feat: add OrderedMap, the table that keeps its key order

Assisted-by: GLM 5.3 Flash

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -46,6 +46,12 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
   (10000 levels, which no hand-written document approaches): a document that
   nests arrays or inline tables deeper used to run the stack out and is now
   rejected with a `SyntaxError` naming the limit.
+- `OrderedMap`, the string-keyed table that remembers the order its keys were
+  set in: decoding into one fills it in the order the document wrote the
+  keys, and `Marshal` writes one back in that order, where a map carries no
+  order on decode and sorts on encode. It works as a decode target on its
+  own, in a struct field, and as the element of an array of tables; its
+  values are untyped, so a nested table stays a `map[string]any`.
 - The `toml` tag gained the `required` option: a field tagged
   `toml:"host,required"` makes the decode fail with
   `missing required key "host"` when the document carries no key that

decode.go

@@ -18,9 +18,13 @@ import (
 // decoder maps a parsed TOML tree onto Go values via reflection. ctx is the
 // context a cancellable entry point handed in, and reaches an
 // UnmarshalerContext destination; entry points without one leave it nil.
+// nodes is the document's node index, present only when a destination can
+// reach an OrderedMap and the parse built the tree its key order is read
+// from.
 type decoder struct {
 	disallowUnknown bool
 	ctx             context.Context
+	nodes           nodeIndex
 }
 
 func newDecoder() *decoder { return &decoder{} }
@@ -273,6 +277,9 @@ func textUnmarshalerOf(dst reflect.Value) (encoding.TextUnmarshaler, bool) {
 }
 
 func (d *decoder) assignTable(tbl map[string]any, dst reflect.Value) error {
+	if dst.Type() == orderedMapType {
+		return d.fillOrderedMap(tbl, dst)
+	}
 	switch dst.Kind() {
 	case reflect.Struct:
 		return d.assignStruct(tbl, dst)

docs/API.md

@@ -196,6 +196,8 @@ table with `Number`, which keeps the literal; see
 - `*struct`, matched per the field rules below
 - `*map[string]any` or `*map[string]T`, keys become map keys and values decode
   into `T` recursively
+- `*OrderedMap`, the keys fill in the order the document wrote them; see
+  [Ordered tables](#ordered-tables)
 - `*any`, receives the whole parsed tree unchanged
 
 Anything else returns `interpres: decode target must be a non-nil pointer`.
@@ -366,6 +368,26 @@ and `from_text = "1h30m"` decode to the same duration. Text that
 `time.ParseDuration` rejects, `d = "90"` among it, fails with
 `interpres: invalid duration "90"`.
 
+### Ordered tables
+
+`OrderedMap` is a string-keyed table that remembers the order its keys were
+set in, the shape a `map[string]any` cannot carry. Decoding into one fills it
+in the order the document wrote the keys, and `Marshal` writes one back in
+that order, where a map destination carries no order and a map source sorts
+its keys. The type is a decode target on its own, in a struct field, and as
+the element of an array of tables.
+
+```go
+var cfg OrderedMap
+err := interpres.Unmarshal(data, &cfg)
+out, err := interpres.Marshal(&cfg) // the keys come back in written order
+```
+
+The values are untyped, the shape the parser produces, so a nested table
+inside an `OrderedMap` is a plain `map[string]any`; the order is kept at the
+level the `OrderedMap` sits at. Inside a value array an `OrderedMap` renders
+as an ordinary inline table, whose keys are sorted.
+
 ### Strict decoding
 
 By default unknown keys are dropped silently. A `Decoder` built with
@@ -782,6 +804,11 @@ The literal a number was written with, what `UseNumber` decodes into and what
 `Marshal` writes back as it is. See
 [Numbers as literals](#numbers-as-literals).
 
