Interesting thought.
The nature of things taken into account - I have never been able to fully test any and all possibilities.
With that in mind - and my limited possibility to verify - I must say I have yet to see a system which completely refuses to load using free drivers only.
I will admit there is systems which works better with the proprietary drivers - but wouldn’t the majority be able to at least boot with free drivers?
I may be more prices with my definiton of “minimal”. The system should not only be able to boot but also to be able to access the internet. I do not know if some wireless drivers are proprietary but it could be.
Minimal(ist) or minimal (GUI)?
Minimal(ist) (me) /// Minimal (GUI) - applications only, core system may not be able to be minimalized (in a Manjaro context):
Email: neomutt /// Thunderbird (also RSS and Calendar)
RSS: Newsboat
Sound: ncmpcpp /// VLC (video too)
Video: mplayer2
Calendar: remind (steep learning curve)
PDF: xpdf-motif (pre QT) /// maintainers’ choice
Web: w3m/lynx/firefox /// firefox
Password manager: pass /// keepassxc
File manager: ranger /// pcmanfm
Terminal: kitty /// maintainers’ choice
Networking: dhcpcd /// maintainers’ choice
BT & WiFi: not used /// maintainers’ choice
WM: i3-gaps /// i3-gaps
Editor: vim /// maintainers’ choice
IMO, choice of office suite should be on the user after the installer is finished, and the system rebooted.
personally I like the Architect way via Unconfigured Desktop (plasma), nothing is installed except Discover, xterm and plasma-sdk ecct, no browser, no konsole no kde apps, from there i remove Discover and few other thing not needed for my particular hw, reaching little more then 650 packages then I start adding the sw I need/use
here is my pacman.txt
a52dec 0.7.4-11
aalib 1.4rc5-14
accounts-qml-module 0.7-3
accountsservice 0.6.55-3
acl 2.2.53-3
acpi 1.7-3
acpid 2.0.32-2
adobe-source-code-pro-fonts 2.030ro+1.050it-6
adwaita-icon-theme 3.36.1-1
akonadi-contacts 20.08.1-1
alpm-octopi-utils 1.0.2-1
alsa-lib 1.2.3.2-1
alsa-plugins 1:1.2.2-2
alsa-topology-conf 1.2.3-1
alsa-ucm-conf 1.2.3-2
alsa-utils 1.2.3-2
aom 2.0.0-1
appstream 0.12.11-1
appstream-qt 0.12.11-1
archlinux-keyring 20200820-1
argon2 20190702-3
ark 20.08.1-1
at-spi2-atk 2.34.2-1
at-spi2-core 2.36.1-1
atk 2.36.0-1
atkmm 2.28.0-2
attica 5.74.0-1
attr 2.4.48-3
audit 2.8.5-6
autoconf 2.69-7
automake 1.16.2-3
avahi 0.8+15+ge8a3dd0-1
baloo 5.74.0-1
baloo-widgets 20.08.1-1
bash 5.0.018-1
bashrc-manjaro 5.0.018-1
bc 1.07.1-4
binutils 2.35-2
bison 3.6.4-1
blas 3.9.0-3
bluez 5.55-1
bluez-libs 5.55-1
bluez-qt 5.74.0-1
breeze 5.19.5-1
breeze-gtk 5.19.5-1
breeze-icons 5.74.0-1
brotli 1.0.9-2
btrfs-progs 5.7-1
bubblewrap 0.4.1-1
bzip2 1.0.8-3
ca-certificates 20181109-4
ca-certificates-mozilla 3.57-1
ca-certificates-utils 20181109-4
cairo 1.17.2+25+gaee96d175-1
cairomm 1.12.2-4
cantarell-fonts 1:0.201-1
cblas 3.9.0-3
cdparanoia 10.2-8
cfitsio 1:3.49-1
cifs-utils 6.11-1
ckbcomp 1.194-1
colord 1.4.4+9+g1ce26da-2
colord-kde 0.5.0-3
convertlit 1.8-10
coreutils 8.32-1
cpupower 5.7-1
cracklib 2.9.7-2
