how to install a popular distro without all the packages
 

Hi guys, I've been using M$ Win for years and finally decided to switch to Linux. I downloaded a couple of ISO to try in VirtualBox so I can decide which one (until now I like Lubuntu better).

One thing I don't like is that most distros I've tried come with a huge (for my taste anyway) amount of packages, which AFAIK I will never use. For example, I don't want Abiword or GNOME player because I'm already used to LibreOffice and VLC, etc. etc.

I find super annoying that to get rid of those I have to go to the software manager and remove them, one by one. They are probably hundreds of small packages that I don't want. The reasons why I don't want them is not under discussion so please don't try to convince me that I will like GNOME, etc. :) the point is that I would love if I could download a super-basic version of the distro. This is what I mean by super-basic: the distro comes with all the desktop management and all the drivers, etc. to make your hardware work. But you have to install each piece of software that you'll need. Then I can start with a "clean" installation and add only those programs I want, without the hassle and waste of time of individually removing packages. Any distro with this "capability" would get my attention...

An alternative would be to remove multiple packages at once, but 1) I didn't find a way to select multiple packages to remove in the software manager of the distros I tried and 2) there are some packages which I'm not sure if I should delete or not because they look like essential for some hardware to work, etc. therefore I don't want to mess with that.

I'm eager to leave MS Win behind :) I'm already using only software which have a Linux version, only the OS jump is stopping me!

Any comments? Thanks!!

install a popular distro without packagaes
 

Hi guys, I'm new here (in the forum and also in Linux world!), I had written a long email and for some reason I didn't get through... I'm not going to rewrite all again :(

The point is, I want to switch to Linux (up to know I like Lubuntu a lot) but I find a little annoying to remove dozens of packages that I don't like or don't use. Is there a way to install a super basic version (ie minimal content of essential software like desktop management and drivers mostly to make the distro work in your hardware) and then I decide which packages to install?

Thanks!

You can do a minimal install with debian during installation just uncheck the desktop. After install is complete & reboot, you can install whichever desktop you want to.

Look into "lubuntu minimal install" as here, which OP should know of if using a 'buntu.

take EXTREME care when doing that .

you might remove a dependency for Xorg or gnome or kde

bare bones OS
-- nothing BUT the bones , NO meet and NO fat
install a minimal Arch install

text terminal and ONLY that

then install what you want
https://www.archlinux.org/

Minimal install is much better than stripping off unwanted software. hilyard's link looks useful.

Firstly, you don't need to remove things if you're not using them. With Windows, the more you install, the slower it gets. That's because the registry slows things down as it enlarges. But in Linux, there's no registry: the only thing that grows is the menu. The programs don't even take up as much space on the hard drive, as they share their dependencies, unlike Windows where several programs might have their own copies of the same dll file.

If you really want a minimal installation, a good choice is Salix. If you liked Lubuntu, Salix has an LXDE version and the slapt-get package manager is like apt-get. The installation disk offers the choice of full, basic, or core. The basic version gives you the desktop but no software: just what you wanted.

Duplicate to this?

this.
a good example is abiword vs. libreoffice.
abiword is a few MB installed, libreoffice many hundreds of MB, not even counting dependencies like java.
so, what's the harm in keeping abiword?

i often good practice to have more than one application for similar files - when one fails, you can always try the other.
or, you don't want to fire up libreoffice just to have a quick peek at a document.

but to answer your quetsion:
either: as has been answered already: build your own.
or: search for your "perfect" distro.

Member Response
 

Hi,

Welcome to LQ!
Look at this sticky: MLED - Microlinux Enterprise Desktop - a full-blown production desktop (KDE or Xfce)

Niki has done a wonderful job to allow new users to get a Slackware Desktop with specific packages for each DE/WM. You can add as you like, his repository & tag files provides more packages that can be added.
Plus having a Slackware based Desktop you will have one of the best support forums at Slackware.

Hope this helps.
Have fun & enjoy!
:hattip: