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# S-TUI
- URL: https://itsfoss.com/stress-terminal-ui/
- Published: 2017-08-28T21:44:28.000Z
- Updated: 2025-04-23T15:58:57.000Z
- Description: A beautiful CLI utility to monitor CPU utilization with graphs and bars.
- Author: Sagar Sharma
- Tags: Terminal Tools, System Utility

Stress testing is the best way to identify your system's true potential. But it's not always about how much GHz you can push. 

The key to knowing the true potential is to test your system under sustained loads as getting the work done under pressure is something we all ask for.

While multiple GUI options exist to monitor the stress, you don't have many user-friendly options for the terminals.

s-tui is one of the rare such tools; the best part is it works well with the mouse too!!

## Stress Terminal UI for CPU monitoring in Linux

![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/05/stress-test-1.gif)

[Stress Terminal UI](https://amanusk.github.io/s-tui/?ref=itsfoss.com) (*s-tui* for short) is a CPU monitoring tool that runs entirely within your terminal. It is written in Python and is developed by [Alex Manuskin](https://github.com/amanusk?ref=itsfoss.com). 

Let's have a look at what it has to offer:

#### Features

Stress Terminal UI offers the following features:

- Visualize CPU Frequency, Utilization, Temperature, and Power Usage
- Displays performance dips caused by thermal throttling
- Lightweight and uses minimal resources
- Requires no [display servers](https://itsfoss.com/display-server/)
- Stress Operation mode for [stress testing the CPU](https://itsfoss.com/stress-test-cpu-linux/)

📃

You'd have to start the s-tui with sudo to monitor power consumption.

🌐 [Official Website](https://amanusk.github.io/s-tui/?ref=itsfoss.com)  
📦 [GitHub Repository](https://github.com/amanusk/s-tui?ref=itsfoss.com)  
©️ [Open Source GPL-2.0 License](https://github.com/amanusk/s-tui?tab=GPL-2.0-1-ov-file&ref=itsfoss.com)

#### Installation

💡

Installing s-tui will only allow you to monitor the system so if you want to perform a stress test, make sure to install `stress` in your system.

There are two ways to install s-tui: Using pip or using the package manager of your system.

Using pip will get you a slightly newer version but requires you to [install pip on Ubuntu](https://itsfoss.com/install-pip-ubuntu/). 

And if you want to use it with pip, here's the command for the installation of s-tui with pip:

```
pip install s-tui
```

##### Using package managers 

If you prefer using the system package manager like I do, here's how you do it.

**For Ubuntu/Debian base:**

```
sudo apt install s-tui
```

**For Arch base:**

```
sudo pacman -S s-tui
```

**For Fedora/RHEL:**

```
sudo dnf install s-tui stress
```

Once done, you can start the s-tui by simply executing:

```
s-tui
```

### Basic usage of s-tui

If you have installed `stress` utility, there are two modes given to you:

- Monitor: This shows how the CPU is managing the resources for the ongoing tasks.
- Stress: It will stress-test your system.

Now, let's have a look at what customization options you get.

#### Customize what information to show 

To change what is being shown on the screen, click on the `Graphs` under the Control options, and from here, you can remove elements that are not necessary for your case:

![customize s-tui in ubuntu](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/05/Chose-what-to-display-on-s-tui.png)

For example, here, I went with temperature and power monitoring only:

![monitor power consumption and CPU temprature in Linux](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/05/change-the-display-options-in-s-tui.png)

#### Customize the summary section

The summary section is located after the Visual options and will show the summary for every monitoring element in the text (if you prefer).

And to change what is being shown in the summary section, click on the `Summaries` and uncheck the unnecessary options:

![change the summary section with s-tui](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/05/change-the-summary-section-with-s-tui.png)

#### Adding a timer for the stress test

You can also configure the time duration for the stress test in s-tui.

To do so, click on `Stress Options` and here, you will find `Time out` where you have to specify the stress test duration in seconds.

Once done, save the changes:

![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/05/set-time-for-how-long-to-stress-test-CPU-in-Linux-1.png)

Pretty cool. Isn't it?

## More CPU tools and tips for your Linux system

If you just want to display your CPU details, here's a beautiful way for that.

[Show CPU Details Beautifully in Linux Terminal With CPUFetchThere are ways to check CPU information on Linux. Probably the most common is the lscpu command that gives you plenty of information about all the CPU cores on your system. You may find CPU information there without installing any additional packages. That works of course. However, I recentl…![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/12/android-chrome-192x192.png)It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2021/04/cpufetch-tool.png)](https://itsfoss.com/cpufetch/)

If you are coming from Windows and missing CPU-X, here's an alternative you could explore.

[CPU-X an Alternative to CPU-Z for LinuxThe tech-savvy Windows users might have used CPU-Z. It is an excellent utility for gathering comprehensive system information that is not available through stock applications in Windows. CPU-Z is not available on Linux. Don’t get disheartened! There are multiple ways and tools you can use…![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/12/android-chrome-192x192.png)It's FOSSAnuj Sharma![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2022/10/cpu-z-linux.png)](https://itsfoss.com/cpu-x-alternative-cpu-z-linux/)

For hardcore terminal users, the command line always provides a way for everything imaginable.

[Monitoring CPU and GPU Temperatures in Linux TerminalThis article discusses two simple ways of monitoring CPU and GPU temperatures in the Linux command line.![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/12/android-chrome-192x192.png)It's FOSSCommunity![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2019/04/monitor-cpu-gpu-temperature-linux.png)](https://itsfoss.com/monitor-cpu-gpu-temp-linux/)

If you are someone who prefers to have GUI over the terminal, we made a detailed guide on how you can stress test your CPU using GUI and terminal:

[How to Stress Test CPU in LinuxWant to stress test your CPU in Linux? Here’s how you can do it effortlessly.![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/12/android-chrome-192x192.png)It's FOSSSagar Sharma![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/05/cpu-stress-test.png)](https://itsfoss.com/stress-test-cpu-linux/)

I hope you will find this guide helpful.

## Reviews on web

What others are saying about STUI:

- [Using Stress-Terminal UI (S-TUI) for Stress Test on Linux](https://windgate.net/using-stress-terminal-ui-s-tui-for-stress-test-on-linux/?ref=itsfoss.com) on windgate.com