# Load test your Nakama deployment

**URL:** https://heroiclabs.com/docs/heroic-cloud/operations/load-testing/
**Summary:** Validate your deployment's performance under realistic load before going live, with a production-class Nakama instance and clear performance baselines.
**Keywords:** load testing guide, heroic cloud
**Categories:** heroic-cloud, load-testing, operations

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# Load test your Nakama deployment

**Outcome:** A validated load test against your production-class Nakama deployment, with clear performance baselines.

This guide covers load testing Nakama deployments only. Load testing guidance for Satori will be added in a future update.

## Prerequisites

* A **production-type** Nakama deployment dedicated to load testing. Development environments aren't scalable and **can't be used for load testing or any performance assessment**.
* Nakama configuration tuned for your workload (see below).
* A load testing tool that supports WebSocket connections.
* **Notify the Heroic Labs support team** before running load tests. Let them know which instance you'll be testing and when, so the team can monitor and assist if needed.

## Steps

### 1. Prepare your Nakama configuration

Before running load tests, review these settings:

* **JSVM pool counts:** If you write JavaScript or TypeScript code, check your JSVM min and max pool counts. The default pool size is 64 (64 concurrent VM-based requests). For high-concurrency load tests, increase this value in your Nakama configuration. Each additional VM instance consumes memory, so scale your Nakama tier accordingly.

### 2. Choose a load testing tool

Heroic Labs recommends [Artillery](https://www.artillery.io/) for load testing Nakama. Artillery supports WebSocket connections, which is essential for testing Nakama's real-time features.

Heroic Labs can provide **Artillery scripts on request** to customize for your specific workload. Contact [sales@heroiclabs.com](mailto:sales@heroiclabs.com) to request load testing scripts and guidance.

[k6](https://k6.io/) is an alternative that also supports WebSocket connections.

### 3. Design realistic scenarios

Your load test should simulate realistic player behavior. At a minimum, cover authentication flows and whichever server-side features your game actually uses. No universal baseline exists — every game uses the backend differently, so performance figures depend entirely on your implementation.

### 4. Run the test and scale

Scale your deployment proactively before the test begins. See [Scaling](../../introduction/scaling/) for how to apply tier changes and how long they take to take effect. Leave at least 25% headroom so the deployment has capacity to absorb traffic spikes during the test.

For scaling advice specific to your load test scenario, contact [sales@heroiclabs.com](mailto:sales@heroiclabs.com).

## Baseline performance

Heroic Labs has stress-tested Nakama to over **2 million CCUs**. Contact [sales@heroiclabs.com](mailto:sales@heroiclabs.com) for benchmarking reports and guidance on sizing for your specific workload.

{{< note "important" >}}
Benchmark numbers represent the Nakama server without custom game code. Every game uses the backend differently, so no universal formula exists for how many vCPUs you need for a given CCU target. Always load test your own deployment with your own custom code to validate performance. The Heroic Labs team can help you interpret results and recommend scaling adjustments.
{{< /note >}}

## Troubleshooting

* **Low throughput on dev instance:** Development instances can't be scaled. Switch to a production-type instance.
* **Connection failures at high load:** Check JSVM pool counts and ensure your scaling tier has enough CPU and memory for the target CCU.

## See also

* [Scaling](../../introduction/scaling/) for tiers, costs, and how to apply scaling changes before your test.
* [Nakama deployments](../../titles/nakama-deployments/) for deployment configuration and JSVM pool settings.