CmdPal: Lightning-fast mode (#45764)

## Summary of the Pull Request

This PR unlocks lightning-fast mode for Command Palette:

- Hides visual and motion distractions when updating the result list:
- Ensures the first interactable result item is selected as early as
possible after the result list is updated, reducing flashing and
blinking caused by the selection highlight moving around.
- Removes the list item selection indicator animation (unfortunately by
removing the pill altogether for now) and prevents it from temporarily
appearing on other items as the selection moves.
- Adds a new "Results" section header above the home page results when
no other section is present.
- This ensures the first item on the home page has consistent visuals
and styling, preventing offsets and excessive visual changes when
elements are replaced in place.

- Improves update performance and container reuse:
- Fixes the `removed` output parameter in `ListHelper.UpdateInPlace` to
only include items that were actually removed (items that were merely
moved to a different position should not be reported as removed).
    - Adds unit tests to prevent regression.
- Updates `ListHelper.UpdateInPlace` for `ObservableCollection` to use
`Move` instead of `Remove`/`Add`, and avoids `Clear` to prevent
`ListView` resets (which force recreation of all item containers and are
expensive).
- Adds a simple cache for list page item view models to reduce
unnecessary recreation during forward incremental search.
- `ListViewModel` and `FetchItems` have no notion of item lifetime or
incremental search phase, so the cache intentionally remains simple
rather than clever.
  - Updates ListPage templates to make them a little lighter:
- Tag template uses OneTime, instead of OneWay - since Tag is immutable
- Replaces ItemsControl with ItemsRepeater for Tag list on list items
- Increases the debounce for showing the details pane and adds a
debounce for hiding it. This improves performance when browsing the list
and prevents the details pane animation from bouncing left and right

## Pictures? Moving!



https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/36428d20-cf46-4321-83c0-d94d6d4a2299



<!-- Please review the items on the PR checklist before submitting-->
## PR Checklist

- [x] Closes: #44407
- [x] Closes: #45691

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels/Commands/MainListPage.cs

@@ -36,6 +36,11 @@ public sealed partial class MainListPage : DynamicListPage,
     private readonly ScoringFunction<IListItem> _fallbackScoringFunction;
     private readonly IFuzzyMatcherProvider _fuzzyMatcherProvider;
 
+    // Stable separator instances so that the VM cache and InPlaceUpdateList
+    // recognise them across successive GetItems() calls
+    private readonly Separator _resultsSeparator = new(Resources.results);
+    private readonly Separator _fallbacksSeparator = new(Resources.fallbacks);
+
     private RoScored<IListItem>[]? _filteredItems;
     private RoScored<IListItem>[]? _filteredApps;
 
@@ -171,9 +176,40 @@ public sealed partial class MainListPage : DynamicListPage,
             // filtered results.
             if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(SearchText))
             {
-                return _tlcManager.TopLevelCommands
+                var allCommands = _tlcManager.TopLevelCommands;
-                    .Where(tlc => !tlc.IsFallback && !string.IsNullOrEmpty(tlc.Title))
+
-                    .ToArray();
+                // First pass: count eligible commands
+                var eligibleCount = 0;
+                for (var i = 0; i < allCommands.Count; i++)
+                {
+                    var cmd = allCommands[i];
+                    if (!cmd.IsFallback && !string.IsNullOrEmpty(cmd.Title))
+                    {
+                        eligibleCount++;
+                    }
+                }
+
+                if (eligibleCount == 0)
+                {
+                    return [];
+                }
+
+                // +1 for the separator
+                var result = new IListItem[eligibleCount + 1];
+                result[0] = _resultsSeparator;
+
+                // Second pass: populate
+                var writeIndex = 1;
+                for (var i = 0; i < allCommands.Count; i++)
+                {
+                    var cmd = allCommands[i];
+                    if (!cmd.IsFallback && !string.IsNullOrEmpty(cmd.Title))
+                    {
+                        result[writeIndex++] = cmd;
+                    }
+                }
+
+                return result;
             }
             else
             {
@@ -190,6 +226,8 @@ public sealed partial class MainListPage : DynamicListPage,
                     validScoredFallbacks,
                     _filteredApps,
                     validFallbacks,
+                    _resultsSeparator,
+                    _fallbacksSeparator,
                     AppResultLimit);
             }
         }

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels/Commands/MainListPageResultFactory.cs

@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ internal static class MainListPageResultFactory
         IList<RoScored<IListItem>>? scoredFallbackItems,
         IList<RoScored<IListItem>>? filteredApps,
         IList<RoScored<IListItem>>? fallbackItems,
+        IListItem resultsSeparator,
+        IListItem fallbacksSeparator,
         int appResultLimit)
     {
         if (appResultLimit < 0)
@@ -40,8 +42,13 @@ internal static class MainListPageResultFactory
         int nonEmptyFallbackCount = fallbackItems?.Count ?? 0;
 
         // Allocate the exact size of the result array.
-        // We'll add an extra slot for the fallbacks section header if needed.
+        // We'll add an extra slot for the fallbacks section header if needed,
-        int totalCount = len1 + len2 + len3 + nonEmptyFallbackCount + (nonEmptyFallbackCount > 0 ? 1 : 0);
+        // and another for the "Results" section header when merged results exist.
+        int mergedCount = len1 + len2 + len3;
+        bool needsResultsHeader = mergedCount > 0;
+        int totalCount = mergedCount + nonEmptyFallbackCount
+            + (needsResultsHeader ? 1 : 0)
+            + (nonEmptyFallbackCount > 0 ? 1 : 0);
 
         var result = new IListItem[totalCount];
 
@@ -49,6 +56,12 @@ internal static class MainListPageResultFactory
         int idx1 = 0, idx2 = 0, idx3 = 0;
         int writePos = 0;
 
+        // Add "Results" section header when merged results will precede the fallbacks.
+        if (needsResultsHeader)
+        {
+            result[writePos++] = resultsSeparator;
+        }
+
         // Merge while all three lists have items. To maintain a stable sort, the
         // priority is: list1 > list2 > list3 when scores are equal.
         while (idx1 < len1 && idx2 < len2 && idx3 < len3)
@@ -132,7 +145,7 @@ internal static class MainListPageResultFactory
             // Create the fallbacks section header
             if (fallbackItems.Count > 0)
             {
-                result[writePos++] = new Separator(Properties.Resources.fallbacks);
+                result[writePos++] = fallbacksSeparator;
             }
 
             for (int i = 0; i < fallbackItems.Count; i++)

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels/ItemsUpdatedEventArgs.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+// Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation
+// The Microsoft Corporation licenses this file to you under the MIT license.
+// See the LICENSE file in the project root for more information.
+
+namespace Microsoft.CmdPal.Core.ViewModels;
+
+public sealed partial class ItemsUpdatedEventArgs : EventArgs
+{
+    public bool ForceFirstItem { get; }
+
+    public ItemsUpdatedEventArgs(bool forceFirstItem)
+    {
+        ForceFirstItem = forceFirstItem;
+    }
+}

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels/ListViewModel.cs

@@ -3,9 +3,12 @@
 // See the LICENSE file in the project root for more information.
 
 using System.Collections.ObjectModel;
+using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
 using CommunityToolkit.Mvvm.Input;
 using CommunityToolkit.Mvvm.Messaging;
+using Microsoft.CmdPal.Common;
 using Microsoft.CmdPal.Common.Helpers;
+using Microsoft.CmdPal.Core.ViewModels;
 using Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels.Messages;
 using Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels.Models;
 using Microsoft.CommandPalette.Extensions;
@@ -16,9 +19,10 @@ namespace Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels;
 
 public partial class ListViewModel : PageViewModel, IDisposable
 {
-    // private readonly HashSet<ListItemViewModel> _itemCache = [];
     private readonly TaskFactory filterTaskFactory = new(new ConcurrentExclusiveSchedulerPair().ExclusiveScheduler);
 
+    private readonly Dictionary<IListItem, ListItemViewModel> _vmCache = new(new ProxyReferenceEqualityComparer());
+
     // TODO: Do we want a base "ItemsPageViewModel" for anything that's going to have items?
 
     // Observable from MVVM Toolkit will auto create public properties that use INotifyPropertyChange change
@@ -37,7 +41,7 @@ public partial class ListViewModel : PageViewModel, IDisposable
     private InterlockedBoolean _isLoading;
     private bool _isFetching;
 
-    public event TypedEventHandler<ListViewModel, object>? ItemsUpdated;
+    public event TypedEventHandler<ListViewModel, ItemsUpdatedEventArgs>? ItemsUpdated;
 
     public bool ShowEmptyContent =>
         IsInitialized &&
@@ -80,6 +84,9 @@ public partial class ListViewModel : PageViewModel, IDisposable
 
     private ListItemViewModel? _lastSelectedItem;
 
+    // For cancelling a deferred SafeSlowInit when the user navigates rapidly
+    private CancellationTokenSource? _selectedItemCts;
+
     public override bool IsInitialized
     {
         get => base.IsInitialized; protected set
@@ -113,10 +120,6 @@ public partial class ListViewModel : PageViewModel, IDisposable
 
     protected override void OnSearchTextBoxUpdated(string searchTextBox)
     {
-        //// TODO: Just temp testing, need to think about where we want to filter, as AdvancedCollectionView in View could be done, but then grouping need CollectionViewSource, maybe we do grouping in view
-        //// and manage filtering below, but we should be smarter about this and understand caching and other requirements...
-        //// Investigate if we re-use src\modules\cmdpal\extensionsdk\Microsoft.CommandPalette.Extensions.Toolkit\ListHelpers.cs InPlaceUpdateList and FilterList?
-
         // Dynamic pages will handler their own filtering. They will tell us if
         // something needs to change, by raising ItemsChanged.
         if (_isDynamic)
@@ -132,24 +135,24 @@ public partial class ListViewModel : PageViewModel, IDisposable
             // concurrently.
             _ = filterTaskFactory.StartNew(
                 () =>
-            {
+                {
-                filterCancellationTokenSource.Token.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
+                    filterCancellationTokenSource.Token.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
 
-                try
+                    try
-                {
-                    if (_model.Unsafe is IDynamicListPage dynamic)
                     {
-                        dynamic.SearchText = searchTextBox;
+                        if (_model.Unsafe is IDynamicListPage dynamic)
+                        {
+                            dynamic.SearchText = searchTextBox;
+                        }
                     }
-                }
+                    catch (OperationCanceledException)
-                catch (OperationCanceledException)
+                    {
-                {
+                    }
-                }
+                    catch (Exception ex)
-                catch (Exception ex)
+                    {
-                {
+                        ShowException(ex, _model?.Unsafe?.Name);
-                    ShowException(ex, _model?.Unsafe?.Name);
+                    }
-                }
+                },
-            },
                 filterCancellationTokenSource.Token,
                 TaskCreationOptions.None,
                 filterTaskFactory.Scheduler!);
@@ -162,7 +165,7 @@ public partial class ListViewModel : PageViewModel, IDisposable
                 ApplyFilterUnderLock();
             }
 
-            ItemsUpdated?.Invoke(this, EventArgs.Empty);
+            ItemsUpdated?.Invoke(this, new ItemsUpdatedEventArgs(true));
             UpdateEmptyContent();
             _isLoading.Clear();
         }
@@ -198,12 +201,10 @@ public partial class ListViewModel : PageViewModel, IDisposable
 
         var cancellationToken = _fetchItemsCancellationTokenSource.Token;
 
-        // TEMPORARY: just plop all the items into a single group
-        // see 9806fe5d8 for the last commit that had this with sections
         _isFetching = true;
 
