Alerting: Persist rule position in the group (#50051)

Migrations:
* add a new column alert_group_idx to alert_rule table
* add a new column alert_group_idx to alert_rule_version table
* re-index existing rules during migration

API:
* set group index on update. Use the natural order of items in  the array as group index
* sort rules in the group on GET
* update the version of all rules of all affected groups. This will make optimistic lock work in the case of multiple concurrent request touching the same groups.

UI:
* update UI to keep the order of alerts in a group

pkg/services/ngalert/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ Scopes must have an order to ensure consistency and ease of search, this helps u
 - [FEATURE] Indicate whether contact point is provisioned when GETting Alertmanager configuration #48323
 - [FEATURE] Indicate whether alert rule is provisioned when GETting the rule #48458
 - [FEATURE] Alert rules with associated panels will take screenshots. #49293 #49338 #49374 #49377 #49378 #49379 #49381 #49385 #49439 #49445
+- [FEATURE] Persistent order of alert rules in a group #50051
 - [BUGFIX] Migration: ignore alerts that do not belong to any existing organization\dashboard #49192
 - [BUGFIX] Allow anonymous access to alerts #49203
 - [BUGFIX] RBAC: replace create\update\delete actions for notification policies by alert.notifications:write #49185

pkg/services/ngalert/api/api_prometheus.go

@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ func (srv PrometheusSrv) toRuleGroup(groupName string, folder *models.Folder, ru
 		Name: groupName,
 		File: folder.Title, // file is what Prometheus uses for provisioning, we replace it with namespace.
 	}
-
+	ngmodels.RulesGroup(rules).SortByGroupIndex()
 	for _, rule := range rules {
 		alertingRule := apimodels.AlertingRule{
 			State:       "inactive",

pkg/services/ngalert/api/api_prometheus_test.go

@@ -419,6 +419,49 @@ func TestRouteGetRuleStatuses(t *testing.T) {
 `, folder.Title), string(r.Body()))
 	})
 
+	t.Run("with many rules in a group", func(t *testing.T) {
+		t.Run("should return sorted", func(t *testing.T) {
+			ruleStore := store.NewFakeRuleStore(t)
+			fakeAIM := NewFakeAlertInstanceManager(t)
+			groupKey := ngmodels.GenerateGroupKey(orgID)
+			_, rules := ngmodels.GenerateUniqueAlertRules(rand.Intn(5)+5, ngmodels.AlertRuleGen(withGroupKey(groupKey), ngmodels.WithUniqueGroupIndex()))
+			ruleStore.PutRule(context.Background(), rules...)
+
+			api := PrometheusSrv{
+				log:     log.NewNopLogger(),
+				manager: fakeAIM,
+				store:   ruleStore,
+				ac:      acmock.New().WithDisabled(),
+			}
+
+			response := api.RouteGetRuleStatuses(c)
+			require.Equal(t, http.StatusOK, response.Status())
+			result := &apimodels.RuleResponse{}
+			require.NoError(t, json.Unmarshal(response.Body(), result))
+
+			ngmodels.RulesGroup(rules).SortByGroupIndex()
+
+			require.Len(t, result.Data.RuleGroups, 1)
+			group := result.Data.RuleGroups[0]
+			require.Equal(t, groupKey.RuleGroup, group.Name)
+			require.Len(t, group.Rules, len(rules))
+			for i, actual := range group.Rules {
+				expected := rules[i]
+				if actual.Name != expected.Title {
+					var actualNames []string
+					var expectedNames []string
+					for _, rule := range group.Rules {
+						actualNames = append(actualNames, rule.Name)
+					}
+					for _, rule := range rules {
+						expectedNames = append(expectedNames, rule.Title)
+					}
+					require.Fail(t, fmt.Sprintf("rules are not sorted by group index. Expected: %v. Actual: %v", expectedNames, actualNames))
+				}
+			}
+		})
+	})
+
 	t.Run("when fine-grained access is enabled", func(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Run("should return only rules if the user can query all data sources", func(t *testing.T) {
 			ruleStore := store.NewFakeRuleStore(t)

pkg/services/ngalert/api/api_ruler.go

@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ func (srv RulerSrv) RouteGetNamespaceRulesConfig(c *models.ReqContext) response.
 		return ErrResp(http.StatusInternalServerError, err, "failed to get provenance for rule group")
 	}
 
-	ruleGroups := make(map[string][]*ngmodels.AlertRule)
+	ruleGroups := make(map[string]ngmodels.RulesGroup)
 	for _, r := range q.Result {
 		ruleGroups[r.RuleGroup] = append(ruleGroups[r.RuleGroup], r)
 	}
@@ -284,7 +284,7 @@ func (srv RulerSrv) RouteGetRulesConfig(c *models.ReqContext) response.Response
 		return ErrResp(http.StatusInternalServerError, err, "failed to get alert rules")
 	}
 
-	configs := make(map[ngmodels.AlertRuleGroupKey][]*ngmodels.AlertRule)
+	configs := make(map[ngmodels.AlertRuleGroupKey]ngmodels.RulesGroup)
 	for _, r := range q.Result {
 		groupKey := r.GetGroupKey()
 		group := configs[groupKey]
@@ -360,7 +360,7 @@ func (srv RulerSrv) updateAlertRulesInGroup(c *models.ReqContext, groupKey ngmod
 			return err
 		}
 
-		finalChanges = groupChanges
+		finalChanges = calculateAutomaticChanges(groupChanges)
 		logger.Debug("updating database with the authorized changes", "add", len(finalChanges.New), "update", len(finalChanges.New), "delete", len(finalChanges.Delete))
 
 		if len(finalChanges.Update) > 0 || len(finalChanges.New) > 0 {
@@ -448,7 +448,8 @@ func (srv RulerSrv) updateAlertRulesInGroup(c *models.ReqContext, groupKey ngmod
 	return response.JSON(http.StatusAccepted, util.DynMap{"message": "rule group updated successfully"})
 }
 
