diff --git a/sources/Adapters/adv/filesystem/advFileSystem.cpp b/sources/Adapters/adv/filesystem/advFileSystem.cpp
index 8179c4628..5997454a3 100644
--- a/sources/Adapters/adv/filesystem/advFileSystem.cpp
+++ b/sources/Adapters/adv/filesystem/advFileSystem.cpp
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ PicoFileType advFileSystem::getFileType(int index) {
 }
 
 void advFileSystem::list(etl::ivector<int> *fileIndexes, const char *filter,
-                         bool subDirOnly, bool includeHidden) {
+                         bool subDirOnly, bool includeHidden, bool sorted) {
 
   fileIndexes->clear();
 
diff --git a/sources/Adapters/adv/filesystem/advFileSystem.h b/sources/Adapters/adv/filesystem/advFileSystem.h
index 460249371..78aed8ad8 100644
--- a/sources/Adapters/adv/filesystem/advFileSystem.h
+++ b/sources/Adapters/adv/filesystem/advFileSystem.h
@@ -51,7 +51,8 @@ class advFileSystem : public FileSystem {
   virtual FileHandle Open(const char *name, const char *mode) override;
   virtual bool chdir(const char *path) override;
   virtual void list(etl::ivector<int> *fileIndexes, const char *filter,
-                    bool subDirOnly, bool includeHidden = false) override;
+                    bool subDirOnly, bool includeHidden = false,
+                    bool sorted = false) override;
   virtual void getFileName(int index, char *name, int length) override;
   virtual PicoFileType getFileType(int index) override;
   virtual bool isParentRoot() override;
diff --git a/sources/Adapters/adv/gui/SerialDebugUI.cpp b/sources/Adapters/adv/gui/SerialDebugUI.cpp
index 113673d37..0de21ee0c 100644
--- a/sources/Adapters/adv/gui/SerialDebugUI.cpp
+++ b/sources/Adapters/adv/gui/SerialDebugUI.cpp
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ void SerialDebugUI::listFiles(const char *path) {
     Trace::Error("failed to ls files path:%s", path);
   }
   etl::vector<int, MAX_FILE_INDEX_SIZE> fileIndexes;
-  fs->list(&fileIndexes, "", false);
+  fs->list(&fileIndexes, "", false, true, true);
 
   // No need to actually do the printing below for now as the current debug code
   // in PicoFileSystem class is already printing all the files fetched when the
diff --git a/sources/Adapters/picoTracker/filesystem/picoTrackerFileSystem.cpp b/sources/Adapters/picoTracker/filesystem/picoTrackerFileSystem.cpp
index fceebd5ee..d85bdab20 100644
--- a/sources/Adapters/picoTracker/filesystem/picoTrackerFileSystem.cpp
+++ b/sources/Adapters/picoTracker/filesystem/picoTrackerFileSystem.cpp
@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@
  */
 
 #include "picoTrackerFileSystem.h"
+#include "Application/Persistency/PersistenceConstants.h"
 #include "Externals/etl/include/etl/pool.h"
+#include "Foundation/Services/MemoryService.h"
 #include "pico/multicore.h"
 #include <cstring>
 
@@ -18,6 +20,38 @@ constexpr uint32_t MAX_OPEN_FILES = 10;
 
 static etl::pool<picoTrackerFile, MAX_OPEN_FILES> filePool;
 
+// compile-time generated map to change uppercase letters to lowercase for
+// sorting, leave all other characters unchanged. could be used to also change
+// the sort order for other/special characters if needed
+static constexpr uint8_t getCharacterSortRank(uint8_t value) {
+  return (value >= 'A' && value <= 'Z') ? 'a' + (value - 'A') : value;
+}
+
+template <size_t... Indexes>
+constexpr std::array<uint8_t, sizeof...(Indexes)>
+MakeSortMap(std::index_sequence<Indexes...>) {
+  return {getCharacterSortRank(static_cast<uint8_t>(Indexes))...};
+}
+
+static constexpr auto kSortMap = MakeSortMap(std::make_index_sequence<256>{});
+
+// extracts a uint32 from the first four letters of a string for faster sorting
+// by comparing these uint32 values instead of doing string compares
+static uint32_t getFileSortKey(char *filename) {
+  uint32_t sortKey = 0;
+  uint8_t *value = (uint8_t *)filename;
+
+  for (size_t i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
+    sortKey <<= 8;
+    if (*value != '\0') {
+      sortKey |= kSortMap[*value];
+      value++;
+    }
+  }
+
+  return sortKey;
+}
+
 picoTrackerFileSystem::picoTrackerFileSystem() {
   // init out access mutex
   std::lock_guard<Mutex> lock(mutex);
@@ -121,9 +155,10 @@ PicoFileType picoTrackerFileSystem::getFileType(int index) {
 
