homelab-configs/workstation-disk-analysis.md

Workstation OS Drive — Disk Analysis & Cleanup Plan

Date: 2026-05-27
OS Drive: /dev/sda2 — 234 GB total | 190 GB used (86%) | only 32 GB free ⚠️
Target drive: /mnt/14TB-HD (/dev/sdb2) — 12.7 TB total | 2.7 TB used | 9.4 TB free

---

Drive Layout Summary

Mount Point	Drive	Size	Used	Free	%
/ (OS)	/dev/sda2	234 GB	190 GB	32 GB	86% ⚠️
/mnt/14TB-HD	/dev/sdb2	12.7 TB	2.7 TB	9.4 TB	23% ✅
/mnt/INTEL-SSD	/dev/nvme0n1p1	469 GB	449 MB	445 GB	<1% ✅
/mnt/StorFly-SSD	/dev/sdc1	1.8 TB	1.4 TB	312 GB	82%
/mnt/photos (NFS)	TrueNAS NFS	11 TB	6.4 TB	3.9 TB	63%

---

What's Eating Your OS Drive

Top-Level Breakdown

Category	Location	Size
Home directory total	/home/jgitta	65 GB
System packages & libs	/var, /usr	~12 GB
Installed apps	/opt	5.2 GB

The Biggest Offenders (inside /home)

Item	Path	Size	Notes
Google Chrome AI model	~/.config/google-chrome/OptGuideOnDeviceModel	4.0 GB	Regenerates automatically — safe to delete
Flatpak app data	~/.var/app/	7.0 GB	Brave (3.7G), Dolphin (1.4G), DigiKam (0.9G), Zen (0.7G)
DigiKam face database	~/.local/share/digikam	5.5 GB	Move to 14TB (photo metadata)
Gemini scratch space	~/.gemini/antigravity/scratch	3.5 GB	Temp AI workspace — can be purged or redirected
.cache (total)	~/.cache/	7.1 GB	Browser caches, thumbnails, package caches
.config (total)	~/.config/	13 GB	Chrome (5.1G incl. 4G AI model), Claude (2.4G), Brave (2.1G)
Downloads folder	~/Downloads	6.9 GB	Mostly old installers
debian-iso folder	~/debian-iso	5.0 GB	ISOs — move or delete
VS Code extensions	~/.vscode	1.9 GB	Can move to 14TB
Firefox profile	~/.mozilla	1.5 GB	Mostly cache
.rustup	~/.rustup	1.4 GB	Rust toolchain
.npm	~/.npm	1.4 GB	npm cache

Big items in /var and /opt

Item	Path	Size	Notes
Flatpak system install	/var/lib/flatpak	6.7 GB	Runtimes, apps
System journal logs	/var/log/journal	2.9 GB	Can be capped to 500 MB
APT package cache	/var/cache/apt	610 MB	Safe to clear
Beekeeper Studio	/opt/Beekeeper Studio	1.2 GB	App install
Frigate config	/opt/frigate/config	913 MB	Move to 14TB
Netdata	/opt/netdata	693 MB	Move data dir to 14TB

---

PART 1 — Immediate Cleanup (Safe to Delete)

Estimated savings: ~18–22 GB — no data loss

Step 1: Empty the Trash (1.3 GB)

rm -rf ~/.local/share/Trash/files/*
rm -rf ~/.local/share/Trash/info/*

Step 2: Delete Chrome's AI Optimization Model (4 GB!)

Chrome downloads a machine-learning model to optimize page loading. It rebuilds itself automatically the next time Chrome runs — you lose nothing permanent.

rm -rf ~/.config/google-chrome/OptGuideOnDeviceModel

Step 3: Clear All Browser Caches (~5.5 GB)

Browsers rebuild their cache as you browse. You may notice slightly slower page loads for a day or two.

rm -rf ~/.cache/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser/Default/Cache
rm -rf ~/.cache/google-chrome/Default/Cache
rm -rf ~/.cache/google-chrome/"Profile 1"/Cache
rm -rf ~/.cache/google-chrome/"Profile 2"/Cache
rm -rf ~/.cache/mozilla/firefox/*.default-release/cache2
rm -rf ~/.cache/browser-os/*/Cache

Step 4: Clear Package Manager Caches (~1.8 GB)

sudo apt clean                   # APT downloaded .deb files (610 MB)
rm -rf ~/.cache/uv               # Python uv cache (638 MB)
rm -rf ~/.cache/node-gyp         # Node build cache (120 MB)
npm cache clean --force          # npm cache (part of ~/.npm)
rm -rf ~/.cache/go-build         # Go build cache (77 MB)

Step 5: Trim System Journal Logs (saves ~2.4 GB)

Linux keeps a rolling log of everything happening on the system. 2.9 GB is excessive — capping it at 500 MB still keeps plenty of history for troubleshooting.

sudo journalctl --vacuum-size=500M

Step 6: Clear Thumbnail Cache (~404 MB)

These are small preview images for your file manager. They regenerate automatically when you browse folders.

