High Swap Memory Usage on MBA

[kapap]

I recently purchased the 8gb version of the M1 air and it works great. However I'm a bit worried about how much swap memory it uses. I do keep several workspaces open that may not be used for the day but this laptop is mainly used for light programming and note taking. I'm debating whether I should just return this and upgrade to the 16gb model.

 

[leons]

Update to 11.3 and your swap will go down to almost 0.
For your purposes, the 8GB model is fine. I have the same model, and I use it for business almost 12 hours a day and it serves me well.
Others may advise you that 16GB is better for "future-proofing" in case you find the need for memory-intensive programs like video editing, virtual machines. etc. in the future. If you think you might, and money is not an issue, there is nothing wrong with that advice.

P.S. Welcome to the forum.