Find it with a filter
:class:Video;>1gb keeps every video over 1 GB lit and dims the rest. The matches are listed beside the treemap, sorted by size.
v0.3.0pre-release · free & open source
See what fillsyour drives.
SpaceKnife draws every folder and file as a block sized by the space it takes, live while it scans. Find the space hogs, see what grew since last month, and clean up safely.
macOS is not supported yet.
Screenshots use mock data, not a real disk.
MFTquick scan on NTFS
Rustparallel native scanner
≤ X %disk load you allow
MITfree and open source
Everything you need to reclaim space
Built from first principles for today's huge drives: fast to scan, calm on your disk, safe to clean.
Live nested treemap
WebGL rendering that fills in while the scan runs, with zoom animation, hover details, detail levels and free and unknown space drawn as blocks.
Fast scans
A native Rust extension walks folders in parallel; on Windows a quick scan reads the NTFS Master File Table directly.
Calm on your disk
Cap the disk load the scan causes (max, balanced, quiet, idle or custom); it backs off when other programs need the disk.
Live monitoring
After the scan, changes keep flowing in and changed blocks flash, so the picture never goes stale.
A real filter language
Filter by name, type, size, dates, attributes and tags, and combine them; compatible with SpaceSniffer-style filters.
Snapshots and comparison
Every scan is saved; compare any two, or a snapshot with now, and see exactly what grew, shrank, appeared or vanished.
Safe cleanup
Collect items in a delete basket; they go to the recycle bin by default and can be restored. System folders are protected.
Command palette
Ctrl+K searches the whole scan by name and runs any command, without leaving the keyboard.
Export and command line
Export reports as CSV, JSON, HTML and more, or scan, compare and export from a terminal.
A closer look
Real screens of SpaceKnife 0.3, showing a made-up 2 TB drive.
What changed since last month?
Compare two snapshots: orange grew, blue shrank, new and deleted items are marked, and SpaceKnife estimates when free space runs out.
Keyboard first
The command palette searches every file and folder of the scan by name and runs any command.
Open source, built in the open
SpaceKnife is MIT-licensed. The scanner, the treemap layout and the filter engine run in a Python backend with a native Rust extension; the Electron interface talks to it over a documented WebSocket protocol.
- No account, no telemetry: everything runs locally on your computer.
- Python 3.12 backend, Rust (PyO3) native scanner, Electron + React + WebGL interface.
- More than a thousand automated tests on Windows and Linux.
# scan a folder or a whole drive $ spaceknife-backend scan D:\ # the snapshots saved after each scan $ spaceknife-backend snapshot list # every option $ spaceknife-backend --help
Download SpaceKnife
Free for personal and commercial use. Each release lists SHA-256 checksums.
Windows
Windows 10 and 11, x64. Install for yourself or for all users.
DownloadSpaceKnife-0.3.0-Setup-x64.exe
SHA-256
a155931fc38d92d483957c010a4f0eb83fd5be89a29e184ed6a357a2efc3a1c9Ubuntu / Debian
Ubuntu 22.04+, Debian 12+ and derivatives.
Downloadspaceknife_0.3.0_amd64.deb
SHA-256
e6ed0520bb1534e805d925d5376f10d3cfd18709bab97e0174ffa83f7976c6d7RHEL / Fedora
RHEL 9+, Rocky, Alma, Fedora and derivatives.
Downloadspaceknife-0.3.0.x86_64.rpm
SHA-256
ddda0eb6126d747f41e4fab220d6ba390cbbe80b1b5724e9f4eb9f2d198bb379AppImage
Any x64 Linux with glibc 2.34+. Needs FUSE 2.
DownloadSpaceKnife-0.3.0-x86_64.AppImage
SHA-256
78c10339906969056579330672e9d4a72b5af4af6ee167e1093b832145c9f78eThis is a pre-release: the installers are not code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen asks once (More info › Run anyway). All releases · SHA256SUMS.txt · macOS is not supported yet.
Questions
Is SpaceKnife free?
Yes. SpaceKnife is free and open source under the MIT license, for personal and commercial use.
Is it related to SpaceSniffer?
No. SpaceKnife is an independent project inspired by SpaceSniffer; it is not affiliated with SpaceSniffer or its author.
Which systems does it run on?
Windows 10 and 11 (x64), and x64 Linux: Ubuntu 22.04+, Debian, RHEL 9+, Fedora, or any distribution through the AppImage. macOS is not available yet.
Does it send my data anywhere?
No. SpaceKnife has no account and no telemetry; scans, snapshots and settings stay on your computer.
Can it delete the wrong file?
Deleting moves items to the recycle bin by default and can be undone; system and program folders are protected, and permanent deletion asks first.
Why does the quick scan ask for administrator rights?
Reading the NTFS Master File Table needs administrator rights, so a small read-only helper asks once. The regular parallel scan needs no special rights.