hostdoc — offline cPanel/WHM/WHMCS support brain

← all runbooks

---
title: Disk space is full on an account
panel: WHM / cPanel
symptoms:
  - cannot upload files
  - site gives a 500
  - database errors
  - cPanel reports no space left
  - no space left on device
  - website says disk full
  - cannot upload images
  - database disk full error
  - running out of space
  - shared hosting says quota exceeded
---

# Disk space is full on an account

## 1. Find what is actually using it

**Why:** old backups, mail and databases are the usual top three, in that
order, and the answer is nearly always one of them. Get the customer to
look at this with you rather than deleting things themselves, because
what looks like rubbish is often their only copy of something.

**In cPanel:** Files > Disk Usage breaks the account down by directory
and by file type.

**In the terminal:** `du -sh /home/<user>/* | sort -h | tail -10`

**Care:** this only reads. Do not delete anything on the customer's
account without telling them exactly what is going.

- https://docs.cpanel.net/cpanel/files/disk-usage/

## 2. Separate the account's share from the server's

**Why:** an account over its own quota is a different problem from a
server with no free space at all, and they have different fixes. The
first is a quota question for this customer. The second is a server
problem that affects everyone and needs a different conversation.

**In WHM:** Account Information > List Accounts shows the disk usage
against the quota.

**In the terminal:** `df -h` for the filesystem and
`repquota /home` for the per-account figures.

**Care:** this only reads.

- https://docs.cpanel.net/whm/account-information/show-accounts-over-quota/
- https://docs.cpanel.net/knowledge-base/general-systems-administration/how-to-fix-quotas/

## 3. Raise the limit if the usage is legitimate

**Why:** if the customer is a legitimate heavy user, the limit is what is
wrong, not the customer. Check what the account was using before you
raise it, because a sudden jump usually means something is wrong rather
than that they grew.

**In WHM:** Account Functions > Quota Modification. Change Quota against
the account.

**In the terminal:** `quota -u <user>` shows the current limits and
current usage.

**Care:** raising a quota on one account takes disk from the other
accounts on the server. Check there is room in the filesystem first.

- https://docs.cpanel.net/whm/account-functions/quota-modification/

## 4. Check mail separately

**Why:** the mail directory is often the biggest thing in an account and
it is counted against the same quota as the web files, which is why a
customer with a small website and a full inbox is over quota. The email
disk usage view separates the two.

**In cPanel:** Email > Email Disk Usage.

**In the terminal:** `du -sh /home/<user>/mail` and then the largest
mailbox under it.

**Care:** deleting mail is the customer's mail. Do not clear it to make
room without asking, and offer the disk usage view so they can choose
what goes.

- https://docs.cpanel.net/cpanel/email/email-disk-usage/