+### `type OrderedMap`
+
+The string-keyed table that keeps its key order on both the encode and the
+decode side. See [Ordered tables](#ordered-tables).
+
 ### Date-time wrappers
 
 ```go

document.go

@@ -20,8 +20,13 @@ type Document struct {
 	footer []string
 }
 
-// Root returns the document's root table.
-func (d *Document) Root() *Table { return d.root }
+// Root returns the document's root table. A nil document has no root.
+func (d *Document) Root() *Table {
+	if d == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return d.root
+}
 
 // Map returns the value tree, the shape ParseMap gives. It is the tree the
 // document was parsed into, not a copy.

encode.go

@@ -184,6 +184,13 @@ func (e *encoder) encode(v any) error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("interpres: cannot marshal a Document; marshal its Map() to write the values")
 	case Document:
 		return fmt.Errorf("interpres: cannot marshal a Document; marshal its Map() to write the values")
+	case OrderedMap:
+		return e.encodeOrderedMap(&x)
+	case *OrderedMap:
+		if x == nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("interpres: cannot marshal nil value")
+		}
+		return e.encodeOrderedMap(x)
 	}
 	rv := reflect.ValueOf(v)
 	if !rv.IsValid() {
@@ -212,6 +219,63 @@ func (e *encoder) encode(v any) error {
 	return e.emitDoc(doc, nil)
 }
 
+// encodeOrderedMap emits an OrderedMap as a document, its keys in the order
+// they were set, which is the reason the type exists.
+func (e *encoder) encodeOrderedMap(om *OrderedMap) error {
+	if err := e.checkCtx(); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	doc := &tomlDoc{ctx: e.ctx, opts: e.opts}
+	if err := buildOrderedDoc(om, doc, encPath{}); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	return e.emitDoc(doc, nil)
+}
+
+// buildOrderedDoc adds the entries of om to doc in the order its keys were
+// set. Nested OrderedMaps recurse; every other value goes through addField,
+// which resolves Marshaler, text and the ordinary kinds the same way it does
+// for a struct field.
+func buildOrderedDoc(om *OrderedMap, doc *tomlDoc, path encPath) error {
+	if cap(doc.entries) == 0 {
+		doc.entries = make([]entry, 0, om.Len())
+	}
+	for _, key := range om.Keys() {
+		if err := doc.checkCtx(); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		val := om.values[key]
+		switch x := val.(type) {
+		case OrderedMap:
+			sub := &tomlDoc{ctx: doc.ctx, opts: doc.opts}
+			if err := buildOrderedDoc(&x, sub, path.key(key)); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			doc.addTable(key, sub)
+			continue
+		case *OrderedMap:
+			if x == nil {
+				continue
+			}
+			sub := &tomlDoc{ctx: doc.ctx, opts: doc.opts}
+			if err := buildOrderedDoc(x, sub, path.key(key)); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			doc.addTable(key, sub)
+			continue
+		}
+		rv := reflect.ValueOf(val)
+		if !rv.IsValid() {
+			// A nil value has no TOML form, the rule nil pointer fields follow.
+			continue
+		}
+		if err := addField(doc, key, rv, path); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
 // --- intermediate representation -----------------------------------------
 
 // entryKind discriminates the three forms an entry in a tomlDoc may take.
@@ -518,6 +582,15 @@ func addField(doc *tomlDoc, name string, v reflect.Value, path encPath) error {
 		}
 		v = v.Elem()
 	}
+	if v.Type() == orderedMapType {
+		om := v.Interface().(OrderedMap)
+		sub := &tomlDoc{ctx: doc.ctx, opts: doc.opts}
+		if err := buildOrderedDoc(&om, sub, path.key(name)); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		doc.addTable(name, sub)
+		return nil
+	}
 	switch v.Kind() {
 	case reflect.Struct:
 		if isScalarStruct(v.Type()) {
@@ -620,15 +693,20 @@ func addArrayValue(doc *tomlDoc, name string, v reflect.Value, path encPath) err
 				}
 			}
 			sub := &tomlDoc{ctx: doc.ctx, opts: doc.opts}
-			switch ev.Kind() {
-			case reflect.Struct:
+			switch {
+			case ev.Type() == orderedMapType:
+				om := ev.Interface().(OrderedMap)
