# dust

> A disk usage analyzer that shows directory sizes with visual bars and intelligent tree traversal

Stars: 12.6k · Language: Rust · License: Apache-2.0 · Categories: File Management

- Repository: https://github.com/bootandy/dust
- Page: https://www.trmn.sh/tools/dust

## Install

- Homebrew: `brew install dust`
- Cargo: `cargo install du-dust`
- Snap: `snap install dust`

## Overview

Dust is a disk usage analyzer written in Rust that displays directory sizes with ASCII bar charts and color-coded visual indicators. It automatically recurses through directory trees to identify the largest subdirectories and files, presenting them in a hierarchical view with percentage bars that show relative size within each level.

The tool uses intelligent traversal to surface the most significant disk usage without requiring manual sorting or filtering. It displays a terminal-height number of entries by default, with visual bars that change color and size to indicate both hierarchy and relative disk usage. Gray lines connect parent and child directories to show containment relationships.

Dust includes extensive filtering and display options: apparent size vs disk usage (-s), directory-only or file-only views (-D/-F), regex-based inclusion/exclusion (-e/-v), minimum size thresholds (-z), and JSON output (-j). It handles symbolic links, supports multiple output formats (binary/decimal units), and can group results by file type (-t) or count files instead of disk space (-f). Configuration can be stored in ~/.config/dust/config.toml for persistent settings.

### Installation

```bash
# via Homebrew
brew install dust
```

```bash
# via Cargo
cargo install du-dust
```

```bash
# via Snap
snap install dust
```

![Dust output showing directory tree with visual bars](https://media.trmn.sh/cached/18a84561ab91069f587c22d5cbf309c5d58f3995da278ccc5bbbef9a04afe096.png)

## Alternatives

- [broot](https://www.trmn.sh/tools/broot.md): Interactive file manager and directory navigator with fuzzy search, git integration, and file operations (Rust, 13.1k stars)
- [Dufs](https://www.trmn.sh/tools/dufs.md): File server with static serving, uploads, search, zip folder download, account-based access control, HTTPS, and WebDAV, usable from a browser or curl. (Rust, 11.0k stars)
- [lsd](https://www.trmn.sh/tools/lsd.md): Enhanced ls replacement with colors, icons, tree view, and additional formatting options written in Rust (Rust, 16.3k stars)
- [xplr](https://www.trmn.sh/tools/xplr.md): Terminal-based file explorer with Lua scripting, keyboard controls, and plugin system for command-line integration (Rust, 4.8k stars)
- [ouch](https://www.trmn.sh/tools/ouch.md): CLI tool for compressing and decompressing files across 14+ formats with automatic format detection (Rust, 3.8k stars)

## Guides

- [Modern Replacements for du](https://www.trmn.sh/replace/du): Compare dust, dua, erdtree and pdu as replacements for du: output format, filtering, JSON output, gitignore handling and interactive deletion.
- [Best Disk Usage Analyzers](https://www.trmn.sh/best/disk-usage-analyzers): Compare dust, dua, and diskonaut plus pdu, cull and erdtree for finding what fills your disk from the terminal.

---

Canonical: https://www.trmn.sh/tools/dust