Thank you! I might try this on some other things too. mpv is one tool I think handles a kind of similar thing nicely: it has a main config file for long term s

Thank you! I might try this on some other things too. mpv is one tool I think handles a kind of similar thing nicely: it has a main config file for long term settings, but also allows you to use Q instead of q to quit and save state (eg. playback position, speed, volume, etc.) in .config/mpv/watchlater/hashofurl (a separate file for each URL you play). htop could save the single-keypress-changeable settings in, say, .config/htop/viewstate and only keep the other stuff that’s buried in the setup menu in the htoprc