This started as a response to the Nixpkgs issue #21315 - a request for a super-minimal NixOS image with almost nothing in $PATH but strictly neccesary software. Everything else could be installed separately.
Right now the PATH is a little bit smaller - 90 packages vs. 117. You can see the following nix-repl snippet to investigate the results of this work.
nix-repl> self = builtins.getFlake "github:kisik21/nixos-super-minimal"
nix-repl> deprecatedPrograms = ["bash" "info" "man" "oblogout" "way-cooler"]
nix-repl> deprecatedServices = ["beegfs" "beegfsEnable" "buildkite-agent" "cgmanager" "chronos" "d
eepin" "dnscrypt-proxy" "fourStore" "fourStoreEndpoint" "marathon" "mathics" "meguca" "mesos" "openvpn" "osquery" "prey" "rmilter" "seeks" "winstone"]
nix-repl> closure = self.inputs.nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem ({ modules = [ self.nixosModule ]; })
nix-repl> builtins.length closure.config.environment.systemPackages # profiles/minimal.nix == 117
90
nix-repl> nix-repl> builtins.filter (name: system.config.programs.${name}.enable or false) (builtins.attrNames (builtins.removeAttrs system.config.programs deprecatedPrograms))
[ "command-not-found" ]
nix-repl> builtins.filter (name: system.config.services.${name}.enable or false) (builtins.attrNames (builtins.removeAttrs system.config.services deprecatedServices))
[ "dbus" "nscd" "timesyncd" ]Use this repository as a flake. nixosModule contains the NixOS module, based upon the minimal.nix in Nixpkgs.
The checks.x86_64-linux attribute set contains toplevelClosure - the top-level closure for evaluating closure size - and vm - a VM that autologins you as root and allows you to inspect the system to ensure things don't break.