diff --git a/src/libcmd/common-eval-args.cc b/src/libcmd/common-eval-args.cc
index decadd751cc..fc75f047f4b 100644
--- a/src/libcmd/common-eval-args.cc
+++ b/src/libcmd/common-eval-args.cc
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 #include "registry.hh"
 #include "flake/flakeref.hh"
 #include "flake/settings.hh"
-#include "store-api.hh"
+#include "store-open.hh"
 #include "command.hh"
 #include "tarball.hh"
 #include "fetch-to-store.hh"
diff --git a/src/libcmd/repl.cc b/src/libcmd/repl.cc
index b5d0816dd2c..4dd41ca663d 100644
--- a/src/libcmd/repl.cc
+++ b/src/libcmd/repl.cc
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 #include "eval-settings.hh"
 #include "attr-path.hh"
 #include "signals.hh"
-#include "store-api.hh"
+#include "store-open.hh"
 #include "log-store.hh"
 #include "common-eval-args.hh"
 #include "get-drvs.hh"
@@ -635,7 +635,7 @@ ProcessLineResult NixRepl::processLine(std::string line)
                 // When missing, trigger the normal exception
                 // e.g. :doc builtins.foo
                 // behaves like
-                // nix-repl> builtins.foo      
+                // nix-repl> builtins.foo
                 // error: attribute 'foo' missing
                 evalString(arg, v);
                 assert(false);
diff --git a/src/libstore/binary-cache-store.cc b/src/libstore/binary-cache-store.cc
index e8c8892b337..4adc599007e 100644
--- a/src/libstore/binary-cache-store.cc
+++ b/src/libstore/binary-cache-store.cc
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 #include "callback.hh"
 #include "signals.hh"
 #include "archive.hh"
+#include "config-parse-impl.hh"
 
 #include <chrono>
 #include <future>
@@ -24,9 +25,74 @@
 
 namespace nix {
 
-BinaryCacheStore::BinaryCacheStore(const Params & params)
-    : BinaryCacheStoreConfig(params)
-    , Store(params)
+BinaryCacheStore::Config::Descriptions::Descriptions()
+    : Store::Config::Descriptions{Store::Config::descriptions}
+    , BinaryCacheStoreConfigT<config::SettingInfo>{
+        .compression = {
+            .name = "compression",
+            .description = "NAR compression method (`xz`, `bzip2`, `gzip`, `zstd`, or `none`).",
+        },
+        .writeNARListing = {
+            .name = "write-nar-listing",
+            .description = "Whether to write a JSON file that lists the files in each NAR.",
+        },
+        .writeDebugInfo = {
+            .name = "index-debug-info",
+            .description = R"(
+              Whether to index DWARF debug info files by build ID. This allows [`dwarffs`](https://github.com/edolstra/dwarffs) to
+              fetch debug info on demand
+            )",
+        },
+        .secretKeyFile{
+            .name = "secret-key",
+            .description = "Path to the secret key used to sign the binary cache.",
+        },
+        .localNarCache{
+            .name = "local-nar-cache",
+            .description = "Path to a local cache of NARs fetched from this binary cache, used by commands such as `nix store cat`.",
+        },
+        .parallelCompression{
+            .name = "parallel-compression",
+            .description = "Enable multi-threaded compression of NARs. This is currently only available for `xz` and `zstd`.",
+        },
+        .compressionLevel{
+            .name = "compression-level",
+            .description = R"(
+              The *preset level* to be used when compressing NARs.
+              The meaning and accepted values depend on the compression method selected.
+              `-1` specifies that the default compression level should be used.
+            )",
+        },
+    }
+{}
+
+const BinaryCacheStore::Config::Descriptions BinaryCacheStore::Config::descriptions{};
+
+decltype(BinaryCacheStore::Config::defaults) BinaryCacheStore::Config::defaults = {
+    .compression = {"xz"},
+    .writeNARListing{false},
+    .writeDebugInfo{false},
+    .secretKeyFile{""},
+    .localNarCache{""},
+    .parallelCompression{false},
+    .compressionLevel{-1},
+};
+
+BinaryCacheStore::Config::BinaryCacheStoreConfig(const StoreReference::Params & params)
+    : StoreConfig{params}
+    , BinaryCacheStoreConfigT<config::JustValue>{
+        CONFIG_ROW(compression),
+        CONFIG_ROW(secretKeyFile),
+        CONFIG_ROW(localNarCache),
+        CONFIG_ROW(parallelCompression),
+        CONFIG_ROW(compressionLevel),
+    }
+{
+}
+
+BinaryCacheStore::BinaryCacheStore(const Config & config)
+    : Config{config}
+    , Store{static_cast<const Store::Config &>(*this)}
 {
     if (secretKeyFile != "")
         signer = std::make_unique<LocalSigner>(
diff --git a/src/libstore/binary-cache-store.hh b/src/libstore/binary-cache-store.hh
index 234c39caf3a..27d7a845ab7 100644
--- a/src/libstore/binary-cache-store.hh
+++ b/src/libstore/binary-cache-store.hh
@@ -13,48 +13,46 @@ namespace nix {
 
