Winload

A lightweight, real-time CLI tool for monitoring network bandwidth and traffic, inspired by Linux's nload.

📖 English 📖 简体中文(大陆) 📖 繁體中文(台灣) 📖 文言文 📖 日本語 📖 한국어

📖 Build Docs

🚀 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.

🙏 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

✨ Key Features

• Dual implementations
  • Rust edition: fast, memory-safe, single static binary—great 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.

📊 Performance Benchmarks

⚡ Winload (Rust) achieves ~10ms startup and <2MB binary size, significantly outperforming Python and matching C++ nload in efficiency.

🔧 Run from Source

Python

git clone https://github.com/VincentZyuApps/winload.git
# or clone from Gitee (faster in China Mainland):
# git clone https://gitee.com/vincent-zyu/winload.git
cd winload/python
uv run python -m winload

Rust

git clone https://github.com/VincentZyuApps/winload.git
cd winload/rust
cargo run --release
cargo run --release -- --help    # Show help
cargo run --release -- --version # Show version

🐍 Python Edition Installation

💡 Implementation Note: Only PyPI and GitHub/Gitee provide Python edition.
Only Cargo provides Rust source code for local compilation.
All other package managers (Scoop, AUR, npm, APT, RPM) and GitHub Releases distribute Rust binaries only.

Python (pip)

pip install winload
# recommend use uv:
# https://docs.astral.sh/uv/getting-started/installation/
# https://gitee.com/wangnov/uv-custom/releases
uv venv --python 3.13
uv pip install winload
uv run python -c "import shutil; print(shutil.which('winload'))"
uv run winload

📥 Rust Edition Installation (recommended)

npm (cross-platform)

# Recommended (scoped)
npm install -g @vincentzyuapps/winload
# Alternative (unscoped)
npm install -g winload-rust-bin
# Alternative (GitHub Packages)
npm install -g @vincentzyuapps/winload --registry https://npm.pkg.github.com
# on Windows, use win-nload to avoid conflict with System32\winload.exe
# on Linux/macOS, both winload and win-nload work
# or use npx directly
npx @vincentzyuapps/winload

Includes 4 precompiled binaries for x86_64 & ARM64 across Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Cargo (Build from source)

cargo install winload
cargo install --list

Windows (Scoop)

📄 Scoop Bucket (GitHub) 📄 Scoop Bucket (Gitee)

scoop bucket add vincentzyu https://github.com/VincentZyuApps/scoop-bucket
# or from Gitee:
# scoop bucket add vincentzyu https://gitee.com/vincent-zyu/scoop-bucket
scoop update   # optional: manually refresh bucket list before install
scoop install winload
# execute bin file
win-nload
Get-Command win-nload # Powershell
where win-nload # CMD

💡 Recommended: use Windows Terminal instead of the legacy Windows Console for correct CJK character rendering and better TUI experience.

scoop bucket add versions
scoop install windows-terminal-preview
wtp

💡 All builds require Windows 10+ (Rust 1.77+ dropped Windows 7/8 support). Scoop and npm provide MSVC + Npcap for x86_64 and ARM64 by default. These builds now delay-load wpcap.dll, reducing startup failures before --npcap is used, but loopback capture still requires Npcap installed on the system.

Arch Linux (AUR):

paru -S winload-rust-bin
which winload

Debian & RedHat Distros / Termux (one-liner)

Supports Debian/Ubuntu and derivatives — Linux Mint, Pop!_OS, Deepin, UOS, etc. (apt)

Supports Fedora/RHEL and derivatives — Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, CentOS Stream, etc. (dnf)

Also supports Termux on Android (aarch64)

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/VincentZyuApps/winload/main/docs/scripts/install/install.sh | bash
which winload

📄 View install script source

🇨🇳 Gitee mirror (faster in China Mainland):

curl -fsSL https://gitee.com/vincent-zyu/winload/raw/main/docs/scripts/install/install_gitee.sh | bash
which winload

📄 View Gitee install script

⚠️ The two curl ... | bash install scripts above support x86_64 / aarch64 systems with apt (Debian/Ubuntu), dnf (Fedora/RHEL), or Termux (Android). For other platforms, use npm (npm install -g @vincentzyuapps/winload) or Cargo (cargo install winload) instead.

macOS / Linux (Homebrew)

📄 Homebrew Formula (GitHub) 📄 Homebrew Formula (Gitee) Recent Homebrew versions may require trusting third-party tap formulae before installation.

brew tap vincentzyuapps/tap
brew trust vincentzyuapps/tap
# or from Gitee (manual tap clone):
# git clone https://gitee.com/vincent-zyu/homebrew-tap.git "$(brew --prefix)/Library/Taps/vincentzyuapps/homebrew-tap"
brew update && brew install winload
which winload

💡 Homebrew supports macOS (Intel & Apple Silicon) and Linux (x86_64 & ARM64).