rm -rf ~/.cache/thumbnails/*

Step 7: Remove Unused Flatpak Runtimes (~1–3 GB)

Flatpak keeps old runtime versions even after apps are updated. This command removes anything nothing depends on anymore.

flatpak uninstall --unused

Step 8: Clear Playwright Test Browser Cache (~128 MB)

rm -rf ~/.cache/ms-playwright-go

Step 9: Clear Gemini Temp Files (~64 MB)

rm -rf ~/.gemini/tmp/*

---

PART 2 — Move Data to the 14TB Drive

Estimated freed from OS drive: ~20 GB

The strategy here is: move the folder to the 14TB drive, then create a symlink at the original location. Think of a symlink like a Windows shortcut — when a program goes looking for ~/Downloads, Linux silently redirects it to the real folder on the 14TB drive. The program never knows anything changed.

Before running any move command, make sure the 14TB is mounted:
ls /mnt/14TB-HD — you should see files listed, not an empty folder.

Move 1: Downloads Folder (6.9 GB)

mv ~/Downloads /mnt/14TB-HD/Downloads
ln -s /mnt/14TB-HD/Downloads ~/Downloads

Move 2: Debian ISOs (5.0 GB)

These are just old installation images — move them to the 14TB for archiving, or delete if you no longer need them.

mv ~/debian-iso /mnt/14TB-HD/debian-iso

Move 3: FreeDOS Custom Build (423 MB)

mv ~/freedos-custom /mnt/14TB-HD/freedos-custom

Move 4: DigiKam Photo Database (5.5 GB)

DigiKam (your photo manager) stores its face recognition engine and metadata database in your home folder. Moving it to the 14TB frees up 5.5 GB.

mv ~/.local/share/digikam /mnt/14TB-HD/digikam-db
ln -s /mnt/14TB-HD/digikam-db ~/.local/share/digikam

After moving, open DigiKam and go to Settings → Configure DigiKam → Database to confirm it still sees the database correctly.

Move 5: Frigate Config & Data (913 MB)

If Frigate is running, stop it first so files aren't in use:

sudo systemctl stop frigate      # stop the service first
sudo mv /opt/frigate /mnt/14TB-HD/frigate
sudo ln -s /mnt/14TB-HD/frigate /opt/frigate
sudo systemctl start frigate

Move 6: VS Code Extensions (1.9 GB — optional)

mv ~/.vscode /mnt/14TB-HD/vscode
ln -s /mnt/14TB-HD/vscode ~/.vscode

---

PART 3 — Change Default Save Locations in Programs

All Browsers — Change Download Folder

Set each browser's download location to /mnt/14TB-HD/Downloads so new downloads go there automatically:

• Brave: Settings → Downloads → Location
• Chrome: Settings → Downloads → Location
• Firefox: Settings → General → Downloads → Save files to

System-Wide Default Download Location

This tells all XDG-aware Linux apps (file manager, etc.) where the Downloads folder is:

nano ~/.config/user-dirs.dirs
# Find this line:
#   XDG_DOWNLOAD_DIR="$HOME/Downloads"
# Change it to:
#   XDG_DOWNLOAD_DIR="/mnt/14TB-HD/Downloads"
# Save with Ctrl+O, then Ctrl+X to exit

---

Summary: Expected Space Recovered

Action	Estimated Savings
Empty Trash	1.3 GB
Chrome AI model (OptGuide)	4.0 GB
Browser caches (all)	5.5 GB
Package manager caches	1.8 GB
Journal logs (trim to 500 MB)	2.4 GB
Thumbnail cache	404 MB
Flatpak unused runtimes	~1–3 GB
Gemini temp + Playwright cache	~192 MB
Total cleanup (no data loss)	~18–22 GB
Move Downloads to 14TB	6.9 GB
Move debian-iso + freedos to 14TB	5.4 GB
Move DigiKam DB to 14TB	5.5 GB
Move Frigate to 14TB	0.9 GB
Move VS Code extensions to 14TB	1.9 GB
Total moved to 14TB	~20 GB
GRAND TOTAL FREED FROM OS DRIVE	~38–42 GB

After all steps, the OS drive should drop from 86% → roughly 55–60% full, giving you ~55–65 GB of breathing room.

---

Bonus Tips

• Your 469 GB Intel SSD at /mnt/INTEL-SSD is nearly empty (only 449 MB used of 469 GB).
  Consider using it for speed-sensitive data like VS Code, DigiKam DB, or your home ~/.config folder — SSDs are much faster than the spinning 14TB hard drive.

• Brave Browser appears twice: you have it installed both as a native app (/opt/brave.com, 429 MB) and as a Flatpak (~/.var/app/com.brave.Browser, 3.7 GB). You are likely only using one. Running flatpak uninstall com.brave.Browser would free ~3.7 GB if you use the native version.

• Make sure /mnt/14TB-HD auto-mounts at boot so symlinks don't break. Check with:

  grep 14TB /etc/fstab
  

  If there's no entry, the drive may only mount when you log in — ask Claude to help add a permanent fstab entry.