         // Collect all the items into new viewmodels
-        Collection<ListItemViewModel> newViewModels = [];
+        List<ListItemViewModel> newViewModels = [];
 
         try
         {
@@ -221,11 +222,10 @@ public partial class ListViewModel : PageViewModel, IDisposable
                 return;
             }
 
-            // TODO we can probably further optimize this by also keeping a
-            // HashSet of every ExtensionObject we currently have, and only
-            // building new viewmodels for the ones we haven't already built.
             var showsTitle = GridProperties?.ShowTitle ?? true;
             var showsSubtitle = GridProperties?.ShowSubtitle ?? true;
+            var created = 0;
+            var reused = 0;
             foreach (var item in newItems)
             {
                 // Check for cancellation during item processing
@@ -234,17 +234,33 @@ public partial class ListViewModel : PageViewModel, IDisposable
                     return;
                 }
 
-                ListItemViewModel viewModel = new(item, new(this));
+                if (_vmCache.TryGetValue(item, out var existing))
+                {
+                    existing.LayoutShowsTitle = showsTitle;
+                    existing.LayoutShowsSubtitle = showsSubtitle;
+                    newViewModels.Add(existing);
+                    reused++;
+                    continue;
+                }
+
+                var viewModel = new ListItemViewModel(item, new(this));
 
                 // If an item fails to load, silently ignore it.
                 if (viewModel.SafeFastInit())
                 {
                     viewModel.LayoutShowsTitle = showsTitle;
                     viewModel.LayoutShowsSubtitle = showsSubtitle;
+
+                    _vmCache[item] = viewModel;
                     newViewModels.Add(viewModel);
+                    created++;
                 }
             }
 
+#if DEBUG
+            CoreLogger.LogInfo($"[ListViewModel] FetchItems: {created} created, {reused} reused, {_vmCache.Count} cached");
+#endif
+
             // Check for cancellation before initializing first twenty items
             if (cancellationToken.IsCancellationRequested)
             {
@@ -271,13 +287,22 @@ public partial class ListViewModel : PageViewModel, IDisposable
                 return;
             }
 
-            List<ListItemViewModel> removedItems = [];
+            List<ListItemViewModel> removedItems;
             lock (_listLock)
             {
                 // Now that we have new ViewModels for everything from the
                 // extension, smartly update our list of VMs
                 ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(Items, newViewModels, out removedItems);
 
+                _vmCache.Clear();
+                foreach (var vm in newViewModels)
+                {
+                    if (vm.Model.Unsafe is { } li)
+                    {
+                        _vmCache[li] = vm;
+                    }
+                }
+
                 // DO NOT ThrowIfCancellationRequested AFTER THIS! If you do,
                 // you'll clean up list items that we've now transferred into
                 // .Items
@@ -288,9 +313,6 @@ public partial class ListViewModel : PageViewModel, IDisposable
             {
                 removedItem.SafeCleanup();
             }
-
-            // TODO: Iterate over everything in Items, and prune items from the
-            // cache if we don't need them anymore
         }
         catch (OperationCanceledException)
         {
@@ -342,13 +364,14 @@ public partial class ListViewModel : PageViewModel, IDisposable
                     {
                         // A dynamic list? Even better! Just stick everything into
                         // FilteredItems. The extension already did any filtering it cared about.
-                        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(FilteredItems, Items.Where(i => !i.IsInErrorState));
+                        var snapshot = Items.Where(i => !i.IsInErrorState).ToList();
+                        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(FilteredItems, snapshot);
                     }
 
                     UpdateEmptyContent();
                 }
 
-                ItemsUpdated?.Invoke(this, EventArgs.Empty);
+                ItemsUpdated?.Invoke(this, new ItemsUpdatedEventArgs(!IsNested));
                 _isLoading.Clear();
             });
     }
@@ -485,40 +508,58 @@ public partial class ListViewModel : PageViewModel, IDisposable
 
     private void SetSelectedItem(ListItemViewModel item)
     {
-        if (!item.SafeSlowInit())
-        {
-            // Even if initialization fails, we need to hide any previously shown details
-            DoOnUiThread(() =>
-            {
-                WeakReferenceMessenger.Default.Send<HideDetailsMessage>();
-            });
-            return;
-        }
-
-        // GH #322:
-        // For inexplicable reasons, if you try updating the command bar and
-        // the details on the same UI thread tick as updating the list, we'll
-        // explode
-        DoOnUiThread(
-           () =>
-           {
-               WeakReferenceMessenger.Default.Send<UpdateCommandBarMessage>(new(item));
-
-               if (ShowDetails && item.HasDetails)
-               {
-                   WeakReferenceMessenger.Default.Send<ShowDetailsMessage>(new(item.Details));
-               }
-               else
-               {
-                   WeakReferenceMessenger.Default.Send<HideDetailsMessage>();
-               }
-
-               TextToSuggest = item.TextToSuggest;
-               WeakReferenceMessenger.Default.Send<UpdateSuggestionMessage>(new(item.TextToSuggest));
-           });
-
         _lastSelectedItem = item;
         _lastSelectedItem.PropertyChanged += SelectedItemPropertyChanged;
+
+        WeakReferenceMessenger.Default.Send<UpdateCommandBarMessage>(new(item));
+
+        // Cancel any in-flight slow init from a previous selection and defer
+        // the expensive work (extension IPC for MoreCommands, details) so
+        // rapid arrow-key navigation skips intermediate items entirely.
+        _selectedItemCts?.Cancel();
+        var cts = _selectedItemCts = new CancellationTokenSource();
+        var ct = cts.Token;
+
+        _ = Task.Run(
+            () =>
+            {
+                if (ct.IsCancellationRequested)
+                {
+                    return;
+                }
+
+                if (!item.SafeSlowInit())
+                {
+                    if (ct.IsCancellationRequested)
+                    {
+                        return;
+                    }
+
+                    WeakReferenceMessenger.Default.Send<HideDetailsMessage>();
+
+                    return;
+                }
+
+                if (ct.IsCancellationRequested)
+                {
+                    return;
+                }
+
+                // SafeSlowInit completed on a background thread — details
+                // messages will be marshalled to the UI thread by the receiver.
+                if (ShowDetails && item.HasDetails)
+                {
+                    WeakReferenceMessenger.Default.Send<ShowDetailsMessage>(new(item.Details));
+                }
+                else
+                {
+                    WeakReferenceMessenger.Default.Send<HideDetailsMessage>();
+                }
+
+                TextToSuggest = item.TextToSuggest;
+                WeakReferenceMessenger.Default.Send<UpdateSuggestionMessage>(new(item.TextToSuggest));
+            },
+            ct);
     }
 
     private void SelectedItemPropertyChanged(object? sender, System.ComponentModel.PropertyChangedEventArgs e)
@@ -557,21 +598,12 @@ public partial class ListViewModel : PageViewModel, IDisposable
 
     private void ClearSelectedItem()
     {
-        // GH #322:
+        _selectedItemCts?.Cancel();
-        // For inexplicable reasons, if you try updating the command bar and
-        // the details on the same UI thread tick as updating the list, we'll
-        // explode
-        DoOnUiThread(
-           () =>
-           {
-               WeakReferenceMessenger.Default.Send<UpdateCommandBarMessage>(new(null));
 
-               WeakReferenceMessenger.Default.Send<HideDetailsMessage>();
+        WeakReferenceMessenger.Default.Send<UpdateCommandBarMessage>(new(null));
-
+        WeakReferenceMessenger.Default.Send<HideDetailsMessage>();
-               WeakReferenceMessenger.Default.Send<UpdateSuggestionMessage>(new(string.Empty));
+        WeakReferenceMessenger.Default.Send<UpdateSuggestionMessage>(new(string.Empty));
-
+        TextToSuggest = string.Empty;
-               TextToSuggest = string.Empty;
-           });
     }
 
     public override void InitializeProperties()
@@ -763,6 +795,10 @@ public partial class ListViewModel : PageViewModel, IDisposable
         _fetchItemsCancellationTokenSource?.Cancel();
         _fetchItemsCancellationTokenSource?.Dispose();
         _fetchItemsCancellationTokenSource = null;
+
+        _selectedItemCts?.Cancel();
+        _selectedItemCts?.Dispose();
+        _selectedItemCts = null;
     }
 
     protected override void UnsafeCleanup()
@@ -775,6 +811,7 @@ public partial class ListViewModel : PageViewModel, IDisposable
         _cancellationTokenSource?.Cancel();
         filterCancellationTokenSource?.Cancel();
         _fetchItemsCancellationTokenSource?.Cancel();
+        _selectedItemCts?.Cancel();
 
         lock (_listLock)
         {
@@ -801,4 +838,11 @@ public partial class ListViewModel : PageViewModel, IDisposable
             model.ItemsChanged -= Model_ItemsChanged;
         }
     }
+
+    private sealed class ProxyReferenceEqualityComparer : IEqualityComparer<IListItem>
+    {
+        public bool Equals(IListItem? x, IListItem? y) => ReferenceEquals(x, y);
+
+        public int GetHashCode(IListItem obj) => RuntimeHelpers.GetHashCode(obj);
+    }
 }

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels/Properties/Resources.Designer.cs

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ namespace Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels.Properties {
     // class via a tool like ResGen or Visual Studio.
     // To add or remove a member, edit your .ResX file then rerun ResGen
     // with the /str option, or rebuild your VS project.
-    [global::System.CodeDom.Compiler.GeneratedCodeAttribute("System.Resources.Tools.StronglyTypedResourceBuilder", "17.0.0.0")]
+    [global::System.CodeDom.Compiler.GeneratedCodeAttribute("System.Resources.Tools.StronglyTypedResourceBuilder", "18.0.0.0")]
     [global::System.Diagnostics.DebuggerNonUserCodeAttribute()]
     [global::System.Runtime.CompilerServices.CompilerGeneratedAttribute()]
     public class Resources {
@@ -474,6 +474,15 @@ namespace Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels.Properties {
             }
         }
         
+        /// <summary>
+        ///   Looks up a localized string similar to Results.
+        /// </summary>
+        public static string results {
+            get {
+                return ResourceManager.GetString("results", resourceCulture);
+            }
+        }
+        
         /// <summary>
         ///   Looks up a localized string similar to Show details.
         /// </summary>

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels/Properties/Resources.resx

@@ -264,4 +264,8 @@
     <value>Show details</value>
     <comment>Name for the command that shows details of an item</comment>
   </data>
+  <data name="results" xml:space="preserve">
+    <value>Results</value>
+    <comment>Section title for list of all search results that doesn't fall into any other category</comment>
+  </data>
 </root>

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI/ExtViews/ListPage.xaml

@@ -201,12 +201,70 @@
             <Setter Property="cpcontrols:WrapPanel.IsFullLine" Value="True" />
         </Style>
 
