Remember the last sort for each top collection (#415)

NEWS.md

@@ -6,6 +6,20 @@ width: 128px;
 border-radius: 128px;
 " />
 
+## v2.4.0
+
+- Features
+    - Each top collection remembers the sort it was last browsed with. Sort
+      Issues by added time and Publishers alphabetically, and switching between
+      them keeps each one's sort instead of carrying one sort everywhere. A
+      collection you haven't sorted yet keeps whatever sort you arrive with.
+    - Clearing a search puts back the sort the search replaced.
+
+- Fixes
+    - Saving browser settings sent an empty request that stored nothing. The
+      settings were persisted by the page request that followed, so nothing was
+      lost, but the save request itself did nothing.
+
 ## v2.3.0
 
 - Features

codex/choices/browser.py

@@ -708,6 +708,7 @@ def admin_default_route_for(top_collection: str) -> dict:
         "order_by": "sort_name",
         "order_reverse": False,
         "order_extra_keys": (),
+        "collection_order_memory": MappingProxyType({}),
         "search": "",
         "show": _DEFAULT_SHOW,
         "top_collection": "publishers",

codex/migrations/0054_settingsbrowser_collection_order_memory.py

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+"""Generated by Django 6.0.7 on 2026-08-30 12:00."""
+
+from django.db import migrations, models
+
+
+class Migration(migrations.Migration):
+    """
+    Remember the sort each top collection was last browsed with.
+
+    Switching top collections used to drag one global sort along with it, so
+    sorting issues by added time and then looking at publishers left the
+    publisher list in added-time order too.
+
+    The new map is empty for every existing row, which reads as "no collection
+    has been customized yet" and keeps the current carry-the-sort-over
+    behavior until someone changes a sort. Nothing to backfill.
+    """
+
+    dependencies = [
+        ("codex", "0053_reprint_issue_number"),
+    ]
+
+    operations = [
+        migrations.AddField(
+            model_name="settingsbrowser",
+            name="collection_order_memory",
+            field=models.JSONField(default=dict),
+        ),
+    ]

codex/models/settings.py

@@ -350,6 +350,15 @@ class SettingsBrowser(SettingsBase):
     # Empty list means single-column sort (today's behavior). The
     # frontend table view adds entries via shift-click on a header.
     order_extra_keys = JSONField(default=list)
+    # The sort each top collection was last browsed with, so switching
+    # between them restores the sort that collection was left in instead
+    # of dragging one global sort everywhere. Keyed by
+    # ``BROWSER_TOP_COLLECTION_CHOICES`` key; each value is
+    # ``{"order_by": <key>, "order_reverse": <bool>, "order_extra_keys": [...]}``.
+    # A missing key means "never customized" and the current sort carries
+    # over. ``search_score`` is never stored: it only exists while a
+    # search is active.
+    collection_order_memory = JSONField(default=dict)
     search = CharField(max_length=4095, default="", blank=True)
 
     # Display preferences
@@ -387,6 +396,7 @@ class SettingsBrowser(SettingsBase):
             "order_by",
             "order_reverse",
             "order_extra_keys",
+            "collection_order_memory",
             "search",
             "custom_covers",
             "dynamic_covers",

codex/serializers/browser/settings.py

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 )
 
 from codex.choices.browser import (
+    BROWSER_EXTRA_SORT_UNSUPPORTED_KEYS,
     BROWSER_ORDER_BY_CHOICES,
     BROWSER_TABLE_COLUMNS,
     BROWSER_TABLE_COVER_SIZE_CHOICES,
@@ -31,6 +32,45 @@
 from codex.serializers.route import SimpleRouteSerializer
 from codex.serializers.settings import SettingsInputSerializer
 
+# Sorts worth remembering per top collection. ``search_score`` only means
+# anything while a search is running, so it never enters the memory.
+_MEMORABLE_ORDER_BY_KEYS = frozenset(BROWSER_ORDER_BY_CHOICES.keys()) - {"search_score"}
+# Extra (secondary) sort keys the order pipeline can resolve anywhere.
+_MEMORABLE_EXTRA_KEYS = (
+    frozenset(BROWSER_ORDER_BY_CHOICES.keys()) - BROWSER_EXTRA_SORT_UNSUPPORTED_KEYS
+)
+
+
+def _clean_remembered_extra_keys(value) -> list[dict]:
+    """Keep the well formed, sortable, non duplicate extra sort entries."""
+    cleaned: list[dict] = []
+    if not isinstance(value, list | tuple):
+        return cleaned
+    seen: set[str] = set()
+    for entry in value:
+        if not isinstance(entry, dict):
+            continue
+        key = entry.get("key")
+        if key not in _MEMORABLE_EXTRA_KEYS or key in seen:
+            continue
+        seen.add(key)  # pyright: ignore[reportArgumentType]
+        cleaned.append({"key": key, "reverse": bool(entry.get("reverse", False))})
+    return cleaned
+
+
+def _clean_remembered_order(value) -> dict | None:
+    """Coerce one remembered sort, or None when it can't be salvaged."""
+    if not isinstance(value, dict):
+        return None
+    order_by = value.get("order_by")
+    if order_by not in _MEMORABLE_ORDER_BY_KEYS:
+        return None
+    return {
+        "order_by": order_by,
+        "order_reverse": bool(value.get("order_reverse", False)),
+        "order_extra_keys": _clean_remembered_extra_keys(value.get("order_extra_keys")),
+    }
+
 
