Many datacentres offer a ‘minimal’ distro:
The minimal images generally contain no software other than SSH, allowing an unlimited scope for creativity.
Operating System Versions Arch Linux latest Minimal (64-Bit) CentOS 6.10 Minimal (64-Bit) CentOS 7.7 Minimal (64-Bit) CentOS 8.1 Minimal (64-Bit) Debian 8.11 (Jessie) Minimal (64-Bit) Debian 9.12 (Stretch) Minimal (64-Bit) Debian 10.3 (Buster) Minimal and LAMP (64-Bit) Ubuntu 16.04.5 LTS (Xenial Xerus) Minimal (64-Bit) Ubuntu 18.04.4 LTS (Bionic Beaver) Minimal and Nextcloud (64-Bit) Ubuntu 19.04 (Disco Dingo) Minimal (64-Bit) Ubuntu 19.10 (Eoan Ermine) Minimal (64-Bit) Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa) Minimal (64-Bit)
EG: https://docs.hetzner.com/robot/dedicated-server/operating-systems/standard-images/