@davidrevoy Hi David!

Interesting blog, as usual :blobcatheart:

One thing about this step:

D. Install the KDE desktop.
The Debian 12 installer has a single interface for installing many desktop environments. At one point in the process, you'll only need to uncheck the default GNOME and check the Plasma KDE desktop.

Using this option to install KDE will install standard KDE environment: it includes a lot of useful/useless components (notion of useful/useless will of course depend of what you exactly need/use :blobcathappy: ).
The problem with the standard KDE install package, if you want to remove one component (let's say, remove the akonadi-server package for example, then it will start to remove a lot of stuff because of some meta-packages include one application that needs it and then all the meta-packages content will be removed...).

Maybe for your next installation setup, you can be interested to start from a minimal KDE installation and then install in your system only the KApplications you really use.
Here are listed the available KDE desktop packages for Debian: https://wiki.debian.org/KDE

Then from step D you have to uncheck ALL desktop environments: you're installation will be light and you'll have to start your computer in terminal mode :ablobcatbongo:
Then after logon in terminal mode, do sudo apt install kde-plasma-desktop to get the minimal installation of KDE Desktop and restart. You have a minimal KDE desktop :blobcatheart:

Better to test in a virtual machine first if you're not used to work on terminal only Linux :blobcatcoffee:

On my side its now how I doe: minimal install, appimage for big softwares, Debian install for system, command line tools, and small applications.