From 5ec19a2c752fc52a9e3767747dff18f98ffd5709 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Cristian Magherusan-Stanciu <cristi.magherusan@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2026 21:54:53 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] fix(settings): show an inline error when the default coverage
 field is empty

---
 frontend/src/__tests__/settings.test.ts | 19 +++++++++++++++++++
 frontend/src/settings.ts                | 11 +++++++----
 2 files changed, 26 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/frontend/src/__tests__/settings.test.ts b/frontend/src/__tests__/settings.test.ts
index a5cd806ca..9bfcc1051 100644
--- a/frontend/src/__tests__/settings.test.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/__tests__/settings.test.ts
@@ -1584,6 +1584,25 @@ describe('Settings Module', () => {
       expect(errEl!.textContent).toBe(msg);
     });
 
+    it('clearing the default coverage field shows the inline error instead of passing as 0 (#522)', () => {
+      const input = document.getElementById('setting-default-coverage') as HTMLInputElement;
+      input.value = '';
+      fire(input, 'input');
+
+      expect(input.getAttribute('aria-invalid')).toBe('true');
+      const errEl = document.getElementById('setting-default-coverage-range-error');
+      expect(errEl!.classList.contains('hidden')).toBe(false);
+      expect(errEl!.textContent).toBe('Must be a whole number between 0 and 100');
+    });
+
+    it('clearing an optional numeric field stays without an inline error', () => {
+      const input = document.getElementById('setting-notification-days') as HTMLInputElement;
+      input.value = '';
+      fire(input, 'input');
+
+      expect(input.getAttribute('aria-invalid')).toBeNull();
+    });
+
     it('typing a fractional value into notification-days is rejected inline', () => {
       const input = document.getElementById('setting-notification-days') as HTMLInputElement;
       input.value = '1.5';
diff --git a/frontend/src/settings.ts b/frontend/src/settings.ts
index ba9e6e88d..36a99fbc0 100644
--- a/frontend/src/settings.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/settings.ts
@@ -261,11 +261,12 @@ function byId<T extends HTMLElement>(id: string): T | null {
  * The element's min/max attributes are the source of truth so the
  * range stays in sync with the HTML. An empty value clears the error
  * (the input may have its own "required" enforcement; we don't fight
- * that here).
+ * that here). Pass `required` for a field whose empty value would
+ * save as 0 (the save path rejects it too), so the error shows inline.
  */
 function wireInlineRangeValidation(
   inputId: string,
-  { signal, requireInteger = false }: { signal?: AbortSignal; requireInteger?: boolean } = {},
+  { signal, requireInteger = false, required = false }: { signal?: AbortSignal; requireInteger?: boolean; required?: boolean } = {},
 ): void {
   const input = document.getElementById(inputId) as HTMLInputElement | null;
   if (!input) return;
@@ -312,13 +313,15 @@ function wireInlineRangeValidation(
 
   const check = (): void => {
     const raw = input.value.trim();
-    if (raw === '') {
+    if (raw === '' && !required) {
       input.removeAttribute('aria-invalid');
       error.classList.add('hidden');
       return;
     }
+    // Number('') is 0, so a required empty field is invalid explicitly.
     const n = Number(raw);
     const invalid =
+      raw === '' ||
       !Number.isFinite(n) ||
       (requireInteger && !Number.isInteger(n)) ||
       n < min ||
@@ -2703,7 +2706,7 @@ export function setupSettingsHandlers(signal?: AbortSignal): void {
   // across Settings.
   wireInlineRangeValidation('setting-notification-days', { signal, requireInteger: true });
   wireInlineRangeValidation('setting-recs-stale-hours', { signal, requireInteger: true });
-  wireInlineRangeValidation('setting-default-coverage', { signal, requireInteger: true });
+  wireInlineRangeValidation('setting-default-coverage', { signal, requireInteger: true, required: true });
   wireInlineRangeValidation('setting-grace-aws', { signal, requireInteger: true });
   wireInlineRangeValidation('setting-grace-azure', { signal, requireInteger: true });
   wireInlineRangeValidation('setting-grace-gcp', { signal, requireInteger: true });