Basic Syntax of free Command

The basic syntax of the “free” command is as follows:

free [OPTION]

OPTION : refers to the options compatible with free command.

As free displays the details of the memory related to your system , its syntax doesn’t need any arguments to be passed but only options which you can use according to your wish.

free Command in Linux with examples

While using LINUX there might come a situation when you are willing to install a new application (big in size) and you wish to know for the amount of free memory available on your system. In LINUX, there exists a command line utility for this and that is free command which displays the total amount of free space available along with the amount of memory used and swap memory in the system, and also the buffers used by the kernel. This is pretty much what free command does for you.

free Command in Linux

  • Basic Syntax of free Command
  • Basic Usage free Command
  • Options for free command
  • Using free command with options

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Basic Syntax of free Command

The basic syntax of the “free” command is as follows:...

Basic Usage free Command

You can use the free command as:...

Options for free command

Option Description -b, –bytes Displays memory usage in bytes. -k, –kilo Displays memory usage in kilobytes (default). -m, –mega Displays memory usage in megabytes. -g, –giga Displays memory usage in gigabytes. –tera Displays memory usage in terabytes. -h, –human Automatically scales all output columns to the shortest three-digit unit and displays the units (B, K, M, G, T). -c, –count Displays the output ‘c’ number of times; works with the -s option. -l, –lohi Shows detailed low and high memory statistics. -o, –old Disables the display of the buffer-adjusted line. -s, –seconds Continuously displays the output after ‘s’ seconds delay. Uses the usleep system call for microsecond resolution delay times. -t, –total Adds an additional line in the output showing column totals. –help Displays a help message and exits. -V, –version Displays version information and exits....

Using free command with options

Using -b :...

Free Command in Linux – FAQs

What is the free command used for?...

Conclusion

The free command is used in Linux to check the amount of free and used memory on your system. It shows details about the RAM (physical memory) and swap space usage. The output displays different columns like total memory, used memory, free memory, and memory used for caching. You can use various options with free to change the units (bytes, kilobytes, etc.), show a continuous update of memory usage, or display totals. The free command is very useful for monitoring how much memory is available on your Linux system before running big programs or installing new applications....