What does --minimal do in angular-cli `ng new`?

Currently as of 2018 Dec and with Angular cli 7.0.7, minimal option has been added back. It means Create a barebones project without any testing frameworks.

You can check angular cli version 7 document for the list of options.

Below is the list of options return by ng new --help command.

ng new --help 
arguments:
  name
    The name of the workspace.

options:
  --collection (-c)
    Schematics collection to use.
  --commit 
    Initial repository commit information.
  --create-application 
    Flag to toggle creation of an application in the new workspace.
  --defaults 
    When true, disables interactive input prompts for options with a default.
  --directory 
    The directory name to create the workspace in.
  --dry-run (-d)
    When true, run through and report activity without writing out results.
  --experimental-ivy 
    EXPERIMENTAL: Specifies whether to create a new application which uses the Ivy rendering engine.
  --force (-f)
    When true, force overwriting of existing files.
  --help 
    Shows a help message for this command in the console.
  --inline-style (-s)
    Specifies if the style will be in the ts file.
  --inline-template (-t)
    Specifies if the template will be in the ts file.
  --interactive 
    When false, disables interactive input prompts.
  --minimal 
    Create a barebones project without any testing frameworks
  --new-project-root 
    The path where new projects will be created.
  --prefix (-p)
    The prefix to apply to generated selectors.
  --routing 
    Generates a routing module.
  --skip-git (-g)
    Skip initializing a git repository.
  --skip-install 
    Skip installing dependency packages.
  --skip-tests (-S)
    Skip creating spec files.
  --style 
    The file extension to be used for style files.
  --verbose (-v)
    Adds more details to output logging.
  --view-encapsulation 
    Specifies the view encapsulation strategy.

As of Angular cli 6.0.8, minimal option seems to have been removed. You may have to run --skip-tests, --inline-style and --inline-template like the other answer suggests to get the minimal project.

According to angular cli wiki page, these are the options available
dry-run
force
verbose collection
inline-style
inline-template
view-encapsulation
routing
prefix
style
skip-tests
skip-package-json

If you run this command: ng new --help , you can see what options are available with Angular cli 6.0.8

usage: ng new <name> [options]  
options:  
  --collection (-c)  
    Schematics collection to use.  

--directory   
    The directory name to create the workspace in.  

--dryRun (-d)  
    Run through without making any changes.  

--force (-f)  
    Forces overwriting of files.  

--inline-style (-s)  
    Specifies if the style will be in the ts file.  

--inline-template (-t)  
    Specifies if the template will be in the ts file.  

--new-project-root   
    The path where new projects will be created.  

--prefix (-p)  
    The prefix to apply to generated selectors.  

--routing   
    Generates a routing module.  

--skip-git (-g)  
    Skip initializing a git repository.  

--skip-install   
    Skip installing dependency packages.  

--skip-tests (-S)  
    Skip creating spec files.  

--style   
    The file extension to be used for style files.  

--verbose (-v)  
    Adds more details to output logging.  

--view-encapsulation   
    Specifies the view encapsulation strategy.