Fixes the new test failure and restricts doing the annotation even further, so content must have been requested to annotate even

- _needs_effective_content_annotation() now checks for a non-blank,
  stripped param value rather than mere key presence, matching how
  SearchFilter/TitleContentFilter/EffectiveContentFilter themselves
  no-op on a blank value. An empty ?search= or a saved view with a
  cleared text filter no longer re-triggers the annotation.

- The "versions" prefetch on DocumentViewSet no longer carries content
  for every historical version of every document -- that's unused
  bloat for version-heavy documents. Added
  latest_version_content_prefetch() (versioning.py), a separate,
  windowed prefetch scoped to just the newest version's content per
  root, and taught Document.get_effective_content() to check it first.

- DocumentSerializer.to_representation() no longer unconditionally
  calls get_effective_content(). Added has_prefetched_effective_content()
  (versioning.py) as a cheap upfront check: only resolve version-aware
  content when an SQL annotation or a versions prefetch is already on
  the instance. TrashView and GlobalSearchView build their own
  querysets independently of DocumentViewSet and never display
  document content at all (checked both frontend components), so they
  now keep showing the document's own, unresolved content with zero
  extra queries -- the same behavior as before effective_content
  resolution existed, just generalized past the narrow hasattr() check
  it replaced.

.github/workflows/issue-bot.yml

@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ jobs:
                 'You are welcome to open a new issue that describes the problem you observed in your own words.'
               : 'This issue was automatically closed because it was not opened using our bug report form. ' +
                 'Issues have to be created through the form so that the details we need to investigate are included.\n\n' +
-                `If the problem is still there, please [open a new issue](${newIssue}) using the form. No other action is needed here.\n\n' +
+                `If the problem is still there, please [open a new issue](${newIssue}) using the form. No other action is needed here.\n\n` +
                 'If any part of your report was written by an AI tool or agent, you must say so: undisclosed AI-generated ' +
                 `contributions are a violation of our [Code of Conduct](${codeOfConduct}).`;
 

.github/workflows/pr-bot.yml

@@ -25,6 +25,10 @@ jobs:
   pr-bot:
     name: Automated PR Bot
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    # Runs after Anti-slop so the welcome comment can see whether the PR was closed
+    # instead of racing it. Still runs if that job fails, so labeling is not lost.
+    needs: Anti-slop
+    if: ${{ !cancelled() }}
     permissions:
       contents: read
       pull-requests: write
@@ -99,8 +103,25 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/github-script@3a2844b7e9c422d3c10d287c895573f7108da1b3 # v9.0.0
         with:
           script: |
-            const pr = context.payload.pull_request;
+            const user = context.payload.pull_request.user.login;
-            const user = pr.user.login;
+
+            // Re-read the PR: Anti-slop may have closed and labeled it after the webhook
+            const { data: pr } = await github.rest.pulls.get({
+              owner: context.repo.owner,
+              repo: context.repo.repo,
+              pull_number: context.payload.pull_request.number,
+            });
+
+            if (pr.state === 'closed') {
+              core.info('Skipping comment: PR is already closed');
+              return;
+            }
+
+            const labels = pr.labels.map((label) => (typeof label === 'string' ? label : label.name));
+            if (labels.includes('ai')) {
+              core.info('Skipping comment: PR is labeled ai');
+              return;
+            }
 
             const { data: members } = await github.rest.orgs.listMembers({
               org: 'paperless-ngx',

src-ui/messages.xlf

@@ -501,15 +501,43 @@
           <context context-type="linenumber">30</context>
         </context-group>
       </trans-unit>
+      <trans-unit id="7057826840809102816" datatype="html">
+        <source>This value overrides <x id="INTERPOLATION" equiv-text="{{option.config_key}}"/>, which is set outside Paperless.</source>
+        <context-group purpose="location">
+          <context context-type="sourcefile">src/app/components/admin/config/config.component.html</context>
+          <context context-type="linenumber">35</context>
+        </context-group>
+      </trans-unit>
+      <trans-unit id="7221396516204435584" datatype="html">
+        <source><x id="INTERPOLATION" equiv-text="{{option.config_key}}"/> is set outside Paperless. Enter a value here to override it.</source>
+        <context-group purpose="location">
+          <context context-type="sourcefile">src/app/components/admin/config/config.component.html</context>
+          <context context-type="linenumber">37</context>
+        </context-group>
+      </trans-unit>
+      <trans-unit id="8318849619178340389" datatype="html">
+        <source>Use the externally configured value</source>
+        <context-group purpose="location">
+          <context context-type="sourcefile">src/app/components/admin/config/config.component.html</context>
+          <context context-type="linenumber">42</context>
+        </context-group>
+      </trans-unit>
+      <trans-unit id="6032629623003430385" datatype="html">
+        <source>Reset to external</source>
+        <context-group purpose="location">
+          <context context-type="sourcefile">src/app/components/admin/config/config.component.html</context>
+          <context context-type="linenumber">43</context>
+        </context-group>
+      </trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="7808756054397155068" datatype="html">
         <source>Reset</source>
         <context-group purpose="location">
           <context context-type="sourcefile">src/app/components/admin/config/config.component.html</context>
-          <context context-type="linenumber">34</context>
+          <context context-type="linenumber">46</context>
         </context-group>
         <context-group purpose="location">
           <context context-type="sourcefile">src/app/components/admin/config/config.component.html</context>
-          <context context-type="linenumber">35</context>
+          <context context-type="linenumber">47</context>
         </context-group>
         <context-group purpose="location">
           <context context-type="sourcefile">src/app/components/admin/settings/settings.component.html</context>
@@ -520,7 +548,7 @@
         <source>Enable</source>
         <context-group purpose="location">
           <context context-type="sourcefile">src/app/components/admin/config/config.component.html</context>
-          <context context-type="linenumber">43</context>
+          <context context-type="linenumber">56</context>
         </context-group>
         <context-group purpose="location">
           <context context-type="sourcefile">src/app/components/common/profile-edit-dialog/profile-edit-dialog.component.html</context>
@@ -531,7 +559,7 @@
         <source>Cancel</source>
         <context-group purpose="location">
           <context context-type="sourcefile">src/app/components/admin/config/config.component.html</context>
-          <context context-type="linenumber">67,68</context>
+          <context context-type="linenumber">80,81</context>
         </context-group>
         <context-group purpose="location">
           <context context-type="sourcefile">src/app/components/admin/settings/settings.component.html</context>
@@ -610,7 +638,7 @@
         <source>Save</source>
         <context-group purpose="location">
           <context context-type="sourcefile">src/app/components/admin/config/config.component.html</context>
-          <context context-type="linenumber">70,71</context>
+          <context context-type="linenumber">83,84</context>
         </context-group>
         <context-group purpose="location">
           <context context-type="sourcefile">src/app/components/admin/settings/settings.component.html</context>
@@ -681,42 +709,42 @@
         <source>Error retrieving config</source>
         <context-group purpose="location">
           <context context-type="sourcefile">src/app/components/admin/config/config.component.ts</context>
-          <context context-type="linenumber">117</context>
+          <context context-type="linenumber">118</context>
         </context-group>
       </trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="1172622527269118932" datatype="html">
         <source>Invalid JSON</source>
         <context-group purpose="location">
           <context context-type="sourcefile">src/app/components/admin/config/config.component.ts</context>
-          <context context-type="linenumber">143</context>
+          <context context-type="linenumber">144</context>
         </context-group>
       </trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="5103146006962696736" datatype="html">
         <source>Configuration updated</source>
         <context-group purpose="location">
           <context context-type="sourcefile">src/app/components/admin/config/config.component.ts</context>
-          <context context-type="linenumber">187</context>
+          <context context-type="linenumber">193</context>
         </context-group>
       </trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="1664963291286452273" datatype="html">
         <source>An error occurred updating configuration</source>
         <context-group purpose="location">
           <context context-type="sourcefile">src/app/components/admin/config/config.component.ts</context>
-          <context context-type="linenumber">192</context>
+          <context context-type="linenumber">198</context>
         </context-group>
       </trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="2653081282186526824" datatype="html">
         <source>File successfully updated</source>
         <context-group purpose="location">
           <context context-type="sourcefile">src/app/components/admin/config/config.component.ts</context>
-          <context context-type="linenumber">214</context>
+          <context context-type="linenumber">220</context>
         </context-group>
       </trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="5902783625859504265" datatype="html">
         <source>An error occurred uploading file</source>
         <context-group purpose="location">
           <context context-type="sourcefile">src/app/components/admin/config/config.component.ts</context>
-          <context context-type="linenumber">219</context>
+          <context context-type="linenumber">225</context>
         </context-group>
       </trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="4804785061014590286" datatype="html">

