Hi everyone, Thank you all for the helpful responses — I really appreciate it!
@Andy — That link was exactly what I needed. The dependency list for xfce4 makes it very clear which packages are truly essential. I now have a solid starting point. @Roland — The netinst + VM approach is a great idea. I'll use it to verify my package list before building the live image. @Marc — Fair point on the 'bloatware' term. I should have been more precise. What I meant was: I want to intentionally exclude packages that don't serve my target use case, and only include what is needed for a functional XFCE desktop with WiFi, Bluetooth, and audio. I'll take it from here and build the list myself. Thanks again for the guidance — this community is very helpful. Best regards, Basalt Linux On Tue, Apr 7, 2026, 7:15 PM andy pugh <[email protected]> wrote: > On Tue, 7 Apr 2026 at 14:15, Basalt Linux <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > I just wanted guidance on which packages are truly necessary for a > minimal XFCE live image > > Presumably just the dependency list: > https://packages.debian.org/trixie/xfce4 > > -- > atp > "A motorcycle is a bicycle with a pandemonium attachment and is > designed for the especial use of mechanical geniuses, daredevils and > lunatics." > — George Fitch, Atlanta Constitution Newspaper, 1912 >