 class BrowserSettingsShowCollectionFlagsSerializer(Serializer):
     """Show Collection Flags (collection vocabulary)."""
@@ -127,7 +167,7 @@ class BrowserSettingsSerializer(BrowserSettingsSerializerBase):
 
     JSON_FIELDS = frozenset(
         BrowserSettingsSerializerBase.JSON_FIELDS
-        | {"table_columns", "order_extra_keys"}
+        | {"table_columns", "order_extra_keys", "collection_order_memory"}
     )
 
     mtime = TimestampField(read_only=True)
@@ -154,6 +194,14 @@ class BrowserSettingsSerializer(BrowserSettingsSerializerBase):
         required=False,
         allow_empty=True,
     )
+    # The sort each top collection was last browsed with, keyed by
+    # top_collection. Cleaned in ``validate_collection_order_memory``;
+    # see the model field for the stored shape.
+    collection_order_memory = DictField(
+        child=DictField(),
+        required=False,
+        allow_empty=True,
+    )
 
     def validate_table_columns(self, value):
         """
@@ -183,6 +231,33 @@ def validate_table_columns(self, value):
             cleaned[top_collection] = [c for c in columns if c in valid_columns]
         return cleaned
 
+    def validate_collection_order_memory(self, value):
+        """
+        Drop unknown top collections and unusable remembered sorts.
+
+        Like ``table_columns`` this round-trips out of stored settings, so a
+        stale client must not hard-400 the whole browse page. An entry naming
+        a sort that no longer exists is dropped with a warning; the collection
+        then just keeps whatever sort it is browsed with next.
+        """
+        cleaned: dict[str, dict] = {}
+        for top_collection, order in value.items():
+            if top_collection not in BROWSER_TOP_COLLECTION_CHOICES:
+                logger.warning(
+                    "Dropping unknown collection_order_memory top_collection "
+                    f"{top_collection!r}"
+                )
+                continue
+            remembered_order = _clean_remembered_order(order)
+            if remembered_order is None:
+                logger.warning(
+                    "Dropping unusable collection_order_memory order for "
+                    f"{top_collection!r}"
+                )
+                continue
+            cleaned[top_collection] = remembered_order
+        return cleaned
+
     def validate_order_extra_keys(self, value):
         """
         Reject malformed entries; coerce to the canonical shape.

codex/user_data/restore.py

@@ -568,6 +568,15 @@ def _resolve_filter_column(row_keys, column: str) -> str | None:
     return None
 
 
+def _row_column(row, column: str):
+    """Read a column a sidecar written by an older codex may not carry."""
+    try:
+        return row[column]
+    except (IndexError, KeyError):
+        # sqlite3.Row raises IndexError, a plain mapping raises KeyError.
+        return None
+
+
 def _build_browser_defaults(row, show) -> dict[str, Any]:
     """Map a sidecar settings_browser row to ``update_or_create`` defaults."""
     order_by = row["order_by"] or ""
@@ -582,6 +591,9 @@ def _build_browser_defaults(row, show) -> dict[str, Any]:
         "order_by": order_by,
         "order_reverse": bool(row["order_reverse"]),
         "order_extra_keys": json.loads(row["order_extra_keys"] or "[]"),
+        "collection_order_memory": json.loads(
+            _row_column(row, "collection_order_memory") or "{}"
+        ),
         "search": row["search"] or "",
         "custom_covers": bool(row["custom_covers"]),
         "dynamic_covers": bool(row["dynamic_covers"]),

codex/user_data/schema.sql

@@ -86,6 +86,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS settings_browser (
     order_by TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT '',
     order_reverse INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
     order_extra_keys TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT '[]',
+    collection_order_memory TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT '{}',
     search TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT '',
     custom_covers INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 1,
     dynamic_covers INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 1,

codex/user_data/serializers.py

@@ -205,6 +205,9 @@ def serialize_settings_browser(
             "order_extra_keys": json.dumps(
                 browser.order_extra_keys, separators=(",", ":")
             ),
+            "collection_order_memory": json.dumps(
+                browser.collection_order_memory, separators=(",", ":")
+            ),
             "search": browser.search,
             "custom_covers": int(browser.custom_covers),
             "dynamic_covers": int(browser.dynamic_covers),

