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Use contains operator for text field search filters#86598

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wildan-m wants to merge 10 commits intoExpensify:mainfrom
wildan-m:wildan/86235-search-text-field-contains
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Use contains operator for text field search filters#86598
wildan-m wants to merge 10 commits intoExpensify:mainfrom
wildan-m:wildan/86235-search-text-field-contains

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@wildan-m wildan-m commented Mar 28, 2026 •
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Explanation of Change

When searching merchant:coffee, the search parser maps : to the eq (exact match) operator for all fields uniformly. Text fields like merchant and description need the contains (substring) operator so that merchant:coffee matches "Coffee shop", "My coffee", etc.

The search() function in Search.ts passed the AST filters unchanged to the backend, so the contains operator that already existed in CONST.SEARCH.SYNTAX_OPERATORS was never used.

Fix: added applyContainsOperatorToTextFields() in SearchQueryUtils.ts that recursively traverses the AST and replaces eq with contains for free-text filter fields (merchant, description). It is called in search() before the query is sent to the backend. The transformation happens at the query construction layer — no parser grammar changes needed, existing parser tests are unaffected, and adding future text fields is a one-line Set addition.

Fixed Issues

$ #86235
PROPOSAL: #86235 (comment)

Tests

  1. Create an expense with merchant name Coffee Shop Downtown and description Lunch with client
  2. Open the Search page
  3. Enter merchant:coffee in the search bar
  4. Verify the expense with merchant "Coffee Shop Downtown" appears in results
  5. Enter description:lunch in the search bar
  6. Verify expenses with partial description matches appear
  7. Verify filter fields like amount, date, and currency still perform exact matching (unaffected)
  • Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

Offline tests

This change only affects API query construction — offline behavior is unchanged.

  1. Create an expense with merchant name Coffee Shop Downtown and description Lunch with client
  2. Turn off network
  3. Open the Search page
  4. Enter merchant:coffee in the search bar
  5. Verify the expense with merchant "Coffee Shop Downtown" appears in results
  6. Enter description:lunch in the search bar
  7. Verify expenses with partial description matches appear
  8. Verify exact-match fields (amount, date, currency) are unaffected

QA Steps

  1. Create an expense with merchant name Coffee Shop Downtown and description Lunch with client
  2. Open the Search page
  3. Enter merchant:coffee in the search bar
  4. Verify the expense with merchant "Coffee Shop Downtown" appears in results
  5. Enter description:lunch in the search bar
  6. Verify expenses with partial description matches appear
  7. Verify exact-match fields (amount, date, currency) are unaffected
  • Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

PR Author Checklist

  • I linked the correct issue in the ### Fixed Issues section above
  • I wrote clear testing steps that cover the changes made in this PR
    • I added steps for local testing in the Tests section
    • I added steps for the expected offline behavior in the Offline steps section
    • I added steps for Staging and/or Production testing in the QA steps section
    • I added steps to cover failure scenarios (i.e. verify an input displays the correct error message if the entered data is not correct)
    • I turned off my network connection and tested it while offline to ensure it matches the expected behavior (i.e. verify the default avatar icon is displayed if app is offline)
    • I tested this PR with a High Traffic account against the staging or production API to ensure there are no regressions (e.g. long loading states that impact usability).
  • I included screenshots or videos for tests on all platforms
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    • Android: mWeb Chrome
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Screenshots/Videos

Android: Native
Kapture.2026-03-29.at.03.04.55.mp4
Android: mWeb Chrome
Kapture.2026-03-29.at.03.08.27.mp4
iOS: Native
Kapture.2026-03-29.at.02.12.16.mp4
iOS: mWeb Safari
Kapture.2026-03-29.at.02.48.33.mp4
MacOS: Chrome / Safari
Kapture.2026-03-29.at.02.06.09.mp4

@wildan-m
Use contains operator for text field search filters
ce3517d 
The search parser maps : to the eq (exact match) operator for all fields,
which means merchant:coffee only finds expenses with the exact merchant
"coffee" and not "Coffee shop". Text fields like merchant and description
should use partial/substring matching.

Add applyContainsOperatorToTextFields() which transforms the AST before
sending to the backend, converting eq to contains for free-text fields.
This enables partial matching while preserving the user-facing : syntax.

Fixes Expensify#86235
@wildan-m wildan-m force-pushed the wildan/86235-search-text-field-contains branch from 8625d87 to 4d232c1 Compare March 28, 2026 04:29
@wildan-m wildan-m marked this pull request as ready for review March 28, 2026 20:19
@wildan-m wildan-m requested review from a team as code owners March 28, 2026 20:19
@melvin-bot melvin-bot bot requested review from heyjennahay and ikevin127 and removed request for a team March 28, 2026 20:19
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@ikevin127 Please copy/paste the Reviewer Checklist from here into a new comment on this PR and complete it. If you have the K2 extension, you can simply click: [this button]

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codecov bot commented Mar 28, 2026 •
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Codecov Report

✅ Changes either increased or maintained existing code coverage, great job!