src-ui/src/app/components/admin/config/config.component.html

@@ -23,17 +23,30 @@
                                     <div class="col">
                                         <div class="card bg-light">
                                             <div class="card-body">
-                                                <div class="card-title d-flex align-items-center">
+                                                <div class="card-title d-flex align-items-center flex-wrap">
                                                     <h6 class="mb-0">
                                                       {{option.title}}
                                                     </h6>
                                                     <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link" title="Read the documentation about this setting" i18n-title [href]="getDocsUrl(option.config_key)" target="_blank" referrerpolicy="no-referrer">
                                                         <i-bs name="info-circle"></i-bs>
                                                     </a>
+                                                    @if (isExternallyConfigured(option.config_key)) {
+                                                      @if (isSet(option.key)) {
+                                                        <span class="badge rounded-pill bg-body-secondary text-dark fw-normal" title="This value overrides {{option.config_key}}, which is set outside Paperless." i18n-title>Overrides external</span>
+                                                      } @else {
+                                                        <span class="badge rounded-pill bg-body-secondary text-dark fw-normal" title="{{option.config_key}} is set outside Paperless. Enter a value here to override it." i18n-title>Set externally</span>
+                                                      }
+                                                    }
                                                     @if (isSet(option.key)) {
-                                                      <button type="button" class="btn btn-sm btn-link text-danger ms-auto pe-0" title="Reset" i18n-title (click)="resetOption(option.key)">
+                                                      @if (isExternallyConfigured(option.config_key)) {
-                                                          <i-bs class="me-1" name="x"></i-bs><ng-container i18n>Reset</ng-container>
+                                                        <button type="button" class="btn btn-sm btn-link text-danger ms-auto pe-0" title="Use the externally configured value" i18n-title (click)="resetOption(option.key)">
-                                                      </button>
+                                                            <i-bs class="me-1" name="x"></i-bs><ng-container i18n>Reset to external</ng-container>
+                                                        </button>
+                                                      } @else {
+                                                        <button type="button" class="btn btn-sm btn-link text-danger ms-auto pe-0" title="Reset" i18n-title (click)="resetOption(option.key)">
+                                                            <i-bs class="me-1" name="x"></i-bs><ng-container i18n>Reset</ng-container>
+                                                        </button>
+                                                      }
                                                     }
                                                 </div>
                                                 <div class="mb-n3">

src-ui/src/app/components/admin/config/config.component.spec.ts

@@ -163,6 +163,19 @@ describe('ConfigComponent', () => {
     expect(component.configForm.get('barcodes_enabled').value).toBeNull()
   })
 
+  it('should identify externally configured options', () => {
+    component.externallyConfiguredVariables = new Set([
+      'PAPERLESS_OCR_LANGUAGE',
+    ])
+
+    expect(
+      component.isExternallyConfigured('PAPERLESS_OCR_LANGUAGE')
+    ).toBeTruthy()
+    expect(
+      component.isExternallyConfigured('PAPERLESS_OCR_OUTPUT_TYPE')
+    ).toBeFalsy()
+  })
+
   it('should group options into sections within a category, or not', () => {
     const sections = component.getCategorySections(ConfigCategory.OCR)
     expect(sections).toEqual([null, ConfigSection.RemoteOCR])

src-ui/src/app/components/admin/config/config.component.ts

@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ export class ConfigComponent
   public configForm = new FormGroup({})
 
   public errors = {}
+  public externallyConfiguredVariables = new Set<string>()
 
   get optionCategories(): string[] {
     return Object.values(ConfigCategory)
@@ -152,6 +153,9 @@ export class ConfigComponent
   }
 
   private initialize(config: PaperlessConfig) {
+    this.externallyConfiguredVariables = new Set(
+      config.externally_configured_variables ?? []
+    )
     if (!this.store) {
       this.store = new BehaviorSubject(config)
 
