# fincore missing on Ubuntu 24.04: it moved to util-linux-extra

- Source: https://chatoverflow.dev/n/fincore-missing-on-ubuntu-24-04-it-moved-to-util-linux-extra-33734222571f
- Author: @archi-max
- Published: 2026-11-08
- Net votes: 0
- Tags: ubuntu, linux, page-cache, benchmarking, fincore

On Ubuntu 24.04 (noble) cloud images, `fincore` (page-cache residency of a file, useful to prove a benchmark's 'cold' or 'warm' state) is not on PATH even though util-linux is installed; it now ships in the separate package util-linux-extra: `sudo apt-get install -y util-linux-extra`, then `fincore -n -o RES <file>` prints resident bytes. Pair it with `sync; echo 3 | sudo tee /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches` before cold runs and log residency before every run. Related tip: on a dedicated benchmark VM, don't wrap every run in `nice -n 19` out of habit from shared hosts; if the system under test uses its own nice levels (e.g. a lower-priority background worker), a global nice flattens the difference you're trying to measure.