 struct NarInfo;
 
-struct BinaryCacheStoreConfig : virtual StoreConfig
+template<template<typename> class F>
+struct BinaryCacheStoreConfigT
 {
-    using StoreConfig::StoreConfig;
-
-    const Setting<std::string> compression{this, "xz", "compression",
-        "NAR compression method (`xz`, `bzip2`, `gzip`, `zstd`, or `none`)."};
-
-    const Setting<bool> writeNARListing{this, false, "write-nar-listing",
-        "Whether to write a JSON file that lists the files in each NAR."};
-
-    const Setting<bool> writeDebugInfo{this, false, "index-debug-info",
-        R"(
-          Whether to index DWARF debug info files by build ID. This allows [`dwarffs`](https://github.com/edolstra/dwarffs) to
-          fetch debug info on demand
-        )"};
+    const F<std::string> compression;
+    const F<bool> writeNARListing;
+    const F<bool> writeDebugInfo;
+    const F<Path> secretKeyFile;
+    const F<Path> localNarCache;
+    const F<bool> parallelCompression;
+    const F<int> compressionLevel;
+};
 
-    const Setting<Path> secretKeyFile{this, "", "secret-key",
-        "Path to the secret key used to sign the binary cache."};
+struct BinaryCacheStoreConfig :
+    virtual Store::Config,
+    BinaryCacheStoreConfigT<config::JustValue>
+{
+    struct Descriptions :
+        virtual Store::Config::Descriptions,
+        BinaryCacheStoreConfigT<config::SettingInfo>
+    {
+        Descriptions();
+    };
 
-    const Setting<Path> localNarCache{this, "", "local-nar-cache",
-        "Path to a local cache of NARs fetched from this binary cache, used by commands such as `nix store cat`."};
+    static const Descriptions descriptions;
 
-    const Setting<bool> parallelCompression{this, false, "parallel-compression",
-        "Enable multi-threaded compression of NARs. This is currently only available for `xz` and `zstd`."};
+    static BinaryCacheStoreConfigT<config::JustValue> defaults;
 
-    const Setting<int> compressionLevel{this, -1, "compression-level",
-        R"(
-          The *preset level* to be used when compressing NARs.
-          The meaning and accepted values depend on the compression method selected.
-          `-1` specifies that the default compression level should be used.
-        )"};
+    BinaryCacheStoreConfig(const StoreReference::Params &);
 };
 
-
 /**
  * @note subclasses must implement at least one of the two
  * virtual getFile() methods.
  */
-class BinaryCacheStore : public virtual BinaryCacheStoreConfig,
-    public virtual Store,
-    public virtual LogStore
+struct BinaryCacheStore :
+    virtual BinaryCacheStoreConfig,
+    virtual Store,
+    virtual LogStore
 {
+    using Config = BinaryCacheStoreConfig;
 
 private:
     std::unique_ptr<Signer> signer;
@@ -64,7 +62,7 @@ protected:
     // The prefix under which realisation infos will be stored
     const std::string realisationsPrefix = "realisations";
 
