Managing sorting of multiple sources in consult-omni-multi

[Gleek]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

The ordering of individual groups within consult-omni-multi appears unpredictable and beyond user control.

For instance, I added a small source that simply appends "Search {query} with DuckDuckGo" and similar options. However, it frequently appears at the top, whereas I’d prefer it to be closer to the bottom.

Screenshot 2024-12-29 at 5 53 33 PM

In the screenshot above, I’m searching for "graph." While it identifies Applications and Agenda entries, it prioritizes a less relevant section.

This behavior isn’t consistent either.

Screenshot 2024-12-29 at 5 53 51 PM

Here, searching for "emoj" includes the same section, but more relevant ones (like the buffer source) are at the top.

The order doesn’t remain static; items occasionally jump around, and I can’t determine what’s causing this inconsistency.

Describe the solution you'd like

An ideal solution would involve dynamic ordering based on a base weight combined with the relevance of the match.

As a starting point, a static ordering based on the sequence in which sources are listed in consult-omni-multi-sources would be helpful.

This issue may extend beyond consult-omni and relate to the underlying behavior of consult and the consult--multi API, but my understanding of these systems is insufficient to make that determination.

Describe alternatives you've considered

NA

Additional context

All related code is available here

Relevant code in part:

(defun +launch-default-launcher()
    (interactive)
    (let* ((consult-omni-multi-sources
            '("Numi" "Apps" "Org Agenda" "Buffer" "Static launcher" "DuckDuckGo API" "Web search"))
           (consult-async-split-style nil)) ; Remove that # from the beginning of the search. Nothing seems to be affected.
      (+launch-consult-omni)))
;; this is the function in the screenshot above

The code for "Static launcher" and "Web search" sources is included in the linked file above

[armindarvish]

@Gleek, please see the discussion on this thread: #1 and the link to the discussion on the predecessor, consult-web.

In short, the order of the items are determined by the order they arrive. Local sources tend to return results faster than web requests. In addition, web requests results often arrive in chunks, so sometimes the first few results from a web source arrive early but the remaining arrive later after other sources. Because of the way grouping works in a multi-source, these results are added to their own group, which makes it look like things are jumping around.

Based on previous discussion in the thread I linked above, there is a potential path to fix this, but it requires some deep dive to get it to work and I have not had any time to work on that.

[Gleek]

Continuing this further in #1. You can close this if you prefer