stress-ng
- Android app
- Yes
- Free plan
- Yes
- Runs on
- Android, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
Summary
stress-ng is a free tool for exercising computer hardware and operating system interfaces under load. Its project lists more than 390 stress tests, including tests for CPU, virtual memory, filesystems, and memory or CPU caches. CPU tests cover floating-point, integer, bit-manipulation, and control-flow operations, and listed architecture coverage includes ARM, x86-64, RISC-V, MIPS, Power, SPARC, and s390x. The project originally aimed to expose hardware problems such as overheating under load and operating system bugs. It can report test throughput to help observe changes across operating system releases or hardware types, but is not intended as a precise benchmark suite. Use requires care: some tests can heat poorly designed hardware or create severe system thrashing that is difficult to stop. On Linux, running as root changes out-of-memory settings so stressors may become unkillable when memory is low. The tool is licensed under GPL-2.0; the project documents Docker snapshots and installation on recent Ubuntu versions through its PPA.
Who it is for
stress-ng suits users who need to exercise system components to look for hardware or operating system issues. It can also help observe throughput changes, provided users account for its stated limits and risks.
What is good
- Free to use under GPL-2.0.
- Lists more than 390 stress tests.
- Covers CPU, memory, filesystem, and cache tests.
- Architecture coverage includes ARM, x86-64, and RISC-V.
What to know first
- Not a precise benchmark suite.
- Some tests may cause hardware to run hot.
- System thrashing may be difficult to stop.
- Root use on Linux can make stressors unkillable under low memory.
Verdict
stress-ng offers broad system stress coverage at no charge, with throughput reporting for observing changes. Its potential to overheat hardware or cause difficult-to-stop thrashing calls for cautious use.
stress-ng plans and pricing
All plansCompared on hardware diagnostic software
- Free plan
- Yesgithub.com
- Platform support
- multi-platformgithub.com
- Stress testing
- Yesgithub.com
- Memory testing
- Yesgithub.com
- Disk health checks
- Yesgithub.com
- Diagnostic reports
- Yesgithub.com
Facts
- Purpose
- stress-ng stress tests computer systems by exercising physical subsystems and operating system kernel interfaces.github.com · 3 Oct 2026
- Stress tests
- The project lists 390+ stress tests, including 100+ CPU, 60+ virtual memory, 80+ filesystem, and 50+ memory or CPU cache tests.github.com · 3 Oct 2026
- CPU coverage
- CPU stress tests exercise floating point, integer, bit manipulation, and control flow operations.github.com · 3 Oct 2026
- Platforms
- The README lists Linux, Solaris, BSD variants, Minix, Android, MacOS X, Serenity OS, GNU/Hurd, Haiku, WSL, Cygwin, and SunOS/Dilos among supported or tested systems.github.com · 3 Oct 2026
- Architectures
- The README lists test coverage across architectures including ARM, x86-64, RISC-V, MIPS, Power, SPARC, and s390x.github.com · 3 Oct 2026
- Use cases
- The project says it was originally intended to expose hardware issues such as thermal overruns and operating system bugs that occur under heavy load.github.com · 3 Oct 2026
- Throughput metrics
- stress-ng can measure test throughput to observe performance changes across operating system releases or hardware types, but the project says it is not a precise benchmark suite.github.com · 3 Oct 2026
- Usage caution
- Some tests can make poorly designed hardware run hot and cause excessive system thrashing that may be difficult to stop.github.com · 3 Oct 2026
- Privileges
- When run as root on Linux, stress-ng adjusts out-of-memory settings so stressors are unkillable in low-memory situations; the README advises judicious use.github.com · 3 Oct 2026
- Packaging
- The README documents running the latest snapshot in a Docker container and installing recent Ubuntu versions from the project’s PPA.github.com · 3 Oct 2026
- Build dependencies
- The build detects optional library dependencies and can disable functionality when support libraries are missing.github.com · 3 Oct 2026
- License
- The repository identifies its license as GPL-2.0.github.com · 3 Oct 2026
- Support and contributions
- The README invites patches by email or merge requests through the stress-ng GitHub repository.github.com · 3 Oct 2026
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Sources
- github.com/ColinIanKing/stress-ng· checked 3 Oct 2026