Alternatives to Dust

See which directories consume space in a compact terminal tree. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as Dust.

  • gdu

    Find large directories with a terminal disk-usage analyzer.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    gdu replaces the static tree with an interactive terminal interface and parallel scans, also on Windows, macOS and Linux under the MIT licence.

  • dua-cli

    Explore disk usage and remove unwanted files in the terminal.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    dua-cli adds interactive navigation and optional deletion of unwanted files, under the MIT licence on Windows, macOS and Linux.

  • ncdu

    A disk usage analyser with a text interface, built for finding what is filling a remote server you can only reach over SSH.

    FreeOpen sourcemacOSLinuxCommand line

    ncdu offers an interactive text browser with deletion that works well over SSH, but has no Windows build.

  • diskus

    Measure the total size of a directory from the command line.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    diskus reports only the total size of one directory rather than a breakdown, using parallel scanning.

  • pdu (parallel-disk-usage)

    A command-line directory tree analyzer that measures disk usage in parallel and prints a size chart.

    FreeOpen sourceCommand line

    pdu is a free, open-source command-line analyzer that scans in parallel and prints a size chart in the terminal, similar output with shell completions available.

  • godu

    An interactive terminal utility written in Go for finding the files and folders filling a disk.

    FreeOpen sourcemacOSLinuxCommand line

    godu is a free, open-source Go terminal utility for interactive disk usage browsing on macOS and Linux, a smaller project with occasional updates.

Also worth comparing

These listings name Dust as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.

  • DaisyDisk

    Interactive sunburst map of disk usage for macOS.

    PaidProprietarymacOS

    Dust is a free Apache-2.0 command-line tool showing directory sizes as a compact tree with size bars, without interactive deletion or a graphical map.

  • Disk Usage Analyzer

    A GNOME app that shows which folders are using disk space, as a tree and chart.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    Dust is a free, Apache-2.0 terminal tool that prints a compact directory tree with size bars, running on Windows, macOS and Linux, without a graphical chart.

  • Duc

    A set of tools that index disk usage into a database and show it in several interfaces.

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxCommand line

    Dust prints a compact terminal tree with size bars on Windows, macOS and Linux under Apache-2.0, without an index or web interface.

  • GrandPerspective

    Treemap view of disk usage on macOS.

    FreeOpen sourcemacOS

    Dust shows directory sizes as a compact terminal tree with size bars under Apache-2.0, without saved scan comparisons.

  • SpaceSniffer

    Shows disk usage as a treemap you click into, so the biggest folders and files are immediately obvious.

    FreeProprietaryWindows

    Dust is an Apache-2.0 command-line tool that prints a compact tree with size bars, running on Windows, macOS and Linux.

  • WinDirStat

    Draws your whole drive as a treemap, so a single 40 GB file is a huge rectangle you cannot miss.

    FreeOpen sourceWindows

    Dust prints a compact directory tree with size bars in the terminal on Windows, macOS and Linux under Apache-2.0.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.