diff --git a/src/main/kotlin/org/domaindrivenarchitecture/provs/framework/ubuntu/install/base/Install.kt b/src/main/kotlin/org/domaindrivenarchitecture/provs/framework/ubuntu/install/base/Install.kt
index 65f5a03..84f41e0 100644
--- a/src/main/kotlin/org/domaindrivenarchitecture/provs/framework/ubuntu/install/base/Install.kt
+++ b/src/main/kotlin/org/domaindrivenarchitecture/provs/framework/ubuntu/install/base/Install.kt
@@ -20,7 +20,10 @@ fun Prov.aptInstall(packages: String, ignoreAlreadyInstalled: Boolean = true): P
     if (!allInstalled) {
         if (!isPackageInstalled(packages)) {
             if (!aptInit) {
-                cmd("sudo apt-get update")
+                optional {
+                    // may fail for some packages, but this should in general not be an issue
+                    cmd("sudo apt-get update")
+                }
                 cmd("sudo apt-get install -qy apt-utils")
                 aptInit = true
             }