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I am trying to clear some internal storage i have in the emulated directory two identical folders one /0 and one /legacy both have exact same files can i delete one?

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  • They don't have the same files; they point to the same files. I won't recommend deleting them.
    – Grimoire
    Commented Oct 10, 2018 at 19:53
  • They are the exact same file size
    – Im2018
    Commented Oct 10, 2018 at 19:59
  • Well, create a file in 0. Does it pop up in legacy as well?
    – Grimoire
    Commented Oct 10, 2018 at 20:03
  • Yeah it does added the pics above i created newnew in 0 and it showed in legacy
    – Im2018
    Commented Oct 10, 2018 at 20:25

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Those are called "links", very common in Linux operating systems.

Chances are, your files are actually in neither of those directories. On my phone, the actual mountpoint of the partition those files are on is /storage/sdcard0.

From there two links exist. One to /storage/emulated/legacy and one to /storage/emulated/0. The emulated in the filename also suggests that both location are just, well, emulated.

This can vary from device to device, for example on an HTC I have here /stoage/sdcard0 is just a link to /storage/emulated/0 instead of the actual mountpoint.

That said: If you delete a file in one place, it's completely gone out of all two (or three) "places". The files have the same file sizes, but don't occupy twice the space on the partition. It is actually the same file. By that I mean it all points to the same place on the actual partition on your storage chip.

You can read more about links here.

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  • Thanks thats what i was wanting to kno had it doubled up
    – Im2018
    Commented Oct 10, 2018 at 20:40
  • Good explanation, answerer.
    – Grimoire
    Commented Oct 10, 2018 at 20:47
  • @lm2018 If I answered your question I'd appreciate you accepting my answer (little ✓ on the left of the answer).
    – confetti
    Commented Oct 11, 2018 at 3:01

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