Add Toggle to Sort LaunchConfigurations by most recent launch

debug/org.eclipse.debug.ui/ui/org/eclipse/debug/internal/ui/DebugUIPreferenceInitializer.java

@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ public void initializeDefaultPreferences() {
 		prefs.setDefault(IInternalDebugUIConstants.PREF_USE_CONTEXTUAL_LAUNCH, true);
 		prefs.setDefault(IInternalDebugUIConstants.PREF_LAUNCH_PARENT_PROJECT, false);
 		prefs.setDefault(IInternalDebugUIConstants.PREF_LAUNCH_LAST_IF_NOT_LAUNCHABLE, true);
+		prefs.setDefault(IInternalDebugUIConstants.PREF_LAUNCHCONFIG_SORT_ON_RECENT, false);
 
 		prefs.setDefault(IInternalDebugUIConstants.PREF_TERMINATE_AND_RELAUNCH_LAUNCH_ACTION, false);
 		prefs.setDefault(IInternalDebugUIConstants.PREF_BREAKPOINT_SORTING_ORDER,

debug/org.eclipse.debug.ui/ui/org/eclipse/debug/internal/ui/IInternalDebugUIConstants.java

@@ -435,4 +435,11 @@ public interface IInternalDebugUIConstants {
 	 */
 	String EXPRESSION_PASTE_AS_MULTI = "org.eclipse.debug.ui.expression.paste.multi"; //$NON-NLS-1$
 
+	/**
+	 * String indicating sorting order of launch configurations in
+	 * LaunchConfigurations View
+	 *
+	 */
+	String PREF_LAUNCHCONFIG_SORT_ON_RECENT = IDebugUIConstants.PLUGIN_ID + ".PREF_LAUNCHCONFIG_SORT_ON_RECENT"; //$NON-NLS-1$
+
 }

debug/org.eclipse.debug.ui/ui/org/eclipse/debug/internal/ui/launchConfigurations/LaunchConfigurationComparator.java

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*******************************************************************************
- * Copyright (c) 2007, 2015 IBM Corporation and others.
+ * Copyright (c) 2007, 2026 IBM Corporation and others.
  *
  * This program and the accompanying materials
  * are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Public License 2.0
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@
 import org.eclipse.debug.core.DebugPlugin;
 import org.eclipse.debug.core.ILaunchConfiguration;
 import org.eclipse.debug.core.ILaunchConfigurationType;
+import org.eclipse.debug.internal.ui.DebugUIPlugin;
+import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.Viewer;
 import org.eclipse.ui.model.WorkbenchViewerComparator;
 
 /**
@@ -37,6 +39,20 @@ public class LaunchConfigurationComparator extends WorkbenchViewerComparator {
 	 * the map of categories of <code>ILaunchConfigurationType</code>s to <code>Integer</code>s entries
 	 */
 	private static Map<ILaunchConfigurationType, Integer> fgCategories;
+	private Map<ILaunchConfiguration, Integer> recentLaunches = new HashMap<>();
+
+	public LaunchConfigurationComparator(String groupIdentifier) {
+		LaunchHistory history = DebugUIPlugin.getDefault().getLaunchConfigurationManager().getLaunchHistory(groupIdentifier);
+		if (history != null) {
+			ILaunchConfiguration[] launches = history.getCompleteLaunchHistory();
+			for (int i = 0; i < launches.length; i++) {
+				recentLaunches.put(launches[i], Integer.valueOf(i));
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	public LaunchConfigurationComparator() {
+	}
 
 	/**
 	 * @see org.eclipse.jface.viewers.ViewerComparator#category(java.lang.Object)
@@ -56,6 +72,32 @@ public int category(Object element) {
 		return map.size();
 	}
 
+	@Override
+	public int compare(Viewer viewer, Object e1, Object e2) {
+		if (e1 instanceof ILaunchConfiguration c1 && e2 instanceof ILaunchConfiguration c2) {
+			int category1 = category(c1);
+			int category2 = category(c2);
+			if (category1 != category2) {
+				return category1 - category2;
+			}
+			Integer recent1 = recentLaunches.get(c1);
+			Integer recent2 = recentLaunches.get(c2);
+			if (recent1 != null || recent2 != null) {
+				if (recent1 == null) {
+					return 1;
+				}
+				if (recent2 == null) {
+					return -1;
+				}
+				int result = recent1.compareTo(recent2);
+				if (result != 0) {
+					return result;
+				}
+			}
+		}
+		return super.compare(viewer, e1, e2);
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * Returns the map of categories
 	 * @return the map of categories

debug/org.eclipse.debug.ui/ui/org/eclipse/debug/internal/ui/launchConfigurations/LaunchConfigurationFilteredTree.java