crda 4.14-3
cronie 1.5.5-1
cryptsetup 2.3.4-1
curl 7.72.0-2
dav1d 0.7.1-1
db 5.3.28-5
dbus 1.12.20-1
dbus-glib 0.110-2
dconf 0.38.0-1
desktop-file-utils 0.26-1
device-mapper 2.02.187-3
dhclient 4.4.2-2
dhcpcd 9.2.0-1
diffutils 3.7-3
digikam 7.1.0-1
ding-libs 0.6.1-3
discount 2.2.7-1
djvulibre 3.5.27-6
dmraid 1.0.0.rc16.3-12
dnsmasq 2.82-2
dnssec-anchors 20190629-2
docbook-xml 4.5-9
docbook-xsl 1.79.2-7
dolphin 20.08.1-1
dolphin-plugins 20.08.1-1
dosfstools 4.1-3
double-conversion 3.1.5-2
downgrade 8.1.1-1
e2fsprogs 1.45.6-3
ebook-tools 0.2.2-7
ecryptfs-utils 111-4
editorconfig-core-c 0.12.4-1
efibootmgr 17-2
efivar 37-4
elfutils 0.181-1
enchant 2.2.10-1
ethtool 1:5.7-1
exfatprogs 1.0.4-2
exiv2 0.27.3-1
expac 10-2
expat 2.2.9-3
f2fs-tools 1.14.0-1
fakeroot 1.24-2
ffmpeg 2:4.3.1-2
ffmpegthumbs 20.08.1-1
fftw 3.3.8-3
file 5.39-1
filesystem 2020.09-2
findutils 4.7.0-2
firefox 81.0-2
firefox-i18n-it 81.0-1
flac 1.3.3-2
flashplugin 32.0.0.433-1
flex 2.6.4-3
fontconfig 2:2.13.91+48+gfcb0420-2
frameworkintegration 5.74.0-1
freeoffice 2018.976-1
freetype2 2.10.2-1
fribidi 1.0.10-1
fuse-common 3.9.3-1
fuse2 2.9.9-4
fuse3 3.9.3-1
gawk 5.1.0-1
gc 8.0.4-4
gcc 10.2.0-2
gcc-libs 10.2.0-2
gcr 3.36-1
gd 2.3.0-1
gdbm 1.18.1-3
gdk-pixbuf2 2.40.0+6+g5432316df-1
gettext 0.21-1
ghostscript 9.53.2-1
giflib 5.2.1-2
git 2.28.0-1
glib-networking 2.66.0-1
glib2 2.66.0-1
glibc 2.32-4
glibmm 2.64.2-1
glslang 8.13.3743-1
glu 9.0.1-2
gmp 6.2.0-1
gnome-icon-theme 3.12.0-6
gnome-icon-theme-symbolic 3.12.0-6
gnome-themes-extra 3.28-2
gnupg 2.2.23-1
gnustep-base 1.27.0-1
gnutls 3.6.15-1
gobject-introspection-runtime 1.66.0-1
gpgme 1.14.0-1
gpm 1.20.7.r38.ge82d1a6-2
gptfdisk 1.0.5-1
grantlee 5.2.0-3
graphene 1.10.2-1
graphite 1:1.3.14-1
grep 3.4-1
groff 1.22.4-3
grub 2.04-11.1
gsettings-desktop-schemas 3.38.0-1
gsm 1.0.19-1
gssproxy 0.8.3-1
gst-plugins-base 1.18.0-1
gst-plugins-base-libs 1.18.0-1
gst-plugins-good 1.18.0-1
gst-plugins-ugly 1.18.0-1
gstreamer 1.18.0-1
gtk-update-icon-cache 1:3.24.23-1
gtk2 2.24.32-2
gtk3 1:3.24.23-1
gtksourceview3 3.24.11+28+g73e57b57-1
gufw 20.04.1-2
guile 2.2.6-2
gwenview 20.08.1-1
gzip 1.10-3
harfbuzz 2.7.2-1
harfbuzz-icu 2.7.2-1
haveged 1.9.13-1
hdparm 9.58-3
hicolor-icon-theme 0.17-2
hidapi 0.9.0-2
hspell 1.4-3
http-parser 2.9.4-1
hunspell 1.7.0-3
hunspell-it 2.4-7
hwids 20200813.1-1
hwinfo 21.70-2
hwloc 2.2.0-1
hyphen 2.8.8-3
hyphen-it 20071127-5
iana-etc 20200905-1
icedtea-web 1.8.3-2
icu 67.1-1
ijs 0.35-3
imagemagick 7.0.10.30-1
imagewriter 1.10.1420800585.134a9b3-4
imlib2 1.7.0-1
inetutils 1.9.4-8
intel-ucode 20200616-1
inxi 3.1.05+2-1
iproute2 5.8.0-1
iptables 1:1.8.5-2
iputils 20200821-1
iso-codes 4.5.0-1
iw 5.8-1
jack 0.125.0-9
jansson 2.13.1-1
jasper 2.0.19-1
java-runtime-common 3-3
jbig2dec 0.19-1
jfsutils 1.1.15-7
jre8-openjdk 8.u265-1
jre8-openjdk-headless 8.u265-1
js68 68.12.0-1
json-c 0.15-1
json-glib 1.6.0-1
kaccounts-integration 20.08.1-1
kactivities 5.74.0-1
kactivities-stats 5.74.0-1
kactivitymanagerd 5.19.5-1
karchive 5.74.0-1
kauth 5.74.0-1
kbd 2.3.0-2
kbookmarks 5.74.0-1
kcalc 20.08.1-1
kcalendarcore 5.74.0-1
