Bug#1117500: APT package installation is noticeably slower compared to previous versions (Debian 13)
Package: apt
Version: 3.0.0~alpha3
Severity: normal
Tags: trixie performance
Subject: APT package installation is noticeably slower compared to previous versions (Debian 13)
Hello Debian team,
On Debian 13 (Trixie, Testing) with the new APT package manager (3.x series), package installation performance has significantly regressed compared to previous versions.
Installing a simple package used to take around 20–30 seconds with older APT releases (e.g., 2.6.x in Debian 12), but now the same operation often takes 2–3 minutes. This slowdown is especially noticeable on slower disks or network-based installs.
Observed behavior:
- The “Downloading” phase runs at normal speed.
- The “Configuring packages” or “Setting up” phases take much longer.
- CPU usage remains low (around 5–10%).
- Disk I/O is minimal.
- It seems APT or dpkg triggers are spending excessive time in internal processing.
**Expected behavior:**
Package installation should complete at speeds similar to previous APT versions.
If this is a performance regression, optimization would improve user experience.
**System information:**
- Debian 13 (Trixie, Testing)
- APT version: 3.0.0~alpha3
- Desktop: Cinnamon
- Disk: SSD
- CPU: x86_64, 8 cores
- Network: stable and fast (no download slowdown)
This slowdown negatively affects interactivity and user experience, especially for frequent package operations.
Thank you
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