Every time I create an empty package or import an old project, Unity automatically installs the unneedable packages into the project. Every time I have to remove these packages manually. Why do I need JetBrains Rider Editor package if I don’t have JetBrains Rider Editor? I don’t use testing, why do I need testing packages? Etc. How can I make sure that Unity doesn’t add all this junk to an empty project?
It can be done. UnityLauncherPro does it, which is free on github, but you can make a new project empty and have it not fill it full of crap - it fills it with all the engineering packages, which i feel is presumptious, i dont use half of them either
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You don’t say you DON’T have Jetbrains Rider? Unimaginable with what sort of defunct, inferior, undersupported tools you may be forced to work with. I pity you. 
Edit a manifest.json so it includes only the packages you need. Then, after the project was created, simply replace the existing manifest.json with your edited one. You don’t even need to close Unity, it will automatically update the packages.
As to disabling features packages this may also require editing the packages-lock.json.
You can also unlock the features package, then multi-select packages in Package Manager and hit the “Remove” button.
I’m confused at how much should be indifference towards users to be that users decided to make their own launcher…
Just make your own “Template” project. That’s what it’s there for. Set up a project exactly the way you like fresh projects to be, call it the “IPublisher Special”, and use it as a template project.
I feel your pain… I also really like the word “unneedable!” That describes these packages precisely.
Here’s my slightly-out-of-date cribsheet:
Extra unwanted packages in new projects (collab, testing, rider and other junk):
https://discussions.unity.com/t/846703/2
Upgrades:
If you need packages and they’re not working, one easy solution is to make a new project, add the packages there until they work, then copy the Packages/manifest.json file to your current project. This obviously assumes you are using source control and can instantly back out any and all changes!!
New project:
About the fastest way I have found to make a project and avoid all this noise is to create the project, then as soon as you see the files appear, FORCE-STOP (hard-kill) Unity (with the Activity Manager or Task Manager), then go hand-edit the Packages/manifest.json file as outlined in the above post, then reopen Unity.
Sometimes the package system gets borked from all this unnecessary churn and requires the package cache to be cleared:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/53145919/unity3d-package-cache-errors/69779122
I understand it. I’m like a Swiss Army knife trying to determine whether something can be developed on Unity. Even if you create a template, the assembly time and the size of the project folder discourage all interest.
Unity can do 100% of anything you want.
Push through it and use the links I posted above and it can steadily get faster.
If it helps, think of it as an arbitrary gatekeeper asking “are you good enough to use a modern game engine?”
I find:
Unity 2023.1.8f1\Editor\Data\Resources\PackageManager\Editor\manifest.json
And it contains text as:
"com.unity.ide.rider": {
"isDiscoverable": true,
"mustBeBundled": true,
"version": "3.0.24",
"introduced": "2019.2.0a12",
"minimumVersion": "3.0.24"
},
Maybe if replace to “mustBeBundled”: false it it will help
Except i can prove to you that unity says otherwise…https://issuetracker.unity3d.com/product/unity/issues/guid/HUBX-1022
I don’t get this attitude. You will spend far less than 1% of your time on creating projects, versus developing projects into games. Only the worst grist-mill mobile scam game studios pumping out zero-effort clicky games would even come near 1%, nevermind a meaningful portion of the time involved, and they surely just automate a search-and-replace tool.
I don’t get this attitude, either. Their complaint is about feelings, and you say you can prove them wrong.
well, to be fair it offers a bunch of options that the unity one does not. Such as when you say upgrade, it actually frigging doesnt and doesnt have the unity 20 pop ups confirming it… so, while I do agree a lot of these feel like things unity should have done, It also offers the option to have a script to run to do some in editor config once the project is made, such as make folders, fiddle with settings, add even assets (although it cant add them like you would from the store, so they then dont show up as in project) etc
No, I was showing unity dont want you to use templates
Looks like it really works. Absolutely for all projects. But it’s better to make a copy of the original file before making changes.
l can, of course, write a script that will be directly from the editor using the checkboxes to change these settings, but I’m too lazy. To fix that I use Notepad++.
CodeSmile has anyone on this forum told you that you are a very, very bad boy? 
Back to the original question: you can do this by creating a new Unity project via the command line:
Unity.exe -createProject D:\Projects\MyNewProject -upmNoDefaultPackages
Thanks for the answer!
A good option, but it suits me better to fix Editor\Data\Resources\PackageManager\Editor\manifest.json than to make a *.bat file or use CMD. manifest.json editing also works when exporting projects from old Unity versions.
Major annoyance.
I just made a lean project with no installed crap, and i just git clone from it when I start a new project.
Also, Rider should not be there because that is basically an ad for Jetbrains Rider.
I can only recommend trying out Unity 6. Many of the unnecessary packages are no longer installed by default, and those annoying „feature packages“ have also been redesigned.
And Visual Studio package is an Ad for Microsoft Visual Studio? 
Seriously, anyone who earns money via Unity has got to use Rider, and a lot of us actually do. VS simply has an absolutely barebones Unity integration in comparison to Rider. For Microsoft, Unity devs are a small, fringe userbase and that shows.
One other alternative (to have empty project, without extra packages) :
- Create empty folder like MyProject/
- Create empty Assets/ folder under it,
- Then open that folder (where assets folder is visible) with Hub and you get empty project.
*Personally i use this script to init new projects:
(to remove/add my required packages, setup project settings and create folders etc. all in 1 click)
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