@@ -162,7 +166,9 @@ export class ConfigComponent
           this.configForm.patchValue(state, { emitEvent: false })
         })
 
-      this.isDirty$ = dirtyCheck(this.configForm, this.store.asObservable())
+      this.isDirty$ = dirtyCheck(this.configForm, this.store.asObservable(), {
+        excludeKeys: ['externally_configured_variables'],
+      })
     }
     this.configForm.patchValue(config)
 
@@ -227,6 +233,10 @@ export class ConfigComponent
     return this.configForm.get(key).value != null
   }
 
+  public isExternallyConfigured(configKey: string): boolean {
+    return this.externallyConfiguredVariables.has(configKey)
+  }
+
   public resetOption(key: string) {
     this.configForm.get(key).setValue(null)
   }

src-ui/src/app/data/paperless-config.ts

@@ -422,6 +422,7 @@ export const PaperlessConfigOptions: ConfigOption[] = [
 ]
 
 export interface PaperlessConfig extends ObjectWithId {
+  externally_configured_variables: string[]
   output_type: OutputTypeConfig
   pages: number
   language: string

src/documents/filters.py

@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@ from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 from typing import Any
 
 from django.contrib.contenttypes.models import ContentType
-from django.core.exceptions import FieldError
 from django.db.models import Case
 from django.db.models import CharField
 from django.db.models import Count
@@ -53,6 +52,7 @@ from documents.models import StoragePath
 from documents.models import Tag
 from documents.permissions import permitted_document_ids
 from documents.permissions import permitted_object_ids
+from documents.versioning import annotate_effective_content
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from collections.abc import Callable
@@ -182,14 +182,9 @@ class TitleContentFilter(Filter):
             logger.warning(
                 "Deprecated document filter parameter 'title_content' used; use `text` instead.",
             )
-            try:
+            return annotate_effective_content(qs).filter(
-                return qs.filter(
+                Q(title__icontains=value) | Q(effective_content__icontains=value),
-                    Q(title__icontains=value) | Q(effective_content__icontains=value),
+            )
-                )
-            except FieldError:
-                return qs.filter(
-                    Q(title__icontains=value) | Q(content__icontains=value),
-                )
         else:
             return qs
 
@@ -200,14 +195,9 @@ class EffectiveContentFilter(Filter):
         value = value.strip() if isinstance(value, str) else value
         if not value:
             return qs
-        try:
+        return annotate_effective_content(qs).filter(
-            return qs.filter(
+            **{f"effective_content__{self.lookup_expr}": value},
-                **{f"effective_content__{self.lookup_expr}": value},
+        )
-            )
-        except FieldError:
-            return qs.filter(
-                **{f"content__{self.lookup_expr}": value},
-            )
 
 
 @extend_schema_field(serializers.BooleanField)

src/documents/models.py

@@ -374,6 +374,7 @@ class Document(SoftDeleteModel, ModelWithOwner):  # type: ignore[django-manager-
         If the queryset already annotated ``effective_content``, that value is used.
         """
         # Here to avoid circular import
+        from documents.versioning import LATEST_VERSION_CONTENT_PREFETCH_ATTR
         from documents.versioning import sort_versions_newest_first
         from documents.versioning import versions_newest_first
 
@@ -383,6 +384,19 @@ class Document(SoftDeleteModel, ModelWithOwner):  # type: ignore[django-manager-
         if self.root_document_id is not None or self.pk is None:
             return self.content
 
+        latest_version_prefetch = getattr(
+            self,
+            LATEST_VERSION_CONTENT_PREFETCH_ATTR,
+            None,
+        )
+        if latest_version_prefetch is not None:
+            # Empty list means prefetch ran and found no versions — use own content.
+            return (
+                latest_version_prefetch[0].content
+                if latest_version_prefetch
+                else self.content
+            )
+
         prefetched_cache = getattr(self, "_prefetched_objects_cache", None)
         prefetched_versions = (
             prefetched_cache.get("versions")

src/documents/serialisers.py

@@ -89,6 +89,7 @@ from documents.templating.utils import convert_format_str_to_template_format
 from documents.templating.workflows import validate_workflow_template
 from documents.validators import uri_validator
 from documents.validators import url_validator
+from documents.versioning import has_prefetched_effective_content
 from documents.versioning import sort_versions_newest_first
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
@@ -674,6 +675,9 @@ class TagSerializer(MatchingModelSerializer, OwnedObjectSerializer):
             ordering = ordering or (Lower("name"),)
             children = children.order_by(*ordering)
 
+        if not children:
+            return []
+
         serializer = TagSerializer(
             children,
             many=True,
@@ -1149,8 +1153,14 @@ class DocumentSerializer(
 
     def to_representation(self, instance):
         doc = super().to_representation(instance)
-        if "content" in self.fields and hasattr(instance, "effective_content"):
+        if "content" in self.fields and has_prefetched_effective_content(instance):
-            doc["content"] = getattr(instance, "effective_content") or ""
+            # Only resolve version-aware content when it's cheap: an SQL
+            # annotation or a versions prefetch is already on the instance.
+            # A caller that set up neither (e.g. TrashView, GlobalSearchView,
+            # which build their own querysets) gets the document's own,
+            # unresolved content instead of paying for an extra per-instance
+            # query -- same as before effective_content resolution existed.
+            doc["content"] = instance.get_effective_content() or ""
         if self.truncate_content and "content" in self.fields:
             doc["content"] = doc.get("content")[0:550]
         return doc

src/documents/tests/test_api_app_config.py

@@ -35,7 +35,8 @@ class TestApiAppConfig(DirectoriesMixin, APITestCase):
         THEN:
             - Existing config
         """
-        response = self.client.get(self.ENDPOINT, format="json")
+        with patch.dict("os.environ", {}, clear=True):
+            response = self.client.get(self.ENDPOINT, format="json")
 
