Ubuntu 22.04 LTS – root filesystem is 100% and services become unstable

📖 ~1 min read

Table of contents

1. Symptom & Impact
2. Environment & Reproduction
3. Root Cause Analysis
4. Quick Triage
5. Step-by-Step Diagnosis
6. Solution – Primary Fix
7. Solution – Alternative Approaches
8. Verification & Acceptance Criteria
9. Rollback Plan
10. Prevention & Hardening
11. Related Errors & Cross-Refs
12. References & Further Reading

Symptom & Impact

Applications fail to write files, logs stop rotating, and daemons crash.

Environment & Reproduction

Triggered by uncontrolled logs, backups, or temporary build artifacts.

Root Cause Analysis

Unbounded disk growth consumes all available root partition capacity.

Quick Triage

Locate largest directories and immediate cleanup targets.

Step-by-Step Diagnosis

Identify top files by size and detect deleted-open files still consuming space.

Solution – Primary Fix

Vacuum logs, clear apt cache, and remove obsolete artifacts safely.

Solution – Alternative Approaches

Extend root volume or move heavy data paths to dedicated storage.

Verification & Acceptance Criteria

Root usage falls below alert threshold and failed services recover.

Rollback Plan

Restore deleted business data from backup if cleanup removed required files.

Prevention & Hardening

Set log retention, disk alerts, and monthly cleanup automation.

Related Errors & Cross-Refs

Related to no space left on device and read-only remount events.

Related tutorial: View the step-by-step tutorial for Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

View all Ubuntu 22.04 LTS tutorials on the Tutorials Hub →

Browse all common problems & solutions on the Tutorials Hub.

References & Further Reading

Ubuntu 22.04 disk management, journald retention, and housekeeping docs.