Getting Started

Learn how to install Overload and run your first load test using a Postman collection.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+
• pip installed

Installation

# Core tool
pip install overload-cli

# Add MCP server support (optional — only needed for Claude Code / Codex CLI / Copilot)
pip install "overload-cli[mcp]"

overload-cli[mcp] is the same package — [mcp] is an optional add-on that installs FastMCP so you can run overload mcp. Most users only need the first command.

Development Install (from source)

git clone https://github.com/dprakash2101/overload
cd overload
pip install -e ".[dev]"

Verify the installation:

overload --version

You should see: overload 0.3.2

Your First Test

1. Get a Postman Collection

Overload runs your existing Postman collections. If you don't have one, create a simple collection in Postman with a few requests (e.g., hitting a public API) and export it as Collection v2.1.

2. Start the Browser UI

Navigate to the folder containing your Postman JSON files and run:

overload

This will automatically open http://localhost:3000 in your browser. The UI will detect your collection files.

1. Click Load next to your collection file in the "Detected Files" section.
2. Select the Burst test pattern.
3. Set the number of requests to 100.
4. Click Start Test and watch the live charts!

3. Run from the CLI

Alternatively, you can run the same test from your terminal without opening the browser:

overload run --collection path/to/collection.json --pattern burst --requests 100

You'll see a progress bar in the terminal, and an HTML report will be generated in the reports/ folder.

Working with Postman Collections

What's Supported:

• Nested folders (requests inside folders inside folders)
• Auth inheritance (requests inherit auth from parent folders or collection)
• Variables ({{variable_name}} syntax)
• Dynamic variables ({{$randomInt}}, {{$guid}}, etc.)
• All body types: raw, form-data, urlencoded, GraphQL

Next Steps