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jmeter-cli-editor

jmeter-cli-editor is a terminal UI (TUI) editor for JMeter .jmx test plan files. Edit thread groups, HTTP samplers, extractors, assertions, and CSV data sets without launching the JMeter GUI.

Price
£59 one-time (launch price: £29 for first 50 sales)

Platform: Linux x86_64, Windows x86_64

Why Use It

Section titled “Why Use It”
  • CI/CD environments: No display server required. Edit JMX files on headless build agents.
  • Speed: Open a 2,000-element test plan in under a second. The JMeter GUI takes 30+ seconds.
  • Remote editing: Edit over SSH without X forwarding.
  • Scripting: Automate changes with the --set flag (non-interactive mode).

Installation

Section titled “Installation”
Terminal window
chmod +x jmeter-cli-editor
sudo mv jmeter-cli-editor /usr/local/bin/
jmeter-cli-editor --version

Opening a Test Plan

Section titled “Opening a Test Plan”
Terminal window
jmeter-cli-editor my-test.jmx

TUI Navigation

Section titled “TUI Navigation”
KeyAction
↑ / ↓ or j / kNavigate elements
EnterExpand / edit element
eEdit current element’s properties
nNew element (child of current)
dDelete element
cCopy element
pPaste element
/Search elements by name or type
sSave (writes to original file)
SSave As (prompt for new filename)
uUndo
rRedo
qQuit (prompts if unsaved changes)
?Help

Element Tree

Section titled “Element Tree”

The left panel shows the test plan tree. Element types are colour-coded:

  • Thread Groups — blue
  • Samplers — green
  • Controllers — yellow
  • Extractors / Post-processors — cyan
  • Assertions — red
  • Listeners — grey (highlighted if active)
  • Config elements — magenta

Editing Properties

Section titled “Editing Properties”

Press e on any element to open the property editor. For an HTTP Sampler:

Name:        [Login Request            ]
Protocol:    [https                    ]
Server:      [${TARGET_HOST}           ]
Port:        [443                      ]
Path:        [/api/auth/login          ]
Method:      [POST ▼                   ]
Body Data:   [{"username":"${user}",   ]
             [ "password":"${pass}"}   ]

Tab between fields. Ctrl+S saves and closes the editor.

Non-Interactive Mode (--set)

Section titled “Non-Interactive Mode (--set)”

For scripted changes without the TUI:

Terminal window
# Change thread count in all Thread Groups
jmeter-cli-editor my-test.jmx \
  --set "ThreadGroup.num_threads=100"


# Change server name across all HTTP Samplers
jmeter-cli-editor my-test.jmx \
  --set "HTTPSampler.domain=staging.example.com"


# Set multiple properties
jmeter-cli-editor my-test.jmx \
  --set "ThreadGroup.num_threads=50" \
  --set "ThreadGroup.ramp_time=60"

This is idiomatic for CI/CD parameterisation:

ci-perf.sh
jmeter-cli-editor test.jmx \
  --set "HTTPSampler.domain=${TARGET_HOST}" \
  --set "ThreadGroup.num_threads=${VUS}" \
  --set "ThreadGroup.duration=${DURATION_SECONDS}"
jmeter -n -t test.jmx -l results.jtl

Inspect Mode

Section titled “Inspect Mode”

View all properties of an element without editing:

Terminal window
jmeter-cli-editor my-test.jmx --inspect "Login Request"

Output:

Element: Login Request (HTTPSamplerProxy)
  HTTPSampler.domain       = ${TARGET_HOST}
  HTTPSampler.port         = 443
  HTTPSampler.protocol     = https
  HTTPSampler.path         = /api/auth/login
  HTTPSampler.method       = POST
  ...

License

Section titled “License”
Terminal window
export JMETER_CLI_EDITOR_LICENSE=your-license-key
# or
jmeter-cli-editor --license your-key my-test.jmx
Section titled “Links”