kcmutils 5.74.0-1
kcodecs 5.74.0-1
kcompletion 5.74.0-1
kconfig 5.74.0-1
kconfigwidgets 5.74.0-1
kcontacts 1:5.74.0-1
kcoreaddons 5.74.0-1
kcrash 5.74.0-1
kdbusaddons 5.74.0-1
kde-cli-tools 5.19.5-1
kde-gtk-config 5.19.5-1
kde-servicemenus-rootactions 2.9.1-1
kdeclarative 5.74.0-1
kdecoration 5.19.5-1
kded 5.74.0-1
kdegraphics-thumbnailers 20.08.1-1
kdelibs4support 5.74.0-1
kdeplasma-addons 5.19.5-1
kdesu 5.74.0-1
kdialog 20.08.1-1
kdnssd 5.74.0-1
kdoctools 5.74.0-1
kdsoap 1.9.0-1
kdsoap-ws-discovery-client git20200316-2
keepassxc 2.6.1-1
kemoticons 5.74.0-1
keyutils 1.6.3-1
kfilemetadata 5.74.0-1
kgamma5 5.19.5-1
kglobalaccel 5.74.0-1
kguiaddons 5.74.0-1
khelpcenter 20.08.1-1
kholidays 1:5.74.0-1
khotkeys 5.19.5-1
khtml 5.74.0-1
ki18n 5.74.0-1
kiconthemes 5.74.0-1
kidletime 5.74.0-1
kimageformats 5.74.0-1
kinfocenter 5.19.5-1
kinit 5.74.0-1
kio 5.74.1-1
kio-extras 20.08.1-1
kipi-plugins 20.08.1-1
kirigami2 5.74.0-1
kitemmodels 5.74.0-1
kitemviews 5.74.0-1
kjobwidgets 5.74.0-1
kjs 5.74.0-1
kmenuedit 5.19.5-1
kmime 20.08.1-1
kmod 27-2
knetattach 5.19.5-1
knewstuff 5.74.0-1
knotifications 5.74.0-1
knotifyconfig 5.74.0-1
konsole 20.08.1-1
kpackage 5.74.0-1
kparts 5.74.0-1
kpeople 5.74.0-1
kpmcore 4.1.0-1.1
kpty 5.74.0-1
kqtquickcharts 20.08.1-1
kquickcharts 5.74.0-1
krb5 1.18.2-1
krunner 5.74.0-1
kscreen 5.19.5-1
kscreenlocker 5.19.5-1
kservice 5.74.0-1
ksysguard 5.19.5-1
ksystemlog 20.08.1-1
ktexteditor 5.74.0-1
ktextwidgets 5.74.0-1
kunitconversion 5.74.0-1
kuserfeedback 1.0.0-1
kwallet 5.74.0-1
kwayland 5.74.0-1
kwayland-integration 5.19.5-1
kwayland-server 5.19.5-1
kwidgetsaddons 5.74.0-1
kwin 5.19.5-2
kwindowsystem 5.74.0-1
kwrite 20.08.1-1
kwrited 5.19.5-1
kxmlgui 5.74.0-1
l-smash 2.14.5-2
ladspa 1.15-2
lame 3.100-3
lapack 3.9.0-3
lcms2 2.11-2
ldb 1:2.1.4-1
ldns 1.7.1-2
lensfun 0.3.95-2
less 551-3
libaccounts-glib 1.25-1
libaccounts-qt 1.16-2
libaio 0.3.112-2
libakonadi 20.08.1-2
libarchive 3.4.3-1
libass 0.14.0-2
libassuan 2.5.3-2
libasyncns 0.8+3+g68cd5af-3
libatasmart 0.19-5
libavc1394 0.5.4-4
libblockdev 2.24-1
libbluray 1.2.0-3
libbsd 0.10.0-2
libbytesize 2.4-1
libcaca 0.99.beta19-3
libcanberra 0.30+2+gc0620e4-3
libcanberra-pulse 0.30+2+gc0620e4-3
libcap 2.43-1
libcap-ng 0.7.11-2
libcddb 1.3.2-6
libcdio 2.1.0-2
libcdio-paranoia 10.2+2.0.1-2
libcroco 0.6.13-2
libcups 2.3.3-3
libdaemon 0.14-5
libdatrie 0.2.12-2
libdbusmenu-qt5 0.9.3+16.04.20160218-5
libdc1394 2.2.6-2
libdmtx 0.7.5-2
libdrm 2.4.102-1
libdv 1.0.0-9
libdvdnav 6.1.0-2
libdvdread 6.1.1-1
libedit 20191231_3.1-2
libelf 0.181-1
libepoxy 1.5.4-2
libevdev 1.9.1-1
libevent 2.1.12-1
libexif 0.6.22-1
libffi 3.3-3
libfontenc 1.1.4-3
libgcrypt 1.8.6-1
libgit2 1:1.0.1-1
libglvnd 1.3.2-1
libgpg-error 1.39-1
libgphoto2 2.5.25-1
libgudev 234-1
libgusb 0.3.5-1
libibus 1.5.22+8+gf591381e-1
libical 3.0.8-2
libice 1.0.10-3
libid3tag 0.15.1b-11
libidn 1.36-1
libidn2 2.3.0-1
libiec61883 1.2.0-6
libieee1284 0.2.11-9
libimobiledevice 1.3.0-1
libinput 1.16.1-1
libjpeg-turbo 2.0.5-2
libkdcraw 20.08.1-1
libkexiv2 20.08.1-1
libkipi 20.08.1-1
libksane 20.08.1-1
