Sort path so Next is truely the alphabetical path next.

main.py

@@ -19,8 +19,9 @@ from fastapi.responses import (
 )
 
 app = FastAPI()
-file_mapping = {}
+file_mapping: dict[str, str] = {}
 indexers = []
+sorted_hashes: list[str] = []
 
 
 class FileIndexer:
@@ -164,7 +165,7 @@ INDEXER_MAP = {".zip": ZipFileIndexer}
 
 def initialize_server(args: argparse.Namespace):
     """Initialize the server with directory or glob indexing"""
-    global file_mapping, indexers
+    global file_mapping, indexers, sorted_hashes
 
     src_path = Path(args.source)
 
@@ -191,6 +192,16 @@ def initialize_server(args: argparse.Namespace):
 
     print(f"Indexed {len(file_mapping)} files from {len(indexers)} source(s)")
 
+    # Build a sorted index for filename-ordered navigation
+    sorted_hashes = sorted(
+        file_mapping.keys(),
+        key=lambda h: (
+            (indexer.get_filename_by_hash(h) or "").lower()
+            if (indexer := _find_indexer_for_hash(h))
+            else ""
+        ),
+    )
+
 
 @app.get("/api/health")
 async def health_check():
@@ -283,7 +294,7 @@ def _get_navigation_data(file_hash: str, order: str | None = None):
     Returns:
         Dictionary with navigation hashes and filename.
     """
-    keys = list(file_mapping.keys())
+    keys = _get_sorted_hashes()
     idx = keys.index(file_hash)
 
     if order == "random":
@@ -523,6 +534,11 @@ def _get_random_hash() -> str:
     return random.choice(keys)
 
 
+def _get_sorted_hashes() -> list[str]:
+    """Return the cached filename-sorted hash list (built at index time)."""
+    return sorted_hashes
+
+
 def _get_random_navigate_path() -> str | None:
     """Get a random internal path from ZipFileIndexers only."""
     zip_paths: list[str] = []
@@ -593,7 +609,7 @@ def _get_navigation_data_by_path(
     if file_hash is None:
         return None
 
-    keys = list(file_mapping.keys())
+    keys = _get_sorted_hashes()
     idx = keys.index(file_hash)
 
     if order == "random":

tests/conftest.py

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ def _reset_state() -> None:
     """Reset all global state to defaults."""
     main.file_mapping.clear()
     main.indexers.clear()
+    main.sorted_hashes.clear()
 
 
 @pytest.fixture(autouse=True)

tests/test_navigation.py

@@ -39,8 +39,8 @@ class TestGetNavigationData:
         assert data["file_hash"] == file_hash
 
     def test_sequential_next_and_prev(self, seeded_indexers: None) -> None:
-        """In sequential mode, next and prev are adjacent in the list."""
+        """In sequential mode, next and prev are adjacent in filename order."""
-        keys = list(main.file_mapping.keys())
+        keys = main._get_sorted_hashes()
         if len(keys) < 2:
             pytest.skip("Need at least 2 files for sequential navigation")
         file_hash = keys[0]
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ class TestGetNavigationData:
 
     def test_middle_item_navigation(self, seeded_indexers: None) -> None:
         """Middle item has correct prev and next."""
-        keys = list(main.file_mapping.keys())
+        keys = main._get_sorted_hashes()
         if len(keys) < 3:
             pytest.skip("Need at least 3 files for middle-item test")
         mid_idx = len(keys) // 2
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ class TestGetNavigationData:
 
     def test_last_item_wraps_next(self, seeded_indexers: None) -> None:
         """Last item's next wraps to the first item."""
-        keys = list(main.file_mapping.keys())
+        keys = main._get_sorted_hashes()
         if len(keys) < 2:
             pytest.skip("Need at least 2 files for wrap test")
         file_hash = keys[-1]