Meanwhile, I set up Qubes one or two times for different reasons, and now I want to optimize the system resource usage…
I figured out my individual style of how to set up my cubes for my daily business - but I also realized that most of my applications are used only once over all app cubes. For example, I am using Libre Office and Gimp but only in my personal qube. I am using some cloud sync softwares but only in my app qube for private files… I do software development in another app qube…
So, I installed dozens of packages in my template qube, but most of them are used only once in one specific app qube. Is that meaningful or not worth to be considered?
I also read about the HVM and standalones, which I am considering to apply for my development app qube. So, one question comes to my mind - should I apply this solution to more of my qubes with very specific use case?
How much system resources are consumed by each cube the more default applications and packages are installed in the template cube?
I would stay away from standalone qubes, they are not going to save you any disk space.
Using templates, even if only used by one qube at first, gives you much more flexibility and streamlines backups with Qubes OS’s built-in tool.
To optimize disk space, I’ve combined the minimal template with the core GNOME desktop components, resulting in a lightweight 2GB GNOME template. I use this customized template as the foundation for all my “app qubes”.
As @renehoj wrote, I also use and recommend a minimal template approach. The extreme example is to use one minimal template for one app i.e. appVM signal with the corresponding templateVM deb-12-mini-signal. But you can also balance this approach with the all-in-one template approach (the default personal), i.e. make one templateVM and add all your messenger apps to it.
Here, is my setup Qubes-OS-DM. At end you will find more minimal template scripts and examples.
You can use mirage firewall for sys-firewall and modified Debian or Fedora minimal templates for sys-* qubes. You should limit the number of active VMs, and like others have said, reusing templates are recommended to reduce disk use and update times. As far as I’m aware, installed packages in templates do little to effect the use of CPU or RAM.
