Archaeology, prompted by the user asking when it broke: the builder's
save NEVER worked. The page was born (2026-02-19, a92bf99a) posting
auto_assign_rules as a JSON-encoded STRING into an endpoint that has
bound []Rule since its creation (2026-01-31, 6495cc2c), plus fields
(manual_book_ids, match_type, library_id, show_on_dashboard) the
endpoint never accepted. The preview button hit a real endpoint, so
the page looked alive while Save always failed at request binding.
Verified live before this change: the page's exact payload 400'd
"invalid request" against the unmodified server.
The fix adapts the builder's payload at write time — the legacy rules
vocabulary converts to a filter tree (RulesToFilterTree restored from
the retirement commit as the single write path, unit test restored
with it):
- match_type seeds the converted tree's root mode (any default).
- manual_book_ids attach to the created collection after create
(unparsable ids skipped — the AddBooks leniency).
- show_on_dashboard persists (new create field).
- Converted trees validate under ParseFilterTree: an unhonorable rule
is a 400 at write naming the problem, never a stored 500 at render.
Dashboard sections: smart user sections now evaluate their tree LIVE —
GetUserCollectionItems merges stored membership with the composed
engine's matches (deduped, library-scoped, capped at the section
limit). This exposed a REAL production wiring bug: every production
NewDashboardService call omitted the search service, so tree
evaluation through the dashboard could never have worked (the test
harness wired it correctly — the gap was production-only and latent,
because nothing in the dashboard evaluated trees before this
migration). The dashboard handler and both inline sites now receive
the search service, and evaluation failures log instead of silently
emptying a section.
Supersedes the same-day loud-400 stance for the builder's payload
(contract_pins migration entry); custom-section-builder.md documents
the save contract; the create_collection API doc gains the adapted
fields. New TestCustomSectionBuilderSave/BadRule pin the payload →
tree → dashboard-render path end to end. Full container suite green
(155s).
The pre-tree rules machinery is deleted: no row ever carried a rules
array or a non-default match mode (verified in the dev DB), the web
never read the envelope keys, and the Android app consumes none of it.
Dead code gets no documentation.
Removed:
- PUT /api/collections/:id/match-mode — endpoint, route, and the
UpdateCollectionMatchMode query. The tree's root mode owns any|all.
- auto_assign_rules / rule_match_mode from every envelope
(create/list/detail/update), from the create/update request shapes,
and from the schema: both columns DROPPED (schema.sql carries
idempotent DROP COLUMN IF EXISTS heals for existing DBs; sqlc
regenerated).
- The rules CRUD service layer (AddRule/SetRuleEnabled/RemoveRule +
validateRule + UpdateCollectionRulesJSON), ParseRules /
EnabledRules / IsSmartCollection, RulesToFilterTree (+ the SSR
preload branch), the legacy branch of EvaluateSmartMembership, and
SmartEvalOptions.MatchMode. IsCollectionSmart = tree presence;
create-path isSmart = collection_type=smart OR a filter_tree.
Kept (live consumers): POST /api/collections/preview still evaluates
rules payloads in memory (the custom-section builder's preview), and
include_auto stays on the list (the Android app sends it).
The custom-section builder's SAVE was already broken — its
stringified auto_assign_rules payload failed request binding (probed
live: 400 invalid request). Create now rejects that payload loudly
with a 400 naming the retirement, instead of silently creating a
hollow static section; custom-section-builder.md carries the flag.
The builder's tree migration remains the flagged follow-up.
Test-side (asymmetry rule — deleted behavior, deleted tests):
TestPodcastSmartCollections rewritten onto trees (mode lives in the
tree root), match-mode subtests and tree_wins_over_legacy_rules
deleted, TestRulesToFilterTree deleted, contract-pin envelope keys
retracted per the contract_pins 2026-10-31 retirement entry. Mirrors
hand-synced: openapi.yaml, bruno create/update, docs/api/*.md,
docs/schema.go, api.d.ts. Full container suite green (155s).
Phase 13 - Documentation Updates
- Add complete API documentation for custom section builder
- Document all 14 filter fields with operators
- Include example use cases (Sci-Fi Favorites, High Rated, etc.)
- Document preview endpoint and collection creation
- Verify existing dashboard.md documentation is comprehensive
Part of Carousel Dashboard Plan completion
John O'Keefe
john-okeefe