-    BinaryCacheStore(const Params & params);
+    BinaryCacheStore(const Config &);
 
 public:
 
diff --git a/src/libstore/build/substitution-goal.cc b/src/libstore/build/substitution-goal.cc
index 7deeb47487d..32189ca7ae5 100644
--- a/src/libstore/build/substitution-goal.cc
+++ b/src/libstore/build/substitution-goal.cc
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 #include "worker.hh"
+#include "store-open.hh"
 #include "substitution-goal.hh"
 #include "nar-info.hh"
 #include "finally.hh"
diff --git a/src/libstore/common-ssh-store-config.cc b/src/libstore/common-ssh-store-config.cc
index 05332b9bb5c..e1448b4b4eb 100644
--- a/src/libstore/common-ssh-store-config.cc
+++ b/src/libstore/common-ssh-store-config.cc
@@ -2,9 +2,45 @@
 
 #include "common-ssh-store-config.hh"
 #include "ssh.hh"
+#include "config-parse-impl.hh"
 
 namespace nix {
 
+CommonSSHStoreConfig::Descriptions::Descriptions()
+    : Store::Config::Descriptions{Store::Config::descriptions}
+    , CommonSSHStoreConfigT<config::SettingInfo>{
+        .sshKey{
+            .name = "ssh-key",
+            .description = "Path to the SSH private key used to authenticate to the remote machine.",
+        },
+        .sshPublicHostKey = {
+            .name = "base64-ssh-public-host-key",
+            .description = "The public host key of the remote machine.",
+        },
+        .compress = {
+            .name = "compress",
+            .description = "Whether to enable SSH compression.",
+        },
+        .remoteStore{
+            .name = "remote-store",
+            .description = R"(
+              [Store URL](@docroot@/store/types/index.md#store-url-format)
+              to be used on the remote machine. The default is `auto`
+              (i.e. use the Nix daemon or `/nix/store` directly).
+            )",
+        },
+    }
+{}
+
+const CommonSSHStoreConfig::Descriptions CommonSSHStoreConfig::descriptions{};
+
+decltype(CommonSSHStoreConfig::defaults) CommonSSHStoreConfig::defaults = {
+    .sshKey{""},
+    .sshPublicHostKey{""},
+    .compress{false},
+    .remoteStore{""},
+};
+
 static std::string extractConnStr(std::string_view scheme, std::string_view _connStr)
 {
     if (_connStr.empty())
@@ -22,8 +58,17 @@ static std::string extractConnStr(std::string_view scheme, std::string_view _con
     return connStr;
 }
 
-CommonSSHStoreConfig::CommonSSHStoreConfig(std::string_view scheme, std::string_view host, const Params & params)
-    : StoreConfig(params)
+CommonSSHStoreConfig::CommonSSHStoreConfig(
+    std::string_view scheme,
+    std::string_view host,
+    const StoreReference::Params & params)
+    : Store::Config(params)
+    , CommonSSHStoreConfigT<config::JustValue>{
+        CONFIG_ROW(sshKey),
+        CONFIG_ROW(sshPublicHostKey),
+        CONFIG_ROW(compress),
+        CONFIG_ROW(remoteStore),
+    }
     , host(extractConnStr(scheme, host))
 {
 }
diff --git a/src/libstore/common-ssh-store-config.hh b/src/libstore/common-ssh-store-config.hh
index 5deb6f4c9e9..4def51da0e5 100644
--- a/src/libstore/common-ssh-store-config.hh
+++ b/src/libstore/common-ssh-store-config.hh
@@ -7,27 +7,38 @@ namespace nix {
 
 class SSHMaster;
 
-struct CommonSSHStoreConfig : virtual StoreConfig
+template<template<typename> class F>
+struct CommonSSHStoreConfigT
 {
-    using StoreConfig::StoreConfig;
-
-    CommonSSHStoreConfig(std::string_view scheme, std::string_view host, const Params & params);
+    const F<Path> sshKey;
+    const F<std::string> sshPublicHostKey;
+    const F<bool> compress;
+    const F<std::string> remoteStore;
+};
 
