I am using a Windows 11 machine. I connect to the TrueNas using my home network. I have no trouble saving files to the Nas and I can work on the files from the NAS. I have yet to figure out how to delete files from the NAS. My storage if at 70% and I need to delete unused files to make room for future storage. Everything I have tried using Windows to delete does not work, the files disappear but the storage stays the same. I wonder if I must use Linux commands to delete from the Nas and if so where can I find the command index for the system on this Nas?
TrueNAS is built on Debian Linux, so normal Linux file management commands (e.g., cp, mv, rm, etc.) will work the same there as with any other Linux installation. The easiest thing to do is probably to use the Midnight Commander (mc); see below for documentation:
But with that said, you shouldn’t need to be messing around at the shell of your NAS; deleting from the client using the file-sharing protocols should work just fine. If you aren’t seeing the space free immediately, it could be at least a couple of things:
- Sometimes it takes a few moments for the space to free up, or
- You have snapshots enabled.
In the latter case, the space won’t be freed until the snapshot is destroyed.
Can I delete the dataset without losing or effecting my files?
I Meant can I delete the Snapshot and not lose all the other files?
Yes. Deleting the dataset will lose all the data in that dataset, including any snapshots of that dataset. Deleting a snapshot will only delete what’s unique to that snapshot. For more about snapshots, see: