apt-fast downloads repositories (package sources) and packages in parallel, which can greatly shorten the time it takes to update a system. In contrast, the default package manager (apt-get or aptitude) downloads repositories and packages sequentially.

Step 1 – Install apt-fast

Add the apt-fast repository to your package sources.

apt-fast installation sudo add-apt-repository ppa:apt-fast/stable sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install apt-fast 1 2 3 4 5 sudo add-apt-repository ppa:apt-fast/stable sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install apt-fast

If you don’t have the add-apt-repository tool, install it by running sudo apt-get install software-properties-common

If the package configuration asks which package manager to use, choose apt-get if you are running Ubuntu, or aptitude if you are running Debian.

When asked for how many connections to use, enter a reasonable number based on your connection. If you have a fast connection, the default of 15 will most likely suit you. If you’re on a slower connection, consider entering 5 or 10. Try different values to find what works best.

You can reconfigure at any time by running sudo dpkg-reconfigure apt-fast

Step 2 – Create an alias

Add the following to the end of your ~/.bashrc file to perform a normal upgrade by typing uu

uu alias alias uu='sudo apt-fast update && sudo apt-fast upgrade -y' 1 alias uu='sudo apt-fast update && sudo apt-fast upgrade -y'

Note the -y argument. This causes any prompts (such as the download confirmation) to be answered yes automatically.

If you want a more thorough upgrade (which installs new kernels) use dist-upgrade rather than upgrade

lonniebiz on reddit writes:

If you’d like to see this in the main repositories and Ubuntu Software Center, add some heat to this bug by indicating that it affects you: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/1173661