+        <ControlTemplate x:Key="ListViewItemWithoutVisualIndicatorTemplate" TargetType="ListViewItem">
+            <ListViewItemPresenter
+                x:Name="Root"
+                HorizontalContentAlignment="{TemplateBinding HorizontalContentAlignment}"
+                VerticalContentAlignment="{TemplateBinding VerticalContentAlignment}"
+                CheckBoxBorderBrush="{ThemeResource ListViewItemCheckBoxBorderBrush}"
+                CheckBoxBrush="{ThemeResource ListViewItemCheckBoxBrush}"
+                CheckBoxCornerRadius="{ThemeResource ListViewItemCheckBoxCornerRadius}"
+                CheckBoxDisabledBorderBrush="{ThemeResource ListViewItemCheckBoxDisabledBorderBrush}"
+                CheckBoxDisabledBrush="{ThemeResource ListViewItemCheckBoxDisabledBrush}"
+                CheckBoxPointerOverBorderBrush="{ThemeResource ListViewItemCheckBoxPointerOverBorderBrush}"
+                CheckBoxPointerOverBrush="{ThemeResource ListViewItemCheckBoxPointerOverBrush}"
+                CheckBoxPressedBorderBrush="{ThemeResource ListViewItemCheckBoxPressedBorderBrush}"
+                CheckBoxPressedBrush="{ThemeResource ListViewItemCheckBoxPressedBrush}"
+                CheckBoxSelectedBrush="{ThemeResource ListViewItemCheckBoxSelectedBrush}"
+                CheckBoxSelectedDisabledBrush="{ThemeResource ListViewItemCheckBoxSelectedDisabledBrush}"
+                CheckBoxSelectedPointerOverBrush="{ThemeResource ListViewItemCheckBoxSelectedPointerOverBrush}"
+                CheckBoxSelectedPressedBrush="{ThemeResource ListViewItemCheckBoxSelectedPressedBrush}"
+                CheckBrush="{ThemeResource ListViewItemCheckBrush}"
+                CheckDisabledBrush="{ThemeResource ListViewItemCheckDisabledBrush}"
+                CheckMode="{ThemeResource ListViewItemCheckMode}"
+                CheckPressedBrush="{ThemeResource ListViewItemCheckPressedBrush}"
+                ContentMargin="{TemplateBinding Padding}"
+                ContentTransitions="{TemplateBinding ContentTransitions}"
+                Control.IsTemplateFocusTarget="True"
+                CornerRadius="{ThemeResource ListViewItemCornerRadius}"
+                DisabledOpacity="{ThemeResource ListViewItemDisabledThemeOpacity}"
+                DragBackground="{ThemeResource ListViewItemDragBackground}"
+                DragForeground="{ThemeResource ListViewItemDragForeground}"
+                DragOpacity="{ThemeResource ListViewItemDragThemeOpacity}"
+                FocusBorderBrush="{ThemeResource ListViewItemFocusBorderBrush}"
+                FocusSecondaryBorderBrush="{ThemeResource ListViewItemFocusSecondaryBorderBrush}"
+                FocusVisualMargin="{TemplateBinding FocusVisualMargin}"
+                FocusVisualPrimaryBrush="{TemplateBinding FocusVisualPrimaryBrush}"
+                FocusVisualPrimaryThickness="{TemplateBinding FocusVisualPrimaryThickness}"
+                FocusVisualSecondaryBrush="{TemplateBinding FocusVisualSecondaryBrush}"
+                FocusVisualSecondaryThickness="{TemplateBinding FocusVisualSecondaryThickness}"
+                PlaceholderBackground="{ThemeResource ListViewItemPlaceholderBackground}"
+                PointerOverBackground="{ThemeResource ListViewItemBackgroundPointerOver}"
+                PointerOverForeground="{ThemeResource ListViewItemForegroundPointerOver}"
+                PressedBackground="{ThemeResource ListViewItemBackgroundPressed}"
+                ReorderHintOffset="{ThemeResource ListViewItemReorderHintThemeOffset}"
+                SelectedBackground="{ThemeResource ListViewItemBackgroundSelected}"
+                SelectedDisabledBackground="{ThemeResource ListViewItemBackgroundSelectedDisabled}"
+                SelectedForeground="{ThemeResource ListViewItemForegroundSelected}"
+                SelectedPointerOverBackground="{ThemeResource ListViewItemBackgroundSelectedPointerOver}"
+                SelectedPressedBackground="{ThemeResource ListViewItemBackgroundSelectedPressed}"
+                SelectionCheckMarkVisualEnabled="{ThemeResource ListViewItemSelectionCheckMarkVisualEnabled}"
+                SelectionIndicatorBrush="{ThemeResource ListViewItemSelectionIndicatorBrush}"
+                SelectionIndicatorCornerRadius="{ThemeResource ListViewItemSelectionIndicatorCornerRadius}"
+                SelectionIndicatorDisabledBrush="{ThemeResource ListViewItemSelectionIndicatorDisabledBrush}"
+                SelectionIndicatorPointerOverBrush="{ThemeResource ListViewItemSelectionIndicatorPointerOverBrush}"
+                SelectionIndicatorPressedBrush="{ThemeResource ListViewItemSelectionIndicatorPressedBrush}"
+                SelectionIndicatorVisualEnabled="False" />
+        </ControlTemplate>
+
         <Style
-            x:Key="ListDefaultContainerStyle"
+            x:Key="ListSingleRowItemContainerStyle"
             BasedOn="{StaticResource DefaultListViewItemStyle}"
             TargetType="ListViewItem">
             <Setter Property="MinHeight" Value="{StaticResource SingleRowListViewItemHeight}" />
             <Setter Property="Height" Value="{StaticResource SingleRowListViewItemHeight}" />
+            <Setter Property="HorizontalContentAlignment" Value="Stretch" />
+            <Setter Property="Template" Value="{StaticResource ListViewItemWithoutVisualIndicatorTemplate}" />
         </Style>
 
         <Style
@@ -246,14 +304,17 @@
         </Style>
 
         <DataTemplate x:Key="TagTemplate" x:DataType="viewModels:TagViewModel">
+            <!--
+                Tags are immutable, so we don't have to worry about binding mode.
+            -->
             <cpcontrols:Tag
-                AutomationProperties.Name="{x:Bind Text, Mode=OneWay}"
+                AutomationProperties.Name="{x:Bind Text}"
-                BackgroundColor="{x:Bind Background, Mode=OneWay}"
+                BackgroundColor="{x:Bind Background}"
                 FontSize="12"
-                ForegroundColor="{x:Bind Foreground, Mode=OneWay}"
+                ForegroundColor="{x:Bind Foreground}"
-                Icon="{x:Bind Icon, Mode=OneWay}"
+                Icon="{x:Bind Icon}"
-                Text="{x:Bind Text, Mode=OneWay}"
+                Text="{x:Bind Text}"
-                ToolTipService.ToolTip="{x:Bind ToolTip, Mode=OneWay}" />
+                ToolTipService.ToolTip="{x:Bind ToolTip}" />
         </DataTemplate>
 
         <cmdpalUI:ListItemTemplateSelector
@@ -265,7 +326,7 @@
 
         <cmdpalUI:ListItemContainerStyleSelector
             x:Key="ListItemContainerStyleSelector"
-            Default="{StaticResource ListDefaultContainerStyle}"
+            Default="{StaticResource ListSingleRowItemContainerStyle}"
             Section="{StaticResource ListSectionContainerStyle}"
             Separator="{StaticResource ListSeparatorContainerStyle}" />
 
@@ -310,10 +371,7 @@
                     Title and subtitle are intentionally in a nested Grid instead in the outer container,
                     to avoid pushing the following element (tags) out of bounds.
                 -->
-                <Grid
+                <Grid Grid.Column="1" ColumnSpacing="12">
-                    Grid.Column="1"
-                    VerticalAlignment="Center"
-                    ColumnSpacing="12">
                     <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
                         <ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
                         <ColumnDefinition Width="*" />
@@ -345,10 +403,11 @@
                 </Grid>
 
                 <!--
-                    8px right margin is added to visually match the spacing between then icon,
+                    An 8px right margin is added to visually match the spacing between the icon
-                    and the left margin of the list, as there's
+                    and the left margin of the list.
+                    ItemRepeater is a lightweight control (compared to ItemsControl).
                 -->
-                <ItemsControl
+                <ItemsRepeater
                     Grid.Column="2"
                     Margin="0,0,8,0"
                     VerticalAlignment="Center"
@@ -357,12 +416,10 @@
                     ItemTemplate="{StaticResource TagTemplate}"
                     ItemsSource="{x:Bind Tags, Mode=OneWay}"
                     Visibility="{x:Bind HasTags, Mode=OneWay}">
-                    <ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
+                    <ItemsRepeater.Layout>
-                        <ItemsPanelTemplate>
+                        <StackLayout Orientation="Horizontal" Spacing="4" />
-                            <StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" Spacing="4" />
+                    </ItemsRepeater.Layout>
-                        </ItemsPanelTemplate>
+                </ItemsRepeater>
-                    </ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
-                </ItemsControl>
             </Grid>
         </DataTemplate>
 

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI/ExtViews/ListPage.xaml.cs

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 using System.Diagnostics;
 using CommunityToolkit.Mvvm.Messaging;
 using ManagedCommon;
+using Microsoft.CmdPal.Core.ViewModels;
 using Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.Helpers;
 using Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.Messages;
 using Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels;
@@ -12,6 +13,7 @@ using Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels.Commands;
 using Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels.Messages;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
 using Microsoft.UI.Xaml;
+using Microsoft.UI.Xaml.Automation.Peers;
 using Microsoft.UI.Xaml.Controls;
 using Microsoft.UI.Xaml.Controls.Primitives;
 using Microsoft.UI.Xaml.Input;
@@ -35,6 +37,14 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
 {
     private InputSource _lastInputSource;
 
+    private int _itemsUpdatedVersion;
+    private bool _suppressSelectionChanged;
+
+    private bool _scrollOnNextSelectionChange;
+
+    private ListItemViewModel? _stickySelectedItem;
+    private ListItemViewModel? _lastPushedToVm;
+
     internal ListViewModel? ViewModel
     {
         get => (ListViewModel?)GetValue(ViewModelProperty);
@@ -45,13 +55,7 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
     public static readonly DependencyProperty ViewModelProperty =
         DependencyProperty.Register(nameof(ViewModel), typeof(ListViewModel), typeof(ListPage), new PropertyMetadata(null, OnViewModelChanged));
 
-    private ListViewBase ItemView
+    private ListViewBase ItemView => ViewModel?.IsGridView == true ? ItemsGrid : ItemsList;
-    {
-        get
-        {
-            return ViewModel?.IsGridView == true ? ItemsGrid : ItemsList;
-        }
-    }
 
     public ListPage()
     {
@@ -82,10 +86,17 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
             // may return an incorrect index because item containers are not yet rendered.
             _ = DispatcherQueue.TryEnqueue(Microsoft.UI.Dispatching.DispatcherQueuePriority.Low, () =>
             {
-                var firstUsefulIndex = GetFirstSelectableIndex();
+                // Only do this if we truly have no selection.
-                if (firstUsefulIndex != -1)
+                if (ItemView.SelectedItem is null)
                 {
-                    ItemView.SelectedIndex = firstUsefulIndex;
+                    var firstUsefulIndex = GetFirstSelectableIndex();
+                    if (firstUsefulIndex != -1)
+                    {
+                        using (SuppressSelectionChangedScope())
+                        {
+                            ItemView.SelectedIndex = firstUsefulIndex;
+                        }
+                    }
                 }
             });
         }
@@ -118,7 +129,6 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
 
         if (ViewModel is not null)
         {
-            ViewModel.PropertyChanged -= ViewModel_PropertyChanged;
             ViewModel.ItemsUpdated -= Page_ItemsUpdated;
         }
 
@@ -175,6 +185,9 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
             }
             else
             {
+                // Click-driven selection should scroll into view (but only once).
+                _scrollOnNextSelectionChange = true;
+
                 ViewModel?.UpdateSelectedItemCommand.Execute(item);
                 WeakReferenceMessenger.Default.Send<FocusSearchBoxMessage>();
             }
@@ -196,51 +209,59 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
     [System.Diagnostics.CodeAnalysis.SuppressMessage("CodeQuality", "IDE0051:Remove unused private members", Justification = "VS is too aggressive at pruning methods bound in XAML")]
     private void Items_SelectionChanged(object sender, SelectionChangedEventArgs e)
     {
+        if (_suppressSelectionChanged)
+        {
+            return;
+        }
+
         var vm = ViewModel;
         var li = ItemView.SelectedItem as ListItemViewModel;
-        _ = Task.Run(() =>
+
+        // Transient null/separator selection can happen during in-place updates.
+        // Do not push null into the VM; Page_ItemsUpdated will repair selection.
+        if (li is null || IsSeparator(li))
         {
-            vm?.UpdateSelectedItemCommand.Execute(li);
+            return;
-        });
+        }
 
