diff --git a/maxkernel/adk/evaluation/custom_types/kernel_task.py b/maxkernel/adk/evaluation/custom_types/kernel_task.py
index df5158d0..a4e0124e 100644
--- a/maxkernel/adk/evaluation/custom_types/kernel_task.py
+++ b/maxkernel/adk/evaluation/custom_types/kernel_task.py
@@ -9,3 +9,9 @@ class KernelTask:
   input_gen_code: Optional[str] = None
   atol: Optional[Union[float, List[float]]] = None
   rtol: Optional[Union[float, List[float]]] = None
+  # When true, the harness sorts every output leaf along its last axis before
+  # comparing reference and optimized outputs. Use this for outputs whose
+  # order along the last axis is not part of the contract (e.g. top-k index
+  # sets), so an otherwise correct kernel is not failed for emitting the same
+  # elements in a different order. Defaults to element-wise comparison.
+  sort_before_compare: bool = False
diff --git a/maxkernel/adk/evaluation/evaluation_utils.py b/maxkernel/adk/evaluation/evaluation_utils.py
index a7d98893..628ab55c 100644
--- a/maxkernel/adk/evaluation/evaluation_utils.py
+++ b/maxkernel/adk/evaluation/evaluation_utils.py
@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ def load_kernel_task_from_yaml(yaml_path: str) -> KernelTask:
     input_gen_code=data.get("input_gen_code"),
     atol=data.get("atol"),
     rtol=data.get("rtol"),
+    sort_before_compare=bool(data.get("sort_before_compare", False)),
   )
 
 
diff --git a/maxkernel/adk/evaluation/harness_code.py b/maxkernel/adk/evaluation/harness_code.py
index 47af0bd0..24c13f7f 100644
--- a/maxkernel/adk/evaluation/harness_code.py
+++ b/maxkernel/adk/evaluation/harness_code.py
@@ -216,6 +216,7 @@ def main():
     input_gen_code = task_data.get("input_gen_code")
     task_atol = task_data.get("atol")
     task_rtol = task_data.get("rtol")
+    sort_before_compare = task_data.get("sort_before_compare", False)
 
     if input_gen_code:
       ldict = {}
@@ -370,6 +371,12 @@ def main():
         for b, o in zip(out_base_flat, out_optimized_flat):
           if b.shape != o.shape:
              raise ValueError(f"Shape mismatch: {b.shape} vs {o.shape}")
+          if sort_before_compare and np.ndim(b) > 0:
+            # Order along the last axis is not part of this task's output
+            # contract (e.g. top-k index sets): compare rows as sorted
+            # multisets. Done on the host, so it never affects timing.
+            b = np.sort(b, axis=-1)
+            o = np.sort(o, axis=-1)
           is_correct = is_correct and bool(jnp.allclose(b, o, atol=curr_atol, rtol=curr_rtol))
           leaf_abs, leaf_rel = diff_metrics(b, o)
           max_abs_diff = max(max_abs_diff, leaf_abs)
diff --git a/maxkernel/adk/evaluation/jax_kernel_evaluator.py b/maxkernel/adk/evaluation/jax_kernel_evaluator.py
index 9acd341e..24ddd42b 100644
--- a/maxkernel/adk/evaluation/jax_kernel_evaluator.py
+++ b/maxkernel/adk/evaluation/jax_kernel_evaluator.py
@@ -442,6 +442,7 @@ def _build_task_json(
       "input_gen_code": task.input_gen_code,
       "atol": effective_atol,
       "rtol": effective_rtol,
+      "sort_before_compare": task.sort_before_compare,
     }
     with open(local_path, "w") as f:
       json.dump(task_info, f)