The cockpit UI state is described in this other thread Cockpit: new version
About adding Ansible as events/config template engine: it’s just an idea. I’m happy to see you feel it’s a good choice, it makes me think we’re on the same page.
IMO Ansible and e-smith API must live together, so we can develop new things with Ansible, retaining compatibility with the current code.
But apart from some thoughts, I didn’t write anything.