dsize is a simple Bash script tool that displays file and directory sizes in a beautiful, human-readable format. Compared to the traditional du command, it provides better visual feedback, color differentiation, and optimized support for Chinese character alignment.
- Human-readable format: Automatically converts bytes to B, K, M, G, T units, with color coding based on size levels (green for KB, yellow for MB, red for GB/TB).
- Smart alignment: Optimized for terminal display. If Python 3 is installed on the system, the script will precisely calculate Chinese character widths to ensure filenames and size data are strictly aligned.
- Deep view: Supports displaying the size of sub-items within a directory (nesting depth of 1), making it easy to quickly locate space usage.
- Sorting: Supports sorting by file size in descending order (
--sort) to easily identify "space hogs". - Symbolic link support: Automatically resolves symbolic links and displays the real path.
- Color toggle: Supports the
-coption to disable color output for use in automated scripts or log exports.
- Save the script: Download the
dsizefile. - Grant execute permissions:
chmod +x dsize
- Move to system path (optional):
To use it conveniently from any directory, it's recommended to move it to
/usr/local/bin:sudo mv dsize /usr/local/bin/
dsize is essentially an enhanced wrapper around du that addresses common pain points:
| Feature | du command |
dsize |
|---|---|---|
| Human-readable output | Needs -h flag, breaks sorting |
Always human-readable, correct sorting |
| Color coding | No | Size-based colors (green/yellow/red) |
| CJK alignment | Misaligned filenames | Smart width calculation |
| Symbolic links | Shows link itself | Resolves and displays real path |
| Sorting | Requires pipe to sort | Built-in -s flag |
| Visual appeal | Raw numbers | Beautiful framed output |
| Memory efficiency | — | Streaming processing for large dirs |
| Size Range | Color | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| B (Bytes) | White | Tiny files |
| KB | Green | Small files |
| MB | Yellow | Medium files |
| GB/TB | Red | Large files - attention needed |
dsize [OPTIONS] <PATH>| Option | Long Option | Description |
|---|---|---|
-d |
--detail |
Show subdirectory/file sizes (excluding hidden files) |
-v |
--verbose |
Show all subdirectories/files (including hidden files) |
-s |
--sort |
Sort by size in descending order (use with -d or -v) |
-c |
--no-color |
Disable colored output |
-h |
--help |
Display help information |
- View current directory total size:
dsize .- View subdirectory details with sorting:
dsize -d -s /var/log- View user home directory including hidden files:
dsize -v ~- View single file information:
dsize file.txt- Bash: Core environment for script execution.
- awk: Used for precise floating-point calculations.
- Python 3 (optional): Used for handling CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) character alignment. If not installed, the script will fall back to byte-based estimation alignment.
MIT License.
- Yang Yupeng (yongy2022@outlook.com) - Author
- GLM (ZAI) - Assisted with development and logic optimization
- ChatGPT (OpenAI) - Assisted with development and logic optimization
- Claude (Anthropic) - Assisted with development and logic optimization