-func toGettableRuleGroupConfig(groupName string, rules []*ngmodels.AlertRule, namespaceID int64, provenanceRecords map[string]ngmodels.Provenance) apimodels.GettableRuleGroupConfig {
+func toGettableRuleGroupConfig(groupName string, rules ngmodels.RulesGroup, namespaceID int64, provenanceRecords map[string]ngmodels.Provenance) apimodels.GettableRuleGroupConfig {
+	rules.SortByGroupIndex()
 	ruleNodes := make([]apimodels.GettableExtendedRuleNode, 0, len(rules))
 	var interval time.Duration
 	if len(rules) > 0 {
@@ -516,7 +517,7 @@ type changes struct {
 	GroupKey ngmodels.AlertRuleGroupKey
 	// AffectedGroups contains all rules of all groups that are affected by these changes.
 	// For example, during moving a rule from one group to another this map will contain all rules from two groups
-	AffectedGroups map[ngmodels.AlertRuleGroupKey][]*ngmodels.AlertRule
+	AffectedGroups map[ngmodels.AlertRuleGroupKey]ngmodels.RulesGroup
 	New            []*ngmodels.AlertRule
 	Update         []ruleUpdate
 	Delete         []*ngmodels.AlertRule
@@ -555,7 +556,7 @@ func verifyProvisionedRulesNotAffected(ctx context.Context, provenanceStore prov
 // calculateChanges calculates the difference between rules in the group in the database and the submitted rules. If a submitted rule has UID it tries to find it in the database (in other groups).
 // returns a list of rules that need to be added, updated and deleted. Deleted considered rules in the database that belong to the group but do not exist in the list of submitted rules.
 func calculateChanges(ctx context.Context, ruleStore store.RuleStore, groupKey ngmodels.AlertRuleGroupKey, submittedRules []*ngmodels.AlertRule) (*changes, error) {
-	affectedGroups := make(map[ngmodels.AlertRuleGroupKey][]*ngmodels.AlertRule)
+	affectedGroups := make(map[ngmodels.AlertRuleGroupKey]ngmodels.RulesGroup)
 	q := &ngmodels.ListAlertRulesQuery{
 		OrgID:         groupKey.OrgID,
 		NamespaceUIDs: []string{groupKey.NamespaceUID},
@@ -636,5 +637,50 @@ func calculateChanges(ctx context.Context, ruleStore store.RuleStore, groupKey n
 	}, nil
 }
 
+// calculateAutomaticChanges scans all affected groups and creates either a noop update that will increment the version of each rule as well as re-index other groups.
+// this is needed to make sure that there are no any concurrent changes made to all affected groups.
+// Returns a copy of changes enriched with either noop or group index changes for all rules in
+func calculateAutomaticChanges(ch *changes) *changes {
+	updatingRules := make(map[ngmodels.AlertRuleKey]struct{}, len(ch.Delete)+len(ch.Update))
+	for _, update := range ch.Update {
+		updatingRules[update.Existing.GetKey()] = struct{}{}
+	}
+	for _, del := range ch.Delete {
+		updatingRules[del.GetKey()] = struct{}{}
+	}
+	var toUpdate []ruleUpdate
+	for groupKey, rules := range ch.AffectedGroups {
+		if groupKey != ch.GroupKey {
+			rules.SortByGroupIndex()
+		}
+		idx := 1
+		for _, rule := range rules {
+			if _, ok := updatingRules[rule.GetKey()]; ok { // exclude rules that are going to be either updated or deleted
+				continue
+			}
+			upd := ruleUpdate{
+				Existing: rule,
+				New:      rule,
+			}
+			if groupKey != ch.GroupKey {
+				if rule.RuleGroupIndex != idx {
+					upd.New = ngmodels.CopyRule(rule)
+					upd.New.RuleGroupIndex = idx
+					upd.Diff = rule.Diff(upd.New, alertRuleFieldsToIgnoreInDiff...)
+				}
+				idx++
+			}
+			toUpdate = append(toUpdate, upd)
+		}
+	}
+	return &changes{
+		GroupKey:       ch.GroupKey,
+		AffectedGroups: ch.AffectedGroups,
+		New:            ch.New,
+		Update:         append(ch.Update, toUpdate...),
+		Delete:         ch.Delete,
+	}
+}
+
 // alertRuleFieldsToIgnoreInDiff contains fields that the AlertRule.Diff should ignore
 var alertRuleFieldsToIgnoreInDiff = []string{"ID", "Version", "Updated"}

pkg/services/ngalert/api/api_ruler_test.go

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
+	"fmt"
 	"math/rand"
 	"net/http"
 	"net/url"
@@ -75,7 +76,7 @@ func TestCalculateChanges(t *testing.T) {
 			require.Equal(t, db, toDelete)
 		}
 		require.Contains(t, changes.AffectedGroups, groupKey)
-		require.Equal(t, inDatabase, changes.AffectedGroups[groupKey])
+		require.Equal(t, models.RulesGroup(inDatabase), changes.AffectedGroups[groupKey])
 	})
 
 	t.Run("should detect alerts that needs to be updated", func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -102,7 +103,7 @@ func TestCalculateChanges(t *testing.T) {
 		require.Empty(t, changes.New)
 
 		require.Contains(t, changes.AffectedGroups, groupKey)
-		require.Equal(t, inDatabase, changes.AffectedGroups[groupKey])
+		require.Equal(t, models.RulesGroup(inDatabase), changes.AffectedGroups[groupKey])
 	})
 
 	t.Run("should include only if there are changes ignoring specific fields", func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -658,6 +659,49 @@ func TestRouteGetNamespaceRulesConfig(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 		require.True(t, found)
 	})
+	t.Run("should enforce order of rules in the group", func(t *testing.T) {
+		orgID := rand.Int63()
+		folder := randFolder()
+		ruleStore := store.NewFakeRuleStore(t)
+		ruleStore.Folders[orgID] = append(ruleStore.Folders[orgID], folder)
+		groupKey := models.GenerateGroupKey(orgID)
+		groupKey.NamespaceUID = folder.Uid
+
+		expectedRules := models.GenerateAlertRules(rand.Intn(5)+5, models.AlertRuleGen(withGroupKey(groupKey), models.WithUniqueGroupIndex()))
+		ruleStore.PutRule(context.Background(), expectedRules...)
+		ac := acMock.New().WithDisabled()
+
+		response := createService(ac, ruleStore, nil).RouteGetNamespaceRulesConfig(createRequestContext(orgID, models2.ROLE_VIEWER, map[string]string{
+			":Namespace": folder.Title,
+		}))
+
+		require.Equal(t, http.StatusAccepted, response.Status())
+		result := &apimodels.NamespaceConfigResponse{}
+		require.NoError(t, json.Unmarshal(response.Body(), result))
+		require.NotNil(t, result)
+
+		models.RulesGroup(expectedRules).SortByGroupIndex()
+
+		require.Contains(t, *result, folder.Title)
+		groups := (*result)[folder.Title]
+		require.Len(t, groups, 1)
+		group := groups[0]
+		require.Equal(t, groupKey.RuleGroup, group.Name)
+		for i, actual := range groups[0].Rules {
+			expected := expectedRules[i]
+			if actual.GrafanaManagedAlert.UID != expected.UID {
+				var actualUIDs []string
+				var expectedUIDs []string
+				for _, rule := range group.Rules {
+					actualUIDs = append(actualUIDs, rule.GrafanaManagedAlert.UID)
+				}
+				for _, rule := range expectedRules {
+					expectedUIDs = append(expectedUIDs, rule.UID)
+				}
+				require.Fail(t, fmt.Sprintf("rules are not sorted by group index. Expected: %v. Actual: %v", expectedUIDs, actualUIDs))
+			}
+		}
+	})
 }
 
