fix(workflows): refuse a filter mixed with a comparison operator instead of silently mis-binding it

[jawwad-ali]

Problem

In _evaluate_simple_expression the pipe is detected before the boolean and comparison operators:

pipe_idx = _find_top_level(expr, "|")
if pipe_idx != -1:
    segments = _split_top_level(expr, "|")
    value = _evaluate_simple_expression(segments[0].strip(), namespace)
    for segment in segments[1:]:
        value = _apply_filter(value, segment.strip(), namespace)
    return value

So a filter written on the right-hand operand of a comparison is applied to the comparison's boolean result, not to the operand.

Reproduction on current main (81bf741)

With inputs.count = 10 and inputs.limit missing:

{{ inputs.count > inputs.limit | default(5) }}   ->  False

count > limit is evaluated first, then default is applied to the resulting bool — which is a no-op, because a bool is never empty. The expression silently returns the comparison against the unfiltered operand. The author meant 10 > 5 → True.

This module already refuses the mirror case

A filter followed by a comparison is explicitly rejected rather than guessed at:

{{ inputs.missing | default('7') > '5' }}
  -> ValueError: filter 'default' used in an unsupported form

…and the test that pins it (test_filter_call_with_trailing_tokens_fails_loudly) states the reasoning:

A trailing operator/token after a filter's closing paren must not be silently discarded […] It must fall through to the "unsupported form" ValueError.

Same ambiguity, opposite handling — one raises, the other quietly returns a wrong answer. This PR applies the decision that was already made to the mirror case; it is not proposing a new precedence rule.

Fix

When the segment before the first top-level pipe contains a top-level comparison or boolean operator, report it:

ambiguous filter precedence in 'inputs.count > inputs.limit | default(5)':
  '| default(5)' would apply to the result of 'inputs.count > inputs.limit',
  not to an operand of '>'. Filter the operand in its own expression instead.

Why nothing legitimate breaks

There is no working use of a filter on a comparison result:

• default on a bool is a no-op (a bool is never None or empty)
• join / map / contains on a bool is an error

So every expression this now refuses was already producing either a wrong value or an error. Verified unaffected:

{{ inputs.missing | default(5) }}          -> 5
{{ inputs.items | join(", ") }}            -> 'a, b'
{{ inputs.items | map("x") | join(",") }}  -> 'a,b'
{{ inputs.items | contains("a") }}         -> True
{{ inputs.count > 5 }}                     -> True
{{ inputs.name == "x" }}                   -> True

The operator scan uses the same _find_top_level helper and the same token list as the operator parsing below it, so a > inside a quoted operand is not mistaken for one.

Verification

• Fail-before / pass-after: test_filter_on_a_comparison_operand_is_refused fails on unpatched src and passes with the fix. tests/test_workflows.py: 21 failed → 20 failed, 838 → 839 passed.
• The remaining 20 are identical to the clean-main baseline captured on 81bf741 (all Windows symlink-privilege).
• uvx ruff@0.15.0 check src tests → clean

Tests sit beside the existing filter-strictness tests, and a second test pins that plain filters, chains, and bare operators are untouched.

---

Written with assistance from Claude Code. Bug found, reproduced, and verified by me on current main.

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Pull request overview

Rejects ambiguous filter/operator expressions instead of silently misapplying filters.

Changes:

• Detects comparison and boolean operators before filters.
• Adds regression and unaffected-behavior tests.
• Unary not remains unhandled.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
src/specify_cli/workflows/expressions.py	Adds ambiguous precedence validation.
tests/test_workflows.py	Adds filter precedence regression tests.

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[mnriem]

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