Fix whitespace-only bounty sort defaults

[GHX5T-SOL]

Summary

• Treat whitespace-only bounty sort query values as omitted/default newest.
• Keep non-empty invalid sort values rejected with the existing 400 response.
• Add API and public page regression coverage for the blank-after-trim sort case.

Bounty #406

Evidence

• Baseline regression failed before the normalizer change: ./.venv/bin/python -m pytest tests/test_bounty_pages.py::test_bounties_page_and_api_sort_public_rows -q returned 400 for /bounties with a whitespace-only sort query.
• Live bounty preflight: GET https://api.mrwk.ltclab.site/api/v1/bounties/66/attempts?include_expired=false returned attempts: [].

Validation

• ./.venv/bin/python -m pytest tests/test_bounty_pages.py::test_bounties_page_and_api_sort_public_rows -q -> 1 passed
• ./.venv/bin/python -m pytest tests/test_bounty_pages.py tests/test_bounty_api_routes.py -q -> 14 passed
• ./.venv/bin/python -m pytest -q -> 414 passed
• ./.venv/bin/python -m ruff check . -> passed
• ./.venv/bin/python -m ruff format --check . -> 79 files already formatted
• ./.venv/bin/python -m mypy app -> success
• git diff --check -> clean
• gitleaks detect --no-banner --redact --source . --log-opts upstream/main..HEAD --exit-code 1 -> no leaks found

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Bug Fixes

  • Whitespace-only sort parameters now default to "Newest first" instead of causing a validation error, so bounties sort correctly when extra spaces are included.

• Tests

  • Added API and UI tests to ensure whitespace-only sort values behave like the default "Newest first" ordering.

[coderabbitai]

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review. 🎉

ℹ️ Recent review info

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📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 44f90fe and e99f857.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• tests/test_bounty_pages.py

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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

The normalize_bounty_sort function now strips and lowercases input and returns "newest" for empty or whitespace-only values instead of raising ValueError. New tests verify both API and page routes handle whitespace-only sort parameters the same way.

Changes

Whitespace-only sort parameter handling

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Core normalization logic app/bounty_sorting.py	normalize_bounty_sort strips and lowercases the sort parameter and explicitly returns "newest" when the normalized value is empty.
API and page sort parameter tests tests/test_bounty_pages.py	Test coverage for whitespace-only sort query parameters verifies both /api/v1/bounties?sort= and /bounties?sort= resolve to the default "newest" ordering and that the UI selects "Newest first".

Possibly related PRs

• ramimbo/mergework#443: Introduced normalize_bounty_sort and the sort parameter plumbing for both API and page routes; this PR refines the whitespace/empty input handling.

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 6

✅ Passed checks (6 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly and concretely names the changed surface: normalizing whitespace-only bounty sort query values to the default.
Description check	✅ Passed	The description covers the required template sections: summary of the fix, evidence of the problem and validation, and all test/tool results provided.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Mergework Public Artifact Hygiene	✅ Passed	PR changes limited to bounty sorting logic and tests only. No README, docs, or public comments modified. No investment, price, cash-out, or security claims present.
Bounty Pr Focus	✅ Passed	PR diff matches stated files and summary. Whitespace-only sort normalized to "newest", invalid values still rejected 400. API and UI tests added. Scope focused on Bounty #406.

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[coderabbitai]

Actionable comments posted: 1

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ℹ️ Review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Path: .coderabbit.yaml

Review profile: ASSERTIVE

Plan: Pro Plus

Run ID: 04b9fcb3-38e8-45f2-be79-fab0bf9e81b8

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between d8532d4 and 44f90fe.

📒 Files selected for processing (2)

• app/bounty_sorting.py
• tests/test_bounty_pages.py

[weilixiong]

LGTM — whitespace-only sort defaults, well tested.

Verified:

• python -m py_compile app/bounty_sorting.py: OK
• pytest tests/test_bounty_pages.py -k bounties_page_and_api_sort: 1/1 passed (1.71s)
• git diff: 2 files, +17/-1 lines
• Whitespace " " correctly falls through to "newest" default
• Test covers: API whitespace sort → "newest", page HTML whitespace sort → "newest" selected, page sort order correct

[jtc268]

Reviewed PR #470 at e99f857.

Evidence checked:

• Inspected app/bounty_sorting.py: normalize_bounty_sort now trims/lowercases, defaults None/empty/whitespace to newest, and still rejects non-empty invalid values through BOUNTY_SORT_ERROR.
• • Traced callers in app/bounty_api.py and app/public_routes.py so the same normalization reaches /api/v1/bounties and /bounties.
• • • Inspected tests/test_bounty_pages.py: whitespace-only sort now covers API order plus public page order and selected option.
• • • • Checked the prior CodeRabbit inline thread; the missing order assertion is present on the latest head and the thread is resolved.
• • • • • Current GitHub checks are green: CI success and CodeRabbit success.
          Local validation:
• ./.venv/bin/python -m pytest tests/test_bounty_pages.py::test_bounties_page_and_api_sort_public_rows tests/test_public_routes.py -q -> 2 passed
• • ./.venv/bin/python -m ruff check app/bounty_sorting.py tests/test_bounty_pages.py -> passed
• • • ./.venv/bin/python -m mypy app -> success
• • • • git diff --check origin/main...HEAD -> clean
        No requested changes from me.

[rebel117]

Reviewed PR #470 at current head for Bounty #447.

Checked files: app/bounty_sorting.py, tests/test_bounty_pages.py.

Evidence:

• Inspected the diff: the old code (sort or "newest").strip().lower() would return "newest" for None but would pass a whitespace-only string through to the validation check (since .strip() turns " " to "", and "" not in BOUNTY_SORT_OPTIONS would raise ValueError).
• The new code splits into: default empty string → strip → if empty, return "newest" → otherwise validate against options. This correctly treats whitespace-only sort as "use default" rather than rejecting it.
• Confirmed the test additions: API route returns 200 with default ordering for sort=" ", HTML page renders with "newest" selected option.
• Cross-referenced with BOUNTY_SORT_OPTIONS in app/bounty_sorting.py to confirm the valid set is unchanged.
• Checked that the test uses params={"sort": " "} which preserves the whitespace through query-string parsing.

Verdict: Small but correct fix. Whitespace-only sort values should fall back to default rather than error — this matches how most query parameter handlers work. Tests cover both API and HTML paths. No blockers.