swap file to save memory space and improve system performance on Debian (linux)

If you are using a Debian system, it may be useful to have a swap file to save memory space and improve system performance. Below we explain how to create and activate a swap file on a Debian-based system.

Step 1: Make sure swap memory is enabled

To check if swap memory is already active on your system, run the following command:

swapon --show

If there is no output, then no swap memory is active on your system.

Step 2: Create a swap file

To create a swap file, use the following command:

sudo fallocate -l 6G /swapfile

This will create a swap file the size of 6 gigabytes. Note that "sudo" is used to gain root privileges to create the file.

Step 3: Format the swap file

After the swap file is created, you must format it to use it as swap memory.

sudo mkswap /swapfile

Step 4: Activate the swap file

Now you can activate the swap file with the following command:

sudo swapon /swapfile

Step 5: Make sure the swap file is active

To verify that the swap file is active, run the swapon --show command again. If everything is done correctly, there will be an output that lists the swap file.

It is important to remember that a swap file is not permanent, meaning that it will not start up automatically upon a reboot of the system. To solve this, you can add the swap file to the /etc/fstab file so that the system will automatically activate it at boot time.

We hope this article has helped you to create and activate a swap file on a Debian system. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!