Research: does emacs or elpaca.el support delayed package installs? so only 1 week old packages are installed etc?

TL;DR: Neither Emacs' native package.el nor Elpaca.el natively support delayed package installs (e.g., only installing packages after they are 1 week old), but Elpaca offers async/parallel installation and deferred loading options.

Key findings:

• Elpaca.el installs packages asynchronously and processes queues after Emacs init [1][2][6][7], but lacks built-in delay/scheduling for installs based on package age.
  • Persistent loading requires explicit elpaca macro use in the init file [1][2].
  • Async/parallel installation allows faster startup but doesn’t enforce version delays [7].
• Emacs’ package.el (native) installs synchronously [6] and lacks version-age checks:
  • Automatic updates are not fully quiet or scheduled [4].
  • use-package with :ensure can auto-install missing packages but doesn’t delay by age [5][9].
• Workarounds:
  • Custom scripting (e.g., checking package timestamps in packages.el) could approximate delayed installs [8], but this isn’t native to either manager.
  • Manual archive curation (e.g., mirroring only "stable" packages) might indirectly enforce delays [4].

Open questions: Are there third-party Elpaca/package.el extensions that add version-age checks? Could elpaca-process-queues be hooked to a timer for delayed installs?

Citations: [1][2][4][5][6][7][8][9]

Claims checked

• ✓ supported — Elpaca.el installs packages asynchronously and processes queues after Emacs init — Sources [1][2][6][7] confirm Elpaca's async installation and post-init queue processing.
• ✓ supported — Elpaca lacks built-in delay/scheduling for installs based on package age — No sources mention age-based delays; focus is on async/parallel installation [1][2][7].
• ✓ supported — Emacs’ package.el installs synchronously and lacks version-age checks — Sources [4][6] confirm synchronous installation and no mention of age checks.
• ✓ supported — use-package with :ensure can auto-install missing packages but doesn’t delay by age — Sources [5][9] confirm auto-installation but no age-based delays.
• ~ weak — Custom scripting (e.g., checking package timestamps) could approximate delayed installs — Source [8] discusses startup checks but doesn’t explicitly mention timestamp-based delays.
• ~ weak — Manual archive curation might indirectly enforce delays — Source [4] mentions archive customization but doesn’t tie it to version-age delays.

Sources

1. GitHub - progfolio/elpaca: An elisp package manager · GitHub
2. elpaca/doc/manual.md at master · progfolio/elpaca
3. Emacs configuration
4. I can't load an .el package on emacs - Stack Overflow
5. Advanced techniques for reducing Emacs startup time | Hacker News
6. use package - Can someone ELI5 elpaca? - Emacs Stack Exchange
7. Emacs packages
8. Emacs package install script in init file - Stack Overflow
9. Using package.el to install and update but use-package for loading and configuring - Emacs Stack Exchange

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