# Winload <img src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/62fec846-0442-47f6-bbba-78acdc8803ef" height="32px">
> A lightweight, real-time CLI tool for monitoring network bandwidth and traffic, inspired by Linux's nload.
> **[๐ English](readme.md)**
> **[๐ ็ฎไฝไธญๆ(ๅคง้)](readme.zh-cn.md)**
> **[๐ ็น้ซไธญๆ(ๅฐ็ฃ)](readme.zh-tw.md)**
> **[๐ ๆฅๆฌ่ช](readme.jp.md)**
> **[๐ ํ๊ตญ์ด](readme.ko.md)**
[](https://github.com/VincentZyuApps/winload)
[](https://gitee.com/vincent-zyu/winload)
[](https://github.com/VincentZyuApps/winload/releases)
[](https://github.com/VincentZyuApps/winload/releases)
[](https://github.com/VincentZyuApps/winload/releases)
[](https://github.com/VincentZyuApps/winload/releases)
[](https://pypi.org/project/winload/)
[](https://www.npmjs.com/package/winload-rust-bin)
[](https://scoop.sh/#/apps?q=%22https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2FVincentZyuApps%2Fscoop-bucket%22&o=false)
[](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/winload-rust-bin)
[](https://github.com/VincentZyuApps/winload/releases)
[](https://github.com/VincentZyuApps/winload/releases)
> **[๐ Build Docs](.github/workflows/build.md)**
## ๐ Introduction
Winload brings an intuitive, visual network monitor to the modern terminal. It started as a Windows-focused tool to fill the nload gap, and now targets Linux and macOS as well.
## ๐ Acknowledgements
Winload is inspired by the classic nload project by Roland Riegel. Many thanks for the original idea and experience.
https://github.com/rolandriegel/nload
## โจ Key Features
- **Dual implementations**
- **Rust edition**: fast, memory-safe, single static binaryโgreat for everyday monitoring.
- **Python edition**: easy to hack and extend for prototyping or integrations.
- **Cross-platform**: Windows, Linux, and macOS (x64 & ARM64).
- **Real-time visualization**: live incoming/outgoing graphs and throughput stats.
- **Minimal UI**: clean TUI that mirrors nload's ergonomics.
## ๐ฅ Python Edition Installation
> ๐ก **Implementation Note**: Only PyPI and source code from GitHub/Gitee provide Python edition.
> All package managers (Scoop, AUR, npm, APT, RPM) distribute **Rust binaries only**.
### Python (pip)
```bash
pip install winload
```
## ๐ฅ Rust Edition Installation (recommended)
### npm (cross-platform)
```bash
npm install -g winload-rust-bin
# or use npx directly
npx winload-rust-bin
```
> Includes 6 precompiled binaries for x86_64 & ARM64 across Windows, Linux, and macOS.
### Windows (Scoop)
```powershell
scoop bucket add vincentzyu https://github.com/VincentZyuApps/scoop-bucket
scoop install winload
```
### Arch Linux (AUR):
```bash
paru -S winload-rust-bin
```
### Linux (one-liner)
> Supports Debian/Ubuntu and derivatives โ Linux Mint, Pop!_OS, Deepin, UOS, etc. (apt)
> Supports Fedora/RHEL and derivatives โ Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, CentOS Stream, etc. (dnf)
```bash
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/VincentZyuApps/winload/main/docs/install_scripts/install.sh | bash
```
> ๐ [View install script source](https://github.com/VincentZyuApps/winload/blob/main/docs/install_scripts/install.sh)
<details>
<summary>Manual install</summary>
**DEB (Debian/Ubuntu):**
```bash
# Download the latest .deb from GitHub Releases
sudo dpkg -i ./winload_*_amd64.deb
# or use apt (auto-resolves dependencies)
sudo apt install ./winload_*_amd64.deb
```
**RPM (Fedora/RHEL):**
```bash
sudo dnf install ./winload-*-1.x86_64.rpm
```
**Or download binaries directly from [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/VincentZyuApps/winload/releases).**
</details>
## โจ๏ธ Usage
```bash
winload # Monitor all active network interfaces
winload -t 200 # Set refresh interval to 200ms
winload -d "Wi-Fi" # Start with a specific device
winload -e # Enable emoji decorations ๐
winload --npcap # Capture 127.0.0.1 loopback traffic (Windows, requires Npcap)
```
### Options
| `-t`, `--interval <MS>` | Refresh interval in milliseconds | `500` |
| `-a`, `--average <SEC>` | Average calculation window in seconds | `300` |
| `-d`, `--device <NAME>` | Default device name (partial match) | โ |
| `-e`, `--emoji` | Enable emoji decorations in TUI ๐ | off |
| `-U`, `--unicode` | Use Unicode block characters for graph (โโโยท) | off |
| `-u`, `--unit <UNIT>` | Display unit: `bit` or `byte` | `bit` |
| `-b`, `--bar-style <STYLE>` | Bar style: `fill`, `color`, or `plain` | `fill` |
| `--in-color <HEX>` | Incoming graph color, hex RGB (e.g. `0x00d7ff`) | cyan |
| `--out-color <HEX>` | Outgoing graph color, hex RGB (e.g. `0xffaf00`) | gold |
| `-m`, `--max <VALUE>` | Fixed Y-axis max (e.g. `10M`, `1G`, `500K`) | auto |
| `-n`, `--no-graph` | Hide graph, show stats only | off |
| `--hide-separator` | Hide the separator line (row of equals signs) | off |
| `--no-color` | Disable all TUI colors (monochrome mode) | off |
| `--npcap` | **[Windows Rust Only]** Capture loopback traffic via Npcap (recommended) | off |
| `--debug-info` | **[Rust Only]** Print network interface debug info and exit | โ |
| `-h`, `--help` | Print help (`--help --emoji` for emoji version!) | โ |
| `-V`, `--version` | **[Rust Only]** Print version | โ |
### Keyboard Shortcuts
| `โ` / `โ` or `โ` / `โ` | Switch network device |
| `=` | Toggle separator line visibility |
| `c` | Toggle color on/off |
| `q` / `Esc` | Quit |
## ๐ช Windows Loopback (127.0.0.1)
Windows cannot report loopback traffic through standard APIs โ this is a [functional deficiency in Windows' network stack](docs/win_loopback.md).
**To capture loopback traffic on Windows**, use the `--npcap` flag:
```bash
winload --npcap
```
This requires [Npcap](https://npcap.com/#download) installed with "Support loopback traffic capture" enabled during setup.
> I previously tried polling Windows' own `GetIfEntry` API directly, but the counters are always 0 for loopback โ there is simply no NDIS driver behind the loopback pseudo-interface to count anything. That code path has been removed.
> ๐ For a deep dive into why Windows loopback is broken, see [docs/win_loopback.md](docs/win_loopback.md)
On Linux and macOS, loopback traffic works out of the box โ no extra flags needed.
## ๐ผ๏ธ Previews
#### Python Edition Preview
#### Rust Edition Preview
