From Fedora Project Wiki
Core/Base groups
These two groups are very important since they have a very special meaning for anaconda. In particular, the @core group is always installed, no matter what, and @base requires the --nobase option to %packages to suppress.
@base
A first attempt of pruning @base resolves to 157 packages:
| acl | Access control list utilities. | core |
| anacron | A cron-like program that can run jobs lost during downtime. | core |
| apmd | Advanced Power Management (APM) BIOS utilities for laptops. | core |
| aspell | A spelling checker | core |
| aspell-en | English dictionaries for Aspell. | core |
| at | Job spooling tools. | core |
| attr | Utilities for managing filesystem extended attributes. | core |
| autofs | A tool for automatically mounting and unmounting filesystems. | core |
| bc | GNU's bc (a numeric processing language) and dc (a calculator). | core |
| bluez-utils | Bluetooth utilities | core |
| ccid | Generic USB CCID smart card reader driver | core |
| coolkey | CoolKey PKCS #11 module | core |
| crash | crash utility for live systems; netdump, diskdump, LKCD or mcore dumpfiles | core |
| cryptsetup-luks | A utility for setting up encrypted filesystems | core |
| cyrus-sasl-plain | PLAIN and LOGIN authentication support for Cyrus SASL. | core |
| device-mapper-multipath | Tools to manage multipath devices using device-mapper. | core |
| diskdumputils | diskdump utilities | core |
| dmraid | dmraid (Device-mapper RAID tool and library) | core |
| dos2unix | Text file format converter | core |
| dosfstools | Utilities for making and checking MS-DOS FAT filesystems on Linux. | core |
| dump | Programs for backing up and restoring ext2/ext3 filesystems | core |
| eject | A program that ejects removable media using software control. | core |
| fbset | Tools for managing a frame buffer's video mode properties. | core |
| finger | The finger client. | core |
| ftp | The standard UNIX FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client. | core |
| gnupg | A GNU utility for secure communication and data storage. | core |
| gpm | A mouse server for the Linux console. | core |
| ipsec-tools | Tools for configuring and using IPSEC | core |
| iptstate | A top-like display of IP Tables state table entries | core |
| irda-utils | Utilities for infrared communication between devices. | core |
| jwhois | Internet whois/nicname client | core |
| krb5-workstation | Kerberos 5 programs for use on workstations. | core |
| ksh | The Original ATT Korn Shell | core |
| lftp | A sophisticated file transfer program | core |
| logrotate | Rotates, compresses, removes and mails system log files. | core |
| logwatch | A log file analysis program | core |
| lsof | A utility which lists open files on a Linux/UNIX system. | core |
| man | A set of documentation tools: man, apropos and whatis. | core |
| man-pages | Man (manual) pages from the Linux Documentation Project. | core |
| mkbootdisk | Creates a boot floppy disk for booting a system. | core |
| mlocate | An utility for finding files by name | core |
| mtools | Programs for accessing MS-DOS disks without mounting the disks. | core |
| mtr | A network diagnostic tool. | core |
| nano | A small text editor | core |
| nc | Reads and writes data across network connections using TCP or UDP. | core |
| netdump | Client setup for network kernel message logging and crash dumps | core |
| nss_db | An NSS library for the Berkeley DB. | core |
| nss_ldap | NSS library and PAM module for LDAP. | core |
| ntsysv | A tool to set the stop/start of system services in a runlevel. | core |
| pam_smb | A Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM) for use with SMB servers. | core |
| parted | The GNU disk partition manipulation program. | core |
| pax | POSIX File System Archiver | core |
| pcmciautils | PCMCIA utilities and initialization programs | core |
| pinfo | An info file viewer. | core |
| psacct | Utilities for monitoring process activities | core |
| quota | System administration tools for monitoring users' disk usage. | core |
| rdate | Tool for getting the date/time from a remote machine. | core |
| rdist | Maintains identical copies of files on multiple machines. | core |
| redhat-lsb | LSB support for Red Hat Linux | core |
| rng-utils | Random number generator related utilities | core |
| rp-pppoe | A PPP over Ethernet client (for xDSL support). | core |
| rsh | Clients for remote access commands (rsh, rlogin, rcp). | core |
| rsync | A program for synchronizing files over a network. | core |
| sendmail | A widely used Mail Transport Agent (MTA). | core |
| setarch | Personality setter | core |
| setuptool | A text mode system configuration tool. | core |
| specspo | Fedora package descriptions, summaries, and groups. | core |
| stunnel | An SSL-encrypting socket wrapper | core |
| sudo | Allows restricted root access for specified users. | core |
| symlinks | A utility which maintains a system's symbolic links. | core |
| sysreport | Gathers system hardware and configuration information. | core |
| system-config-network-tui | The NEtwork Adminstration Tool | core |
| system-config-securitylevel-tui | A text interface for modifying the system security level | core |
| talk | Talk client for one-on-one Internet chatting. | core |
| tcp_wrappers | A security tool which acts as a wrapper for TCP daemons. | core |
| tcpdump | A network traffic monitoring tool | core |
| tcsh | An enhanced version of csh, the C shell | core |
| telnet | The client program for the telnet remote login protocol. | core |