libksba 1.4.0-2
libkscreen 5.19.5-1
libksysguard 5.19.5-1
libldap 2.4.53-1
liblqr 0.4.2-3
libmfx 20.2.1-1
libmicrohttpd 0.9.71-1
libmm-glib 1.14.2-1
libmng 2.0.3-3
libmnl 1.0.4-3
libmodplug 0.8.9.0-3
libmpc 1.1.0-2
libmpeg2 0.5.1-7
libmtp 1.1.17-1
libndp 1.7-2
libnetfilter_conntrack 1.0.8-1
libnewt 0.52.21-3
libnfnetlink 1.0.1-4
libnftnl 1.1.7-1
libnghttp2 1.41.0-1
libnl 3.5.0-2
libnm 1.26.2-1
libnotify 0.7.9-1
libnsl 1.3.0-1
libogg 1.3.4-2
libomxil-bellagio 0.9.3-3
libp11-kit 0.23.21-1
libpaper 1.1.28-1
libpcap 1.9.1-2
libpciaccess 0.16-2
libpgm 5.3.128-1
libpipeline 1.5.3-1
libplacebo 1.29.1-3
libplist 2.2.0-1
libpng 1.6.37-3
libproxy 0.4.15+33+g454a499-2
libpsl 0.21.1-1
libpulse 13.0-3
libpwquality 1.4.2-3
libqalculate 3.13.0-1
libraqm 0.7.0-2
libraw 0.20.0-1
libraw1394 2.1.2-3
librsvg 2:2.48.8-1
libsamplerate 0.1.9-3
libsasl 2.1.27-3
libseccomp 2.4.2-1
libsecret 0.20.3-1
libshout 1:2.4.3-3
libsidplay 1.36.59-10
libsigc++ 2.10.3-1
libsm 1.2.3-2
libsndfile 1.0.28-3
libsodium 1.0.18-2
libsoup 2.70.0-1
libsoxr 0.1.3-2
libspectre 0.2.9-2
libssh 0.9.5-1
libssh2 1.9.0-2
libstemmer 0+713-2
libtasn1 4.16.0-1
libteam 1.31-1
libthai 0.1.28-2
libtheora 1.1.1-5
libtiff 4.1.0-2
libtirpc 1.2.6-1
libtommath 1.2.0-3
libtool 2.4.6+42+gb88cebd5-14
libunistring 0.9.10-2
libunwind 1.3.1-2
libusb 1.0.23-2
libusbmuxd 2.0.2-1
libutempter 1.2.1-1
libva 2.9.0-1
libvdpau 1.4-1
libvisual 0.4.0-8
libvorbis 1.3.7-2
libvpx 1.9.0-1
libwacom 1.5-1
libwebp 1.1.0-1
libwpe 1.8.0-1
libx11 1.6.12-1
libx86emu 3.1-1
libxau 1.0.9-3
libxaw 1.0.13-3
libxcb 1.14-1
libxcomposite 0.4.5-3
libxcrypt 4.4.17-1
libxcursor 1.2.0-2
libxdamage 1.1.5-3
libxdmcp 1.1.3-3
libxext 1.3.4-3
libxfixes 5.0.3-4
libxfont2 2.0.4-3
libxft 2.3.3-2
libxi 1.7.10-3
libxinerama 1.1.4-3
libxkbcommon 1.0.1-1
libxkbcommon-x11 1.0.1-1
libxkbfile 1.1.0-2
libxml2 2.9.10-2
libxmu 1.1.3-2
libxpm 3.5.13-2
libxrandr 1.5.2-3
libxrender 0.9.10-4
libxres 1.2.0-2
libxshmfence 1.3-2
libxslt 1.1.34-5
libxss 1.2.3-3
libxt 1.2.0-2
libxtst 1.2.3-4
libxv 1.0.11-4
libxxf86vm 1.1.4-4
libyaml 0.2.5-1
libzip 1.6.1-2
licenses 20200427-1
linux-api-headers 5.8-1
linux-firmware 20200923.r1716.afbfb5f-1
linux54 5.4.67-1
linux58 5.8.11-1
llvm-libs 10.0.1-3
lm_sensors 3.6.0-2
lmdb 0.9.26-1
logrotate 3.17.0-1
lsb-release 1.4-13
lua52 5.2.4-5
lvm2 2.02.187-3
lz4 1:1.9.2-2
lzo 2.10-3
m4 1.4.18-3
mailcap 2.1.49-1
make 4.3-3
manjaro-icons 20191015-1
manjaro-keyring 20200603-1
manjaro-release 20.1.1-1
manjaro-settings-manager 0.5.6-10
manjaro-settings-manager-knotifier 0.5.6-10
manjaro-system 20200906-1
marble-common 20.08.1-1
md4c 0.4.5-1
mdadm 4.1-2
media-player-info 24-2
meld 3.20.2-1
memtest86+ 5.01-4
mesa 20.1.8-1
mhwd 0.6.5-2
mhwd-amdgpu 19.1.0-1
mhwd-ati 19.1.0-1
mhwd-db 0.6.4-12
mhwd-nvidia-340xx 340.108-1
mhwd-nvidia-390xx 390.132-1
mhwd-nvidia-418xx 418.113-1
mhwd-nvidia-430xx 430.64-1.0
mhwd-nvidia-435xx 435.21-1.0
mhwd-nvidia-440xx 440.100-1
mhwd-nvidia-450xx 450.66-1
milou 5.19.5-1
minizip 1:1.2.11-4
mkinitcpio 28-1.0
mkinitcpio-busybox 1.31.1-2
mkinitcpio-openswap 0.1.0-3
mobile-broadband-provider-info 20190618-2
