diff --git a/documentation/tools/Containerfile.apt b/documentation/tools/Containerfile.apt
index 5e30b65eb8..a573786f06 100644
--- a/documentation/tools/Containerfile.apt
+++ b/documentation/tools/Containerfile.apt
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 ARG ARG_FROM=debian:12 # default value to avoid warning
 FROM $ARG_FROM
 
+ARG INCLUDE_ESSENTIAL_PACKAGES=0
+ARG ESSENTIAL=ubuntu_essential.sh
 ARG DOCS=ubuntu_docs.sh
 ARG DOCS_PDF=ubuntu_docs_pdf.sh
 
@@ -8,12 +10,14 @@ ENV DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
 ARG TZ=Europe/Vienna
 
 # relative to the location of the dockerfile
+COPY --chmod=777 ${ESSENTIAL} /temp/host_packages_essential.sh
 COPY --chmod=777 ${DOCS} /temp/host_packages_docs.sh
 COPY --chmod=777 ${DOCS_PDF} /temp/host_packages_docs_pdf.sh
 
 RUN ln -fs "/usr/share/zoneinfo/$TZ" /etc/localtime \
  && apt-get update \
  && apt-get install -y sudo \
+ && if [ "$INCLUDE_ESSENTIAL_PACKAGES" = "1" ]; then yes | /temp/host_packages_essential.sh; fi \
  && yes | /temp/host_packages_docs.sh \
  && yes | /temp/host_packages_docs_pdf.sh \
  && apt-get --yes autoremove \
diff --git a/documentation/tools/Containerfile.dnf b/documentation/tools/Containerfile.dnf
index 3dae744455..65c5267054 100644
--- a/documentation/tools/Containerfile.dnf
+++ b/documentation/tools/Containerfile.dnf
@@ -1,17 +1,21 @@
 ARG ARG_FROM=fedora:40 # default value to avoid warning
 FROM $ARG_FROM
 
+ARG INCLUDE_ESSENTIAL_PACKAGES=0
+ARG ESSENTIAL=fedora_essential.sh
 ARG DOCS=fedora_docs.sh
 ARG DOCS_PDF=fedora_docs_pdf.sh
 ARG PIP3=pip3_docs.sh
 
 # relative to the location of the dockerfile
+COPY --chmod=777 ${ESSENTIAL} /temp/host_packages_essential.sh
 COPY --chmod=777 ${DOCS} /temp/host_packages_docs.sh
 COPY --chmod=777 ${DOCS_PDF} /temp/host_packages_docs_pdf.sh
 COPY --chmod=777 ${PIP3} /temp/pip3_docs.sh
 
 RUN dnf update -y \
  && dnf install -y sudo \
+ && if [ "$INCLUDE_ESSENTIAL_PACKAGES" = "1" ]; then yes | /temp/host_packages_essential.sh; fi \
  && yes | /temp/host_packages_docs.sh \
  && yes | /temp/host_packages_docs_pdf.sh \
  && yes | /temp/pip3_docs.sh \
diff --git a/documentation/tools/Containerfile.zypper b/documentation/tools/Containerfile.zypper
index f27ad1b476..3850b9ff9e 100644
--- a/documentation/tools/Containerfile.zypper
+++ b/documentation/tools/Containerfile.zypper
@@ -1,11 +1,14 @@
 ARG ARG_FROM=opensuse/leap:15.4 # default value to avoid warning
 FROM $ARG_FROM
 
+ARG INCLUDE_ESSENTIAL_PACKAGES=0
+ARG ESSENTIAL=opensuse_essential.sh
 ARG DOCS=opensuse_docs.sh
 ARG DOCS_PDF=opensuse_docs_pdf.sh
 ARG PIP3=pip3_docs.sh
 
