Which packages should I actually install?

Trenix25

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If I see /usr/bin/whiptail just one more time I may have to smash that laptop with a brick and throw the shattered remains off of the tallest cliff I can find!

I told apt to answer yes to every question.

There are over fifty seven thousand packages that demand to be installed in order to successfully install Debian Linux. It will takes weeks, months, or maybe years to finish installing Linux, especially if it's going to ask me the same d#@& thing every ten seconds!

I created a script to install everything as a batch job. I used apt list. Then I used cut to remove everything on the line after the / . Then I used something like:

LIST=$(cat list2.txt)
for name in $LIST; do
echo -n "apt install "
echo -n $name
echo " -y"
echo
apt install $name -y
echo
done

It kept asking the same thing about the same package over and over and over and over... forever!

Don't touch anything related to aodh* !

You might skip android-androresolvd as well. That causes so much trouble.

Isn't this process supposed to be smooth and seemless? I feel like I'm on the edge of a mental breakdown! I almost broke the Enter key out of sheer rage.

Do I really need all of this stuff to successfully install Debian Linux? I should be able to seemlessly install _everything_ unless one package conflicts with another.

What packages do I need to install in order to have successfully installed Debian Linux?
 


It sounds like you already have Debian. You don’t have to install any more software than you need. You certainly don’t need to try to install everything in the repo in order to have it fully installed!

Whenever i install Debian, I always use the minimal net install. I’ll install the default base install with no desktop. And then I’ll switch to the testing repos and update everything. And then I’ll build my system from there. Installing Debian this way is kinda like installing Arch, but with a lot less manual configuration!

Then I’ll add programs that I use every day and I’ll accept any dependencies. Before adding my backed up files and scripts.

When doing a fresh install, it does sometimes take me a few days to get it completely sorted - because I might forget about a couple of programs/packages. Or there may be some modifications I made to the configs of my previous install that I’d forgotten to document.

But I don’t see that as a problem!
With Debian minimal net install- I can get a basic, lightweight system up and running pretty quickly and start working straight away.
The rest is just fine tuning/tweaking.
If I realise I’ve forgotten something, I’ll open a terminal and install what I need from apt. And then get on with something else while I wait for apt to do its thing.

If I can’t remember the exact name of a package, I’ll search for it using “apt search” or “apt-cache search”.

After performing an install - I’m always happy to fine tune/tweak it over the following days.

For me, the advantage of installing Debian this way is - I get to avoid the god awful gnome 3 desktop that is installed in the default Debian “live” installation media. And for the most part, I get to choose which software ends up on my machine.

And I know that if I want to use certain programs, it might ask to install a few hundred other libraries as dependencies. It doesn’t bother me at all.

Ok, it’s a slower method than using the default Debian installer, or installing Ubuntu, or mint, or Suse, or fedora through their “live” media.

But that extra time is the price you pay for the extra control you have over the final result.
As I said, it’s comparable to setting up arch, but with a little less manual configuration!!

I’d much rather install only the packages I need, than to install from a “live“ installer and have to uninstall a ton of crap I don’t need, before I can start setting up my preferred environment. That to me is counter productive!

WRT - which software/packages you need - what sorts of things do you want to do with your PC?
 
There are over fifty seven thousand packages that demand to be installed
That's definetely not right! What are you trying to install? What Debian version and DE are we talking about here? Is it Debian Buster/Bullseye/Sid and KDE/Gnome/XFCE? Which one? One thing's for sure, whichever it is, you should've installed it by using the Debian graphical installer which is pretty easy to use and quite straightforward. So by know you must have Debian installed on your pc and are trying to do some post-install process; adding your own soft/programs and customizations. We need you to tell us exactly what is it you're trying to do/install in order to be able to offer some advice.
 
Right now it's busy installing a myriad of source files to remotely control a telescope that I don't even have. This is nuts.

/etc/apt/sources.list (without comments)

deb https://deb.debian.org/debian buster main contrib non-free

deb-src https://deb.debian.org/debian buster main contrib non-free

deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security buster/updates main contrib non-free

deb-src http://security.debian.org/debian-security buster/updates main contrib non-free

deb https://deb.debian.org/debian buster-updates main contrib non-free

deb-src https://deb.debian.org/debian buster-updates main contrib non-free
 
What -- no errors with Security updates? Just kidding (LOL)!

I recommend, as JasKinasis stated, a minimal or Base install, adding what is needed later.

I can relate -- did it once, myself (and is why I can laugh!). Now that you've been there, you can laugh, later, too! LMBO
 
Right now it's busy installing a myriad of source files to remotely control a telescope that I don't even have. This is nuts.