 void picoTrackerFileSystem::list(etl::ivector<int> *fileIndexes,
                                  const char *filter, bool subDirOnly,
-                                 bool includeHidden) {
-  std::lock_guard<Mutex> lock(mutex);
+                                 bool includeHidden, bool sorted) {
+  std::unique_lock<Mutex> lock(mutex);
 
+  uint32_t sortKeys[MAX_FILE_INDEX_SIZE];
   fileIndexes->clear();
 
   File cwd;
@@ -158,22 +193,65 @@ void picoTrackerFileSystem::list(etl::ivector<int> *fileIndexes,
     }
     // filter out "." and files that dont match filter if a filter is given
     if ((entry.isDirectory() && entry.dirIndex() != 0) ||
-        ((includeHidden || !entry.isHidden()) && matchesFilter)) {
-      if (subDirOnly) {
-        if (entry.isDirectory()) {
-          fileIndexes->push_back(index);
-        }
+        (!entry.isHidden() && matchesFilter)) {
+      bool add = false;
+
+      if (subDirOnly && entry.isDirectory()) {
+        add = entry.isDirectory();
       } else {
+        add = true;
+      }
+
+      if (add) {
         fileIndexes->push_back(index);
+        entry.getName(buffer, PFILENAME_SIZE);
+        sortKeys[fileIndexes->size() - 1] = getFileSortKey(buffer);
+        count++;
       }
       // Trace::Log("FILESYSTEM", "[%d] got file: %s", index, buffer);
-      count++;
     } else {
       // Trace::Log("FILESYSTEM", "skipped hidden: %s", buffer);
     }
     entry.close();
   }
+
   cwd.close();
+  lock.unlock();
+
+  // sort using insertion sort (with an extra step if our keys are identical)
+  constexpr int total = MAX_PROJECT_NAME_LENGTH + 1;
+  char currentName[total];
+  char prevName[total];
+
+  for (size_t i = 1; i < count; i++) {
+    uint32_t key = sortKeys[i];
+    int index = fileIndexes->at(i);
+    size_t j = i;
+
+    while (j > 0) {
+      bool shouldMove = sortKeys[j - 1] > key;
+
+      if (!shouldMove && sortKeys[j - 1] == key) {
+        // keys are identical, do a tiebreaker by doing a string compare to
+        // ensure stable sorting of files with same first 4 letters
+        getFileName(index, currentName, total);
+        getFileName(fileIndexes->at(j - 1), prevName, total);
+        shouldMove = strcasecmp(prevName, currentName) > 0;
+      }
+
+      if (shouldMove) {
+        sortKeys[j] = sortKeys[j - 1];
+        fileIndexes->at(j) = fileIndexes->at(j - 1);
+        --j;
+      } else {
+        break;
+      }
+    }
+
+    sortKeys[j] = key;
+    fileIndexes->at(j) = index;
+  }
+
   Trace::Log("FILESYSTEM", "scanned: %d, added file indexes:%d", count,
              fileIndexes->size());
 }
@@ -277,21 +355,24 @@ bool picoTrackerFileSystem::CopyFile(const char *srcFilename,
   auto fSrc = sd.open(srcFilename, O_READ);
   auto fDest = sd.open(destFilename, O_WRITE | O_CREAT);
 
