tlmgr runs very slowly on Windows

[jiedxu]

Hi, thanks for this useful tool. I have been using it on Windows and Mac for years, but tlmgr became suddenly very slow on Windows. tlmgr seems to be able to complete a command, but taking minutes to install one package means impossible to use.

I installed on Windows using Chocolatey, and reinstalled today, but the problem is the same.

Maybe the debug information makes more sense to you guys:

❯ tlmgr -v install newtx
D:The handle is invalid
at open HKCU for all access
D:found lang code lm = en-US...
D:tlmgr version 78616 (2026-04-06 15:48:59 +0200)
D:maintree=C:/tools/TinyTeX
D:appending to package log file: C:/tools/TinyTeX/texmf-var/web2c/tlmgr.log
D:appending to command log file: C:/tools/TinyTeX/texmf-var/web2c/tlmgr-commands.log
D:Setting env var HTTPS_CA_FILE to C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/curl/curl-ca-bundle.crt
D:tlmgr.pl:main: ::tldownload_server hash:: {enabled:1,errorcount:0,initcount:1,ua:LWP::UserAgent=HASH(0x285878e22f8)}
D:setup_programs: preferring system versions
D:(w32) trying to set up tar, default C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/tar.exe, arg --version
D:Using shipped C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/tar.exe for tar (tested).
D:program curl found in path
D:program wget not usable from path
D:(w32) trying to set up wget, default C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/wget/wget.exe, arg --version
D:Using shipped C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/wget/wget.exe for wget (tested).
D:TLUtils::setup_programs: checking for ssl enabled wget
D:TLUtils::setup_programs: wget has ssl, final wget args: --no-check-certificate --user-agent=texlive/wget --tries=4 --timeout=30 -q -O
D:program lz4 not usable from path
D:(w32) trying to set up lz4, default C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/lz4/lz4.exe, arg --version
D:Using shipped C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/lz4/lz4.exe for lz4 (tested).
D:program gzip found in path
D:program xz found in path
D:Using checksum method digest::sha
D:Testing for gpg in gpg

I disabled rtools44 path, as suggested by ChatGPT, and it seems to run smoother now:

❯ $env:PATH=($env:PATH -split ';' | Where-Object {$_ -notmatch 'rtools44'}) -join ';'

❯ tlmgr update --self --all
tlmgr.pl: package repository https://satztexnik.com/tex-archive/systems/texlive/tlnet (not verified: gpg unavailable)
tlmgr.pl: Preparing TeX Live infrastructure update...
DO NOT CLOSE THIS WINDOW!
TeX Live infrastructure update in progress ...
Detailed command logging to "C:\tools\TinyTeX\temp\update-self.log"
self update: texlive.infra (79365 -> 79511)
Infrastructure update finished successfully.
About to restart tlmgr to complete update ...
tlmgr.pl: package repository https://ftp.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/pub/mirror/tex-archive/systems/texlive/tlnet (not verified: gpg unavailable)
C:\tools\TinyTeX\texmf-dist\scripts\texlive\tlmgr.pl: (make_container __BACKUP_texlive-scripts.r79509.tar) install-tl does not exist
[1/1, ??:??/??:??] update: texlive-scripts [114k] (79509 -> 79598) ... done
running mktexlsr ...
done running mktexlsr.
running updmap-sys ...
done running updmap-sys.
tlmgr.pl: package log updated: C:/tools/TinyTeX/texmf-var/web2c/tlmgr.log
tlmgr.pl: command log updated: C:/tools/TinyTeX/texmf-var/web2c/tlmgr-commands.log

[cderv]

tlmgr is from TeX Live directly, not from TinyTeX or tinytex R package.

If you observe this in terminal directly, this is related to TeX Live directly. I understand your observation about RTOOLS44 but I don't see how tlmgr and rtools interfer... Unless tlmgr scripts are calling some tools that somehow calls the version in RTOOLS44 which are found on path, before the ones included with tlmgr.

But this would be some issue with TeX Live and not TinyTeX.