-        // There's mysterious behavior here, where the selection seemingly
+        _stickySelectedItem = li;
-        // changes to _nothing_ when we're backspacing to a single character.
+
-        // And at that point, seemingly the item that's getting removed is not
+        // Do not Task.Run (it reorders selection updates).
-        // a member of FilteredItems. Very bizarre.
+        vm?.UpdateSelectedItemCommand.Execute(li);
-        //
+
-        // Might be able to fix in the future by stashing the removed item
+        // Only scroll when explicitly requested by navigation/click handlers.
-        // here, then in Page_ItemsUpdated trying to select that cached item if
+        if (_scrollOnNextSelectionChange)
-        // it's in the list (otherwise, clear the cache), but that seems
-        // aggressively BODGY for something that mostly just works today.
-        if (ItemView.SelectedItem is not null && !IsSeparator(ItemView.SelectedItem))
         {
-            var items = ItemView.Items;
+            _scrollOnNextSelectionChange = false;
-            var firstUsefulIndex = GetFirstSelectableIndex();
-            var shouldScroll = false;
 
-            if (e.RemovedItems.Count > 0)
+            var scrollTarget = li;
+
+            // If the previous item is a separator, also scroll it into view to provide
+            // better context for the user
+            var index = ItemView.Items.IndexOf(li);
+            if (index > 0)
             {
-                shouldScroll = true;
+                var prevItem = ItemView.Items[index - 1] as ListItemViewModel;
-            }
+                if (prevItem?.Type == ListItemType.SectionHeader)
-            else if (ItemView.SelectedIndex > firstUsefulIndex)
+                {
-            {
+                    scrollTarget = prevItem;
-                shouldScroll = true;
+                }
             }
 
-            if (shouldScroll)
+            if (scrollTarget is not null)
             {
-                ItemView.ScrollIntoView(ItemView.SelectedItem);
+                ItemView.ScrollIntoView(scrollTarget);
             }
+        }
 
-            // Automation notification for screen readers
+        // Automation notification for screen readers
-            var listViewPeer = Microsoft.UI.Xaml.Automation.Peers.ListViewAutomationPeer.CreatePeerForElement(ItemView);
+        var listViewPeer = ListViewAutomationPeer.CreatePeerForElement(ItemView);
-            if (listViewPeer is not null && li is not null)
+        if (listViewPeer is not null)
-            {
+        {
-                UIHelper.AnnounceActionForAccessibility(
+            UIHelper.AnnounceActionForAccessibility(
-                    ItemsList,
+                ItemsList,
-                    li.Title,
+                li.Title,
-                    "CommandPaletteSelectedItemChanged");
+                "CommandPaletteSelectedItemChanged");
-            }
         }
     }
 
@@ -251,7 +272,12 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
         {
             if (ItemView.SelectedItem != item)
             {
-                ItemView.SelectedItem = item;
+                _scrollOnNextSelectionChange = true;
+
+                using (SuppressSelectionChangedScope())
+                {
+                    ItemView.SelectedItem = item;
+                }
             }
 
             ViewModel?.UpdateSelectedItemCommand.Execute(item);
@@ -264,7 +290,7 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
                     WeakReferenceMessenger.Default.Send<OpenContextMenuMessage>(
                         new OpenContextMenuMessage(
                             element,
-                            Microsoft.UI.Xaml.Controls.Primitives.FlyoutPlacementMode.BottomEdgeAlignedLeft,
+                            FlyoutPlacementMode.BottomEdgeAlignedLeft,
                             pos,
                             ContextMenuFilterLocation.Top));
                 });
@@ -274,7 +300,7 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
     private void Items_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
     {
         // Find the ScrollViewer in the ItemView (ItemsList or ItemsGrid)
-        var listViewScrollViewer = FindScrollViewer(this.ItemView);
+        var listViewScrollViewer = FindScrollViewer(ItemView);
 
         if (listViewScrollViewer is not null)
         {
@@ -300,12 +326,37 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
         }
     }
 
+    // Message-driven navigation should count as keyboard.
+    private void MarkKeyboardNavigation() => _lastInputSource = InputSource.Keyboard;
+
+    private void PushSelectionToVm()
+    {
+        if (ViewModel is null)
+        {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        if (ItemView.SelectedItem is not ListItemViewModel li || IsSeparator(li))
+        {
+            ViewModel.UpdateSelectedItemCommand.Execute(null);
+            return;
+        }
+
+        if (ReferenceEquals(_lastPushedToVm, li))
+        {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        _lastPushedToVm = li;
+        _stickySelectedItem = li;
+        ViewModel.UpdateSelectedItemCommand.Execute(li);
+    }
+
     public void Receive(NavigateNextCommand message)
     {
-        // Note: We may want to just have the notion of a 'SelectedCommand' in our VM
+        MarkKeyboardNavigation();
-        // And then have these commands manipulate that state being bound to the UI instead
+        _scrollOnNextSelectionChange = true;
-        // We may want to see how other non-list UIs need to behave to make this decision
+
-        // At least it's decoupled from the SearchBox now :)
         if (ViewModel?.IsGridView == true)
         {
             // For grid views, use spatial navigation (down)
@@ -316,10 +367,15 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
             // For list views, use simple linear navigation
             NavigateDown();
         }
+
+        PushSelectionToVm();
     }
 
     public void Receive(NavigatePreviousCommand message)
     {
+        MarkKeyboardNavigation();
+        _scrollOnNextSelectionChange = true;
+
         if (ViewModel?.IsGridView == true)
         {
             // For grid views, use spatial navigation (up)
@@ -329,14 +385,20 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
         {
             NavigateUp();
         }
+
+        PushSelectionToVm();
     }
 
     public void Receive(NavigateLeftCommand message)
     {
+        MarkKeyboardNavigation();
+        _scrollOnNextSelectionChange = true;
+
         // For grid views, use spatial navigation. For list views, just move up.
         if (ViewModel?.IsGridView == true)
         {
             HandleGridArrowNavigation(VirtualKey.Left);
+            PushSelectionToVm();
         }
         else
         {
@@ -347,10 +409,14 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
 
     public void Receive(NavigateRightCommand message)
     {
+        MarkKeyboardNavigation();
+        _scrollOnNextSelectionChange = true;
+
         // For grid views, use spatial navigation. For list views, just move down.
         if (ViewModel?.IsGridView == true)
         {
             HandleGridArrowNavigation(VirtualKey.Right);
+            PushSelectionToVm();
         }
         else
         {
@@ -385,6 +451,9 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
 
     public void Receive(NavigatePageDownCommand message)
     {
+        MarkKeyboardNavigation();
+        _scrollOnNextSelectionChange = true;
+
         var indexes = CalculateTargetIndexPageUpDownScrollTo(true);
         if (indexes is null)
         {
@@ -394,15 +463,16 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
         if (indexes.Value.CurrentIndex != indexes.Value.TargetIndex)
         {
             ItemView.SelectedIndex = indexes.Value.TargetIndex;
-            if (ItemView.SelectedItem is not null)
-            {
-                ItemView.ScrollIntoView(ItemView.SelectedItem);
-            }
         }
+
+        PushSelectionToVm();
     }
 
     public void Receive(NavigatePageUpCommand message)
     {
+        MarkKeyboardNavigation();
+        _scrollOnNextSelectionChange = true;
+
         var indexes = CalculateTargetIndexPageUpDownScrollTo(false);
         if (indexes is null)
         {
@@ -412,11 +482,9 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
         if (indexes.Value.CurrentIndex != indexes.Value.TargetIndex)
         {
             ItemView.SelectedIndex = indexes.Value.TargetIndex;
-            if (ItemView.SelectedItem is not null)
-            {
-                ItemView.ScrollIntoView(ItemView.SelectedItem);
-            }
         }
+
+        PushSelectionToVm();
     }
 
     /// <summary>
@@ -519,8 +587,8 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
         }
 
         var targetIndex = isPageDown
-                              ? Math.Min(itemCount - 1, currentIndex + Math.Max(1, itemsPerPage))
+            ? Math.Min(itemCount - 1, currentIndex + Math.Max(1, itemsPerPage))
-                              : Math.Max(0, currentIndex - Math.Max(1, itemsPerPage));
+            : Math.Max(0, currentIndex - Math.Max(1, itemsPerPage));
 
         return (currentIndex, targetIndex);
     }
@@ -531,13 +599,11 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
         {
             if (e.OldValue is ListViewModel old)
             {
-                old.PropertyChanged -= @this.ViewModel_PropertyChanged;
                 old.ItemsUpdated -= @this.Page_ItemsUpdated;
             }
 
             if (e.NewValue is ListViewModel page)
             {
-                page.PropertyChanged += @this.ViewModel_PropertyChanged;
                 page.ItemsUpdated += @this.Page_ItemsUpdated;
             }
             else if (e.NewValue is null)
@@ -549,83 +615,141 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
 
     // Called after we've finished updating the whole list for either a
     // GetItems or a change in the filter.
-    private void Page_ItemsUpdated(ListViewModel sender, object args)
+    private void Page_ItemsUpdated(ListViewModel sender, ItemsUpdatedEventArgs args)
     {
-        // If for some reason, we don't have a selected item, fix that.
+        var version = Interlocked.Increment(ref _itemsUpdatedVersion);
-        //
+        var forceFirstItem = args.ForceFirstItem;
-        // It's important to do this here, because once there's no selection
+
-        // (which can happen as the list updates) we won't get an
+        // Try to handle selection immediately — items should already be available
-        // ItemView_SelectionChanged again to give us another chance to change
+        // since FilteredItems is a direct ObservableCollection bound as ItemsSource.
-        // the selection from null -> something. Better to just update the
+        if (!TrySetSelectionAfterUpdate(sender, version, forceFirstItem))
-        // selection once, at the end of all the updating.
-        // The selection logic must be deferred to the DispatcherQueue
-        // to ensure the UI has processed the updated ItemsSource binding,
-        // preventing ItemView.Items from appearing empty/null immediately after update.
-        _ = DispatcherQueue.TryEnqueue(Microsoft.UI.Dispatching.DispatcherQueuePriority.Low, () =>
         {
-            var items = ItemView.Items;
+            // Fallback: binding hasn't propagated yet, defer to next tick.
+            _ = DispatcherQueue.TryEnqueue(
+                Microsoft.UI.Dispatching.DispatcherQueuePriority.Low,
+                () =>
+                {
+                    if (version != Volatile.Read(ref _itemsUpdatedVersion))
+                    {
+                        return;
+                    }
 
-            // If the list is null or empty, clears the selection and return
+                    TrySetSelectionAfterUpdate(sender, version, forceFirstItem);
-            if (items is null || items.Count == 0)
+                });
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Applies selection after an items update. Returns false if ItemView.Items
+    /// is not yet populated (caller should defer and retry).
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="forceFirstItem">
+    /// When true, always select the first selectable item and scroll to top
+    /// (used for filter changes and top-level fetches).
+    /// </param>
+    private bool TrySetSelectionAfterUpdate(ListViewModel sender, long version, bool forceFirstItem)
+    {
+        if (version != Volatile.Read(ref _itemsUpdatedVersion))
+        {
+            return true; // superseded by a newer update, nothing to do
+        }
+
+        var vm = ViewModel;
+        if (vm is null)
+        {
+            return true;
+        }
+
+        // Use the stable source of truth, not ItemView.Items (which can be transiently empty)
+        if (vm.FilteredItems.Count == 0)
+        {
+            using (SuppressSelectionChangedScope())
             {
                 ItemView.SelectedIndex = -1;
-                return;
+                _stickySelectedItem = null;
+                _lastPushedToVm = null;
             }
 
