Security for Developer

How to Internet Speed Test from Command Line (CLI)

Run accurate internet speed tests right from your terminal. Learn how to install and use the internetspeedtest CLI—an open-source, automation-ready tool for admins and DevOps who need reliable speed test command line results without a browser.

Jackson

Jackson

— 3 min read
How to Internet Speed Test from Command Line (CLI)

When you manage servers, run deployments, or work in headless environments, you often can’t just open a browser to test internet speed. That’s when command-line internet speed tests become essential — quick, scriptable, and automation-friendly.

In this post, we’ll explore how to test your connection directly from the terminal using the InternetSpeedTest.net CLI Tools — a powerful open-source solution built on LibreSpeed. We’ll compare it with other popular tools, run hands-on demos, and explain why this approach is ideal for system administrators, DevOps engineers, and network professionals.

Why Test Internet Speed from the Command Line?

For most admins and engineers, running a speed test from the terminal is not just about convenience — it’s about control and automation.

Common scenarios:

  • You’re connected to a remote server via SSH.
  • You need to monitor network performance across data centers.
  • You’re building a CI/CD pipeline that depends on reliable bandwidth.
  • You need a lightweight tool for diagnostics in containerized environments.

With a CLI-based tool, you can:

  • Run tests without a GUI or browser.
  • Automate network checks with cron or scripts.
  • Integrate results into dashboards or alerts.
  • Save outputs in JSON for easy parsing.

InternetSpeedTest.net CLI Tools — Lightweight, Open, and Self-Hostable

The InternetSpeedTest.net CLI Tools are built on LibreSpeed, a fully open-source speed test platform that doesn’t rely on external providers or tracking.

It’s:

  • 🧩 Open-source and transparent — no hidden dependencies.
  • 🖥️ Self-hostable — run your own server for internal testing.
  • ⚡ Fast and minimal — works directly from the terminal.
  • 🔒 Private — no data sent to third parties.
💡 Bonus: The same tool works for both public servers (like internetspeedtest.net) and private instances if you host LibreSpeed yourself.

Installation (fast paths)

macOS (Homebrew)

brew tap internetspeedtest-net/tap
brew install internetspeedtest
# run it
internetspeedtest

Windows (PowerShell)

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://github.com/internetspeedtest-net/internetspeedtest-cli/releases/download/v1.0.0/internetspeedtest-1.0.0-windows-amd64.zip" -OutFile "internetspeedtest.zip"
Expand-Archive -Path internetspeedtest.zip -DestinationPath .
.\internetspeedtest.exe

Linux (generic)

wget https://github.com/internetspeedtest-net/internetspeedtest-cli/releases/download/v1.0.0/internetspeedtest-1.0.0-linux-amd64.zip
unzip internetspeedtest-1.0.0-linux-amd64.zip
chmod +x internetspeedtest
./internetspeedtest
# optional system-wide
sudo mv internetspeedtest /usr/local/bin/

Quick start: the 30-second “speed test command line”

Run a full test with auto-selected server:

internetspeedtest

You’ll get latency (ping), download, and upload.

Retrieving server list from https://internetspeedtest.net
Selecting the fastest server based on ping
Selected server: Tokyo, Japan (A573) [librespeed.a573.net]
You're testing from: {"processedString":"113.190.210.50","rawIspInfo":""}
Ping: 121.91 ms Jitter: 61.18 ms
Download rate:  127.35 Mbps
Upload rate:    36.02 Mbps
Powered by https://internetspeedtest.net

Troubleshooting tips (admin-grade)

  • CPU contention on VMs/containers: bandwidth tests can be noisy; pin CPUs or run off-peak.
  • Asymmetric results: higher download than upload is common on consumer ISPs; confirm with multiple runs +/- 10% tolerance.
  • Route-specific problems: compare --server in different regions to isolate long-haul congestion or packet loss.
  • Automation hygiene: store JSONL (one JSON per line) so it scales to months of data; rotate logs and backfill to TSDB if needed.

Conclusion

Tools like speedtest-cli (Ookla) and fast-cli (Netflix) are convenient, but they’re tied to proprietary ecosystems and typically require Python or Node runtimes. internetspeedtest is:

  • Open source (MIT) and transparent — code and releases are public. internetspeedtest.net
  • Self-host friendly — perfect if you later deploy private LibreSpeed servers for internal links.
  • Binary-first & scriptable — designed for automation and structured outputs (CSV/JSON/JSONL). internetspeedtest.net

For privacy-sensitive or enterprise workflows, that combination is hard to beat. For anyone who lives in terminals — sysadmins, SREs, DevOps, network engineers — the speed test command line approach with internetspeedtest is the right mix of accuracy, automation, and openness. It runs anywhere, emits structured data, and avoids closed black boxes.

Read more