Help4 Disk Usage is a public cPanel, WHM, and WHMCS tool for hosting teams that need faster answers when an account is running out of disk space or inodes.
The short version: it turns disk-usage guesswork into a support-ready report. Instead of telling a customer “you are over quota” and then manually digging through account folders, the tool highlights likely offenders such as backups, logs, cache, mail, temp files, uploads, dependency folders, stale large files, disk-heavy directories, and inode-heavy trees.
It started from the Help4 Network find_large_files_and_inodes scanner and is now an installable product for cPanel/WHM servers and WHMCS-based hosting teams. The release checked for this update is 0.3.1, published through the immutable v0.3.1 tag and the project update manifest.
Screenshot note: the screenshots below use generated dummy data from the tutorial pack. They use demonstration placeholders instead of real customer identifiers, domains, server names, file paths, or backup names.
Help4 Disk Usage 0.3.1: safer fleet updates and support visibility
Release checked: Help4 Disk Usage 0.3.1 is available through the project’s immutable v0.3.1 tag and published update manifest. It gives cPanel, WHM, and WHMCS teams a safer way to check release availability, plan an update from a backup, and keep disk or inode reports useful to support staff and customers.
The tool remains a reporting and triage aid. It identifies likely backup, cache, log, mail, temporary-file, upload, dependency, disk, and inode pressure; it does not delete customer files.
What changed for hosting teams
- Backup-first update checks: the release channel uses an immutable package reference and digest validation before an update is applied.
- Health-first WHMCS operations: the admin home widget and Server Health view prioritize stale, incomplete, erroring, and attention-needed cPanel servers.
- More predictable scans: whole-run budgets and oldest-cache-first rotation help large fleets keep reports fresh without turning every account into a long foreground job.
- Safer remote administration: supported WHMCS SSH transports check a verified host identity before authentication and preserve bounded remote operations.
- Privacy-safe documentation: the marketing/tutorial pack uses generated demonstration data rather than customer server captures.
Production update checklist
- Review the current tag, update manifest, and release notes before selecting a maintenance window.
- Take and verify a current account or server backup, then test the release on a pilot cPanel server or small account group.
- Confirm the WHM page, a scoped cPanel account page, scan freshness, and the relevant WHMCS health row after the update.
- Use the report as evidence for a customer conversation; create a restore point before any human-led cleanup.
Useful next reads
- WordPress Support Guide for backup, maintenance, migration, and troubleshooting paths.
- cPanel disk and inode cleanup checklist before a hosting support ticket.
- WHMCS disk-usage support workflow for customer-facing operations.
- cPanel Backup Wizard for WordPress before risky maintenance.
Who this helps
Help4 Disk Usage is built for shared hosting providers, managed WordPress hosts, WHMCS-based hosting companies, agencies managing many cPanel accounts, and server operators who need support-friendly disk and inode visibility.
It is especially useful when the support question is not just “how much space is used?” but “what changed, where is the weight, and what can we safely tell the customer?”
What it includes
- WHM root and reseller dashboards for account-level triage.
- cPanel customer dashboard for self-service account visibility.
- WHMCS addon module for deployment, sync, admin reports, and customer summaries.
- Background scans with visible timestamps so support knows whether the data is fresh.
- Largest-file and inode-heavy directory detection for common quota tickets.
- Category hints for cache, logs, temp files, backups, mail, uploads, dependencies, stale large files, disk usage, and inode growth.
- Scan controls so refresh buttons do not stack expensive jobs on busy shared-hosting servers.
The safety boundary matters
This is a reporting tool, not an automatic cleanup tool. Help4 Disk Usage reports likely cleanup candidates and support hints. It does not delete customer files.
The scanner also has operational guardrails:
- Foreground scans use a shared lock so GUI-triggered scans do not stack.
- cPanel user refreshes are rate-limited by default.
- Root can tune WHM and cPanel scan limits from WHM.
- Root can set package-specific cPanel refresh overrides.
- Scanner runs are bounded by runtime and result-count limits.