-            // Finds the first item that is not a separator
+            PushSelectionToVm();
-            var firstUsefulIndex = GetFirstSelectableIndex();
+            return true;
+        }
 
-            // If there is only separators in the list, don't select anything.
+        // If ItemView.Items hasn't caught up with the ObservableCollection yet,
-            if (firstUsefulIndex == -1)
+        // signal the caller to defer and retry.
+        var items = ItemView.Items;
+        if (items is null || items.Count == 0)
+        {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        var firstUsefulIndex = GetFirstSelectableIndex();
+        if (firstUsefulIndex == -1)
+        {
+            using (SuppressSelectionChangedScope())
             {
                 ItemView.SelectedIndex = -1;
-
+                _stickySelectedItem = null;
-                return;
+                _lastPushedToVm = null;
             }
 
-            var shouldUpdateSelection = false;
+            PushSelectionToVm();
+            return true;
+        }
 
-            // If it's a top level list update we force the reset to the top useful item
+        var shouldUpdateSelection = forceFirstItem;
-            if (!sender.IsNested)
+
+        if (!shouldUpdateSelection)
+        {
+            // Check if selection needs repair (item gone, null, or separator).
+            if (ItemView.SelectedItem is null)
             {
                 shouldUpdateSelection = true;
             }
-
-            // No current selection or current selection is null
-            else if (ItemView.SelectedItem is null)
-            {
-                shouldUpdateSelection = true;
-            }
-
-            // The current selected item is a separator
             else if (IsSeparator(ItemView.SelectedItem))
             {
                 shouldUpdateSelection = true;
             }
-
-            // The selected item does not exist in the new list
             else if (!items.Contains(ItemView.SelectedItem))
             {
                 shouldUpdateSelection = true;
             }
-
-            if (shouldUpdateSelection)
-            {
-                if (firstUsefulIndex != -1)
-                {
-                    ItemView.SelectedIndex = firstUsefulIndex;
-                }
-            }
-        });
-    }
-
-    private void ViewModel_PropertyChanged(object? sender, System.ComponentModel.PropertyChangedEventArgs e)
-    {
-        var prop = e.PropertyName;
-        if (prop == nameof(ViewModel.FilteredItems))
-        {
-            Debug.WriteLine($"ViewModel.FilteredItems {ItemView.SelectedItem}");
         }
+
+        if (shouldUpdateSelection)
+        {
+            using (SuppressSelectionChangedScope())
+            {
+                if (!forceFirstItem &&
+                    _stickySelectedItem is not null &&
+                    items.Contains(_stickySelectedItem) &&
+                    !IsSeparator(_stickySelectedItem))
+                {
+                    // Preserve sticky selection for nested dynamic updates.
+                    ItemView.SelectedItem = _stickySelectedItem;
+                }
+                else
+                {
+                    // Select the first interactive item.
+                    ItemView.SelectedItem = items[firstUsefulIndex];
+                }
+
+                // Prevent any pending "scroll on selection" logic from fighting this.
+                _scrollOnNextSelectionChange = false;
+
+                _ = DispatcherQueue.TryEnqueue(Microsoft.UI.Dispatching.DispatcherQueuePriority.Low, () =>
+                {
+                    if (version != Volatile.Read(ref _itemsUpdatedVersion))
+                    {
+                        return;
+                    }
+
+                    ResetScrollToTop();
+                });
+            }
+        }
+
+        PushSelectionToVm();
+        return true;
     }
 
     private static ScrollViewer? FindScrollViewer(DependencyObject parent)
@@ -653,7 +777,6 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
     {
         if (ItemView.Items.Count == 0)
         {
-            // No items, goodbye.
             return;
         }
 
@@ -750,7 +873,6 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
                 if (bestIndex != currentIndex)
                 {
                     ItemView.SelectedIndex = bestIndex;
-                    ItemView.ScrollIntoView(ItemView.SelectedItem);
                 }
 
                 return;
@@ -773,7 +895,6 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
         if (fallback != currentIndex)
         {
             ItemView.SelectedIndex = fallback;
-            ItemView.ScrollIntoView(ItemView.SelectedItem);
         }
     }
 
@@ -797,7 +918,12 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
 
         if (ItemView.SelectedItem != item)
         {
-            ItemView.SelectedItem = item;
+            _scrollOnNextSelectionChange = true;
+
+            using (SuppressSelectionChangedScope())
+            {
+                ItemView.SelectedItem = item;
+            }
         }
 
         if (!e.TryGetPosition(element, out var pos))
@@ -811,7 +937,7 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
                 WeakReferenceMessenger.Default.Send<OpenContextMenuMessage>(
                     new OpenContextMenuMessage(
                         element,
-                        Microsoft.UI.Xaml.Controls.Primitives.FlyoutPlacementMode.BottomEdgeAlignedLeft,
+                        FlyoutPlacementMode.BottomEdgeAlignedLeft,
                         pos,
                         ContextMenuFilterLocation.Top));
             });
@@ -844,6 +970,7 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
                 case VirtualKey.Up:
                 case VirtualKey.Down:
                     _lastInputSource = InputSource.Keyboard;
+                    _scrollOnNextSelectionChange = true;
                     HandleGridArrowNavigation(e.Key);
                     e.Handled = true;
                     break;
@@ -1027,6 +1154,31 @@ public sealed partial class ListPage : Page,
 
     private bool IsSeparator(object? item) => item is ListItemViewModel li && !li.IsInteractive;
 
+    private bool IsSectionHeader(object? item) => item is ListItemViewModel li && li.Type == ListItemType.SectionHeader;
+
+    private void ResetScrollToTop()
+    {
+        var scroll = FindScrollViewer(ItemView);
+        if (scroll is null)
+        {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        // disableAnimation: true prevents a visible jump animation
+        scroll.ChangeView(horizontalOffset: null, verticalOffset: 0, zoomFactor: null, disableAnimation: true);
+    }
+
+    private IDisposable SuppressSelectionChangedScope()
+    {
+        _suppressSelectionChanged = true;
+        return new ActionOnDispose(() => _suppressSelectionChanged = false);
+    }
+
+    private sealed partial class ActionOnDispose(Action action) : IDisposable
+    {
+        public void Dispose() => action();
+    }
+
     private enum InputSource
     {
         None,

src/modules/cmdpal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI/Pages/ShellPage.xaml.cs

@@ -277,49 +277,64 @@ public sealed partial class ShellPage : Microsoft.UI.Xaml.Controls.Page,
 
     public void Receive(ShowDetailsMessage message)
     {
-        if (ViewModel is not null &&
+        if (ViewModel is null || ViewModel.CurrentPage is null)
-            ViewModel.CurrentPage is not null)
         {
-            if (ViewModel.CurrentPage.PageContext.TryGetTarget(out var pageContext))
+            return;
+        }
+
+        var details = message.Details;
+        var wasVisible = ViewModel.IsDetailsVisible;
+
+        // GH #322:
+        // For inexplicable reasons, if you try to change the details too fast,
+        // we'll explode. This seemingly only happens if you change the details
+        // while we're also scrolling a new list view item into view.
+        //
+        // Always debounce through the DispatcherQueue
+        // timer so the UI settles between updates. Use immediate=true for
+        // the first show so the panel appears without delay; subsequent
+        // updates during rapid navigation are coalesced.
+        _debounceTimer.Debounce(ShowDetails, interval: TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(100), immediate: !wasVisible);
+
+        void ShowDetails()
+        {
+            // Since immediate=true means we're called synchronously from this method, we need to check
+            // if we're on the UI thread and re-queue if not.
+            if (!_queue.HasThreadAccess)
             {
-                Task.Factory.StartNew(
+                var enqueued = _queue.TryEnqueue(ShowDetails);
-                    () =>
+                if (!enqueued)
-                    {
+                {
-                        // TERRIBLE HACK TODO GH #245
+                    Logger.LogError("Failed to enqueue show details action on UI thread");
-                        // There's weird wacky bugs with debounce currently.
+                }
-                        if (!ViewModel.IsDetailsVisible)
-                        {
-                            ViewModel.Details = message.Details;
-                            PropertyChanged?.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(nameof(HasHeroImage)));
-                            ViewModel.IsDetailsVisible = true;
-                            return;
-                        }
 
-                        // GH #322:
+                return;
-                        // For inexplicable reasons, if you try to change the details too fast,
+            }
-                        // we'll explode. This seemingly only happens if you change the details
-                        // while we're also scrolling a new list view item into view.
-                        _debounceTimer.Debounce(
-                            () =>
-                            {
-                                ViewModel.Details = message.Details;
 
-                                // Trigger a re-evaluation of whether we have a hero image based on
+            try
-                                // the current theme
+            {
-                                PropertyChanged?.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(nameof(HasHeroImage)));
+                ViewModel.Details = details;
-                            },
+                PropertyChanged?.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(nameof(HasHeroImage)));
-                            interval: TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(50),
+                ViewModel.IsDetailsVisible = true;
-                            immediate: ViewModel.IsDetailsVisible == false);
+            }
-                        ViewModel.IsDetailsVisible = true;
+            catch (Exception ex)
-                    },
+            {
-                    CancellationToken.None,
+                Logger.LogError("Failed to show detail", ex);
-                    TaskCreationOptions.None,
-                    pageContext.Scheduler);
             }
         }
     }
 
-    public void Receive(HideDetailsMessage message) => HideDetails();
+    public void Receive(HideDetailsMessage message)
+    {
+        // Debounce the hide through the same timer used for show. If a
+        // ShowDetailsMessage arrives before this fires, it cancels the
+        // pending hide - preventing the panel from flickering closed and
+        // reopened during rapid item navigation.
+        _debounceTimer.Debounce(
+            () => HideDetails(),
+            interval: TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(150),
+            immediate: false);
+    }
 
     public void Receive(LaunchUriMessage message) => _ = global::Windows.System.Launcher.LaunchUriAsync(message.Uri);
 

src/modules/cmdpal/Tests/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels.UnitTests/MainListPageResultFactoryTests.cs

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-// Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation
+// Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation
 // The Microsoft Corporation licenses this file to you under the MIT license.
 // See the LICENSE file in the project root for more information.
 
