Available memory on our server

In this manual, you will learn how to check RAM memory usage on your GNU/Linux server from the command line.

Prerequisites

Before starting:

• You must connect to your server via SSH.
• You can use tools like PuTTY on Windows systems.
• Have sufficient permissions to execute commands on the system.

1. View memory in use (in MB)

Once inside the server, run the following command:

free -m

2. Interpret the result

The free command shows several important columns:

• total → Total system memory
• used → Used memory
• free → Completely free memory
• shared → Memory shared between processes
• buff/cache → Memory used as cache (improves performance)
• available → Memory actually available for new applications

💡 Important:
In Linux, cached memory (buff/cache) can be released automatically when needed, so the most relevant value is usually available.

3. View memory in GB

If you prefer to see the values in gigabytes, use:

free -g