Remember the Emacs config file is not a configuration file: it is actually a program that's run as Emacs starts. You can do all sorts of interesting stuff (like installing missing packages, setting font size according to the screen, etc) on it.

Well config vs program is a deep debate. Now J.Wiegley extension brings some resemblance of semantics because it has a few concepts and steps instead of free form imperative (setq ...)

I love use-package, has made my emacs init.el config file sooooo much more maintainable from its prior... lets just say mess.

Some people, smart and famous, still use vanilla emacs config/loading mechanisms (ensuring lazy loading).

I now use req-package so I don't even have to download anything.

I do miss the old style of one file per "kind" though. Doesn't mean use-package is bad but somehow I like having a FS-level idea of my emacs config.

I'm one of those weirdos that sticks my config into org mode files too.

https://github.com/mitchty/dotfiles/blob/master/emacs.org

(actually i use org mode to compile all of my dot files based on predicates, i'm double plus weird here >.<)

I really rather like this way of working with things as it just sticks stuff into ~/.emacs.d/elpa. I can rsync that around if i need/want. And it even bootstraps itself if i'm opening things on a new system. I just like keeping each package in its own use-package declaration so I can have config+setup all in one spot.

I planned to do that too. Having a readable.. even story tellable code instead of a too succint result of brain sweat.

I might try to make one from scratch using yours as an inspiration. Just to see how my mindset evolved along the years.

Go for it, its mostly inspired from nix in how I set it up. I can just run make and create dot files for whatever I need then rsync it over to where I need it.

Aka I can customize my dot files based on if i'm going to a bsd/mac/linux box with(out)/nix/perl/haskell/git/whatever and have an easy way to copy things over the top of things or not.

I declared dot file bankruptcy a few years ago and this is my "perpetual penultimate dot file solution" (yes I'm making a joke at my own expense with penultimate here).

But this new setup is easily the most sane I've found so far. Most dot file management uses softlinks which sucks for rsyncing, or some hokey templating language.

All mine amounts to is just a stupid .el file that holds predicate definitions that just controls via stupid elisp when an org babel block gets tangled out into a file. Its pretty simple and straightforward. Wonder if I should do some sort of show and tell for it or not.

Good luck! Hope it helps or inspires something better.