Add --sort tree-order flag to list-windows command by prawwtocol · Pull Request #1839 · nikitabobko/AeroSpace

prawwtocol · 2025-12-03T20:28:47Z

PR checklist

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Introduce a new --sort flag for the list-windows command to control the order in which windows are displayed. This addresses the need for different sorting strategies depending on the use case. What changed: - Added --sort flag with two possible values: * tree-order (new default): Windows are listed in tree traversal order (DFS), matching their visual order in accordion/tiles layout * app-name: Windows sorted alphabetically by application name, then by window title (previous default behavior) Why: The tree-order sorting provides a more intuitive output that matches the visual representation of windows in the workspace tree. This is particularly useful when debugging or inspecting window arrangements, as the list order corresponds to the actual layout order. How: - Added SortOrder enum to ListWindowsCmdArgs with tree-order and app-name variants - Modified ListWindowsCommand to apply sorting based on the flag - tree-order leverages existing allLeafWindowsRecursive traversal - Updated documentation and generated help text to reflect the new flag Breaking change: Default sorting changed from app-name to tree-order. Users who rely on alphabetical sorting should explicitly use --sort app-name flag.

nikitabobko · 2025-12-03T22:26:07Z

docs/aerospace-list-windows.adoc

+
+Possible values: +
+
+. `tree-order` - (default) Windows are listed in tree traversal order (DFS). This matches the visual order in accordion/tiles layout.


Why do you think that tree-order is a better default? (It's a genuine question)

I failed to address this in my comment notes but one of the usecases is better integration with window bar applications like

https://github.com/Jean-Tinland/simple-bar
https://github.com/cmacrae/spacebar?tab=readme-ov-file
https://github.com/FelixKratz/SketchyBar

They benefit from displaying open windows in tree-order instead of id-sorted order

Will include that info in further commit descriptions

nikitabobko · 2025-12-03T22:26:33Z

.swift-version

@@ -1 +1 @@
-6.2.1
+6.2.1


Please don't touch unrelated files for no reasons

weird thing my editor did. you're right. sorry!

also, my PR wasnt ready for review when you left these comments, I would've caught some of these (and have fixed the CI already) as not to waste your time. I will mark the PR as draft in the future

nikitabobko · 2025-12-03T22:27:17Z

Sources/Common/cmdArgs/impl/ListWindowsCmdArgs.swift

            "--app-bundle-id": singleValueSubArgParser(\.filteringOptions.appIdFilter, "<app-bundle-id>") { $0 },

+            // Sorting flag
+            "--sort": singleValueSubArgParser(\._sortOrder, "<sort-order>") { SortOrder(rawValue: $0) },


--sort flag should conflict with --count flag

nikitabobko · 2025-12-03T22:28:01Z

Sources/AppBundle/command/impl/ListWindowsCommand.swift

@@ -49,7 +49,14 @@ struct ListWindowsCommand: Command {
                _list.append((window, try await window.title))


Please link the appropriate issue in the commit message: #491

thank you for creating an issue for me! will do

upd: didn't see this issue when I created my PR. just needed this functionality myself lol!

Sources/AppBundle/command/impl/ListWindowsCommand.swift

nikitabobko · 2025-12-03T22:30:50Z

Sources/Common/cmdArgs/impl/ListWindowsCmdArgs.swift

            "--app-bundle-id": singleValueSubArgParser(\.filteringOptions.appIdFilter, "<app-bundle-id>") { $0 },

+            // Sorting flag
+            "--sort": singleValueSubArgParser(\._sortOrder, "<sort-order>") { SortOrder(rawValue: $0) },


I'd prefer to call the flag --sort-by

nikitabobko · 2025-12-03T22:32:00Z

Sources/Common/cmdArgs/impl/ListWindowsCmdArgs.swift

+    public var _sortOrder: SortOrder? = nil
+    public var sortOrder: SortOrder { _sortOrder ?? .treeOrder }


Suggested change

public var _sortOrder: SortOrder? = nil

public var sortOrder: SortOrder { _sortOrder ?? .treeOrder }

public var sortOrder: SortOrder = .treeOrder

The second variable seems redundant

nikitabobko · 2025-12-03T22:35:54Z

Sources/Common/cmdArgs/impl/ListWindowsCmdArgs.swift

            "--app-bundle-id": singleValueSubArgParser(\.filteringOptions.appIdFilter, "<app-bundle-id>") { $0 },

+            // Sorting flag
+            "--sort": singleValueSubArgParser(\._sortOrder, "<sort-order>") { SortOrder(rawValue: $0) },


Please use parseEnum util function as it produces nicer error message in case of parsing error

nikitabobko · 2025-12-03T22:39:10Z

docs/aerospace-list-windows.adoc

+                       [--sort <sort-order>] [--format <output-format>]
                       [--count] [--json]
-aerospace list-windows [-h|--help] --all [--format <output-format>] [--count] [--json]
+aerospace list-windows [-h|--help] --all [--sort <sort-order>] [--format <output-format>] [--count] [--json]


Please also update grammar/commands-bnf-grammar.txt

Thank you very much for your insightful comments! You know much more about this project than me, of course 🤗

nikitabobko · 2025-12-03T22:54:35Z

Sources/Common/cmdArgs/impl/ListWindowsCmdArgs.swift

            "--app-bundle-id": singleValueSubArgParser(\.filteringOptions.appIdFilter, "<app-bundle-id>") { $0 },

+            // Sorting flag
+            "--sort": singleValueSubArgParser(\._sortOrder, "<sort-order>") { SortOrder(rawValue: $0) },


Similar to --workspace and --monitor, <sort-order> should be not a scalar value but a space-separated array. Otherwise, the current .sortedBy([{ $0.window.app.name ?? "" }, \.title]) sorting is not representable

Right now, you call it app-name, but it's just wrong. The flag that represents the current default sorting should be --sort-by app-name window-title

nikitabobko · 2025-12-14T14:21:19Z

Closing due to inactivity. Feel free to open a new PR

also, my PR wasnt ready for review when you left these comments, I would've caught some of these (and have fixed the CI already) as not to waste your time. I will mark the PR as draft in the future

Please refrain from opening PRs (even drafts) until you expect to receive any input

kim-raaschou · 2026-01-28T20:16:24Z

Follow-up PR continuing this work: #1918

prawwtocol force-pushed the feature/list-windows-sort branch from 67b7aab to af80dba Compare December 3, 2025 20:33

nikitabobko requested changes Dec 3, 2025

View reviewed changes

prawwtocol force-pushed the feature/list-windows-sort branch from af80dba to 06561bb Compare December 4, 2025 07:27

nikitabobko closed this Dec 14, 2025

		@@ -49,7 +49,14 @@ struct ListWindowsCommand: Command {
		_list.append((window, try await window.title))

		public var _sortOrder: SortOrder? = nil
		public var sortOrder: SortOrder { _sortOrder ?? .treeOrder }

	public var _sortOrder: SortOrder? = nil
	public var sortOrder: SortOrder { _sortOrder ?? .treeOrder }
	public var sortOrder: SortOrder = .treeOrder

		@@ -1 +1 @@
		6.2.1
		6.2.1 No newline at end of file

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prawwtocol commented Dec 3, 2025 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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prawwtocol Dec 4, 2025 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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prawwtocol Dec 4, 2025 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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nikitabobko commented Dec 14, 2025

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kim-raaschou commented Jan 28, 2026

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prawwtocol commented Dec 3, 2025 •

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prawwtocol Dec 4, 2025 •

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prawwtocol Dec 4, 2025 •

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