Storage or disk space full: here's how to free up space

If the storage of your hosting package is almost full, we'll first send you an email. If the storage is actually full, parts of your package will stop working properly: for example, mail will no longer come in, or your website won't be able to save files anymore. In this article you'll read where the space is going, how to free up space, and why the number sometimes doesn't match what you'd expect.

Where is the space going?

1. Log in to DirectAdmin: in My WebOké, go to My Products and click DirectAdmin next to your package.
2. Under System Info & Files, click User Statistics.
3. On the first tab you'll see how much space is used by email, databases, and files. Click Update for the latest figures.
4. On the Disk Usage tab you'll see how much space is used per folder. Click Expand next to System Quotas to see the largest folders.

The biggest space users

• imap and Maildir: this is where your email is stored. Don't delete anything here in File Manager, as this can cause you to lose mail or break a mailbox. Clean up mail in your mail program or webmail, or use Clean up mailbox. You can see how much each mailbox uses in How do I check my mail usage?
• domains/yourdomain.nl/public_html: your website. Most of the space is usually taken up by uploads (photos, videos) and cache folders.
• application_backups: backups that Installatron makes during automatic updates. You can delete these files. If you don't want them to come back, set in Installatron how many backups it keeps, or turn off backups for updates. We already make a backup of your entire package every night ourselves.
• backups: backups you made yourself in DirectAdmin. Download them and then delete them from the server.
• WordPress plugin backups, such as wp-content/updraft or ai1wm-backups: download and delete old backups, or have the plugin store them externally.

You delete files in File Manager. Can't free up enough space? Then you can order extra storage.

Does the number seem wrong?

Have you just cleaned up, or is usage much higher than you think? That's usually due to one of these causes:

• The number hasn't been updated yet. We measure usage every night; the warning emails are also based on this. So an email from this morning might be about last night's situation. In DirectAdmin, click Update in User Statistics. The Expand Storage page in My WebOké measures again each time you open it (at most once every 5 minutes).
• Mail and databases count too. The storage of your package is for your website, your email, and your databases combined. Your website can be small while a few mailboxes take up a lot of space.
• Deleted mail is still in the trash. Also empty the trash and the junk mail folder in your mail program or webmail.
• Deleted files are still in the File Manager trash. What's there still counts. You'll find the trash at the bottom left of the folder tree. Empty it once you're sure.
• Backups you don't see on your website. Installatron backups (application_backups), your own backups (backups), and plugin backups are stored outside your website, but they do count toward your usage.
• Logs and cache. Old logs are kept compressed in domains/yourdomain.nl/logs. A cache plugin or a file like error_log or wp-content/debug.log can also grow quite large. Clear the cache via your cache plugin.

Can't figure it out? Contact our support team and we'll help you look into it.

Also see in the DirectAdmin manual: Reclaiming space: cleaning up old backups, Storage per mailbox and what happens when it's full, and Opening File Manager: the folders in your package.

Detailed explanation with screenshots: Storage full: where is the space going? in the DirectAdmin manual and Expanding storage in the WebOké manual.