# Download the latest .deb from GitHub Releases
sudo dpkg -i ./winload*.deb
# or use apt (auto-resolves dependencies)
sudo apt install ./winload*.deb
which winload

sudo dnf install ./winload*.rpm
which winload

⌨️ Usage

winload              # Monitor all active network interfaces
winload -t 200       # Set refresh interval to 200ms
winload -d "Wi-Fi"   # Start with a specific device
winload --title "My Monitor" # Use a custom header title
winload -e           # Enable emoji decorations 🎉
winload --max-mode smart --max-half-life 10 # Smooth adaptive Y-axis (default)
winload --max-mode legacy # nload-style visible-history scaling
winload --max-mode fixed --max-y-value 10M # Fixed Y-axis max
winload --graph-style line --x-axis 5s --y-axis unit # Rust: line graph with time and traffic axes
winload --npcap      # Capture 127.0.0.1 loopback traffic (Windows, requires Npcap)
winload --netlink    # Manually enable RTNETLINK (Linux/Android, off by default)

Options

Y-axis scaling modes

Mode	Flag	Behavior
smart	--max-mode smart --max-half-life 10	Default. Jumps up on traffic spikes, then smoothly decays back down.
legacy	--max-mode legacy	nload-style scaling based on the visible graph history peak.
fixed	--max-mode fixed --max-y-value 10M	Locks the Y-axis to the specified value.

--max-y-value is only valid with --max-mode fixed; --max-half-life is only valid with --max-mode smart.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Implementation notes: PageUp, PageDown, and uppercase C are Python-only; Esc and the g/x/y graph controls are Rust-only. classic remains the default Rust graph style, and runtime graph changes affect only the current session. All four Rust graph styles share the same X/Y grid and scaling viewport. --unicode affects only classic; the Ratatui styles use their native markers.

🪟 Windows Loopback (127.0.0.1)

Windows cannot report loopback traffic through standard APIs — this is a functional deficiency in Windows' network stack.

To capture loopback traffic on Windows, use the --npcap flag:

winload --npcap

This requires Npcap 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 — there is simply no NDIS driver behind the loopback pseudo-interface to count anything. That code path has been removed.

📖 For a deep dive into why Windows loopback is broken, see docs/win_loopback.md

🐧 Linux / Android / Termux Netlink

On Linux and macOS, loopback traffic works out of the box — no extra flags needed.

On Linux/Android, if /proc/net/dev is not accessible (e.g. inside a Termux proot distro or other restricted environments), use --netlink to collect network stats via RTNETLINK directly:

winload --netlink

Note: --netlink is an opt-in backend, similar to --npcap; it is never enabled unless you pass the flag. Normal Linux/Android runs still use the default backend (Rust: sysinfo, Python: psutil). The Python edition uses pyroute2 for RTNETLINK on Linux/Android. macOS does not support netlink.

📖 For a deep dive into Linux/Android network statistics collection, see docs/linux_android_netlink.md

🖼️ Previews

Python Edition Preview

Rust Edition Preview

Rust Edition Preview GIF

Terminal Recording

↑ Recorded by asciinema

📦 Dependencies

Python Edition

Package	Version	Description
	3.13.11	Programming language
	≥7.0	Process and system utilities
	≥0.9.6	RTNETLINK backend on Linux/Android
	≥2.0	Windows curses support

Rust Edition

Package	Version	Description
	1.93.0	Programming language
	0.29	Terminal UI framework
	0.28	Cross-platform terminal library
	0.32	System information library
	4	Command-line argument parser
	2	Packet capture (optional, Windows)

🧭 Epilogue

Network traffic flows formless through the void — yet Winload gives it shape. Packets traverse the terminal, silent and unseen, but through this window, every thread of throughput takes form before your eyes. If you seek to know the pulse of a machine's connection to the world, this tool is at once a humble lamp upon your desk and a guiding star for the journey ahead.

