Thanks for all the details. "A" can't really be checked into git due to size, and doesn't allow for forward config changes, just rollbacks. Do B1 or B2 allow up

Thanks for all the details. "A" can't really be checked into git due to size, and doesn't allow for forward config changes, just rollbacks. Do B1 or B2 allow updates to an existing system? C so far seems the closest to Nix, though it's missing the configuration side. I used D before and frankly Ansible is not great. It is meant to be idempotent but has so many holes that it never really is, and because it's a separate layer from the system itself, the scripts might not work after a system upgrade. With Nix, the config IS the system. E sounds interesting, never heard of it - sounds like you saying it's not suitable for personal use though for some reason.