[buddypress-trac] [BuddyPress Trac] #9330: Fix `bp_is_site_home()` to ignore query strings

[buddypress-trac]

#9330: Fix `bp_is_site_home()` to ignore query strings
--------------------------+-----------------------------
 Reporter:  indigetal     |      Owner:  (none)
     Type:  defect (bug)  |     Status:  new
 Priority:  normal        |  Milestone:  Awaiting Review
Component:  Activity      |    Version:
 Severity:  normal        |   Keywords:
--------------------------+-----------------------------
 == The Bug

 `bp_is_site_home()` (introduced in 12.1.0) performs an exact string
 comparison of the full requested URL against `home_url( '/' )`:

 {{{#!php
 function bp_is_site_home() {
     $requested_url = bp_get_requested_url();
     $home_url      = home_url( '/' );
     // ...
     return $home_url === $requested_url;
 }
 }}}

 `bp_get_requested_url()` includes the query string from
 `$_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']`, but `home_url( '/' )` does not. This means
 '''any query parameter''' on the homepage URL causes `bp_is_site_home()`
 to return `false`:

  * `https://example.com/` → `true` ✓
  * `https://example.com/?custom_param=value` → '''`false`''' ✗

 == Impact

 This breaks component directory detection when a BuddyPress directory page
 is set as the WordPress static front page (`page_on_front`). Every
 component's `parse_query()` method relies on this check:

 {{{#!php
 // From BP_Activity_Component::parse_query()
 if ( bp_is_site_home() && bp_is_directory_homepage( $this->id ) ) {
     $query->set( $this->rewrite_ids['directory'], 1 );
 }
 }}}

 When `bp_is_site_home()` returns `false`, the directory flag is never set,
 so:

  1. `$bp->current_component` is never assigned
  2. `$wp_query->queried_object` is never set to the directory page
  3. `is_buddypress()` returns `false` — BuddyPress template loading does
 not kick in
  4. The theme falls through to WordPress's default page rendering, which
 displays empty content or a "page not found" for the BuddyPress directory
 page

 This affects '''any plugin''' that adds query parameters to a BuddyPress
 directory homepage — not just custom parameters. For example, a plugin
 adding topic filtering (`?bp-topic=slug`), search refinement, or
 pagination parameters to the activity directory would trigger this when
 the activity page is the front page.

 '''When the directory is NOT the front page''' (e.g.,
 `/activity/?param=value`), this issue does not occur because WordPress's
 rewrite rules match the path and set the directory query var directly,
 bypassing the `bp_is_site_home()` check entirely.

 == Steps to Reproduce

  1. Set up BuddyPress with the Activity component enabled
  2. Go to Settings → Reading → set "Your homepage displays" to "A static
 page"
  3. Set "Homepage" to the Activity directory page
  4. Visit `https://example.com/` — activity directory loads correctly ✓
  5. Visit `https://example.com/?anything=value` — '''page not found /
 empty page''' ✗

 == Proposed Fix

 Compare URL paths only, ignoring query strings. This matches how
 WordPress's own `redirect_canonical()` handles URL comparison (it strips
 query args before comparing):

 {{{#!php
 function bp_is_site_home() {
     $requested_url = bp_get_requested_url();
     $home_url      = home_url( '/' );

     if ( is_customize_preview() && ! bp_is_email_customizer() ) {
         $requested_url = wp_parse_url( $requested_url, PHP_URL_PATH );
         $home_url      = wp_parse_url( $home_url, PHP_URL_PATH );
     }

     // Compare paths only — query strings should not affect homepage
 detection.
     $requested_path = wp_parse_url( $requested_url, PHP_URL_PATH );
     $home_path      = wp_parse_url( $home_url, PHP_URL_PATH );

     return trailingslashit( (string) $requested_path ) ===
 trailingslashit( (string) $home_path );
 }
 }}}

 == Scope

  * 2 lines of functional code changed in one function in `bp-core-
 template.php`
  * Zero behavioral change for URLs without query strings (the
 `trailingslashit` path comparison produces the same result as the current
 exact comparison for bare homepage URLs)
  * Fixes directory homepage detection for all components (Activity,
 Members, Groups, etc.) when query parameters are present
  * The `is_customize_preview()` branch already uses `wp_parse_url( ...,
 PHP_URL_PATH )` — the fix extends this approach to the general case

 == Workaround

 Plugins can work around this by filtering `bp_get_requested_url` to strip
 their custom query parameters:

 {{{#!php
 add_filter( 'bp_get_requested_url', function ( $url ) {
     if ( isset( $_GET['custom-param'] ) ) {
         $url = remove_query_arg( 'custom-param', $url );
     }
     return $url;
 }, 5 );
 }}}

 This is fragile because every plugin must independently strip its own
 parameters. The core fix is preferable.

 I'm happy to submit a patch for this change.

-- 
Ticket URL: <https://buddypress.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/9330>
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