🧱 Source Layout

python/
├── src/
│   └── winload/
│       ├── i18n/
│       │   ├── __init__.py // 32 lines | Selects the active language and exposes stable translation helpers.
│       │   ├── en_us.py // 154 lines | Stores the English localization catalog.
│       │   ├── zh_cn.py // 154 lines | Stores the Simplified Chinese localization catalog.
│       │   └── zh_tw.py // 154 lines | Stores the Traditional Chinese localization catalog.
│       ├── ui/
│       │   ├── __init__.py // 266 lines | Coordinates curses layout, colors, application state, and public UI access.
│       │   ├── debug.py // 111 lines | Draws the interactive F3 diagnostics overlay.
│       │   └── panels.py // 219 lines | Draws classic traffic graphs and formatted statistics panels.
│       ├── __init__.py // 2 lines | 📦 Marks the Python package and exposes package-level metadata.
│       ├── __main__.py // 6 lines | ▶️ Runs the Python CLI entry point when invoked with python -m winload.
│       ├── app.py // 135 lines | Owns mutable application state, traffic updates, and device navigation.
│       ├── cli.py // 205 lines | Builds, localizes, parses, and validates the Python command-line interface.
│       ├── collector.py // 121 lines | 📡 Collects network interface counters with psutil or the optional Netlink backend.
│       ├── config.py // 65 lines | Defines immutable, strongly typed runtime configuration for the Python application.
│       ├── diagnostics.py // 162 lines | Reports version, build, system, and network-interface diagnostic information.
│       ├── emoji.py // 41 lines | ✨ Decorates CLI-facing labels with optional emoji icons.
│       ├── graph.py // 108 lines | 📊 Renders incoming and outgoing traffic graphs for terminal display.
│       ├── main.py // 46 lines | Wires the Python CLI to diagnostics or the interactive terminal runtime.
│       ├── netlink.py // 120 lines | 🔗 Reads Linux and Android network counters directly through RTNETLINK.
│       ├── runtime.py // 62 lines | Manages the curses lifecycle, input mapping, refresh cadence, and UI rendering loop.
│       └── stats.py // 206 lines | 📈 Calculates rolling traffic rates, totals, and adaptive graph scale values.
└── _build_info.py // 73 lines | 🧾 Resolves source or packaged Git metadata for Python version output.

rust/
├── src/
│   ├── i18n/
│   │   ├── en_us.rs // 130 lines | Provides the complete English localization catalog.
│   │   ├── mod.rs // 54 lines | 🌐 Provides localized UI, help, and debug strings for supported languages.
│   │   ├── zh_cn.rs // 130 lines | Provides the complete Simplified Chinese localization catalog.
│   │   └── zh_tw.rs // 130 lines | Provides the complete Traditional Chinese localization catalog.
│   ├── ui/
│   │   ├── debug.rs // 105 lines | Draws the F3 runtime diagnostics overlay.
│   │   ├── mod.rs // 261 lines | Coordinates the ratatui layout, header, help bar, panels, and debug overlay.
│   │   └── panels.rs // 488 lines | Draws traffic histories in classic, line, scatter, and bar styles with optional axes.
│   ├── app.rs // 190 lines | Owns mutable application state, traffic collection, and device navigation.
│   ├── cli.rs // 375 lines | Parses localized command-line arguments and produces a validated RunConfig.
│   ├── collector.rs // 238 lines | 📡 Collects network interface counters and prepares traffic snapshots for the TUI.
│   ├── config.rs // 183 lines | Defines validated, strongly typed runtime configuration shared by the Rust modules.
│   ├── diagnostics.rs // 45 lines | Prints build, platform, and network-interface diagnostics outside the TUI.
│   ├── emoji.rs // 40 lines | ✨ Decorates CLI-facing labels with optional emoji icons.
│   ├── graph.rs // 279 lines | 📊 Renders incoming and outgoing traffic graphs for terminal display.
│   ├── loopback.rs // 227 lines | 🪟 Captures and counts Windows loopback traffic through Npcap when enabled.
│   ├── main.rs // 42 lines | Boots the Rust application and dispatches CLI actions to focused modules.
│   ├── netlink.rs // 175 lines | 🔗 Reads Linux and Android network counters directly through RTNETLINK.
│   ├── runtime.rs // 99 lines | Runs the terminal lifecycle, refresh loop, and semantic keyboard controls.
│   └── stats.rs // 231 lines | 📈 Calculates rolling traffic rates, totals, and adaptive graph scale values.
└── _build_info.rs // 51 lines | 🧾 Injects Git metadata and configures platform-specific linker behavior.