Fixed #35846 -- Ensured consistent path ordering in ManifestStaticFilesStorage manifest files.

This change reuses the existing sorting of `hashed_files` in
`ManifestStaticFilesStorage.save_manifest` to also store a sorted
`paths` mapping in the manifest file. This ensures stable manifest
output that does not change unnecessarily.

django/contrib/staticfiles/storage.py

@@ -496,11 +496,12 @@ class ManifestFilesMixin(HashedFilesMixin):
             self.save_manifest()
 
     def save_manifest(self):
+        sorted_hashed_files = sorted(self.hashed_files.items())
         self.manifest_hash = self.file_hash(
-            None, ContentFile(json.dumps(sorted(self.hashed_files.items())).encode())
+            None, ContentFile(json.dumps(sorted_hashed_files).encode())
         )
         payload = {
-            "paths": self.hashed_files,
+            "paths": dict(sorted_hashed_files),
             "version": self.manifest_version,
             "hash": self.manifest_hash,
         }

docs/releases/6.0.txt

@@ -154,7 +154,9 @@ Minor features
 :mod:`django.contrib.staticfiles`
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
-* ...
+* :class:`~django.contrib.staticfiles.storage.ManifestStaticFilesStorage` now
+  ensures consistent path ordering in manifest files, making them more
+  reproducible and reducing unnecessary diffs.
 
 :mod:`django.contrib.syndication`
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

tests/staticfiles_tests/test_storage.py

@@ -568,6 +568,20 @@ class TestCollectionManifestStorage(TestHashedFiles, CollectionTestCase):
         self.assertEqual(manifest_hash, "")
         self.assertEqual(manifest_content, {"dummy.txt": "dummy.txt"})
 
+    def test_manifest_file_consistent_content(self):
+        original_manifest_content = storage.staticfiles_storage.read_manifest()
+        hashed_files = storage.staticfiles_storage.hashed_files
+        # Force a change in the order of the hashed files.
+        with mock.patch.object(
+            storage.staticfiles_storage,
+            "hashed_files",
+            dict(reversed(hashed_files.items())),
+        ):
+            storage.staticfiles_storage.save_manifest()
+        manifest_file_content = storage.staticfiles_storage.read_manifest()
+        # The manifest file content should not change.
+        self.assertEqual(original_manifest_content, manifest_file_content)
+
 
 @override_settings(
     STATIC_URL="/",