Display memory statistics using Linux free command

The Linux free command is used to display the amount of used and free memory in Linux system. This command deals with the physical memory, swap memory and the memory buffers used by Linux kernel. In this article, we will discuss the Linux free command through some practical examples.

Here is the syntax of this command (from the man page) :

free [-b|-k|-m|-g] [-c count] [-l] [-o] [-t] [-s delay] [-V]

Linux free command examples

1. A basic example

Here is a basic example of free command where it is run without any option.

$ free
             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:       3088092    2870016     218076          0     666912    1732864
-/+ buffers/cache:     470240    2617852
Swap:      1340412         88    1340324

So we see that information related to physical memory, kernel memory buffers and swap memory is displayed in the output. By default the information displayed is in terms of kilobytes(KBs).

2. Display the memory statistics in bytes

To display the memory statistics in bytes, the flag -b can be used along with the free command.

For example :

$ free -b
             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:    3162206208 2957144064  205062144          0  683692032 1778278400
-/+ buffers/cache:  495173632 2667032576
Swap:   1372581888      90112 1372491776

So we see that all the information was displayed in bytes.

3. Display memory in GBs

This can be done using the -g flag with the free command.

For example :

$ free -g
             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:             2          2          0          0          0          1
-/+ buffers/cache:          0          2
Swap:            1          0          1

So we see that memory statistics in terms of GBs were displayed in the output.

4. Show low and high memory statistics in detail

To get a detail information on the low and high of the memory, the flag -l is used.

For example:

$ free -l
             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:       3088092    2872740     215352          0     667980    1732212
Low:        865568     721340     144228
High:      2222524    2151400      71124
-/+ buffers/cache:     472548    2615544
Swap:      1340412         88    1340324

So we see that statistics related to low and high of the memory is displayed in the output.

5. Display memory statistics in MBs

This can be done by using the -m flag with the free command.

For example :

$ free -m
             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:          3015       2737        278          0        618       1637
-/+ buffers/cache:        481       2534
Swap:         1308          0       1308

So we see that memory information is displayed in units of MB.

6. Avoid information related to buffers/cache

In the old format of output, the memory information related to buffer/cache was not displayed. To activate this old format, use the -o flag.

For example:

$ free -o
             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:       3088092    2806636     281456          0     633352    1680980
Swap:      1340412         88    1340324

So we see that information related to buffer cache was not displayed.

7. Continuously repeat the output

In order to get a dynamic view of memory in Linux system, the flag -s can be used followed by [no. of seconds]. This flag makes sure that fresh memory statistics is repeatedly shown on stdout after [no. of seconds].

For example :

$ free -s 1
             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:       3088092    2804684     283408          0     633540    1676672
-/+ buffers/cache:     494472    2593620
Swap:      1340412         88    1340324

             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:       3088092    2804940     283152          0     633540    1677376
-/+ buffers/cache:     494024    2594068
Swap:      1340412         88    1340324

             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:       3088092    2809652     278440          0     633540    1681644
-/+ buffers/cache:     494468    2593624
Swap:      1340412         88    1340324

So we see that the information was shown repeatedly after every 1 second.

8. Repeat the output for specified number of times

This is a more customized form of the example shown in (7) above. Using this we can tell free command to repeat the output after lets say 1 second for 3 times or 5 times etc. The flag used in this case is -c.

For example :

$ free -s 1 -c 2
             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:       3088092    2820688     267404          0     633740    1680228
-/+ buffers/cache:     506720    2581372
Swap:      1340412         88    1340324

             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:       3088092    2825656     262436          0     633740    1685368
-/+ buffers/cache:     506548    2581544
Swap:      1340412         88    1340324

$

So we see that the output was repeated for 2 times.

9. Display total for each column using -t flag

To get the total of every column, the flag -t can be used in the following way:

$ free -t
             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:       3088092    2814620     273472          0     634032    1680528
-/+ buffers/cache:     500060    2588032
Swap:      1340412         88    1340324
Total:     4428504    2814708    1613796

So if you look at the last column you will see the total for each column is displayed.

10. Get version using -V flag

As standard with every command, the version information can be fetched through the -V flag.

For example :

$ free -V
procps version 3.2.8

So we see that our version of this command is 3.2.8