mpfr 4.1.0-1
mpg123 1.26.3-2
mpv 1:0.32.0-4
mtdev 1.1.6-1
mujs 1.0.8-1
nano 5.2-1
ncurses 6.2-1
ndctl 69-1
net-snmp 5.8-6
nettle 3.6-1
networkmanager 1.26.2-1
networkmanager-openvpn 1.8.12-1
networkmanager-qt 5.74.0-1
nfs-utils 2.5.1-1
nfsidmap 2.5.1-1
noto-fonts 20190926-4
npth 1.6-2
nspr 4.29-1
nss 3.57-1
ntfs-3g 2017.3.23-5
octopi 0.9.0-24
octopi-notifier-qt5 0.9.0-24
okular 20.08.1-1
openal 1.20.1-2
opencore-amr 0.1.5-4
opencv 4.4.0-1
openexr 2.5.3-1
openjpeg2 2.3.1-2
openmpi 4.0.5-1
openssh 8.3p1-4
openssl 1.1.1.h-1
openvpn 2.4.9-2
opus 1.3.1-2
orc 0.4.32-1
oxygen 5.19.5-1
p11-kit 0.23.21-1
pacman 5.2.2-2
pacman-mirrors 4.16.4-1
pacmanlogviewer 1.4.2-1
palemoon-bin 28.13.0-1
pam 1.4.0-3
pambase 20200721.1-2
pango 1:1.46.2-1
parted 3.3-2
partitionmanager 4.1.0-1
patch 2.7.6-8
pavucontrol-qt 0.15.0-1
pciutils 3.7.0-1
pcre 8.44-1
pcre2 10.35-1
pepper-flash 32.0.0.433-1
perl 5.32.0-3
perl-clone 0.45-2
perl-encode-locale 1.05-7
perl-error 0.17029-2
perl-file-listing 6.04-8
perl-html-parser 3.74-1
perl-html-tagset 3.20-10
perl-http-cookies 6.08-3
perl-http-daemon 6.06-2
perl-http-date 6.05-3
perl-http-message 6.26-1
perl-http-negotiate 6.01-8
perl-io-html 1.001-7
perl-libwww 6.49-1
perl-lwp-mediatypes 6.02-8
perl-mailtools 2.21-4
perl-net-http 6.19-4
perl-timedate 2.33-2
perl-try-tiny 0.30-5
perl-uri 1.76-4
perl-www-robotrules 6.02-8
perl-xml-parser 2.46-2
perl-xml-writer 0.625-6
phonon-qt5 4.11.1-2
phonon-qt5-gstreamer 4.10.0-2
pinentry 1.1.0-5
pixman 0.40.0-1
pkcs11-helper 1.26.0-2
pkgconf 1.7.3-1
pkgfile 21-2
plasma-desktop 5.19.5-1
plasma-framework 5.74.0-1
plasma-integration 5.19.5-1
plasma-pa 5.19.5-1
plasma-workspace 5.19.5-1.2
polkit 0.117-1
polkit-kde-agent 5.19.5-1
polkit-qt5 0.113.0-2
poppler 20.09.0-1
poppler-data 0.4.9-2
poppler-glib 20.09.0-1
poppler-qt5 20.09.0-1
popt 1.18-1
portaudio 1:19.6.0-7
powerdevil 5.19.5-1
powertop 2.13-1
ppp 2.4.7-7
pptpclient 1.10.0-2
prison 5.74.0-1
procps-ng 3.3.16-2
psmisc 23.3-2
pulseaudio 13.0-3
pulseaudio-alsa 1:1.2.2-2
pulseaudio-qt 1.2-2
pulseaudio-zeroconf 13.0-3
purpose 5.74.0-1
pygobject-devel 3.36.1-1
python 3.8.5-2
python-appdirs 1.4.4-1
python-cairo 1.19.1-1
python-chardet 3.0.4-5
python-gobject 3.36.1-1
python-idna 2.10-1
python-npyscreen 4.10.5-4
python-ordered-set 4.0.2-1
python-packaging 20.4-1
python-pyparsing 2.4.7-1
python-requests 2.24.0-1
python-setuptools 1:50.3.0-1
python-six 1.15.0-1
python-urllib3 1.25.10-1
qca 2.3.1-2
qqc2-desktop-style 5.74.0-1
qrencode 4.1.0-1
qt5-base 5.15.1-1
qt5-declarative 5.15.1-1
qt5-graphicaleffects 5.15.1-1
qt5-imageformats 5.15.1-1
qt5-location 5.15.1-1
qt5-multimedia 5.15.1-1
qt5-quickcontrols 5.15.1-1
qt5-quickcontrols2 5.15.1-1
qt5-script 5.15.1-1
qt5-sensors 5.15.1-1
qt5-speech 5.15.1-1
qt5-svg 5.15.1-1
qt5-tools 5.15.1-1
qt5-translations 5.15.1-1
qt5-wayland 5.15.1-1
qt5-webchannel 5.15.1-1
qt5-webengine 5.15.1-1
qt5-webkit 5.212.0alpha4-7
qt5-x11extras 5.15.1-1
qt5-xmlpatterns 5.15.1-1
qtav 1.13.0-1
qtermwidget 0.15.0-1
quazip 0.9.1-1
rav1e 0.3.4-1
re2 1:20200801-1
readline 8.0.004-1
reiserfsprogs 3.6.27-3
rest 0.8.1-3
