LFS is a deep dive for learning, not a way to create a production base. I'd suggest stripping down whatever distro you already like unless you have an exotic t

LFS is a deep dive for learning, not a way to create a production base. I'd suggest stripping down whatever distro you already like unless you have an exotic target platform or highly constrained resource (like embedded systems). The off the shelf distros can typically be customized much smaller than their "minimal" images. That "minimal" usually means "a reasonable base for your headless server" not "the least amount of software needed to boot." You'll be able to stay in a packaging ecosystem and process you already know. Learn how to create a custom deployable image and with any luck you'll still be able to leverage their build systems, testing and repos. If you are talking more constrained than that or an unusual architecture, Yocto seems to be where most of the embedded Linux folks are these days. That targets highly-configurable custom compiling everything from the ground up, lots of additional software packages are available to be layered in.