Run a load test

A receipt per surface, before and after a capacity change.

You need:

• A checkout: npm run load writes each receipt under load-results/ (gitignored) and exits non-zero when a check fails.
• A quiet window: the resident command refuses to start while the resident has work in flight.
• The bearer per target (MEMORY_TOKEN, RESIDENT_OPERATOR_TOKEN, RESIDENT_ADMIN_TOKEN, SANDBOX_TOKEN, an ingress token).

Measure the baseline

MEMORY_TOKEN=<token> SWITCHBOARD_STATE_WORKER_URL=https://memory.example.com npm run load -- history

The peak of simultaneously live runs and duration percentiles; every later receipt is compared against it.

Load one resident

SWITCHBOARD_RESIDENT_URL=https://resident.example.com \
RESIDENT_OPERATOR_TOKEN=<token> RESIDENT_ADMIN_TOKEN=<token> \
npm run load -- resident --resource repo:acme/api --threads 16 --hold 600 --cpu-seconds 60 --profile coding

Sixteen synthetic threads attach, loop (read, exec, CPU burn, write), detach and are purged. Checks:

• attach p50 ≤ 15 s and p95 ≤ 60 s
• a trivial exec p95 ≤ 3 s
• zero mirror-busy, user-pool-exhausted or disk-pressure refusals

Load the cold sandbox fleet

SWITCHBOARD_SANDBOX_URL=https://sandbox.example.com SANDBOX_TOKEN=<token> \
npm run load -- sandbox --threads 8 --hold 300 --cpu-seconds 60

The first command per thread (first-exec) is the cold start. Past the fleet's max_instances a thread waits for a seat (fleet-busy). Exceeding either pool needs --override.

Run the whole bot at N

The scripted model never calls a real provider.

npm run load -- provider --profile coding --cpu-seconds 60

# the bot's config.yaml; start it with `npm run dev`
providers:
  scripted:
    type: openai-compatible
    baseUrl: http://127.0.0.1:8089
defaults:
  models:
    coding: scripted/any

SWITCHBOARD_LOAD_INGRESS_TOKEN=<token> \
npm run load -- e2e --ingress-url http://127.0.0.1:8080/ingress --healthz-url http://127.0.0.1:8080/healthz \
  --text "agent:coding in acme/api: load harness" --threads 50 --hold 600

/healthz is sampled every 15 s for in-flight runs, RSS, heap and event-loop lag. Nothing is pushed or opened: the default profile never calls submit_pr_description.

Ask what Slack does with fifty cards

npm run load -- cards --cards 50 --hold 600 --channels 5

A virtual-time simulation of the real status coalescer and budget against a fake Slack API at the published limits: update lag, edits held back or refused, terminal frames landed.

Flag	Effect
--client retrying	the same cards without the budget: the baseline

Post the receipt on the change's PR; never commit load-results/.

Next

• Load harness: the contract.
• Capacity and sizing