codex/views/browser/settings.py

@@ -27,6 +27,40 @@
 # Collections whose nav owns a dedicated route (folders / story arcs); for these
 # the URL collection becomes the top_collection directly during validation.
 _OWN_ROUTE_COLLECTIONS = frozenset({FOLDER_COLLECTION, STORY_ARC_COLLECTION})
+_SEARCH_ORDER_BY = "search_score"
+
+
+def apply_collection_order_memory(
+    params: MutableMapping, old_top_collection: str, new_top_collection: str
+) -> None:
+    """
+    Carry the remembered sort across a top collection change.
+
+    Files the sort the old collection is leaving with, then restores the sort
+    the new collection was last browsed with. The browser store does this for
+    collection switches the user makes; this covers the ones the server makes
+    on its own when a url or a settings change forces a different top
+    collection, which would otherwise leak one collection's sort into another.
+    """
+    if old_top_collection == new_top_collection:
+        return
+    memory = dict(params.get("collection_order_memory") or {})
+    order_by = params.get("order_by")
+    if old_top_collection and order_by and order_by != _SEARCH_ORDER_BY:
+        memory[old_top_collection] = {
+            "order_by": order_by,
+            "order_reverse": bool(params.get("order_reverse")),
+            "order_extra_keys": list(params.get("order_extra_keys") or ()),
+        }
+    params["collection_order_memory"] = memory
+
+    remembered = memory.get(new_top_collection)
+    if not remembered or params.get("search"):
+        # An active search owns the sort until it's cleared.
+        return
+    params["order_by"] = remembered["order_by"]
+    params["order_reverse"] = remembered["order_reverse"]
+    params["order_extra_keys"] = list(remembered.get("order_extra_keys") or ())
 
 
 class BrowserSettingsBaseView(SettingsBaseView):
@@ -145,6 +179,7 @@ def _validate_settings_get(self, validated_data, params: dict) -> dict:
             else Collection.ROOT
         )
         self._validate_top_collection(params, collection, top_collection)
+        apply_collection_order_memory(params, top_collection, params["top_collection"])
         self.set_order_by_default(params)
         return params
 

codex/views/browser/validate.py

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 from codex.models.collections import BrowserCollectionModel
 from codex.util import mapping_to_dict
 from codex.views.browser.filters.search.parse import SearchFilterView
+from codex.views.browser.settings import apply_collection_order_memory
 from codex.views.const import (
     COLLECTION_MODEL_MAP,
     COMIC_COLLECTION,
@@ -77,7 +78,12 @@ def raise_redirect(
             route["params"].update(route_mask)
         settings = cast("dict[str, Any]", deepcopy(mapping_to_dict(self.params)))
         if settings_mask:
+            old_top_collection = settings.get("top_collection", "")
             settings.update(settings_mask)
+            # A redirect that moves the top collection moves its sort too.
+            apply_collection_order_memory(
+                settings, old_top_collection, settings.get("top_collection", "")
+            )
         detail = {"route": route, "settings": settings, "reason": reason}
         raise SeeOtherRedirectError(detail=detail)
 

codex/views/settings.py

@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@
     SettingsReader,
 )
 from codex.views.auth import AuthFilterGenericAPIView
-from codex.views.const import FOLDER_COLLECTION, STORY_ARC_COLLECTION
 
 # Fallback top-collection when the BG flag row is missing, off, or holds
 # an invalid value. Mirrors ``SettingsBrowser.top_collection``'s model
@@ -405,21 +404,6 @@ def load_params_from_settings(self, only: Sequence[str] | None = None) -> dict:
 
     # ── Save (write) ────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
-    def _get_browser_order_defaults(self) -> dict:
-        if collection := self.kwargs.get("collection"):
-            # order_by has a dynamic collection based default
-            order_by = (
-                "filename"
-                if collection == FOLDER_COLLECTION
-                else "story_arc_number"
-                if collection == STORY_ARC_COLLECTION
-                else "sort_name"
-            )
-            order_defaults = {"order_by": order_by}
-        else:
-            order_defaults = {}
-        return order_defaults
-
     @staticmethod
     def _save_browser_show(instance: SettingsBrowser, show_data: dict) -> bool:
         """

frontend/src/api/v4/browser.js

@@ -149,7 +149,10 @@ export const getSettings = (data) => {
 
 export const updateSettings = (settings) => {
   const params = serializeParams(settings, undefined, false);
-  return HTTP.patch(_collectionSettingsBase(settings?.collection), { params });
+  // The settings go in the request body, not a `params` wrapper: the
+  // endpoint validates the body's top-level keys, so a wrapped object
+  // validates as empty and saves nothing.
+  return HTTP.patch(_collectionSettingsBase(settings?.collection), params);
 };
 
 export const resetSettings = (settings) =>