# Space and Archives

What's filling the disk, one folder in two places, and many files as one.

Updated: November 10, 2026

## [Disk Space](https://www.ask-codey.com/courses/bash-in-depth/topics/bash-disk-space)

1. [What's Filling My Disk? du and df](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/bash-disk-space) (Apprentice): du shows how much disk space each file and folder takes, sort -h puts those sizes in order with the biggest first, and df shows how much room is left on the drive.

## [Links](https://www.ask-codey.com/courses/bash-in-depth/topics/bash-links)

1. [Shortcuts to Files: ln -s](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/bash-symbolic-links) (Apprentice): ln -s makes a symbolic link, a short name that points to a file or folder somewhere else, and the link works until the real thing moves or is deleted.

## [Archives](https://www.ask-codey.com/courses/bash-in-depth/topics/bash-archives)

1. [Many Files as One: tar and zip](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/bash-archives) (Apprentice): An archive packs a whole folder into one file you can send, back up or download; tar -czf makes a .tar.gz, tar -tzf lists one, tar -xzf unpacks it, and zip makes the .zip files any computer opens.

## [Exercise: Pack for the Trip](https://www.ask-codey.com/courses/bash-in-depth/topics/exercise-bash-pack-for-the-trip)

1. [Exercise: Pack for the Trip](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/exercise-bash-pack-for-the-trip) (Apprentice): Get a trip folder ready to go by finding what takes the space with du and df, giving a deep folder a short name with ln -s, packing archives with tar and zip, and opening one a friend sent, while a check script tells you which parts are done.

Source: https://www.ask-codey.com/courses/bash-in-depth/chapters/bash-space-and-archives