I would try

• putting tlmgr path fist in PATH before RTOOLS folder to see
• See if installing Rtools with rig does configure the path or registry differently.

C:\tools\TinyTeX\

Is this the defaukt place TinyTeX is installed for you ?
Usually user install is at "C:\\Users\\<user>\\AppData\\Roaming\\TinyTeX"

Not sure it is related, but maybe C:/tools is a place that conflicts with something, or scanned by windows safety tools you may have.

Anyhow, we can't really help on that, or fix anything in TinyTeX at it seems related to your setup and configuration. Though if you find anything we can document in TinyTeX faq or elsewhere.

[jiedxu]

Thanks for the quick reply. I tried something like you suggested to temporarily remove RTOOLS out of my path.

$oldpath=$env:PATH
$env:PATH=($env:PATH -split ';' | Where-Object {$_ -notmatch 'rtools44'}) -join ';'

then tlmgr works in a speed that I expect. I'm comparing debug printouts of running tlmgr with and without RTOOLS, to see if there's some pattern.

---

C:\tools\TinyTeX\

Is this the defaukt place TinyTeX is installed for you ?
Usually user install is at "C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\TinyTeX"

I installed TinyTex in an admin Terminal using Chocolatey, which I guess results in TinyTex being there.

[jiedxu]

If I just run tlmgr -v repository list, there are several slow operations (shown as ~~~~~~~~ and only the beginning is attached here):

