Fedora

How to Install Speedtest CLI on Fedora

How to Install Speedtest CLI on Fedora

Need to test your internet speed from the command line? The official Speedtest CLI from Ookla lets you measure download, upload, latency, and packet loss directly from your terminal—no browser required.

This guide was tested on Fedora 43 but works on any recent Fedora version (38+).

Two Different Tools

Before we begin, it's important to know there are two different speedtest CLI tools:

Tool Description
Ookla Speedtest CLI Official proprietary tool from Speedtest.net
speedtest-cli (sivel) Open source Python alternative

This guide covers the official Ookla Speedtest CLI, which provides more accurate results and additional metrics like jitter and packet loss.

Installation

Add the official Ookla repository and install the package:

# Add the Ookla repository
curl -s https://packagecloud.io/install/repositories/ookla/speedtest-cli/script.rpm.sh | sudo bash

# Install the speedtest package
sudo dnf install speedtest

Method 2: Manual Repository Setup

If you prefer not to pipe scripts to bash, you can manually configure the repository:

# Create the repository file
sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/ookla_speedtest-cli.repo << 'EOF'
[ookla_speedtest-cli]
name=ookla_speedtest-cli
baseurl=https://packagecloud.io/ookla/speedtest-cli/fedora/$releasever/$basearch
repo_gpgcheck=1
gpgcheck=0
enabled=1
gpgkey=https://packagecloud.io/ookla/speedtest-cli/gpgkey
sslverify=1
sslcacert=/etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt
metadata_expire=300
EOF

# Update the cache
sudo dnf makecache

# Install speedtest
sudo dnf install speedtest

Verify Installation

speedtest --version

First Run

The first time you run speedtest, you'll need to accept the license agreement:

speedtest

You'll see a prompt like this:

You may only use this Speedtest software and information generated
from it for personal, non-commercial use, through a command line
interface on a personal computer...

License acceptance recorded. Continuing.

Type YES to accept and continue.

Basic Usage

Run a Speed Test

Simply run:

speedtest

Example output:

   Speedtest by Ookla

      Server: Comcast - Chicago, IL (id: 1774)
         ISP: Comcast Cable
Idle Latency:     8.42 ms   (jitter: 0.53ms, low: 7.98ms, high: 9.12ms)
    Download:   285.36 Mbps (data used: 321.2 MB)
                 12.14 ms   (jitter: 1.23ms, low: 8.12ms, high: 42.15ms)
      Upload:    23.45 Mbps (data used: 28.4 MB)
                  9.87 ms   (jitter: 0.89ms, low: 8.45ms, high: 15.23ms)
 Packet Loss:     0.0%
  Result URL: https://www.speedtest.net/result/c/abc123-def456

List Available Servers

Find servers near you:

speedtest --servers
# or
speedtest -L

Test Against a Specific Server

Use the server ID from the list:

speedtest --server-id=1774
# or
speedtest -s 1774

Output Formats

Human-Readable (Default)

speedtest

JSON Output

Perfect for scripting and parsing:

speedtest --format=json

Or for pretty-printed JSON:

speedtest --format=json-pretty

CSV Output

speedtest --format=csv

Add headers for clarity:

speedtest --format=csv --output-header

Useful Options

Option Description
-L, --servers List nearby servers
-s, --server-id=ID Test against specific server
-f, --format=TYPE Output format: human-readable, json, csv, tsv
-u, --unit=UNIT Speed unit: bps, kbps, Mbps, Gbps
-p, --progress=yes|no Show/hide progress bar
-P, --precision=N Decimal precision (0-8)
-I, --interface=NAME Bind to specific network interface
-i, --ip=ADDRESS Bind to specific IP address
-v Increase verbosity (use multiple times for more detail)
-V, --version Show version
-h, --help Show help

Unit Shortcuts

Shortcut Meaning
-a Auto decimal bits (Mbps)
-A Auto decimal bytes (MB/s)
-b Auto binary bits (Mibps)
-B Auto binary bytes (MiB/s)

Practical Examples

Simple Output for Scripts

speedtest --format=json | jq '.download.bandwidth, .upload.bandwidth'

Test Using a Specific Network Interface

speedtest --interface=eth0

Schedule Regular Tests

Add to crontab for periodic monitoring:

# Run speed test every hour and log results
0 * * * * /usr/bin/speedtest --format=csv >> /var/log/speedtest.csv 2>&1

Compare Multiple Servers

for server in 1774 2345 3456; do
    echo "Testing server $server..."
    speedtest -s $server --format=json-pretty
done

Troubleshooting

"Command not found" after installation

Ensure the package installed correctly:

rpm -qa | grep speedtest

If installed but not found, check your PATH or try the full path:

/usr/bin/speedtest

Network timeout errors

Try a different server or increase verbosity to diagnose:

speedtest -v -v -v

Behind a proxy

The CLI respects standard proxy environment variables:

export https_proxy=http://proxy.example.com:8080
speedtest

Alternative: Python speedtest-cli

If you prefer the open source alternative:

# Install from Fedora repos
sudo dnf install speedtest-cli

# Run (note: different command name)
speedtest-cli

This version has slightly different options but similar functionality.

References

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