Get Started with K6

K6 is a lightweight open source load generator and testing suite which can can be used to verify expected behaviors are occurring across your infrastructure. This document will cover setting up a basic test script to generate load against a DNS record.

Install K6

K6 Is available on Linux, MacOS, Windows, and as a Docker container. K6 can be installed at K6: Getting Started.

Run the below command to verify your installation was successful:

k6 version

Example:

k6 v0.39.0 ((devel), go1.18.3, darwin/arm64)

Write a Basic Test Script

Our first test script will make GET requests against an IP address or domain name based on a number of variables we will provide. Start by copying the below template to a new file named basic-test.js:

import http from 'k6/http';
import { sleep } from 'k6';

export default function () {
  http.get('https://domain.tld/'); # Required: Domain or IP to Test
  sleep(1); # Required: Desired Sleep in Seconds
}

Now, we will add the two basic variables which should be set in any test: Domain, VUs (virtual users), Sleep Time (time between VU runs) and Test Duration.

import http from 'k6/http';
import { sleep } from 'k6';

export const options = {
  vus: 10, # Required: Virtual Users as an Integer
  duration: '60s', # Required: Test Duration in Time
}

export default function () {
  http.get('https://domain.tld/'); # Required: Domain or IP to Test
  sleep(1); # Required: Desired Sleep in Seconds
}

Run a K6 Test Script

To run your test, execute the below command with the name of your test script. In our case this is basic-test.js:

k6 run basic-test.js

To stop the basic-test.js script execution early, enter Ctrl-C. The test script will exit and the test statistics will be displayed. Read the full K6 Documentation.