-  int n = 0;
-  int bufferSize = sizeof(fileBuffer_);
+  unsigned int n = 0;
+  const int bufSize = 1024;
+  char buffer[bufSize];
+
   while (true) {
-    n = fSrc.read(fileBuffer_, bufferSize);
+    n = fSrc.read(buffer, bufSize);
     // check for read error and only write if no error
     if (n >= 0) {
-      fDest.write(fileBuffer_, n);
+      fDest.write(buffer, n);
     } else {
       Trace::Error("Failed to read file: %s", srcFilename);
       return false;
     }
-    if (n < bufferSize) {
+    if (n < bufSize) {
       break;
     }
   }
+
   fSrc.close();
   fDest.close();
   return true;
diff --git a/sources/Adapters/picoTracker/filesystem/picoTrackerFileSystem.h b/sources/Adapters/picoTracker/filesystem/picoTrackerFileSystem.h
index e17a02974..384d952dd 100644
--- a/sources/Adapters/picoTracker/filesystem/picoTrackerFileSystem.h
+++ b/sources/Adapters/picoTracker/filesystem/picoTrackerFileSystem.h
@@ -31,7 +31,8 @@ class picoTrackerFileSystem : public FileSystem {
   virtual FileHandle Open(const char *name, const char *mode) override;
   virtual bool chdir(const char *path) override;
   virtual void list(etl::ivector<int> *fileIndexes, const char *filter,
-                    bool subDirOnly, bool includeHidden = false) override;
+                    bool subDirOnly, bool includeHidden = false,
+                    bool sorted = false) override;
   virtual void getFileName(int index, char *name, int length) override;
   virtual PicoFileType getFileType(int index) override;
   virtual bool isParentRoot() override;
@@ -50,9 +51,6 @@ class picoTrackerFileSystem : public FileSystem {
 private:
   SdFs sd;
   void tolowercase(char *temp);
-  // buffer needs to be allocated here as too big for allocation as local
-  // variable on the stack
-  uint8_t fileBuffer_[512];
 };
 
 // Concrete implementation of PI_File for picoTracker
diff --git a/sources/Adapters/picoTracker/gui/SerialDebugUI.cpp b/sources/Adapters/picoTracker/gui/SerialDebugUI.cpp
index ef7e869a2..b3ab8852a 100644
--- a/sources/Adapters/picoTracker/gui/SerialDebugUI.cpp
+++ b/sources/Adapters/picoTracker/gui/SerialDebugUI.cpp
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 
 #include "SerialDebugUI.h"
 #include "Application/Model/Config.h"
+#include "Foundation/Services/MemoryService.h"
 #include "System/FileSystem/FileSystem.h"
 #include "System/FileSystem/I_File.h"
 #include "hardware/uart.h"
@@ -134,13 +135,14 @@ void SerialDebugUI::listFiles(const char *path) {
   if (!fs->chdir(path)) {
     Trace::Error("failed to ls files path:%s", path);
   }
-  etl::vector<int, MAX_FILE_INDEX_SIZE> fileIndexes;
-  fs->list(&fileIndexes, "", false);
+
+  etl::vector<int, MAX_FILE_INDEX_SIZE> fileIndexList;
+  fs->list(&fileIndexList, "", false, true, true);
 
   char name[PFILENAME_SIZE];
-  for (size_t i = 0; i < fileIndexes.size(); i++) {
-    fs->getFileName(fileIndexes[i], name, PFILENAME_SIZE);
-    if (fs->getFileType(fileIndexes[i]) == PFT_FILE) {
+  for (size_t i = 0; i < fileIndexList.size(); i++) {
+    fs->getFileName(fileIndexList[i], name, PFILENAME_SIZE);
+    if (fs->getFileType(fileIndexList[i]) == PFT_FILE) {
       printf("[file] %s\n", name);
     } else {
       printf("[dir] %s\n", name);
@@ -154,7 +156,8 @@ void SerialDebugUI::rmFile(const char *path) {
     Trace::Error("failed to delete file:%s", path);
   } else {
     Trace::Log("SERIALDEBUGUI", "deleted file:%s", path);
-    char buf[128];
+    char buf[256];
+
     npf_snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf), "deleted:%s\n", path);
     uart_write_blocking(DEBUG_UART, (uint8_t *)buf, sizeof(buf));
   }
diff --git a/sources/Application/AppWindow.cpp b/sources/Application/AppWindow.cpp
index 187d2c08d..7afae5b24 100644
--- a/sources/Application/AppWindow.cpp
+++ b/sources/Application/AppWindow.cpp
@@ -152,8 +152,6 @@ AppWindow::AppWindow(I_GUIWindowImp &imp, const char *projectName)
 
   // Init all members
 
-  _statusLine[0] = 0;
-
   _currentView = nullptr;
   _closeProject = false;
   _lastA = 0;
diff --git a/sources/Application/AppWindow.h b/sources/Application/AppWindow.h
index 278575d30..3084048c8 100644
--- a/sources/Application/AppWindow.h
+++ b/sources/Application/AppWindow.h
@@ -152,6 +152,8 @@ class AppWindow : public GUIWindow, I_Observer, Status {
 public:
   // Static accessor for the animation frame counter
   static uint32_t GetAnimationFrameCounter() { return animationFrameCounter_; }
+
+  View *getCurrentView() { return _currentView; }
 };
 