+				if err := buildOrderedDoc(&om, sub, apath.elem(i)); err != nil {
+					return err
+				}
+			case ev.Kind() == reflect.Struct:
 				if isScalarStruct(ev.Type()) {
 					return &EncodeError{Path: apath.elem(i).String(), Err: errors.New("heterogeneous array contains scalar")}
 				}
 				if err := buildStructDoc(ev, sub, apath.elem(i)); err != nil {
 					return err
 				}
-			case reflect.Map:
+			case ev.Kind() == reflect.Map:
 				if err := buildMapDoc(ev, sub, apath.elem(i)); err != nil {
 					return err
 				}
@@ -717,6 +795,9 @@ func resolveElement(v reflect.Value, path encPath) (reflect.Value, error) {
 // nested-array representations the emitter understands. Slices and arrays are
 // recursively normalised so that nested arrays (e.g. [][]int) work.
 func normaliseValue(v reflect.Value) (any, error) {
+	if !v.IsValid() {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("cannot encode nil value")
+	}
 	// Map and slice elements arrive wrapped in interface{}; look through them.
 	for v.Kind() == reflect.Interface && !v.IsNil() {
 		v = v.Elem()
@@ -755,6 +836,20 @@ func normaliseValue(v reflect.Value) (any, error) {
 	if v.Type() == numberType {
 		return Number(v.String()), nil
 	}
+	// An OrderedMap in a value array has no header form, so it renders as an
+	// ordinary inline table, whose keys come out sorted.
+	if v.Type() == orderedMapType {
+		om := v.Interface().(OrderedMap)
+		out := make(map[string]any, om.Len())
+		for _, k := range om.Keys() {
+			val, err := normaliseValue(reflect.ValueOf(om.values[k]))
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("[%s]: %w", k, err)
+			}
+			out[k] = val
+		}
+		return out, nil
+	}
 	// A type that renders itself as text becomes a TOML string, scalar kinds
 	// and structs alike.
 	s, isText, err := textValue(v)

interpres.go

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
+	"reflect"
 	"slices"
 	"strings"
 )
@@ -237,12 +238,15 @@ func Unmarshal(data []byte, v any) error {
 
 // UnmarshalContext is the cancellable variant of Unmarshal.
 func UnmarshalContext(ctx context.Context, data []byte, v any) error {
-	tree, err := ParseMapContext(ctx, data)
+	// Only a destination that can reach an OrderedMap needs the node tree the
+	// written key order is read from; every other decode skips building it.
+	tree, doc, err := parseWithOptions(ctx, data, parseOptions{}, typeWantsOrder(reflect.TypeOf(v)))
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 	dec := newDecoder()
 	dec.ctx = ctx
+	dec.nodes = indexNodes(doc.Root())
 	return dec.decode(tree, v)
 }
 
@@ -307,17 +311,19 @@ func (d *Decoder) Decode(data []byte, v any) error {
 
 // DecodeContext is the cancellable variant of Decode.
 func (d *Decoder) DecodeContext(ctx context.Context, data []byte, v any) error {
-	tree, _, err := parseWithOptions(ctx, data, parseOptions{
+	opts := parseOptions{
 		maxDepth:     d.maxDepth,
 		maxInputSize: d.maxInputSize,
 		useNumber:    d.useNumber,
-	}, false)
+	}
+	tree, doc, err := parseWithOptions(ctx, data, opts, typeWantsOrder(reflect.TypeOf(v)))
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 	dec := newDecoder()
 	dec.disallowUnknown = d.disallowUnknown
 	dec.ctx = ctx
+	dec.nodes = indexNodes(doc.Root())
 	return dec.decode(tree, v)
 }
 

orderedmap.go

@@ -0,0 +1,199 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2026 Petr Balvín <opensource@petrbalvin.org> (https://petrbalvin.org)
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+
+package interpres
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"maps"
+	"reflect"
+	"slices"
+	"sync"
+)
+
+// An OrderedMap is a string-keyed table that remembers the order its keys
+// were set in, the shape a map[string]any cannot carry. Marshal writes a
+// table of its own kind in that order, and decoding a document into one
+// fills it in the order the document wrote the keys, where a map
+// destination carries no order at all. The values are untyped, the shape
+// the parser produces, so a nested table inside an OrderedMap is a plain
