Measuring how a web page loads requires a browser running under known conditions, not just a successful HTTP request. A WebPageTest agent executes assigned browser tests and collects timing and related artifacts for the server. It is the measurement worker, separate from the interface that queues tests and displays results. Its browser versions, host resources and network shaping affect the measurements, so a shared Kubernetes node must be evaluated carefully before its results become a performance baseline.
Current guidance
Current upstream material distinguishes the actively developed Polyform Shield branch from an Apache-licensed branch and documents browser-specific feature differences. The old chart’s browser release notes are historical; select the exact agent branch, browser versions and license appropriate to the intended use.
The Docker guide calls container traffic shaping experimental and warns that multiple agents on one host can produce incorrect shaping. It requires host support and network administration capability for that mode. Decide whether shared Kubernetes nodes can provide sufficiently controlled CPU, network and browser conditions before comparing results as a performance baseline.
For migration, preserve server location IDs, authentication and test scripts, then validate a fixed test page with repeated runs. Check TLS certificate verification explicitly, since the documented agent option is not enabled by default. Restrict target-network reachability and handle screenshots, response bodies and HAR files as potentially sensitive artifacts. A passing agent health endpoint shows server communication, not the accuracy of throttling or equivalence of performance measurements across different hosts.
Historical upstream link check · 2026-10-09
The recorded upstream address returned HTTP 404 on 2026-10-09; that URL was unavailable in this check. GitHub does not mark catchpoint/WebPageTest.docs archived or disabled; this does not establish active maintenance, support or compatibility. GitHub resolves the old repository identity to catchpoint/WebPageTest.docs. Link availability does not certify the historical installation instructions or current security support. The GitHub API verifies the linked repository's current location. Its repository overview is provided because the old subpage is unavailable; this is not a replacement installation guide.
Website availability is separate from project, chart and image support. Use the current guidance and primary sources on this page to assess the distribution.
Historical Kubedex content
Preserved for context. Commands, versions, prices and results below reflect the original research.
This chart deploys WebPageTest Private Instance Containers deployment on a Kubernetes cluster using the Helm package manager.
Depending on your configuration you can then use Official WPT agent instances to test your websites. WebPagetest is available as a software package for installation and running of private instances.
Changes from WebPageTest 17.08:
WebPageTest and wptagent now have “release” branches in github that will be updated any time a new release is made (making it easy to git clone/pull a stable release build).
Web UI
- Added Lighthouse scores to the top-level grades
- Added video as a distinct content type (waterfall, breakdown)
- Expanded the filmstrip UI and admin pages to full screen width
- Fixes for multi-step test support
- Video rendering
- HAR export
- Added reporting of agent uptime
- Fixes to EC2 agent auto-scaling logic
- Improvements in “Time to Interactive” measurement
Agent (wptagent)
- Added support for Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer (full support except for header modification on IE)
- Added support for testing Opera (full support on desktop and android, behaves like Chrome)
- Fixes for testing Chrome 63
- Fixes for testing Firefox 57
- Fixed User agent overriding in Chrome and Firefox
- Improvements to reliability of Lighthouse testing and error reporting
- Fixed setviewportsize and setuseragent script commands
- Added support for using vpn-reverse-tether for revers-tethering android devices (up through 6.0 for now)
- Improvements to the optimization check processing (faster processing, improved CDN detection)
wptdriver (Legacy Desktop Testing)
wptdriver is deprecated and in mid-2018 will no longer be able to test Chrome. All testing should migrate to using wptagent.
Easy Deployment (on Google Cloud)
There are a server script and public image for test agents.
- Pre-configured for testing in all Google Cloud regions.
- Automatically updates to the latest server and agent code.
- Auto-scales test agents as needed.
Easy Deployment (on EC2)
There is an EC2 AMI available for the WebPageTest server that provides a lot of benefits:
- No configuration required (up and running in 5 minutes).
- Automatically starts and stops EC2 test agents in all of the EC2 regions as needed.
- Automatically updates to the latest server and agent code.
System Requirements
WebPageTest can be configured to run all on one system (with the web server and test machines all running on the same PC) or with separate systems for the web server and testers.
Sources & further reading
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