What is an inode?
An inode is a data structure used to keep information about a file on your cPanel hosting account. The number of inodes indicates the number of files and folders you have.
Every file (a webpage, image file, email, etc) on your account uses up 1 inode.
How do I know if my cPanel account is above the limits?
An inode usage counter can be found within cPanel on the left hand column where your accounts usage limits are recorded.
How do I reduce my inode usage?
1) Remove unused files/folders
You can go through your account using either the File Manager or through FTP. All files and folders that are no longer required should be removed.
This would include outdated scripts, or development sites that are no longer needed. Not only do these pose a security risk, but they also use inodes on your account.
2) Archive old emails
Each email stored on the server adds to your inode usage. If you store emails on the server indefinitely you could look at archiving emails older than 12 months and storing them locally on your computer.
This would reduce the number of inodes on your account and bring it within the limits. One of the primary cause of excessive inodes seems to be due to users leaving their catchall address enabled, but never checking
their primary account mailbox. Over time, tens of thousands of messages (or more) build up, eventually pushing the account past our inode limit.
To disable your default mailbox, login to cPanel and choose "Mail", then "Default Address", "Set Default Address", and then type in: :fail: No such user here.
3) Remove cache files
Certain website software generates cache files, which is used to improve performance on your site, one of these is Joomla.
You should have a look at the cache folders to see if there is a large amount of files being generated. Most of these sites have a purge functionality which would regularly clear the cache folders.
These options may vary, but can usually be found within the administrative area or back-end.
4) Other usage
If the account is still using a large number of files you could have a look at the disk usage as this should provide a good indicator of where the files are being used. This can be seen within cPanel -> Files -> Disk Space Usage
If you need any assistance with reducing inode usage please do not hesitate to log a ticket on our helpdesk. Please bear in mind any changes to inodes may take 6 - 24 hours to reflect.