- cPanel users see relative paths for their own account, not other accounts or server-wide paths.
Install path for cPanel and WHM
Start by reviewing the project repository and building or downloading a release package:
Release channel check: the project now publishes an immutable v0.3.1 tag and an update manifest that names the package and its required digest. For production, review that manifest and release notes, retain a verified backup, and use a pilot server before a broader WHMCS rollout.
For a normal cPanel server install, upload the release tarball to the server, extract it, and run the installer as root:
For a first install, follow the current tagged-release instructions in the repository documentation. Test the package on a pilot server and retain a verified restore point before deploying it to production accounts.
The installer places the scanner under the cPanel third-party path, installs the WHM CGI, registers WHM AppConfig, adds the cPanel Jupiter plugin icon, creates a six-hour cron refresh, and writes the shared scan configuration and lock path.
How WHMCS fits in
The WHMCS addon lives under:
integrations/whmcs/modules/addons/help4_disk_usageCopy that folder into the matching WHMCS path, activate Help4 Disk Usage under System Settings > Addon Modules, configure the release tarball URL and scan limits, then open Addons > Help4 Disk Usage.
In WHMCS, the addon can show synced servers, account scan state, top customer offenders, deploy/check/update/sync status, a health widget, and an event log for administrator visibility. Supported automation uses a verified server identity, bounded execution, and a checked exit result; otherwise, teams can use the documented manual process and sync trusted report data.
If those requirements are not available, the addon still provides a manual deployment command and can report synced scan data from another trusted workflow.
Customer reports
When enabled, WHMCS customer reporting maps scan rows to hosting services by WHMCS server ID and cPanel username. Logged-in customers see only their own mapped services at:
index.php?m=help4_disk_usage
Support workflow
- Deploy the WHM/cPanel plugin to a cPanel server.
- Run or wait for a scan so the report has fresh timestamps.
- Use WHM to identify bad or check accounts by disk and inode pressure.
- Sync to WHMCS when customer-service mapping is needed.
- Use the category hints to explain whether the likely issue is backups, logs, cache, mail, temp files, uploads, dependencies, stale large files, disk, or inodes.
- Ask the customer to review or remove only files they understand, or handle cleanup through a managed support process.
How this differs from a raw shell script
The older Fix I.T. Phill guide, Find Large Files and Inodes on cPanel/WHM Servers, is still useful for direct admin investigation. Help4 Disk Usage turns that kind of scan into a repeatable workflow with WHM views, cPanel account visibility, WHMCS reporting, timestamps, limits, and customer-safe summaries.
Practical recommendation
Test it on a non-critical cPanel server or a small account group first. Confirm the AppConfig behavior, cPanel Jupiter page behavior, WHMCS SSH handling, scan runtime limits, and the customer report copy before exposing reports broadly.
For production release management, prefer the immutable tagged package named by the current update manifest. Mirror the manifest and package into operator-controlled infrastructure when your change-control policy requires it, and keep the visible Help4 Network builder credit.
Project link: https://github.com/Help4Network/help4-disk-usage
2026 SEO Refresh: Help4 Disk Usage for cPanel, WHM, and WHMCS Reports
Admin action path: The best disk report is one that support can act on without exposing private paths or deleting the wrong account data.
What to verify before changing production
- Capture disk and inode evidence before deleting anything.
- Separate logs, cache, backups, staging copies, email, and uploads.
- Avoid removing account files without a restore point and a ticket note.
Source-backed references and next reads
- Official reference: cPanel Disk Usage documentation.
- Official reference: cPanel hard drive space guidance.
- Related FixItPhill guide: WordPress backup restore point check.
- Related FixItPhill guide: test a WordPress backup restore.
- Related FixItPhill guide: cPanel full account backup migration.
- Related FixItPhill guide: Plesk Backup Manager restore.
Ticket evidence should include the tool used, backup timestamp, restore target, changed DNS or SSL state, visible public URL, and the exact verification steps completed after the change.
