nLoad commands

nload is a command-line tool used to monitor network traffic in real time on Unix/Linux systems. It displays incoming and outgoing traffic separately for a specified network interface, showing visual graphs of bandwidth usage. Users can easily switch between interfaces and adjust display settings, making it useful for monitoring network performance and bandwidth consumption.

Installation

Ubuntu/Debian

sudo apt install nload

Fedora

sudo dnf install nload

CentOS/Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

sudo yum install nload

Basic Command

nload

This opens the interface for network monitoring with default settings, usually showing the first network interface it detects.

Usage

nload [options] [devices]

Example

nload eth0

Monitors the eth0 network interface.

Key Features and Options

Switch between interfaces

Use Left and Right arrow keys to switch between network interfaces.

Toggle graph scaling mode

Use s to toggle between dynamic and fixed scaling of the graph.

Change graph scale

Use + or - to adjust the graph scale manually (for fixed scale mode).

Reset traffic counters

Use r to reset the traffic statistics.

Help Menu

Press h to view the in-app help menu for quick reference.

Quit nload

Press q to quit and exit the application.

Command-Line Options

Option	Description
-u h	Show traffic rates in a human-readable format (adjusts automatically to Kbps, Mbps, or Gbps). This is the default behavior.
-u b	Show traffic rates in bits per second (bps).
-u k	Show traffic rates in kilobits per second (Kbps).
-u m	Show traffic rates in megabits per second (Mbps).
-u g	Show traffic rates in gigabits per second (Gbps).
-a <time>	Sets the time window (in seconds) for the average traffic calculation. Default: 300 seconds (5 minutes).
-i <interval>	Refresh interval for incoming traffic display (in milliseconds). Default: 500ms.
-m	Shows multiple network devices at the same time.
-o <interval>	Refresh interval for outgoing traffic display (in milliseconds). Default: 500ms.
-t <time>	Sets the refresh interval for the total traffic statistics (in milliseconds).
-dev <device>	Start monitoring with the specified network device (e.g., eth0, wlan0).
-p <file>	Use a specific configuration file instead of the default.
-h	Display help and exit.
-V	Display the version number and exit.

Example Commands

Monitor a specific interface (e.g., eth0)

nload eth0

Display traffic in bits per second

nload -u b

Show multiple interfaces at once

nload -m

Refresh traffic stats every 1 second

nload -i 1000 -o 1000

Set a 1-minute average traffic window

nload -a 60

Notes

• nload must be run with superuser privileges (i.e., sudo) to monitor certain network interfaces on some systems.
• Use Ctrl+C to exit when running in non-interactive mode.