speedometer

Show network traffic graph for an interface

$ speedometer -r [eth0] -t [eth0]

$ speedometer -r [eth0]

$ speedometer -t [eth0]

$ speedometer -f [path/to/file] [expected_size]

$ speedometer -r [eth0] -c -t [eth0]

$ speedometer -i [seconds] -r [eth0]

speedometer [OPTIONS] tap [tap...]

speedometer displays real-time network traffic or file transfer speeds as ASCII graphs in the terminal. It reads data from network interfaces or monitors file growth, presenting the information visually with customizable scales and refresh rates.
Multiple data sources (taps) can be displayed simultaneously in columns, allowing comparison of upload/download speeds or monitoring multiple interfaces. The tool is useful for monitoring transfers, debugging network issues, and visualizing bandwidth usage.

-r interface

Monitor received bytes on network interface

Monitor transmitted bytes on network interface

Track file download with optional progress bar

Start a new display column

Set refresh interval (default: 1)

Use blocky display instead of smooth characters

Use linear scale instead of logarithmic

Show speeds in bits/second instead of bytes/second

Set maximum bytes/second for chart

Set minimum bytes/second for chart

Terminal color support (1, 16, 88, or 256)

Plain text display mode

Exit when file reaches expected size

Report zero for non-existent files

Requires access to network interface statistics in /proc or /sys. Interface names vary by system (eth0, enp0s3, wlan0, etc.). Large refresh intervals may miss traffic spikes. Terminal must support the display characters being used.

speedometer was created as a Python script for visualizing network bandwidth. The tool provides a lightweight alternative to graphical network monitors, suitable for remote SSH sessions and headless servers. It has been available in Linux distribution repositories since the mid-2000s.

iftop(8), nethogs(8), bmon(1), vnstat(1)