diff --git a/mmdebstrap b/mmdebstrap
index 7094a51..ba58be5 100755
--- a/mmdebstrap
+++ b/mmdebstrap
@@ -977,6 +977,27 @@ sub run_apt_progress {
     return;
 }
 
+sub run_apt_download_progress {
+    my $options = shift;
+    my %result  = shift;
+    if ($options->{dryrun}) {
+        info "simulate downloading packages with apt...";
+    } else {
+        info "downloading packages with apt...";
+    }
+    return run_apt_progress({
+            ARGV => [
+                'apt-get',
+                '--yes',
+                '-oDebug::pkgDpkgPm=1',
+                '-oDir::Log=/dev/null',
+                $options->{dryrun} ? '-oAPT::Get::Simulate=true' : (),
+                @{ $options->{APT_ARGV} },
+            ],
+            %result
+        });
+}
+
 sub run_chroot {
     my $cmd     = shift;
     my $options = shift;
@@ -2079,12 +2100,20 @@ sub run_download() {
     # apt and libapt treats apt as essential. If we want to install less
     # (essential variant) then we have to compute the package set ourselves.
     # Same if we want to install priority based variants.
+    my %result = ();
+    if (not $options->{dryrun}) {
+        # if there are already packages in /var/cache/apt/archives/,
+        # we need to know which are part of the solution by apt
+        if (scalar @cached_debs > 0) {
+            $result{EIPP_RES} = \@dl_debs;
+        }
+    }
     if (any { $_ eq $options->{variant} } ('extract', 'custom')) {
         if (scalar @{ $options->{include} } == 0) {
             info "nothing to download -- skipping...";
             return ([], []);
         }
-        my %pkgs_to_install;
+        my @apt_argv = ['install'];
         for my $incl (@{ $options->{include} }) {
             for my $pkg (split /[,\s]+/, $incl) {
                 # strip leading and trailing whitespace
@@ -2093,33 +2122,16 @@ sub run_download() {
                 if ($pkg eq '') {
                     next;
                 }
-                $pkgs_to_install{$pkg} = ();
+                push @apt_argv, $pkg;
             }
         }
 
-        my %result = ();
-        if ($options->{dryrun}) {
-            info "simulate downloading packages with apt...";
-        } else {
-            # if there are already packages in /var/cache/apt/archives/, we
-            # need to know which are part of the solution by apt
-            if (scalar @cached_debs > 0) {
-                $result{EIPP_RES} = \@dl_debs;
-            }
-            info "downloading packages with apt...";
-        }
-        run_apt_progress({
-                ARGV => [
-                    'apt-get',
-                    '--yes',
-                    '-oDebug::pkgDpkgPm=1',
-                    '-oDir::Log=/dev/null',
-                    $options->{dryrun} ? '-oAPT::Get::Simulate=true' : (),
-                    'install'
-                ],
-                PKGS => [keys %pkgs_to_install],
-                %result
-            });
+        run_apt_download_progress({
+                APT_ARGV => @apt_argv,
+                dryrun   => $options->{dryrun},
+            },
+            %result
+        );
     } elsif ($options->{variant} eq 'apt') {
         # if we just want to install Essential:yes packages, apt and their
         # dependencies then we can make use of libapt treating apt as
@@ -2134,28 +2146,12 @@ sub run_download() {
         #                  remind me in 5+ years that I said that after I wrote
         #                  in the bugreport: "Are you crazy?!? Nobody in his
         #                  right mind would even suggest depending on it!")
-        my %result = ();
-        if ($options->{dryrun}) {
-            info "simulate downloading packages with apt...";
-        } else {
-            # if there are already packages in /var/cache/apt/archives/, we
-            # need to know which are part of the solution by apt
-            if (scalar @cached_debs > 0) {
-                $result{EIPP_RES} = \@dl_debs;
-            }
-            info "downloading packages with apt...";
-        }
-        run_apt_progress({
-                ARGV => [
-                    'apt-get',
-                    '--yes',
-                    '-oDebug::pkgDpkgPm=1',
-                    '-oDir::Log=/dev/null',
-                    $options->{dryrun} ? '-oAPT::Get::Simulate=true' : (),
-                    'dist-upgrade'
-                ],
-                %result
-            });
+        run_apt_download_progress({
+                APT_ARGV => ['dist-upgrade'],
+                dryrun   => $options->{dryrun},
+            },
+            %result
+        );
     } elsif (
         any { $_ eq $options->{variant} }
         ('essential', 'standard', 'important', 'required', 'buildd')
@@ -2164,24 +2160,8 @@ sub run_download() {
         # 17:27 < DonKult> (?essential includes 'apt' through)
         # 17:30 < josch> DonKult: no, because pkgCacheGen::ForceEssential ",";
         # 17:32 < DonKult> touché
-        my %result = ();
-        if ($options->{dryrun}) {
-            info "simulate downloading packages with apt...";
-        } else {
-            # if there are already packages in /var/cache/apt/archives/, we
-            # need to know which are part of the solution by apt
-            if (scalar @cached_debs > 0) {
-                $result{EIPP_RES} = \@dl_debs;
-            }
-            info "downloading packages with apt...";
-        }
-        run_apt_progress({
-                ARGV => [
-                    'apt-get',
-                    '--yes',
-                    '-oDebug::pkgDpkgPm=1',
-                    '-oDir::Log=/dev/null',
-                    $options->{dryrun} ? '-oAPT::Get::Simulate=true' : (),
+        run_apt_download_progress({
+                APT_ARGV => [
                     'install',
                     '?narrow('
                       . (
@@ -2196,8 +2176,10 @@ sub run_download() {
                       . $options->{nativearch}
                       . '),?essential)'
                 ],
-                %result
-            });
+                dryrun => $options->{dryrun},
+            },
+            %result
+        );
     } else {
         error "unknown variant: $options->{variant}";
     }