 #endif
diff --git a/sources/Application/Audio/AudioFileStreamer.cpp b/sources/Application/Audio/AudioFileStreamer.cpp
index 9ebefaaa6..ea34f4802 100644
--- a/sources/Application/Audio/AudioFileStreamer.cpp
+++ b/sources/Application/Audio/AudioFileStreamer.cpp
@@ -53,13 +53,12 @@ bool AudioFileStreamer::Start(const char *name, int startSample, bool looping) {
 #endif
 
   wav_.Close();
-  Trace::Log("", "wave open:%s", name_.c_str());
-  auto res = wav_.Open(name_.c_str());
-  if (!res) {
-    Trace::Error("Failed to open streaming of file:%s", name_.c_str());
-    mode_ = AFSM_STOPPED;
-    return false;
-  }
+
+  Trace::Log("", "wave open:%s", name);
+  auto res = wav_.Open(name);
+  Trace::Error("Failed to open streaming of file:%s", name_.c_str());
+  mode_ = AFSM_STOPPED;
+  return false;
 
   // Get sample rate information and calculate speed factor
   fileSampleRate_ = wav_.GetSampleRate(-1);
diff --git a/sources/Application/Instruments/SamplePool.cpp b/sources/Application/Instruments/SamplePool.cpp
index 03b3956da..a94d18871 100644
--- a/sources/Application/Instruments/SamplePool.cpp
+++ b/sources/Application/Instruments/SamplePool.cpp
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 #include "Externals/etl/include/etl/string.h"
 #include "Externals/etl/include/etl/string_stream.h"
 #include "Foundation/Constants/SpecialCharacters.h"
+#include "Foundation/Services/MemoryService.h"
 #include "System/Console/Trace.h"
 #include "System/FileSystem/FileSystem.h"
 #include "System/FileSystem/I_File.h"
@@ -57,10 +58,9 @@ void SamplePool::Load(const char *projectName) {
                  PROJECT_SAMPLES_DIR);
   }
   // First, find all wav files
-  etl::vector<int, MAX_FILE_INDEX_SIZE> fileIndexes;
-  fs->list(&fileIndexes, ".wav", false);
+  fs->list(&fileIndexList_, ".wav", false, false, true);
   char name[PFILENAME_SIZE];
-  uint totalSamples = fileIndexes.size();
+  uint totalSamples = fileIndexList_.size();
 
   // store for ui updates
   importCount = totalSamples;
@@ -69,8 +69,8 @@ void SamplePool::Load(const char *projectName) {
     importIndex = i;
     importName = name;
 
-    fs->getFileName(fileIndexes[i], name, PFILENAME_SIZE);
-    if (fs->getFileType(fileIndexes[i]) == PFT_FILE) {
+    fs->getFileName(fileIndexList_[i], name, PFILENAME_SIZE);
+    if (fs->getFileType(fileIndexList_[i]) == PFT_FILE) {
       // Check if the filename exceeds the maximum allowed length
       if (strlen(name) > MAX_INSTRUMENT_FILENAME_LENGTH) {
         Trace::Error(
diff --git a/sources/Application/Instruments/SamplePool.h b/sources/Application/Instruments/SamplePool.h
index a39060e70..910c5420c 100644
--- a/sources/Application/Instruments/SamplePool.h
+++ b/sources/Application/Instruments/SamplePool.h
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ class SamplePool : public T_Factory<SamplePool>, public Observable {
 
 private:
   etl::vector<I_Observer *, MAX_SAMPLEINSTRUMENT_COUNT> observers_;
+  etl::vector<int, MAX_FILE_INDEX_SIZE> fileIndexList_;
 };
 
 #endif
diff --git a/sources/Application/Model/Config.cpp b/sources/Application/Model/Config.cpp
index 51f109a7c..c3127a030 100644
--- a/sources/Application/Model/Config.cpp
+++ b/sources/Application/Model/Config.cpp
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 #include "Externals/etl/include/etl/flat_map.h"
 #include "Externals/etl/include/etl/string.h"
 #include "Externals/etl/include/etl/string_utilities.h"
+#include "Foundation/Services/MemoryService.h"
 #include "Services/Midi/MidiService.h"
 #include "System/Console/Trace.h"
 #include "System/Console/nanoprintf.h"
@@ -442,24 +443,25 @@ void Config::ReadColorVariable(PersistencyDocument *doc) {
   // Process the current element if it's a Color element
   if (strcmp(doc->ElemName(), "Color") == 0) {
     // Process Color element
-    char colorName[64] = {0};
-    char colorValue[64] = {0};
+    const int colorSize = 64;
+    char colorName[colorSize];
+    char colorValue[colorSize];
 
