On 24/12/2019 09:47, R.Wieser wrote:
> Jim,
>
>> Doesn't matter. If the package is already installed it will be
>> skipped - things don't installed twice -
>
> The idea is that I can use those backups when I need to /re-install the OS
> from from scratch/ (like when the sd card dies).   There won't be any
> already installed packages there.
>

OK, surely an old school system backup meets all your requirements.
Install everything you want and then just copy the entire sd card to a
tar file. When reinstalling you can just restore this tar file.

Alternative Internet dependent modern solutions are:

Automate installation using provisioning software such as Chef or
Ansible. You write a script for exactly how you want to set the machine
up and the provisioning software will install everything you need, so no
need for a system backup. I've never done this but you can look it up.

Or, I take a third path where I run Docker containers and install very
little on my base Linux distribution. So reinstalling is trivial.













>> You really do like making things difficult don't you!
>
> Whut ?    My wish not to have to depend on "tha intarwebz" is considered
> "making things difficult" ?  Really ?
>
> Personally I do not like to depend on resources that are beyond my control.
> Like those packages that could still be available when I need them again,
> but most likely will have changed in the mean time (new versions and all
> that), and as such could have become incompatible with what I find most
> important, /my/ stuff.   Its as simple as that.
>
> Regards,
> Rudy Wieser
>
> P.s.
> Yes, I could just save the cache with all the .deb files and bulk re-install
> them (can I do that?), but as long as I'm looking at it anyway I would like
> to be able to do it in a less coarse way (giving me the possibility, when
> re-installing, to leave out packages I am no longer using).
>
>

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