i think #OpenWRT is in denial about not being an #immutable distro.

like you *can* directly edit the config files and you *can* write whatever you want to /usr/bin but they really encourage you to use the package manager and UCI (Universal Configuration Interface)

the reason for this is OpenWRT's horrifying upgrade process. it uploads its entire configuration (package list + UCI config) to a buildbot somewhere maintained by the OpenWRT organization, which then builds a squashfs containing the new version of openwrt plus all your packages and config, downloads that squashfs into the BROWSER THAT HAS THE WEBUI OPEN FROM WHICH THE UPGRADE WAS INITIATED, THEN UPLOADS IT VIA JAVASCRIPT TO THE ROUTER, OVERWRITING THE ENTIRE EXISTING CONTENTS OF THE FLASH. Nothing you had outside of apk+uci will be preserved.

Just officially make it immutable at that point