Tide: HTTP Load Testing Tool

Tide is a powerful and concurrent HTTP load testing tool written in Rust. It’s designed to help you quickly and easily assess the performance and scalability of your web applications and APIs. Built from the ground up for maximum performance and reliability, Tide provides detailed performance statistics, configurable parameters, and a graceful shutdown mechanism.

Press Release

Ataiva Releases Tide: Next-Generation HTTP Load Testing Tool

For immediate release - December 4, 2024

Sub-headline

Tide brings enterprise-grade HTTP load testing capabilities to development teams with a powerful, efficient, and easy-to-use open source tool written in Rust.

Revolutionary Performance

Tide represents a breakthrough in HTTP load testing tools. Written in Rust for maximum performance and reliability, Tide addresses the growing need for efficient, concurrent load testing in modern development workflows. The tool combines simplicity with enterprise-grade power, delivering exceptional performance, superior resource utilization, and rock-solid reliability through Rust’s memory safety guarantees.

Key Features & Advantages

• Exceptional Performance: Rust’s zero-cost abstractions and efficient concurrency model deliver unmatched speed
• Memory Safety: Rust’s ownership system eliminates common memory-related bugs and crashes
• Superior Resource Utilization: Highly efficient handling of concurrent connections and system resources
• Rock-Solid Reliability: Robust error handling and graceful degradation under extreme load conditions
• Modern Architecture: Clean, maintainable codebase built with cutting-edge software engineering practices

Quick Installation

The easiest way to get started with Tide is to download a pre-built binary for your platform. No Rust installation or compilation required!

Download Pre-built Binaries

Linux (x86_64)

# Download the binary
curl -L -o tide https://github.com/ao/tide/releases/latest/download/tide-linux-x86_64

# Make it executable
chmod +x tide

# Verify it works
./tide --version

macOS (Intel x86_64)

# Download the binary
curl -L -o tide https://github.com/ao/tide/releases/latest/download/tide-macos-x86_64

# Make it executable
chmod +x tide

# Verify it works
./tide --version

macOS (Apple Silicon ARM64)

# Download the binary
curl -L -o tide https://github.com/ao/tide/releases/latest/download/tide-macos-arm64

# Make it executable
chmod +x tide

# Verify it works
./tide --version

Windows (x86_64)

# Using PowerShell
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://github.com/ao/tide/releases/latest/download/tide-windows-x86_64.exe -OutFile tide.exe

# Verify it works
.\tide.exe --version

How to Determine Your System Architecture

• Linux: Run uname -m in your terminal. If it shows x86_64, use the Linux x86_64 binary.
• macOS: Click the Apple menu > About This Mac. For M1/M2/M3 Macs, use the ARM64 binary. For Intel Macs, use the x86_64 binary.
• Windows: Right-click on “This PC” > Properties, or run systeminfo in Command Prompt and look for “System Type”.

Adding to PATH (Optional but Recommended)

Adding Tide to your PATH allows you to run it from any directory:

Linux/macOS

# Move to a directory in your PATH
sudo mv tide /usr/local/bin/

# Or add the current directory to your PATH in ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:$PWD"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Windows

# Move to a directory in your PATH
move tide.exe C:\Windows\

# Or add the current directory to your PATH
$env:Path += ";$pwd"

Features

• Concurrent Requests: Send multiple HTTP requests simultaneously to simulate real-world traffic.
• Configurable Parameters: Customize concurrency, duration, timeout, and retry settings to tailor the load test to your specific needs.
• Retry Logic: Automatic retry mechanism with exponential backoff to handle transient errors.
• Detailed Statistics: Comprehensive performance metrics including min, max, median, and average response times to identify bottlenecks.
• Graceful Shutdown: Handle CTRL+C interrupts gracefully to avoid data loss and ensure a clean exit.
• Colored Output: Easy-to-read colored console output for quick analysis of results.

Getting Started

You can use Tide in two ways:

Option 1: Use Pre-built Binaries (Recommended for Most Users)

Download and use the pre-built binaries as described in the Quick Installation section above.

