K6 Load Testing Sample

A sample project demonstrating load testing with k6, featuring API tests for a crocodile management system.

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Project Structure

├── api/                          # API request modules
│   ├── loginUser.js
│   ├── registerUser.js
│   ├── createCrocodile.js
│   ├── getPublicCrocodiles.js
│   ├── getMyCrocodiles.js
│   └── getSingleCrocodile.js
├── helpers/                      # Utility modules
│   ├── UserGenerator.js
│   └── WaitUtil.js
├── csv-user-generator/           # CSV data generation
│   └── generate-credentials.js
├── grafana/                      # Grafana configuration
│   ├── docker-compose.yml
│   └── provisioning/dashboards/
├── jenkins/                      # Jenkins pipeline
│   └── Jenkinsfile
├── test-app/                     # Local test API
│   └── test-api.k6.io-0.0.5.zip
├── config.js                     # Configuration file
└── test.js                       # Main test file

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Quick Start

1. Install Dependencies

npm install

2. Set Up Local Test API

The k6 public test API (test-api.k6.io) has been retired. You need to run the test API locally using Docker.

Steps:

1. Download and install Docker Desktop

2. Extract the test-app/test-api.k6.io-0.0.5.zip file:

cd test-app
unzip test-api.k6.io-0.0.5.zip

3. Start the API (may take 5 minutes on first run):

docker compose up -d

4. Verify the API is running at http://localhost:8000/

5. Update config.js to use http://localhost:8000/ instead of https://test-api.k6.io/

6. To stop the API:

docker compose down

3. Configure Settings

Update config.js with your API endpoint and test parameters.

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Load Testing Profiles

Choose a profile based on your testing needs:

Profile	VUs	Duration	Purpose
smoke	2	30s	Quick sanity check
normal	10	Ramp-up/down	Standard load test
spike	10→50	Gradual spike	Test traffic spikes
stress	50→100	High constant	High load testing
endurance	20	5 minutes	Soak testing

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Running Tests

Basic Test Run

k6 run test.js

With Specific Profile

k6 run -e PROFILE=normal test.js

With InfluxDB Output (required for Grafana)

k6 run --out influxdb=http://localhost:8086/k6 -e PROFILE=normal test.js

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Reporting & Monitoring

This project supports three different approaches to track and visualize test results:

Option 1: Grafana (Real-time Monitoring)

Best for: Continuous monitoring, historical data, team dashboards

Setup:

1. Start InfluxDB and Grafana:

cd grafana
docker-compose up -d

2. Access Grafana at http://localhost:3000

3. Login with default credentials:

   • Username: admin
   • Password: admin

4. Run tests with InfluxDB output:

k6 run --out influxdb=http://localhost:8086/k6 -e PROFILE=normal test.js

5. Grafana dashboard is automatically provisioned and available immediately after startup

Pros & Cons:

Aspect	Local	Jenkins	Kubernetes
Setup	Easy (Docker Compose)	Medium (need shared InfluxDB)	Medium (need persistent storage)
Real-time monitoring	Yes	Yes	Yes
Historical data	Yes	Yes	Yes (with persistent volumes)
Tags & Checks support	Yes	Yes	Yes
Resource overhead	Moderate (Docker)	Low (just k6)	Medium (requires infrastructure)

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Option 2: Web Dashboard (HTML Export)

Best for: Quick local testing, sharing single test results

Setup:

1. Run test with web dashboard export:

K6_WEB_DASHBOARD=true K6_WEB_DASHBOARD_EXPORT=k6-report.html k6 run -e PROFILE=normal test.js

2. Open generated k6-report.html in your browser

Note: This dashboard shows basic metrics but does not include custom tags and checks.

Pros & Cons:

Aspect	Local	Jenkins	Kubernetes
Setup	Very easy	Very easy	Very easy
Setup time	Instant	Instant	Instant
File storage	Local file	Jenkins artifacts	Requires manual export
Tags & Checks	Not included	Not included	Not included
Suitable for	Quick checks	Build artifacts	Less ideal
Comparison	Can compare runs	Can compare builds	Difficult

Command with all options:

K6_WEB_DASHBOARD=true K6_WEB_DASHBOARD_EXPORT=k6-report.html k6 run --out influxdb=http://localhost:8086/k6 -e PROFILE=normal test.js

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Option 3: k6-Reporter (Detailed HTML Reports)

Best for: Detailed analysis, custom tags & checks, standalone reports

Setup:

1. Install k6-reporter:

npm install k6-reporter --save-dev

2. Run test with JSON output:

k6 run --out json=results.json -e PROFILE=normal test.js

3. Generate HTML report:

npx k6-reporter results.json

4. Open generated summary.html in your browser

Pros & Cons:

Aspect	Local	Jenkins	Kubernetes
Setup	Easy (npm install)	Medium (npm dependency)	Medium (requires npm)
Tags & Checks	Yes, all included	Yes, all included	Yes, all included
Detailed metrics	Comprehensive	Comprehensive	Comprehensive
File size	Medium	Medium	Medium
Standalone	Fully standalone	Works as artifact	Must extract from pod
Dependencies	Node.js/npm	Node.js/npm	Node.js/npm in image
Automation	Manual or scripted	Easy to script	Requires post-processing

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Jenkins CI/CD Pipeline

A sample Jenkinsfile is included for distributed load testing across multiple Jenkins slave nodes.

Location: jenkins/Jenkinsfile

Features:

• Runs load tests in parallel on up to 5 slave nodes
• Configurable load profile (smoke, normal, spike, stress, endurance)
• Metrics aggregation to single InfluxDB instance
• Parameterized Jenkins job

Setup:

1. Update slave node labels and IPs in Jenkinsfile (slave-1 through slave-5)
2. Update InfluxDB URL (currently http://100.200.100.200:8086/k6)
3. Create Jenkins job from this repository
4. Run with desired profile parameter

Note: This is a template example. Adjust node labels, IPs, and InfluxDB endpoint for your environment.

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Configuration

Edit config.js to customize:

• API endpoint URL
• Test parameters
• User credentials
• Custom options

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Requirements

• k6 - Load testing tool
• Node.js & npm - JavaScript runtime and package manager
• Docker & Docker Compose - For running test API, InfluxDB, and Grafana
• k6-reporter (optional) - For detailed HTML reports

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Project Structure Details

API Modules (api/)

Modular API request functions for easier test organization and reusability.

Helpers (helpers/)

Utility functions for user generation, waiting, and common test operations.

Data Generation (csv-user-generator/)

Script to generate test user credentials for load testing.

Grafana Configuration (grafana/)

Pre-configured Grafana dashboards and InfluxDB setup using Docker Compose.

Jenkins Pipeline (jenkins/)

Template Jenkinsfile for distributed load testing across multiple nodes.

Test API (test-app/)

Packaged local version of the k6 test API for offline testing.

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License

MIT