     // Get the name and value attributes
     while (doc->NextAttribute()) {
       if (strcmp(doc->attrname_, "name") == 0) {
         // Use safer string copy to ensure null-termination
         size_t len = strlen(doc->attrval_);
-        if (len >= sizeof(colorName)) {
-          len = sizeof(colorName) - 1; // Truncate if too long
+        if (len >= colorSize) {
+          len = colorSize - 1; // Truncate if too long
         }
         memcpy(colorName, doc->attrval_, len);
         colorName[len] = '\0'; // Ensure null-termination
       } else if (strcmp(doc->attrname_, "value") == 0) {
         // Use safer string copy to ensure null-termination
         size_t len = strlen(doc->attrval_);
-        if (len >= sizeof(colorValue)) {
-          len = sizeof(colorValue) - 1; // Truncate if too long
+        if (len >= colorSize) {
+          len = colorSize - 1; // Truncate if too long
         }
         memcpy(colorValue, doc->attrval_, len);
         colorValue[len] = '\0'; // Ensure null-termination
diff --git a/sources/Application/Persistency/PersistencyService.cpp b/sources/Application/Persistency/PersistencyService.cpp
index d8a46696e..c8f11739c 100644
--- a/sources/Application/Persistency/PersistencyService.cpp
+++ b/sources/Application/Persistency/PersistencyService.cpp
@@ -9,8 +9,8 @@
 
 #include "PersistencyService.h"
 #include "../Instruments/SamplePool.h"
+#include "Foundation/Services/MemoryService.h"
 #include "Foundation/Services/ServiceRegistry.h"
-
 #include "Foundation/Types/Types.h"
 #include "Persistent.h"
 #include "System/Console/Trace.h"
@@ -50,10 +50,41 @@ bool PersistencyService::DeleteProject(const char *projectName) {
     return false;
   }
 
-  if (!DeleteDirectoryContents_(0)) {
-    Trace::Error("PERSISTENCYSERVICE: Could not delete project contents");
-    // attempt to recover to /projects for caller consistency
-    fs->chdir("..");
+  // no checks on the file deletion, since they may not exist and the directory
+  // deletion will fail later on if they do and cannot be deleted
+  fs->DeleteFile(PROJECT_DATA_FILE);
+  fs->DeleteFile(AUTO_SAVE_FILENAME);
+
+  if (!fs->chdir(PROJECT_SAMPLES_DIR)) {
+    Trace::Error("PERSISTENCYSERVICE: Could not change to project dir");
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  fs->list(&fileIndexList_, ".wav", false);
+
+  // delete all samples
+  fs->BeginBatch();
+  char filename[128];
+  for (size_t i = 0; i < fileIndexList_.size(); i++) {
+    fs->getFileName(fileIndexList_[i], filename,
+                    MAX_PROJECT_SAMPLE_PATH_LENGTH);
+    if (strcmp(filename, "..") == 0 || strcmp(filename, ".") == 0) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    if (fs->getFileType(fileIndexList_[i]) == PFT_DIR) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    fs->DeleteFile(filename);
+  };
+  fs->EndBatch();
+
+  if (!fs->chdir("..")) { // up to project dir
+    Trace::Error("PERSISTENCYSERVICE: Could not change back to project dir");
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  if (!fs->DeleteDir(PROJECT_SAMPLES_DIR)) {
+    Trace::Error("PERSISTENCYSERVICE: Could not delete the project sample dir");
     return false;
   }
 
@@ -78,13 +109,13 @@ bool PersistencyService::DeleteDirectoryContents_(uint8_t depth) {
   }
 
   while (true) {
-    fileIndexes_.clear();
-    fs->list(&fileIndexes_, "", false, true);
+    fileIndexList_.clear();
+    fs->list(&fileIndexList_, "", false, true);
 
     bool foundEntry = false;
     bool deletedEntry = false;
-    for (size_t i = 0; i < fileIndexes_.size(); ++i) {
-      fs->getFileName(fileIndexes_[i], deleteNameBuffer_,
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < fileIndexList_.size(); ++i) {
+      fs->getFileName(fileIndexList_[i], deleteNameBuffer_,
                       sizeof(deleteNameBuffer_));
 
       if ((strcmp(deleteNameBuffer_, ".") == 0) ||
@@ -94,7 +125,7 @@ bool PersistencyService::DeleteDirectoryContents_(uint8_t depth) {
 
       foundEntry = true;
 
