tload

tload [options]

-s seconds
    Sets the delay in seconds between updates. The default is 5 seconds.

-l min_load
    Specifies the lower bound for the load average scale on the graph. The default is 0.

-u max_load
    Specifies the upper bound for the load average scale on the graph. The default is 10.

tload is a lightweight command-line utility for displaying a real-time, text-based graphical representation of the system load average. It provides a simple visual overview of how busy the system has been over a recent period, typically the last minute. By default, it updates every 5 seconds, plotting the 1-minute load average on a terminal-friendly ASCII graph. This tool is useful for a quick, at-a-glance check of system performance without needing a full-featured monitoring application. Its simplicity makes it ideal for quick diagnostics in remote SSH sessions or resource-constrained environments.

Text-based Graphics: The output is ASCII art, which can be less precise or visually appealing than GUI-based tools.
Limited Detail: Only plots the 1-minute load average, providing a very high-level overview without breaking down CPU, I/O, or other specific metrics.
Fixed Scale: While configurable with -l and -u, the graph's width is fixed to represent one minute of data, meaning older data scrolls off.

The tload output is a scrolling, character-based graph. The Y-axis represents the load average, scaled between the specified lower and upper bounds (default 0-10). The X-axis represents time, with the graph typically showing the last minute of data. Each asterisk (*) or similar character marks a data point, while vertical lines or other characters might indicate the scale or axes. As new data points are plotted on the right, the oldest points on the left scroll off the screen.

tload is a long-standing utility included as part of the procps (or procps-ng on modern systems) package. The procps package provides a set of system utilities that gather information from the /proc filesystem, which is a virtual filesystem providing access to kernel data structures. tload has been a part of this suite for many years, offering a simple, text-based monitoring solution that pre-dates many graphical tools and remains useful in shell environments where minimal overhead and quick feedback are paramount.

uptime(1), top(1), htop(1), w(1), sar(1)