# Cheatsheet & Examples: free

The `free` command displays the amount of free and used memory in the system. It can show information about physical RAM and swap space.

## Displaying Basic Memory Statistics

Example Usage:
`free`

What it does:
Displays a summary of the system's memory usage, including total, used, free, shared, buffer/cache, and available memory, in kilobytes.

Command-line Arguments Explained:

- (No arguments are used in this basic usage.)

## Displaying Memory in Human-Readable Format

Example Usage:
`free -h`

What it does:
Displays memory usage in a human-readable format (e.g., KB, MB, GB), making it easier to understand the numbers.

Command-line Arguments Explained:

- `-h`:  Prints the output in human-readable format.

## Displaying Memory Continuously

Example Usage:
`free -s 5`

What it does:
Continuously displays memory usage, updating every 5 seconds.

Command-line Arguments Explained:

- `-s`: Enables continuous monitoring.
- `5`: Specifies the interval in seconds between updates.

## Displaying Only Specific Columns

Example Usage:
`free -k -w`

What it does:
Displays memory usage in kilobytes, and includes the "shared" column.

Command-line Arguments Explained:

- `-k`: Prints output in kilobytes.
- `-w`: Display the "shared" column

## Displaying Memory in a Specific Unit

Example Usage:
`free -m`

What it does:
Displays memory usage in megabytes.

Command-line Arguments Explained:

- `-m`: Prints the output in megabytes.

## Displaying Memory Without Buffers/Cache

Example Usage:
`free -k --no-buffer`

What it does:
Displays memory usage in kilobytes, omitting the buffer/cache information.

Command-line Arguments Explained:

- `-k`: Prints the output in kilobytes.
- `--no-buffer`: Excludes the buffer and cache columns from the output, providing a more direct view of used and free memory.