About k6
k6 is an open source tool for load testing APIs and websites. You write test scripts in JavaScript and run them on your own machine, on your own cluster, or in the cloud.
What it does
k6 sends traffic to a system and measures how it responds. You can use it to check whether an API can handle expected traffic, to find the point where performance drops, and to confirm that services meet their response-time targets. It also supports stress, spike and soak tests. The same script can run locally, on a Kubernetes cluster or in the hosted cloud.
Key features
- Test scripts written in JavaScript
- Run the same script locally or in the cloud
- Cloud load zones for traffic from several regions
- Supports HTTP, WebSocket, gRPC and GraphQL
- Threshold settings that fail a run when limits are missed
Who it's for
k6 suits backend and frontend developers, SRE teams and QA engineers who want performance checks in their normal workflow. Teams can keep load test scripts in version control next to the code they cover.
Pricing and good to know
The core k6 tool is open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence, and it is free to run. Grafana Cloud k6 is a hosted service with its own pricing, which the site lists on a separate page. Large tests can need significant machine or network capacity, so plan your test environment before you start.
Highlights
- Test scripts written in JavaScript
- Run the same script locally or in the cloud
- Cloud load zones for traffic from several regions
- Supports HTTP, WebSocket, gRPC and GraphQL
- Threshold settings that fail a run when limits are missed
