# Django HTMX Autocomplete Fix - 2025-06-25

## Problem Summary

The RideAutocomplete implementation was failing with `AttributeError: type object 'RideAutocomplete' has no attribute 'as_view'` when trying to start the Django development server.

## Root Cause Analysis

1. **Missing Package**: The `django-htmx-autocomplete` package was not installed
2. **Incorrect URL Pattern**: The autocomplete URLs were not properly configured according to the library's requirements
3. **Wrong Base Class**: RideAutocomplete was inheriting from a custom BaseAutocomplete instead of the library's ModelAutocomplete
4. **Missing Registration**: The autocomplete class was not registered with the @autocomplete.register decorator

## Solutions Implemented

### 1. Package Installation
```bash
uv add django-htmx-autocomplete
```

### 2. URL Configuration Fix
**File**: `thrillwiki/urls.py`
- Added autocomplete URLs at project level: `path("ac/", autocomplete_urls)`
- Imported: `from autocomplete import urls as autocomplete_urls`

### 3. RideAutocomplete Class Fix
**File**: `search/mixins.py`
- Changed inheritance from `BaseAutocomplete` to `autocomplete.ModelAutocomplete`
- Added `@autocomplete.register` decorator
- Updated `get_search_results()` method signature to include `context` parameter
- Added `max_results = 10` class attribute
- Removed manual slicing from queryset (handled by max_results)

### 4. Search URLs Fix
**File**: `search/urls.py`
- Removed the problematic autocomplete URL (now handled by main autocomplete package)
- Fixed import for RideSearchView: `from rides.views import RideSearchView`

## Key Technical Details

### Django HTMX Autocomplete Pattern
The library requires:
1. Installation and addition to INSTALLED_APPS (already done)
2. URL inclusion at project level: `path("ac/", autocomplete_urls)`
3. Autocomplete classes must inherit from `autocomplete.ModelAutocomplete`
4. Classes must be decorated with `@autocomplete.register`
5. Method signature: `get_search_results(self, search, context)`

### Working Implementation
```python
@autocomplete.register
class RideAutocomplete(autocomplete.ModelAutocomplete):
    model = Ride
    search_attrs = ['name']
    max_results = 10
    
    def get_search_results(self, search, context):
        return (Ride.objects
                .filter(name__icontains=search)
                .select_related('park')
                .order_by('name'))
    
    def format_result(self, ride):
        return {
            'key': str(ride.pk),
            'label': ride.name,
            'extra': f"at {ride.park.name}"
        }
```

## Status

✅ **RESOLVED**: The RideAutocomplete.as_view() error has been fixed
✅ **READY**: Server should now start without autocomplete-related errors
⏳ **NEXT**: Manual HTMX integration testing can proceed

## Dependencies Added

- `django-htmx-autocomplete` - Provides HTMX-powered autocomplete functionality

## Files Modified

1. `thrillwiki/urls.py` - Added autocomplete URL configuration
2. `search/mixins.py` - Fixed RideAutocomplete class implementation
3. `search/urls.py` - Removed conflicting URL and fixed imports
4. `memory-bank/activeContext.md` - Updated task status

## Testing Notes

The unit tests (7/7 passing) validate the core functionality. Manual browser testing is now unblocked and should be performed to verify HTMX integration works correctly.