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 import org.eclipse.debug.internal.core.IInternalDebugCoreConstants;
 import org.eclipse.debug.internal.ui.DebugUIPlugin;
 import org.eclipse.debug.internal.ui.IDebugHelpContextIds;
+import org.eclipse.debug.internal.ui.IInternalDebugUIConstants;
 import org.eclipse.debug.ui.DebugUITools;
 import org.eclipse.debug.ui.ILaunchGroup;
 import org.eclipse.help.HelpSystem;
@@ -76,8 +77,17 @@ public LaunchConfigurationFilteredTree(Composite parent, int treeStyle, PatternF
 	@Override
 	protected TreeViewer doCreateTreeViewer(Composite cparent, int style) {
 		treeViewer = new LaunchConfigurationViewer(cparent, style);
-		treeViewer.setLabelProvider(new DecoratingLabelProvider(DebugUITools.newDebugModelPresentation(), PlatformUI.getWorkbench().getDecoratorManager().getLabelDecorator()));
-		treeViewer.setComparator(new WorkbenchViewerComparator());
+
+		treeViewer.setLabelProvider(new DecoratingLabelProvider(DebugUITools.newDebugModelPresentation(),
+				PlatformUI.getWorkbench().getDecoratorManager().getLabelDecorator()));
+		boolean sortByRecent = DebugUIPlugin.getDefault().getPreferenceStore()
+				.getBoolean(IInternalDebugUIConstants.PREF_LAUNCHCONFIG_SORT_ON_RECENT);
+
+		if (sortByRecent) {
+			treeViewer.setComparator(new LaunchConfigurationComparator(fLaunchGroup.getIdentifier()));
+		} else {
+			treeViewer.setComparator(new WorkbenchViewerComparator());
+		}
 		treeViewer.setContentProvider(new LaunchConfigurationTreeContentProvider(fLaunchGroup.getMode(), cparent.getShell()));
 		treeViewer.addFilter(new LaunchGroupFilter(fLaunchGroup));
 		treeViewer.setUseHashlookup(true);
@@ -225,4 +235,8 @@ protected void updateToolbar(boolean visible) {
 		getLaunchConfigurationViewer().filterChanged();
 	}
 
+	public ILaunchGroup getLaunchGroup() {
+		return fLaunchGroup;
+	}
+
 }

debug/org.eclipse.debug.ui/ui/org/eclipse/debug/internal/ui/launchConfigurations/LaunchConfigurationView.java

@@ -96,6 +96,8 @@ public class LaunchConfigurationView extends AbstractDebugView implements ILaunc
 	 */
 	private FilterLaunchConfigurationAction fFilterAction;
 
+	private SortLaunchConfigurationAction sort;
+
 	/**
 	 * This label is used to notify users that items (possibly) have been filtered from the
 	 * launch configuration view
@@ -225,6 +227,9 @@ protected void createActions() {
 		fFilterAction = new FilterLaunchConfigurationAction();
 		setAction(FilterLaunchConfigurationAction.ID_FILTER_ACTION, fFilterAction);
 
+		sort = new SortLaunchConfigurationAction(fTree);
+		setAction(SortLaunchConfigurationAction.ID_SORT_ACTION, sort);
+
 		fLinkPrototypeAction = new LinkPrototypeAction(getViewer(), getLaunchGroup().getMode());
 		setAction(LinkPrototypeAction.ID_LINK_PROTOTYPE_ACTION, fLinkPrototypeAction);
 
@@ -291,6 +296,7 @@ public void dispose() {
 		fExportAction.dispose();
 		fImportAction.dispose();
 		fFilterAction = null;
+		sort = null;
 		fCollapseAllAction = null;
 		fLinkPrototypeAction.dispose();
 		fUnlinkPrototypeAction.dispose();

debug/org.eclipse.debug.ui/ui/org/eclipse/debug/internal/ui/launchConfigurations/LaunchConfigurationsDialog.java

@@ -510,6 +510,7 @@ protected void createToolbarActions(ToolBarManager tmanager) {
 		tmanager.add(new Separator());
 		tmanager.add(getCollapseAllAction());
 		tmanager.add(getFilterAction());
+		tmanager.add(getSortAction());
 		tmanager.update(true);
 		DebugUIPlugin.getDefault().getPreferenceStore().addPropertyChangeListener(this);
 	}
@@ -723,6 +724,10 @@ protected IAction getFilterAction() {
 		return fLaunchConfigurationView.getAction(FilterLaunchConfigurationAction.ID_FILTER_ACTION);
 	}
 