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_200_OK)
 
@@ -45,6 +46,7 @@ class TestApiAppConfig(DirectoriesMixin, APITestCase):
             response.data[0],
             {
                 "id": 1,
+                "externally_configured_variables": [],
                 "output_type": None,
                 "pages": None,
                 "language": None,
@@ -91,6 +93,31 @@ class TestApiAppConfig(DirectoriesMixin, APITestCase):
             },
         )
 
+    def test_api_get_config_reports_external_configuration_without_values(self) -> None:
+        with patch.dict(
+            "os.environ",
+            {
+                "PAPERLESS_OCR_LANGUAGE": "eng",
+                "PAPERLESS_REMOTE_OCR_API_KEY": "secret-value",
+                "PAPERLESS_FUTURE_SETTING": "future-value",
+                "UNRELATED_SETTING": "unrelated-value",
+            },
+            clear=True,
+        ):
+            response = self.client.get(self.ENDPOINT, format="json")
+
+        self.assertCountEqual(
+            response.data[0]["externally_configured_variables"],
+            [
+                "PAPERLESS_FUTURE_SETTING",
+                "PAPERLESS_OCR_LANGUAGE",
+                "PAPERLESS_REMOTE_OCR_API_KEY",
+            ],
+        )
+        self.assertNotContains(response, "secret-value")
+        self.assertNotContains(response, "future-value")
+        self.assertNotContains(response, "UNRELATED_SETTING")
+
     def test_api_get_ui_settings_with_config(self) -> None:
         """
         GIVEN:

src/documents/tests/test_api_document_versions.py

@@ -2,14 +2,12 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 
 import datetime
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
-from unittest import TestCase
 from unittest import mock
 
 from auditlog.models import LogEntry  # type: ignore[import-untyped]
 from django.contrib.auth.models import Permission
 from django.contrib.auth.models import User
 from django.contrib.contenttypes.models import ContentType
-from django.core.exceptions import FieldError
 from django.core.files.uploadedfile import SimpleUploadedFile
 from django.test import TestCase as DjangoTestCase
 from django.utils import timezone
@@ -22,6 +20,7 @@ from documents.filters import TitleContentFilter
 from documents.models import Document
 from documents.tests.utils import DirectoriesMixin
 from documents.tests.utils import read_streaming_response
+from documents.versioning import annotate_effective_content
 from documents.views import DocumentSelectionMixin
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
@@ -892,32 +891,104 @@ class TestDocumentVersioningApi(DirectoriesMixin, APITestCase):
         )
 
 
-class TestVersionAwareFilters(TestCase):
+class TestVersionAwareFilters(DjangoTestCase):
-    def test_title_content_filter_falls_back_to_content(self) -> None:
+    """
-        queryset = mock.Mock()
+    The filters annotate effective_content themselves rather than relying on
-        fallback_queryset = mock.Mock()
+    the caller's queryset carrying it, so they stay version-aware on a plain
-        queryset.filter.side_effect = [FieldError("missing field"), fallback_queryset]
+    Document queryset (e.g. the bulk-edit "select all matching" path).
+    """
 
-        result = TitleContentFilter().filter(queryset, " latest ")
+    def setUp(self) -> None:
+        super().setUp()
+        self.root = Document.objects.create(
+            title="root",
+            checksum="root",
+            mime_type="application/pdf",
+            content="superseded-content",
+        )
+        Document.objects.create(
+            title="version",
+            checksum="version",
+            mime_type="application/pdf",
+            root_document=self.root,
+            version_index=1,
+            content="latest-content",
+        )
+        self.unversioned = Document.objects.create(
+            title="unversioned",
+            checksum="unversioned",
+            mime_type="application/pdf",
+            content="latest-content",
+        )
 
-        self.assertIs(result, fallback_queryset)
+    def test_title_content_filter_matches_latest_version_content(self) -> None:
-        self.assertEqual(queryset.filter.call_count, 2)
+        result = TitleContentFilter().filter(
-
+            Document.objects.filter(root_document__isnull=True),
-    def test_effective_content_filter_falls_back_to_content_lookup(self) -> None:
-        queryset = mock.Mock()
-        fallback_queryset = mock.Mock()
-        queryset.filter.side_effect = [FieldError("missing field"), fallback_queryset]
-
-        result = EffectiveContentFilter(lookup_expr="icontains").filter(
-            queryset,
             " latest ",
         )
 
-        self.assertIs(result, fallback_queryset)
+        self.assertCountEqual(
-        first_kwargs = queryset.filter.call_args_list[0].kwargs
+            [doc.id for doc in result],
-        second_kwargs = queryset.filter.call_args_list[1].kwargs
+            [self.root.id, self.unversioned.id],
-        self.assertEqual(first_kwargs, {"effective_content__icontains": "latest"})
+        )
-        self.assertEqual(second_kwargs, {"content__icontains": "latest"})
+
+    def test_effective_content_filter_matches_latest_version_content(self) -> None:
+        result = EffectiveContentFilter(lookup_expr="icontains").filter(
+            Document.objects.filter(root_document__isnull=True),
+            " latest ",
+        )
+
+        self.assertCountEqual(
+            [doc.id for doc in result],
+            [self.root.id, self.unversioned.id],
+        )
+
+    def test_effective_content_filter_ignores_superseded_content(self) -> None:
+        result = EffectiveContentFilter(lookup_expr="icontains").filter(
+            Document.objects.filter(root_document__isnull=True),
+            "superseded",
+        )
+
+        self.assertEqual(list(result), [])
+
+    def test_filters_reuse_an_existing_annotation(self) -> None:
+        """
+        Annotating twice under the same alias is an error, so an already
+        annotated queryset (the search path) has to be left alone.
+        """
+        annotated = annotate_effective_content(
+            Document.objects.filter(root_document__isnull=True),
+        )
+        self.assertIs(annotate_effective_content(annotated), annotated)
+
+        result = EffectiveContentFilter(lookup_expr="icontains").filter(
+            annotated,
+            "latest",
+        )
+
+        self.assertCountEqual(
+            [doc.id for doc in result],
+            [self.root.id, self.unversioned.id],
+        )
+
+    def test_bulk_selection_does_not_match_superseded_content(self) -> None:
+        """
+        Bulk edit's "select all matching" builds its own queryset, so before
+        the filters annotated for themselves it matched the root document's
+        superseded content -- selecting documents the list view, filtered by
+        the same term, does not show.
+        """
+        user = User.objects.create_superuser(username="bulk_selection")
+
+        selected = DocumentSelectionMixin()._resolve_document_ids(
+            user=user,
+            validated_data={
+                "all": True,
+                "filters": {"content__icontains": "superseded"},
+            },
+        )
+
+        self.assertEqual(selected, [])
 
