/proc/meminfo Explained

Contains information about system memory, including total, free, and used memory

The file /proc/meminfo is a virtual file in the Linux operating system that provides information about the system's memory usage and configuration. This file contains details such as the amount of total RAM available, the amount of memory used, the amount of swap space, and other relevant information about the system's memory.

Here are some examples of information that can be found in the /proc/meminfo file:

  • MemTotal: This is the total amount of physical memory available on the system, in kilobytes.
  • MemFree: This is the amount of unused physical memory in the system, in kilobytes.
  • Buffers: This is the amount of memory used by the kernel for buffering data, in kilobytes.
  • Cached: This is the amount of memory used as cache by the system, in kilobytes.
  • SwapTotal: This is the total amount of swap space available on the system, in kilobytes.
  • SwapFree: This is the amount of unused swap space in the system, in kilobytes.

This information can be accessed through a terminal with the command cat /proc/meminfo. The information in this file is generated dynamically and is based on the current state of the system, making it an effective way to gather information about the system's memory usage and configuration.