# rpk cluster self-test start

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/llms.txt). Component-specific: [streaming-full.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming-full.txt)

---
title: rpk cluster self-test start
latest-redpanda-tag: v25.1.1
latest-console-tag: v3.7.3
latest-operator-version: v26.1.4
# EOL = End-of-Life (support lifecycle status)
page-is-nearing-eol: "false"
page-is-past-eol: "true"
page-eol-date: April 7, 2026
latest-connect-version: 4.93.0
docname: rpk/rpk-cluster/rpk-cluster-self-test-start
page-component-name: streaming
page-version: "25.1"
page-component-version: "25.1"
page-component-title: Streaming
page-relative-src-path: rpk/rpk-cluster/rpk-cluster-self-test-start.adoc
page-edit-url: https://github.com/redpanda-data/docs/edit/v/25.1/modules/reference/pages/rpk/rpk-cluster/rpk-cluster-self-test-start.adoc
description: Reference for the 'rpk cluster self-test start' command. Starts one or more benchmark tests on one or more nodes of the cluster.
page-git-created-date: "2023-08-04"
page-git-modified-date: "2025-07-29"
support-status: past end-of-life
---

<!-- Source: https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/25.1/reference/rpk/rpk-cluster/rpk-cluster-self-test-start.md -->

Starts one or more benchmark tests on one or more nodes of the cluster.

> 📝 **NOTE**
>
> Redpanda self-test runs benchmarks that consume significant system resources. Do not start self-test if large workloads are already running on the system.

Available tests to run:

-   **Disk tests**

    -   Throughput test: 512 KB messages, sequential read/write

        -   Uses a larger request message sizes and deeper I/O queue depth to write/read more bytes in a shorter amount of time, at the cost of IOPS/latency.


    -   Latency test: 4 KB messages, sequential read/write

        -   Uses smaller request message sizes and lower levels of parallelism to achieve higher IOPS and lower latency.



-   **Network tests**

    -   Throughput test: 8192-bit messages

        -   Unique pairs of Redpanda nodes each act as a client and a server.

        -   The test pushes as much data over the wire, within the test parameters.



-   **Cloud storage tests**

    -   Configuration/latency test: 1024-byte object.

    -   If cloud storage is enabled ([`cloud_storage_enabled`](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/25.1/reference/properties/object-storage-properties/#cloud_storage_enabled)), a series of remote operations are performed:

        1.  Upload an object (a random buffer of 1024 bytes) to the cloud storage bucket/container.

        2.  List objects in the bucket/container.

        3.  Download the uploaded object from the bucket/container.

        4.  Download the uploaded object’s metadata from the bucket/container.

        5.  Delete the uploaded object from the bucket/container.

        6.  Upload and then delete multiple objects (random buffers) at once from the bucket/container.




This command prompts users for confirmation (unless the flag `--no-confirm` is specified), then returns a test identifier ID, and runs the tests.

To view the test status, poll [rpk cluster self-test status](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/25.1/reference/rpk/rpk-cluster/rpk-cluster-self-test-status/). Once the tests end, the cached results will be available with `rpk cluster self-test status`.

## [](#usage)Usage

```bash
rpk cluster self-test start [flags]
```

## [](#flags)Flags

| Value | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| --cloud-backoff-ms | uint | The backoff in milliseconds for a cloud storage request (default 100). |
| --cloud-timeout-ms | uint | The timeout in milliseconds for a cloud storage request (default 10000). |
| --disk-duration-ms | uint | The duration in milliseconds of individual disk test runs (default 30000). |
| -h, --help | - | Help for start. |
| --network-duration-ms | uint | The duration in milliseconds of individual network test runs (default 30000). |
| --no-confirm | - | Acknowledge warning prompt skipping read from stdin. |
| --only-cloud-test | - | Runs only cloud storage verification. |
| --only-disk-test | - | Runs only the disk benchmarks. |
| --only-network-test | - | Runs only network benchmarks. |
| --participant-node-ids | uints | Comma-separated list of broker IDs that the tests will run on. If not set, tests will run for all node IDs. |
| --config | string | Redpanda or rpk config file; default search paths are /var/lib/redpanda/.config/rpk/rpk.yaml, $PWD/redpanda.yaml, and /etc/redpanda/redpanda.yaml. |
| -X, --config-opt | stringArray | Override rpk configuration settings. See rpk -X or execute rpk -X help for inline detail or rpk -X list for terser detail. |
| --profile | string | Profile to use. See rpk profile for more details. |
| -v, --verbose | - | Enable verbose logging. |