[WIP] Ransack form search field value not persisted between requests when using alias

lib/ransack/nodes/grouping.rb

@@ -178,10 +178,28 @@ def write_attribute(name, val)
       end
 
       def read_attribute(name)
-        if self[name].respond_to?(:value)
-          self[name].value
+        # First try to find condition with the exact name (including aliases)
+        condition = self[name]
+
+        # If not found and the name might be an alias, try the resolved attribute name
+        if condition.nil?
+          # Strip predicate and resolve alias, similar to condition extraction logic
+          str = name.to_s.dup
+          require_relative '../predicate'
+          predicate_name = Predicate.detect_and_strip_from_string!(str)
+          resolved_base = @context.ransackable_alias(str)
+
+          if resolved_base != str
+            # Reconstruct the full attribute name with predicate
+            resolved_name = predicate_name ? "#{resolved_base}_#{predicate_name}" : resolved_base
+            condition = self[resolved_name]
+          end
+        end
+
+        if condition.respond_to?(:value)
+          condition.value
         else
-          self[name]
+          condition
         end
       end
 

spec/ransack/helpers/form_builder_spec.rb

@@ -153,6 +153,19 @@ module Helpers
         end
       end
 
+      context 'search field values with aliases' do
+        before do
+          @controller.view_context.search_form_for(Person.ransack(term_cont: 'test_value')) { |f| @f = f }
+        end
+
+        it 'should persist alias field value in search forms' do
+          # This tests that when a search is created with an alias parameter,
+          # the form field using that alias should show the correct value
+          html = @f.search_field(:term_cont)
+          expect(html).to match /value="test_value"/
+        end
+      end
+
       private
 
         def test_label(f, query, expected)