 func TestRouteGetRulesConfig(t *testing.T) {
@@ -698,6 +742,48 @@ func TestRouteGetRulesConfig(t *testing.T) {
 			})
 		})
 	})
+
+	t.Run("should return rules in group sorted by group index", func(t *testing.T) {
+		orgID := rand.Int63()
+		folder := randFolder()
+		ruleStore := store.NewFakeRuleStore(t)
+		ruleStore.Folders[orgID] = append(ruleStore.Folders[orgID], folder)
+		groupKey := models.GenerateGroupKey(orgID)
+		groupKey.NamespaceUID = folder.Uid
+
+		expectedRules := models.GenerateAlertRules(rand.Intn(5)+5, models.AlertRuleGen(withGroupKey(groupKey), models.WithUniqueGroupIndex()))
+		ruleStore.PutRule(context.Background(), expectedRules...)
+		ac := acMock.New().WithDisabled()
+
+		response := createService(ac, ruleStore, nil).RouteGetRulesConfig(createRequestContext(orgID, models2.ROLE_VIEWER, nil))
+
+		require.Equal(t, http.StatusOK, response.Status())
+		result := &apimodels.NamespaceConfigResponse{}
+		require.NoError(t, json.Unmarshal(response.Body(), result))
+		require.NotNil(t, result)
+
+		models.RulesGroup(expectedRules).SortByGroupIndex()
+
+		require.Contains(t, *result, folder.Title)
+		groups := (*result)[folder.Title]
+		require.Len(t, groups, 1)
+		group := groups[0]
+		require.Equal(t, groupKey.RuleGroup, group.Name)
+		for i, actual := range groups[0].Rules {
+			expected := expectedRules[i]
+			if actual.GrafanaManagedAlert.UID != expected.UID {
+				var actualUIDs []string
+				var expectedUIDs []string
+				for _, rule := range group.Rules {
+					actualUIDs = append(actualUIDs, rule.GrafanaManagedAlert.UID)
+				}
+				for _, rule := range expectedRules {
+					expectedUIDs = append(expectedUIDs, rule.UID)
+				}
+				require.Fail(t, fmt.Sprintf("rules are not sorted by group index. Expected: %v. Actual: %v", expectedUIDs, actualUIDs))
+			}
+		}
+	})
 }
 
 func TestRouteGetRulesGroupConfig(t *testing.T) {
@@ -736,12 +822,52 @@ func TestRouteGetRulesGroupConfig(t *testing.T) {
 			})
 		})
 	})
+
+	t.Run("should return rules in group sorted by group index", func(t *testing.T) {
+		orgID := rand.Int63()
+		folder := randFolder()
+		ruleStore := store.NewFakeRuleStore(t)
+		ruleStore.Folders[orgID] = append(ruleStore.Folders[orgID], folder)
+		groupKey := models.GenerateGroupKey(orgID)
+		groupKey.NamespaceUID = folder.Uid
+
+		expectedRules := models.GenerateAlertRules(rand.Intn(5)+5, models.AlertRuleGen(withGroupKey(groupKey), models.WithUniqueGroupIndex()))
+		ruleStore.PutRule(context.Background(), expectedRules...)
+		ac := acMock.New().WithDisabled()
+
+		response := createService(ac, ruleStore, nil).RouteGetRulesGroupConfig(createRequestContext(orgID, models2.ROLE_VIEWER, map[string]string{
+			":Namespace": folder.Title,
+			":Groupname": groupKey.RuleGroup,
+		}))
+
+		require.Equal(t, http.StatusAccepted, response.Status())
+		result := &apimodels.RuleGroupConfigResponse{}
+		require.NoError(t, json.Unmarshal(response.Body(), result))
+		require.NotNil(t, result)
+
+		models.RulesGroup(expectedRules).SortByGroupIndex()
+
+		for i, actual := range result.Rules {
+			expected := expectedRules[i]
+			if actual.GrafanaManagedAlert.UID != expected.UID {
+				var actualUIDs []string
+				var expectedUIDs []string
+				for _, rule := range result.Rules {
+					actualUIDs = append(actualUIDs, rule.GrafanaManagedAlert.UID)
+				}
+				for _, rule := range expectedRules {
+					expectedUIDs = append(expectedUIDs, rule.UID)
+				}
+				require.Fail(t, fmt.Sprintf("rules are not sorted by group index. Expected: %v. Actual: %v", expectedUIDs, actualUIDs))
+			}
+		}
+	})
 }
 
 func TestVerifyProvisionedRulesNotAffected(t *testing.T) {
 	orgID := rand.Int63()
 	group := models.GenerateGroupKey(orgID)
-	affectedGroups := make(map[models.AlertRuleGroupKey][]*models.AlertRule)
+	affectedGroups := make(map[models.AlertRuleGroupKey]models.RulesGroup)
 	var allRules []*models.AlertRule
 	{
 		rules := models.GenerateAlertRules(rand.Intn(3)+1, models.AlertRuleGen(withGroupKey(group)))
@@ -799,6 +925,141 @@ func TestVerifyProvisionedRulesNotAffected(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 }
 
