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Increase Swap

1. Before we can increase our Raspberry Pi’s swap file, we must first temporarily stop it.

The swap file cannot be in use while we increase it.

To stop the operating system from using the current swap file, run the following command.

2. Next, we need to modify the swap file configuration file.

We can open this file using nano by using the command below.

3. Within this config file, find the following line of text.

You can use CTRL + W to search for text within the file.

To increase or decrease the swap file, all you need to do is modify the numerical value you find here.

This number is the size of the swap in megabytes.

For example, if we wanted to increase our swap size to 1GB, we would change that line to the following.

Whatever size you set, you must have that space available on your SD card.

4. Once you have made the change, save the file by pressing CTRL + X, followed by Y, then ENTER.

5. We can now re-initialize the Raspberry Pi’s swap file by running the command below.

Running this command will delete the original swap file and recreate it to fit the newly defined size.

6. With the swap now recreated to the newly defined size, we can now turn the swap back on.

To start the operating systems swap system, run the following command.

While the new swapfile is now switched on, programs will not know that this new memory exists until they restart.

7. If you want all programs to be reloaded with access to the new memory pool, then the easiest way is to restart your device.

To restart your Raspberry Pi, all you need to do is run the command below.

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