| time | A GNU utility for monitoring a program's use of system resources. | core |
| tmpwatch | A utility for removing files based on when they were last accessed | core |
| traceroute | Traces the route taken by packets over an IPv4/IPv6 network | core |
| tree | A utility which displays a tree view of the contents of directories. | core |
| unix2dos | unix2dos - UNIX to DOS text file format converter | core |
| unzip | A utility for unpacking zip files. | core |
| usbutils | Linux USB utilities. | core |
| vconfig | Linux 802.1q VLAN configuration utility | core |
| vixie-cron | The Vixie cron daemon for executing specified programs at set times. | core |
| wget | A utility for retrieving files using the HTTP or FTP protocols. | core |
| which | Displays where a particular program in your path is located. | core |
| wireless-tools | Wireless ethernet configuration tools | core |
| words | A dictionary of English words for the /usr/share/dict directory. | core |
| ypbind | The NIS daemon which binds NIS clients to an NIS domain. | core |
| yum-updatesd | Update notification daemon | core |
| zip | A file compression and packaging utility compatible with PKZIP. | core |
| NetworkManager | Network connection manager and user applications | core |
| acpid | ACPI Event Daemon | core |
| bzip2 | A file compression utility | core |
| cpuspeed | CPU frequency adjusting daemon | core |
| crontabs | Root crontab files used to schedule the execution of programs. | core |
| dhclient | Provides the dhclient ISC DHCP client daemon and dhclient-script . | core |
| dhcpv6_client | DHCPv6 client | core |
| firstboot-tui | A text interface for firstboot | core |
| irqbalance | IRQ balancing daemon. | core |
| libutempter | A privileged helper for utmp/wtmp updates | core |
| mailcap | Associates helper applications with particular file types. | core |
| mdadm | mdadm controls Linux md devices (software RAID arrays) | core |
| mgetty | A getty replacement for use with data and fax modems. | core |
| microcode_ctl | Tool to update x86/x86-64 CPU microcode. | core |
| nfs-utils | NFS utlilities and supporting clients and daemons for the kernel NFS server. | core |
| numactl | library for tuning for Non Uniform Memory Access machines | core |
| openssh-clients | The OpenSSH client applications | core |
| openssh-server | The OpenSSH server daemon | core |
| pam_ccreds | Pam module to cache login credentials | core |
| pam_krb5 | A Pluggable Authentication Module for Kerberos 5. | core |
| pam_passwdqc | Pluggable password quality-control module. | core |
| pam_pkcs11 | PKCS #11/NSS PAM login module | core |
| pciutils | PCI bus related utilities. | core |
| pm-utils | Power management utilities and scripts for Fedora Core | core |
| readahead | Read a preset list of files into memory. | core |
| smartmontools | Tools for monitoring SMART capable hard disks | core |
| yum | RPM installer/updater | core |
@core
There seems little (sensible) slack in this group; the group as-is resolves to 118 packages
| SysVinit | Programs which control basic system processes. | core |
| authconfig | Command line tool for setting up authentication from network services | core |
| basesystem | The skeleton package which defines a simple Red Hat Linux system. | core |
| bash | The GNU Bourne Again shell (bash) version 3.2. | core |
| coreutils | The GNU core utilities: a set of tools commonly used in shell scripts | core |
| cpio | A GNU archiving program | core |
| e2fsprogs | Utilities for managing the second and third extended (ext2/ext3) filesystems | core |
| ed | The GNU line editor. | core |
| fedora-logos | Fedora-related icons and pictures | core |
| fedora-release | Fedora Core release files | core |
| file | A utility for determining file types. | core |
| filesystem | The basic directory layout for a Linux system. | core |
| glibc | The GNU libc libraries. | core |
| glibc | The GNU libc libraries. | core |
| grub | GRUB - the Grand Unified Boot Loader. | core |
| hdparm | A utility for displaying and/or setting hard disk parameters. | core |
| initscripts | The inittab file and the /etc/init.d scripts. | core |
| iproute | Advanced IP routing and network device configuration tools | core |
| iputils | Network monitoring tools including ping. | core |
| kbd | Tools for configuring the console (keyboard, virtual terminals, etc.) | core |
| kudzu | The Red Hat Linux hardware probing tool. | core |
| libgcc | GCC version 4.1 shared support library | core |
| libtermcap | A basic system library for accessing the termcap database. | core |
| passwd | The passwd utility for setting/changing passwords using PAM | core |
| policycoreutils | SELinux policy core utilities. | core |
| prelink | An ELF prelinking utility | core |
| procps | System and process monitoring utilities. | core |
| readline | A library for editing typed command lines. | core |
| rootfiles | The basic required files for the root user's directory. | core |
| rpm | The RPM package management system. | core |
| selinux-policy-targeted | SELinux targeted base policy | core |
| setserial | A utility for configuring serial ports. | core |
| setup | A set of system configuration and setup files. | core |
| shadow-utils | Utilities for managing accounts and shadow password files | core |
| sysklogd | System logging and kernel message trapping daemons | core |
| termcap | The terminal feature database used by certain applications. | core |
| util-linux | A collection of basic system utilities. | core |
| vim-minimal | A minimal version of the VIM editor. | core |