---
title: "Grafana Cloud k6 | Grafana k6 documentation"
description: "When streaming the results to the cloud, the machine - where you execute the k6 CLI command - runs the test and uploads the results to the cloud. Then, you will be able to visualize and analyze the results on the web app in real-time."
---

> For a curated documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). For the complete documentation index, see [llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt).

# Grafana Cloud k6

Besides [running cloud tests](/docs/k6/latest/get-started/running-k6/#execution-modes), you can also run a test locally and stream the results to [Grafana Cloud k6](/docs/grafana-cloud/testing/k6/get-started/run-cloud-tests-from-the-cli/#run-locally-and-stream-to-the-cloud).

When streaming the results to the cloud, the machine - where you execute the k6 CLI command - runs the test and uploads the results to the cloud-based solution. Then, you will be able to visualize and analyze the results on the web app in real-time.

## Streaming results vs. running on cloud servers

Don’t confuse `k6 cloud run --local-execution script.js` (what this page is about) with `k6 cloud run script.js`.

Fundamentally the difference is the machine that the test runs on:

- `k6 cloud run --local-execution` runs k6 locally and streams the results to the cloud.
- `k6 cloud run`, on the other hand, uploads your script to the cloud solution and runs the test on the cloud infrastructure. In this case you’ll only see status updates in your CLI.

In all cases you’ll be able to see your test results at [k6 Cloud](https://app.k6.io) or [Grafana Cloud](/products/cloud/).

> Caution
> 
> Data storage and processing are primary cloud costs, so `k6 cloud run --local-execution` will consume VUH or test runs from your subscription.

## Instructions

1. Log in to the cloud
   
   Assuming you have installed k6, the first step is to log in to the cloud service.
   
   Run `k6 cloud login` — it will prompt you interactively for your API token and stack:
   
   Bash
   
   ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy
   
   Bash ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy
   
   ```bash
   k6 cloud login
   ```
   
   For non-interactive environments such as CI/CD, pass the values directly:
   
   Bash ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy
   
   ```bash
   k6 cloud login --token <YOUR_API_TOKEN> --stack <YOUR_STACK_SLUG>
   ```
2. Run the tests and upload the results
   
   Now, k6 will authenticate you against the cloud service, and you can use the `--local-execution` option to send the k6 results to the cloud as:
   
   Bash ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy
   
   ```bash
   k6 cloud run --local-execution script.js
   ```
   
   Alternatively, you could skip the `k6 cloud login` command when passing your API token and stack ID (available in your settings, along with your API token) to the `k6 cloud run` command as:
   
   Bash ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy
   
   ```bash
   K6_CLOUD_TOKEN=<YOUR_API_TOKEN> K6_CLOUD_STACK_ID=<YOUR_STACK_ID> k6 cloud run --local-execution script.js
   ```
   
   After running the command, the console shows a URL. Copy this URL and paste it in your browser’s address bar to visualize the test results.
   
   Bash ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy
   
   ```bash
   execution: local
       output: cloud (https://acmecorp.grafana.net/a/k6-app/runs/123456)
       script: script.js
   ```

When you send the results to the k6 Cloud with `k6 cloud run --local-execution`, data will be continuously streamed to the cloud. While this happens the state of the test run will be marked as `Running`. A test run that ran its course will be marked `Finished`. The run state has nothing to do with the test passing any thresholds, only that the test itself is operating correctly.

If you deliberately abort your test (e.g. by pressing *Ctrl-C*), your test will end up as `Aborted by User`. You can still look and analyze the test data you streamed so far. The test will just have run shorter than originally planned.

Another possibility would be if you lose network connection with the cloud service while your test is running. In that case the cloud service will patiently wait for you to reconnect. In the meanwhile your test’s run state will continue to appear as `Running` on the web app.

If no reconnection happens, the cloud service will time out after two minutes of no data, setting the run state to `Timed out`. You can still analyze a timed out test but you’ll of course only have access to as much data as was streamed before the network issue.

> Caution
> 
> The `k6 cloud run --local-execution script.js` command uploads the test archive k6 produces from your test script and resources to Grafana Cloud.
> 
> This behavior can be deactivated by adding the `--no-archive-upload` option to your command: `k6 cloud run --local-execution --no-archive-upload script.js`.