How to release cache memory in Linux?

9 months ago

Emily Johnson

2 minutes

To release cache memory, you can use the following methods:

To use the sync command: the sync command can write data from the cache to the hard drive and release the associated memory. Enter the following command in the terminal:

sync

使用echo命令清理缓存：可以通过echo命令向/proc/sys/vm/drop_caches文件中写入数值来清理缓存。可以在终端中输入以下命令：

echo 1 > /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches  #清理页面缓存
echo 2 > /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches  #清理目录项和inode缓存
echo 3 > /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches  #清理页面、目录项和inode缓存

You can use the free command to check the system’s memory usage, including cache and buffer. Just input the following command in the terminal:

free -h

Reboot system: If the above methods do not work, you can try restarting the system to free up cached memory.

Please be aware that releasing cached memory may impact system performance, as caches can improve read and write speeds. These operations should only be performed when memory needs to be freed up.