rpcbind 1.2.5-3
rsync 3.2.3-1
rtkit 0.13-1
rubberband 1.9-1
run-parts 4.8.6.1-2
sane 1.0.31-1
screenfetch 3.9.1-1
sddm 0.18.1-3
sddm-kcm 5.19.5-1
sdl 1.2.15-14
sdl2 2.0.12-2
sed 4.8-1
shaderc 2020.0-1
shadow 4.8.1-4
shared-mime-info 2.0+1+g6bf9e4f-2
signon-kwallet-extension 20.08.1-1
signon-plugin-oauth2 0.24-3
signon-ui 0.17+20171022-2
signond 8.60-3
skypeforlinux-stable-bin 8.65.0.76-1
slang 2.3.2-2
smartmontools 7.1-4
smbclient 4.12.6-1
smplayer 20.6.0-1
smplayer-skins 1:15.2.0-3
snappy 1.1.8-2
solid 5.74.0-1
sonnet 5.74.0-1
sound-theme-freedesktop 0.8-4
spectacle 20.08.1-1
spectre-meltdown-checker 0.43-1
speex 1.2.0-3
speexdsp 1.2.0-2
spirv-tools 2020.4-1
sqlite 3.33.0-2
srt 1.4.2-1
startup-notification 0.12-7
sudo 1.9.3.p1-1
sweeper 20.08.1-1
syntax-highlighting 5.74.0-1
sysfsutils 2.1.0-11
systemd 246.6-1
systemd-kcm 1.2.1-5
systemd-libs 246.6-1
systemd-sysvcompat 246.6-1
systemsettings 5.19.5-1
taglib 1.11.1-4
talloc 2.3.1-3
tar 1.32-3
tbb 2020.3-1
tdb 1.4.3-2
terminus-font 4.48-3
tevent 1:0.10.2-1
texinfo 6.7-3
thin-provisioning-tools 0.9.0-1
threadweaver 5.74.0-1
thunderbird 68.12.0-1
thunderbird-i18n-it 68.12.0-1
tlp 1.3.1-2
tlp-rdw 1.3.1-2
tslib 1.22-1
ttf-dejavu 2.37+18+g9b5d1b2f-2
ttf-hack 3.003-3
ttf-indic-otf 0.2-11
ttf-liberation 2.1.1-1
ttf-ms-fonts 2.0-12
ttf-vista-fonts 1-10
twolame 0.4.0-2
tzdata 2020a-1
uchardet 0.0.7-1
udisks2 2.9.1-1
ufw 0.36-3
upower 0.99.11-3
usbmuxd 1.1.1-1
usbutils 012-2
user-manager 5.19.5-1
util-linux 2.36-4
util-linux-libs 2.36-4
v4l-utils 1.20.0-1
v86d 0.1.10-5.1
vamp-plugin-sdk 2.10.0-1
veracrypt 1.24.update7-1
vid.stab 1.1-3
vivaldi 3.3.2022.47-1
vmaf 1.5.3-1
volume_key 0.3.12-3
vulkan-icd-loader 1.2.153-2
wavpack 5.3.0-1
wayland 1.18.0-2
wayland-protocols 1.20-1
webkit2gtk 2.30.1-1
webrtc-audio-processing 0.3.1-2
wget 1.20.3-3
which 2.21-5
wireless-regdb 2020.04.29-1
woff2 1.0.2-3
wpa_supplicant 2:2.9-7
wpebackend-fdo 1.8.0-1
wxgtk-common 3.0.5.1-1
wxgtk3 3.0.5.1-1
x264 3:0.160.r3011.cde9a93-1
x265 3.4-1
x86_energy_perf_policy 5.7-1
xapian-core 1:1.4.17-2
xcb-proto 1.14-1
xcb-util 0.4.0-3
xcb-util-cursor 0.1.3-3
xcb-util-image 0.4.0-3
xcb-util-keysyms 0.4.0-3
xcb-util-renderutil 0.3.9-3
xcb-util-wm 0.4.1-3
xdg-dbus-proxy 0.1.2-2
xdg-user-dirs 0.17-3
xdg-utils 1.1.3+19+g9816ebb-1
xf86-input-evdev 2.10.6-2
xf86-input-libinput 0.30.0-1
xfsprogs 5.8.0-1
xkeyboard-config 2.30-2
xorg-fonts-encodings 1.0.5-2
xorg-server 1.20.9-2
xorg-server-common 1.20.9-2
xorg-setxkbmap 1.3.2-2
xorg-xauth 1.1-2
xorg-xdpyinfo 1.3.2-4
xorg-xinit 1.4.1-2
xorg-xkbcomp 1.4.3-1
xorg-xkill 1.0.5-2
xorg-xmessage 1.0.5-2
xorg-xmodmap 1.0.10-2
xorg-xprop 1.2.4-2
xorg-xrdb 1.2.0-2
xorg-xset 1.2.4-2
xorg-xsetroot 1.1.2-2
xorgproto 2020.1-1
xvidcore 1.3.7-2
xxhash 0.8.0-1
xz 5.2.5-1
yakuake 20.08.1-1
yay 10.0.4-1
yubico-c 1.13-6
yubico-c-client 2.15-5
yubikey-personalization 1.20.0-3
zeromq 4.3.3-2
zita-alsa-pcmi 0.3.2-3
zita-resampler 1.6.2-3
zlib 1:1.2.11-4
zstd 1.4.5-1
but i think newbies or Manjaro-newbies may adopt the official minimal edition to be disater-proof…
PS
@linux-aarhus sorry here is what you was asking for
