Vegeta is an HTTPload testing tool written in Go that can be used as a command in a command-line interface or as a library.[4] The program tests how an HTTP-based application behaves when multiple users access it at the same time[4] by generating a background load of GET requests.[5] Vegeta is used to generate a sustained, constant number of requests per second in order to discover how long a service can sustain a peak load before dropping in performance.[6]
In addition to preemptive load testing, the program can also be used for shadow testing,[7] where traffic from a live version of an application is mirrored onto a test version to determine how it handles the same traffic load, without causing potential disruption to the live version of the application.[8] Shadow testing is done in this way in order to analyze anticipated server performance.[9]
Vegeta is provided for use by web hosting services such as Scaleway[4] to use varied and multiple requests to stress test client HTTP services.[10] It is also used with dedicated load-testing platform services such as BlazeMeter.[11]