VS Code Extension: How do you set an order/priority to the extension's settings/configurations? - visual-studio-code

Question

When adding the settings/configurations to the extensions package.json file under "contributes" and "configuration" no matter what order I place them they appear in the "File" | "Preferences" | "Settings" | "My Extension" as alphabetical. Not all information is logical to present alphabetically, sometimes information is normally presented in a specific order regardless of alpha order.
Lets say for example I needed the following to appear as "Setting C", "Setting B", then "Setting A". The following would still show in the order "Setting A", "Setting B", then "Setting C".
"contributes": {
"configuration": [
{
"type": "object",
"title": "My Extension",
"properties": {
"my-extension.settingB": {
"type": "string",
"default": "Sample B",
"description": "This is a test B setting."
},
"my-extension.settingA": {
"type": "string",
"default": "Sample A",
"description": "This is a test A setting."
},
"my-extension.settingC": {
"type": "string",
"default": "Sample C",
"description": "This is a test C setting."
}
}
}
]
},
I've been combing the VS Code API: Contribution Points, Extension Guides, and Google but cant seem to find where/if we can set an order or priority to the extension's settings/configuration.
Is this something that's available? It seems like a fairly basic request as not all data needs to be sorted alphabetically.
I've tried to follow all the rules for posting but This is my first post so let me know if I haven't done something correctly.

Answer 1

It looks like extension settings ordering is coming to vscode v1.63. It works in the Insiders Build now. See Test: Extension settings ordering.
"contributes": {
"configuration": [
{
"type": "object",
"title": "My Extension",
"properties": {
"my-extension.settingB": {
"type": "string",
"default": "Sample B",
"description": "This is a test B setting.",
"order" 2
},
"my-extension.settingA": {
"type": "string",
"default": "Sample A",
"description": "This is a test A setting.",
"order": 3
},
"my-extension.settingC": {
"type": "string",
"default": "Sample C",
"description": "This is a test C setting.",
"order": 1
}
}
}
]
},
Note the new order property above.
From the link above:
Settings with order fields are sorted based on increasing order, so a
setting with order -2 comes before a setting with order 25. It doesn't
matter what actual numbers are used, as long as there is an ordering
given.
Setting-level order fields only apply to settings within that
category.
Settings without order fields will be placed at the end of their
category in alphabetical order. This also means if two settings within
the same category have the same order number for whatever reason, they
should be sorted in alphabetical order.
For a more complex example see settings order package.json example

Answer 2

It looks like this is indeed not possible at the moment. There is a related issue on the VSCode repo that seems to confirm that:
Explore extending settings schema with additional metadata (#51778)
Yeah, I would love to be able to group settings, order them, and maybe hide some. Right now the alphabetic ordering, causes all of GitLens' advanced settings to be first in the list, and that is far from ideal.
Also related: Settings UI is overwhelming for extensions with lots of settings (#70589)

Answer 3

It would indeed be helpful to have more control over the order. Groupings would also be helpful. Not grouping related items together can cause confusion for users.