Just running apt install in a GitHub Actions workflow is not the best way to
install packages. It can be slow. Really really slow. Using this action will
speed up the installation of packages via apt.
Installing graphviz with different methods:
| Method | Mean (s) | Median (s) | 30–60s | >60s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| apt install graphviz | 🔴 26.0 | 🟡 20.0 | 1,4% | 9,5% |
| via this action | 🟢 6.5 | 🟢 6.0 | 0 | 0 |
Add the following step to your GitHub Actions workflow to install packages via apt:
- name: Install dependencies
uses: eclipse-score/apt-install@main
with:
packages: dia doxygen doxygen-doc doxygen-gui doxygen-latex graphviz mscgen| Parameter | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
packages |
A space-separated list of packages to install v
75BC
ia apt. |
required |
cache |
Use a cache to speed up the installation. See also Caching Caveats | true |
mandb |
Update the mandb database after installing packages. |
false |
apt_update |
Run apt update before installing packages. |
false |
recommends |
Install recommended dependencies. | false |
While it's true that there are already several actions that install packages via apt, none quite matches our expectations.
We wanted an action that is fast, efficient, and easy to use. This action is designed to be a drop-in replacement for apt install in GitHub Actions workflows, while allowing all the flexibility you need.
Installing graphviz 375 times every 10 minutes with different methods, measuring the time it takes to install the package.
| Method | Mean (s) | Median (s) | 30–60s | >60s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Install via setup-graphviz action | 🔴 27.5 | 🔴 23.0 | 1.1% | 9.1% |
| Install via apt | 🔴 26.5 | 🟡 20.0 | 1.3% | 9.9% |
| Install via setup-graphviz action, no apt update | 🔴 24.5 | 🟡 17.0 | 4.3% | 10.1% |
| Install via apt, no apt update, no recommends | 🔴 23.5 | 🟡 14.0 | 4.8% | 10.7% |
| Download and install .deb files | 🔴 23.2 | 🟡 17.0 | 3.5% | 8.0% |
| Get .deb files from GitHub cache and install them | 🔴 21.9 | 🟡 15.0 | 5.6% | 7.5% |
| Install via apt, no apt update | 🔴 21.0 | 🟡 14.0 | 4.3% | 7.2% |
| Install via setup-graphviz action, no mandb | 🟡 16.3 | 🟡 15.0 | 1.9% | - |
| Install via apt, no mandb | 🟡 14.8 | 🟡 13.0 | 2.1% | 0.5% |
| Download and install .deb files, no mandb | 🟡 10.8 | 🟢 10.0 | - | - |
| Install via setup-graphviz action, no apt update, no mandb | 🟡 10.0 | 🟢 8.0 | 0.5% | - |
| Install via apt, no apt update, no mandb | 🟢 8.5 | 🟢 7.0 | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Get .deb files from GitHub cache and install them, no mandb | 🟢 8.3 | 🟢 7.0 | 0.5% | - |
| Install via apt, no apt update, no recommends, no mandb | 🟢 7.4 | 🟢 6.0 | - | - |
| Install via cache-apt-pkgs action, no mandb | 🟢 6.6 | 🟢 6.0 | - | - |
| Install via cache-apt-pkgs action | 🟢 6.5 | 🟢 6.0 | - | - |