+// map[string]any; the order is kept at the level the OrderedMap sits at.
+//
+// The zero value is an empty table ready for use.
+type OrderedMap struct {
+	keys   []string
+	values map[string]any
+}
+
+var orderedMapType = reflect.TypeFor[OrderedMap]()
+
+// NewOrderedMap returns an empty OrderedMap.
+func NewOrderedMap() *OrderedMap { return &OrderedMap{} }
+
+// Set stores value under key. A key the table already has keeps its position
+// and takes the new value; a new one joins the end.
+func (m *OrderedMap) Set(key string, value any) {
+	if m.values == nil {
+		m.values = make(map[string]any, 4)
+	}
+	if _, ok := m.values[key]; !ok {
+		m.keys = append(m.keys, key)
+	}
+	m.values[key] = value
+}
+
+// Get returns the value under key, and whether the table has one.
+func (m *OrderedMap) Get(key string) (any, bool) {
+	v, ok := m.values[key]
+	return v, ok
+}
+
+// Delete removes key. A later Set of the same key appends it to the end
+// again.
+func (m *OrderedMap) Delete(key string) {
+	if _, ok := m.values[key]; !ok {
+		return
+	}
+	delete(m.values, key)
+	m.keys = slices.DeleteFunc(m.keys, func(k string) bool { return k == key })
+}
+
+// Keys returns the keys in the order they were set.
+func (m *OrderedMap) Keys() []string { return m.keys }
+
+// Len returns the number of keys.
+func (m *OrderedMap) Len() int { return len(m.keys) }
+
+// Range calls f for every key in order, stopping when f returns false.
+func (m *OrderedMap) Range(f func(key string, value any) bool) {
+	for _, k := range m.keys {
+		if !f(k, m.values[k]) {
+			return
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// Map returns the values as a plain map, which carries no order. It is the
+// view Marshal's Document-free callers need.
+func (m *OrderedMap) Map() map[string]any { return m.values }
+
+// --- decode: the order the document wrote ----------------------------------
+
+// wantsOrderCache holds whether a destination type mentions OrderedMap
+// anywhere a decode can reach. One computed answer per type, the same
+// trade-off structSchemaCache makes.
+var wantsOrderCache sync.Map // reflect.Type -> bool
+
+// typeWantsOrder reports whether decoding into t can reach an OrderedMap, in
+// which case the parse has to build the node tree the key order is read
+// from. Structs walk their exported fields, and pointers, slices, arrays and
+// maps walk their element; anything else holds no OrderedMap.
+func typeWantsOrder(t reflect.Type) bool {
+	if t == nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	if v, ok := wantsOrderCache.Load(t); ok {
+		return v.(bool)
+	}
+	r := scanWantsOrder(t, make(map[reflect.Type]bool))
+	v, _ := wantsOrderCache.LoadOrStore(t, r)
+	return v.(bool)
+}
+
+func scanWantsOrder(t reflect.Type, seen map[reflect.Type]bool) bool {
+	for {
+		if t == orderedMapType {
+			return true
+		}
+		if seen[t] {
+			return false
+		}
+		seen[t] = true
+		switch t.Kind() {
+		case reflect.Pointer, reflect.Slice, reflect.Array, reflect.Map:
+			t = t.Elem()
+		case reflect.Struct:
+			for f := range t.Fields() {
+				if f.PkgPath != "" {
+					continue
+				}
+				if scanWantsOrder(f.Type, seen) {
+					return true
+				}
+			}
+			return false
+		default:
+			return false
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// nodes maps a table's value map to its node, the index the decoder reads
+// the written key order from. The key is the map header's runtime pointer,
+// the one identity a map value offers; the nodes share their maps with the
+// value tree, so one lookup per table is exact.
+type nodeIndex map[uintptr]*Table
+
+// indexNodeIndex walks a document's node tree into an index. A nil tree
+// gives a nil index, which every lookup answers with nil.
+func indexNodes(t *Table) nodeIndex {
+	if t == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	idx := nodeIndex{}
+	var walk func(t *Table)
+	walk = func(t *Table) {
+		idx[reflect.ValueOf(t.values).Pointer()] = t
+		for _, e := range t.entries {
+			if e.child != nil {
+				walk(e.child)
+			}
