From 362cc13aeb5c647387e8ed77cbd4919f86fd0833 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Bnyro <bnyro@tutanota.com>
Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2025 22:03:32 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] [feat] preferences hash: show applied settings in pref page
 when searching with 'search url of the currently saved preferences'

Previously, when using a search url copied from the cookies tab, clicking
at the settings icon at the top right would show the browser preferences
and not the preferences that were set and used with the search url.
Please see https://github.com/searxng/searxng/issues/5227 for more information.

To test:
- change some preferences
- copy the preferences search url in the settings' cookies tab
- reset the preferences or clear cookies
- paste the copied search url into the search bar to search for something
- press the settings icon
- you can now see/preview the actual settings that were used for the search
- by pressing 'save', you can keep these preferences

closes #5227
---
 client/simple/src/less/toolkit.less     |  9 +++++++++
 searx/templates/simple/base.html        |  6 +++++-
 searx/templates/simple/preferences.html | 10 ++++++++++
 searx/webapp.py                         |  7 +++++--
 4 files changed, 29 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/client/simple/src/less/toolkit.less b/client/simple/src/less/toolkit.less
index 223ab9571..364eb73c5 100644
--- a/client/simple/src/less/toolkit.less
+++ b/client/simple/src/less/toolkit.less
@@ -193,6 +193,15 @@ div.selectable_url {
   border-color: var(--color-warning);
 }
 
+.dialog-warning-block {
+  .dialog();
+
+  display: block;
+  color: var(--color-warning);
+  background: var(--color-warning-background);
+  border-color: var(--color-warning);
+}
+
 .dialog-modal {
   .dialog();
 
diff --git a/searx/templates/simple/base.html b/searx/templates/simple/base.html
index 3ddc62ace..c8e75b713 100644
--- a/searx/templates/simple/base.html
+++ b/searx/templates/simple/base.html
@@ -51,7 +51,11 @@
         {%- endif -%}
       {%- endblock -%}
       {%- block linkto_preferences -%}
-        <a href="{{ url_for('preferences') }}" class="link_on_top_preferences">{{ icon_big('settings') }}<span>{{ _('Preferences') }}</span></a>
+        {%- if request.args.get('preferences') -%}
+          <a href="{{ url_for('preferences') }}?preferences={{ request.args.get('preferences') }}&preferences_preview_only=true" class="link_on_top_preferences">{{ icon_big('settings') }}<span>{{ _('Preferences') }}</span></a>
+        {%- else -%}
+          <a href="{{ url_for('preferences') }}" class="link_on_top_preferences">{{ icon_big('settings') }}<span>{{ _('Preferences') }}</span></a>
+        {%- endif -%}
       {%- endblock -%}
     </nav>
     {% block header %}
diff --git a/searx/templates/simple/preferences.html b/searx/templates/simple/preferences.html
index e86e926cc..87bd99c45 100644
--- a/searx/templates/simple/preferences.html
+++ b/searx/templates/simple/preferences.html
@@ -155,6 +155,16 @@
 
   <h1>{{ _('Preferences') }}</h1>
 
+  {%- if request.args.get('preferences_preview_only') == 'true' -%}
+    <div class="dialog-warning-block">
+      <p>{{ _("This is a preview of the settings used by the 'Search URL' you used to get here.") }}</p>
+      <ul>
+        <li>{{ _('Press save to copy these preferences to your browser.') }}</li>
+        <li>{{ _('Click here to view your browser preferences instead:') }} <a href="{{ url_for('preferences') }}">/preferences</a></li>
+      </ul>
+    </div>
+  {%- endif -%}
+
   <form id="search_form" method="post" action="{{ url_for('preferences') }}" autocomplete="off">
     {{- tabs_open() -}}
 
diff --git a/searx/webapp.py b/searx/webapp.py
index 4be087a09..218959a9c 100755
--- a/searx/webapp.py
+++ b/searx/webapp.py
@@ -861,8 +861,11 @@ def preferences():
 
     # save preferences using the link the /preferences?preferences=...
     if sxng_request.args.get('preferences') or sxng_request.form.get('preferences'):
-        resp = make_response(redirect(url_for('index', _external=True)))
-        return sxng_request.preferences.save(resp)
+        # if preferences_preview_only is 'true', the prefs from the 'preferences' query are
+        # shown in the settings page, but they're not applied unless the user presses 'save'
+        if sxng_request.args.get('preferences_preview_only') != 'true':
+            resp = make_response(redirect(url_for('index', _external=True)))
+            return sxng_request.preferences.save(resp)
 
     # save preferences
     if sxng_request.method == 'POST':