Date range is not auto-set to last month when using group-by in search

[neil-marcellini]

Problem

When using group-by:category (or other group-by options) in search, the date range is not automatically being set to the last month as expected.

This issue affects searches both with and without the view:bar option.

Expected behavior

When using group-by in search, the date range should auto-set to last month to provide meaningful grouped data.

Reproduction

1. Navigate to Search
2. Enter type:expense group-by:category
3. Notice that the date range is not automatically set to last month

Video

Screen.Recording.2026-01-30.at.12.48.50.AM.mov

Related

• Originally found during review of feat: implement SearchBarChart component #80658 (SearchBarChart implementation)
• Comment: feat: implement SearchBarChart component #80658 (comment)
• Related issue for Top Categories suggested search: [Due for payment 2026-02-19] [Insights] [Release 8] Update the Top Categories suggested searches to use the bar view #80641

[ryntgh]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

Date range is not auto-set to last month when using group-by in search

What is the root cause of that problem?

When a user enters a query like type:expense group-by:category, the query is parsed into a SearchQueryJSON in buildSearchQueryJSON. The parser fills flatFilters from the query string only and does not add any default filters

App/src/libs/SearchQueryUtils.ts

Lines 431 to 470 in 1421019

	function buildSearchQueryJSON(query: SearchQueryString, rawQuery?: SearchQueryString) {
	try {
	const result = parseSearchQuery(query) as SearchQueryJSON;
	const flatFilters = getFilters(result);
	// Add the full input and hash to the results
	result.inputQuery = query;
	result.flatFilters = flatFilters;
	if (result.policyID && typeof result.policyID === 'string') {
	// Ensure policyID is always an array for consistency
	result.policyID = [result.policyID];
	}
	// Default groupBy to category when a chart view is specified without an explicit groupBy
	if (result.view !== CONST.SEARCH.VIEW.TABLE && !result.groupBy) {
	result.groupBy = CONST.SEARCH.GROUP_BY.CATEGORY;
	}
	// Normalize limit before computing hashes to ensure invalid values don't affect hash
	if (result.limit !== undefined) {
	const num = Number(result.limit);
	result.limit = Number.isInteger(num) && num > 0 ? num : undefined;
	}
	const {primaryHash, recentSearchHash, similarSearchHash} = getQueryHashes(result);
	result.hash = primaryHash;
	result.recentSearchHash = recentSearchHash;
	result.similarSearchHash = similarSearchHash;
	delete result.rawFilterList;
	if (rawQuery) {
	result.rawFilterList = getRawFilterListFromQuery(rawQuery);
	}
	return result;
	} catch (e) {
	console.error(`Error when parsing SearchQuery: "${query}"`, e);
	}
	}

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

If result.groupBy is set and there is no existing date filter in result.flatFilters, push a new date filter onto result.flatFilters

function buildSearchQueryJSON(query: SearchQueryString, rawQuery?: SearchQueryString) {
    try {
        const result = parseSearchQuery(query) as SearchQueryJSON;
        const flatFilters = getFilters(result);

        // Add the full input and hash to the results
        result.inputQuery = query;
        result.flatFilters = flatFilters;

        // When using group-by without an explicit date filter, default to last month for meaningful grouped data
        const hasDateFilter = result.flatFilters.some((filter) => filter.key === CONST.SEARCH.SYNTAX_FILTER_KEYS.DATE);
        if (result.groupBy && !hasDateFilter) {
            result.flatFilters.push({
                key: CONST.SEARCH.SYNTAX_FILTER_KEYS.DATE,
                filters: [{operator: CONST.SEARCH.SYNTAX_OPERATORS.EQUAL_TO, value: CONST.SEARCH.DATE_PRESETS.LAST_MONTH}],
            });
        }
        ...

App/src/libs/SearchQueryUtils.ts

Lines 431 to 470 in 1421019

	function buildSearchQueryJSON(query: SearchQueryString, rawQuery?: SearchQueryString) {
	try {
	const result = parseSearchQuery(query) as SearchQueryJSON;
	const flatFilters = getFilters(result);
	// Add the full input and hash to the results
	result.inputQuery = query;
	result.flatFilters = flatFilters;
	if (result.policyID && typeof result.policyID === 'string') {
	// Ensure policyID is always an array for consistency
	result.policyID = [result.policyID];
	}
	// Default groupBy to category when a chart view is specified without an explicit groupBy
	if (result.view !== CONST.SEARCH.VIEW.TABLE && !result.groupBy) {
	result.groupBy = CONST.SEARCH.GROUP_BY.CATEGORY;
	}
	// Normalize limit before computing hashes to ensure invalid values don't affect hash
	if (result.limit !== undefined) {
	const num = Number(result.limit);
	result.limit = Number.isInteger(num) && num > 0 ? num : undefined;
	}
	const {primaryHash, recentSearchHash, similarSearchHash} = getQueryHashes(result);
	result.hash = primaryHash;
	result.recentSearchHash = recentSearchHash;
	result.similarSearchHash = similarSearchHash;
	delete result.rawFilterList;
	if (rawQuery) {
	result.rawFilterList = getRawFilterListFromQuery(rawQuery);
	}
	return result;
	} catch (e) {
	console.error(`Error when parsing SearchQuery: "${query}"`, e);
	}
	}

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

NA

[neil-marcellini]

Assigning @ShridharGoel as C+ since he's been helping with Insights

[neil-marcellini]

Date range is not auto-set to last month when using group-by in search - Is this a bug? I thought we only use the last-month auto date setting for the seeded suggested searches? Not when you enter “group-by:x” organically? :thinking_face: CC: @puneet

Oh yeah. I thought this was actually about it not getting set for suggested searches. AI created the issue and properly named it - but I agree, this is not a problem. All of the "top" insights / suggested searches correctly set this, so I will close it.