Too many packages on my OpenBSD laptop
======================================

OpenBSD upgrade
---------------
Today I upgraded OpenBSD on my ThinkPad X201, from
version 7.3 to 7.4.

This upgrade went, as always, smooth and without
any problems.

The next step was to upgrade the packages.

Which took ages.

Too many packages
-----------------
There can only be one conclusion: over time I have
installed too many packages.

When setting up a new system, I always try to be
frugal when it comes to installing software.

During the usage of the system, there tends to be
some creeping. A package seems nice and useful,
and adding a single package can't hurt that
much... Repeat this often enough, and you end with
a large number of installed packages.

All packages are equal, but some are more equal
-----------------------------------------------
Some packages come with a ton of dependencies, and
in such case the installation of a single package
results in the installation of a lot of packages.
The installation of those packages should be
avoided as much is possible.

How much is too much
--------------------
The conclusion, that there are too many packages
installed on this machine, leads to the question
how much is OK, and where is the demarcation line
between an acceptable number and too many?

I am even right, thinking that there are too much
packages on this system? Or is just a one time
affair, and is this upgrade thing only a problem
right after a system upgrade?

Another question is, what is the best way to
reduce the number of packages? Start all over,
re-install OpenBSD and start adding packages? Or
is there another way?

Questions, questions ...

Reality check with a virtual machine
------------------------------------
Currently,  `pkg_info | wc -l` gives the number
of 481 installed packages. At least that sounds
like a large number.

When looking at the manual installed packages,
this was the result:
`pkg_info -m | wc -l` gave 155 manual installed
packages.

My plan is to first setup a virtual machine as
OpenBSD desktop. On this virtual machine I will
install the stuff I use at least once per month.

When I have done that, create a list of packages
on both the X201 and on the virtual machine, and
compare these lists. Maybe this will yield some
useful information.

Happy upgrading!


Last edited: $Date: 2023/10/16 19:10:08 $