Gdu is a disk usage analyzer with a console interface written in Go.
Gdu addresses the need to quickly identify which files and directories consume the most disk space. It uses parallel processing to scan filesystems efficiently, making it particularly suited for solid-state drives where concurrent I/O operations provide significant performance benefits. The tool presents results in an interactive terminal interface that allows users to navigate the filesystem hierarchy, view file sizes, and perform operations like deletion or file inspection.
Gdu is appropriate for developers and system administrators who need fast disk analysis without leaving the terminal. It works well for both interactive exploration and scripted reporting, supporting multiple output modes including JSON export for later analysis and a web interface for browsing results in a browser. The tool can analyze multiple directories simultaneously, presenting them under a virtual parent for comparison. It offers filtering capabilities through path ignoring by explicit list or regular expression patterns, and supports both apparent size and actual disk usage metrics. For users concerned about safety, read-only mode prevents accidental modifications, and custom trash commands can be configured for the delete operation.
The project maintains active development with regular updates addressing user-reported issues and feature requests. The codebase shows responsiveness to community contributions and maintains compatibility across multiple platforms through binary releases. Development activity demonstrates attention to both core functionality improvements and user experience refinements, including options for different output formats and storage backends for persisting analysis data.
