diff --git a/doc/guix.texi b/doc/guix.texi
index 67a05a10ff..2cf30536fe 100644
--- a/doc/guix.texi
+++ b/doc/guix.texi
@@ -319,6 +319,7 @@ System Configuration
 * operating-system Reference::  Detail of operating-system declarations.
 * File Systems::                Configuring file system mounts.
 * Mapped Devices::              Block device extra processing.
+* Swap Space::                  Backing RAM with disk space.
 * User Accounts::               Specifying user accounts.
 * Keyboard Layout::             How the system interprets key strokes.
 * Locales::                     Language and cultural convention settings.
@@ -2515,10 +2516,9 @@ system relative to this path.  If you have opted for @file{/boot/efi} as an
 EFI mount point for example, mount it at @file{/mnt/boot/efi} now so it is
 found by @code{guix system init} afterwards.
 
-Finally, if you plan to use one or more swap partitions (@pxref{Memory
-Concepts, swap space,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual}), make
-sure to initialize them with @command{mkswap}.  Assuming you have one
-swap partition on @file{/dev/sda3}, you would run:
+Finally, if you plan to use one or more swap partitions (@pxref{Swap
+Space}), make sure to initialize them with @command{mkswap}.  Assuming
+you have one swap partition on @file{/dev/sda3}, you would run:
 
 @example
 mkswap /dev/sda3
@@ -13769,6 +13769,7 @@ instance to support new system services.
 * operating-system Reference::  Detail of operating-system declarations.
 * File Systems::                Configuring file system mounts.
 * Mapped Devices::              Block device extra processing.
+* Swap Space::                  Backing RAM with disk space.
 * User Accounts::               Specifying user accounts.
 * Keyboard Layout::             How the system interprets key strokes.
 * Locales::                     Language and cultural convention settings.
@@ -13937,7 +13938,7 @@ configuration, but with a few modifications.
 
 @cindex encrypted disk
 The configuration for a typical ``desktop'' usage, with an encrypted
-root partition, the X11 display
+root partition, a swap file on the root partition, the X11 display
 server, GNOME and Xfce (users can choose which of these desktop
 environments to use at the log-in screen by pressing @kbd{F1}), network
 management, power management, and more, would look like this:
@@ -14135,38 +14136,9 @@ A list of mapped devices.  @xref{Mapped Devices}.
 @item @code{file-systems}
 A list of file systems.  @xref{File Systems}.
 
-@cindex swap devices
-@cindex swap space
 @item @code{swap-devices} (default: @code{'()})
-A list of UUIDs, file system labels, or strings identifying devices or
-files to be used for ``swap
-space'' (@pxref{Memory Concepts,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference
-Manual}).  Here are some examples:
-
-@table @code
-@item (list (uuid "4dab5feb-d176-45de-b287-9b0a6e4c01cb"))
-Use the swap partition with the given UUID@.  You can learn the UUID of a
-Linux swap partition by running @command{swaplabel @var{device}}, where
-@var{device} is the @file{/dev} file name of that partition.
-
-@item (list (file-system-label "swap"))
-Use the partition with label @code{swap}.  Again, the
-@command{swaplabel} command allows you to view and change the label of a
-Linux swap partition.
-
-@item (list "/swapfile")
-Use the file @file{/swapfile} as swap space.
-
-@item (list "/dev/sda3" "/dev/sdb2")
-Use the @file{/dev/sda3} and @file{/dev/sdb2} partitions as swap space.
-We recommend referring to swap devices by UUIDs or labels as shown above
-instead.
-@end table
-
-It is possible to specify a swap file in a file system on a mapped
-device (under @file{/dev/mapper}), provided that the necessary device
-mapping and file system are also specified.  @xref{Mapped Devices} and
-@ref{File Systems}.
+@cindex swap devices
+A list of swap spaces.  @xref{Swap Space}.
 
 @item @code{users} (default: @code{%base-user-accounts})
 @itemx @code{groups} (default: @code{%base-groups})
@@ -14756,7 +14728,8 @@ It is also desirable to encrypt swap space, since swap space may contain
 sensitive data.  One way to accomplish that is to use a swap file in a
 file system on a device mapped via LUKS encryption.  In this way, the
 swap file is encrypted because the entire device is encrypted.
-@xref{Preparing for Installation,,Disk Partitioning}, for an example.
+@xref{Swap Space}, or @xref{Preparing for Installation,,Disk
+Partitioning}, for an example.
 
 A RAID device formed of the partitions @file{/dev/sda1} and @file{/dev/sdb1}
 may be declared as follows:
@@ -14788,6 +14761,95 @@ Devices @file{/dev/mapper/vg0-alpha} and @file{/dev/mapper/vg0-beta} can
 then be used as the @code{device} of a @code{file-system} declaration
 (@pxref{File Systems}).
 
