Error: Connection timed out while fetching package list – KPackage timeout configuration

Answer to the exact question

Yes – the updater should expose a way to set the connection timeout and retry interval. The current design hides both the timeout value (default 30 s) and the silent retry logic, making bandwidth control and troubleshooting difficult.

How to expose the settings

• GUI option: Add a Network tab in the Software Updater’s Settings → Preferences dialog. Include two spinboxes: Connection timeout (s) and Retry interval (s). Use a tooltip to explain that the timeout is the maximum time KPackage waits for a response from a repository, while the retry interval is the pause before the updater automatically retries.
• Configuration file: The values can be stored in ~/.config/kpmcorerc under the [Network] section:

  [Network]
  Timeout=30
  RetryInterval=60
  

• Transparency: When a retry occurs, show a subtle status bar message or a small overlay in the update list that reads Retrying download in 60 s…. Log the event to ~/.cache/kpmcore/trace.log for advanced users.

Practical steps for this case

1. Verify connectivity: ping -c 4 <repo-host> and curl -I <repo-url>. If these fail, the issue is upstream.
2. Check KDE Network Settings for an active proxy. If a proxy is configured, ensure http_proxy and https_proxy environment variables are exported when launching KDE apps, e.g.:

   export http_proxy=http://proxy.example.com:3128
   export https_proxy=$http_proxy
   kde-neon-updater
   

3. Open ~/.config/kpmcorerc (create it if missing) and set:

   [Network]
   Timeout=120
   RetryInterval=90
   

4. Restart the Software Updater and observe the new timeout. If the error persists, check the trace log for retry attempts.

Missing diagnostic detail

Does your system use a proxy? If so, the proxy setting may be the root cause of the timeout, and adjusting the timeout alone will not solve the problem.