diff --git a/usr.sbin/bsdinstall/scripts/pkgbase.in b/usr.sbin/bsdinstall/scripts/pkgbase.in
--- a/usr.sbin/bsdinstall/scripts/pkgbase.in
+++ b/usr.sbin/bsdinstall/scripts/pkgbase.in
@@ -77,20 +77,24 @@
 -- traditional tarball component selection dialog.
 local function select_components(components, options)
 	local descriptions = {
-		kernel_dbg = "Kernel debug info",
-		base_dbg = "Base system debug info",
-		src = "System source tree",
-		tests = "Test suite",
-		lib32 = "32-bit compatibility libraries",
-		lib32_dbg = "32-bit compatibility libraries debug info",
+		["kernel-dbg"] = "Kernel debug info",
+		["minimal"] = "The minimal multi-user system (required)",
+		["devel"] = "C/C++ compilers and related utilities",
+		["base"] = "The complete base system (includes minimal and devel)",
+		["src"] = "System source tree",
+		["tests"] = "Test suite",
+		["lib32"] = "32-bit compatibility libraries",
+		["debug"] = "Debug symbols for the selected components",
 	}
 	local defaults = {
-		kernel_dbg = "on",
-		base_dbg = "off",
-		src = "off",
-		tests = "off",
-		lib32 = "on",
-		lib32_dbg = "off",
+		["kernel-dbg"] = "off",
+		["minimal"] = "on",
+		["devel"] = "off",
+		["base"] = "off",
+		["src"] = "off",
+		["tests"] = "off",
+		["lib32"] = "off",
+		["debug"] = "off",
 	}
 
 	-- Sorting the components is necessary to ensure that the ordering is
@@ -103,9 +107,8 @@
 
 	local checklist_items = {}
 	for _, component in ipairs(sorted_components) do
-		if component ~= "base" and component ~= "kernel" and
-		    not (component == "kernel_dbg" and options.no_kernel) and
-		    #components[component] > 0 then
+		if component ~= "kernel" and not
+		    (component == "kernel-dbg" and options.no_kernel) then
 			local description = descriptions[component] or "''"
 			local default = defaults[component]  or "off"
 			table.insert(checklist_items, component)
@@ -120,7 +123,7 @@
 		"--nocancel",
 		"--disable-esc",
 		"--separate-output",
-		"--checklist", "Choose optional system components to install:",
+		"--checklist", "Choose system components to install:",
 		"0", "0", "0", -- autosize
 	}
 	append_list(bsddialog_args, checklist_items)
@@ -132,10 +135,12 @@
 	-- hopefully useful stack trace.
 	assert(exit_code == 0)
 
-	local selected = {"base"}
+	local selected = {}
+
 	if not options.no_kernel then
 		table.insert(selected, "kernel")
 	end
+
 	for component in output:gmatch("[^\n]+") do
 		table.insert(selected, component)
 	end
@@ -146,17 +151,18 @@
 -- Returns a list of pkgbase packages selected by the user
 local function select_packages(pkg, options)
 	local components = {
-		kernel = {},
-		kernel_dbg = {},
-		base = {},
-		base_dbg = {},
-		src = {},
-		tests = {},
+		["kernel"] = {},
+		["kernel-dbg"] = {},
+		["devel"] = {},
+		["base"] = {},
+		["minimal"] = {},
+		["src"] = {},
+		["tests"] = {},
+		["debug"] = {},
 	}
 
 	for compat in all_libcompats:gmatch("%S+") do
 		components["lib" .. compat] = {}
-		components["lib" .. compat .. "_dbg"] = {}
 	end
 
 	local rquery = capture(pkg .. "rquery -U -r FreeBSD-base %n")
@@ -172,40 +178,82 @@
 			if package == "FreeBSD-kernel-generic" then
 				table.insert(components["kernel"], package)
 			elseif package == "FreeBSD-kernel-generic-dbg" then
-				table.insert(components["kernel_dbg"], package)
+				table.insert(components["kernel-dbg"], package)
 			end
-		elseif package:match(".*%-dbg$") then
-			table.insert(components["base_dbg"], package)
+		elseif package:match("^FreeBSD%-set%-minimal$") then
+			table.insert(components["minimal"], package)
+		elseif package:match("^FreeBSD%-set%-devel$") then
+			table.insert(components["devel"], package)
+		elseif package:match("^FreeBSD%-set%-base$") then
+			table.insert(components["base"], package)
 		else
 			local found = false
 			for compat in all_libcompats:gmatch("%S+") do
-				if package:match(".*%-dbg%-lib" .. compat .. "$") then
-					table.insert(components["lib" .. compat .. "_dbg"], package)
-					found = true
-					break
-				elseif package:match(".*%-lib" .. compat .. "$") then
+				if package:match("^FreeBSD%-set%-lib"..compat.."$") then
 					table.insert(components["lib" .. compat], package)
-					found = true
 					break
 				end
 			end
-			if not found then
-				table.insert(components["base"], package)
-			end
 		end
 	end
+
 	-- Don't assert the existence of dbg, tests, and src packages here. If using
 	-- a custom local repository with BSDINSTALL_PKG_REPOS_DIR we shouldn't
 	-- require it to have all packages.
 	assert(#components["kernel"] == 1)
-	assert(#components["base"] > 0)
+	assert(#components["minimal"] == 0 or #components["minimal"] == 1)
+	assert(#components["devel"] == 0 or #components["devel"] == 1)
+	assert(#components["base"] == 0 or #components["base"] == 1)
+
+	local selected = nil
+	while not selected do
+		local proposal = select_components(components, options)
+		local have_minimal = false
+
+		-- Either minimal or base are required, or the installed system
+		-- won't be functional.
+		for _, c in ipairs(proposal) do
+			if c == "base" or c == "minimal" then
+				have_minimal = true
+				break
+			end
+		end
 
-	local selected = {}
-	for _, component in ipairs(select_components(components, options)) do
-		append_list(selected, components[component])
+		if not have_minimal then
+			bsddialog{
+				"--backtitle", "FreeBSD Installer",
+				"--title", "Error",
+				"--nocancel",
+				"--disable-esc",
+				"--msgbox",
+				"One of the 'base' or 'minimal' components is required.",
+				"0", "0"
+			}
+		else
+			selected = proposal
+		end
 	end
 
-	return selected
+	local debug = false
+	for _, component in ipairs(selected) do
+		if component == "debug" then
+			debug = true
+			break
+		end
+	end
+
+	local packages = {}
+	for _, component in ipairs(selected) do
+		local pkglist = components[component]
+		append_list(packages, pkglist)
+		for _, c in ipairs(pkglist) do
+			if debug and c:match("^FreeBSD%-set%-") then
+				append_list(packages, {c.."-dbg"})
+			end
+		end
+	end
+
+	return packages
 end
 
 local function parse_options()