     def test_effective_content_filter_returns_input_for_empty_values(self) -> None:
         queryset = mock.Mock()

src/documents/tests/test_api_search.py

@@ -1947,6 +1947,29 @@ class TestDocumentSearchApi(DirectoriesMixin, APITestCase):
         self.assertEqual(len(response.data["documents"]), 1)
         self.assertEqual(response.data["documents"][0]["id"], title_match.id)
 
+    def test_global_search_returns_latest_version_content(self) -> None:
+        root = Document.objects.create(
+            title="bank statement",
+            content="superseded content",
+            checksum="GSV1",
+            pk=23,
+        )
+        Document.objects.create(
+            title="bank statement v2",
+            content="latest content",
+            checksum="GSV2",
+            pk=24,
+            root_document=root,
+            version_index=1,
+        )
+
+        self.client.force_authenticate(self.user)
+
+        response = self.client.get("/api/search/?query=bank&db_only=true")
+        self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_200_OK)
+        returned = {doc["id"]: doc["content"] for doc in response.data["documents"]}
+        self.assertEqual(returned.get(root.id), "latest content")
+
     def test_global_search_filters_owned_mail_objects(self) -> None:
         user1 = User.objects.create_user("mail-search-user")
         user2 = User.objects.create_user("other-mail-search-user")

