feat: add server side chat search functionality

- Implemented a new endpoint for searching chats by title substring in the backend.
- Updated the frontend to support chat searching with a debounced input.
- Added validation for pagination parameters and search space ID.
- Enhanced API service to handle search requests and return results based on user permissions.

surfsense_backend/app/routes/chats_routes.py

@@ -364,6 +364,109 @@ async def read_chats(
         ) from None
 
 
+@router.get("/chats/search", response_model=list[ChatReadWithoutMessages])
+async def search_chats(
+    title: str,
+    skip: int = 0,
+    limit: int = 100,
+    search_space_id: int | None = None,
+    session: AsyncSession = Depends(get_async_session),
+    user: User = Depends(current_active_user),
+):
+    """
+    Search chats by title substring.
+    Requires CHATS_READ permission for the search space(s).
+
+    Args:
+        title: Case-insensitive substring to match against chat titles. Required.
+        skip: Number of items to skip from the beginning. Default: 0.
+        limit: Maximum number of items to return. Default: 100.
+        search_space_id: Filter results to a specific search space. Default: None.
+        session: Database session (injected).
+        user: Current authenticated user (injected).
+
+    Returns:
+        List of chats matching the search query.
+
+    Notes:
+        - Title matching uses ILIKE (case-insensitive).
+        - Results are ordered by creation date (most recent first).
+    """
+    # Validate pagination parameters
+    if skip < 0:
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=400, detail="skip must be a non-negative integer"
+        )
+
+    if limit <= 0 or limit > 1000:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="limit must be between 1 and 1000")
+
+    # Validate search_space_id if provided
+    if search_space_id is not None and search_space_id <= 0:
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=400, detail="search_space_id must be a positive integer"
+        )
+
+    try:
+        if search_space_id is not None:
+            # Check permission for specific search space
+            await check_permission(
+                session,
+                user,
+                search_space_id,
+                Permission.CHATS_READ.value,
+                "You don't have permission to read chats in this search space",
+            )
+            # Select specific fields excluding messages
+            query = (
+                select(
+                    Chat.id,
+                    Chat.type,
+                    Chat.title,
+                    Chat.initial_connectors,
+                    Chat.search_space_id,
+                    Chat.created_at,
+                    Chat.state_version,
+                )
+                .filter(Chat.search_space_id == search_space_id)
+                .order_by(Chat.created_at.desc())
+            )
+        else:
+            # Get chats from all search spaces user has membership in
+            query = (
+                select(
+                    Chat.id,
+                    Chat.type,
+                    Chat.title,
+                    Chat.initial_connectors,
+                    Chat.search_space_id,
+                    Chat.created_at,
+                    Chat.state_version,
+                )
+                .join(SearchSpace)
+                .join(SearchSpaceMembership)
+                .filter(SearchSpaceMembership.user_id == user.id)
+                .order_by(Chat.created_at.desc())
+            )
+
+        # Apply title search filter (case-insensitive)
+        query = query.filter(Chat.title.ilike(f"%{title}%"))
+
+        result = await session.execute(query.offset(skip).limit(limit))
+        return result.all()
+    except HTTPException:
+        raise
+    except OperationalError:
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=503, detail="Database operation failed. Please try again later."
+        ) from None
+    except Exception:
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=500,
+            detail="An unexpected error occurred while searching chats.",
+        ) from None
+
+
 @router.get("/chats/{chat_id}", response_model=ChatRead)
 async def read_chat(
     chat_id: int,

surfsense_web/components/sidebar/all-chats-sidebar.tsx

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import { format } from "date-fns";
 import { Loader2, MessageCircleMore, MoreHorizontal, Search, Trash2, X } from "lucide-react";
 import { useRouter } from "next/navigation";
 import { useTranslations } from "next-intl";
-import { useCallback, useMemo, useState } from "react";
+import { useCallback, useState } from "react";
 import { toast } from "sonner";
 import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button";
 import {
@@ -42,7 +42,9 @@ export function AllChatsSidebar({ open, onOpenChange, searchSpaceId }: AllChatsS
 	const [searchQuery, setSearchQuery] = useState("");
 	const debouncedSearchQuery = useDebouncedValue(searchQuery, 300);
 
-	// Fetch all chats
+	const isSearchMode = !!debouncedSearchQuery.trim();
+
+	// Fetch all chats (when not searching)
 	const {
 		data: chatsData,
 		error: chatsError,
@@ -55,7 +57,24 @@ export function AllChatsSidebar({ open, onOpenChange, searchSpaceId }: AllChatsS
 					search_space_id: Number(searchSpaceId),
 				},
 			}),
-		enabled: !!searchSpaceId && open,
+		enabled: !!searchSpaceId && open && !isSearchMode,
+	});
+
+	// Search chats (when searching)
+	const {
+		data: searchData,
+		error: searchError,
+		isLoading: isLoadingSearch,
+	} = useQuery({
+		queryKey: ["search-chats", searchSpaceId, debouncedSearchQuery],
+		queryFn: () =>
+			chatsApiService.searchChats({
+				queryParams: {
+					title: debouncedSearchQuery.trim(),
+					search_space_id: Number(searchSpaceId),
+				},
+			}),
+		enabled: !!searchSpaceId && open && isSearchMode,
 	});
 