+func TestCalculateAutomaticChanges(t *testing.T) {
+	orgID := rand.Int63()
+
+	t.Run("should mark all rules in affected groups", func(t *testing.T) {
+		group := models.GenerateGroupKey(orgID)
+		rules := models.GenerateAlertRules(10, models.AlertRuleGen(withGroupKey(group)))
+		// copy rules to make sure that the function does not modify the original rules
+		copies := make([]*models.AlertRule, 0, len(rules))
+		for _, rule := range rules {
+			copies = append(copies, models.CopyRule(rule))
+		}
+
+		var updates []ruleUpdate
+		for i := 0; i < 5; i++ {
+			ruleCopy := models.CopyRule(copies[i])
+			ruleCopy.Title += util.GenerateShortUID()
+			updates = append(updates, ruleUpdate{
+				Existing: copies[i],
+				New:      ruleCopy,
+			})
+		}
+
+		// simulate adding new rules, updating a few existing and delete some from the same rule
+		ch := &changes{
+			GroupKey: group,
+			AffectedGroups: map[models.AlertRuleGroupKey]models.RulesGroup{
+				group: copies,
+			},
+			New:    models.GenerateAlertRules(2, models.AlertRuleGen(withGroupKey(group))),
+			Update: updates,
+			Delete: rules[5:7],
+		}
+
+		result := calculateAutomaticChanges(ch)
+
+		require.NotEqual(t, ch, result)
+		require.Equal(t, ch.GroupKey, result.GroupKey)
+		require.Equal(t, map[models.AlertRuleGroupKey]models.RulesGroup{
+			group: rules,
+		}, result.AffectedGroups)
+		require.Equal(t, ch.New, result.New)
+		require.Equal(t, rules[5:7], result.Delete)
+		var expected []ruleUpdate
+		expected = append(expected, updates...)
+		// all rules that were not updated directly by user should be added to the
+		for _, rule := range rules[7:] {
+			expected = append(expected, ruleUpdate{
+				Existing: rule,
+				New:      rule,
+			})
+		}
+		require.Equal(t, expected, result.Update)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("should re-index rules in affected groups other than updated", func(t *testing.T) {
+		group := models.GenerateGroupKey(orgID)
+		rules := models.GenerateAlertRules(3, models.AlertRuleGen(withGroupKey(group), models.WithSequentialGroupIndex()))
+		group2 := models.GenerateGroupKey(orgID)
+		rules2 := models.GenerateAlertRules(4, models.AlertRuleGen(withGroupKey(group2), models.WithSequentialGroupIndex()))
+
+		movedIndex := rand.Intn(len(rules2) - 1)
+		movedRule := rules2[movedIndex]
+		copyRule := models.CopyRule(movedRule)
+		copyRule.RuleGroup = group.RuleGroup
+		copyRule.NamespaceUID = group.NamespaceUID
+		copyRule.RuleGroupIndex = len(rules)
+		update := ruleUpdate{
+			Existing: movedRule,
+			New:      copyRule,
+		}
+
+		shuffled := make([]*models.AlertRule, 0, len(rules2))
+		copy(shuffled, rules2)
+		rand.Shuffle(len(shuffled), func(i, j int) {
+			shuffled[i], shuffled[j] = shuffled[j], shuffled[i]
+		})
+
+		// simulate moving a rule from one group to another.
+		ch := &changes{
+			GroupKey: group,
+			AffectedGroups: map[models.AlertRuleGroupKey]models.RulesGroup{
+				group:  rules,
+				group2: shuffled,
+			},
+			Update: []ruleUpdate{
+				update,
+			},
+		}
+
+		result := calculateAutomaticChanges(ch)
+
+		require.NotEqual(t, ch, result)
+		require.Equal(t, ch.GroupKey, result.GroupKey)
+		require.Equal(t, ch.AffectedGroups, result.AffectedGroups)
+		require.Equal(t, ch.New, result.New)
+		require.Equal(t, ch.Delete, result.Delete)
+
+		require.Equal(t, ch.Update, result.Update[0:1])
+
+		require.Contains(t, result.Update, update)
+		for _, rule := range rules {
+			assert.Containsf(t, result.Update, ruleUpdate{
+				Existing: rule,
+				New:      rule,
+			}, "automatic changes expected to contain all rules of the updated group")
+		}
+
+		// calculate expected index of the rules in the source group after the move
+		expectedReindex := make(map[string]int, len(rules2)-1)
+		idx := 1
+		for _, rule := range rules2 {
+			if rule.UID == movedRule.UID {
+				continue
+			}
+			expectedReindex[rule.UID] = idx
+			idx++
+		}
+
+		for _, upd := range result.Update {
+			expectedIdx, ok := expectedReindex[upd.Existing.UID]
+			if !ok {
+				continue
+			}
+			diff := upd.Existing.Diff(upd.New)
+			if upd.Existing.RuleGroupIndex != expectedIdx {
+				require.Lenf(t, diff, 1, fmt.Sprintf("the rule in affected group should be re-indexed to %d but it still has index %d. Moved rule with index %d", expectedIdx, upd.Existing.RuleGroupIndex, movedIndex))
+				require.Equal(t, "RuleGroupIndex", diff[0].Path)
+				require.Equal(t, expectedIdx, upd.New.RuleGroupIndex)
+			} else {
+				require.Empty(t, diff)
+			}
+		}
+	})
+}
+
 func createService(ac *acMock.Mock, store *store.FakeRuleStore, scheduler schedule.ScheduleService) *RulerSrv {
 	return &RulerSrv{
 		xactManager:     store,

pkg/services/ngalert/api/api_ruler_validation.go

@@ -177,6 +177,7 @@ func validateRuleGroup(
 			}
 			uids[rule.UID] = idx
 		}
+		rule.RuleGroupIndex = idx + 1
 		result = append(result, rule)
 	}
 	return result, nil

pkg/services/ngalert/api/authorization_test.go

@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ func createAllCombinationsOfPermissions(permissions map[string][]string) []map[s
 	return permissionCombinations
 }
 
-func getDatasourceScopesForRules(rules []*models.AlertRule) []string {
+func getDatasourceScopesForRules(rules models.RulesGroup) []string {
 	scopesMap := map[string]struct{}{}
 	var result []string
 	for _, rule := range rules {
@@ -123,8 +123,8 @@ func getDatasourceScopesForRules(rules []*models.AlertRule) []string {
 	return result
 }
 
-func mapUpdates(updates []ruleUpdate, mapFunc func(ruleUpdate) *models.AlertRule) []*models.AlertRule {
-	result := make([]*models.AlertRule, 0, len(updates))
+func mapUpdates(updates []ruleUpdate, mapFunc func(ruleUpdate) *models.AlertRule) models.RulesGroup {
+	result := make(models.RulesGroup, 0, len(updates))
 	for _, update := range updates {
 		result = append(result, mapFunc(update))
 	}
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ func TestAuthorizeRuleChanges(t *testing.T) {
 				rules2 := models.GenerateAlertRules(rand.Intn(4)+1, models.AlertRuleGen(withGroupKey(groupKey)))
 				return &changes{
 					GroupKey: groupKey,
-					AffectedGroups: map[models.AlertRuleGroupKey][]*models.AlertRule{
+					AffectedGroups: map[models.AlertRuleGroupKey]models.RulesGroup{
 						groupKey: append(rules, rules2...),
 					},
 					New:    nil,
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ func TestAuthorizeRuleChanges(t *testing.T) {
 
 				return &changes{
 					GroupKey: groupKey,
-					AffectedGroups: map[models.AlertRuleGroupKey][]*models.AlertRule{
+					AffectedGroups: map[models.AlertRuleGroupKey]models.RulesGroup{
 						groupKey: append(rules, rules1...),
 					},
 					New:    nil,
@@ -252,7 +252,7 @@ func TestAuthorizeRuleChanges(t *testing.T) {
 
 				return &changes{
 					GroupKey: targetGroupKey,
-					AffectedGroups: map[models.AlertRuleGroupKey][]*models.AlertRule{
+					AffectedGroups: map[models.AlertRuleGroupKey]models.RulesGroup{
 						groupKey: append(rules, rules1...),
 					},
 					New:    nil,
@@ -317,7 +317,7 @@ func TestAuthorizeRuleChanges(t *testing.T) {
 
