# Preload

preload is a program written by Behdad Esfahbod which runs as a daemon and records statistics about usage of programs using Markov chains; files of more frequently-used programs are, during a computer's spare time, loaded into memory. This results in faster startup times as less data needs to be fetched from disk. preload is often paired with prelink.

## Installation

Install preload from the AUR. You may now start the systemd service `preload`, and/or enable it in order to start at boot.

## Configuration

The configuration file is located in `/etc/conf.d/preload`, it contains default settings that should be suitable for regular users. The `cycle` option lets you configure how often to ping the preload system to update its model of which applications and libraries to cache.

## See also

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preload_(software)
- http://techthrob.com/2009/03/02/drastically-speed-up-your-linux-system-with-preload/
- Improve boot performance

Category:

- System administration