AC Series Recommended Software and Utilities

The best method of owning, managing, having, using, ...whatever, an OpenWRT based router it to have the OpenWRT OS stored on some type of USB Flash drive, mSATA, NVME, NGFF, or other type of external drive / SSD etc that utilizes the OpenWRT /overlay functionality (look it up, it's quite useful).

...but, when the router is turned on, it's still booting from code stored on the built in "Disk Drive", AKA NAND. So an interesting question comes up: If the external drive fails, what should be installed on the NAND 'Drive'. Well, to start with, anything that is necessary for the "Overlay Functionality" (look it up on the OpenWRT site). But if it's booting to an external drive that's using the /overlay functionality, then it's already installed. Beyond that?

1) Anything (configuration / software) that allows the router to still provide internet access (albeit, possibly in a reduced functionality fashion)

2) Any useful software, utilities, or other tools that would allow one to fix whatever is wrong with the external drive. That includes backup and restoration software too.

Here's the list (everything will fit on a WRT32X and WRT3200ACM, but it will be a tight squeeze on the lower end AC Series)

Disk Utilities

opkg install blkid block-mount cfdisk dosfstools dumpe2fs e2fsprogs f2fs-tools f2fsck fdisk file fstools gdisk hdparm kmod-fs-exfat kmod-fs-ext4 kmod-fs-f2fs kmod-fs-vfat kmod-usb-storage kmod-usb2 kmod-usb3 lsblk mkf2fs ntfs-3g ntfs-3g-utils sfdisk tune2fs usbutils wipefs

blkid
block-mount
cfdisk
dosfstools
dumpe2fs
e2fsprogs
f2fs-tools
f2fsck
fdisk
file
fstools
gdisk
hdparm
kmod-fs-exfat
kmod-fs-ext4
kmod-fs-f2fs
kmod-fs-vfat
kmod-usb-storage
kmod-usb2
kmod-usb3
lsblk
mkf2fs
ntfs-3g
ntfs-3g-utils
sfdisk
tune2fs
usbutils
wipefs

Other Utilities

opkg install ar attr bash busybox bzip2 grep gzip htop iftop ipset losetup lsof luci-app-advanced-reboot luci-app-samba4 luci-app-uhttpd nano netcat nmap pciutils resolveip restic samba4-admin samba4-client samba4-libs samba4-server samba4-utils socat ss swconfig tar tcpdump ubi-utils uboot-envtools wget xz xz-utils zlib

ar 
attr 
bash 
busybox 
bzip2 
grep 
gzip 
htop 
iftop 
ipset 
losetup 
lsof 
luci-app-advanced-reboot 
luci-app-samba4 
luci-app-uhttpd 
nano 
netcat 
nmap 
pciutils 
resolveip 
restic 
samba4-admin 
samba4-client 
samba4-libs 
samba4-server 
samba4-utils 
socat 
ss 
swconfig 
tar 
tcpdump 
ubi-utils 
uboot-envtools 
wget 
xz 
xz-utils 
zlib 
zoneinfo-core 
zoneinfo-northamerica

Wildcard - All of the Utilities

opkg install WhatEver* Nope, won't work

This will;

opkg list | grep WhatEverNamePackagesBeginWith| awk '{print $1}' | xargs opkg install

opkg list | grep coreutils-| awk '{print $1}' | xargs opkg install

opkg list | grep shadow| awk '{print $1}' | xargs opkg install

opkg list | grep procps| awk '{print $1}' | xargs opkg install

The OpenWRT documentation states: "Full versions of standard shadow utilities. Normally, you would not…" And that's it. Let's finish that: Full versions of standard shadow utilities. Normally, you would not install, unless you want to actually succeed in accomplishing the task you need to complete. (That sounds a bit mean, and it isn't intended that way. There's always a compromise that has to be made in terms of space and functionality when choosing all the options for utilities to cram into BusyBox).

Remember, some of the above noted utilities are the full version of the utility. A smaller / 'neutered' version of the command / utility may be included within the BusyBox software (again, look it up).

...and finally Samba. It is quite useful in moving files around quickly, but it takes up a LOT of space. The WRT32X and WRT3200ACM (to a lesser degree than the 32X) can spare the space, but probably not the lower end AC routers. So this will be the item to leave off as it has the biggest storage footprint.