From 7798ed34b1d7305086ff175cbfc6209e70addc3e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: David Heinemeier Hansson <david@hey.com>
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2026 16:32:31 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] Keep apps menu alphabetically sorted

---
 shell/plugins/menu/Menu.qml     | 16 ++++++++++++++++
 test/shell.d/app-search-test.sh |  5 +++++
 2 files changed, 21 insertions(+)

diff --git a/shell/plugins/menu/Menu.qml b/shell/plugins/menu/Menu.qml
index 527a2296..ea505f9d 100644
--- a/shell/plugins/menu/Menu.qml
+++ b/shell/plugins/menu/Menu.qml
@@ -549,6 +549,22 @@ Item {
         if (!root.isVisible(child)) continue
         rows.push(root.displayRow(child, child.description, child.order))
       }
+
+      // DesktopEntries can reorder its values when an application starts.
+      // Keep the Apps menu alphabetical independently of provider refreshes.
+      if (active === "apps") {
+        rows.sort(function(a, b) {
+          var aLabel = String(a.label || "").toLowerCase()
+          var bLabel = String(b.label || "").toLowerCase()
+          if (aLabel < bLabel) return -1
+          if (aLabel > bLabel) return 1
+          var aId = String(a.itemId || "")
+          var bId = String(b.itemId || "")
+          if (aId < bId) return -1
+          if (aId > bId) return 1
+          return 0
+        })
+      }
     }
 
     for (var k = 0; k < rows.length; k++) displayModel.append(rows[k])
diff --git a/test/shell.d/app-search-test.sh b/test/shell.d/app-search-test.sh
index 1294dd38..44c13bc8 100644
--- a/test/shell.d/app-search-test.sh
+++ b/test/shell.d/app-search-test.sh
@@ -109,6 +109,11 @@ assert(
   'app library fallback icon index includes device icons'
 )
 
+assert(
+  /if \(active === "apps"\) \{[\s\S]*?rows\.sort\(function\(a, b\)/.test(menuQml),
+  'apps menu enforces alphabetical display order after provider refreshes'
+)
+
 const iconSourceMatch = appLibraryQml.match(/function iconSource\(icon\) \{([\s\S]*?)\n  \}/)
 assert(iconSourceMatch, 'app library iconSource function exists')
 assert(