Option 2: Build from Source (For Developers)

1. Install Rust: Make sure you have Rust installed. You can download it from https://www.rust-lang.org/ .

2. Build the project:

   cargo build --release
   

3. Run the tool:

   cargo run -- --url https://example.com
   

Usage

Basic usage:

tide --url https://example.com

With custom parameters:

tide --url https://example.com -n 10 -t 30 --timeout 5 --retries 3

Command Line Options

• --url <URL>: Target URL (required)
• -n, --concurrency <N>: Number of concurrent requests per interval (default: 5)
• -t, --duration <SECONDS>: Duration for which the program should run in seconds (default: 10)
• --timeout <SECONDS>: Timeout for each HTTP request in seconds (default: 10)
• --retries <N>: Number of retries for failed requests (default: 2)
• -h, --help: Show help information
• -V, --version: Show version information

Example Output

*** Summary Report ***
+---------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| Target URL                | https://httpbin.org/get                  |
+---------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| Concurrency               | 3                                        |
+---------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| Duration                  | 5.426s                                   |
+---------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| Total Requests            | 15                                       |
+---------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| Successful Requests       | 15                                       |
+---------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| Failed Requests           | 0                                        |
+---------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| Min Request Time          | 284.264ms                                |
+---------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| Median Request Time       | 649.119ms                                |
+---------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| Max Request Time          | 1904.174ms                               |
+---------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| Avg Request Time          | 824.748ms                                |
+---------------------------+------------------------------------------+

Architecture

The application is structured into three main modules:

• main.rs: Entry point, command-line parsing, orchestration, and reporting
• requests.rs: HTTP request handling with retry logic and metrics collection
• banner.rs: ASCII art banner display

The tool uses Rust’s async/await with Tokio for concurrent request handling and provides thread-safe metrics collection using Arc and Mutex.

Dependencies

• clap: Command-line argument parsing
• tokio: Async runtime and utilities
• reqwest: HTTP client
• url: URL parsing and validation
• colored: Colored terminal output

Use Cases

Frequently Asked Questions

Project Questions

What is Tide?
Tide is a high-performance, concurrent HTTP load testing tool written in Rust. It allows you to simulate real-world traffic scenarios and stress-test your web applications, APIs, and servers by sending a configurable number of concurrent requests. The tool is designed to be simple to use yet powerful enough for enterprise-scale load testing.

Why was Tide created? Tide was created to address the need for a high-performance, reliable HTTP load testing tool that leverages Rust’s performance advantages and memory safety guarantees. Tide provides exceptional resource utilization, enhanced reliability, and superior performance through Rust’s zero-cost abstractions and efficient concurrency model, setting a new standard for load testing tools.

What types of systems can I test with Tide?
Tide can test any HTTP-based system, including:

• Web applications and sites
• REST and GraphQL APIs
• Microservices
• Content delivery networks
• API gateways
• Load balancers
• Serverless functions
• Cloud infrastructure

Technical Questions

How does Tide generate load?
Tide uses Rust’s async/await model with Tokio runtime to create lightweight, concurrent execution tasks. This approach allows it to spawn thousands of concurrent connections with minimal resource overhead. Each task manages its own HTTP client, sending requests to the target system according to the configured parameters.

What metrics does Tide report?
Tide provides comprehensive metrics including:

• Total requests completed
• Successful vs. failed requests
• Requests per second (throughput)
• Minimum response time
• Median response time
• Maximum response time
• Average response time
• Error rate and error types
• Test duration and concurrency levels
• Real-time progress during test execution

What are the system requirements for running Tide?
Tide is extremely efficient and can run on modest hardware:

• Any operating system that supports Rust (Windows, macOS, Linux)
• Minimal CPU and memory requirements (1 CPU core and 256MB RAM for basic tests)
• Network connection with sufficient bandwidth for desired test volume
• Pre-compiled binary (no Rust installation required for most users)

Implementation Questions

How do I run a basic load test with Tide?
Running a basic test is simple:

tide --url http://example.com -n 10 -t 60

This command starts a load test against http://example.com with 10 concurrent connections for 60 seconds.

Can I integrate Tide into CI/CD pipelines?
Yes, Tide is designed for easy integration into continuous integration workflows:

• Command-line interface works well with CI/CD systems
• Exit codes indicate test success/failure based on configurable thresholds
• Lightweight execution makes it suitable for running in CI containers
• Configurable test parameters via command-line arguments

Contributing

We welcome contributions to Tide! If you’d like to contribute, please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a new branch for your feature or bug fix.
3. Implement your changes.
4. Write tests to ensure your changes work correctly.
5. Submit a pull request.

Community & Support

Where can I get help if I encounter issues with Tide?
Support for Tide is available through:

• GitHub issues for bug reports and feature requests
• Documentation in the GitHub repository
• Community discussions in the repository’s Discussions section
• Stack Overflow using the “tide-load-testing” tag

How can I stay updated on Tide developments?
To stay informed about Tide updates:

• Watch or star the GitHub repository
• Follow the project maintainers on GitHub
• Check the releases page for new versions

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

Get Started Today

Start stress-testing your web applications today with Tide and gain valuable insights into your system’s performance and scalability. Visit the GitHub repository to download the tool and contribute to its development.

Ready to experience the next generation of HTTP load testing? Download Tide now and see the difference that Rust-powered performance can make for your testing workflows.