D:The handle is invalid
at open HKCU for all access
D:found lang code lm = en-US...
D:tlmgr version 79491 (2026-06-27 19:40:15 +0200)
D:maintree=C:/tools/TinyTeX
D:appending to package log file: C:/tools/TinyTeX/texmf-var/web2c/tlmgr.log
D:appending to command log file: C:/tools/TinyTeX/texmf-var/web2c/tlmgr-commands.log
D:Setting env var HTTPS_CA_FILE to C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/curl/curl-ca-bundle.crt
D:tlmgr.pl:main: ::tldownload_server hash:: {enabled:1,errorcount:0,initcount:1,ua:LWP::UserAgent=HASH(0x1c1d58fe980)}
D:setup_programs: preferring system versions
D:(w32) trying to set up tar, default C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/tar.exe, arg --version
D:Using shipped C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/tar.exe for tar (tested).
D:program curl found in path
D:program wget not usable from path
D:(w32) trying to set up wget, default C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/wget/wget.exe, arg --version
D:Using shipped C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/wget/wget.exe for wget (tested).
D:TLUtils::setup_programs: checking for ssl enabled wget
D:TLUtils::setup_programs: wget has ssl, final wget args: --no-check-certificate --user-agent=texlive/wget --tries=4 --timeout=30 -q -O
D:program lz4 not usable from path
D:(w32) trying to set up lz4, default C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/lz4/lz4.exe, arg --version
D:Using shipped C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/lz4/lz4.exe for lz4 (tested).
D:program gzip found in path
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
D:program xz found in path
D:Using checksum method digest::sha
D:Testing for gpg in gpg
D: ... gpg ok! [C:\rtools44\usr\bin\gpg.EXE --version >nul 2>&1]
D:gpg command line: C:\rtools44\usr\bin\gpg.EXE --homedir "C:\tools\TinyTeX\tlpkg\gpg" --no-secmem-warning --no-permission-warning --lock-never
D:will verify cryptographic signatures
D:TLPDB.pm: trying to initialize from https://ftp.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/pub/mirror/tex-archive/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb
D:trying to download https://ftp.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/pub/mirror/tex-archive/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.xz to C:\Users\Edward.Xu\AppData\Local\Temp\GNls6UPRSA\JoR_xl0K8E
D:persistent connection set up, trying to get https://ftp.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/pub/mirror/tex-archive/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.xz (for C:\Users\Edward.Xu\AppData\Local\Temp\GNls6UPRSA\JoR_xl0K8E)
D:TLDownload::get_file: response error: 501 Protocol scheme 'https' is not supported (LWP::Protocol::https not installed) (for https://ftp.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/pub/mirror/tex-archive/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.xz)
D:TLUtils::download_file: persistent connection ok, but download failed: https://ftp.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/pub/mirror/tex-archive/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.xz
D:TLUtils::download_file: retrying with other downloaders.
D:TLUtils::_download_file_program: curl https://ftp.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/pub/mirror/tex-archive/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.xz C:\Users\Edward.Xu\AppData\Local\Temp\GNls6UPRSA\JoR_xl0K8E
D:downloading https://ftp.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/pub/mirror/tex-archive/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.xz using curl --user-agent texlive/curl --retry 4 --retry-delay 4 --connect-timeout 30 --fail --location --silent --output
D:download of https://ftp.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/pub/mirror/tex-archive/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.xz succeeded
D:TLUtils::download_file: downloading using curl succeeded
D:decompressing C:\Users\Edward.Xu\AppData\Local\Temp\GNls6UPRSA\JoR_xl0K8E to C:\Users\Edward.Xu\AppData\Local\Temp\GNls6UPRSA\Ec_mDxSSxy
D:TLUtils::system_pipe: calling xz -dcf < "C:\Users\Edward.Xu\AppData\Local\Temp\GNls6UPRSA\JoR_xl0K8E" > "C:\Users\Edward.Xu\AppData\Local\Temp\GNls6UPRSA\Ec_mDxSSxy"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
D:TLUtils::system_pipe: removing C:\Users\Edward.Xu\AppData\Local\Temp\GNls6UPRSA\JoR_xl0K8E
D:found the uncompressed xz file
D:persistent connection set up, trying to get https://ftp.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/pub/mirror/tex-archive/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.sha512 (for C:\Users\Edward.Xu\AppData\Local\Temp\GNls6UPRSA\atg5S5AkV2)
D:TLDownload::get_file: response error: 501 Protocol scheme 'https' is not supported (LWP::Protocol::https not installed) (for https://ftp.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/pub/mirror/tex-archive/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.sha512)
D:TLUtils::download_file: persistent connection ok, but download failed: https://ftp.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/pub/mirror/tex-archive/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.sha512
D:TLUtils::download_file: retrying with other downloaders.
D:TLUtils::_download_file_program: curl https://ftp.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/pub/mirror/tex-archive/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.sha512 C:\Users\Edward.Xu\AppData\Local\Temp\GNls6UPRSA\atg5S5AkV2
D:downloading https://ftp.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/pub/mirror/tex-archive/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.sha512 using curl --user-agent texlive/curl --retry 4 --retry-delay 4 --connect-timeout 30 --fail --location --silent --output
D:download of https://ftp.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/pub/mirror/tex-archive/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.sha512 succeeded
D:TLUtils::download_file: downloading using curl succeeded
D:persistent connection set up, trying to get https://ftp.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/pub/mirror/tex-archive/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.sha512.asc (for C:\Users\Edward.Xu\AppData\Local\Temp\GNls6UPRSA\HCX8PkCAhU)
D:TLDownload::get_file: response error: 501 Protocol scheme 'https' is not supported (LWP::Protocol::https not installed) (for https://ftp.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/pub/mirror/tex-archive/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.sha512.asc)
D:TLUtils::download_file: persistent connection ok, but download failed: https://ftp.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/pub/mirror/tex-archive/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.sha512.asc
D:TLUtils::download_file: retrying with other downloaders.
D:TLUtils::_download_file_program: curl https://ftp.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/pub/mirror/tex-archive/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.sha512.asc C:\Users\Edward.Xu\AppData\Local\Temp\GNls6UPRSA\HCX8PkCAhU
D:downloading https://ftp.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/pub/mirror/tex-archive/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.sha512.asc using curl --user-agent texlive/curl --retry 4 --retry-delay 4 --connect-timeout 30 --fail --location --silent --output
D:download of https://ftp.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/pub/mirror/tex-archive/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.sha512.asc succeeded
D:TLUtils::download_file: downloading using curl succeeded
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

v.s. disabling RTOOLS (only the beginning is attached here):

