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autocannon

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description autocannon Overview

Autocannon is a command-line tool designed for simulating heavy HTTP traffic against web applications. It generates numerous concurrent requests, mirroring real user behavior to assess website performance and stability. This makes it valuable for developers, system administrators, and QA engineers seeking to identify bottlenecks and benchmark application responsiveness under load.

It integrates with tools like WebPageTest for comprehensive testing.

help autocannon FAQ

How do I install autocannon to load test my local Node.js server?

Autocannon is an npm package, so you can easily install it globally on your machine by running the command 'npm install autocannon -g' in your terminal. You must have Node.js installed on your system to use the package. Once installed, you can run it directly from your command line, targeting any local or remote URL.

Does autocannon require writing complex test scripts to generate HTTP traffic?

No, one of the main benefits of autocannon is that it can be run instantly via the command line with zero programming required for basic tests. You can simply type 'autocannon http://localhost:3000' to immediately spawn hundreds of concurrent connections. For more advanced scenarios, you can pass a JavaScript script file to configure complex request sequences.

Can I use autocannon to stress test a WebSocket server instead of HTTP?

Yes, unlike some other load testing tools, autocannon natively supports testing both HTTP and WebSocket servers. You can pass the '-w' or '--websocket' flag in the command line to initiate a WebSocket load test. This makes it an incredibly versatile tool for testing modern real-time chat or multiplayer applications.

How does autocannon compare to Apache Bench (ab) for load testing?

While Apache Bench is a classic tool written in C, autocannon is written entirely in Node.js and is heavily optimized for high-concurrency network I/O. Autocannon can easily generate tens of thousands of requests per second on a single machine, often outperforming Apache Bench. It also provides a beautiful live-updating command-line interface showing real-time latency and requests per second.

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