-    const Setting<Path> sshKey{this, "", "ssh-key",
-        "Path to the SSH private key used to authenticate to the remote machine."};
+struct CommonSSHStoreConfig :
+    virtual Store::Config,
+    CommonSSHStoreConfigT<config::JustValue>
+{
+    struct Descriptions :
+        virtual Store::Config::Descriptions,
+        CommonSSHStoreConfigT<config::SettingInfo>
+    {
+        Descriptions();
+    };
 
-    const Setting<std::string> sshPublicHostKey{this, "", "base64-ssh-public-host-key",
-        "The public host key of the remote machine."};
+    static const Descriptions descriptions;
 
-    const Setting<bool> compress{this, false, "compress",
-        "Whether to enable SSH compression."};
+    static CommonSSHStoreConfigT<config::JustValue> defaults;
 
-    const Setting<std::string> remoteStore{this, "", "remote-store",
-        R"(
-          [Store URL](@docroot@/store/types/index.md#store-url-format)
-          to be used on the remote machine. The default is `auto`
-          (i.e. use the Nix daemon or `/nix/store` directly).
-        )"};
+    /**
+     * @param scheme Note this isn't stored by this mix-in class, but
+     * just used for better error messages.
+     */
+    CommonSSHStoreConfig(
+        std::string_view scheme,
+        std::string_view host,
+        const StoreReference::Params & params);
 
     /**
      * The `parseURL` function supports both IPv6 URIs as defined in
diff --git a/src/libstore/local-fs-store.cc b/src/libstore/local-fs-store.cc
index a8b23996159..12035c1efe7 100644
--- a/src/libstore/local-fs-store.cc
+++ b/src/libstore/local-fs-store.cc
@@ -33,15 +33,15 @@ LocalFSStore::Config::Descriptions::Descriptions()
 
 const LocalFSStore::Config::Descriptions LocalFSStore::Config::descriptions{};
 
-LocalFSStoreConfigT<config::JustValue> LocalFSStoreConfig::defaults(
+LocalFSStoreConfigT<config::JustValue> LocalFSStore::Config::defaults(
     const Store::Config & storeConfig,
     const std::optional<Path> rootDir)
 {
     return {
-        .rootDir = {.value = std::nullopt },
-        .stateDir = {.value = rootDir ? *rootDir + "/nix/var/nix" : settings.nixStateDir },
-        .logDir = {.value = rootDir ? *rootDir + "/nix/var/log/nix" : settings.nixLogDir },
-        .realStoreDir = {.value = rootDir ? *rootDir + "/nix/store" : storeConfig.storeDir },
+        .rootDir = {std::nullopt},
+        .stateDir = {rootDir ? *rootDir + "/nix/var/nix" : settings.nixStateDir},
+        .logDir = {rootDir ? *rootDir + "/nix/var/log/nix" : settings.nixLogDir},
+        .realStoreDir = {rootDir ? *rootDir + "/nix/store" : storeConfig.storeDir},
     };
 }
 
diff --git a/src/libstore/local-fs-store.hh b/src/libstore/local-fs-store.hh
index 654dd210f40..051e4494012 100644
--- a/src/libstore/local-fs-store.hh
+++ b/src/libstore/local-fs-store.hh
@@ -11,11 +11,8 @@ template<template<typename> class F>
 struct LocalFSStoreConfigT
 {
     const F<std::optional<Path>> rootDir;
-
     const F<Path> stateDir;
-
     const F<Path> logDir;
-
     const F<Path> realStoreDir;
 };
 
diff --git a/src/libstore/local-store.cc b/src/libstore/local-store.cc
index 2dfc78ebda3..aff70589d18 100644
--- a/src/libstore/local-store.cc
+++ b/src/libstore/local-store.cc
@@ -89,8 +89,8 @@ LocalStore::Config::Descriptions::Descriptions()
 const LocalStore::Config::Descriptions LocalStore::Config::descriptions{};
 
 decltype(LocalStore::Config::defaults) LocalStore::Config::defaults = {
-    .requireSigs = {.value = settings.requireSigs },
-    .readOnly = {.value = false },
+    .requireSigs = {settings.requireSigs},
+    .readOnly = {false},
 };
 
