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Guide · Open source

How to use gping: install, graph ping times and time commands

Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data

gping is a command-line tool that works like ping but draws response times as a live graph in your terminal. This guide shows you how to install it, ping one or more hosts, time a command, and adjust the graph. By the end you will be able to watch latency changes at a glance.

gpingorf/gping · ★ 12.7k · MIT

Quick start

  1. 1Install gping. Use your package manager, such as brew install gping on macOS or scoop install gping on Windows. Cargo users run cargo install gping with rustc 1.67.0 or newer.
  2. 2Check the help text. Run gping --help to see the options available in your installed version.
  3. 3Ping a host. Run gping followed by a host name or IP address to start the live graph.
  4. 4Add more hosts. List several hosts after gping to compare them on one graph.
  5. 5Set colours if needed. Use -c with hex codes or colour names, matched in order to your hosts.
  6. 6Time a command. Use gping --cmd with a quoted command to graph its execution time.
  7. 7Tune the graph. Change -b for the time window and -n for the sampling interval.

Install gping on macOS, Linux or Windows

gping is installed through a package manager on most systems. The README lists Homebrew for macOS and Linux, Scoop, Chocolatey and WinGet for Windows, and many Linux distributions. Pick the line that matches your system.

If no package is available for you, the README says you can download the latest release from the GitHub releases page. Cargo is also an option, but it requires rustc version 1.67.0 or greater.

  • macOS with Homebrew: brew install gping
  • Windows with Scoop: scoop install gping
  • Windows with WinGet: winget.exe install orf.gping
  • Any system with Cargo: cargo install gping
brew install gping

Ping a single host

Run gping followed by a host name or IP address. gping sends pings and draws the response times as a graph that updates as results arrive.

The README's Docker example shows the same pattern in a container, pinging google.com. Use the same host argument on your own machine.

gping google.com

Graph several hosts at once

Pass more than one host to compare their response times on the same graph. This is useful when you want to see whether a problem affects one server or many.

You can give each graph entry a colour with the -c or --color option. Colours are matched in order against the hosts or commands you pass. Accepted values are hex codes such as #RRGGBB or named colours such as red, green, blue and light-cyan.

  • Hex colours use the form #RRGGBB
  • Named colours include black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, gray, dark-gray, light-red, light-green, light-yellow, light-blue, light-magenta, light-cyan and white
gping google.com 1.1.1.1

Time how long a command takes with --cmd

Add the --cmd flag to graph the execution time of commands instead of pinging hosts. The README gives curl google.com as an example of a command you can pass.

Use this when you want to see how long a repeated command takes to run over time.

gping --cmd "curl google.com"

Ping cloud regions with aws shorthands

You can use shorthands such as aws:eu-west-1 or aws:ca-central-1 to ping specific cloud regions. The README states that only aws is currently supported, so other cloud providers are not covered.

gping aws:eu-west-1

Adjust the graph and sampling options

Several options control what you see. -b sets how many seconds appear in the graph, with a default of 30. -n sets the watch interval in seconds, and partial values such as 0.5 are accepted. The default is 0.2 for ping and 0.5 for --cmd.

-s switches the graph from braille characters to plain dots. -4 and -6 resolve targets to IPv4 or IPv6. -i chooses the interface to use. --clear removes the graph from the terminal after the program closes. Run gping --help to see every option on your version.

  • -b, --buffer: seconds shown in the graph (default 30)
  • -n, --watch-interval: interval in seconds, such as 0.5
  • -4 / -6: resolve to IPv4 or IPv6
  • -i, --interface: interface to use when pinging
  • -s, --simple-graphics: dots instead of braille
  • --clear: clear the graph on exit
gping -b 60 -n 0.5 google.com

What people use it for

  • Watching latency to a server while troubleshooting a slow connection
  • Comparing response times across several hosts on one graph
  • Timing how long a repeated command such as curl google.com takes to run
  • Pinging AWS regions such as eu-west-1 to compare latency

Frequently asked questions

Is gping free to use?

gping is released under the MIT licence, which is an open-source licence. The source does not list any price or paid tier.

How do I install gping?

Use a package manager where available, such as brew install gping on macOS, scoop install gping or winget install orf.gping on Windows, or pacman -S gping on Arch Linux. You can also install with cargo install gping if you have rustc 1.67.0 or greater.

What are the requirements for gping?

The source lists no prerequisites for installing gping. Building it with Cargo requires rustc version 1.67.0 or greater. Install methods vary by platform.

Can gping ping multiple servers at once?

Yes. Pass several hosts after the command and gping graphs them together. You can colour each one with the -c option.

How is gping different from ping?

Plain ping prints text results, while gping plots response times as a live graph and can watch several hosts together. The README notes that plain ping is already built into most systems, so you may not need gping for a single quick check.

Why does my cloud region ping not work?

The README says only the aws shorthands, such as aws:eu-west-1, are currently supported. Other cloud providers are not covered by these shorthands.

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Our verdict

gping suits engineers and anyone on Windows, macOS or Linux who wants to watch latency or command timing as a graph in the terminal. If you only need a single quick ping result, the built-in ping is enough. If you need a desktop app or pings to non-AWS cloud regions, pick a different tool.

Install options & downloads