+			// The elements of a value array carry a node only where an element
+			// is an inline table; the rest are nil.
+			for _, el := range e.elements {
+				if el != nil {
+					walk(el)
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	walk(t)
+	return idx
+}
+
+// nodeOf returns the node a value table was parsed into, or nil when the
+// parse built no node tree, which is the ordinary decode's shape. A tree
+// built by hand carries no nodes either.
+func (d *decoder) nodeOf(tbl map[string]any) *Table {
+	return d.nodes[reflect.ValueOf(tbl).Pointer()]
+}
+
+// fillOrderedMap decodes a parsed table into an OrderedMap destination,
+// taking the keys in the order the document wrote them. A table with no
+// node, which is what a hand-built tree or a ParseMap result offers, fills
+// in sorted key order, the deterministic order a map can offer.
+func (d *decoder) fillOrderedMap(tbl map[string]any, dst reflect.Value) error {
+	if !dst.CanAddr() {
+		return fmt.Errorf("interpres: cannot decode into an OrderedMap that is not addressable")
+	}
+	om := dst.Addr().Interface().(*OrderedMap)
+	if om.values == nil {
+		om.values = make(map[string]any, len(tbl))
+	}
+	keys := slices.Sorted(maps.Keys(tbl))
+	if node := d.nodeOf(tbl); node != nil {
+		keys = node.Keys()
+	}
+	for _, key := range keys {
+		val, ok := tbl[key]
+		if !ok {
+			continue
+		}
+		elem := reflect.New(reflect.TypeFor[any]()).Elem()
+		if err := d.assign(val, elem); err != nil {
+			return newDecodeError(key, err)
+		}
+		om.Set(key, elem.Interface())
+	}
+	return nil
+}

orderedmap_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,214 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2026 Petr Balvín <opensource@petrbalvin.org> (https://petrbalvin.org)
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+
+package interpres
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"slices"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestOrderedMapBasics(t *testing.T) {
+	m := NewOrderedMap()
+	if m.Len() != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("fresh map holds %d keys", m.Len())
+	}
+	m.Set("b", 1)
+	m.Set("a", 2)
+	m.Set("c", 3)
+	if got := m.Keys(); !slices.Equal(got, []string{"b", "a", "c"}) {
+		t.Errorf("keys = %v, want [b a c]", got)
+	}
+	if v, ok := m.Get("a"); !ok || v != 2 {
+		t.Errorf("a = %v, %v", v, ok)
+	}
+	m.Set("a", 9)
+	if got := m.Keys(); !slices.Equal(got, []string{"b", "a", "c"}) {
+		t.Errorf("keys after replace = %v, want the position kept", got)
+	}
+	if v, _ := m.Get("a"); v != 9 {
+		t.Errorf("a = %v, want 9", v)
+	}
+	seen := ""
+	m.Range(func(key string, value any) bool {
+		seen += key
+		return key != "a"
+	})
+	if seen != "ba" {
+		t.Errorf("range visited %q, want \"ba\"", seen)
+	}
+	m.Delete("b")
+	m.Delete("missing")
+	if got := m.Keys(); !slices.Equal(got, []string{"a", "c"}) {
+		t.Errorf("keys after delete = %v, want [a c]", got)
+	}
+	m.Delete("c")
+	m.Set("c", 3)
+	if got := m.Keys(); !slices.Equal(got, []string{"a", "c"}) {
+		t.Errorf("re-set key = %v, want it appended as [a c]", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestMarshalOrderedMap(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("top level keeps the order", func(t *testing.T) {
+		m := NewOrderedMap()
+		m.Set("zebra", int64(1))
+		m.Set("alpha", "x")
+		out, err := Marshal(m)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		want := "zebra = 1\nalpha = \"x\"\n"
+		if string(out) != want {
+			t.Errorf("output:\n%q\nwant:\n%q", out, want)
+		}
+	})
+	t.Run("a pointer top level does the same", func(t *testing.T) {
+		m := &OrderedMap{}
+		m.Set("second", true)
+		m.Set("first", int64(2))
+		out, err := Marshal(m)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if string(out) != "second = true\nfirst = 2\n" {
+			t.Errorf("output %q", out)
+		}
+	})
+	t.Run("a struct field keeps the order as a table", func(t *testing.T) {
+		type Cfg struct {
+			Title string      `toml:"title"`
+			Extra *OrderedMap `toml:"extra"`
+		}
+		m := &OrderedMap{}
+		m.Set("late", int64(1))
