baobab

baobab [OPTION...] [LOCATION...]

-h, --help
    Show help options

-v, --version
    Print release version and exit

--disk-usage
    Start in the disk usage view (default)

--filesystem
    Start in the filesystem view

--folder
    Start in the folder view

--activate
    Activate the application

Baobab, also known as Disk Usage Analyzer, is a user-friendly graphical utility in the GNOME desktop environment for visualizing and analyzing disk space usage. It scans directories or entire filesystems, presenting data through intuitive pie charts, treemaps, and tabular lists that highlight large files and folders consuming the most space.

Key features include quick scanning of local disks, USB drives, or network shares via GVFS; exclusion of specific paths; and export options for reports. Users can drill down into subdirectories, delete files directly from the interface (with caution), and compare usage across multiple locations. Ideal for system administrators and users troubleshooting storage issues, it provides a visual alternative to command-line tools like du.

Launched via command line with optional directories, baobab requires a graphical session and GTK libraries. It's lightweight, efficient for large drives, and integrates seamlessly with GNOME Files (Nautilus). Regular updates align with GNOME releases, enhancing performance and UI polish.

Requires graphical environment and GTK; scans can be resource-intensive on large filesystems; no built-in remote scanning without GVFS.

Offers Disk Usage (treemap/pie), Filesystem (device overview), and Folder (detailed tree) modes for flexible analysis.

Supports multiple locations; auto-detects filesystems; excludes hidden/dotfiles by default.

Introduced in GNOME 2.12 (2005) by Federico Mena-Quintero; evolved with GNOME 3/4 for modern Wayland support and improved performance.

du(1), ncdu(1), pydf(1), gdu(1)