/etc/apt/sources.list (without comments)

deb https://deb.debian.org/debian buster main contrib non-free

deb-src https://deb.debian.org/debian buster main contrib non-free

deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security buster/updates main contrib non-free

deb-src http://security.debian.org/debian-security buster/updates main contrib non-free

deb https://deb.debian.org/debian buster-updates main contrib non-free

deb-src https://deb.debian.org/debian buster-updates main contrib non-free
A so it's Debian stable aka Buster. Try editing the sources.list and comment, type a "#" symbol in front of the lines starting with deb-src so it looks like
Code:
deb https://deb.debian.org/debian buster main contrib non-free

#deb-src https://deb.debian.org/debian buster main contrib non-free

deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security buster/updates main contrib non-free

#deb-src http://security.debian.org/debian-security buster/updates main contrib non-free

deb https://deb.debian.org/debian buster-updates main contrib non-free

#deb-src https://deb.debian.org/debian buster-updates main contrib non-free

save the file and update sources again
Code:
sudo apt-get update
then do an upgrade
Code:
sudo apt-get upgrade
and tell us how that went.
 
I got through everything starting with a number or the letter a. The partition is now a third of the way full. It keeps going to sleep. How do I tell it to stay awake? It used to stay awake for days.

How do I specify the wifi password? It's a foot away and still can't detect the wifi access point.
 
I removed contrib, but that didn't make any real difference. Why should I not download source files? I'll just have to go get them later. buster-updates was removed since it does not exist. (The last two lines)
 
I got through everything starting with a number or the letter a. The partition is now a third of the way full. It keeps going to sleep. How do I tell it to stay awake? It used to stay awake for days.

How do I specify the wifi password? It's a foot away and still can't detect the wifi access point.
How are you connecting to the wifi? Are you using a GUI or via terminal?
 
By any chance, are you running debian with no desktop but cli only? You could install ceni which is pretty easy to use
Code:
sudo apt-get install ceni
 
Why should I not download source files?
So you don't get that ridiculous amount of files to install for things you don't even need, unless you know why you need them.
 
Why should I not download source files? I'll just have to go get them later.

Why would you need them later? Source files are 10 times larger than the compiled binaries they make. Source files do nothing for you (except take up space) unless you're going to compile them.
Why would you need to recompile them? They are already compiled. Even if there is a specfic package you might want to compile ( I have re-compiled a few, even the kernel on occasion ) you wont need to re-compile all of them. That would takes weeks or months depending how fast your computer is. Usually hundreds are people compile these packages for you, so that you don't have to.
 
By any chance, are you running debian with no desktop but cli only? You could install ceni which is pretty easy to use
Code:
sudo apt-get install ceni

Only running cli for now. I need to get all the basics set up before even considering exploring X.
 
Only running cli for now. I need to get all the basics set up before even considering exploring X.
Well, ceni works from cli so it might be just what you need.
 
I concur - very much enjoyed using ceni when I was using LinuxBBQ a Sid based distro that used minimal window managers like CWM, aewm to xmonad, and ceni was the wireless manager.

I agree with your idea of getting basics right before introducing x to the equation. Beware that su is very different in buster than in previous Debian versions and i would advise you to use sudo instead.

However for those who wish to have su work something like it use to then this following code will fix the problem (well has so far). This comes from Refracta Beowulf which is the Devuan equivalent of Buster. Create in /etc/default/ a file called su and put this line in that file...
ALWAYS_SET_PATH yes

Then reboot.
 
However for those who wish to have su work something like it use to then this following code will fix the problem (well has so far). This comes from Refracta Beowulf which is the Devuan equivalent of Buster. Create in /etc/default/ a file called su and put this line in that file...
ALWAYS_SET_PATH yes

There are always many ways to do almost anything in Linux. I don't get too hung up on the 'right way' to do something, as long as it works, it's 'the right way' to me.

Most people sudo to root using something like ... sudo su
But if you add a "dash" at the end of that command... sudo su - ...with a space before the dash
It adds root environmental variable and paths. It read .bash_profile and .bashrc for root.
It's the same for any user you su to.
sudo joeblow - (with a dash after) will read their environmental variables and paths automatically for you.
 
Thank you for the above. I decided to just apply the su patch as I mention above and su then works normally. i just like using su, but like you say everybody has a different method.
 
Good Lord!

In my opinion, "the basics" do not include all the source code for every binary that you install. I'm not sure what your end goal is, but I think I'll start investing in hard drive or SSD stock.

You can exercise all kinds of options once you have the actual basics. And the actual basics CAN be limited, as JasKinasis showed. Then you can pick and choose what you want, including compiling anything or everything, or nothing. Or, you can install a more complex/complete version and remove what you don't want

I just checked my machine, and Muon reports 2,369 packages installed, and df -h shows 7.6GB in the / partition. You're killin' yourself, man!
 

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