+		m.Set("early", int64(2))
+		out, err := Marshal(Cfg{Title: "t", Extra: m})
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		want := "title = \"t\"\n\n[extra]\nlate = 1\nearly = 2\n"
+		if string(out) != want {
+			t.Errorf("output:\n%q\nwant:\n%q", out, want)
+		}
+	})
+	t.Run("inline form keeps the order too", func(t *testing.T) {
+		m := NewOrderedMap()
+		m.Set("zebra", int64(1))
+		m.Set("alpha", int64(2))
+		out, err := NewEncoder().InlineTables(60).Marshal(map[string]any{"t": m})
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if string(out) != "t = {zebra = 1, alpha = 2}\n" {
+			t.Errorf("output %q", out)
+		}
+	})
+	t.Run("an array of tables keeps each element's order", func(t *testing.T) {
+		type Cfg struct {
+			Items []*OrderedMap `toml:"items"`
+		}
+		a, b := NewOrderedMap(), NewOrderedMap()
+		a.Set("y", int64(1))
+		a.Set("x", int64(2))
+		b.Set("n", int64(3))
+		out, err := Marshal(Cfg{Items: []*OrderedMap{a, b}})
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		want := "[[items]]\ny = 1\nx = 2\n\n[[items]]\nn = 3\n"
+		if string(out) != want {
+			t.Errorf("output:\n%q\nwant:\n%q", out, want)
+		}
+	})
+	t.Run("a nil value is skipped", func(t *testing.T) {
+		m := NewOrderedMap()
+		m.Set("gone", nil)
+		m.Set("here", int64(1))
+		out, err := Marshal(m)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if string(out) != "here = 1\n" {
+			t.Errorf("output %q", out)
+		}
+	})
+}
+
+func TestDecodeOrderedMap(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("keys come back in written order", func(t *testing.T) {
+		doc := []byte("zebra = 1\nmiddle = \"m\"\nalpha = true\n")
+		var m OrderedMap
+		if err := Unmarshal(doc, &m); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if got := m.Keys(); !slices.Equal(got, []string{"zebra", "middle", "alpha"}) {
+			t.Fatalf("keys = %v", got)
+		}
+		if v, _ := m.Get("middle"); v != "m" {
+			t.Errorf("middle = %#v", v)
+		}
+	})
+	t.Run("a nested table keeps the table order", func(t *testing.T) {
+		type Cfg struct {
+			Ports []int       `toml:"ports"`
+			DB    *OrderedMap `toml:"db"`
+		}
+		doc := []byte("ports = [1, 2]\n\n[db]\nslow = 1\nfast = 2\n")
+		var cfg Cfg
+		if err := Unmarshal(doc, &cfg); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if got := cfg.DB.Keys(); !slices.Equal(got, []string{"slow", "fast"}) {
+			t.Errorf("db keys = %v", got)
+		}
+	})
+	t.Run("an array of tables fills in order", func(t *testing.T) {
+		var m OrderedMap
+		doc := []byte("b = 1\n[[items]]\nname = \"x\"\n[[items]]\nname = \"y\"\na = 2\n")
+		if err := Unmarshal(doc, &m); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if got := m.Keys(); !slices.Equal(got, []string{"b", "items"}) {
+			t.Errorf("keys = %v, want [b items]", got)
+		}
+		elems, ok := m.values["items"].([]map[string]any)
+		if !ok || len(elems) != 2 {
+			t.Fatalf("items = %#v", m.values["items"])
+		}
+		if elems[1]["name"] != "y" {
+			t.Errorf("second element = %#v", elems[1])
+		}
+	})
+	t.Run("the sorted fallback needs a tree without nodes", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// Unmarshal and Decode build the node tree whenever the destination can
+		// reach an OrderedMap, so the sorted fallback is only reachable from a
+		// tree that never had one.
+		tree, _, err := parseWithOptions(context.Background(), []byte("b = 1\na = 2\n"), parseOptions{}, false)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		var m OrderedMap
+		if err := newDecoder().decode(tree, &m); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if got := m.Keys(); !slices.Equal(got, []string{"a", "b"}) {
+			t.Errorf("keys = %v, want the sorted [a b]", got)
+		}
+	})
+	t.Run("the order survives a round trip", func(t *testing.T) {
+		doc := []byte("z = 1\na = 2\nm = 3\n")
+		var m OrderedMap
+		if err := Unmarshal(doc, &m); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		out, err := Marshal(m)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if string(out) != "z = 1\na = 2\nm = 3\n" {
+			t.Errorf("output:\n%q", out)
+		}
+	})
+}