diff --git a/minimal-image/config.sh b/minimal-image/config.sh
index 60c0856bee..41533dc60a 100644
--- a/minimal-image/config.sh
+++ b/minimal-image/config.sh
@@ -24,6 +24,13 @@ if rpm -q compat-usrmerge-tools; then
     rpm -e compat-usrmerge-tools
 fi
 
+# don't have duplicate licenses of the same type
+jdupes -1 -L -r /usr/share/licenses
+rpm -e jdupes
+
+# Will be recreated by the next rpm(1) run as root user
+rm -v /usr/lib/sysimage/rpm/Index.db
+
 
 #=======================================
 # Clean up after zypper if it is present
diff --git a/minimal-image/minimal-image.changes b/minimal-image/minimal-image.changes
index b342df2732..46d244e207 100644
--- a/minimal-image/minimal-image.changes
+++ b/minimal-image/minimal-image.changes
@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+Wed Apr  9 18:36:22 UTC 2025 - SUSE Update Bot <bci-internal@suse.de>
+
+- reduce image size via hardlinks
+
 -------------------------------------------------------------------
 Wed Jan  1 14:14:20 UTC 2025 - SUSE Update Bot <bci-internal@suse.de>
 
diff --git a/minimal-image/minimal-image.kiwi b/minimal-image/minimal-image.kiwi
index dd670af8a9..d0277efd69 100644
--- a/minimal-image/minimal-image.kiwi
+++ b/minimal-image/minimal-image.kiwi
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ You can contact the BCI team via https://github.com/SUSE/bci/discussions
     <specification>SLE BCI 15 SP7 Minimal Container Image</specification>
   </description>
   <preferences>
-    <type image="docker" derived_from="obsrepositories:/bci/bci-micro#15.7">
+    <type image="docker">
       <containerconfig
           name="bci/bci-minimal"
           tag="%OS_VERSION_ID_SP%-%RELEASE%"
@@ -69,7 +69,12 @@ You can contact the BCI team via https://github.com/SUSE/bci/discussions
     <package name="libzio1"/>
   </packages>
   <packages type="bootstrap">
+    <package name="bash"/>
+    <package name="ca-certificates-mozilla-prebuilt"/>
+    <package name="coreutils"/>
+    <package name="skelcd-EULA-bci"/>
     <package name="sles-release"/>
+    <package name="jdupes"/>
     <package name="rpm-ndb"/>
     <package name="perl-base"/>
   </packages>