tload

Additional Notes

tload prints a live-updating ASCII bar graph of the system load average in the terminal. It plots the load average values from /proc/loadavg as a scrolling graph, updating at a configurable interval. Each new sample shifts the graph left, and the vertical scale adapts to the load values displayed.

It is a simple, lightweight alternative to more sophisticated monitoring tools like htop or sar. It is useful for quick visual assessment of system load trends over a short period.

Syntax

tload [options] [tty]

Parameters

• tty: Display the graph on a specific terminal device (e.g. /dev/tty1).

Common Options

• -d seconds, --delay seconds: Set the update interval in seconds between graph updates.
• -s scale, --scale scale: Set the vertical scale factor for the graph.

Examples

tload

Display a live load average graph in the current terminal.

tload -d 2

Update the graph every 2 seconds.

tload -s 1 /dev/tty2

Display on /dev/tty2 with a vertical scale of 1.

Practical Notes

• Press Ctrl+C to stop tload.
• The graph area is limited to the terminal width; older data scrolls off.
• Use uptime, top, or htop for more detailed load information.
• tload is provided by the procps-ng package on most distributions.