D:The handle is invalid
at open HKCU for all access
D:found lang code lm = en-US...
D:tlmgr version 79491 (2026-06-27 19:40:15 +0200)
D:maintree=C:/tools/TinyTeX
D:appending to package log file: C:/tools/TinyTeX/texmf-var/web2c/tlmgr.log
D:appending to command log file: C:/tools/TinyTeX/texmf-var/web2c/tlmgr-commands.log
D:Setting env var HTTPS_CA_FILE to C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/curl/curl-ca-bundle.crt
D:tlmgr.pl:main: ::tldownload_server hash:: {enabled:1,errorcount:0,initcount:1,ua:LWP::UserAgent=HASH(0x25a996045e0)}
D:setup_programs: preferring system versions
D:(w32) trying to set up tar, default C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/tar.exe, arg --version
D:Using shipped C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/tar.exe for tar (tested).
D:program curl found in path
D:program wget not usable from path
D:(w32) trying to set up wget, default C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/wget/wget.exe, arg --version
D:Using shipped C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/wget/wget.exe for wget (tested).
D:TLUtils::setup_programs: checking for ssl enabled wget
D:TLUtils::setup_programs: wget has ssl, final wget args: --no-check-certificate --user-agent=texlive/wget --tries=4 --timeout=30 -q -O
D:program lz4 not usable from path
D:(w32) trying to set up lz4, default C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/lz4/lz4.exe, arg --version
D:Using shipped C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/lz4/lz4.exe for lz4 (tested).
D:program gzip found in path
D:program xz not usable from path
D:(w32) trying to set up xz, default C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/xz/xz.exe, arg --version
D:Using shipped C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/xz/xz.exe for xz (tested).
D:Using checksum method digest::sha
D:Testing for gpg in gpg
D:Testing for gpg in gpg2
D:Testing for gpg in C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/gpg/gpg.exe
D:tlmgr.pl: No gpg found, verification implicitly requested, continuing without verification
D:TLPDB.pm: trying to initialize from https://ftp.rrze.uni-erlangen.de/ctan/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb
D:trying to download https://ftp.rrze.uni-erlangen.de/ctan/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.xz to C:\Users\Edward.Xu\AppData\Local\Temp\140SDzSk8s\ih5DaNBssO
D:persistent connection set up, trying to get https://ftp.rrze.uni-erlangen.de/ctan/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.xz (for C:\Users\Edward.Xu\AppData\Local\Temp\140SDzSk8s\ih5DaNBssO)
D:TLDownload::get_file: response error: 501 Protocol scheme 'https' is not supported (LWP::Protocol::https not installed) (for https://ftp.rrze.uni-erlangen.de/ctan/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.xz)
D:TLUtils::download_file: persistent connection ok, but download failed: https://ftp.rrze.uni-erlangen.de/ctan/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.xz
D:TLUtils::download_file: retrying with other downloaders.
D:TLUtils::_download_file_program: curl https://ftp.rrze.uni-erlangen.de/ctan/systems/texlive/tlnet/tlpkg/texlive.tlpdb.xz C:\Users\Edward.Xu\AppData\Local\Temp\140SDzSk8s\ih5DaNBssO

[jiedxu]

BTW, there is no C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/gpg/gpg.exe:

❯ ls C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/gpg

    Directory: C:\tools\TinyTeX\tlpkg\gpg

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a---            7/7/2026 10:24 AM         131459 pubring.gpg
-a---            7/7/2026 10:24 AM            600 random_seed
-a---            7/7/2026 10:24 AM              0 secring.gpg
-a---            7/7/2026 10:24 AM           3448 tl-key-extension.txt
-a---            7/7/2026 10:24 AM           1280 trustdb.gpg

[cderv]

I installed TinyTex in an admin Terminal using Chocolatey, which I guess results in TinyTex being there.

Yes admin terminal and chocolatey may lead to that.

If I just run tlmgr -v repository list

Thanks for the pointers.

This is what I see for the gpg part.

