A lightweight Linux desktop application that finds the largest folders on a filesystem. It scans a location, ranks its largest non-overlapping folders, and lets you drill into any result with a double-click.
Linux only. Top10-folders relies on standard Linux utilities such as
du,findmnt, andxdg-open. Scan protected paths with the appropriate permissions if you need complete results.
Run the application directly from a cloned checkout:
python3 program.pyTop10-folders starts by scanning /. Select Home folder, Browse, or
enter a path to scan a different location.
git clone https://github.com/<your-account>/Top10-folders.git
cd Top10-folders
chmod +x install.sh uninstall.sh top10-folders
./install.shThe installer adds Top10-folders to the application menu, installs the
icon, and creates the top10-folders command in ~/.local/bin.
To remove the desktop integration later:
./uninstall.sh| Requirement | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Python 3.10+ with Tkinter | Runs the desktop interface |
du |
Measures directory sizes |
findmnt |
Detects real mounted filesystems when scanning / |
xdg-open |
Opens a selected folder in the file manager |
kdialog or zenity |
Provides the system directory chooser; Tkinter is the fallback |
On Arch Linux, install Tkinter with:
sudo pacman -S tk- Wait for the initial system scan, or select a location in the sidebar.
- Type in Filter results to narrow the current ranking.
- Double-click a folder, or press
Enter, to inspect its largest subfolders. - Use Open in file manager or Copy path for the selected folder.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl+R |
Rescan the current location |
Ctrl+F |
Focus the result filter |
Ctrl+L |
Focus the location field |
Alt+Left |
Go back one drill-down level |
Esc |
Cancel an active scan |
The interface follows the operating system language automatically. It checks
standard locale variables first and, when an IDE launches it with C.UTF-8,
falls back to KDE and system locale configuration. The project includes
localized interface catalogues for Italian, English, German, French, Spanish,
Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish, Japanese, Korean,
Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and Arabic. Unsupported locales use
English.
- A normal scan runs
du -xfor the selected path, so it stays on one filesystem. - A scan of
/first finds real mounted filesystems and scans each one. - Nested candidates are removed from the final ranking to avoid counting the same disk usage twice.
- Folders that cannot be read are skipped and reported in the status bar.
No third-party Python packages are required.
python3 -m py_compile program.py
python3 -m unittest discover -s tests -v
bash -n install.sh uninstall.shThe GitHub Actions workflow runs these checks for pushes and pull requests.
This project includes a .gitignore, tests, and CI workflow. Initialize the
repository and publish it when you are ready:
git init -b main
git add .
git commit -m "Initial release of Top10-folders"
git remote add origin https://github.com/<your-account>/Top10-folders.git
git push -u origin mainTop10-folders is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0
(GPL-3.0-only).