-      const PicoFileType type = fs->getFileType(fileIndexes_[i]);
+      const PicoFileType type = fs->getFileType(fileIndexList_[i]);
       if (type == PFT_FILE) {
         if (!fs->DeleteFile(deleteNameBuffer_)) {
           Trace::Error("PERSISTENCYSERVICE: Could not delete file: %s",
@@ -194,10 +225,11 @@ PersistencyResult PersistencyService::Save(const char *projectName,
     Trace::Debug("get list of samples to copy from old project: %s",
                  oldProjectName);
 
-    fs->list(&fileIndexes_, ".wav", false);
+    fs->list(&fileIndexList_, ".wav", false);
     char filenameBuffer[PFILENAME_SIZE];
-    for (size_t i = 0; i < fileIndexes_.size(); i++) {
-      fs->getFileName(fileIndexes_[i], filenameBuffer, sizeof(filenameBuffer));
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < fileIndexList_.size(); i++) {
+      fs->getFileName(fileIndexList_[i], filenameBuffer,
+                      sizeof(filenameBuffer));
 
       // ignore . and .. entries as using *.wav doesnt filter them out
       if (strcmp(filenameBuffer, ".") == 0 || strcmp(filenameBuffer, "..") == 0)
diff --git a/sources/Application/Persistency/PersistencyService.h b/sources/Application/Persistency/PersistencyService.h
index 2d6647cef..f5f03835e 100644
--- a/sources/Application/Persistency/PersistencyService.h
+++ b/sources/Application/Persistency/PersistencyService.h
@@ -68,9 +68,9 @@ class PersistencyService : public Service,
   bool DeleteDirectoryTree_(const char *dirname, uint8_t depth);
 
   // need these as statically allocated buffers as too big for stack
-  etl::vector<int, MAX_FILE_INDEX_SIZE> fileIndexes_;
   etl::string<MAX_PROJECT_SAMPLE_PATH_LENGTH> pathBufferA;
   etl::string<MAX_PROJECT_SAMPLE_PATH_LENGTH> pathBufferB;
+  etl::vector<int, MAX_FILE_INDEX_SIZE> fileIndexList_;
   char deleteNameBuffer_[PFILENAME_SIZE];
 };
 
diff --git a/sources/Application/Views/ImportView.cpp b/sources/Application/Views/ImportView.cpp
index 4e0b8dfe8..df2665682 100644
--- a/sources/Application/Views/ImportView.cpp
+++ b/sources/Application/Views/ImportView.cpp
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@
 #include "Application/Audio/AudioFileStreamer.h"
 #include "Application/Instruments/SampleInstrument.h"
 #include "Application/Instruments/SamplePool.h"
+#include "Foundation/Services/MemoryService.h"
+
 #include "Application/Views/SampleEditorView.h"
 #include "Externals/etl/include/etl/string.h"
 #include "Externals/etl/include/etl/to_string.h"
@@ -896,7 +898,7 @@ void ImportView::onConfirmRemoveProjectSample(View &, ModalView &dialog) {
 }
 
 void ImportView::refreshFileIndexList(FileSystem *fs) {
-  fs->list(&fileIndexList_, ".wav", false);
+  fs->list(&fileIndexList_, ".wav", false, false, true);
 
