How to list the packages installed by default in Fedora Workstation?

Ask Fedora
1

Is printing the list of base packages (for the current release) possible without spinning up a fresh Workstation installation? $ man dnf list doesn’t appear to have a solution.

2

You can list the environments then have the contents of the contained groups with dnf group info, but there is no recursive option.

The easiest way is I think to simulate an installation like this:

dnf --assumeno --use-host-config --installroot=/tmp/sysroot \
    environment install workstation-product-environment
3

The command returns this error both in a new Podman container and Fedora Workstation VM (which I just deleted, was either 42 or 43):

Unknown argument "install" for command "environment". Add "--help" for more information about the arguments.
4

Sorry, it works in F44 with dnf5 version 5.4.2.1.

If dnf environment info workstation-product-environment works for
you, then use:

dnf --assumeno --use-host-config --installroot=/tmp/sysroot \
    group install THE_GROUPS_OBTAINED_ABOVE
5

This should work even in F42 (dnf5 5.2.18) for seeing the packages for F43:

# dnf5 environment info format:
#   [...]
#   Required groups      : G1
#   [...]
#                        : Gn
#   Optional groups      : G1
#   [...]
#                        : Gn

groups=(
  $(dnf -q --releasever=43 \
        environment info workstation-product-environment \
    | sed -n '/Required groups/,$p' \
    | sed 's/.*: *//'
  )
)
echo "${groups[@]}"

dnf -q --releasever=43 \
    --assumeno --use-host-config --installroot=/tmp/sysroot \
    group install "${groups[@]}"
[...]
Transaction Summary:
 Installing:      1967 packages
6

Yes, appears to work in Podman now, and quite quickly. --releasever=43 can be replaced with 44, of course.