whatisgithub

What is riptide?

foxemsx/riptide — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

159GoAudience · generalComplexity · 1/5LicenseSetup · easy

In one sentence

Riptide is a terminal app that runs internet speed tests and live bandwidth monitoring with animated graphs, saved history, and plain-English verdicts on your connection quality.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((riptide))
    What it does
      Terminal speed test
      Live bandwidth monitor
      Themed TUI
    Tech stack
      Go
      SQLite
      Bubble Tea
    Use cases
      Test connection speed
      Watch live bandwidth
      Compare saved runs
    Platforms
      Linux
      macOS
      Windows

Code map

Detail Auto

An interactive map of this repo's files and how they connect — its source is parsed live in your browser. Click Visualize to build it.

filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Run a quick download, upload, and ping test from the terminal and get a plain verdict on whether it's good enough for gaming or video calls.

USE CASE 2

Watch your real-time network bandwidth usage and see which running apps are consuming it.

USE CASE 3

Compare your last 10 speed test runs to spot trends in your internet connection over time.

USE CASE 4

Customize the terminal UI with one of 20 built-in color themes.

What is it built with?

GoSQLiteBubble Tea

How does it compare?

foxemsx/riptidepgrwl/pgrwlvadimsemenykv/saboteur
Stars159159157
LanguageGoGoGo
Setup difficultyeasymoderateeasy
Complexity1/54/53/5
Audiencegeneralops devopsdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

One-line curl install script on Linux/macOS, Windows needs a prebuilt release or Go install.

MIT license: free to use, modify, and distribute, including commercially, with attribution.

So what is it?

Riptide is a polished command-line app, written in Go, that measures and watches your internet connection right from the terminal. It presents its results in a centered, card-style layout with smooth animated graphs, rather than the plain scrolling text you usually get from network tools. The app has three main modes accessed from a startup menu. Speed Test runs a one-shot download, upload, and ping measurement using parallel connections, then saves the result and gives you a plain-English verdict such as whether your connection is good for gaming, 4K video, or video calls, along with estimated transfer times. Bandwidth Monitor shows a live view of your actual network traffic straight from the operating system, without generating any test load, including which running apps are currently using bandwidth. Settings lets you search through 20 built in color themes, reset your saved history, or find uninstall instructions. Other features include automatically saving your last 10 speed test runs for comparison, an average and record summary across all your saved runs, a one-key copy of your results to the clipboard, and an update checker that tells you on the main menu whether a newer version is available. All preferences and test history are stored locally in a small SQLite database in your user config directory, so nothing leaves your machine. Riptide supports Linux, macOS, and Windows. On Linux and macOS it installs with a single shell script that downloads its own Go toolchain if needed and never touches your system Go install or requires admin rights. On Windows you can download a prebuilt executable from the releases page or install it directly with the Go toolchain. It can also be built from source on any platform with Go 1.23 or newer. The project is released under the MIT license.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Write a one-line shell install command for riptide on Linux and explain what the install script does.
Prompt 2
How do I build riptide from source on Windows using Go 1.23?
Prompt 3
Explain what data riptide stores in its local SQLite database and where that file lives.
Prompt 4
List the keyboard shortcuts for the Bandwidth Monitor mode in riptide.

Frequently asked questions

What is riptide?

Riptide is a terminal app that runs internet speed tests and live bandwidth monitoring with animated graphs, saved history, and plain-English verdicts on your connection quality.

What language is riptide written in?

Mainly Go. The stack also includes Go, SQLite, Bubble Tea.

What license does riptide use?

MIT license: free to use, modify, and distribute, including commercially, with attribution.

How hard is riptide to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is riptide for?

Mainly general.

Open on GitHub → Ask about another repo

This repo across BitVibe Labs

Verify against the repo before relying on details.