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@ namespace Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels.UnitTests;
 [TestClass]
 public partial class MainListPageResultFactoryTests
 {
+    private static readonly Separator _resultsSeparator = new("Results");
+    private static readonly Separator _fallbacksSeparator = new("Fallbacks");
+
     private sealed partial class MockListItem : IListItem
     {
         public string Title { get; set; } = string.Empty;
@@ -82,18 +85,22 @@ public partial class MainListPageResultFactoryTests
             scoredFallback,
             apps,
             fallbacks,
+            _resultsSeparator,
+            _fallbacksSeparator,
             appResultLimit: 10);
 
         // Expected order:
+        // "Results" section header
         // 100: F1, SF1, A1
         // 60: SF2
         // 55: A2
         // 50: F2
+        // "Fallbacks" section header
         // Then fallbacks in original order: FB1, FB2
         var titles = result.Select(r => r.Title).ToArray();
 #pragma warning disable CA1861 // Avoid constant arrays as arguments
         CollectionAssert.AreEqual(
-            new[] { "F1", "SF1", "A1", "SF2", "A2", "F2", "Fallbacks", "FB1", "FB2" },
+            new[] { "Results", "F1", "SF1", "A1", "SF2", "A2", "F2", "Fallbacks", "FB1", "FB2" },
             titles);
 #pragma warning restore CA1861 // Avoid constant arrays as arguments
     }
@@ -113,11 +120,14 @@ public partial class MainListPageResultFactoryTests
             null,
             apps,
             null,
+            _resultsSeparator,
+            _fallbacksSeparator,
             2);
 
-        Assert.AreEqual(2, result.Length);
+        Assert.AreEqual(3, result.Length);
-        Assert.AreEqual("A1", result[0].Title);
+        Assert.AreEqual("Results", result[0].Title);
-        Assert.AreEqual("A2", result[1].Title);
+        Assert.AreEqual("A1", result[1].Title);
+        Assert.AreEqual("A2", result[2].Title);
     }
 
     [TestMethod]
@@ -135,10 +145,13 @@ public partial class MainListPageResultFactoryTests
             null,
             apps,
             null,
+            _resultsSeparator,
+            _fallbacksSeparator,
             appResultLimit: 1);
 
-        Assert.AreEqual(1, result.Length);
+        Assert.AreEqual(2, result.Length);
-        Assert.AreEqual("A1", result[0].Title);
+        Assert.AreEqual("Results", result[0].Title);
+        Assert.AreEqual("A1", result[1].Title);
     }
 
     [TestMethod]
@@ -155,6 +168,8 @@ public partial class MainListPageResultFactoryTests
             null,
             apps,
             null,
+            _resultsSeparator,
+            _fallbacksSeparator,
             appResultLimit: 0);
 
         Assert.AreEqual(0, result.Length);
@@ -181,12 +196,15 @@ public partial class MainListPageResultFactoryTests
             null,
             apps,
             null,
+            _resultsSeparator,
+            _fallbacksSeparator,
             appResultLimit: 1);
 
-        Assert.AreEqual(3, result.Length);
+        Assert.AreEqual(4, result.Length);
-        Assert.AreEqual("F1", result[0].Title);
+        Assert.AreEqual("Results", result[0].Title);
-        Assert.AreEqual("A1", result[1].Title);
+        Assert.AreEqual("F1", result[1].Title);
-        Assert.AreEqual("F2", result[2].Title);
+        Assert.AreEqual("A1", result[2].Title);
+        Assert.AreEqual("F2", result[3].Title);
     }
 
     [TestMethod]
@@ -203,6 +221,8 @@ public partial class MainListPageResultFactoryTests
             null,
             null,
             fallbacks,
+            _resultsSeparator,
+            _fallbacksSeparator,
             appResultLimit: 10);
 
         Assert.AreEqual(3, result.Length);
@@ -219,6 +239,8 @@ public partial class MainListPageResultFactoryTests
             null,
             null,
             null,
+            _resultsSeparator,
+            _fallbacksSeparator,
             appResultLimit: 10);
 
         Assert.IsNotNull(result);