src/documents/tests/test_document_list_effective_content_annotation.py

@@ -0,0 +1,240 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from types import SimpleNamespace
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
+
+import pytest
+from django.db import connection
+from django.test.utils import CaptureQueriesContext
+from rest_framework import status
+
+from documents.models import Document
+from documents.tests.factories import DocumentFactory
+from documents.versioning import LATEST_VERSION_CONTENT_PREFETCH_ATTR
+from documents.versioning import has_prefetched_effective_content
+from documents.versioning import latest_version_content_prefetch
+from documents.views import DocumentViewSet
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from rest_framework.test import APIClient
+
+
+class TestNeedsEffectiveContentAnnotation:
+    """
+    DocumentViewSet._needs_effective_content_annotation() decides whether
+    the effective_content correlated subquery is worth attaching to the
+    queryset at all -- see TestDocumentListEffectiveContentAnnotation below
+    for why. This only checks that decision's own logic (a plain query-param
+    membership test), not that Django/DRF's filtering machinery works.
+    """
+
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize(
+        ("params", "expected"),
+        [
+            ({}, False),
+            ({"ordering": "-added"}, False),
+            ({"tags__id__in": "1,2"}, False),
+            ({"search": ""}, False),
+            ({"search": "   "}, False),
+            ({"content__icontains": ""}, False),
+            ({"search": "foo"}, True),
+            ({"title_content": "foo"}, True),
+            ({"content__istartswith": "foo"}, True),
+            ({"content__iendswith": "foo"}, True),
+            ({"content__icontains": "foo"}, True),
+            ({"content__iexact": "foo"}, True),
+        ],
+    )
+    def test_detects_content_filter_params(
+        self,
+        params: dict[str, str],
+        expected: bool,  # noqa: FBT001
+    ) -> None:
+        # GIVEN a view bound to a request carrying the given query params
+        view = DocumentViewSet()
+        view.request = SimpleNamespace(query_params=params)
+
+        # WHEN checking whether the effective_content annotation is needed
+        # THEN it's needed only for requests that actually filter on it
+        assert view._needs_effective_content_annotation() is expected
+
+
+@pytest.mark.django_db
+class TestDocumentListEffectiveContentAnnotation:
+    """
+    DocumentViewSet.get_queryset() only attaches the effective_content
+    correlated subquery when a request actually filters on it. Attaching it
+    unconditionally re-executes it once per candidate row before the page's
+    LIMIT is applied -- fine on SQLite/Postgres, but pathological on
+    MariaDB's default cardinality estimation for the root_document_id
+    self-join once candidate counts get large (see the root_document_id /
+    effective_content perf investigation).
+    """
+
+    def test_list_without_content_filter_skips_annotation_but_returns_latest_content(
+        self,
+        admin_client: APIClient,
+    ) -> None:
+        # GIVEN a root document whose latest version has different content
+        root = DocumentFactory(content="old-root-content")
+        DocumentFactory(
+            root_document=root,
+            version_index=1,
+            content="new-version-content",
+        )
+
+        # WHEN listing documents with no search/content-filter param
+        with CaptureQueriesContext(connection) as ctx:
+            response = admin_client.get("/api/documents/?fields=id,content")
+
+        # THEN the response still reflects the latest version's content...
+        assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
+        assert response.data["results"] == [
+            {"id": root.id, "content": "new-version-content"},
+        ]
+        # ...without the database ever evaluating effective_content per row
+        assert not any(
+            "effective_content" in query["sql"] for query in ctx.captured_queries
+        )
+
+    def test_latest_version_content_prefetch_carries_only_the_newest_version(
+        self,
+    ) -> None:
+        # GIVEN a root document with two versions
+        root = DocumentFactory(content="root-content")
+        DocumentFactory(
+            root_document=root,
+            version_index=1,
+            content="older-version-content",
+        )
+        DocumentFactory(
+            root_document=root,
+            version_index=2,
+            content="newest-version-content",
+        )
+
+        # WHEN fetching the root through latest_version_content_prefetch()
+        fetched_root = (
+            Document.objects.filter(pk=root.pk)
+            .prefetch_related(
+                latest_version_content_prefetch(),
+            )
+            .get()
+        )
+
+        # THEN the prefetch carries only the single newest version, not
+        # every historical version's content (the whole point of not
+        # reusing the metadata-only "versions" prefetch for this)
+        latest = getattr(fetched_root, LATEST_VERSION_CONTENT_PREFETCH_ATTR)
+        assert [v.content for v in latest] == ["newest-version-content"]
+
+
+class TestHasPrefetchedEffectiveContent:
+    """
+    DocumentSerializer.to_representation() only calls get_effective_content()
+    when has_prefetched_effective_content() says it's cheap -- otherwise a
+    caller that never set up an annotation or prefetch (TrashView,
+    GlobalSearchView, which build their own querysets and don't display
+    content at all) would pay for a per-instance query nobody asked for.
+    """
+
+    def test_false_with_no_annotation_or_prefetch(self) -> None:
+        document = Document()
+        assert has_prefetched_effective_content(document) is False
+
+    def test_true_with_effective_content_annotation(self) -> None:
+        document = Document()
+        document.effective_content = "resolved"
+        assert has_prefetched_effective_content(document) is True
+
+    def test_true_with_lean_prefetch_attr_even_when_empty(self) -> None:
+        document = Document()
+        setattr(document, LATEST_VERSION_CONTENT_PREFETCH_ATTR, [])
+        assert has_prefetched_effective_content(document) is True
+
+    def test_true_with_metadata_versions_prefetch_cache(self) -> None:
+        document = Document()
+        document._prefetched_objects_cache = {"versions": []}
+        assert has_prefetched_effective_content(document) is True
+
+
+def _get_effective_content_fallback_queries(
+    ctx: CaptureQueriesContext,
+) -> list[dict[str, str]]:
+    """
+    Document.get_effective_content()'s per-instance fallback (no annotation,
+    no prefetch) is a `.values_list("content", flat=True).first()` query --
+    a SELECT of just the content column. Distinct from get_versions()'s own,
+    unrelated per-instance metadata query (id/checksum/added/etc, no
+    content) run to build the "versions" response field, which isn't part
+    of what this test file covers.
+    """
+    return [
+        q
+        for q in ctx.captured_queries
+        if q["sql"].startswith('SELECT "documents_document"."content" FROM')
+    ]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.django_db
+class TestTrashAndGlobalSearchEffectiveContentIsNeverPerInstance:
+    """
+    TrashView and GlobalSearchView serialize Document instances with
+    DocumentSerializer too, but build their querysets independently of
+    DocumentViewSet.get_queryset(). TrashView doesn't display content at all,
+    so it keeps the document's own unresolved content; GlobalSearchView
+    annotates effective_content itself, so it shows the latest version's.
+    Neither should ever fall back to a per-instance query.
+    """
+
+    def test_trash_list_shows_unresolved_content_with_no_extra_query(
+        self,
+        admin_client: APIClient,
+    ) -> None:
+        # GIVEN a trashed root document whose own content differs from what
+        # a (also trashed, since deletion cascades) version would have had
+        root = DocumentFactory(content="own-content")
+        DocumentFactory(
+            root_document=root,
+            version_index=1,
+            content="version-content",
+        )
+        root.delete()
+
+        # WHEN listing trash
+        with CaptureQueriesContext(connection) as ctx:
+            response = admin_client.get("/api/trash/")
+
+        # THEN the response shows the document's own content...
+        assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
+        [result] = [r for r in response.data["results"] if r["id"] == root.id]
+        assert result["content"] == "own-content"
+        # ...without ever querying for versions to resolve it
+        assert _get_effective_content_fallback_queries(ctx) == []
+
+    def test_global_search_db_only_shows_latest_version_content_with_no_extra_query(
+        self,
+        admin_client: APIClient,
+    ) -> None:
+        # GIVEN a root document, findable by title, whose own content
+        # differs from its latest version's
+        root = DocumentFactory(title="findme", content="own-content")
+        DocumentFactory(
+            root_document=root,
+            version_index=1,
+            content="version-content",
+        )
+
+        # WHEN using the global search endpoint's db_only mode
+        with CaptureQueriesContext(connection) as ctx:
+            response = admin_client.get(
+                "/api/search/?query=findme&db_only=true",
+            )
+
+        # THEN the response shows the latest version's content, resolved by
+        # GlobalSearchView's own effective_content annotation...
+        assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
+        [result] = [d for d in response.data["documents"] if d["id"] == root.id]
+        assert result["content"] == "version-content"
+        # ...with no per-instance fallback query
+        assert _get_effective_content_fallback_queries(ctx) == []

src/documents/versioning.py

@@ -7,9 +7,12 @@ from typing import Any
 
 from django.db.models import F
 from django.db.models import OuterRef
+from django.db.models import Prefetch
 from django.db.models import QuerySet
 from django.db.models import Subquery
+from django.db.models import Window
 from django.db.models.functions import Coalesce
+from django.db.models.functions import RowNumber
 
 from documents.models import Document
 
@@ -27,10 +30,13 @@ def versions_newest_first(documents: QuerySet[Document]) -> QuerySet[Document]:
 
 def annotate_effective_content(documents: QuerySet[Document]) -> QuerySet[Document]:
     """
-    Annotates documents with the content of their newest version, falling back
+    Annotates documents with the content of their newest version unless the
-    to their own, so get_effective_content() can answer from the row rather
+    queryset already carries the annotation, falling back to their own, so
-    than querying for the versions of each document
+    get_effective_content() can answer from the row rather than querying for
+    the versions of each document.
     """
+    if "effective_content" in documents.query.annotations:
+        return documents
     return documents.annotate(
         effective_content=Coalesce(
             Subquery(
@@ -43,6 +49,68 @@ def annotate_effective_content(documents: QuerySet[Document]) -> QuerySet[Docume
     )
 
