Each user is allocated a personal folder within the /home/ directory that can be used for collecting softwares, virtual environments, scripts and light datasets (refer to the scratch folder documentation to save big datasets).
Specifically, each user folder has a soft limit of 90GB and a hard limit of 100GB with a grace period of 6 days if the limit is exceeded.
This guide explains how to monitor your disk usage, understand quotas, and handle notifications about exceeding limits.
Below is some more information about disk quotas and useful commands related to them.
A disk quota limits the amount of storage space a user can consume on a server or shared filesystem. Quotas are typically enforced to prevent a single user from using all available disk space.
Soft limit: A warning threshold. You can temporarily exceed this limit, but you will receive notifications.
Hard limit: Absolute maximum storage. You cannot exceed this limit.
Grace period: A time window during which you can exceed the soft limit without being blocked. After this period, the system enforces the quota strictly.
Using the quota command
To check your personal disk usage and limits:
quota -s
Example output:
Disk quotas for user iacopo (uid 1001):
Filesystem blocks quota limit grace
/home 1024K 2000K 2500K
blocks → your current usage
quota → soft limit
limit → hard limit
grace → remaining time before enforcement if over soft limit
The -s option prints sizes in human-readable form (KB, MB, etc.).
Using repquota (for a more detailed report)
If you want to see all users on a filesystem (requires permission):
sudo repquota -as
This shows all users, their usage, soft/hard limits, and a + or - if over quota.
The system will automatically send email notifications if:
You exceed your soft limit (+ in repquota)
You are approaching your hard limit
Tip: Check your inbox regularly, especially if you receive “quota exceeded” warnings.
Current usage vs. soft limit
Try to stay below the soft limit to avoid grace period warnings.
Hard limit
You cannot exceed this. If you hit it, new files may fail to save.
Grace period
If you exceed the soft limit, you have a limited time to reduce usage before restrictions are applied.
Use commands like du or file manager tools to identify and remove large/unnecessary files.
Email notifications
Notifications will indicate your current usage and soft/hard limits.
Follow instructions promptly to avoid being blocked from writing more files.
To see which files are using the most space:
du -h ~ | sort -hr | head -n 20
du -h ~ → human-readable sizes in your home directory
sort -hr → sort largest to smallest
head -n 20 → show top 20 largest items
Remove unnecessary files to stay within limits.
Regularly monitor your usage with quota -s.
Clean up temporary or old files in your home directory.
Use compression (gzip, tar) for large files you want to keep.
Move rarely used files to external storage if possible.
| Term | What It Means | Action for Users | | :— | :— | :— | | Soft limit | Warning threshold | Reduce usage if approaching/exceeding | | Hard limit | Absolute limit | Cannot exceed; must delete files if reached | | Grace period | Time to fix over-usage | Free up space before restrictions are applied | | + flag | Over soft limit | Check email notification | | - flag | Over hard limit | Must delete files immediately |