+	protected IAction getSortAction() {
+		return fLaunchConfigurationView.getAction(SortLaunchConfigurationAction.ID_SORT_ACTION);
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * Gets the collapse all action
 	 * @return the collapse all action

debug/org.eclipse.debug.ui/ui/org/eclipse/debug/internal/ui/launchConfigurations/LaunchConfigurationsMessages.java

@@ -319,4 +319,8 @@ public class LaunchConfigurationsMessages extends NLS {
 
 	public static String QuickGroupLaunchActionToolTip;
 
+	public static String SortLaunchConfigurationAction;
+
+	public static String SortLaunchConfigurationActionDesc;
+
 }

debug/org.eclipse.debug.ui/ui/org/eclipse/debug/internal/ui/launchConfigurations/LaunchConfigurationsMessages.properties

@@ -289,4 +289,6 @@ SelectLaunchersDialog_2=This dialog allows you to specify which launcher to use
 SelectLaunchersDialog_4=<a href="ws">Change Workspace Settings...</a>
 SelectLaunchersDialog_5=Description
 SelectLaunchersDialog_launchers=Launc&hers:
-SelectFavTypeToFilter= Type to filter
+SelectFavTypeToFilter= Type to filter
+SortLaunchConfigurationAction=Sort Launch Configurations
+SortLaunchConfigurationActionDesc=Sort Launch Configurations by recent launch

debug/org.eclipse.debug.ui/ui/org/eclipse/debug/internal/ui/launchConfigurations/SortLaunchConfigurationAction.java

@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+/*******************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (c) 2026 IBM Corporation and others.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials
+ * are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Public License 2.0
+ * which accompanies this distribution, and is available at
+ * https://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0/
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0
+ *
+ * Contributors:
+ *     IBM Corporation - initial API and implementation
+ *******************************************************************************/
+package org.eclipse.debug.internal.ui.launchConfigurations;
+
+import org.eclipse.debug.internal.ui.DebugUIPlugin;
+import org.eclipse.debug.internal.ui.IInternalDebugUIConstants;
+import org.eclipse.debug.ui.DebugUITools;
+import org.eclipse.debug.ui.IDebugUIConstants;
+import org.eclipse.jface.action.Action;
+import org.eclipse.jface.action.IAction;
+import org.eclipse.jface.preference.IPreferenceStore;
+import org.eclipse.jface.resource.ImageDescriptor;
+import org.eclipse.jface.viewers.TreeViewer;
+import org.eclipse.ui.model.WorkbenchViewerComparator;
+
+/**
+ * provides the implementation for sorting the launch configurations within the
+ * Launch Configuration Dialog
+ *
+ */
+public class SortLaunchConfigurationAction extends Action {
+
+	/**
+	 * Action identifier for IDebugView#getAction(String)
+	 */
+	public static final String ID_SORT_ACTION = DebugUIPlugin.getUniqueIdentifier() + ".ID_SORT_ACTION"; //$NON-NLS-1$
+
+	LaunchConfigurationFilteredTree fTree;
+
+	public SortLaunchConfigurationAction(LaunchConfigurationFilteredTree tree) {
+		super(LaunchConfigurationsMessages.SortLaunchConfigurationAction, IAction.AS_CHECK_BOX);
+		fTree = tree;
+		setChecked(DebugUIPlugin.getDefault().getPreferenceStore()
+				.getBoolean(IInternalDebugUIConstants.PREF_LAUNCHCONFIG_SORT_ON_RECENT));
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public void run() {
+		TreeViewer viewer = fTree.getViewer();
+		IPreferenceStore prefStore = DebugUIPlugin.getDefault().getPreferenceStore();
+		boolean isSortByRecent = prefStore.getBoolean(IInternalDebugUIConstants.PREF_LAUNCHCONFIG_SORT_ON_RECENT);
+		if (!isSortByRecent) {
+			viewer.setComparator(new LaunchConfigurationComparator(fTree.getLaunchGroup().getIdentifier()));
+			prefStore.setValue(IInternalDebugUIConstants.PREF_LAUNCHCONFIG_SORT_ON_RECENT, true);
+		} else {
+			viewer.setComparator(new WorkbenchViewerComparator());
+			prefStore.setValue(IInternalDebugUIConstants.PREF_LAUNCHCONFIG_SORT_ON_RECENT, false);
+		}
+		viewer.refresh();
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public String getDescription() {
+		return LaunchConfigurationsMessages.SortLaunchConfigurationActionDesc;
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public ImageDescriptor getImageDescriptor() {
+		return DebugUITools.getImageDescriptor(IDebugUIConstants.IMG_LCL_DETAIL_PANE_HIDE);
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public String getToolTipText() {
+		return LaunchConfigurationsMessages.SortLaunchConfigurationActionDesc;
+	}
+}