Runner has started to intermittently hang on apt-get (virtual I/O issue?)
Nobody has claimed this yet.
- Dominant language
- C#
- Stars
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Description
Describe the bug
In Npgsql we have recently seen the runner intermittently hanging on apt-get for 15 minutes or more.
To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:
Unsure
Expected behavior
The job to finish under ~4m like the others.
Runner Version and Platform
Current runner version: '2.333.1'
Has only affected linux jobs so far, though we run many more linux jobs than Windows/macOS ones.
What's not working?
Two runs so far, each containing one job taking abnormally long compared to the rest of the matrix.
https://github.com/npgsql/npgsql/actions/runs/24249073996/job/70803168738
https://github.com/npgsql/npgsql/actions/runs/24100802265/job/70311354061
Job Log Output
Runner logs just show it doing an inexplicably long time jump, while unaffected runs continue normally:
2026-04-10T14:55:27.2199471Z CREATE ROLE
2026-04-10T15:17:42.8025275Z Selecting previously unselected package poppler-data.
2026-04-10T15:17:42.8083680Z (Reading database ...
Runner and Worker's Diagnostic Logs
Contributor guide
No contributing guide indexed for this repository
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start with the two linked job runs and the attached diagnostic log archives, comparing the timestamps around apt-get and the affected Linux jobs. Identify the cause of the intermittent delay and validate a fix by confirming comparable jobs finish near the expected four-minute duration.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- csharp, linux
- Domain
- ci-cd, devops, operating-systems
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Needs clarification
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100