[kloud]

When a complex system cannot be meaningfully reduced, another approach might be trying to reduce scope.

Current areas include managing services on a server, managing a single-user laptop, and enterprise features for fleet of devices/users.

There is some overlap at the core where sharing code is useful, but it feels way more complexity than needed gets shipped to my laptop. I wonder how much could be shaved off when focusing only on a single scenario.

[skydhash]

I like openrc for laptop or workstation. Writing service is as easy as writing a systemd files (with less options of course, but I never really wanted those).

[marcosdumay]

Yet another approach is exposing internal state.

That way you turn a very complex system into a set of much simpler artificial systems that you can control the interaction.

On your example, that would mean having different kinds of configuration options that go for each of those scenarios, but still all on the same software.

One can argue that systemd tries this (for example, there are many kinds of services). But in many cases, it does the complete opposite of this and reducing scope.

Still, I don't think init systems are a wicked problem (and so, it doesn't need advanced solutions to managing complexity). The wickedness is caused by the systemd's decision to do everything.