src/modules/cmdpal/Tests/Microsoft.CommandPalette.Extensions.Toolkit.UnitTests/ListHelpersInPlaceUpdateTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,746 @@
+// Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation
+// The Microsoft Corporation licenses this file to you under the MIT license.
+// See the LICENSE file in the project root for more information.
+
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Collections.ObjectModel;
+using System.Linq;
+using Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting;
+
+namespace Microsoft.CommandPalette.Extensions.Toolkit.UnitTests;
+
+[TestClass]
+public class ListHelpersInPlaceUpdateTests
+{
+    // Use a reference-type wrapper so tests work with the `where T : class` constraint
+    // and we can verify identity (same instance) in removedItems tests.
+    private sealed class Item(string name)
+    {
+        public string Name { get; } = name;
+
+        public override string ToString() => Name;
+
+        public override bool Equals(object? obj) => obj is Item other && Name == other.Name;
+
+        public override int GetHashCode() => Name.GetHashCode();
+    }
+
+    private static Item[] MakeItems(params string[] names) =>
+        names.Select(n => new Item(n)).ToArray();
+
+    private static void AssertSequence(IList<Item> actual, params string[] expected)
+    {
+        var actualNames = actual.Select(i => i.Name).ToArray();
+        CollectionAssert.AreEqual(expected, actualNames, $"Expected [{string.Join(", ", expected)}] but got [{string.Join(", ", actualNames)}]");
+    }
+
+    private static void AssertRemovedContainsExactly(List<Item> removedItems, IList<Item> originalItems, IList<Item> newItems)
+    {
+        // removedItems should contain exactly the items from original that are not in newItems
+        var newSet = new HashSet<Item>(newItems);
+        var expectedRemoved = originalItems.Where(i => !newSet.Contains(i)).ToList();
+
+        // Same count
+        Assert.AreEqual(expectedRemoved.Count, removedItems.Count, $"Expected {expectedRemoved.Count} removed items but got {removedItems.Count}");
+
+        // Same instances (by reference, since we're checking cleanup correctness)
+        foreach (var expected in expectedRemoved)
+        {
+            Assert.IsTrue(removedItems.Contains(expected), $"Expected '{expected.Name}' in removedItems but it was missing");
+        }
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void IdenticalLists_NoChanges()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "B", "C");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+        var newContents = items.ToList(); // same items, same order
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, newContents, out var removed);
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "A", "B", "C");
+        Assert.AreEqual(0, removed.Count);
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void EmptyToNonEmpty_AddsAll()
+    {
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>();
+        var newItems = MakeItems("A", "B", "C");
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, newItems, out var removed);
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "A", "B", "C");
+        Assert.AreEqual(0, removed.Count);
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void NonEmptyToEmpty_RemovesAll()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "B", "C");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, [], out var removed);
+
+        Assert.AreEqual(0, original.Count);
+        Assert.AreEqual(3, removed.Count);
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void SingleItem_Replace()
+    {
+        var a = new Item("A");
+        var b = new Item("B");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item> { a };
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, [b], out var removed);
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "B");
+        Assert.AreEqual(1, removed.Count);
+        Assert.AreSame(a, removed[0]);
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void FilterDown_RemovesNonMatching()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "B", "C", "D", "E");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+        var filtered = new[] { items[0], items[2], items[4] }; // A, C, E
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, filtered, out var removed);
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "A", "C", "E");
+        Assert.AreEqual(2, removed.Count); // B, D removed
+        AssertRemovedContainsExactly(removed, items, filtered);
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void FilterDown_EveryOtherItem()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "B", "C", "D", "E", "F", "G", "H");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+        var filtered = new[] { items[1], items[3], items[5], items[7] }; // B, D, F, H
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, filtered, out var removed);
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "B", "D", "F", "H");
+        Assert.AreEqual(4, removed.Count);
+        AssertRemovedContainsExactly(removed, items, filtered);
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void Expand_InsertsNewItems()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "C", "E");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+        var b = new Item("B");
+        var d = new Item("D");
+        var expanded = new[] { items[0], b, items[1], d, items[2] }; // A, B, C, D, E
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, expanded, out var removed);
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "A", "B", "C", "D", "E");
+        Assert.AreEqual(0, removed.Count);
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void Reversed_ReordersCorrectly()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "B", "C", "D", "E");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+        var reversed = items.Reverse().ToArray();
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, reversed, out var removed);
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "E", "D", "C", "B", "A");
+        Assert.AreEqual(0, removed.Count);
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void MoveFirstToLast()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "B", "C", "D");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+        var reordered = new[] { items[1], items[2], items[3], items[0] }; // B, C, D, A
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, reordered, out var removed);
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "B", "C", "D", "A");
+        Assert.AreEqual(0, removed.Count);
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void MoveLastToFirst()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "B", "C", "D");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+        var reordered = new[] { items[3], items[0], items[1], items[2] }; // D, A, B, C
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, reordered, out var removed);
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "D", "A", "B", "C");
+        Assert.AreEqual(0, removed.Count);
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void NoOverlap_ReplacesAll()
+    {
+        var oldItems = MakeItems("A", "B", "C");
+        var newItems = MakeItems("X", "Y", "Z");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(oldItems);
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, newItems, out var removed);
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "X", "Y", "Z");
+        Assert.AreEqual(3, removed.Count);
+        AssertRemovedContainsExactly(removed, oldItems, newItems);
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void NoOverlap_DifferentSizes_OriginalLarger()
+    {
+        var oldItems = MakeItems("A", "B", "C", "D", "E");
+        var newItems = MakeItems("X", "Y");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(oldItems);
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, newItems, out var removed);
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "X", "Y");
+        Assert.AreEqual(5, removed.Count);
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void NoOverlap_DifferentSizes_NewLarger()
+    {
+        var oldItems = MakeItems("A", "B");
+        var newItems = MakeItems("X", "Y", "Z", "W");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(oldItems);
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, newItems, out var removed);
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "X", "Y", "Z", "W");
+        Assert.AreEqual(2, removed.Count);
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void MixedRemoveAndReorder()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "X", "Y", "C", "B");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+
+        // Keep A, B, C but reorder; remove X, Y
+        var newList = new[] { items[0], items[4], items[3] }; // A, B, C
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, newList, out var removed);
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "A", "B", "C");
+        Assert.AreEqual(2, removed.Count);
+        AssertRemovedContainsExactly(removed, items, newList);
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void MixedAddRemoveReorder()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "B", "C", "D");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+        var e = new Item("E");
+
+        // Remove B, D; add E; reorder to C, A, E
+        var newList = new[] { items[2], items[0], e }; // C, A, E
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, newList, out var removed);
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "C", "A", "E");
+        Assert.AreEqual(2, removed.Count); // B, D
+        AssertRemovedContainsExactly(removed, items, newList);
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void ItemsBetweenCurrentAndFoundAreInNewList_NotRemovedIncorrectly()
+    {
+        // This is the scenario that caused the icon bug:
+        // Items between the current position and the found target
+        // appear later in newList and must NOT be put in removedItems.
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "B", "C", "D", "E");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+
+        // Reverse: items B, C, D are between position 0 and E's position
+        // but all appear in newList
+        var reversed = new[] { items[4], items[3], items[2], items[1], items[0] };
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, reversed, out var removed);
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "E", "D", "C", "B", "A");
+        Assert.AreEqual(0, removed.Count, "No items should be removed when all items are reused");
+
+        // Verify all original instances are still in the collection (not cleaned up)
+        foreach (var item in items)
+        {
+            Assert.IsTrue(original.Contains(item), $"Item '{item.Name}' should still be in the collection (same instance)");
+        }
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void RemovedItems_NeverContainsItemsStillInNewList()
+    {
+        // Simulate the exact FetchItems scenario: reuse ViewModel instances
+        var a = new Item("A");
+        var b = new Item("B");
+        var c = new Item("C");
+        var d = new Item("D");
+        var e = new Item("E");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item> { a, b, c, d, e };
+
+        // New list reuses same instances but in different order, minus some
+        var newList = new Item[] { e, c, a }; // reversed subset
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, newList, out var removed);
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "E", "C", "A");
+
+        // Critical: removed should only contain b and d
+        Assert.AreEqual(2, removed.Count);
+        Assert.IsTrue(removed.Contains(b), "B should be in removedItems");
+        Assert.IsTrue(removed.Contains(d), "D should be in removedItems");
+
+        // Critical: removed must NOT contain items still in the list
+        Assert.IsFalse(removed.Contains(a), "A is still in use — must not be in removedItems");
+        Assert.IsFalse(removed.Contains(c), "C is still in use — must not be in removedItems");
+        Assert.IsFalse(removed.Contains(e), "E is still in use — must not be in removedItems");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void WorksWithPlainList()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "B", "C", "D");
+        var original = new List<Item>(items);
+        var newList = new[] { items[2], items[0] }; // C, A
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, newList, out var removed);
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "C", "A");
+        Assert.AreEqual(2, removed.Count);
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void TwoArgOverload_ProducesCorrectResult()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "B", "C");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+        var newList = new[] { items[2], items[0] }; // C, A
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, newList);
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "C", "A");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void AcceptsLazyEnumerable()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "B", "C");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+
+        // Pass a lazy IEnumerable (not materialized)
+        IEnumerable<Item> lazy = items.Reverse().Where(_ => true);
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, lazy, out var removed);
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "C", "B", "A");
+        Assert.AreEqual(0, removed.Count);
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void IncrementalSearch_ProgressiveFiltering()
+    {
+        // Simulate typing a search query character by character
+        var all = MakeItems("Apple", "Banana", "Avocado", "Blueberry", "Apricot");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(all);
+
+        // First keystroke "A" — filter to A items
+        var filtered1 = new[] { all[0], all[2], all[4] }; // Apple, Avocado, Apricot
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, filtered1, out var removed1);
+        AssertSequence(original, "Apple", "Avocado", "Apricot");
+        Assert.AreEqual(2, removed1.Count);
+
+        // Second keystroke "Ap" — filter further
+        var filtered2 = new[] { all[0], all[4] }; // Apple, Apricot
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, filtered2, out var removed2);
+        AssertSequence(original, "Apple", "Apricot");
+        Assert.AreEqual(1, removed2.Count);
+
+        // Clear search — back to all
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, all, out var removed3);
+        AssertSequence(original, "Apple", "Banana", "Avocado", "Blueberry", "Apricot");
+        Assert.AreEqual(0, removed3.Count);
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void PageNavigation_CompleteReplacement()
+    {
+        // Simulate navigating from one extension page to another
+        var page1 = MakeItems("P1A", "P1B", "P1C", "P1D");
+        var page2 = MakeItems("P2A", "P2B", "P2C");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(page1);
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, page2, out var removed1);
+        AssertSequence(original, "P2A", "P2B", "P2C");
+        Assert.AreEqual(4, removed1.Count);
+
+        // Navigate back
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, page1, out var removed2);
+        AssertSequence(original, "P1A", "P1B", "P1C", "P1D");
+        Assert.AreEqual(3, removed2.Count);
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void StableItems_SameInstancePreserved()
+    {
+        var a = new Item("A");
+        var b = new Item("B");
+        var c = new Item("C");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item> { a, b, c };
+
+        // Remove middle item
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, [a, c]);
+
+        Assert.AreSame(a, original[0], "A should be the same instance");
+        Assert.AreSame(c, original[1], "C should be the same instance");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void ZeroOverlap_UsesReplaceNotInsertRemove()
+    {
+        // Track notifications to verify Replace path is used
+        var oldItems = MakeItems("A", "B", "C");
+        var newItems = MakeItems("X", "Y", "Z");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(oldItems);
+
+        var notifications = new List<System.Collections.Specialized.NotifyCollectionChangedAction>();
+        original.CollectionChanged += (_, e) => notifications.Add(e.Action);
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, newItems, out var removed);
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "X", "Y", "Z");
+        Assert.AreEqual(3, removed.Count);
+
+        // All notifications should be Replace (not Add/Remove pairs)
+        Assert.IsTrue(
+            notifications.All(a => a == System.Collections.Specialized.NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Replace),
+            $"Expected all Replace but got: [{string.Join(", ", notifications)}]");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void ZeroOverlap_ShrinkingList_ReplaceThenRemove()
+    {
+        var oldItems = MakeItems("A", "B", "C", "D", "E");
+        var newItems = MakeItems("X", "Y");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(oldItems);
+
+        var notifications = new List<System.Collections.Specialized.NotifyCollectionChangedAction>();
+        original.CollectionChanged += (_, e) => notifications.Add(e.Action);
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, newItems, out var removed);
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "X", "Y");
+        Assert.AreEqual(5, removed.Count);
+
+        // 2 Replace + 3 Remove
+        var replaces = notifications.Count(a => a == System.Collections.Specialized.NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Replace);
+        var removes = notifications.Count(a => a == System.Collections.Specialized.NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Remove);
+        Assert.AreEqual(2, replaces);
+        Assert.AreEqual(3, removes);
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void ZeroOverlap_GrowingList_ReplaceThenAdd()
+    {
+        var oldItems = MakeItems("A", "B");
+        var newItems = MakeItems("X", "Y", "Z", "W");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(oldItems);
+
+        var notifications = new List<System.Collections.Specialized.NotifyCollectionChangedAction>();
+        original.CollectionChanged += (_, e) => notifications.Add(e.Action);
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, newItems, out var removed);
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "X", "Y", "Z", "W");
+        Assert.AreEqual(2, removed.Count);
+
+        // 2 Replace + 2 Add
+        var replaces = notifications.Count(a => a == System.Collections.Specialized.NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Replace);
+        var adds = notifications.Count(a => a == System.Collections.Specialized.NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Add);
+        Assert.AreEqual(2, replaces);
+        Assert.AreEqual(2, adds);
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void TwoArg_IdenticalLists_NoChanges()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "B", "C");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, items.ToList());
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "A", "B", "C");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void TwoArg_EmptyToNonEmpty()
+    {
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>();
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, MakeItems("A", "B", "C"));
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "A", "B", "C");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void TwoArg_NonEmptyToEmpty()
+    {
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(MakeItems("A", "B", "C"));
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, Array.Empty<Item>());
+
+        Assert.AreEqual(0, original.Count);
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void TwoArg_FilterDown()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "B", "C", "D", "E");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, new[] { items[0], items[2], items[4] });
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "A", "C", "E");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void TwoArg_FilterDown_EveryOtherItem()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "B", "C", "D", "E", "F", "G", "H");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, new[] { items[1], items[3], items[5], items[7] });
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "B", "D", "F", "H");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void TwoArg_Expand()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "C", "E");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+        var b = new Item("B");
+        var d = new Item("D");
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, new[] { items[0], b, items[1], d, items[2] });
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "A", "B", "C", "D", "E");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void TwoArg_Reversed()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "B", "C", "D", "E");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, items.Reverse());
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "E", "D", "C", "B", "A");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void TwoArg_MoveFirstToLast()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "B", "C", "D");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, new[] { items[1], items[2], items[3], items[0] });
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "B", "C", "D", "A");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void TwoArg_MoveLastToFirst()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "B", "C", "D");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, new[] { items[3], items[0], items[1], items[2] });
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "D", "A", "B", "C");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void TwoArg_NoOverlap_ReplacesAll()
+    {
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(MakeItems("A", "B", "C"));
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, MakeItems("X", "Y", "Z"));
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "X", "Y", "Z");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void TwoArg_NoOverlap_OriginalLarger()
+    {
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(MakeItems("A", "B", "C", "D", "E"));
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, MakeItems("X", "Y"));
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "X", "Y");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void TwoArg_NoOverlap_NewLarger()
+    {
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(MakeItems("A", "B"));
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, MakeItems("X", "Y", "Z", "W"));
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "X", "Y", "Z", "W");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void TwoArg_MixedRemoveAndReorder()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "X", "Y", "C", "B");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, new[] { items[0], items[4], items[3] });
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "A", "B", "C");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void TwoArg_MixedAddRemoveReorder()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "B", "C", "D");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+        var e = new Item("E");
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, new[] { items[2], items[0], e });
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "C", "A", "E");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void TwoArg_IncrementalSearch()
+    {
+        var all = MakeItems("Apple", "Banana", "Avocado", "Blueberry", "Apricot");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(all);
+
+        // "A" filter
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, new[] { all[0], all[2], all[4] });
+        AssertSequence(original, "Apple", "Avocado", "Apricot");
+
+        // "Ap" filter
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, new[] { all[0], all[4] });
+        AssertSequence(original, "Apple", "Apricot");
+
+        // Clear
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, all);
+        AssertSequence(original, "Apple", "Banana", "Avocado", "Blueberry", "Apricot");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void TwoArg_PageNavigation()
+    {
+        var page1 = MakeItems("P1A", "P1B", "P1C", "P1D");
+        var page2 = MakeItems("P2A", "P2B", "P2C");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(page1);
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, page2);
+        AssertSequence(original, "P2A", "P2B", "P2C");
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, page1);
+        AssertSequence(original, "P1A", "P1B", "P1C", "P1D");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void TwoArg_WorksWithPlainList()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "B", "C", "D");
+        var original = new List<Item>(items);
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, new[] { items[2], items[0] });
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "C", "A");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void TwoArg_AcceptsLazyEnumerable()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "B", "C");
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+
+        IEnumerable<Item> lazy = items.Reverse().Where(_ => true);
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, lazy);
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "C", "B", "A");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void TwoArg_SingleItemReplace()
+    {
+        var original = new ObservableCollection<Item> { new Item("A") };
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original, new[] { new Item("B") });
+
+        AssertSequence(original, "B");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void BothOverloads_ProduceSameResult_FilterAndReorder()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "B", "C", "D", "E", "F");
+        var newList = new[] { items[4], items[2], items[0], new Item("G") }; // E, C, A, G
+
+        var original1 = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+        var original2 = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original1, newList);
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original2, newList, out _);
+
+        var names1 = original1.Select(i => i.Name).ToArray();
+        var names2 = original2.Select(i => i.Name).ToArray();
+        CollectionAssert.AreEqual(names1, names2, "Both overloads should produce identical results");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void BothOverloads_ProduceSameResult_CompleteReversal()
+    {
+        var items = MakeItems("A", "B", "C", "D", "E");
+        var reversed = items.Reverse().ToArray();
+
+        var original1 = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+        var original2 = new ObservableCollection<Item>(items);
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original1, reversed);
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original2, reversed, out _);
+
+        var names1 = original1.Select(i => i.Name).ToArray();
+        var names2 = original2.Select(i => i.Name).ToArray();
+        CollectionAssert.AreEqual(names1, names2, "Both overloads should produce identical results");
+    }
+
+    [TestMethod]
+    public void BothOverloads_ProduceSameResult_NoOverlap()
+    {
+        var oldItems = MakeItems("A", "B", "C", "D");
+        var newItems = MakeItems("W", "X", "Y");
+
+        var original1 = new ObservableCollection<Item>(oldItems);
+        var original2 = new ObservableCollection<Item>(oldItems);
+
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original1, newItems);
+        ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(original2, newItems, out _);
+
+        var names1 = original1.Select(i => i.Name).ToArray();
+        var names2 = original2.Select(i => i.Name).ToArray();
+        CollectionAssert.AreEqual(names1, names2, "Both overloads should produce identical results");
+    }
+}

src/modules/cmdpal/extensionsdk/Microsoft.CommandPalette.Extensions.Toolkit/ListHelpers.cs

@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 // The Microsoft Corporation licenses this file to you under the MIT license.
 // See the LICENSE file in the project root for more information.
 