 				return &changes{
 					GroupKey: targetGroupKey,
-					AffectedGroups: map[models.AlertRuleGroupKey][]*models.AlertRule{
+					AffectedGroups: map[models.AlertRuleGroupKey]models.RulesGroup{
 						groupKey:       sourceGroup,
 						targetGroupKey: targetGroup,
 					},

pkg/services/ngalert/models/alert_rule.go

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"sort"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/google/go-cmp/cmp"
@@ -125,6 +126,7 @@ type AlertRule struct {
 	DashboardUID    *string `xorm:"dashboard_uid"`
 	PanelID         *int64  `xorm:"panel_id"`
 	RuleGroup       string
+	RuleGroupIndex  int `xorm:"rule_group_idx"`
 	NoDataState     NoDataState
 	ExecErrState    ExecutionErrorState
 	// ideally this field should have been apimodels.ApiDuration
@@ -140,6 +142,9 @@ type SchedulableAlertRule struct {
 	OrgID           int64  `xorm:"org_id"`
 	IntervalSeconds int64
 	Version         int64
+	NamespaceUID    string `xorm:"namespace_uid"`
+	RuleGroup       string
+	RuleGroupIndex  int `xorm:"rule_group_idx"`
 }
 
 type LabelOption func(map[string]string)
@@ -251,6 +256,7 @@ type AlertRuleVersion struct {
 	RuleUID          string `xorm:"rule_uid"`
 	RuleNamespaceUID string `xorm:"rule_namespace_uid"`
 	RuleGroup        string
+	RuleGroupIndex   int `xorm:"rule_group_idx"`
 	ParentVersion    int64
 	RestoredFrom     int64
 	Version          int64
@@ -297,7 +303,7 @@ type ListAlertRulesQuery struct {
 	DashboardUID string
 	PanelID      int64
 
-	Result []*AlertRule
+	Result RulesGroup
 }
 
 type GetAlertRulesForSchedulingQuery struct {
@@ -394,3 +400,14 @@ func ValidateRuleGroupInterval(intervalSeconds, baseIntervalSeconds int64) error
 	}
 	return nil
 }
+
+type RulesGroup []*AlertRule
+
+func (g RulesGroup) SortByGroupIndex() {
+	sort.Slice(g, func(i, j int) bool {
+		if g[i].RuleGroupIndex == g[j].RuleGroupIndex {
+			return g[i].ID < g[j].ID
+		}
+		return g[i].RuleGroupIndex < g[j].RuleGroupIndex
+	})
+}

pkg/services/ngalert/models/alert_rule_test.go

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package models
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"math/rand"
+	"sort"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
@@ -354,6 +355,13 @@ func TestDiff(t *testing.T) {
 			assert.Equal(t, rule2.For, diff[0].Right.Interface())
 			difCnt++
 		}
+		if rule1.RuleGroupIndex != rule2.RuleGroupIndex {
+			diff := diffs.GetDiffsForField("RuleGroupIndex")
+			assert.Len(t, diff, 1)
+			assert.Equal(t, rule1.RuleGroupIndex, diff[0].Left.Interface())
+			assert.Equal(t, rule2.RuleGroupIndex, diff[0].Right.Interface())
+			difCnt++
+		}
 
 		require.Lenf(t, diffs, difCnt, "Got some unexpected diffs. Either add to ignore or add assert to it")
 
@@ -538,3 +546,33 @@ func TestDiff(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	})
 }
+
+func TestSortByGroupIndex(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("should sort rules by GroupIndex", func(t *testing.T) {
+		rules := GenerateAlertRules(rand.Intn(5)+5, AlertRuleGen(WithUniqueGroupIndex()))
+		rand.Shuffle(len(rules), func(i, j int) {
+			rules[i], rules[j] = rules[j], rules[i]
+		})
+		require.False(t, sort.SliceIsSorted(rules, func(i, j int) bool {
+			return rules[i].RuleGroupIndex < rules[j].RuleGroupIndex
+		}))
+		RulesGroup(rules).SortByGroupIndex()
+		require.True(t, sort.SliceIsSorted(rules, func(i, j int) bool {
+			return rules[i].RuleGroupIndex < rules[j].RuleGroupIndex
+		}))
+	})
+
+	t.Run("should sort by ID if same GroupIndex", func(t *testing.T) {
+		rules := GenerateAlertRules(rand.Intn(5)+5, AlertRuleGen(WithUniqueID(), WithGroupIndex(rand.Int())))
+		rand.Shuffle(len(rules), func(i, j int) {
+			rules[i], rules[j] = rules[j], rules[i]
+		})
+		require.False(t, sort.SliceIsSorted(rules, func(i, j int) bool {
+			return rules[i].ID < rules[j].ID
+		}))
+		RulesGroup(rules).SortByGroupIndex()
+		require.True(t, sort.SliceIsSorted(rules, func(i, j int) bool {
+			return rules[i].ID < rules[j].ID
+		}))
+	})
+}

pkg/services/ngalert/models/testing.go

@@ -9,9 +9,11 @@ import (
 	"github.com/grafana/grafana/pkg/util"
 )
 
+type AlertRuleMutator func(*AlertRule)
+
 // AlertRuleGen provides a factory function that generates a random AlertRule.
 // The mutators arguments allows changing fields of the resulting structure
-func AlertRuleGen(mutators ...func(*AlertRule)) func() *AlertRule {
+func AlertRuleGen(mutators ...AlertRuleMutator) func() *AlertRule {
 	return func() *AlertRule {
 		randNoDataState := func() NoDataState {
 			s := [...]NoDataState{
@@ -74,6 +76,7 @@ func AlertRuleGen(mutators ...func(*AlertRule)) func() *AlertRule {
 			DashboardUID:    dashUID,
 			PanelID:         panelID,
 			RuleGroup:       "TEST-GROUP-" + util.GenerateShortUID(),
+			RuleGroupIndex:  rand.Int(),
 			NoDataState:     randNoDataState(),
 			ExecErrState:    randErrState(),
 			For:             forInterval,
@@ -88,6 +91,48 @@ func AlertRuleGen(mutators ...func(*AlertRule)) func() *AlertRule {
 	}
 }
 
