# Follow-up: featured article should respect search match

**Date filed:** 2026-06-02
**Source:** Manual test of `feat/blog-search` before merge
**Relates to:** `docs/superpowers/specs/2026-06-01-blog-search-design.md` (§ "What should happen to the featured article when a query is active?")

## What's wrong

When a query is typed into the blog search input, the featured article currently hides regardless of whether its content matches the query. In manual testing this felt wrong — if the featured article matches the search term, it should remain visible like any other matching row.

## What the original design said

During brainstorming, three options were presented for featured-article behavior under filtering. The user chose "Hide while filtering" with the reasoning "simpler mental model: query active = filter mode." After actually using the feature, the user now wants option 2 from that brainstorm: **treat the featured article as a filterable row** — visible iff it matches the query.

## What needs to change

In `src/components/molecules/BlogSearch.astro`, the `applyFilter` function has this branch:

```ts
} else if (isFeatured) {
  // Featured hides whenever there's a query, regardless of match.
  visible = false;
}
```

Replace it so the featured row goes through the same `tokens.every(t => haystack.includes(t))` check as every other row. Drop the `isFeatured` special case entirely — it can fall through to the general match branch.

Then sanity-check the empty-state count: `visibleCount` currently skips the featured (`if (visible && !isFeatured) visibleCount += 1`). Once featured participates in the filter, it should count toward the visible total — otherwise a query that *only* matches the featured will trigger the "no entries match" message even though featured is showing. Drop the `!isFeatured` guard there too.

Visually the featured block is much bigger than a row, so when it's the sole match the layout will look unusual but not broken. If that turns out to feel wrong in practice, the second-order fix would be to render the featured-as-result in the same compact PostRow style as the archive. Don't pre-emptively build that — wait until the simple behavior change is in and see if it's actually needed.

## Update the spec when you fix this

Update `docs/superpowers/specs/2026-06-01-blog-search-design.md`'s relevant section so the spec reflects the new behavior. The current text claims "Featured hides while filtering" — that line is now wrong.