> listing based on file prefixes is extremely fast This functionality does not exist to my knowledge. ext4 and XFS return directory entries in pseudo-random o

> listing based on file prefixes is extremely fast This functionality does not exist to my knowledge. ext4 and XFS return directory entries in pseudo-random order (due to hashing), not lexicographically. For an example, see e.g. https://righteousit.wordpress.com/2022/01/13/xfs-part-6-btree-directories/ https://righteousit.wordpress.com/2022/01/13/xfs-part-6-btre... If you know a way to return lexicographical order directly from the file system, without the need to sort, please link it.