Sorting

Revela supports flexible sorting of galleries and images. You can configure:

Gallery order in navigation (ascending/descending)
Image order within galleries (by any field including EXIF data)
Per-gallery overrides via front matter

Global Configuration

Configure sorting in project.json:

{
  "generate": {
    "sorting": {
      "galleries": "asc",
      "images": {
        "field": "dateTaken",
        "direction": "desc",
        "fallback": "filename"
      }
    }
  }
}

Property	Description	Default
`galleries`	Gallery sort direction: `asc` or `desc`	`asc`
`images.field`	Field to sort images by	`dateTaken`
`images.direction`	Image sort direction: `asc` or `desc`	`desc`
`images.fallback`	Fallback field when primary is null	`filename`

Available Sort Fields

Field	Description
`filename`	File name (alphabetical)
`dateTaken`	EXIF capture date
`exif.focalLength`	Focal length in mm
`exif.fNumber`	Aperture (f-number)
`exif.exposureTime`	Shutter speed
`exif.iso`	ISO sensitivity
`exif.make`	Camera manufacturer
`exif.model`	Camera model
`exif.lensModel`	Lens model
`exif.raw.Rating`	Star rating (1-5)
`exif.raw.{FieldName}`	Any EXIF field from Raw dictionary

Per-Gallery Override

Override the global sort settings for individual galleries using front matter in _index.revela:

Format:

sort = "field"           # Use field, direction from global config
sort = "field:asc"       # Use field with ascending order
sort = "field:desc"      # Use field with descending order

Examples:

+++
title = "Lens Comparison"
sort = "exif.focalLength:asc"
+++

Compare shots from wide-angle to telephoto.

+++
title = "Best Shots"
sort = "exif.raw.Rating:desc"
+++

My highest rated photos.

+++
title = "Timeline"
sort = "dateTaken:asc"
+++

Photos in chronological order (oldest first).

Gallery Order with Number Prefixes

Control gallery order in navigation by adding number prefixes to folder names:

source/
├── 01 Weddings/           # Appears first
│   └── *.jpg
├── 02 Portraits/          # Appears second
│   └── *.jpg
├── 03 Landscapes/         # Appears third
│   └── *.jpg
└── 99 Archive/            # Appears last
    └── *.jpg

How It Works

Prefix format: 1-2 digit number followed by a space (e.g., 01 , 2 , 99 )
Display name: Number prefix is automatically removed
- 01 Weddings → displayed as "Weddings"
- 99 Archive → displayed as "Archive"
URL slug: Number prefix is stripped from URLs
- 01 Weddings → /weddings/
Natural sorting: Uses natural order (1, 2, 10 instead of 1, 10, 2)

Year Prefixes Are Preserved

Four-digit year prefixes are NOT stripped (they're meaningful content):

source/
├── 2024 Summer/           # Displayed as "2024 Summer"
├── 2023 Fall/             # Displayed as "2023 Fall"
└── 2022 Winter/           # Displayed as "2022 Winter"

Combining with `galleries` Setting

The galleries setting controls sort direction:

{
  "generate": {
    "sorting": {
      "galleries": "desc"
    }
  }
}

With desc:

01 Weddings → 99 Archive becomes 99 Archive → 01 Weddings
Year folders: 2024 → 2023 → 2022

CLI Configuration

Configure sorting interactively or via command line:

# Interactive wizard
revela config sorting

# Set image sort field
revela config sorting --field dateTaken --direction desc

# Sort by rating
revela config sorting --field exif.raw.Rating --direction desc

# Sort by focal length
revela config sorting --field exif.focalLength --direction asc

# Change gallery order
revela config sorting --galleries desc

Logic Flow

No front matter sort → Use global config (generate.sorting.images)
sort = "field" → Override field, keep global direction
sort = "field:direction" → Override both field and direction
Fallback is always from global config (not overridable per gallery)
Final tie-breaker is always filename (for stable sorting)