k6 설치 및 CLI

Welcome! In this lesson, we'll get started with k6, a powerful open-source load testing tool. k6 is built with Go and allows you to write performance tests using JavaScript.

It's designed for developers and QA engineers who want to integrate performance testing into their modern development workflows.

k6 offers several advantages for performance testing:

• JavaScript API: Write tests in familiar JavaScript.
• CLI-focused: Easy to integrate into CI/CD pipelines.
• Performance: Built on Go, it's efficient and fast.
• Modern Approach: Treats performance tests as code, enabling version control and code reviews.

Before we write our first test, we need to install k6 on your system. k6 supports various operating systems like Windows, macOS, and Linux.

The recommended way to install k6 is through package managers, which makes the process straightforward and quick.

For macOS users, the easiest way to install k6 is using Homebrew. Open your terminal and run:

On Debian/Ubuntu Linux, you can install k6 from its official repository with these commands:

Windows users have a couple of easy options using popular package managers.

Using Chocolatey (run in an elevated PowerShell or CMD):

Using Scoop (run in PowerShell):

After installation, it's important to verify that k6 is correctly installed and accessible from your command line. Open a new terminal or command prompt and type:

You should see the installed k6 version number displayed, confirming a successful setup.

The core of k6 is its powerful Command Line Interface (CLI). The most frequently used command is k6 run.

This command is used to execute your k6 test scripts. You simply point it to your JavaScript file, and k6 takes care of the rest.

Let's create a super simple k6 script. This script will make a single HTTP GET request to example.com. We'll save this as script.js.

Notice the import http statement – k6 provides built-in modules like http for making requests.

Now that you have your script.js file, open your terminal in the same directory where you saved the file. Then, execute the script using the k6 run command:

k6 will execute the test, and you'll see output in your terminal showing metrics like requests, duration, and checks.

The k6 run command supports various options to customize your test. Two common ones are:

• --vus: Sets the number of Virtual Users.
• --duration: Defines how long the test should run.

For example, to run with 5 VUs for 10 seconds:

You've learned how to install k6 and run a basic script. Let's test your understanding of the essential k6 CLI command.

Fantastic! You've successfully installed k6 and run your very first performance test script. We covered:

• What k6 is and its benefits.
• How to install k6 on different operating systems.
• Verifying your installation.
• Using the essential k6 run command to execute a JavaScript test script.

In the next lesson, we'll dive deeper into writing more complex k6 scripts and understanding their structure.