I got tired of SSHing just to hunt down 99% disk space culprits, so I'm building a self-hosted visual VPS File Manager & Web Shell
Hey r/selfhosting
We’ve all been there: it’s Monday morning, and your server alerts you that disk storage hit 99% capacity. 🚨
Then begins the exhausting CLI routine:
- Hunting down the right .pem SSH key.
- Running df -h to find the dying partition.
- Chaining du -sh * repeatedly deep into nested folders to find the culprit.
- Spotting a massive 15GB log file that hasn't been rotated.
- Typing rm -f, taking a deep breath, and hoping you didn't typo the path.
Finding "which folder is eating my storage" shouldn't feel like a mini-investigation in 2026.
To fix this friction, I'm building a self-hosted VPS File Manager & Server Panel. The goal is to manage any remote server directly from the browser without needing CLI for everyday checks.
Key Features so far:
- Visual Space Mapping: Instantly see file and directory sizes in a clean UI (no du -sh guessing games).
- Rich File Management: Compress, edit, delete, or change permissions (chmod).
- Built-in Code Editor: Edit Nginx, Docker, or system config files on the fly.
- Integrated Web SSH Terminal: Full browser shell (xterm.js) right beside your file explorer.
- Hardware Monitoring: Real-time RAM, CPU, and disk widgets to catch spikes early.
It runs locally on your server — 100% self-hosted, your keys, zero third-party dependencies.
I'm currently polishing the UI and adding security logs before releasing it.
Question for the community: What is your go-to terminal command or tool when a server's disk hits 99%? Also, would love to hear any features you'd find essential in a tool like this!