Search and Filter Bugs
// 2 bugs
Bugs in search results, filters, pagination, sorting, and result counts.
// Why it matters
Search bugs make it hard for users to find what they need. An incorrect result count, a filter that resets when navigating to the next page, or pagination that surfaces duplicate items erodes user confidence and can mask other product quality issues.
// Common symptoms
- Result count shown does not match the number of items displayed
- Active filter resets when navigating to the next page
- The same item appears on multiple pages of paginated results
- Sort order changes unexpectedly after a page refresh
- Submitting an empty search query returns a server error
- Search index not updated after a record is edited
// Bugs in this category
Showing 2 of 2 bugs
When navigating between pages of search results, the same item appears on more than one page. This usually happens because the list is sorted by a non-unique column with no stable secondary sort key — two records tied on the primary sort column can swap positions between page requests, causing one of them to appear at the boundary of consecutive pages.
A user applies a filter to search results (e.g. Category = Electronics) and then clicks to the next page. On page 2, the filter is silently dropped and all categories appear — the user is returned to an unfiltered view instead of page 2 of the filtered results. This happens because the pagination link is built from the page number only, discarding the active filter query parameters.
// Explore other categories
Authentication Bugs
Bugs in login, logout, password reset, session management, tokens, and multi-factor flows.
Permission and Authorization Bugs
Bugs where users can access, edit, delete, or view resources they shouldn't be allowed to.
API Bugs
Bugs in HTTP status codes, request validation, response schemas, error messages, and API contracts.
UI and Frontend Bugs
Bugs affecting layout, forms, responsiveness, error messages, and how the interface behaves across browsers and screen sizes.
Data Bugs
Bugs involving incorrect, duplicated, stale, missing, or inconsistent data across the application.
Payment Bugs
Bugs in checkout flows, payment retries, webhooks, refunds, subscriptions, and invoices.
Time and Date Bugs
Bugs caused by timezone mismatches, daylight saving transitions, date range errors, and locale differences.
File Upload Bugs
Bugs in file type validation, size limits, upload progress, storage, and file preview.
Notification Bugs
Bugs in email delivery, push notifications, in-app alerts, webhooks, and notification preferences.
// Practise finding these bugs
Hunt search and filter bugs hands-on in a live practice app, then check your findings against the seeded-bug answer guide.