+using System.Collections.ObjectModel;
+
 namespace Microsoft.CommandPalette.Extensions.Toolkit;
 
 public partial class ListHelpers
@@ -58,84 +60,91 @@ public partial class ListHelpers
     }
 
     /// <summary>
-    /// Modifies the contents of `original` in-place, to match those of
+    /// Modifies the contents of <paramref name="original"/> in-place, to match those of
-    /// `newContents`. The canonical use being:
+    /// <paramref name="newContents"/>.
-    /// ```cs
+    /// <example>
+    /// The canonical use being:
+    /// <code>
     /// ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(FilteredItems, FilterList(ItemsToFilter, TextToFilterOn));
-    /// ```
+    /// </code>
+    /// </example>
     /// </summary>
     /// <typeparam name="T">Any type that can be compared for equality</typeparam>
     /// <param name="original">Collection to modify</param>
-    /// <param name="newContents">The enumerable which `original` should match</param>
+    /// <param name="newContents">The enumerable which <c>original</c> should match</param>
     public static void InPlaceUpdateList<T>(IList<T> original, IEnumerable<T> newContents)
         where T : class
     {
-        InPlaceUpdateList(original, newContents, out _);
+        // Materialize once to avoid re-enumeration
-    }
+        var newList = newContents as IList<T> ?? newContents.ToList();
+        var numberOfNew = newList.Count;
 
-    /// <summary>
+        // Detect if we can use Move() for better ObservableCollection performance
-    /// Modifies the contents of `original` in-place, to match those of
+        var observableCollection = original as ObservableCollection<T>;
-    /// `newContents`. The canonical use being:
-    /// ```cs
-    /// ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(FilteredItems, FilterList(ItemsToFilter, TextToFilterOn));
-    /// ```
-    /// </summary>
-    /// <typeparam name="T">Any type that can be compared for equality</typeparam>
-    /// <param name="original">Collection to modify</param>
-    /// <param name="newContents">The enumerable which `original` should match</param>
-    /// <param name="removedItems">List of items that were removed from the original collection</param>
-    public static void InPlaceUpdateList<T>(IList<T> original, IEnumerable<T> newContents, out List<T> removedItems)
-        where T : class
-    {
-        removedItems = [];
-
-        // we're not changing newContents - stash this so we don't re-evaluate it every time
-        var numberOfNew = newContents.Count();
 
         // Short circuit - new contents should just be empty
         if (numberOfNew == 0)
         {
-            removedItems.AddRange(original);
+            if (observableCollection is not null)
-            original.Clear();
+            {
+                // Clear() is observable collection causes a reset notification, which causes
+                // the ListView to discard all containers and recreate them, which is expensive and
+                // causes ListView to flash.
+                while (observableCollection.Count > 0)
+                {
+                    observableCollection.RemoveAt(observableCollection.Count - 1);
+                }
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                original.Clear();
+            }
+
             return;
         }
 
+        // Simple forward-scan merge. No HashSet needed because we don't track
+        // removed items — the icon-bug guard is unnecessary, and items removed
+        // mid-merge that appear later in newList will simply be re-inserted.
         var i = 0;
-        foreach (var newItem in newContents)
+        for (var newIndex = 0; newIndex < numberOfNew; newIndex++)
         {
+            var newItem = newList[newIndex];
+
             if (i >= original.Count)
             {
                 break;
             }
 
+            // Search for this item in the remaining portion of original
+            var foundIndex = -1;
             for (var j = i; j < original.Count; j++)
             {
-                var og_2 = original[j];
+                if (original[j]?.Equals(newItem) ?? false)
-                var areEqual_2 = og_2?.Equals(newItem) ?? false;
-                if (areEqual_2)
                 {
-                    for (var k = i; k < j; k++)
+                    foundIndex = j;
-                    {
-                        // This item from the original list was not in the new list. Remove it.
-                        removedItems.Add(original[i]);
-                        original.RemoveAt(i);
-                    }
-
                     break;
                 }
             }
 
-            var og = original[i];
+            if (foundIndex >= 0)
-            var areEqual = og?.Equals(newItem) ?? false;
-
-            // Is this new item already in the list?
-            if (areEqual)
             {
-                // It is already in the list
+                // Remove all items between i and foundIndex
+                for (var k = foundIndex - 1; k >= i; k--)
+                {
+                    original.RemoveAt(k);
+                    foundIndex--;
+                }
+
+                // If the found item isn't at position i yet, move it there
+                if (foundIndex > i)
+                {
+                    MoveItem(original, observableCollection, foundIndex, i);
+                }
             }
             else
             {
-                // it isn't. Add it.
+                // Not found - insert new item at position i
                 original.Insert(i, newItem);
             }
 
@@ -145,19 +154,283 @@ public partial class ListHelpers
         // Remove any extra trailing items from the destination
         while (original.Count > numberOfNew)
         {
-            // RemoveAtEnd
-            removedItems.Add(original[original.Count - 1]);
             original.RemoveAt(original.Count - 1);
         }
 
         // Add any extra trailing items from the source
-        if (original.Count < numberOfNew)
+        while (i < numberOfNew)
         {
-            var remaining = newContents.Skip(original.Count);
+            original.Add(newList[i]);
-            foreach (var item in remaining)
+            i++;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Modifies the contents of <paramref name="original"/> in-place, to match those of
+    /// <paramref name="newContents"/>.
+    /// <example>
+    /// The canonical use being:
+    /// <code>
+    /// ListHelpers.InPlaceUpdateList(FilteredItems, FilterList(ItemsToFilter, TextToFilterOn), out var removedItems);
+    /// </code>
+    /// </example>
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <typeparam name="T">Any type that can be compared for equality</typeparam>
+    /// <param name="original">Collection to modify</param>
+    /// <param name="newContents">The enumerable which <c>original</c> should match</param>
+    /// <param name="removedItems">List of items that were removed from the original collection</param>
+    public static void InPlaceUpdateList<T>(IList<T> original, IEnumerable<T> newContents, out List<T> removedItems)
+        where T : class
+    {
+        removedItems = [];
+
+        // Materialize once to avoid re-enumeration
+        var newList = newContents as IList<T> ?? newContents.ToList();
+        var numberOfNew = newList.Count;
+
+        // Short circuit - new contents should just be empty
+        if (numberOfNew == 0)
+        {
+            while (original.Count > 0)
             {
-                original.Add(item);
+                removedItems.Add(original[^1]);
+                original.RemoveAt(original.Count - 1);
             }
+
+            return;
+        }
+
+        // Detect if we can use Move() for better ObservableCollection performance
+        var observableCollection = original as ObservableCollection<T>;
+
+        // Build a set of new items for O(1) existence checks.
+        var newSet = new HashSet<T>(numberOfNew);
+        for (var i = 0; i < numberOfNew; i++)
+        {
+            newSet.Add(newList[i]);
+        }
+
+        // When there is zero overlap (e.g. navigating between pages), use
+        // indexed replacement instead of Insert + Remove. Each Replace reuses
+        // the container slot and fires one notification instead of two.
+        var hasOverlap = false;
+        for (var i = 0; i < original.Count; i++)
+        {
+            if (newSet.Contains(original[i]))
+            {
+                hasOverlap = true;
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (!hasOverlap)
+        {
+            var minLen = Math.Min(original.Count, numberOfNew);
+            for (var i = 0; i < minLen; i++)
+            {
+                removedItems.Add(original[i]);
+                original[i] = newList[i]; // Replace — single notification, container reused
+            }
+
+            while (original.Count > numberOfNew)
+            {
+                removedItems.Add(original[^1]);
+                original.RemoveAt(original.Count - 1);
+            }
+
+            for (var i = minLen; i < numberOfNew; i++)
+            {
+                original.Add(newList[i]);
+            }
+
+            return;
+        }
+
+        // Large collections benefit from pre-filtering (O(n) removal shrinks the
+        // working set), which outweighs the extra pass. Small collections are
+        // faster with lazy removal during the merge. Threshold determined empirically.
+        if (original.Count >= 5000)
+        {
+            MergeWithPreRemoval(original, newList, numberOfNew, newSet, observableCollection, removedItems);
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            MergeWithLazyRemoval(original, newList, numberOfNew, newSet, observableCollection, removedItems);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Fast path for small/medium collections. Removes non-matching items lazily
+    /// during the forward-scan merge, avoiding a separate pre-removal pass.
+    /// </summary>
+    private static void MergeWithLazyRemoval<T>(
+        IList<T> original,
+        IList<T> newList,
+        int numberOfNew,
+        HashSet<T> newSet,
+        ObservableCollection<T>? observableCollection,
+        List<T>? removedItems)
+    where T : class
+    {
+        var i = 0;
+        for (var newIndex = 0; newIndex < numberOfNew; newIndex++)
+        {
+            var newItem = newList[newIndex];
+
+            if (i >= original.Count)
+            {
+                break;
+            }
+
+            // Search for this item in the remaining portion of original
+            var foundIndex = -1;
+            for (var j = i; j < original.Count; j++)
+            {
+                if (original[j]?.Equals(newItem) ?? false)
+                {
+                    foundIndex = j;
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+
+            if (foundIndex >= 0)
+            {
+                // Remove only items between i and foundIndex that are NOT in newList.
+                // Items still needed later stay in the collection, avoiding
+                // unnecessary Remove+Insert cycles and extra UI notifications.
+                for (var k = foundIndex - 1; k >= i; k--)
+                {
+                    if (!newSet.Contains(original[k]))
+                    {
+                        removedItems?.Add(original[k]);
+                        original.RemoveAt(k);
+                        foundIndex--;
+                    }
+                }
+
+                // If the found item isn't at position i yet, move it there
+                if (foundIndex > i)
+                {
+                    MoveItem(original, observableCollection, foundIndex, i);
+                }
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                // Not found - insert new item at position i
+                original.Insert(i, newItem);
+            }
+
+            i++;
+        }
+
+        // Remove any extra trailing items from the destination
+        while (original.Count > numberOfNew)
+        {
+            removedItems?.Add(original[^1]);
+            original.RemoveAt(original.Count - 1);
+        }
+
+        // Add any extra trailing items from the source
+        while (i < numberOfNew)
+        {
+            original.Add(newList[i]);
+            i++;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Path for large collections. Pre-removes non-matching items to shrink the
+    /// working set before merging, making linear searches faster.
+    /// </summary>
+    private static void MergeWithPreRemoval<T>(
+        IList<T> original,
+        IList<T> newList,
+        int numberOfNew,
+        HashSet<T> newSet,
+        ObservableCollection<T>? observableCollection,
+        List<T>? removedItems)
+    where T : class
+    {
+        // Pre-remove items that are not in newList. Iterating backwards keeps
+        // earlier indices stable and shrinks the working set for the merge loop.
+        for (var i = original.Count - 1; i >= 0; i--)
+        {
+            if (!newSet.Contains(original[i]))
+            {
+                removedItems?.Add(original[i]);
+                original.RemoveAt(i);
+            }
+        }
+
+        // Forward-scan merge: move or insert items to match newList order.
+        // After pre-removal, original only contains items that exist in newList,
+        // so the merge loop is simple — just Move or Insert.
+        for (var i = 0; i < numberOfNew; i++)
+        {
+            var newItem = newList[i];
+
+            // If we've run out of original items, append the rest
+            if (i >= original.Count)
+            {
+                original.Add(newItem);
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            // Already correct?
+            if (original[i]?.Equals(newItem) ?? false)
+            {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            // Find the item later in the original list
+            var foundIndex = -1;
+            for (var j = i + 1; j < original.Count; j++)
+            {
+                if (original[j]?.Equals(newItem) ?? false)
+                {
+                    foundIndex = j;
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+
+            if (foundIndex >= 0)
+            {
+                MoveItem(original, observableCollection, foundIndex, i);
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            // Not found: insert new item at i
+            original.Insert(i, newItem);
+        }
+
+        // Remove any extra trailing items from the destination
+        while (original.Count > numberOfNew)
+        {
+            removedItems?.Add(original[^1]);
+            original.RemoveAt(original.Count - 1);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Moves an item from <paramref name="fromIndex"/> to <paramref name="toIndex"/>.
+    /// Uses ObservableCollection.Move() when available for a single notification,
+    /// otherwise falls back to RemoveAt + Insert.
+    /// </summary>
+    private static void MoveItem<T>(
+        IList<T> original,
+        ObservableCollection<T>? observableCollection,
+        int fromIndex,
+        int toIndex)
+    {
+        if (observableCollection is not null)
+        {
+            observableCollection.Move(fromIndex, toIndex);
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            var item = original[fromIndex];
+            original.RemoveAt(fromIndex);
+            original.Insert(toIndex, item);
         }
     }
 }