported by df -i. The -xdev option keeps the traversal on that filesystem; without it, a scan can enter another mounted filesystem and make the counts misleading. Redirecting standard error hides inaccessible paths, so treat the result as a practical lead rather than proof that every directory was examined.
Investigate the directories at the top of the list
For each high-count directory:
- Inspect its immediate contents and ownership with commands such as
ls -laandstat. - Determine which service or package created the files. Common sources include failed log rotation, package-manager caches, mail queues, temporary-file directories, container image layers and applications that emit one small file per request, job or session.
- Check the service’s documented retention, queue and cleanup settings before deleting anything.
- After an approved cleanup, run
df -i /mountpointagain to verify that free inodes increased.
Do not assume that the directory with the most names is safe to empty. Removing active queue files, lock files, database files or a service’s working data can cause corruption or interrupt production traffic.
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When an application reports “No space left on device” but ordinary disk usage looks normal, work from the filesystem outward:
- Identify the failing path. Use the exact path from the application error, then run
df -i /that/pathanddf -h /that/path. This ensures you are checking the filesystem that actually receives the new file. - Check both percentages. If
IUse%is close to 100%, treat the incident as inode pressure. If byte usage is close to 100%, investigate blocks as well. - Confirm the filesystem type and mount. Run
df -iT /that/path. A separate mount, bind mount or container filesystem may explain why a broad scan of the host does not match the application’s view. - Bound the search. Run the
find ... -xdevcount against the reported mount. Focus on directories with unusually high entry counts rather than deleting files at random. - Establish ownership and purpose. Use metadata and service configuration to determine whether the files are logs, cache objects, queued messages, temporary data or required application state.
- Apply the supported cleanup. Prefer the service’s rotation, purge or retention command. If manual removal is documented, stop or quiesce the service when required and preserve anything needed for recovery.
- Verify and monitor. Re-run both
df -ianddf -h, then watch whether inode use rises again. A rapid rebound indicates that the generating workload or retention policy still needs correction.
Common pitfalls
Scanning the wrong filesystem
A recursive scan of / can cross mounts and mix unrelated filesystems. Always begin with the path-specific df -i result and use -xdev for the follow-up search.
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Confusing filenames with inodes
A filename is a directory-entry name, not the inode itself. Renaming a file normally changes the directory mapping while preserving the inode and its contents. Hard links add names that share an existing inode; symbolic links are separate filesystem objects with their own inode.
Assuming a low byte count means low inode use
Millions of zero-byte or tiny files can consume nearly all available inodes while occupying little data space. The inode report is the decisive measurement for that case.
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Deleting a name does not necessarily release blocks immediately if a running process still has the file open. That situation is primarily a byte-capacity issue, but it is another reason to identify the resource shown as exhausted instead of relying on a single cleanup command.
Expecting identical inode numbers across mounts
An inode number has meaning only in its filesystem. Use the device or mount information alongside the number when correlating records from different filesystems.
Quick Recap
Prevent inode exhaustion
- Set retention limits for logs, caches, queues and temporary artifacts, and verify that rotation actually removes or archives old files.
- Prefer storage layouts that avoid creating an unbounded number of tiny files when the application can safely batch or compact records.
- Monitor inode percentage separately from byte percentage for every important mount.
- Alert before 100% inode use so a service has time to rotate or purge data safely.
- Review container and build-cache cleanup policies; layered images and short-lived job artifacts can create large file counts.
- When designing a new filesystem, select a filesystem and creation-time inode strategy appropriate for the expected file count. A fixed inode pool cannot be enlarged in the same way as free data blocks.
Commands at a glance
| Goal | Command | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Show inode use for visible filesystems | df -i |
Aggregate filesystem report. |
| Check the filesystem containing a path | df -i /path |
One path’s filesystem. |
| Include filesystem type | df -iT /path |
Inode report plus type. |
| Limit to local filesystems | df -il |
Local mounts only. |
| Compare byte usage | df -h /path |
Human-readable block capacity. |
| Inspect one inode | stat /path/to/file |
Per-file metadata. |
| Print selected inode fields | stat -c '%i %h %s %n' /path/to/file |
Script-friendly per-file output. |
| Find directory-entry hotspots | find /mountpoint -xdev -printf '%hn' 2>/dev/null | sort | uniq -c | sort -nr | head |
Bounded investigative scan. |
Key points to retain
- An inode stores a file’s metadata and has a number meaningful only within its own filesystem.
- Directory entries map names to inodes; data blocks hold contents.
df -imeasures inode capacity, whiledf -hmeasures byte capacity.statreveals the inode and metadata for one path.- High inode use usually means an excessive number of files, often small ones; diagnose the affected mount and clean up through the responsible service.