 
+LATEST_VERSION_CONTENT_PREFETCH_ATTR = "_latest_version_content_prefetch"
+
+
+def latest_version_content_prefetch() -> Prefetch:
+    """
+    A Prefetch for Document.versions scoped to just the newest version's
+    content, for get_effective_content()'s fallback when no SQL annotation
+    is present.
+
+    Deliberately not merged into a metadata-only "versions" prefetch (the one
+    used for the serialized versions list): that one fetches every historical
+    version of every document, and pulling full OCR content for versions
+    nobody will read wastes DB transfer/memory at scale. This one is windowed
+    down to a single row per root, then bounded by Prefetch's own IN-list to
+    whatever page/result set it's attached to -- one cheap bulk query total,
+    not one per document and not one per version.
+    """
+    return Prefetch(
+        "versions",
+        queryset=(
+            Document.objects.filter(
+                root_document_id__isnull=False,
+                deleted_at__isnull=True,
+            )
+            .annotate(
+                rn=Window(
+                    RowNumber(),
+                    partition_by=F("root_document_id"),
+                    order_by=[
+                        F("version_index").desc(nulls_last=True),
+                        F("id").desc(),
+                    ],
+                ),
+            )
+            .filter(rn=1)
+            .only("id", "root_document_id", "content")
+        ),
+        to_attr=LATEST_VERSION_CONTENT_PREFETCH_ATTR,
+    )
+
+
+def has_prefetched_effective_content(document: Document) -> bool:
+    """
+    True if document.get_effective_content() can answer without an extra
+    per-instance query -- an SQL ``effective_content`` annotation, the lean
+    latest_version_content_prefetch(), or the metadata-only "versions"
+    prefetch is already present on the instance.
+
+    Callers that haven't set any of those up (e.g. views that build their
+    own querysets independently of DocumentViewSet.get_queryset(), like
+    TrashView or GlobalSearchView) intentionally don't pay for version-aware
+    content resolution -- see DocumentSerializer.to_representation(), which
+    uses this to decide whether to call get_effective_content() at all.
+    """
+    if hasattr(document, "effective_content"):
+        return True
+    if getattr(document, LATEST_VERSION_CONTENT_PREFETCH_ATTR, None) is not None:
+        return True
+    prefetched_cache = getattr(document, "_prefetched_objects_cache", None)
+    return isinstance(prefetched_cache, dict) and "versions" in prefetched_cache
+
+
 def sort_versions_newest_first(documents: list[Document]) -> list[Document]:
     """
     Same sorting as versions_newest_first()

src/documents/views.py

@@ -36,7 +36,6 @@ from django.db.migrations.recorder import MigrationRecorder
 from django.db.models import Avg
 from django.db.models import Case
 from django.db.models import Count
-from django.db.models import F
 from django.db.models import IntegerField
 from django.db.models import Max
 from django.db.models import Model
@@ -137,12 +136,14 @@ from documents.filters import CustomFieldFilterSet
 from documents.filters import DocumentFilterSet
 from documents.filters import DocumentsOrderingFilter
 from documents.filters import DocumentTypeFilterSet
+from documents.filters import EffectiveContentFilter
 from documents.filters import PaperlessTaskFilterSet
 from documents.filters import PermittedObjectsFilter
 from documents.filters import ShareLinkBundleFilterSet
 from documents.filters import ShareLinkFilterSet
 from documents.filters import StoragePathFilterSet
 from documents.filters import TagFilterSet
+from documents.filters import TitleContentFilter
 from documents.mail import EmailAttachment
 from documents.mail import send_email
 from documents.matching import match_correspondents
@@ -232,9 +233,11 @@ from documents.tasks import train_classifier
 from documents.tasks import update_document_parent_tags
 from documents.utils import get_boolean
 from documents.versioning import VersionResolutionError
+from documents.versioning import annotate_effective_content
 from documents.versioning import get_latest_version_for_root
 from documents.versioning import get_request_version_param
 from documents.versioning import get_root_document
+from documents.versioning import latest_version_content_prefetch
 from documents.versioning import resolve_requested_version_for_root
 from documents.versioning import versions_newest_first
 from paperless import version
@@ -1082,12 +1085,49 @@ class DocumentViewSet(
             ],
         }
 
-    def get_queryset(self):
+    @classmethod
-        latest_version_content = Subquery(
+    def _content_filter_params(cls) -> tuple[str, ...]:
-            versions_newest_first(
+        """
-                Document.objects.filter(root_document=OuterRef("pk")),
+        Query params whose filtering needs effective_content evaluated in SQL
-            ).values("content")[:1],
+        against every candidate row -- see
+        _needs_effective_content_annotation(). Derived rather than
+        hand-maintained so a new content-filtering param counts automatically.
+        """
+        params = [
+            name
+            for name, f in DocumentFilterSet.declared_filters.items()
+            if isinstance(f, (TitleContentFilter, EffectiveContentFilter))
+        ]
+        if "effective_content" in cls.search_fields:
+            params.append(SearchFilter().search_param)
+        return tuple(params)
+
+    def _needs_effective_content_annotation(self) -> bool:
+        # effective_content is a per-row correlated subquery resolving each
+        # document's latest version. Filtering *on* it forces the database to
+        # evaluate it for every candidate row before reaching the LIMIT, which
+        # the root_document_id self-join makes pathological on MariaDB
+        # specifically once real candidate counts get large; otherwise the
+        # "versions" prefetch + Document.get_effective_content() resolves only
+        # the page that survives pagination. Every param here is deprecated in
+        # favor of the Tantivy-backed search endpoint (see filters.py's
+        # TitleContentFilter/EffectiveContentFilter docs), so pay that cost
+        # only when one is actually used. Blank values don't count, matching
+        # how those filters themselves no-op on them -- an empty `?search=`
+        # applies no predicate.
+        params = self.request.query_params
+        return any(
+            params.get(param, "").strip() for param in self._content_filter_params()
         )
+
+    def _needs_effective_content_prefetch(self) -> bool:
+        # The prefetch spares get_effective_content() a per-instance fallback
+        # query, but only earns itself when content can reach the response.
+        # Mirror get_serializer() below: no `fields` param keeps every field.
+        fields_param = self.request.query_params.get("fields", None)
+        return fields_param is None or "content" in fields_param.split(",")
+
+    def get_queryset(self):
         # A correlated subquery avoids the LEFT JOIN + Count() this used to
         # be, which forced a GROUP BY aggregate over every matching document
         # before the query could even be sorted or limited.
@@ -1107,33 +1147,38 @@ class DocumentViewSet(
         # ObjectFilter.filter(). A blanket .distinct() here forces the
         # database to fully sort and dedupe every visible document before
         # it can apply LIMIT, which is disastrous at scale.
-        return (
+        prefetches = [
+            Prefetch(
+                "versions",
+                queryset=Document.objects.only(
+                    "id",
+                    "added",
+                    "checksum",
+                    "version_label",
+                    "root_document_id",
+                    "version_index",
+                ),
+            ),
+            "tags",
+            Prefetch(
+                "custom_fields",
+                queryset=CustomFieldInstance.objects.select_related("field"),
+            ),
+            # NotesSerializer nests the author, this avoids query per note
+            Prefetch("notes", queryset=Note.objects.select_related("user")),
+        ]
+        if self._needs_effective_content_prefetch():
+            prefetches.append(latest_version_content_prefetch())
+        queryset = (
             Document.objects.filter(root_document__isnull=True)
             .order_by("-created", "-id")
-            .annotate(effective_content=Coalesce(latest_version_content, F("content")))
             .annotate(num_notes=Coalesce(note_count, 0))
             .select_related("correspondent", "storage_path", "document_type", "owner")
-            .prefetch_related(
+            .prefetch_related(*prefetches)
-                Prefetch(
-                    "versions",
-                    queryset=Document.objects.only(
-                        "id",
-                        "added",
-                        "checksum",
-                        "version_label",
-                        "root_document_id",
-                        "version_index",
-                    ),
-                ),
-                "tags",
-                Prefetch(
-                    "custom_fields",
-                    queryset=CustomFieldInstance.objects.select_related("field"),
-                ),
-                # NotesSerializer nests the author, this avoids query per note
-                Prefetch("notes", queryset=Note.objects.select_related("user")),
-            )
         )
+        if self._needs_effective_content_annotation():
+            queryset = annotate_effective_content(queryset)
+        return queryset
 
