stress ☆

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Description:
Tool to impose load on and stress test a computer system

Type: Formula | Tracked Since: Dec 28, 2025

Links: Homepage | formulae.brew.sh

Category: System utilities

Tags: stress-testing system-monitoring performance load-testing benchmarking

Install: brew install stress

About:
Stress is a lightweight command-line utility that generates configurable CPU, memory, I/O, and disk load on Unix-like systems. It enables system administrators and developers to simulate high-stress conditions to test system stability, performance limits, and resource management under pressure.

Key Features:

Generates CPU load via configurable workers
Supports memory, I/O, and disk stressors
Lightweight and simple command-line interface
Real-time resource usage monitoring

Use Cases:

Testing system stability under high load conditions
Benchmarking hardware performance and thermal throttling
Validating monitoring and alerting systems
Stress testing before production deployments

Alternatives:

stress-ng – More comprehensive with additional stressor types and advanced options
sysbench – Focuses on database and system performance benchmarking

Version History

Detected	Version	Rev	Change	Commit
Sep 15, 2025 12:35pm		0	VERSION_BUMP	8d6739c2
Sep 13, 2024 1:15am		0	VERSION_BUMP	1ede92b0