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Hello fellow Ubuntu users,

I am currently creating my own Ubuntu distro using the Ubuntu customization Kit and everything is going pretty smoothly so far other than a couple minor set backs.

I have created my own Iso and what I need to do is strip most software from the image, except for a browser. Now I have researched minimal ubuntu/linux images but most of them don't work with the customization kit or I can't get the remastering to work correctly. So I have ended up starting to remove all the unwanted applications and I was wondering if anyone out there has a script that strips the Image of almost all applications other than key software and the Mozilla browser. Even possibly not allow the user to navigate the options menu or file system.

One of the things I am mostly trying to do is get this image down to about less than 600mb of space you I can put it on a CD and have it boot straight to the desktop on the live cd.

So more or less what I am asking for is a script to just remove a lot of the software from the image, if this exists, where can I find it because it would make life a lot easier. Otherwise I will continue writing down all the software and starting removing it from the Iso before creation.

Thank you for taking the time to read this (I know its a block of text) and I look forward to some responses.

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  • Not sure we support custom built OSs here, so probably off topic. Anyway, to get a clear answer, you should define (in non-vague terms) what you mean by "unwanted applications", "key software" or "most software". In other words, what exactly do you want to remove? Sep 29, 2014 at 20:49
  • Maybe you could install the bare server edition, install Xorg, and firefox? That way you can only install the things that are required in order to work instead of hunting down the hundreds of programs that you may or may not need?
    – levlaz
    Sep 29, 2014 at 22:10
  • @levlaz Thanks for the idea! I had read about starting with server software but it seemed like it wouldn't be a functional build with out some added stuff. ill test everything out! thanks!
    – Plumit
    Sep 30, 2014 at 12:42
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    @mikewhatever This question is on-topic. Plumit: Do you need to use UCK for this? Other ways might work better for your needs. For example, the method given in LiveCDCustomizationFromScratch is somewhat dated (or at least the article itself is), but might be much more applicable to your goals. Oct 4, 2014 at 0:32
  • @EliahKagan I don't NEED to use UCK it has just been easier. So what I ended up doing was: I used UCk to create a base image, I then created a bootable USB with persistence, then I made all the changes I needed to from within the live USB and then merged the persistence file with the squashfs filesystem I had created and everything has worked. The only thing I need to do now is figure out how to make that into an .iso again but I am having issues because it doesn't have the isolinux folder in it if it's a live USB. Anyways, thanks for the response!
    – Plumit
    Oct 6, 2014 at 23:56

1 Answer 1

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You could try Customizer: https://github.com/clearkimura/Customizer/wiki/FAQ I have used it with great success to make a customised boot flash drive containing my favourite disaster recovery tools.

While I used it to add more packages to my customised image it can equally be used to remove packages. This is because one drops into a window where one uses apt-get to add or remove packages. In your case you would use apt-get to remove unwanted packages. This has the advantage that all dependencies are properly preserved.

When you start Customizer you choose a boot image. It is preferable to start with the one provided by Ubuntu. I use Unetbootin to transfer the newly created .iso file to a flash drive

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