speedometer

Show graph for a specific interface

$ speedometer -r [eth0] -t [eth0]

speedometer [OPTIONS] [DEVICE | FILE...]

DEVICE | FILE...
    Specifies network interfaces (e.g., eth0, wlan0) or file paths to monitor. If omitted, speedometer typically attempts to monitor all active network interfaces.

-r
    Monitor read (download) speed only.

-w
    Monitor write (upload) speed only.

-c
    Show cumulative data transfer (total bytes/bits transferred) instead of real-time speed.

-f
    Interpret arguments as file paths to monitor, rather than network interfaces.

--bytes
    Display speeds in bytes per second (B/s, KB/s, MB/s). This is the default unit.

--bits
    Display speeds in bits per second (b/s, Kb/s, Mb/s).

--no-graph
    Do not display the ASCII art graph; show only text statistics.

--interval N
    Set the update interval in seconds to N (default is 1 second).

--clear
    Clear the screen before each update, providing a clean display.

speedometer is a command-line utility designed to monitor and visualize real-time data transfer speeds. It provides a dynamic, ASCII-art based "speedometer" gauge and graph, displaying both read and write operations for specified network interfaces or files. Users can track current and average transfer rates, making it an excellent tool for diagnosing network bottlenecks, monitoring large file transfers, or simply observing system I/O activity. It supports various units (bytes, bits) and offers options for cumulative data display, making it a simple yet powerful utility for quick performance insights directly from the terminal.

speedometer typically requires root privileges to monitor all network interfaces or certain raw disk I/O activities. Its ASCII-art output is best suited for quick, real-time visual inspection rather than detailed data logging or complex analysis. Accuracy can sometimes vary under heavy system load or for very short monitoring durations. It's a simple tool primarily for interactive use, not for scripting or comprehensive performance monitoring suites.

speedometer is often available in the default repositories of most Linux distributions.
For Debian/Ubuntu-based systems:
sudo apt install speedometer
For Fedora/CentOS/RHEL-based systems:
sudo dnf install speedometer

To monitor overall network speed (read/write) of all active interfaces:
speedometer

To monitor download speed only on 'eth0':
speedometer -r eth0

To monitor the write speed of a file being copied:
speedometer -w -f /path/to/your/largefile

To see cumulative bytes transferred on 'wlan0':
speedometer -c wlan0

To monitor multiple devices with a 0.5-second interval:
speedometer --interval 0.5 eth0 wlan0

speedometer was developed as a minimalist, terminal-based tool to provide instant visual feedback on network or disk transfer rates. Its strength lies in its simplicity and ability to present real-time data using ASCII art, making it accessible on any terminal. While not as feature-rich as some other monitoring tools, its focus on immediate, easy-to-understand metrics has ensured its continued use for quick diagnostics and monitoring.

iftop(8), nload(1), dstat(1), iotop(8), netstat(8), ip(8)