An inode is one file or one folder. The count has nothing to do with size: a million one-byte files use a million inodes, while a single large database backup uses one. Accounts usually hit the inode limit long before they run out of disk space, and the symptom is being unable to write new files even though there is space free.
Where they usually go
- Cache folders. Content systems and shops can generate tens of thousands of cache files and never clean them up.
- Session files. Another folder that grows quietly for ever if nothing prunes it.
- Old backups kept in the account. Especially ones that were extracted rather than left as an archive.
- Email. Every message is a file. A mailbox with 200,000 messages is 200,000 inodes.
- Copies of the site. An old, forgotten copy in a subfolder doubles everything.
Finding the culprit
In cPanel, File Manager will show you folder sizes, and the Disk Usage tool breaks the account down by directory. Work down from the largest until you find the folder with an unreasonable number of items in it.
Clearing them safely
Cache and session folders can be emptied without harm; the application recreates what it needs. Old backups should be downloaded and then deleted. For email, empty the Trash and Junk folders first, then look at what is left. If you are unsure whether something is safe to delete, ask us before deleting it.