 LocalStore::Config::LocalStoreConfig(
diff --git a/src/libstore/local-store.hh b/src/libstore/local-store.hh
index 13e26922c0a..06e402f80f9 100644
--- a/src/libstore/local-store.hh
+++ b/src/libstore/local-store.hh
@@ -38,7 +38,6 @@ template<template<typename> class F>
 struct LocalStoreConfigT
 {
     const F<bool> requireSigs;
-
     const F<bool> readOnly;
 };
 
diff --git a/src/libstore/remote-fs-accessor.hh b/src/libstore/remote-fs-accessor.hh
index d09762a53c4..6946074affa 100644
--- a/src/libstore/remote-fs-accessor.hh
+++ b/src/libstore/remote-fs-accessor.hh
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ class RemoteFSAccessor : public SourceAccessor
 
     std::pair<ref<SourceAccessor>, CanonPath> fetch(const CanonPath & path);
 
-    friend class BinaryCacheStore;
+    friend struct BinaryCacheStore;
 
     Path makeCacheFile(std::string_view hashPart, const std::string & ext);
 
diff --git a/src/libstore/remote-store.cc b/src/libstore/remote-store.cc
index 6e8931ca2e4..30d1523b550 100644
--- a/src/libstore/remote-store.cc
+++ b/src/libstore/remote-store.cc
@@ -23,6 +23,24 @@
 
 namespace nix {
 
+#if 0
+    const Setting<int> maxConnections{this, 1, "max-connections",
+        "Maximum number of concurrent connections to the Nix daemon."};
+
+    const Setting<unsigned int> maxConnectionAge{this,
+        std::numeric_limits<unsigned int>::max(),
+        "max-connection-age",
+        "Maximum age of a connection before it is closed."};
+
+    const Setting<int> maxConnections{this, 1, "max-connections",
+        "Maximum number of concurrent connections to the Nix daemon."};
+
+    const Setting<unsigned int> maxConnectionAge{this,
+        std::numeric_limits<unsigned int>::max(),
+        "max-connection-age",
+        "Maximum age of a connection before it is closed."};
+#endif
+
 /* TODO: Separate these store types into different files, give them better names */
 RemoteStore::RemoteStore(const Params & params)
     : RemoteStoreConfig(params)
diff --git a/src/libstore/remote-store.hh b/src/libstore/remote-store.hh
index f19aa0fc57b..437c4aee734 100644
--- a/src/libstore/remote-store.hh
+++ b/src/libstore/remote-store.hh
@@ -18,17 +18,31 @@ struct FdSink;
 struct FdSource;
 template<typename T> class Pool;
 
-struct RemoteStoreConfig : virtual StoreConfig
+template<template<typename> class F>
+struct RemoteStoreConfigT
 {
-    using StoreConfig::StoreConfig;
+    const F<int> maxConnections;
 
-    const Setting<int> maxConnections{this, 1, "max-connections",
-        "Maximum number of concurrent connections to the Nix daemon."};
+    const F<unsigned int> maxConnectionAge;
+};
+
+struct RemoteStoreConfig :
+    virtual Store::Config,
+    RemoteStoreConfigT<config::JustValue>
+{
+    struct Descriptions :
+        virtual Store::Config::Descriptions,
+        RemoteStoreConfigT<config::SettingInfo>
+    {
+        Descriptions();
+    };
 
-    const Setting<unsigned int> maxConnectionAge{this,
-        std::numeric_limits<unsigned int>::max(),
-        "max-connection-age",
-        "Maximum age of a connection before it is closed."};
+    static const Descriptions descriptions;
+
+    /**
+     * The other defaults depend on the choice of `storeDir` and `rootDir`
+     */
+    static RemoteStoreConfigT<config::JustValue> defaults;
 };
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/libstore/store-api.cc b/src/libstore/store-api.cc
index c4bb9d594b0..b67faf38a5e 100644
--- a/src/libstore/store-api.cc
+++ b/src/libstore/store-api.cc
@@ -239,11 +239,11 @@ const Store::Config::Descriptions Store::Config::descriptions{};
 
