File size display in file browser should use correct units

[msanchezst]

Problem

We have noticed that the file size displayed in the Jupyterlab file browser appears to be using an incorrect unit. The file sizes are reported in MiB but the displayed units are MB,GB, and so on. This is confusing as the actual size is not accurately represented.

Proposed Solution

I would recommend updating the file browser to display the file sizes using the correct units (MiB) to match the actual file sizes reported by the OS.

In the screenshot above, the units displayed in the File Explorer should be MiB

Additional context

Has this issue been evaluated in the past and decided to report the file sizes in this way? If so, I'm curious to understand the reasoning behind that decision.

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[krassowski]

Quick look: I think that the file manager in jupyter-server by default returns size in bytes, based on this code referencing st_size which normally is in bytes.

Then on frontend this is formatted here

https://github.com/jupyterlab/jupyterlab/blob/b3f0b44b1136e50b757ad23db4b02d44ccd80740/packages/filebrowser/src/listing.ts#L2695-L2700

Using this function:

https://github.com/jupyterlab/jupyterlab/blob/b3f0b44b1136e50b757ad23db4b02d44ccd80740/packages/filebrowser/src/listing.ts#L3007-L3027

[krassowski]

Does it make more sense to show MiB vs MB? What do most file browsers show? Real-estate-wise MB is shorter. Should it be configurable?

[msanchezst]

@krassowski thank you for your quick response! Based on this:

https://github.com/jupyterlab/jupyterlab/blob/b3f0b44b1136e50b757ad23db4b02d44ccd80740/packages/filebrowser/src/listing.ts#L2695-L2700

it looks to me that because of the value of 1024 set in the formatFileSize, the formatted file size is converted to Bi Units (KiB,MiB,GiB), but the labels here are incorrect:

https://github.com/jupyterlab/jupyterlab/blob/b3f0b44b1136e50b757ad23db4b02d44ccd80740/packages/filebrowser/src/listing.ts#L3020

As for what units to display, that's a good question. Mac and Windows file browsers typically use MB. Some Linux file browsers let you change the units. Technically, MiB might be more accurate, but I don't think there is a established standard here. Perhaps making this configurable would be the best approach?