You can backup your config files before editing them, like this:
cp configbeingedited.conf configbeingedited.conf__orig_datestring
This way, when things break or don’t function how you like, you can easily copy the original config file back into position, restoring the original functionality.
Some Zsh:
bak () { emulate -L zsh for 1 { cp -i $1 $1.bak ls -l $1 $1.bak } }
This is a clean way to make your own new command called ‘bak’, to automate making a second copy of the file.