The Accidental Complexity of Configuration Files

Configuration files are meant to simplify systems, but they often do the opposite. Over time, quick fixes, legacy options, and environment-specific overrides pile up, turning simple settings into fragile, opaque structures. The result is accidental complexity: behaviour that’s hard to predict, harder to debug, and risky to change. Taming it requires discipline—clear defaults, minimal options, and regular pruning—so configuration supports the system instead of quietly undermining it.