acpi
acpid
alpm-octopi-utils
alsa-utils
ark
atkmm
avahi
bash
breeze
breeze-gtk
btrfs-progs
bzip2
cairomm
colord-kde
coreutils
cpupower
crda
cronie
cryptsetup
device-mapper
dhclient
dhcpcd
diffutils
digikam
dmraid
dnsmasq
dolphin
dolphin-plugins
dosfstools
downgrade
e2fsprogs
ecryptfs-utils
efibootmgr
ethtool
exfatprogs
f2fs-tools
ffmpeg
ffmpegthumbs
filesystem
firefox
firefox-i18n-it
flashplugin
freeoffice
fuse3
gcc-libs
gcr
glibc
gnome-icon-theme
gnome-themes-extra
gnustep-base
grub
gst-plugins-base
gst-plugins-good
gst-plugins-ugly
gufw
gwenview
haveged
hunspell-it
hyphen-it
icedtea-web
imagewriter
inetutils
intel-ucode
inxi
iproute2
iptables
iputils
jfsutils
jre8-openjdk
jre8-openjdk-headless
kcalc
kdegraphics-thumbnailers
kde-gtk-config
kdeplasma-addons
kde-servicemenus-rootactions
keepassxc
kgamma5
khelpcenter
khotkeys
kimageformats
kinfocenter
kio-extras
kipi-plugins
kmenuedit
konsole
kqtquickcharts
kscreen
kscreenlocker
ksysguard
ksystemlog
kwayland-integration
kwin
kwrite
kwrited
less
libcanberra
libcanberra-pulse
libpipeline
licenses
linux54
linux58
linux-firmware
logrotate
lsb-release
lvm2
manjaro-icons
manjaro-release
manjaro-settings-manager-knotifier
manjaro-system
mdadm
meld
memtest86+
mhwd
mhwd-ati
milou
mkinitcpio-openswap
mobile-broadband-provider-info
nano
networkmanager
networkmanager-openvpn
nfs-utils
noto-fonts
ntfs-3g
octopi
octopi-notifier-qt5
okular
openssh
openvpn
oxygen
pacmanlogviewer
palemoon-bin
partitionmanager
pavucontrol-qt
pciutils
pepper-flash
perl
phonon-qt5-gstreamer
plasma-desktop
plasma-pa
plasma-workspace
poppler-data
portaudio
powerdevil
powertop
pptpclient
procps-ng
psmisc
pulseaudio-alsa
pulseaudio-qt
pulseaudio-zeroconf
qt5-imageformats
qt5-translations
qt5-webkit
reiserfsprogs
rsync
screenfetch
sddm
sddm-kcm
shadow
skypeforlinux-stable-bin
smartmontools
smplayer
smplayer-skins
spectacle
spectre-meltdown-checker
sweeper
sysfsutils
systemd-kcm
systemd-sysvcompat
systemsettings
tar
terminus-font
thunderbird
thunderbird-i18n-it
tlp
tlp-rdw
ttf-indic-otf
ttf-ms-fonts
ttf-vista-fonts
udisks2
ufw
usbutils
user-manager
util-linux
veracrypt
vivaldi
wget
wpa_supplicant
x86_energy_perf_policy
xdg-user-dirs
xdg-utils
xf86-input-evdev
xf86-input-libinput
xfsprogs
xorg-server
xorg-xinit
xorg-xkill
yakuake
yay
I installed my main Manjaro system almost 6 years ago. Were there even minimal iso images then? There was certainly no Architect.
I never wanted an minimal install in any case. I wanted a useful workhorse so for me I would say yes to all of your items: multimedia player, codecs, browser, pdf AND image viewer. But that’s probably not an answer to your question.
I can’t even really recall what the system started with, but I think it had:
Removed and not replaced: thunderbird, hexchat (or whatever was the IRC client at that time).
I may be remembering incorrectly. Pre-2015 I already had Manjaro on my old 32-bit machine before I replaced the machine in Jan 2015. So maybe I’m confusing the isos I installed in these 2 periods.