+func WithUniqueID() AlertRuleMutator {
+	usedID := make(map[int64]struct{})
+	return func(rule *AlertRule) {
+		for {
+			id := rand.Int63()
+			if _, ok := usedID[id]; !ok {
+				usedID[id] = struct{}{}
+				rule.ID = id
+				return
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func WithGroupIndex(groupIndex int) AlertRuleMutator {
+	return func(rule *AlertRule) {
+		rule.RuleGroupIndex = groupIndex
+	}
+}
+
+func WithUniqueGroupIndex() AlertRuleMutator {
+	usedIdx := make(map[int]struct{})
+	return func(rule *AlertRule) {
+		for {
+			idx := rand.Int()
+			if _, ok := usedIdx[idx]; !ok {
+				usedIdx[idx] = struct{}{}
+				rule.RuleGroupIndex = idx
+				return
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func WithSequentialGroupIndex() AlertRuleMutator {
+	idx := 1
+	return func(rule *AlertRule) {
+		rule.RuleGroupIndex = idx
+		idx++
+	}
+}
+
 func GenerateAlertQuery() AlertQuery {
 	f := rand.Intn(10) + 5
 	t := rand.Intn(f)
@@ -155,6 +200,7 @@ func CopyRule(r *AlertRule) *AlertRule {
 		UID:             r.UID,
 		NamespaceUID:    r.NamespaceUID,
 		RuleGroup:       r.RuleGroup,
+		RuleGroupIndex:  r.RuleGroupIndex,
 		NoDataState:     r.NoDataState,
 		ExecErrState:    r.ExecErrState,
 		For:             r.For,

pkg/services/ngalert/store/alert_rule.go

@@ -230,6 +230,7 @@ func (st DBstore) UpdateAlertRules(ctx context.Context, rules []UpdateRule) erro
 				RuleUID:          r.New.UID,
 				RuleNamespaceUID: r.New.NamespaceUID,
 				RuleGroup:        r.New.RuleGroup,
+				RuleGroupIndex:   r.New.RuleGroupIndex,
 				ParentVersion:    parentVersion,
 				Version:          r.New.Version + 1,
 				Created:          r.New.Updated,
@@ -283,7 +284,7 @@ func (st DBstore) ListAlertRules(ctx context.Context, query *ngmodels.ListAlertR
 			q = q.Where("rule_group = ?", query.RuleGroup)
 		}
 
-		q = q.OrderBy("id ASC")
+		q = q.Asc("namespace_uid", "rule_group", "rule_group_idx", "id")
 
 		alertRules := make([]*ngmodels.AlertRule, 0)
 		if err := q.Find(&alertRules); err != nil {
@@ -409,6 +410,7 @@ func (st DBstore) GetAlertRulesForScheduling(ctx context.Context, query *ngmodel
 			}
 			q = q.NotIn("org_id", excludeOrgs...)
 		}
+		q = q.Asc("namespace_uid", "rule_group", "rule_group_idx", "id")
 		if err := q.Find(&alerts); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}

pkg/services/sqlstore/migrations/migrations.go

@@ -92,6 +92,8 @@ func (*OSSMigrations) AddMigration(mg *Migrator) {
 	accesscontrol.AddManagedFolderAlertActionsMigration(mg)
 	accesscontrol.AddActionNameMigrator(mg)
 	addPlaylistUIDMigration(mg)
+
+	ualert.UpdateRuleGroupIndexMigration(mg)
 }
 
 func addMigrationLogMigrations(mg *Migrator) {

pkg/services/sqlstore/migrations/ualert/alert_rule.go

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 type alertRule struct {
+	ID              int64 `xorm:"pk autoincr 'id'"`
 	OrgID           int64 `xorm:"org_id"`
 	Title           string
 	Condition       string
@@ -22,6 +23,7 @@ type alertRule struct {
 	UID             string `xorm:"uid"`
 	NamespaceUID    string `xorm:"namespace_uid"`
 	RuleGroup       string
+	RuleGroupIndex  int `xorm:"rule_group_idx"`
 	NoDataState     string
 	ExecErrState    string
 	For             duration
@@ -35,6 +37,7 @@ type alertRuleVersion struct {
 	RuleUID          string `xorm:"rule_uid"`
 	RuleNamespaceUID string `xorm:"rule_namespace_uid"`
 	RuleGroup        string
+	RuleGroupIndex   int `xorm:"rule_group_idx"`
 	ParentVersion    int64
 	RestoredFrom     int64
 	Version          int64
@@ -59,6 +62,7 @@ func (a *alertRule) makeVersion() *alertRuleVersion {
 		RuleUID:          a.UID,
 		RuleNamespaceUID: a.NamespaceUID,
 		RuleGroup:        a.RuleGroup,
+		RuleGroupIndex:   a.RuleGroupIndex,
 		ParentVersion:    0,
 		RestoredFrom:     0,
 		Version:          1,

pkg/services/sqlstore/migrations/ualert/tables.go

@@ -241,6 +241,16 @@ func AddAlertRuleMigrations(mg *migrator.Migrator, defaultIntervalSeconds int64)
 			Cols: []string{"org_id", "dashboard_uid", "panel_id"},
 		},
 	))
+
+	mg.AddMigration("add rule_group_idx column to alert_rule", migrator.NewAddColumnMigration(
+		migrator.Table{Name: "alert_rule"},
+		&migrator.Column{
+			Name:     "rule_group_idx",
+			Type:     migrator.DB_Int,
+			Nullable: false,
+			Default:  "1",
+		},
+	))
 }
 
 func AddAlertRuleVersionMigrations(mg *migrator.Migrator) {
@@ -284,6 +294,16 @@ func AddAlertRuleVersionMigrations(mg *migrator.Migrator) {
 
 	// add labels column
 	mg.AddMigration("add column labels to alert_rule_version", migrator.NewAddColumnMigration(alertRuleVersion, &migrator.Column{Name: "labels", Type: migrator.DB_Text, Nullable: true}))
+
+	mg.AddMigration("add rule_group_idx column to alert_rule_version", migrator.NewAddColumnMigration(
+		migrator.Table{Name: "alert_rule_version"},
+		&migrator.Column{
+			Name:     "rule_group_idx",
+			Type:     migrator.DB_Int,
+			Nullable: false,
+			Default:  "1",
+		},
+	))
 }
 
 func AddAlertmanagerConfigMigrations(mg *migrator.Migrator) {

pkg/services/sqlstore/migrations/ualert/ualert.go

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import (
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
+	"time"
 
 	pb "github.com/prometheus/alertmanager/silence/silencepb"
 	"xorm.io/xorm"
@@ -37,6 +38,7 @@ var migTitle = "move dashboard alerts to unified alerting"
 var rmMigTitle = "remove unified alerting data"
 
 const clearMigrationEntryTitle = "clear migration entry %q"
+const codeMigration = "code migration"
 
 type MigrationError struct {
 	AlertId int64
@@ -227,7 +229,7 @@ type migration struct {
 }
 
 func (m *migration) SQL(dialect migrator.Dialect) string {
-	return "code migration"
+	return codeMigration
 }
 
 // nolint: gocyclo
@@ -511,7 +513,7 @@ type rmMigration struct {
 }
 
 func (m *rmMigration) SQL(dialect migrator.Dialect) string {
-	return "code migration"
+	return codeMigration
 }
 
 func (m *rmMigration) Exec(sess *xorm.Session, mg *migrator.Migrator) error {
@@ -710,7 +712,7 @@ func (u *upgradeNgAlerting) updateAlertmanagerFiles(orgId int64, migrator *migra
 }
 
 func (u *upgradeNgAlerting) SQL(migrator.Dialect) string {
-	return "code migration"
+	return codeMigration
 }
 
