---
title: >-
  Surge — Lightning-fast, concurrent HTTP load testing tool in Go with CI
  quality gates — by Jad Madi (@jadmadi)
description: >-
  High-performance concurrent HTTP load testing CLI built in Go. Measures
  latency percentiles (p50, p90, p95, p99), ships real-user traffic presets
  (baseline, realistic, capacity, spike), provides automated health verdicts,
  and emits structured JSON for CI/CD gates.
href: /project/surge/
author: Jad Madi
category: Developer Tools & Infrastructure
domain: Developer Tools & Infrastructure
status: Active Tool
license: AGPL-3.0
year: '2026'
---
# Surge — Lightning-fast, concurrent HTTP load testing tool in Go with CI quality gates

High-performance concurrent HTTP load testing CLI built in Go. Measures latency percentiles (p50, p90, p95, p99), ships real-user traffic presets (baseline, realistic, capacity, spike), provides automated health verdicts, and emits structured JSON for CI/CD gates.

## Project Overview

- **Website**: https://jadmadi.net/project/surge/
- **Repository**: https://github.com/jadmadi/surge
- **Documentation**: https://github.com/jadmadi/surge/blob/main/README.md
- **Domain**: Developer Tools & Infrastructure
- **Category**: Developer Tools & Infrastructure
- **Status**: Active Tool
- **Year**: 2026
- **License**: AGPL-3.0 (copyleft)
- **Author**: [@JadMadi](https://x.com/jadmadi)

## Quick Install & Run

```bash
go install github.com/jadmadi/surge@latest
```

## The Problem It Solves

Existing load testing tools are either bloated enterprise suites or bare-bones curl loops that lack actionable tail-latency percentiles, automated health verdicts, and easily scriptable CI pipeline assertions.

## The Solution

A single static Go binary providing accurate percentile calculations, ramp-up schedules, think-time modeling, and structured JSON output for strict pipeline thresholds.

## Key Features & Capabilities

- Calculates p50, p90, p95, and p99 tail latencies to detect cold starts and lock stalls
- Built-in workload presets: baseline, realistic, capacity, and spike testing
- --fail-threshold parameter to fail CI builds when error rate exceeds threshold
- Automated health verdicts: Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor based on error and latency boundaries
- Detailed classification of network failure modes (DNS, TLS handshake, connection resets)
- Zero-dependency static Go binary runnable in Docker or GitHub Actions

## Technical Specifications & Architecture

- **Languages**: Go
- **Frameworks / Libraries**: net/http, pflag
- **Architecture**: Goroutine worker pools, zero-allocation latency buckets, lock-free histogram metrics
- **License Model**: AGPL-3.0

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How do I install Surge?

Run `go install github.com/jadmadi/surge@latest` to install the binary to your GOPATH.

## Links & References

- Project Page on Crosscurrent Code: https://jadmadi.net/project/surge/
- Full Projects Directory: https://jadmadi.net/projects/
- Author Profile: https://jadmadi.net/about/