D:program gzip not usable from path
D:(w32) trying to set up gzip, default C:/Users/chris/AppData/Roaming/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/gzip/gzip.exe, arg --version
D:Default program C:/Users/chris/AppData/Roaming/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/gzip/gzip.exe not readable?
D:program xz not usable from path
D:(w32) trying to set up xz, default C:/Users/chris/AppData/Roaming/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/xz/xz.exe, arg --version
D:Using shipped C:/Users/chris/AppData/Roaming/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/xz/xz.exe for xz (tested).
List of repositories (with tags if set):
        https://tlnet.yihui.org (main)
D:starting handle_execute_actions
D:finished handle_execute_actions, errors=0

I don't have any line with gpg being looked up.

If it were, the one I have is not Rtools

❯ (gcm gpg).Source
C:\Program Files (x86)\Gpg4win\..\GnuPG\bin\gpg.exe

And also I don't think I have rtools in PATH.

❯ $env:PATH -split ';' | Where-Object {$_ -match 'gpg'}
C:\Program Files (x86)\Gpg4win\..\GnuPG\bin

❯ $env:PATH -split ';' | Where-Object {$_ -match 'rtools'}

so it seems that there is a problem with TeX Live and the GPG use

I don't know why you have

D:Using checksum method digest::sha
D:Testing for gpg in gpg
D:Testing for gpg in gpg2
D:Testing for gpg in C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/gpg/gpg.exe

and not me.

About gpg with TeX Live and windows I see https://www.tug.org/texlive/acquire.html#gpg

some hints there ?

[yihui]

About gpg with TeX Live and windows I see https://www.tug.org/texlive/acquire.html#gpg

Yes, I'd suggest that you install tlgpg and see if it makes a difference.

[jiedxu]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I tried winget install --id GnuPG.GnuPG, then tlmgr can found it. What you guys said about tlgpg also works.

---

What about xz? Because if I disable RTOOLS:

❯ tlmgr -v repository list
tlmgr.pl: C:/tools/TinyTeX/texmf-config/tlmgr/config: unknown tlmgr configuration variable: TEXLIVE_COMPRESSOR
tlmgr.pl: C:/tools/TinyTeX/texmf-config/tlmgr/config: unknown tlmgr configuration variable: PATH
tlmgr.pl: C:/tools/TinyTeX/texmf-config/tlmgr/config: unknown tlmgr configuration variable: PATH
tlmgr.pl: C:/tools/TinyTeX/texmf-config/tlmgr/config: unknown tlmgr configuration variable: TEXLIVE_COMPRESSOR
D:The handle is invalid
at open HKCU for all access
D:found lang code lm = en-US...
D:tlmgr version 79491 (2026-06-27 19:40:15 +0200)
D:maintree=C:/tools/TinyTeX
D:appending to package log file: C:/tools/TinyTeX/texmf-var/web2c/tlmgr.log
D:appending to command log file: C:/tools/TinyTeX/texmf-var/web2c/tlmgr-commands.log
D:Setting env var HTTPS_CA_FILE to C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/curl/curl-ca-bundle.crt
D:tlmgr.pl:main: ::tldownload_server hash:: {enabled:1,errorcount:0,initcount:1,ua:LWP::UserAgent=HASH(0x2adec9628e8)}
D:setup_programs: preferring system versions
D:(w32) trying to set up tar, default C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/tar.exe, arg --version
D:Using shipped C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/tar.exe for tar (tested).
D:program curl found in path
D:program wget not usable from path
D:(w32) trying to set up wget, default C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/wget/wget.exe, arg --version
D:Using shipped C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/wget/wget.exe for wget (tested).
D:TLUtils::setup_programs: checking for ssl enabled wget
D:TLUtils::setup_programs: wget has ssl, final wget args: --no-check-certificate --user-agent=texlive/wget --tries=4 --timeout=30 -q -O
D:program lz4 not usable from path
D:(w32) trying to set up lz4, default C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/lz4/lz4.exe, arg --version
D:Using shipped C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/lz4/lz4.exe for lz4 (tested).
D:program gzip found in path
D:program xz not usable from path
D:(w32) trying to set up xz, default C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/xz/xz.exe, arg --version
D:Using shipped C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/xz/xz.exe for xz (tested).
List of repositories (with tags if set):
        https://ctan.math.illinois.edu/systems/texlive/tlnet (backup2)
        https://mirror.ctan.org/systems/texlive/tlnet (main)
        https://mirror.ctan.org/systems/texlive/tlnet (backup)
D:starting handle_execute_actions
D:finished handle_execute_actions, errors=0

which is the same as @cderv now.

