Storage full
Saving a file fails, a package manager errors out, or a database stops accepting writes, with a message such as No space left on device or Disk quota exceeded. This page helps you find what is using your storage and free some space.
1. Confirm which storage is full
Open the user menu (top right) → Account Settings → Storage.
| Meter | If it is full |
|---|---|
| Home storage at or near its limit | Your home storage quota is used up. Continue below. |
Home storage has room, but the error comes from outside your home directory (/usr, /opt, /var) | The lab's own disk is full, which the template may cap. Redeploy the lab — that resets everything outside your home directory — and install less into it, or move large data into your home. |
Remember that home storage is shared by all your labs, so a big file in one lab fills it for all of them. Isolated copies count against the same allowance.
2. Find what is big
Select Storage Lens on the same tab. It lists your folders by size, largest first; open a folder to see what is inside it.
Or from any lab's terminal:
du -sh ~/* ~/.[!.]* 2>/dev/null | sort -h | tail -20
The most common causes:
| What | Where it usually is | Safe to remove? |
|---|---|---|
| Package caches | ~/.cache, ~/.npm, ~/.cache/pip | Yes — they are rebuilt when needed |
node_modules, virtual environments | Inside your projects | Yes, if you can reinstall them |
| Build output | dist/, build/, target/ | Yes — rebuild it |
| Logs | Your app's log folders | Usually, after reading them |
| Data files, dumps, archives | Anywhere | Only if you have another copy |
| Copies you moved to the trash | Trash (restorable) in Storage Lens | Yes, if you will not restore them — or use Delete on the Trash tab |
| Isolated copies you no longer use | Deployments copy in Storage Lens | Terminate the copy instead of deleting its files — see Deleting a copy |
3. Free space
Delete from Storage Lens — select the bin button on a card. For anything of 1 GB or more, check the confirmation box before Delete becomes available. Or in a terminal:
rm -rf ~/.cache/pip ~/.npm/_cacache
rm -rf ~/myproject/node_modules
There is no trash for files in your home storage, and every lab sees the same files. Make sure nothing else needs them first.
4. Re-scan
Select Re-scan on the Storage tab (or the refresh button next to Home storage on Account Limits) so the dashboard shows the new figure. Re-scans are limited to a few every ten minutes. Writes work again as soon as the space is actually free.
If you still need more
- Store large datasets in a managed database rather than as files, where that suits the data.
- A paid plan has 25 GB instead of 2.5 GB — see Plans and limits.
- An organization has its own, larger allowance.
Next
- Storage — what counts and how it is measured
- Deploy failed