[tex-live] Minimal TeX system?

[Robin Fairbairns]

> Can anyone point me in the right direction? It seems very hard to get
> a working TeX without all the LaTeX stuff and a bunch of utilities.

you can compile it yourself, surely?  that way you could create
a distribution for the one or two people a year who ask for a
plain-only distribution.  (speaking as a ctan maintainer, i can assure
you we would be happy to serve such a distribution for you.)

failing that, why not install a complete thing and delete the stuff
you don't want?

robin