Debian is not minimal at all, it emphasizes compatibility over all else.
There are many custom scripts to wrap around systemd so you can still use old style commands. Apt is pretty slow (and again packages come with custom scripts) and stuff like apt-xapian-index will just gobble up all your CPU if you are on a slow system.
Debian has many scripts to automate things for a nice experience, but it's certainly not minimal.
I think "vanilla" is perfect term for it. Most of the software is just vanilla compile + whatever it is needed to play nicely with rest of the system.
Most defaults are sensible and close to what app itself provides, again with exceptions to play nicely with rest of the system.
Most packages also come with bunch of recommended ones that extend functionality which means a bit extra space used, but just
APT::Install-Recommends "0";
fixes that (I'd recommend that for servers but not for desktops unless you're seriously space constrained).
And most important thing is that upgrade works. I installed my desktop in ~2008 and just upgraded across the ages, the install older than every single component in my machine.
> There are many custom scripts to wrap around systemd so you can still use old style commands.
That's just not breaking old stuff, minimal doesn't really need to mean "just breaks your old scripts that worked fine up until now".
And it's kinda required for transitionary period, some packages still use /etc/init.d/* to start for example and AFAIK Debian still haven't said "systemd is the only way forward" which means many packages provide both /etc/init.d/* for SysV boot and /lib/systemd/system/* for Systemd boot.
> and stuff like apt-xapian-index will just gobble up all your CPU if you are on a slow system
How is tool that's not even in standard install relevant to anything?
There are many custom scripts to wrap around systemd so you can still use old style commands. Apt is pretty slow (and again packages come with custom scripts) and stuff like apt-xapian-index will just gobble up all your CPU if you are on a slow system.
Debian has many scripts to automate things for a nice experience, but it's certainly not minimal.