Welcome to your ultimate guide on how to list disks in Ubuntu!
While Ubuntu’s graphical interface is fantastic, using the terminal is often a faster and more powerful way to manage your system’s hardware.
If you need to find a USB drive, check your hard drive space, or get a detailed report on your storage devices, you’re in the right place.
Knowing how to check your disks is a crucial skill for any Ubuntu user.
It’s essential for system maintenance, partitioning new drives, and troubleshooting storage issues.
This guide will walk you through four simple, built-in commands to do just that.
Table of Contents
First, How Ubuntu Names Your Drives
Before we open the terminal, let’s quickly understand how your Ubuntu system identifies storage devices.
Instead of the “C:” drive you might see in Windows, Ubuntu uses a file-based system.
All your hardware devices can be found in the /dev/ directory. Storage drives typically follow this naming convention:
- /dev/sdX: The standard naming for most SATA hard drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), and USB flash drives. The
Xis a letter (a,b,c…) that represents the drive’s order./dev/sdais usually your main system drive. - /dev/nvmeXnY: This is the name for modern NVMe SSDs, which connect directly to the motherboard for incredible speeds.
- Partitions: When you see a number at the end (e.g.,
/dev/sda1), this indicates a specific partition on that drive. Partitions are like creating separate, logical sections on a single physical disk.
With that knowledge, let’s explore the commands available right in your Ubuntu terminal.
See also: Mastering the Linux Command Line — Your Complete Free Training Guide
Quick Comparison: Which Command Should You Use in Ubuntu?
| Command | Best For | Output Style |
|---|---|---|
lsblk | A quick, easy-to-read tree view of all disks and partitions. | Clean & Hierarchical |
fdisk -l | Detailed partition table information for a specific disk. | Technical & Verbose |
df -h | Checking used and available space on mounted filesystems. | Simple & Readable Table |
parted -l | A comprehensive overview of disk models and partition layouts. | Detailed & Powerful |
Method 1: The lsblk Command (The Best All-Rounder)
The lsblk (list block devices) command is your best friend for a quick overview. It comes pre-installed on Ubuntu and displays all your storage devices in a clean, tree-like structure.
Open your terminal (you can use the shortcut Ctrl+Alt+T) and run:
lsblk
The output makes it easy to see the relationship between disks and their partitions:
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda 8:0 0 465.8G 0 disk
├─sda1 8:1 0 512M 0 part /boot/efi
└─sda2 8:2 0 465.3G 0 part /
sdb 8:16 1 57.7G 0 disk
└─sdb1 8:17 1 57.7G 0 part /media/user/SANDISK
Pro Tip: For more details, like the filesystem type (e.g., ext4) and UUID, use the -f flag. This is useful for editing system files like /etc/fstab.
lsblk -f
Best for: Getting a quick, readable map of all storage devices on your Ubuntu system.
Method 2: The fdisk -l Command (The Classic Inspector)
For a deeper, more technical dive into your disk’s partition tables, fdisk is a classic Linux tool available on Ubuntu. Using fdisk with the -l flag will list the details without any risk of making changes. As it requires elevated permissions, you must use sudo.
sudo fdisk -l
This command gives a verbose report for each disk, showing:
- The exact disk model and total size.
- The partition table type (e.g., GPT, the modern standard).
- A detailed list of every partition, its start and end sectors, and its type.
Best for: When you need highly technical details about your partition tables for advanced tasks.
Method 3: The df -h Command (The Space Checker)
If your main goal is simply to see how much free space you have, the df (disk free) command is the perfect tool. The -h (human-readable) flag conveniently shows the sizes in GB, MB, etc.
df -h
This gives you a tidy table of your mounted filesystems:
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda2 458G 120G 315G 28% /
/dev/sda1 511M 6.1M 505M 2% /boot/efi
This is the fastest way to check your available disk space in Ubuntu.
Best for: A quick, simple report on used and available space on your active partitions.
Method 4: The parted -l Command (The Powerful Alternative)
parted is another powerful utility for partition management that is included with Ubuntu. Running parted -l provides a comprehensive summary of your storage devices, much like fdisk, but some users find its output cleaner.
sudo parted -l
This command gives you a well-structured report for each disk, including the disk model, size, and a partition list with filesystem info.
For more information on its advanced features, you can refer to the official GNU parted documentation.
Best for: Ubuntu users who want a detailed report combining disk model and partition info in one command.
Now that you can identify your disks, your next step might be to format a new drive. Feel free to check out our guide on how to format a USB drive in Ubuntu.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: How do I find a specific USB drive in the Ubuntu terminal? A: The easiest method is to run lsblk just before and just after you plug in the USB drive. The new device that appears in the list (e.g., /dev/sdb) is your USB.
Q: What if my disk doesn’t show up in Ubuntu? A: If a disk isn’t listed, first check its physical connection. For external drives, try a different USB port. You can also open Ubuntu’s “Disks” utility (a graphical tool) to see if it’s detected there. If it’s still missing, it may be a hardware failure.
Q: How can I see only hard drives in Ubuntu and not their partitions? A: Use the command lsblk -d. The -d flag tells it to list only the main disk devices, hiding the individual partitions for a cleaner view.
