Add a minimal or multiple install options when installing linux mint or give users the option to choose which preinstalled apps/features they wish to get for stronger user agency

[Zenith909]

Basically what it sounds like :3 while i love linux mint, i unfortunately find it lacking in this regard. When i had first tried lubuntu, i had noticed that users were able to choose between a full, normal, and minimal installation, and had control over which third-party software they wanted to have preinstalled such as thunderbird.

I believe such a feature would be very benefitial for linux mint, allowing people to finetune their installation and their preinstalled apps while still being beginner-friendly and allowing less tech-savvy people to skip all of it by using the default/normal installation settings. I recognize this could dangerous or result in missing features which is why it would be an advanced feature you have to choose manually. In fact, this could help a lot with documentation regarding what packages/apps/features are safe to delete, such as mintwelcome, as providing the ability to choose would help people recognize what is truly necessary. I believe that this would also remove any concerns regarding preinstalled bloat or unwanted software in linux mint.

I am not sure how this would look like but there could be a button or multiple choice or something during installation to show you advanced installation settings, like the do "something else" option in installation type during the installation wizard. I am open to discussing and sharing ideas regarding how that could look like or be coded ;3

In scope, this might be difficult to implement considering the apps that are connected to eachother and share dependencies, but a partial implementation would also work :3

[Jopp-gh]

Mint is generic with the selection of apps shipped to give a baseline to everyone.

Therefore, I don't see why there should be any option to select more or less of what's on the installer list by default. Agreed, some apps shipped by default are not really useful and I uninstall them quickly. Otherwise..

Another story would be to categorize applications and suggest apps based on profession, (I think, Zorin has this installer options ) like

• artistic (audio, graphic, etc)
• developer
• scientist
• education
• etc.

But to install specific apps would require internet connection, because you just can't offer an installer covering all professions. But again, I'm not really thrilled of such an option. Just my opinion of course

[Zenith909]

Well, installation options that would let you customize what preinstalled apps to get you want wouldn't require anything more than what the current installation already offers as it would simply let you selectively choose what parts of the things it already offers you want, so i don't really understand the internet argument as this is just trimming what is already preinstalled and doesn't give anything new (as far as i'm aware at least). I see it as like somebody giving you a toolbox and you say "Hey, i'd like to take only the hammer from that. I don't need the rest"

While linux mint is generic, providing more customizability wouldn't really have any downsides that i'm aware of and would make the distro more attractive. You can still maintain the generic and user-friendly nature of linux mint by allowing people to skip all this by sticking with the default installation :3

The option to select what you want from what's on the installer list by default could be beneficial by:

• Significantly simplifying debloating/deleting undesired software by being able to do it from the get go, letting users spend less time fighting mint and more time enjoying the experience.

• Make it much clearer which software is necessary and which isn't (all available options would more or less not harm the core system in such a way that it can't boot or crashes, removing the need to search on forums about each one of the preinstalled apps and features

• Make it much clearer which system features are necessary and which aren't (core system features linux mint can't work without wouldn't be available as selectable options, while those who aren't needed would)

• Increase market attractiveness by allowing weaker computers run a much more lightweight linux mint

Which i think could make it worthwhile as a endeavour (albeit it would understandably be very time consuming). It could also be used, in my opinion, to attract windows users, frustrated by things such as windows bloat and seeking more control over their operating system. (This doesn't mean i'm advocating for linux mint to become something people don't want it to or to replace/become windows, but just proposing something :3)

[ost-guy]

look too good

[Fantu]

For Cinnamon metapackages in Debian (https://salsa.debian.org/cinnamon-team/cinnamon-desktop-environment), we've tried to make even very minimal installations possible, or starting from complete installations, to make it possible to uninstall programs that are rarely needed and often replaced without having to remove the metapackages.
Debian, however, supports multiple architectures and use cases; for example, some people install it on ARM devices with small, soldered-on disks of just a few GB. It also supports different installation types.
Mint only supports one architecture and installation from Livedvd.
To install additional software, you can install it specifically. You can also do it quickly from CLI, as I usually do on PCs I set up, having already prepared some operations that I usually do on all PCs, some other that I do optionally based on users needs.
It seems to me that Mint already supports OEM installations, if you need to do a lot of custom installations with same things (so you can prepare just one installation and then apply it to many devices). I haven't used it yet, but I suppose is working. So, they would already be fine for what could be a fairly common case.

The only thing that might be worth doing on Mint is perhaps improving the metapackages by perhaps moving some non-essential dependencies to recommended ones to make them more easily removable, if this hasn't already been done. I can't find the metapackage repo by quickly looking, I don't have time to search thoroughly now.
Is there any program you've noticed that might be useful to many users to remove but can't be removed without also removing metapackages or something else?

[Zenith909]

I see. Improving the metapackages could be a good compromise :3

However, to be clear, i did not mean installing additional software than the ones already offered, but just being able to select from the ones offered. (and the packages/system components too)

Regarding programs that could be removed, there's stuff like welcome screen (mintwelcome), online accounts, fingerprints, and in extreme cases, bluetooth and printer managers that are either one-time things that stick around for no reason, unneeded, or unused apps that can't really be removed due to a lack of documentation regarding how they might affect the system, so if you don't want them or have no reason to use them, you can't really delete them. People in forums tell folks to just disable them rather than uninstall them which is not ideal

[ost-guy]

yeah i like this like a office suite option will be good because will remove libreoffice if the selection on office is no libreoffice

[ost-guy]

the mint minimal install option is a good good idea

[ost-guy]

and a app selection part will help to remove bloat genereric apps