   if (fs->isCurrentRoot() || inProjectSampleDir_) {
     for (auto it = fileIndexList_.begin(); it != fileIndexList_.end(); ++it) {
diff --git a/sources/Application/Views/ImportView.h b/sources/Application/Views/ImportView.h
index fb365333d..55ca77697 100644
--- a/sources/Application/Views/ImportView.h
+++ b/sources/Application/Views/ImportView.h
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ class ImportView : public ScreenView {
       false; // Flag to track if we're in the project's sample directory
   FileSystem *pendingDeleteFs_ = nullptr;
   char pendingDeleteFilename_[PFILENAME_SIZE] = {};
+
   etl::vector<int, MAX_FILE_INDEX_SIZE> fileIndexList_;
 };
 #endif
diff --git a/sources/Application/Views/InstrumentImportView.cpp b/sources/Application/Views/InstrumentImportView.cpp
index eda74d003..2b0a1ec45 100644
--- a/sources/Application/Views/InstrumentImportView.cpp
+++ b/sources/Application/Views/InstrumentImportView.cpp
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 #include "Application/AppWindow.h"
 #include "Application/Instruments/I_Instrument.h"
 #include "Application/Persistency/PersistencyService.h"
+#include "Foundation/Services/MemoryService.h"
 #include "ModalDialogs/MessageBox.h"
 #include <memory>
 #include <nanoprintf.h>
@@ -344,6 +345,6 @@ void InstrumentImportView::setCurrentFolder(FileSystem *fs, const char *name) {
   // Update list of file indexes in this new dir
   fileIndexList_.clear();
   // Use false for subDirOnly to include both files and directories
-  fs->list(&fileIndexList_, INSTRUMENT_FILE_EXTENSION, false);
+  fs->list(&fileIndexList_, INSTRUMENT_FILE_EXTENSION, false, false, true);
   Trace::Debug("loaded %d files from %s", fileIndexList_.size(), name);
 }
diff --git a/sources/Application/Views/InstrumentImportView.h b/sources/Application/Views/InstrumentImportView.h
index ebf309156..ae0eba615 100644
--- a/sources/Application/Views/InstrumentImportView.h
+++ b/sources/Application/Views/InstrumentImportView.h
@@ -33,10 +33,10 @@ class InstrumentImportView : public ScreenView {
 private:
   void onImportSuccess(View &view, ModalView &dialog);
 
+  etl::vector<int, MAX_FILE_INDEX_SIZE> fileIndexList_;
   size_t topIndex_ = 0;
   size_t currentIndex_ = 0;
   short selected_ = 0;
   int toInstrID_ = 0;
-  etl::vector<int, MAX_FILE_INDEX_SIZE> fileIndexList_;
 };
 #endif
diff --git a/sources/Application/Views/SelectProjectView.cpp b/sources/Application/Views/SelectProjectView.cpp
index 898bb84f0..46a8d766c 100644
--- a/sources/Application/Views/SelectProjectView.cpp
+++ b/sources/Application/Views/SelectProjectView.cpp
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@
 #include "Application/Persistency/PersistencyService.h"
 #include "Application/Utils/DrawUtils.h"
 #include "Application/Views/ModalDialogs/MessageBox.h"
+#include "Foundation/Services/MemoryService.h"
+
 #include "BaseClasses/ViewEvent.h"
 #include "Foundation/Constants/SpecialCharacters.h"
 #include "System/System/System.h"
@@ -356,7 +358,7 @@ void SelectProjectView::setCurrentFolder() {
   fileIndexList_.clear();
 
   // Let's read all the directory in the project dir
-  fs->list(&fileIndexList_, "", true);
+  fs->list(&fileIndexList_, "", true, true, true);
 
   // Filter out "." and ".." along with the hidden default project entry
   for (auto it = fileIndexList_.begin(); it != fileIndexList_.end();) {
diff --git a/sources/Application/Views/SelectProjectView.h b/sources/Application/Views/SelectProjectView.h
index 09e8e04ac..dd2f64538 100644
--- a/sources/Application/Views/SelectProjectView.h
+++ b/sources/Application/Views/SelectProjectView.h
@@ -39,8 +39,8 @@ class SelectProjectView : public ScreenView {
   size_t topIndex_ = 0;
   size_t currentIndex_ = 0;
   char selection_[MAX_PROJECT_NAME_LENGTH + 1];
-  etl::vector<int, MAX_FILE_INDEX_SIZE> fileIndexList_;
   int selectedButton_ = 0;
+  etl::vector<int, MAX_FILE_INDEX_SIZE> fileIndexList_;
 
   void AttemptDeletingSelectedProject();
   void AttemptLoadingProject();
diff --git a/sources/Application/Views/ThemeImportView.cpp b/sources/Application/Views/ThemeImportView.cpp
index 3df16f95a..fea7611c9 100644
--- a/sources/Application/Views/ThemeImportView.cpp
+++ b/sources/Application/Views/ThemeImportView.cpp
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 #include "Application/Model/Config.h"
 #include "Application/Persistency/PersistenceConstants.h"
 #include "Application/Views/ModalDialogs/MessageBox.h"
+#include "Foundation/Services/MemoryService.h"
 #include "ModalDialogs/MessageBox.h"
 #include "System/Console/Trace.h"
 #include "System/FileSystem/FileSystem.h"
@@ -206,7 +207,7 @@ void ThemeImportView::setCurrentFolder() {
   isDirty_ = true;
 