With RTOOS:

❯ tlmgr -v repository list
tlmgr.pl: C:/tools/TinyTeX/texmf-config/tlmgr/config: unknown tlmgr configuration variable: PATH
tlmgr.pl: C:/tools/TinyTeX/texmf-config/tlmgr/config: unknown tlmgr configuration variable: TEXLIVE_COMPRESSOR
tlmgr.pl: C:/tools/TinyTeX/texmf-config/tlmgr/config: unknown tlmgr configuration variable: PATH
tlmgr.pl: C:/tools/TinyTeX/texmf-config/tlmgr/config: unknown tlmgr configuration variable: TEXLIVE_COMPRESSOR
D:The handle is invalid
at open HKCU for all access
D:found lang code lm = en-US...
D:tlmgr version 79491 (2026-06-27 19:40:15 +0200)
D:maintree=C:/tools/TinyTeX
D:appending to package log file: C:/tools/TinyTeX/texmf-var/web2c/tlmgr.log
D:appending to command log file: C:/tools/TinyTeX/texmf-var/web2c/tlmgr-commands.log
D:Setting env var HTTPS_CA_FILE to C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/curl/curl-ca-bundle.crt
D:tlmgr.pl:main: ::tldownload_server hash:: {enabled:1,errorcount:0,initcount:1,ua:LWP::UserAgent=HASH(0x2067020fa38)}
D:setup_programs: preferring system versions
D:(w32) trying to set up tar, default C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/tar.exe, arg --version
D:Using shipped C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/tar.exe for tar (tested).
D:program curl found in path
D:program wget not usable from path
D:(w32) trying to set up wget, default C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/wget/wget.exe, arg --version
D:Using shipped C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/wget/wget.exe for wget (tested).
D:TLUtils::setup_programs: checking for ssl enabled wget
D:TLUtils::setup_programs: wget has ssl, final wget args: --no-check-certificate --user-agent=texlive/wget --tries=4 --timeout=30 -q -O
D:program lz4 not usable from path
D:(w32) trying to set up lz4, default C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/lz4/lz4.exe, arg --version
D:Using shipped C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/lz4/lz4.exe for lz4 (tested).
D:program gzip found in path
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
D:program xz found in path
List of repositories (with tags if set):
        https://mirror.ctan.org/systems/texlive/tlnet (backup)
        https://ctan.math.illinois.edu/systems/texlive/tlnet (backup2)
        https://mirror.ctan.org/systems/texlive/tlnet (main)
D:starting handle_execute_actions
D:finished handle_execute_actions, errors=0

~~~~~~ means a pause around several minutes. This pause is the same as before: between gzip and xz. I have C:\rtools44\usr\bin\xz.exe.

[cderv]

~~~~~~ means a pause around several minutes. This pause is the same as before: between gzip and xz. I have C:\rtools44\usr\bin\xz.exe.

Then it seems the xz.exe version shipped with RTools could be the cause of the slowness compared to the xz shipped in TexLive

D:Using shipped C:/tools/TinyTeX/tlpkg/installer/xz/xz.exe for xz (tested).

Do you need Rtools in PATH ? I have rtools on windows, and I can use it when compiling R package but without having it in PATH. Tools like remote or pak seems to find it in the correctly location, or use the Registry to find it. I use rig to install Rtools - see rig system --help

[jiedxu]

Do you need Rtools in PATH ?

Yes. I installed using Winget, but it seems I added them to PATH manually.

The problem is clear now. I don't think I can explain this well in a FAQ, though.