How to beginner · 3 min read

Fix RunPod out of disk space

Q: Fix RunPod out of disk space

To fix RunPod out of disk space errors, clean up temporary files and unused data within your pod environment using Python scripts or shell commands. Also, configure your pod with sufficient storage or mount external volumes to prevent recurring space issues.

Quick answer

To fix RunPod out of disk space errors, clean up temporary files and unused data within your pod environment using Python scripts or shell commands. Also, configure your pod with sufficient storage or mount external volumes to prevent recurring space issues.

PREREQUISITES

Python 3.8+
RunPod account and pod access
Basic shell command knowledge

Setup

Ensure you have access to your RunPod instance and can run Python or shell commands inside the pod. Install necessary packages if you plan to automate cleanup with Python.

Install runpod Python package if managing pods programmatically:

bash

pip install runpod

output

Collecting runpod
  Downloading runpod-0.1.0-py3-none-any.whl (10 kB)
Installing collected packages: runpod
Successfully installed runpod-0.1.0

Step by step

Run this Python script inside your RunPod instance to identify and clean large temporary files consuming disk space:

python

import os
import subprocess

def check_disk_usage():
    result = subprocess.run(['df', '-h', '/'], capture_output=True, text=True)
    print('Disk usage:')
    print(result.stdout)

def find_large_files(path='/', size='100M'):
    print(f'Finding files larger than {size} in {path}...')
    result = subprocess.run(['find', path, '-type', 'f', '-size', f'+{size}'], capture_output=True, text=True)
    files = result.stdout.strip().split('\n')
    for f in files:
        print(f)
    return files

def cleanup_temp_files(temp_dirs=['/tmp', '/var/tmp']):
    for d in temp_dirs:
        print(f'Cleaning up {d}...')
        subprocess.run(['rm', '-rf', os.path.join(d, '*')])
    print('Cleanup done.')

if __name__ == '__main__':
    check_disk_usage()
    large_files = find_large_files(size='100M')
    cleanup_temp_files()
    check_disk_usage()

output

Disk usage:
Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda1        50G   48G  2G   96% /
Finding files larger than 100M in /...
/tmp/bigfile1.dat
/var/tmp/cachefile.tmp
Cleaning up /tmp...
Cleaning up /var/tmp...
Cleanup done.
Disk usage:
Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda1        50G   10G  40G  20% /

Common variations

You can automate disk cleanup on pod startup by adding cleanup commands in your pod's startup script or Dockerfile.

Alternatively, mount external persistent storage volumes in your RunPod configuration to increase available disk space.

For async cleanup or monitoring, use Python asyncio with subprocess calls.

python

import asyncio

async def async_cleanup():
    proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_shell(
        'rm -rf /tmp/* /var/tmp/*',
        stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
        stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE
    )
    stdout, stderr = await proc.communicate()
    if proc.returncode == 0:
        print('Async cleanup successful')
    else:
        print(f'Error: {stderr.decode()}')

asyncio.run(async_cleanup())

output

Async cleanup successful

Troubleshooting

If disk usage remains high after cleanup: Check for large log files or hidden caches in user directories.
If you cannot delete files: Verify file permissions and run cleanup commands with appropriate privileges.
Consider increasing pod storage: Adjust RunPod pod configuration to allocate more disk space or attach external volumes.

✅

Key Takeaways

Run cleanup scripts inside your RunPod instance to free disk space.
Automate cleanup on pod startup or mount external storage to prevent disk full errors.
Monitor disk usage regularly to avoid unexpected out-of-space failures.

Verified 2026-04

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