Quote Originally Posted by mastablasta View Post
this is minimal install (net install): https://help.ubuntu.com/community/In...tion/MinimalCD

then you install it (old, but not much changed): https://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/minimal

then you add only XFCE and maybe a desktop manager (lightdm, gdm). Not sure if desktop manager is included or not. it's been a while since i've done it.

Code:
sudo apt install xfce4
and optional:

Code:
sudo apt install xfce4-goodies
more here: https://itsfoss.com/install-xfce-desktop-xubuntu/
or here (Debian docs): https://wiki.debian.org/Xfce
Oddly, adding 4GB ram has reduced usage between 800-900mb. Whether re-installing with 18.04.3 has helped, not sure. Btrfs now setup with swap file and swapiness set to 10.