Free up disk space by deleting unnecessary backup files.
Delete Backups
- DirectAdmin → File Manager
- Open backups folder
- Hover over old backup → Click Delete
- Choose:
- Move to Trash - Can recover later
- Delete Permanently - Frees space immediately
What to Delete
- Backups outside your chosen retention period, after confirming a usable independent copy exists
- Failed/incomplete backups
- Test backups
- Duplicates
What to Keep
- Most recent full backup
- Pre-update backups
- Known-good configurations
Check Disk Usage
DirectAdmin dashboard shows disk usage. After cleanup:
- Keep enough free space for your site to grow and for the next backup to complete
- Leave room for new backups
Notes
- Download important backups before deleting
- Empty trash to fully reclaim space
- User-created backups have distinct filenames and can accumulate in the backups folder
- Automatic backups may be managed separately. Deleting a manual backup does not verify that an automatic replacement exists.
Low Disk Space?
Also check:
- Email accounts (large attachments)
- Log files in /logs/
- Temporary files
- Old website versions