But I would still have wanted a comprehensive distro with all the functionality you listed. It’s just that over the years, the choice of applications providing some of that function changed for me.
Second PC install was in 2016, so it was also quite some time ago. Not sure if there were minimal isos then.
More recently I installed Manjaro on my laptop but I really have no time to fiddle with it so again I just installed the main iso.
I’m probably not the type of longtime user you were targeting with your questions. 
@freggel.doe Frankly, I haven’t seen any failure to boot with free drivers. However, that doesn’t mean that the booted system was 100% reliable. To the contrary, it was 100% prone to lock up during reboot or halt. By saying lock up I mean total freeze, no way to halt except power button. And no REISUB in Manjaro by deafult btw huh. That’s another story however. Also such systems were about 50% to freeze during normal operation (installation, browsing web, etc). Sometimes some magic boot options help. Sometimes others are of help. Sometimes nothing. That’s why I have no faith in nouveau working correctly with relatively “fresh” (up to 5 years old) Nvidia hardware. It just won’t. Ever.
Sorry for this offtop.
As for the topic, I’ve been using Linux since 2004 or 2005 IIRC. But Manjaro – only since the end of 2017.
wonder what you call bloated 
This is exactly how it should be. Just watch what EndeavourOS does! There it is perfectly solved. No frills, no bloat that you have to remove after the reinstallation. And NO, Archtitect is no solution!
Not what I use…I can work (except Firefox) straight from multi-user target. Can you?
ETA: bloat == X/Wayland…any DE…fonts…themes…dang near all GUI wrappers for CLI tools…
Why not ?
IMO, a minimal ISO requires:
The rest can be added later to each one’s taste. The web browser is debatable, it’s just that it is such a general tool. It is needed for such a basic function as getting information, so IMO nothing is lost by including a web browser.
Howdy! 
I have been a Linux user all my life, never had a single Windows PC, we had Slackware with OpenBox at home…
Lifetime Linux user, shall I say…
I always select the minimal install ISO, as I prefer choosing my own apps… 
IMHO the first thing to consider is to help the new user solve problems she may encounter. So, for axample, a web browser is a must for enabling her to visit forum and support pages. It would be good to allow the user to choose other apps from a list of categories/packages offered during the installation (or after).
By the way, I am content with current defaults.
To clarify - The discussion is about minimal editions, not full ones.
That is why Manjaro Application Utility exist.
I would agree with this list. The selection of each dependant on the environment needs/wants.
This one is new to me - thank you for sharing.
I would add a lightweight pdf viewer to a minimal iso, if Manjaro-minimal comes with a pdf manual .
We are need also an universal player audio and video available. A pdf viewer and a picture viewer is necessary for the every minimal desktop environment