 // getAlertFolderNameFromDashboard generates a folder name for alerts that belong to a dashboard. Formats the string according to DASHBOARD_FOLDER format.
@@ -776,5 +778,86 @@ func (c createDefaultFoldersForAlertingMigration) Exec(sess *xorm.Session, migra
 }
 
 func (c createDefaultFoldersForAlertingMigration) SQL(migrator.Dialect) string {
-	return "code migration"
+	return codeMigration
+}
+
+// UpdateRuleGroupIndexMigration updates a new field rule_group_index for alert rules that belong to a group with more than 1 alert.
+func UpdateRuleGroupIndexMigration(mg *migrator.Migrator) {
+	if !mg.Cfg.UnifiedAlerting.IsEnabled() {
+		return
+	}
+	mg.AddMigration("update group index for alert rules", &updateRulesOrderInGroup{})
+}
+
+type updateRulesOrderInGroup struct {
+	migrator.MigrationBase
+}
+
+func (c updateRulesOrderInGroup) SQL(migrator.Dialect) string {
+	return codeMigration
+}
+
+func (c updateRulesOrderInGroup) Exec(sess *xorm.Session, migrator *migrator.Migrator) error {
+	var rows []*alertRule
+	if err := sess.Table(alertRule{}).Asc("id").Find(&rows); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to read the list of alert rules: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	if len(rows) == 0 {
+		migrator.Logger.Debug("No rules to migrate.")
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	groups := map[ngmodels.AlertRuleGroupKey][]*alertRule{}
+
+	for _, row := range rows {
+		groupKey := ngmodels.AlertRuleGroupKey{
+			OrgID:        row.OrgID,
+			NamespaceUID: row.NamespaceUID,
+			RuleGroup:    row.RuleGroup,
+		}
+		groups[groupKey] = append(groups[groupKey], row)
+	}
+
+	toUpdate := make([]*alertRule, 0, len(rows))
+
+	for _, rules := range groups {
+		for i, rule := range rules {
+			if rule.RuleGroupIndex == i+1 {
+				continue
+			}
+			rule.RuleGroupIndex = i + 1
+			toUpdate = append(toUpdate, rule)
+		}
+	}
+
+	if len(toUpdate) == 0 {
+		migrator.Logger.Debug("No rules to upgrade group index")
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	updated := time.Now()
+	versions := make([]*alertRuleVersion, 0, len(toUpdate))
+
+	for _, rule := range toUpdate {
+		rule.Updated = updated
+		version := rule.makeVersion()
+		version.Version = rule.Version + 1
+		version.ParentVersion = rule.Version
+		rule.Version++
+		_, err := sess.ID(rule.ID).Cols("version", "updated", "rule_group_idx").Update(rule)
+		if err != nil {
+			migrator.Logger.Error("failed to update alert rule", "uid", rule.UID, "err", err)
+			return fmt.Errorf("unable to update alert rules with group index: %w", err)
+		}
+		migrator.Logger.Debug("updated group index for alert rule", "rule_uid", rule.UID)
+		versions = append(versions, version)
+	}
+
+	_, err := sess.Insert(&versions)
+	if err != nil {
+		migrator.Logger.Error("failed to insert changes to alert_rule_version", "err", err)
+		return fmt.Errorf("unable to update alert rules with group index: %w", err)
+	}
+	return nil
 }

pkg/tests/api/alerting/api_ruler_test.go

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"io/ioutil"
+	"math/rand"
 	"net/http"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
@@ -17,6 +18,7 @@ import (
 	apimodels "github.com/grafana/grafana/pkg/services/ngalert/api/tooling/definitions"
 	ngmodels "github.com/grafana/grafana/pkg/services/ngalert/models"
 	"github.com/grafana/grafana/pkg/tests/testinfra"
+	"github.com/grafana/grafana/pkg/util"
 )
 
 func TestAlertRulePermissions(t *testing.T) {
@@ -719,6 +721,102 @@ func TestRulerRulesFilterByDashboard(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestRuleGroupSequence(t *testing.T) {
+	// Setup Grafana and its Database
+	dir, path := testinfra.CreateGrafDir(t, testinfra.GrafanaOpts{
+		DisableLegacyAlerting: true,
+		EnableUnifiedAlerting: true,
+		DisableAnonymous:      true,
+		AppModeProduction:     true,
+	})
+	grafanaListedAddr, store := testinfra.StartGrafana(t, dir, path)
+
+	// Create a user to make authenticated requests
+	createUser(t, store, models.CreateUserCommand{
+		DefaultOrgRole: string(models.ROLE_EDITOR),
+		Password:       "password",
+		Login:          "grafana",
+	})
+
+	client := newAlertingApiClient(grafanaListedAddr, "grafana", "password")
+	folder1Title := "folder1"
+	client.CreateFolder(t, util.GenerateShortUID(), folder1Title)
+
+	group1 := generateAlertRuleGroup(5, alertRuleGen())
+	group2 := generateAlertRuleGroup(5, alertRuleGen())
+
+	status, _ := client.PostRulesGroup(t, folder1Title, &group1)
+	require.Equal(t, http.StatusAccepted, status)
+	status, _ = client.PostRulesGroup(t, folder1Title, &group2)
+	require.Equal(t, http.StatusAccepted, status)
+
+	t.Run("should persist order of the rules in a group", func(t *testing.T) {
+		group1Get := client.GetRulesGroup(t, folder1Title, group1.Name)
+		assert.Equal(t, group1.Name, group1Get.Name)
+		assert.Equal(t, group1.Interval, group1Get.Interval)
+		assert.Len(t, group1Get.Rules, len(group1.Rules))
+		for i, getRule := range group1Get.Rules {
+			rule := group1.Rules[i]
+			assert.Equal(t, getRule.GrafanaManagedAlert.Title, rule.GrafanaManagedAlert.Title)
+			assert.NotEmpty(t, getRule.GrafanaManagedAlert.UID)
+		}
+
+		// now shuffle the rules
+		postableGroup1 := convertGettableRuleGroupToPostable(group1Get.GettableRuleGroupConfig)
+		rand.Shuffle(len(postableGroup1.Rules), func(i, j int) {
+			postableGroup1.Rules[i], postableGroup1.Rules[j] = postableGroup1.Rules[j], postableGroup1.Rules[i]
+		})
+		expectedUids := make([]string, 0, len(postableGroup1.Rules))
+		for _, rule := range postableGroup1.Rules {
+			expectedUids = append(expectedUids, rule.GrafanaManagedAlert.UID)
+		}
+		status, _ := client.PostRulesGroup(t, folder1Title, &postableGroup1)
+		require.Equal(t, http.StatusAccepted, status)
+
+		group1Get = client.GetRulesGroup(t, folder1Title, group1.Name)
+
+		require.Len(t, group1Get.Rules, len(postableGroup1.Rules))
+
+		actualUids := make([]string, 0, len(group1Get.Rules))
+		for _, getRule := range group1Get.Rules {
+			actualUids = append(actualUids, getRule.GrafanaManagedAlert.UID)
+		}
+		assert.Equal(t, expectedUids, actualUids)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("should be able to move a rule from another group in a specific position", func(t *testing.T) {
+		group1Get := client.GetRulesGroup(t, folder1Title, group1.Name)
+		group2Get := client.GetRulesGroup(t, folder1Title, group2.Name)
+
+		movedRule := convertGettableRuleToPostable(group2Get.Rules[3])
+		// now shuffle the rules
+		postableGroup1 := convertGettableRuleGroupToPostable(group1Get.GettableRuleGroupConfig)
+		postableGroup1.Rules = append(append(append([]apimodels.PostableExtendedRuleNode{}, postableGroup1.Rules[0:1]...), movedRule), postableGroup1.Rules[2:]...)
+		expectedUids := make([]string, 0, len(postableGroup1.Rules))
+		for _, rule := range postableGroup1.Rules {
+			expectedUids = append(expectedUids, rule.GrafanaManagedAlert.UID)
+		}
+		status, _ := client.PostRulesGroup(t, folder1Title, &postableGroup1)
+		require.Equal(t, http.StatusAccepted, status)
+
+		group1Get = client.GetRulesGroup(t, folder1Title, group1.Name)
+
+		require.Len(t, group1Get.Rules, len(postableGroup1.Rules))
+
+		actualUids := make([]string, 0, len(group1Get.Rules))
+		for _, getRule := range group1Get.Rules {
+			actualUids = append(actualUids, getRule.GrafanaManagedAlert.UID)
+		}
+		assert.Equal(t, expectedUids, actualUids)
+
+		group2Get = client.GetRulesGroup(t, folder1Title, group2.Name)
+		assert.Len(t, group2Get.Rules, len(group2.Rules)-1)
+		for _, rule := range group2Get.Rules {
+			require.NotEqual(t, movedRule.GrafanaManagedAlert.UID, rule.GrafanaManagedAlert.UID)
+		}
+	})
+}
+
 func newTestingRuleConfig(t *testing.T) apimodels.PostableRuleGroupConfig {
 	interval, err := model.ParseDuration("1m")
 	require.NoError(t, err)