   // get the directory listing
-  fs->list(&fileIndexList_, THEME_FILE_EXTENSION, false);
+  fs->list(&fileIndexList_, THEME_FILE_EXTENSION, false, false, true);
 
   // remove directories from listing
   for (int i = fileIndexList_.size() - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
diff --git a/sources/Application/Views/ThemeImportView.h b/sources/Application/Views/ThemeImportView.h
index 0f11d4e38..22b7e7129 100644
--- a/sources/Application/Views/ThemeImportView.h
+++ b/sources/Application/Views/ThemeImportView.h
@@ -34,8 +34,8 @@ class ThemeImportView : public ScreenView {
   void onImportThemeModalDismiss(View &view, ModalView &dialog);
   void OpenSelectedItem();
 
+  etl::vector<int, MAX_FILE_INDEX_SIZE> fileIndexList_;
   size_t topIndex_ = 0;
   size_t currentIndex_ = 0;
-  etl::vector<int, MAX_FILE_INDEX_SIZE> fileIndexList_;
 };
 #endif
diff --git a/sources/Foundation/Services/MemoryService.h b/sources/Foundation/Services/MemoryService.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3781ae9ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sources/Foundation/Services/MemoryService.h
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include "Application/AppWindow.h"
+#include "Application/Application.h"
+#include "Application/Views/ModalDialogs/MessageBox.h"
+#include "Externals/etl/include/etl/vector.h"
+#include "System/Console/Trace.h"
+#include "System/FileSystem/FileSystem.h"
+
+#define PROTECT_SCRATCH 1
+
+#ifdef DEBUG
+#define PROTECT_SCRATCH 1
+#endif
+
+constexpr size_t MEMORYPOOL_SCRATCH_SIZE = 1024;
+
+class MemoryPool {
+private:
+  static char buffer_[MEMORYPOOL_SCRATCH_SIZE];
+#if PROTECT_SCRATCH
+  static bool used_;
+#endif
+
+public:
+  static etl::vector<int, MAX_FILE_INDEX_SIZE> fileIndexList;
+
+  // shared fileIndexList for file operations to avoid needing to allocate on
+  // the stack in multiple places or have multiple instances of
+  static void *acquire() {
+#if PROTECT_SCRATCH
+    if (used_) {
+      Trace::Error("MemoryPool is already in use!");
+      Application *app = Application::GetInstance();
+      AppWindow *window = (AppWindow *)app->GetWindow();
+      MessageBox *mb =
+          MessageBox::Create(*(window->getCurrentView()),
+                             "MemoryPool is already in use!", MBBF_OK);
+      window->getCurrentView()->DoModal(mb);
+    }
+    used_ = true;
+#endif
+    return buffer_;
+  }
+
+  static void release() {
+#if PROTECT_SCRATCH
+    used_ = false;
+#endif
+  }
+};
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/sources/System/FileSystem/FileSystem.h b/sources/System/FileSystem/FileSystem.h
index 1532b19c0..20fb07ce7 100644
--- a/sources/System/FileSystem/FileSystem.h
+++ b/sources/System/FileSystem/FileSystem.h
@@ -37,7 +37,8 @@ class FileSystem : public T_Factory<FileSystem> {
     return false;
   } // Default implementation
   virtual void list(etl::ivector<int> *fileIndexes, const char *filter,
-                    bool subDirOnly, bool includeHidden = false) = 0;
+                    bool subDirOnly, bool includeHidden = false,
+                    bool sorted = false) = 0;
   virtual void getFileName(int index, char *name, int length) = 0;
   virtual PicoFileType getFileType(int index) = 0;
   virtual bool isParentRoot() = 0;
diff --git a/sources/System/io/Status.cpp b/sources/System/io/Status.cpp
index 47de82f1f..761b5c91c 100644
--- a/sources/System/io/Status.cpp
+++ b/sources/System/io/Status.cpp
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
  */
 
 #include "Status.h"
+#include "Foundation/Services/MemoryService.h"
 #include <System/Console/nanoprintf.h>
 #include <stdarg.h>
 #include <stdio.h>