+@node Swap Space
+@section Swap Space
+@cindex swap space
+
+Swap space, as it is commonly called, is a disk area specifically
+designated for paging: the process in charge of memory management
+(the Linux kernel or Hurd's default pager) can decide that some memory
+pages stored in RAM which belong to a running program but are unused
+should be stored on disk instead.  It unloads those from the RAM,
+freeing up precious fast memory, and writes them to the swap space.  If
+the program tries to access that very page, the memory management
+process loads it back into memory for the program to use.
+
+A common misconception about swap is that it is only useful when small
+amounts of RAM are available to the system.  However, it should be noted
+that kernels often use all available RAM for disk access caching to make
+I/O faster, and thus paging out unused portions of program memory will
+expand the RAM available for such caching.
+
+For a more detailed description of how memory is managed from the
+viewpoint of a monolithic kernel, @xref{Memory
+Concepts,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual}.
+
+The Linux kernel has support for swap partitions and swap files: the
+former uses a whole disk partition for paging, whereas the second uses a
+file on a file system for that (the file system driver needs to support
+it).  On a comparable setup, both have the same performance, so one
+should consider ease of use when deciding between them.  Partitions are
+``simpler'' and do not need file system support, but need to be
+allocated at disk formatting time (logical volumes notwithstanding),
+whereas files can be allocated and deallocated at any time.
+
+Note that swap space is not zeroed on shutdown, so sensitive data (such
+as passwords) may linger on it if it was paged out.  As such, you should
+consider having your swap reside on an encrypted device (@pxref{Mapped
+Devices}).
+
+@deftp {Data Type} swap-space
+Objects of this type represent swap spaces.  They contain the following
+members:
+
+@table @asis
+@item @code{target}
+The device or file to use, either a UUID, a @code{file-system-label} or
+a string, as in the definition of a @code{file-system} (@pxref{File
+Systems}).
+
+@item @code{dependencies} (default: @code{'()})
+A list of @code{file-system} or @code{mapped-device} objects, upon which
+the availability of the space depends.  Note that just like for
+@code{file-system} objects, dependencies which are needed for boot and
+mounted in early userspace are not managed by the Shepherd, and so
+automatically filtered out for you.
+
+@item @code{priority} (default: @code{#f})
+Only supported by the Linux kernel.  Either @code{#f} to disable swap
+priority, or an integer between 0 and 32767.  The kernel will first use
+swap spaces of higher priority when paging, and use same priority spaces
+on a round-robin basis.  The kernel will use swap spaces without a set
+priority after prioritized spaces, and in the order that they appeared in
+(not round-robin).
+
+@item @code{discard?} (default: @code{#f})
+Only supported by the Linux kernel.  When true, the kernel will notify
+the disk controller of discarded pages, for example with the TRIM
+operation on Solid State Drives.
+
+@end table
+@end deftp
+
+Here are some examples:
+
+@table @code
+@item (swap-space (target (uuid "4dab5feb-d176-45de-b287-9b0a6e4c01cb")))
+Use the swap partition with the given UUID@.  You can learn the UUID of a
+Linux swap partition by running @command{swaplabel @var{device}}, where
+@var{device} is the @file{/dev} file name of that partition.
+
+@item (swap-space (target (file-system-label "swap")) (dependencies (list lvm-device)))
+Use the partition with label @code{swap}, which can be found after the
+@var{lvm-device} mapped device has been opened.  Again, the
+@command{swaplabel} command allows you to view and change the label of a
+Linux swap partition.
+
+@item (swap-space (target "/btrfs/swapfile") (dependencies (list btrfs-fs)))
+Use the file @file{/btrfs/swapfile} as swap space, which is present on the
+@var{btrfs-fs} filesystem.
+@end table
+
 @node User Accounts
 @section User Accounts
 
diff --git a/gnu/system/examples/desktop.tmpl b/gnu/system/examples/desktop.tmpl
index c928008c92..93c35a03bc 100644
--- a/gnu/system/examples/desktop.tmpl
+++ b/gnu/system/examples/desktop.tmpl
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ;; This is an operating system configuration template
 ;; for a "desktop" setup with GNOME and Xfce where the
-;; root partition is encrypted with LUKS.
+;; root partition is encrypted with LUKS, and a swap file.
 
 (use-modules (gnu) (gnu system nss))
 (use-service-modules desktop xorg)
@@ -42,6 +42,11 @@
                          (type "vfat")))
                  %base-file-systems))
 
+  ;; Specify a swap file for the system, which resides on the
+  ;; root file system.
+  (swap-devices (list (swap-space
+		       (target "/swapfile"))))
+
   ;; Create user `bob' with `alice' as its initial password.
   (users (cons (user-account
                 (name "bob")
