Software⏱️ 3 min read📅 2026-06-19

How to Fix: Debian Jessie apt-get Error: No space left on device

Insufficient disk space causes apt-get installation errors in Debian Jessie.

Quick Answer: Check the available disk space and free up some space before running apt-get commands.

The 'No space left on device' error is a common issue that affects Debian Jessie users when trying to install packages using apt-get. This error occurs when there is not enough free disk space available on the system's root partition or other partitions used by the system.

This error can be frustrating, especially if you have plenty of free space as shown in the output of 'df -h'. However, it can still cause issues with package installations and updates.

🛑 Root Causes of the Error

  • The primary reason for this error is that apt-get is unable to write the package files to the root partition or other partitions due to lack of available disk space. This can happen when the system's disk usage is high, or if there are issues with the file system.
  • Another possible cause is that the package being installed requires a lot of disk space, which may not be available on the system.

🚀 How to Resolve This Issue

Free up disk space by deleting unnecessary files and packages

  1. Step 1: Use the 'df -h' command to identify which partition is taking up the most space. In this case, /dev/md0p1 is taking up 431G of space.
  2. Step 2: Delete any unnecessary files or packages that are taking up disk space. This can be done using the 'rm' and 'dpkg --purge' commands.
  3. Step 3: Use the 'apt-get autoremove' command to remove any packages that are no longer needed.

Check package dependencies and requirements

  1. Step 1: Use the 'dpkg -L' command to check which files a package requires.
  2. Step 2: Check if the package being installed has any dependencies or requirements that may be taking up disk space. This can be done using the 'apt-get depends' command.

✨ Wrapping Up

To resolve the 'No space left on device' error, it's essential to free up disk space by deleting unnecessary files and packages, and also check package dependencies and requirements. By following these steps, you should be able to install your desired package without any issues.

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