 	// Handle chat navigation
@@ -76,6 +95,7 @@ export function AllChatsSidebar({ open, onOpenChange, searchSpaceId }: AllChatsS
 				toast.success(t("chat_deleted") || "Chat deleted successfully");
 				// Invalidate queries to refresh the list
 				queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ["all-chats", searchSpaceId] });
+				queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ["search-chats", searchSpaceId] });
 				queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ["chats"] });
 			} catch (error) {
 				console.error("Error deleting chat:", error);
@@ -92,25 +112,10 @@ export function AllChatsSidebar({ open, onOpenChange, searchSpaceId }: AllChatsS
 		setSearchQuery("");
 	}, []);
 
-	// Filter and sort chats based on search query (client-side filtering)
-	const chats = useMemo(() => {
-		const allChats = chatsData ?? [];
-
-		// Sort chats by created_at (most recent first)
-		const sortedChats = [...allChats].sort((a, b) => {
-			const dateA = new Date(a.created_at).getTime();
-			const dateB = new Date(b.created_at).getTime();
-			return dateB - dateA; // Descending order (most recent first)
-		});
-
-		if (!debouncedSearchQuery) {
-			return sortedChats;
-		}
-		const query = debouncedSearchQuery.toLowerCase();
-		return sortedChats.filter((chat) => chat.title.toLowerCase().includes(query));
-	}, [chatsData, debouncedSearchQuery]);
-
-	const isSearchMode = !!debouncedSearchQuery;
+	// Determine which data source to use and loading/error states
+	const chats = isSearchMode ? (searchData ?? []) : (chatsData ?? []);
+	const isLoading = isSearchMode ? isLoadingSearch : isLoadingChats;
+	const error = isSearchMode ? searchError : chatsError;
 
 	return (
 		<Sheet open={open} onOpenChange={onOpenChange}>
@@ -147,11 +152,11 @@ export function AllChatsSidebar({ open, onOpenChange, searchSpaceId }: AllChatsS
 
 				<ScrollArea className="flex-1">
 					<div className="p-2">
-						{isLoadingChats ? (
+						{isLoading ? (
 							<div className="flex items-center justify-center py-8">
 								<Loader2 className="h-6 w-6 animate-spin text-muted-foreground" />
 							</div>
-						) : chatsError ? (
+						) : error ? (
 							<div className="text-center py-8 text-sm text-destructive">
 								{t("error_loading_chats") || "Error loading chats"}
 							</div>

surfsense_web/contracts/types/chat.types.ts

@@ -28,6 +28,14 @@ export const getChatsRequest = z.object({
 		.nullish(),
 });
 
+export const searchChatsRequest = z.object({
+	queryParams: paginationQueryParams
+		.extend({
+			title: z.string(),
+			search_space_id: z.number().or(z.string()).optional(),
+		}),
+});
+
 export const deleteChatResponse = z.object({
 	message: z.literal("Chat deleted successfully"),
 });
@@ -49,6 +57,7 @@ export type ChatSummary = z.infer<typeof chatSummary>;
 export type ChatDetails = z.infer<typeof chatDetails> & { messages: Message[] };
 export type GetChatDetailsRequest = z.infer<typeof getChatDetailsRequest>;
 export type GetChatsRequest = z.infer<typeof getChatsRequest>;
+export type SearchChatsRequest = z.infer<typeof searchChatsRequest>;
 export type DeleteChatResponse = z.infer<typeof deleteChatResponse>;
 export type DeleteChatRequest = z.infer<typeof deleteChatRequest>;
 export type CreateChatRequest = z.infer<typeof createChatRequest>;

surfsense_web/lib/apis/chats-api.service.ts

@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ import {
 	type GetChatsRequest,
 	getChatDetailsRequest,
 	getChatsRequest,
+	type SearchChatsRequest,
+	searchChatsRequest,
 	type UpdateChatRequest,
 	updateChatRequest,
 } from "@/contracts/types/chat.types";
@@ -59,6 +61,28 @@ class ChatApiService {
 		return baseApiService.get(`/api/v1/chats?${queryParams}`, z.array(chatSummary));
 	};
 
+	searchChats = async (request: SearchChatsRequest) => {
+		// Validate the request
+		const parsedRequest = searchChatsRequest.safeParse(request);
+
+		if (!parsedRequest.success) {
+			console.error("Invalid request:", parsedRequest.error);
+
+			// Format a user frendly error message
+			const errorMessage = parsedRequest.error.errors.map((err) => err.message).join(", ");
+			throw new ValidationError(`Invalid request: ${errorMessage}`);
+		}
+
+		// Transform queries params to be string values
+		const transformedQueryParams = Object.fromEntries(
+			Object.entries(parsedRequest.data.queryParams).map(([k, v]) => [k, String(v)])
+		);
+
+		const queryParams = new URLSearchParams(transformedQueryParams).toString();
+
+		return baseApiService.get(`/api/v1/chats/search?${queryParams}`, z.array(chatSummary));
+	};
+
 	deleteChat = async (request: DeleteChatRequest) => {
 		// Validate the request
 		const parsedRequest = deleteChatRequest.safeParse(request);