Some packages install in under a minute, while alternatives which seem functionally similar, take hours.

Sometimes there are several available options to fit a use case and I would like to use it now. Is it possible to anticipate which one will likely be the fastest to get rolling?

Generally I like to install via yay.

Searching around here is what I learned. Agree?:

  • AUR will be slower
  • Certain categories of package, like web browser, are inherently slow
  • Selecting -bin will be faster if available

Is there some way to guess beyond that? Certain programing languages take longer than others? Is it in relationship to existing packages on the system? Other characteristic? Some kind of dry-run feature to estimate?

Obviously I don’t have the fastest computer. I have added MAKEFLAGS="-j4" to /etc/makepkg.conf so at least all 4 cores can get used.

Once I realize a package is going to take ages to get ready, is it possible to safely intervene to stop the process? I try to avoid it because in general I understand arch-based distros don’t like “partial” installs. But is it safe to stop compiling? No changes have yet been made, right?

  • unknowing8343
    13·
    5 months ago

    It depends on many things. The webbrowser thing is just because of the size of the package.

    AUR is not necessarily slower. It depends on if you have to compile it or not, size of build dependencies…

    There are too many variables.

    If you install AUR things with yay or paru… It’s pretty safe to just Ctrl+C once. It should clean everything up.

    In any case, yes, the *-bin packages generally are pre-compiled, so someone else has done the effort already, so your install is just way faster.