Programs with custom services, virtual environments, config files in different locations, programs creating datas in different location…
I know today a lot of stuff runs in docker, but how does a sysadmin remember what has done on its system? Is it all about documenting and keeping your docs updated? Is there any other way?
(Eg. For installing calibre-web I had to create a python venv, the venv is owned by root in /, but the service starting calibre web in /etc/systemd/system needs to be executed with the User=<user> specifier because calibre web wants to write in a user home directory, at the same time the database folder needs to be owned by www-data because I want to r/w it from nextcloud… So calibreweb is installed as a custom root(?) program, running in a virtual env, can access a folder owned by someone else, but still needs to be executed by another user to store its data there… )
Despite my current confusion in understanding if all of this is right in terms of security, syntax and ownership, No fucking way I will remember all this stuff in a week from now… So… What do you use to do, if you do something? Do you use flowcharts? Simple text documents? Both?
Essentially, how do you keep track?
Follow some basic rules so as to avoid making the mess.
Only install standard packages from distro’s repository and Python’s pseudo-official PIP. For both, keep a text file with the installed package names. No compiling from source EVER. Too much hassle to maintain.
Back up config files that I changed. Not all of them.
Keep a text file to record what I did, with exact commands etc, whenever I need to go off-road. Much experience taught me that this is a chore that is very much worth the effort.
But still, the problem you point to is real. It’s the reason for immutable distros. The idea of which I find quite tempting.