[2.1] Add visual indicator to inserters which input lane has priority or if inserter has been flipped

[warbaque]

TL;DR

Add visual indicator to inserters which input lane has priority if belt is in the same orientation as the inserter.

What?

UI element that shows if inserter prefers left or right lane.

Currently there's nothing in the UI that shows if the inserter has been flipped.

08-01-2026, 22-24-49.png (802.62 KiB) Viewed 152 times

Something small: dot, arrow, chevron, anything would be nice.

08-01-2026, 22-29-14.png (802.74 KiB) Viewed 152 times

Why?

2.1 adds an option to flip inserters, but the UI shows the orientation only if inserter is outputting to a belt. If inserter is outputting to a chest/machine, it's impossible to know from a glance which lane has priority. This can cause jams in multiple scenarios. It's also easy to accidently flip an inserter and there's no visual information that it happened.

Example, both inserters look completely identical, but bottom setup will get stuck:

inserter-lane-priority.mp4

(33.06 MiB) Downloaded 6 times

[tappi]

I'd really like an indicator as well. I'm already making builds that utilize the preferred input lane of inserters and trying to remember which inserters are which / having to test the inserters to know their orientation is cumbersome.

[xAeryn]

Ditto, really useful feature but awkward to use because you often can't tell which mode you have on.

[Eisenefaust]

yes please!
+1

[redrook]

+1