diff --git a/quickshell/Common/SettingsData.qml b/quickshell/Common/SettingsData.qml
index d28b2a5cf..605e5f462 100644
--- a/quickshell/Common/SettingsData.qml
+++ b/quickshell/Common/SettingsData.qml
@@ -1988,8 +1988,11 @@ Singleton {
     function saveSettings() {
         if (_loading || _parseError || !_hasLoaded)
             return;
+        const json = JSON.stringify(Store.toJson(root), null, 2);
+        if (json === settingsFile.text())
+            return;
         _selfWrite = true;
-        settingsFile.setText(JSON.stringify(Store.toJson(root), null, 2));
+        settingsFile.setText(json);
         if (_isReadOnly)
             _checkSettingsWritable();
     }