Stress Test Your System With stress-ng
Load CPU, memory, disk and more to check stability and thermals.
Run stress-ng --cpu 4 --timeout 30s to load four CPU workers for 30 seconds.
01Command
Command
$ stress-ng --cpu 4 --timeout 30s02What it does
stress-ng provides dozens of stressors covering CPU methods, virtual memory, disk I/O, network and scheduling, each with metrics. A bounded --timeout makes it safe to run for a quick thermal or stability check.
03Risk
!Warning: Stressors deliberately push hardware hard; never run unbounded on a production or thermally constrained machine.
04Undo
✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.
05Sources
- Homebrew formula: stress-ngEvidence: Packages stress-ng, a feature-rich system stress testing tool.
Last verified: 2026-09-22 · Category: System & Settings