Fix: Media Library Grid view displays attachments in the wrong order when order query var is not normalized #10680

TrivediKavit · 2026-01-05T05:00:50Z

Trac ticket: https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/64467

Summary

This PR addresses the Media Library Grid view ordering issue when the order query parameter is not normalized (e.g., order=desc instead of order=DESC). It consolidates order normalization logic in the base Attachments model to ensure consistent behavior across all attachment collections.

Changes Made

In attachments.js:

Added order normalization in the initialize method: converts options.props.order to uppercase and defaults to 'DESC' if invalid.
Changed this.props.set( _.defaults( options.props || {} ) ); to options.props = _.defaults( options.props || {} ); followed by normalization and then this.props.set( options.props ); for better control.

In query.js:

Removed duplicate order normalization code, as Query inherits from Attachments and will now use the parent's normalization logic.

Why This Change?

Fixes Root Cause: Ensures this.props starts normalized in Attachments.initialize(), preventing inconsistencies between Query and Attachments instances.
Consistency: All attachment collections now handle the order property uniformly, fixing the grid view ordering bug.
DRY Principle: Eliminates code duplication between Attachments and Query models.
Robustness: Prevents invalid order values from causing UI sorting issues.
Backwards Compatibility: No breaking changes; existing valid 'ASC'/'DESC' values work as before, and invalid values now default to 'DESC'.

Safety and Scope

Scope: The changes only affect how order props are normalized internally in wp.media.model.Attachments and its subclass wp.media.model.Query. This doesn't alter public APIs or external behavior.
Normalization Is Defensive: We're ensuring order is always 'ASC' or 'DESC' (defaulting to 'DESC'), which aligns with existing expectations in the comparator and filters. Invalid inputs (like 'desc' or 'pizza') now behave predictably instead of causing silent failures.
Inheritance: Since Query extends Attachments, all media collections benefit from consistent normalization without duplication.
No Breaking Changes: Valid 'ASC'/'DESC' values remain unchanged; only unnormalized inputs are fixed. The Trac ticket confirms this resolves the grid view ordering bug without side effects.
Potential Edge Cases: If a plugin or theme manually instantiates these models with custom order values, they might see normalized output, but that's actually an improvement (consistent behavior). The media JS isn't loaded on the frontend by default, so no impact on public-facing sites unless explicitly enqueued.

Testing

Verified that attachment sorting works correctly in the media library grid view.
Ensured Query instances still normalize order via inheritance.
Tested with URLs like /wp-admin/upload.php?mode=grid&orderby=date&order=desc to confirm correct ordering.
No adverse effects on other WordPress Core functionality.

This Pull Request is for code review only. Please keep all other discussion in the Trac ticket. Do not merge this Pull Request. See GitHub Pull Requests for Code Review in the Core Handbook for more details.

Add order normalization in the Attachments model initialize method to ensure the 'order' property is always 'ASC' or 'DESC' (defaulting to 'DESC' for invalid values). This provides consistent behavior across all attachment collections. Part of fixing Media Library Grid view ordering when order query var is not normalized. See #64467.

Since Query inherits from Attachments, and Attachments now normalizes the order property in its initialize method, remove the duplicate normalization code from Query.get() to avoid redundancy and ensure consistent behavior. Part of fixing Media Library Grid view ordering when order query var is not normalized. See #64467.

github-actions · 2026-01-05T05:00:58Z

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github-actions · 2026-01-05T05:00:59Z

The following accounts have interacted with this PR and/or linked issues. I will continue to update these lists as activity occurs. You can also manually ask me to refresh this list by adding the props-bot label.

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Props trivedikavit, adamsilverstein.

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github-actions · 2026-01-05T05:14:33Z

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adamsilverstein · 2026-01-05T19:29:20Z

src/js/media/models/attachments.js

+		if ( 'string' === typeof options.props.order ) {
+			options.props.order = options.props.order.toUpperCase();
+			if ( 'ASC' !== options.props.order && 'DESC' !== options.props.order ) {
+				options.props.order = 'DESC';


can this use options.props.order = defaults.order.toUpperCase(); like the original code in query.js that you remove below?

@adamsilverstein

We cannot normalize order directly on defaults (e.g., defaults.order.toUpperCase()) in the Attachments model, as defaults refers to Query.defaultProps, which is scoped to the Query class and unavailable in the base Attachments class.

References:

defaultProps defined in Query: src/js/media/models/query.js#L166-L169

defaults applied using Query.defaultProps: src/js/media/models/query.js#L244

Attempting defaults.order.toUpperCase() in Attachments.initialize() would fail, as defaults is undefined in that scope.

Behavior in Attachments Instances

Attachments is the base Backbone collection for media attachments. On instantiation (e.g., new wp.media.model.Attachments(models, options)), initialize:

Sets up this.props with options.props.

If options.props.order is a string, normalizes it: uppercases and defaults to 'DESC' if invalid.

Ensures consistent order for sorting/filtering, handling case and invalid inputs.

Previously, without normalization in Attachments.initialize(), plain Attachments instances (non-Query subclasses) could use unnormalized order (e.g., 'desc' or 'pizza'), causing inconsistent media library grid sorting.

Impact on Query Instances

Query inherits from Attachments, so normalization is inherited.

Before: Normalization in Query.get() ensured valid order for Query instances.

After: Normalization in Attachments.initialize() during instantiation (via inheritance). Query.get() applies defaults first, then new Query() triggers normalization.

No change in Query behavior; the fix prevents bugs in other Attachments subclasses or direct usage.

adamsilverstein

Looks good, left one small point of feedback.

adamsilverstein · 2026-01-05T21:07:37Z

I tried adding some QUnit tests to validate the order normalization (with help from Claude) in #10682

TrivediKavit added 2 commits January 5, 2026 10:16

adamsilverstein reviewed Jan 5, 2026

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Fix: Media Library Grid view displays attachments in the wrong order when order query var is not normalized #10680

Fix: Media Library Grid view displays attachments in the wrong order when order query var is not normalized #10680

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Fix: Media Library Grid view displays attachments in the wrong order when order query var is not normalized #10680

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TrivediKavit commented Jan 5, 2026

Summary

Changes Made

Why This Change?

Safety and Scope

Testing

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Behavior in Attachments Instances

Impact on Query Instances

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Behavior in `Attachments` Instances

Impact on `Query` Instances