Order command palette results by most/recently used

[Anijatsu]

Use case or problem

When I’m using plugins, all too often it happens that they have a similar name to built in functionality.
When I type “Temp” both Obsidian’s Templates and Templater show up. When I type “link”, I most often use Day Planner’s “link current note” rather than “follow link under cursor” which I already had memorized as hotkeyed.

Proposed solution

A preferences option to sort the command panel results by most used/most recently used commands.

Current workaround (optional)

Search for parts of words e.g. “ve fi” for “move file to another folder”, but it doesn’t always return the command I mean to use, and it’s a chore to learn.

Related feature requests (optional)

The same idea, but for quick switcher (opening notes rather than the command panel)

Sort quick switcher search results by popularity or date

When using Ctrl-O to switch to another file it would be useful if the results could be sorted by something else than by their name. In my case I have several files with similar titles but one of them is more frequently edited than the others. This means I always have to scroll to the correct file when using the switcher, instead of just typing part of its name and having it as the first suggestion. I’d like to have an option to always show the file-switcher results by either date (most recent …

[DEV_Scribbles]

You could try pinning the commands you use the most too!

[Ampa]

I often find that I will use the same command multiple times when performing a specific task.

Example: Center several table columns.

But this is not a task that I do every day, so pinning would be a greater annoyance than benefit.

Setting a hotkey for the command would perhaps work, but there are limited unique key combinations, and I would certainly have to look up the keypress as a reminder each session.

Seeing my most recent 10 commands would mean that repeat actions were easily accessible, and always up to date with the task at hand.

Other software, such as the DAW Reaper, use exactly this method.

[kevinawoo]

+1!

Other IDEs like Jetbrain’s IDEs, Sublime, VSCode do the same, sort by last few recently used.

Alfred also improves on this workflow by repopulating the search term with it selected so it allows you two options:

• type over to do a new search
• hit enter and execute the last command

Here’s an example:

[extraMangosPlease]

I think it would be useful and intuitive for this to behave the same as the Quick Switcher– Showing recent commands in order. Specifically commands accessed by the command palette, not commands used by hotkeys, buttons, etc.

[tim-hilt]

This could also be a setting (order candidates alphabetically; order candidates by frecency; order by recency; order by frequency…).

I think it wouldn’t be hard to implement.

Another idea would be to let developers hook into the sorting via a plugin and the API.

[datavistics]

Is there still no solution to this?

[niels_bom]

If the core developers make an API for this, plugin developers can make different solutions for this, allowing for different behaviour.

[WhiteNoise]

This is already possible (making a plugin).

[dr1nk182]

Just catching up on this. Is there a plugin that implements this currently? I have looked around and have not found anything?

[vanbang9710]

The Switcher++ plugin can do this with the command “Command Mode” and can also show recently files in Quick Switcher with “Standard Mode”

[Punctuate4114]

How did you get this to work with Switcher++?

I have opening Switcher++ in command-mode set to Ctrl+p, and I just want typing ‘pre’ or ‘prev’ to highlight ‘Toggle Live Preview/Source mode’. However, no matter how many times I use that command, ‘Go to previous tab’ remains the first, highlighted option, so it seems to me Switcher++ doesn’t reorder based on most/recently used.

Do I need to change a setting of Switcher++?

The command is also pinned, but those don’t quite work as one might expect. This FR “Pinned commands should always be at the top, even after searching for them” is about that.

[danielo515]

I miss this feature so much… I am used to this in almost every editor

[elidub]

This is possible with the Better Command Palette plugin! Works directly out of the box.

[Joy]

Just like VSCode did

[enly1]

Use case or problem

I frequently want to either open the same file or repeat a command using command palette, but have to use a full search each time. I want a more efficient way to redo a command.

Proposed solution

Make the command palette remember the order of items used, or provide recently used list as per quick sqitcher, such that frequent options are prioritised at the top in last used order. This is default in vscode and very handy for repeating palette commands.

Current workaround (optional)

None - full search / command search required.

Related feature requests (optional)

Search did not find any equivalent feature requests.

Additional Note

This feature request was changed to remove reference to quick-switcher also being in scope as recently used items, as this is already implemented.

[Tony2]

+1: I would like to have this feature, too.

[kleerkoat]

god yes

[phyllisstein]

Emphatic ditto. I believe Visual Studio Code, where I spend more of my day than I’d care to admit, prioritizes command palette items by frecency.

That second invocation feels a little clunky, even with the command fairly close to the top. I also find frecency particularly handy when repeating a command two or three steps back. That, too, feels clunky with a static sort.

Pinning commands is a handy stopgap! But it’d be nice to know Obsidian can take care of it for me.

[WhiteNoise]

In Obsidian 1.8.3, Recently used commands will appear at the top of the command palette. Some information about recency is used during the ranking process of results, but not much, therefore I’ll leave this FR open.