Files with missing lines Coverage Δ
src/libs/SearchQueryUtils.ts 77.09% <100.00%> (+0.57%) ⬆️
src/libs/actions/Search.ts 24.80% <100.00%> (ø)
src/hooks/useSearchBulkActions.ts 0.00% <0.00%> (ø)
... and 6 files with indirect coverage changes

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ikevin127 commented Mar 28, 2026 •
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Reviewer Checklist

  • I have verified the author checklist is complete (all boxes are checked off).
  • I verified the correct issue is linked in the ### Fixed Issues section above
  • I verified testing steps are clear and they cover the changes made in this PR
    • I verified the steps for local testing are in the Tests section
    • I verified the steps for Staging and/or Production testing are in the QA steps section
    • I verified the steps cover any possible failure scenarios (i.e. verify an input displays the correct error message if the entered data is not correct)
    • I turned off my network connection and tested it while offline to ensure it matches the expected behavior (i.e. verify the default avatar icon is displayed if app is offline)
  • I checked that screenshots or videos are included for tests on all platforms
  • I included screenshots or videos for tests on all platforms
  • I verified tests pass on all platforms & I tested again on:
    • Android: Native
    • Android: mWeb Chrome
    • iOS: Native
    • iOS: mWeb Safari
    • MacOS: Chrome / Safari
  • If there are any errors in the console that are unrelated to this PR, I either fixed them (preferred) or linked to where I reported them in Slack
  • I verified proper code patterns were followed (see Reviewing the code)
    • I verified that any callback methods that were added or modified are named for what the method does and never what callback they handle (i.e. toggleReport and not onIconClick).
    • I verified that the left part of a conditional rendering a React component is a boolean and NOT a string, e.g. myBool && <MyComponent />.
    • I verified that comments were added to code that is not self explanatory
    • I verified that any new or modified comments were clear, correct English, and explained "why" the code was doing something instead of only explaining "what" the code was doing.
    • I verified any copy / text shown in the product is localized by adding it to src/languages/* files and using the translation method
    • I verified all numbers, amounts, dates and phone numbers shown in the product are using the localization methods
    • I verified any copy / text that was added to the app is grammatically correct in English. It adheres to proper capitalization guidelines (note: only the first word of header/labels should be capitalized), and is either coming verbatim from figma or has been approved by marketing (in order to get marketing approval, ask the Bug Zero team member to add the Waiting for copy label to the issue)
    • I verified proper file naming conventions were followed for any new files or renamed files. All non-platform specific files are named after what they export and are not named "index.js". All platform-specific files are named for the platform the code supports as outlined in the README.
    • I verified the JSDocs style guidelines (in STYLE.md) were followed
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    • The style can't be created with an existing StyleUtils function (i.e. StyleUtils.getBackgroundAndBorderStyle(theme.componentBG)
  • If new assets were added or existing ones were modified, I verified that:
    • The assets are optimized and compressed (for SVG files, run npm run compress-svg)
    • The assets load correctly across all supported platforms.
  • If the PR modifies code that runs when editing or sending messages, I tested and verified there is no unexpected behavior for all supported markdown - URLs, single line code, code blocks, quotes, headings, bold, strikethrough, and italic.
  • If the PR modifies a generic component, I tested and verified that those changes do not break usages of that component in the rest of the App (i.e. if a shared library or component like Avatar is modified, I verified that Avatar is working as expected in all cases)
  • If the PR modifies a component related to any of the existing Storybook stories, I tested and verified all stories for that component are still working as expected.
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    • I verified that all the inputs inside a form are aligned with each other.
    • I added Design label and/or tagged @Expensify/design so the design team can review the changes.
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  • If the main branch was merged into this PR after a review, I tested again and verified the outcome was still expected according to the Test steps.
  • I have checked off every checkbox in the PR reviewer checklist, including those that don't apply to this PR.

Screenshots/Videos

Android: HybridApp
screen-20260328-165331.mp4
Android: mWeb Chrome
screen-20260328-165455.mp4
iOS: HybridApp
Simulator.Screen.Recording.-.iPhone.17.Pro.Max.-.2026-03-28.at.16.35.43.mov
iOS: mWeb Safari
Simulator.Screen.Recording.-.iPhone.17.Pro.Max.-.2026-03-28.at.16.42.36.mov
MacOS: Chrome / Safari
Screen.Recording.2026-03-28.at.16.51.41.mov

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The implementation is solid, well-tested, and follows best practices - safe to merge.

Status: ✅ Approved

🔥 Edge Cases / Destructive Tests

  • Unicode/Emoji in text fields - Test international characters in merchant/description ✅ (tested w/ Sanskrit)
  • Very long text values - Test with 1000+ character merchant names
  • Special characters - Merchants containing :, -, $, etc ✅
  • savedSearch vs regular search - Ensure saved searches preserve original operators ✅
  • Concurrent rapid searches - Rapid typing with text filters should not corrupt state ✅
  • Backend error recovery - Network failure should preserve query integrity ✅

@melvin-bot melvin-bot bot requested a review from chuckdries March 28, 2026 23:56
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