pkg/tests/api/alerting/testing.go

@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ func getBody(t *testing.T, body io.ReadCloser) string {
 	return string(b)
 }
 
-func AlertRuleGen() func() apimodels.PostableExtendedRuleNode {
+func alertRuleGen() func() apimodels.PostableExtendedRuleNode {
 	return func() apimodels.PostableExtendedRuleNode {
 		return apimodels.PostableExtendedRuleNode{
 			ApiRuleNode: &apimodels.ApiRuleNode{
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ func AlertRuleGen() func() apimodels.PostableExtendedRuleNode {
 	}
 }
 
-func GenerateAlertRuleGroup(rulesCount int, gen func() apimodels.PostableExtendedRuleNode) apimodels.PostableRuleGroupConfig {
+func generateAlertRuleGroup(rulesCount int, gen func() apimodels.PostableExtendedRuleNode) apimodels.PostableRuleGroupConfig {
 	rules := make([]apimodels.PostableExtendedRuleNode, 0, rulesCount)
 	for i := 0; i < rulesCount; i++ {
 		rules = append(rules, gen())
@@ -127,10 +127,10 @@ func GenerateAlertRuleGroup(rulesCount int, gen func() apimodels.PostableExtende
 	}
 }
 
-func ConvertGettableRuleGroupToPostable(gettable apimodels.GettableRuleGroupConfig) apimodels.PostableRuleGroupConfig {
+func convertGettableRuleGroupToPostable(gettable apimodels.GettableRuleGroupConfig) apimodels.PostableRuleGroupConfig {
 	rules := make([]apimodels.PostableExtendedRuleNode, 0, len(gettable.Rules))
 	for _, rule := range gettable.Rules {
-		rules = append(rules, ConvertGettableRuleToPostable(rule))
+		rules = append(rules, convertGettableRuleToPostable(rule))
 	}
 	return apimodels.PostableRuleGroupConfig{
 		Name:     gettable.Name,
@@ -139,14 +139,14 @@ func ConvertGettableRuleGroupToPostable(gettable apimodels.GettableRuleGroupConf
 	}
 }
 
-func ConvertGettableRuleToPostable(gettable apimodels.GettableExtendedRuleNode) apimodels.PostableExtendedRuleNode {
+func convertGettableRuleToPostable(gettable apimodels.GettableExtendedRuleNode) apimodels.PostableExtendedRuleNode {
 	return apimodels.PostableExtendedRuleNode{
 		ApiRuleNode:         gettable.ApiRuleNode,
-		GrafanaManagedAlert: ConvertGettableGrafanaRuleToPostable(gettable.GrafanaManagedAlert),
+		GrafanaManagedAlert: convertGettableGrafanaRuleToPostable(gettable.GrafanaManagedAlert),
 	}
 }
 
-func ConvertGettableGrafanaRuleToPostable(gettable *apimodels.GettableGrafanaRule) *apimodels.PostableGrafanaRule {
+func convertGettableGrafanaRuleToPostable(gettable *apimodels.GettableGrafanaRule) *apimodels.PostableGrafanaRule {
 	if gettable == nil {
 		return nil
 	}

public/app/features/alerting/unified/utils/rulerClient.ts

@@ -216,11 +216,16 @@ export function getRulerClient(rulerConfig: RulerDataSourceConfig): RulerClient
     // make sure our updated alert has the same UID as before
     copyGrafanaUID(existingRule, newRule);
 
-    // create the new array of rules we want to send to the group
-    const newRules = existingRule.group.rules
-      .filter((rule): rule is RulerGrafanaRuleDTO => isGrafanaRulerRule(rule))
-      .filter((rule) => rule.grafana_alert.uid !== existingRule.rule.grafana_alert.uid)
-      .concat(newRule as RulerGrafanaRuleDTO);
+    // create the new array of rules we want to send to the group. Keep the order of alerts in the group.
+    const newRules = existingRule.group.rules.map((rule) => {
+      if (!isGrafanaRulerRule(rule)) {
+        return rule;
+      }
+      if (rule.grafana_alert.uid === existingRule.rule.grafana_alert.uid) {
+        return newRule;
+      }
+      return rule;
+    });
 
     await setRulerRuleGroup(rulerConfig, existingRule.namespace, {
       name: existingRule.group.name,