Axel is a command line application which accelerates HTTP/FTP downloads by using multiple sources for one file. For example, some FTP sites limit the speed of each connection, therefore opening more than one connection at a time multiplies the allowable bandwidth.
What if we could use a bash script to use 'apt-get' with Axel so the 'apt-get' download speed would increase dramatically? Well, you can, thanks to Matt Parnell who has created a bash script which does just that. The script works with any Linux distribution which uses 'apt-get' (Debian, Ubuntu, etc.).
What if we could use a bash script to use 'apt-get' with Axel so the 'apt-get' download speed would increase dramatically? Well, you can, thanks to Matt Parnell who has created a bash script which does just that. The script works with any Linux distribution which uses 'apt-get' (Debian, Ubuntu, etc.).
Before using the script, you must install Axel:
Then create an empty file called apt-fast and paste this:
sudo apt-get install axelThen create an empty file called apt-fast and paste this:
#!/bin/sh
#apt-fast by Matt Parnell http://www.mattparnell.com , this thing is FOSS
#please feel free to suggest improvements to admin@mattparnell.com
# Use this just like apt-get for faster package downloading. Make sure to have axel installed
#If the first user entered variable string contains apt-get, and the second string entered is either install or dist-upgrade
if echo '$1' | grep -q '[upgrade]' || echo '$2' | grep -q '[install]' || echo '$2' | grep -q '[dist-upgrade]'; then
echo 'Working...';
#Go into the directory apt-get normally puts downloaded packages
cd /var/cache/apt/archives/;
#Have apt-get print the information, including the URI's to the packages
apt-get -y --print-uris $1 $2 $3 $4 > debs.list;
#Strip out the URI's, and download the packages with Axel for speediness
egrep -o -e '(ht|f)tp://[^\']+' debs.list | xargs -l1 axel -a;
#Perform the user's reqested action via apt-get
apt-get -y $1 $2 $3 $4;
echo 'Done! Make sure and check to see that the packages all were installed properly. If a package is erred, run sudo apt-get autoclean and try installing it again without the use of this script.';
elif echo '$1' | grep -q '[*]'; then
apt-get $1;
else
echo 'Sorry, but you appear to be entering invalid options. You must use apt-get and one of apt-get's options in order to use this script.';
fiThen use the terminal to navigate to where you created the script and run this command:
For easier usage, you can move it to the /usr/bin folder.
Now, instead of using: sudo apt-get install PACKAGE_NAME, use sudo apt-fast install PACKAGE_NAME or upgrade or dist-upgrade - it also works with those operations.
I must say I have obviously tested the script and indeed, it works really fast. I don't know if it's 26x faster as the author claims, but the speed improvement, well, let's just say you won't need to measure it to notice the difference!
chmod +x apt-fastFor easier usage, you can move it to the /usr/bin folder.
Now, instead of using: sudo apt-get install PACKAGE_NAME, use sudo apt-fast install PACKAGE_NAME or upgrade or dist-upgrade - it also works with those operations.
I must say I have obviously tested the script and indeed, it works really fast. I don't know if it's 26x faster as the author claims, but the speed improvement, well, let's just say you won't need to measure it to notice the difference!
Special thanks to Mahdi for suggesting this script!
