http_load ☆

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Description:
Test throughput of a web server by running parallel fetches

Type: Formula | Latest Version: 20160309@2 | Tracked Since: Dec 28, 2025

Links: Homepage | formulae.brew.sh

Category: Developer tools

Tags: benchmarking http testing performance web-server

Install: brew install http_load

About:
HttpLoad is a command-line tool designed to stress test and measure the throughput of web servers. It operates by fetching a list of URLs in parallel, simulating multiple concurrent users accessing a site. This allows administrators to evaluate server performance and stability under load.

Key Features:

Supports both HTTP and HTTPS protocols
Fetches URLs in parallel to simulate concurrent load
Parses URLs from a provided file for batch operations
Provides throughput metrics and performance data

Use Cases:

Benchmarking web server performance before deployment
Identifying bottlenecks under high-traffic conditions
Validating server stability during stress tests

Alternatives:

ab – ApacheBench (ab) is more widely available and simpler for basic requests, while http_load can handle a list of different URLs.
wrk – wrk is a modern, high-performance benchmarking tool that uses multithreading and is generally faster for high-concurrency tests.
jmeter – JMeter is a full-featured Java application with a GUI, offering complex scripting and detailed reporting beyond simple command-line tools.

Version History

Detected	Version	Rev	Change	Commit
Sep 13, 2024 9:51pm	20160309	2	VERSION_BUMP	0236299e