LPS Load Testing Challenge · Round 1

Find the leak. Before it finds you.

Memory leaks rarely announce themselves. Design an LPS load test that exposes one in our sample application, then show us the signal, the strategy, and the evidence.

Win up to $250 per LPS Challenge.The Round 1 winner receives $100 for successfully solving this challenge.

Register for Round 1 View LPS on GitHub
18-30
August 2026Submissions open 18 August at 00:00 UTC · close 30 August at 23:59:59 UTC
Your evidence, live
LPS live load testing dashboard showing response time and request metrics
The questionCan your test turn slow memory growth into a clear, defensible finding?

Challenge briefing

Build a test that catches what ordinary checks miss.

Use LPS against the provided sample application. We want to see not only whether you found the leak, but how you shaped the load and proved what was happening.

01

Register now

Reserve one of 100 places using your email and exact GitHub username.

03

Run the challenge lab

Pull LPS Outfitters from Docker Hub and run the fake store locally or in your preferred test environment.

04

Investigate and submit

Detect the memory leak from load-testing evidence, then submit your commented plan and findings by 30 August.

The challenge lab

Meet LPS Outfitters.

LPS Outfitters is a containerized fake store with a memory leak hidden in its runtime behavior. Your task is to exercise the application with LPS, observe the performance and memory signals, and build a defensible diagnosis from the evidence.

View lpsload/outfitters-lab on Docker Hub →
The LPS Outfitters container image is publicly available on Docker Hub. You may run it locally with Docker to explore the application, record user journeys, and develop your investigation plan. You may also deploy the same image to any cloud or Kubernetes environment for load testing and diagnostics.

Need to install LPS first? Visit the LPS Tool documentation →

1. Pull the image 
docker pull lpsload/outfitters-lab:v3
2. Run locally with PowerShell 
docker run `
  --detach `
    --name outfitters-lab `
  --publish 8080:8080 `
  --memory 1g `
  --cpus 0.5 `
    lpsload/outfitters-lab:v3

Once running, open http://localhost:8080 to explore the store and record the journeys you want to test.

Submission and winner selection

Show the investigation, not only the answer.

Participants will receive the container image without source code and may run it locally or on any cloud platform to collect container and backend runtime metrics.

Submissions must include all required details, a complete and executable LPS plan, and a valid, publicly accessible demonstration video. Missing information, an incomplete plan, an inaccessible or incorrect video link, or a late submission may result in disqualification.

Participants must use strategic load testing, control experiments, and metrics to reproduce the memory issue and isolate the responsible user action or endpoint.

Round 1 will have one winner.The single strongest eligible submission will receive the $100 Round 1 prize. International prize payments can only be sent through PayPal, so the winner must be able to receive payment through PayPal.

If multiple participants identify the correct operation, the winner will be selected based on:

  1. 01Investigation strategy and quality of hypotheses
  2. 02Effective workload design and endpoint isolation
  3. 03Accurate interpretation of memory and performance metrics
  4. 04Use of control tests and reproducible evidence
  5. 05Effective use of LPS features
  6. 06Clarity of the demonstration

The strongest submission will clearly show how the collected evidence led to the final conclusion.

Registration open

Reserve your place before the test begins.

Register with the email you will use for submission and the exact username shown on your GitHub account. Your email is the key we use to accept your plan once Round 1 opens.

100maximum participants
One registration per email and GitHub username

Round 1 registration

Registration is open now. Plan submission opens 18 August 2026 at 00:00 UTC.

Username only, not your display name or profile URL.

Round 1 submission

Opens 18 August
Submission is closed until 18 August at 00:00 UTC. You can register above now, then return with the same email when the challenge begins.
We will match this email to your registered GitHub username.
One .yaml file · maximum 2 MB · include # comments explaining what each part does
Make sure reviewers can open the link without requesting access.

Having an issue with registration, the challenge lab, or your submission? Contact Us.

Success