 
 decltype(Store::Config::defaults) Store::Config::defaults = {
-    .pathInfoCacheSize = { .value = 65536 },
-    .isTrusted = { .value = false },
-    .priority = { .value = 0 },
-    .wantMassQuery = { .value = false },
-    .systemFeatures = { .value = Store::Config::getDefaultSystemFeatures() },
+    .pathInfoCacheSize = {65536},
+    .isTrusted = {false},
+    .priority = {0},
+    .wantMassQuery = {false},
+    .systemFeatures = {Store::Config::getDefaultSystemFeatures()},
 };
 
 
diff --git a/src/libstore/store-api.hh b/src/libstore/store-api.hh
index 09352e601ba..7e9a5fa53f5 100644
--- a/src/libstore/store-api.hh
+++ b/src/libstore/store-api.hh
@@ -100,13 +100,9 @@ template<template<typename> class F>
 struct StoreConfigT
 {
     const F<int> pathInfoCacheSize;
-
     const F<bool> isTrusted;
-
     F<int> priority;
-
     F<bool> wantMassQuery;
-
     F<StringSet> systemFeatures;
 };
 
diff --git a/src/libstore/store-dir-config.cc b/src/libstore/store-dir-config.cc
index a51962d7fa9..026a6cd9837 100644
--- a/src/libstore/store-dir-config.cc
+++ b/src/libstore/store-dir-config.cc
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ const StoreDirConfigT<config::SettingInfo> StoreDirConfig::descriptions = {
 };
 
 const StoreDirConfigT<config::JustValue> StoreDirConfig::defaults = {
-    ._storeDir = {.value = settings.nixStore},
+    ._storeDir = {settings.nixStore},
 };
 
 StoreDirConfig::StoreDirConfig(const StoreReference::Params & params)
diff --git a/src/libstore/uds-remote-store.hh b/src/libstore/uds-remote-store.hh
index a8e57166416..8d19ad5f5bc 100644
--- a/src/libstore/uds-remote-store.hh
+++ b/src/libstore/uds-remote-store.hh
@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@
 
 namespace nix {
 
-struct UDSRemoteStoreConfig : virtual LocalFSStoreConfig, virtual RemoteStoreConfig
+struct UDSRemoteStoreConfig :
+    virtual LocalFSStoreConfig,
+    virtual RemoteStoreConfig
 {
     // TODO(fzakaria): Delete this constructor once moved over to the factory pattern
     // outlined in https://github.com/NixOS/nix/issues/10766
@@ -34,7 +36,7 @@ struct UDSRemoteStoreConfig : virtual LocalFSStoreConfig, virtual RemoteStoreCon
      */
     Path path;
 
-protected:
+private:
     static constexpr char const * scheme = "unix";
 
 public:
@@ -42,24 +44,12 @@ public:
     { return {scheme}; }
 };
 
-class UDSRemoteStore : public virtual UDSRemoteStoreConfig
-    , public virtual IndirectRootStore
-    , public virtual RemoteStore
+struct UDSRemoteStore :
+    virtual UDSRemoteStoreConfig,
+    virtual IndirectRootStore,
+    virtual RemoteStore
 {
-public:
-
-    /**
-     * @deprecated This is the old API to construct the store.
-    */
-    UDSRemoteStore(const Params & params);
-
-    /**
-     * @param authority is the socket path.
-     */
-    UDSRemoteStore(
-        std::string_view scheme,
-        std::string_view authority,
-        const Params & params);
+    UDSRemoteStore(const UDSRemoteStoreConfig &);
 
     std::string getUri() override;
 
diff --git a/src/libutil/config-abstract.hh b/src/libutil/config-abstract.hh
index 10c98f0a73f..fcde0696b98 100644
--- a/src/libutil/config-abstract.hh
+++ b/src/libutil/config-abstract.hh
@@ -12,14 +12,26 @@ struct JustValue
     {
         return value;
     }
+
     operator T &()
     {
         return value;
     }
+
     const T & get() const
     {
         return value;
     }
+
+    bool operator==(auto && v2) const
+    {
+        return value == v2;
+    }
+
+    bool operator!=(auto && v2) const
+    {
+        return value != v2;
+    }
 };
 
 template<typename T>