How to Change Swap File Size in Ubuntu

In this article, we will talk about what a swap file is, the different types of swap, and how to change the swap file size in Ubuntu. This is useful for people who want to make their computer run better by changing the size of the swap file.

What is Swap?

Swap is a way for Linux systems, like Ubuntu, to manage memory. It temporarily stores data that the computer’s RAM (memory) is not using right now. When the RAM is full and cannot handle all the running programs, the operating system moves some data to the swap space. This frees up RAM for other tasks. Swap space can be on the hard drive as a swap file or a swap partition.

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Types of Swap

There are two types of swap spaces in Linux systems:

• Swap Partition: This is a special part of the hard drive set up when you install the operating system. It is usually faster than a swap file and is better for computers that need a lot of swap space.
• Swap File: This is a file made on the existing file system. It is easier to manage and resize than a swap partition. Swap files are good for computers that do not need much swap space or have limited hard drive space.

In this article, we will focus on changing the size of a swap file in Ubuntu.

Disable Existing Swap

Before changing the swap file size, you need to turn off the existing swap. Follow these steps:

1. Open the terminal by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or search for “Terminal” in the application menu.
2. To turn off the swap, type this command and press Enter:

   sudo swapoff -a 
   

Create and Use a New Swap File

To create a new swap file with a different size, follow these steps:

1. Remove the existing swap file: Make sure to remove existing swap file

   sudo rm /swapfile 
   

2. Create a new swap file with the size you want (in this example, we will create a 4GB swap file):

   sudo fallocate -l 4G /swapfile 
   

   If the fallocate command does not work on your system, use this command instead:

   sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/swapfile bs=1M count=4096 
   

3. Set the correct permissions for the new swap file:

   sudo chmod 600 /swapfile 
   

4. Format the new swap file:

   sudo mkswap /swapfile 
   

5. Turn on the new swap file:

   sudo swapon /swapfile 
   

6. Update the swap file entry in /etc/fstab: Open the /etc/fstab file and make sure it has this line:

   /swapfile none swap sw 0 0 
   

7. Save and close the file: Press Ctrl + X, then Y, and then Enter to save and close the file.
8. Restart your computer to apply the changes:

   sudo reboot 
   

9. After restarting, the new swap file will be active with the size you chose. To check this, use this command:

   free -h 
   

Conclusion

In this article, we talked about how to change the swap file size in Ubuntu. We explained what swap space is, the types of swap, how to turn off the existing swap, and how to create and use a new swap file. Changing the swap file size can help your computer run better based on what you need.