macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install stresslocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew
Install stress with Homebrew, apt, dnf, Nix, pacman
Tool to impose load on and stress test a computer system. Version 1.0.7 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install stressDebian stable package indexes · stress · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install stressFedora Rawhide package metadata · stress · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#stressnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/st/stress/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S stressArch Linux sync databases · stress · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
overview
Package summary
Tool to impose load on and stress test a computer system
Project links
Commands and aliases
- stress
history
Project history and usage
stress is a classic POSIX command-line load generator for CPU, memory, I/O, and disk pressure, used by administrators and kernel/system programmers to expose behavior under heavy load.
Project history
The current upstream README says stress was originally developed by Amos Waterland under GPL-2+. The same README says the original project went unmaintained, that the last original version 1.0.4 was imported from Debian, and that volunteer maintainers later produced newer releases under Resurrecting Open Source Projects.
The ChangeLog records Amos Waterland releases through 1.0.4 in 2010, followed by volunteer-maintained releases such as 1.0.5 in 2021 and later 1.0.6 and 1.0.7 in 2023.
Adoption history
stress became common because it does one job predictably and is easy to package. The supplied package-manager facts list it in Homebrew, Debian, Fedora/dnf, Nix, pacman, and Ubuntu.
Its continued packaging beside stress-ng shows a conservative Unix pattern: keep the old simple tool available for scripts and documentation while newer tools cover larger test surfaces.
How it is used
The README explicitly says stress is not a benchmark. It is used by system administrators to evaluate scaling, by kernel programmers to evaluate perceived performance characteristics, and by systems programmers to expose bugs that appear under heavy load.
Typical package-manager users install it for quick reproducible load generation, CI smoke tests, container experiments, or demos where `stress-ng` would be more featureful than needed.
Why package nerds care
stress is significant because it is the tiny, old-school answer to 'make this machine work hard now.' It has a stable CLI, few conceptual dependencies, and enough distro history that many runbooks still mention it.
For package nerds, the 2021 volunteer revival is also a familiar maintenance story: import the last distro-carried source, preserve the interface, modernize the build, and keep the package alive without turning it into a new framework.
Timeline
- 2010-03-19: ChangeLog records version 1.0.4 by Amos Waterland.
- 2021: Current README says the unmaintained 1.0.4 source was imported from Debian and updated for the 1.0.5 release.
- 2023: ChangeLog records volunteer-maintained 1.0.6 and 1.0.7 releases.
Related projects
- stress-ng is the larger next-generation stress-testing suite for users who need many more stressors and metrics.
- Debian packaging is part of the preservation chain for the current upstream source.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: green
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
Risk classifier
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Why
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals
Signals
- metadata:no-higher-risk-signals
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 12 platform targets.
- Build metadata lists 2 build dependencies.
Recommended review
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
stress | cli | global executable |
freshness
Version and freshness
These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.
page generated2026-07-08
manager version1.0.7
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detected1.0.7
https://github.com/resurrecting-open-source-projects/stress
- infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:stress |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.0.7 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/stress |
| Homepage | https://github.com/resurrecting-open-source-projects/stress |
| Repository | https://github.com/resurrecting-open-source-projects/stress |
| Upstream docs | https://github.com/resurrecting-open-source-projects/stress#readme |
| License | GPL-2.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://github.com/resurrecting-open-source-projects/stress/archive/refs/tags/1.0.7.tar.gz |
| Build dependencies | autoconf, automake |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, monterey, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | none declared |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | stress |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Debian apt95%
stress 1.0.7-1
tool to impose load on and stress test a computer system
https://github.com/resurrecting-open-source-projects/stress
sudo apt install stress- Section: devel
- Architecture: amd64
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Stress
Nix95%
stress
nix profile install nixpkgs#stress- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Stress
Ubuntu apt95%
stress 1.0.7-1
tool to impose load on and stress test a computer system
https://github.com/resurrecting-open-source-projects/stress
sudo apt install stress- Section: universe/devel
- Architecture: amd64
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Stress
dnf95%
stress 1.0.7-8.fc44
A tool to put given subsystems under a specified load
https://github.com/resurrecting-open-source-projects/stress
sudo dnf install stress- License: GPL-2.0-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: stress
- 3 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Stress
pacman95%
stress 1.0.7-3
A tool that stress tests your system (CPU, memory, I/O, disks)
https://github.com/resurrecting-open-source-projects/stress
sudo pacman -S stress- License: GPL-2.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Stress
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- Nucleus package database
- av.db category and tag curation
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment