Techniques are for rule-based continuous drift and consistency management for target systems. In one embodiment, a set of rules is stored in volatile or non-volatile store. The set of rules may include one or more drift rules and/or one or more consistency rules. A rule may be applied to one or more associated targets to detect drift or inconsistency. A drift rule identifies a set of one or more attributes and a source and may be applied by comparing a first configuration of the set of one or more attributes on an associated target with a second configuration of the set of one or more attributes on the source. A consistency rule may be applied to a composite target by comparing member targets that are grouped by target type. Notification data may be output if target drift or inconsistency is detected to alert a user.