 # relative to the location of the dockerfile
+COPY --chmod=777 ${ESSENTIAL} /temp/host_packages_essential.sh
 COPY --chmod=777 ${DOCS} /temp/host_packages_docs.sh
 COPY --chmod=777 ${DOCS_PDF} /temp/host_packages_docs_pdf.sh
 COPY --chmod=777 ${PIP3} /temp/pip3_docs.sh
@@ -20,6 +23,7 @@ RUN for script in /temp/*.sh; do \
 
 RUN zypper update -y \
  && zypper install -y sudo \
+ && if [ "$INCLUDE_ESSENTIAL_PACKAGES" = "1" ]; then yes | /temp/host_packages_essential.sh; fi \
  && yes | /temp/host_packages_docs.sh \
  && yes | /temp/host_packages_docs_pdf.sh \
  && yes | /temp/pip3_docs.sh \
diff --git a/documentation/tools/build-docs-container b/documentation/tools/build-docs-container
index 70e05f295f..615e83d6cf 100755
--- a/documentation/tools/build-docs-container
+++ b/documentation/tools/build-docs-container
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ SCRIPT_DIR=$(cd -- "$(dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" &>/dev/null && pwd)
 CONTAINERCMD=${CONTAINERCMD:-docker}
 DOCS_DIR="$SCRIPT_DIR/../.."
 SH_DIR="$SCRIPT_DIR/host_packages_scripts"
+INCLUDE_ESSENTIAL_PACKAGES=${INCLUDE_ESSENTIAL_PACKAGES:-0}
 
 function usage()
 {
@@ -49,6 +50,16 @@ $0 OCI_IMAGE [make arguments...]
    documentation/Makefile, see that file for what's supported. This is typically
    intended to be used to provide specific make targets.
    Default: publish
+
+   Environment variables:
+
+   - CONTAINERCMD can be set to 'docker' or 'podman' to select the
+     container engine (default: 'docker').
+
+   - INCLUDE_ESSENTIAL_PACKAGES can be set to 0 or 1 to also include essential
+     packages listed in documentation/tools/host_packages_scripts/*_essential.sh.
+     This is not required to build the documentation but can be useful to validate
+     the installation of packages listed in these files (default: 0).
 "
 }
 
@@ -85,6 +96,7 @@ main ()
     "debian:12"*|\
     "debian:13"*)
       containerfile=Containerfile.debian
+      essential=ubuntu_essential.sh
       docs=ubuntu_docs.sh
       docs_pdf=ubuntu_docs_pdf.sh
       ;;
@@ -93,6 +105,7 @@ main ()
     "fedora:41"*|\
     "fedora:42"*)
       containerfile=Containerfile.fedora
+      essential=fedora_essential.sh
       docs=fedora_docs.sh
       docs_pdf=fedora_docs_pdf.sh
       pip3=pip3_docs.sh
@@ -119,6 +132,7 @@ main ()
     # "leap:15.6"*)
       image=opensuse/leap:$version
       containerfile=Containerfile.zypper
+      essential=opensuse_essential.sh
       docs=opensuse_docs.sh
       docs_pdf=opensuse_docs_pdf.sh
       pip3=pip3_docs.sh
@@ -129,6 +143,7 @@ main ()
     "ubuntu:24.04"*|\
     "ubuntu:25.04"*)
       containerfile=Containerfile.ubuntu
+      essential=ubuntu_essential.sh
       docs=ubuntu_docs.sh
       docs_pdf=ubuntu_docs_pdf.sh
       ;;
@@ -142,6 +157,8 @@ main ()
   $OCI build \
     --tag "yocto-docs-$sanitized_dockername:latest" \
     --build-arg ARG_FROM="docker.io/$image" \
+    --build-arg INCLUDE_ESSENTIAL_PACKAGES="${INCLUDE_ESSENTIAL_PACKAGES}" \
+    --build-arg ESSENTIAL="$essential" \
     --build-arg DOCS="$docs" \
     --build-arg DOCS_PDF="$docs_pdf" \
     --build-arg PIP3="${pip3:-}" \