Sorting

Every pane orders its rows by a sort order — one of five: name, mtime, atime, size, or none (insertion order). Sorting is per-pane state, set from the options overlay or per command.

The sort orders

Order	Meaning	Availability
name	Path, lexically	All panes
mtime	Modification time	Filesystem panes; newest first
atime	Access time	Filesystem panes
size	File size	Filesystem panes; loads metadata lazily in the background
none	Insertion order (e.g. fd/rg output order)	All panes

Setting the sort

Way	How
Options overlay	ctrl-p — visibility, sort order, and (in Search) context
Per command	--sort <order> on fs, fs ::, fs :, fs :custom
Per pane default	[panes.*] default_sort — see below

In the History/Apps panes, the options overlay's sort keys n / t / c / f cycle name / atime / count / frecency (the database orderings); ctrl-d cycles the sort instead of toggling directories.

Defaults

Which sort a fresh pane starts with comes from two layers:

• Code default — with no configuration, Nav panes come up sorted by mtime; other filesystem panes default to none.
• Shipped config (config.toml) — overrides some of these, e.g. [panes.search] default_sort = "none" (see Configuration).

apply_default_sort

New panes start at their pane's default sort, and when apply_default_sort ([panes.settings] in config, default true) is set, switching to a pane re-applies that pane's default sort. Turn it off to keep whatever sort you last used when you switch away and back.

Per-pane notes

• Find: name, mtime, atime, size, none. size needs metadata, which loads lazily, so the first sort may populate progressively.
• Search: name, mtime, atime, none — size is not available and an inherited size sort drops to none rather than erroring. Sorting is translated to rg flags (--sort=path, --sortr=modified|accessed); in filter mode, sorting is fuzzy-filter (nucleo) side with a stability threshold, so live results don't thrash.
• Files / Folders (History): the database rank (frecency) is the default order; n / t / c / f switch to name / atime / count / frecency. See History & the database.
• Apps: database orderings, like the history panes.
• Custom / Stash: any of the five orders.

FAQ

Why is my Nav pane sorted by mtime?

It's the default for [panes.nav] default_sort; change it in config.toml (see Configuration).

Why does my Search pane ignore --sort size?

The rg backend can't order matches by size; the sort falls back to none (match order).