Command: fx size

Analyze file and directory sizes with human-readable output.

Overview

fx size provides detailed size analysis for files and directories with flexible output options. Perfect for disk usage analysis, cleanup planning, and understanding storage distribution.

Key Features: - 📊 Human-readable size units (B, KB, MB, GB) - 📈 Sortable output (ascending/descending) - 🎯 Limit results to top N entries - 📁 Include hidden files optionally - 🔄 Recursive directory size calculation

Usage

fx size [OPTIONS] [PATHS...]

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`PATHS`	path	`.`	One or more paths to analyze (default: current directory)
`--limit`	integer	unlimited	Number of results to show
`--unit`	string	auto	Size unit (B, KB, MB, GB)
`--sort`	string	desc	Sort order (asc/desc)
`--all`	flag	False	Include hidden files (starting with `.`)

Examples

Basic Usage

Show sizes in the current directory:

fx size .

Output:

1.2 MB    fx_bin/
456 KB     docs/
12.3 KB    README.md
Total: 1.7 MB

Analyze specific directories:

fx size /path/to/dir1 /path/to/dir2

Limiting Results

Show top 10 largest files:

fx size . --limit 10

Show top 5 largest directories:

fx size . --limit 5

Size Units

Display sizes in MB:

fx size . --unit MB

Display sizes in KB:

fx size . --unit KB

Display sizes in GB:

fx size . --unit GB

Sorting

Sort by size ascending (smallest first):

fx size . --sort asc

Sort by size descending (largest first - default):

fx size . --sort desc

Hidden Files

Include hidden files in analysis:

fx size . --all

Real-World Scenarios

Scenario 1: Find Large Files

Find the 20 largest files in a project:

fx size . --limit 20 --sort desc

Scenario 2: Analyze Log Files

Find largest log files:

# Find log files
fx ff .log --exclude archive

# Analyze their sizes
fx ff .log --exclude archive | xargs fx size | sort -rn | head -10

Scenario 3: Cleanup Planning

Identify directories taking most space:

# Find top 10 largest directories
fx size . --recursive --limit 10

# Analyze specific directories
fx size node_modules/
fx size .venv/
fx size dist/

Scenario 4: Disk Usage Summary

Get total size of current directory:

# Get total (last line shows total)
fx size . | tail -1

# Or count specific file types
fx size . --pattern "*.py" --pattern "*.js"

Scenario 5: Compare Directories

Compare sizes of multiple directories:

# Compare three directories
echo "Project A: $(fx size project_a | tail -1)"
echo "Project B: $(fx size project_b | tail -1)"
echo "Project C: $(fx size project_c | tail -1)"

Tips and Tricks

Combining with Other Commands

# Find and analyze large Python files
find . -name "*.py" -exec fx size {} \; | sort -rn | head -20

# Analyze only files matching a pattern
fx size . --pattern "*.log"

Finding Space Hogs

# Find directories over 100MB
for dir in */; do
  size=$(fx size "$dir" | tail -1 | awk '{print $1}')
  if [[ $size == *"GB"* ]] || [[ $size == *"10"*"MB"* ]]; then
    echo "$dir: $size"
  fi
done

Recursive Size Calculation

# Get total size of all subdirectories
for dir in */; do
  echo "$dir: $(fx size "$dir" --recursive | tail -1)"
done

Size Comparison Script

#!/bin/bash
# Compare sizes before and after operations
before_size=$(fx size . --recursive | tail -1)

# ... perform operations ...

after_size=$(fx size . --recursive | tail -1)

echo "Before: $before_size"
echo "After:  $after_size"

Performance Notes

Large directories: Efficiently handles directories with thousands of files
Symlink handling: Symlinks are not followed (prevents infinite loops)
Size calculation: Uses accurate file system information
Caching: No caching - always reads current state

Common Issues

Permission Denied

# Use sudo to analyze protected directories
sudo fx size /protected/path

# Or check permissions
ls -la /path/to/directory

Slow Performance

For very large directory trees:

# Use limit to reduce output
fx size . --limit 10

# Use pattern to filter
fx size . --pattern "*.py"

# Use specific paths instead of full recursion
fx size src/ tests/ docs/

Inaccurate Sizes

If sizes seem incorrect:

# Check for hidden files
fx size . --all

# Verify with system command
du -sh .

# Use recursive mode for directories
fx size . --recursive