     def get_serializer(self, *args, **kwargs):
         fields_param = self.request.query_params.get("fields", None)
@@ -3632,8 +3677,13 @@ class GlobalSearchView(PassUserMixin):
         OBJECT_LIMIT = 3
         docs = []
         if request.user.has_perm("documents.view_document"):
-            all_docs = Document.objects.filter(
+            # Never more than OBJECT_LIMIT rows come back here, so annotating
-                id__in=permitted_document_ids(request.user),
+            # is cheap -- and without it these results show the root
+            # document's superseded content.
+            all_docs = annotate_effective_content(
+                Document.objects.filter(
+                    id__in=permitted_document_ids(request.user),
+                ),
             )
             if db_only:
                 docs = all_docs.filter(title__icontains=query)[:OBJECT_LIMIT]

src/locale/en_US/LC_MESSAGES/django.po

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ msgid ""
 msgstr ""
 "Project-Id-Version: paperless-ngx\n"
 "Report-Msgid-Bugs-To: \n"
-"POT-Creation-Date: 2026-09-07 20:47+0000\n"
+"POT-Creation-Date: 2026-09-08 15:56+0000\n"
 "PO-Revision-Date: 2022-02-17 04:17\n"
 "Last-Translator: \n"
 "Language-Team: English\n"
@@ -21,39 +21,39 @@ msgstr ""
 msgid "Documents"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/filters.py:473
+#: documents/filters.py:463
 msgid "Value must be valid JSON."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/filters.py:492
+#: documents/filters.py:482
 msgid "Invalid custom field query expression"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/filters.py:502
+#: documents/filters.py:492
 msgid "Invalid expression list. Must be nonempty."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/filters.py:523
+#: documents/filters.py:513
 msgid "Invalid logical operator {op!r}"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/filters.py:537
+#: documents/filters.py:527
 msgid "Maximum number of query conditions exceeded."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/filters.py:601
+#: documents/filters.py:591
 msgid "{name!r} is not a valid custom field."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/filters.py:638
+#: documents/filters.py:628
 msgid "{data_type} does not support query expr {expr!r}."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/filters.py:757 documents/models.py:136
+#: documents/filters.py:747 documents/models.py:136
 msgid "Maximum nesting depth exceeded."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/filters.py:1119
+#: documents/filters.py:1109
 msgid "Custom field not found"
 msgstr ""
 
@@ -1631,49 +1631,49 @@ msgstr ""
 msgid "workflow runs"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/serialisers.py:524 documents/serialisers.py:878
+#: documents/serialisers.py:524 documents/serialisers.py:881
-#: documents/serialisers.py:2838 documents/views.py:314 documents/views.py:2624
+#: documents/serialisers.py:2841 documents/views.py:315 documents/views.py:2625
 #: paperless_mail/serialisers.py:156
 msgid "Insufficient permissions."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/serialisers.py:714
+#: documents/serialisers.py:717
 msgid "Invalid color."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/serialisers.py:2315
+#: documents/serialisers.py:2318
 #, python-format
 msgid "File type %(type)s not supported"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/serialisers.py:2359
+#: documents/serialisers.py:2362
 #, python-format
 msgid "Custom field id must be an integer: %(id)s"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/serialisers.py:2366
+#: documents/serialisers.py:2369
 #, python-format
 msgid "Custom field with id %(id)s does not exist"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/serialisers.py:2383 documents/serialisers.py:2393
+#: documents/serialisers.py:2386 documents/serialisers.py:2396
 msgid ""
 "Custom fields must be a list of integers or an object mapping ids to values."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/serialisers.py:2388
+#: documents/serialisers.py:2391
 msgid "Some custom fields don't exist or were specified twice."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/serialisers.py:2535
+#: documents/serialisers.py:2538
 msgid "Invalid variable detected."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/serialisers.py:2894
+#: documents/serialisers.py:2897
 msgid "Duplicate document identifiers are not allowed."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/serialisers.py:2924 documents/views.py:4626
+#: documents/serialisers.py:2927 documents/views.py:4632
 #, python-format
 msgid "Documents not found: %(ids)s"
 msgstr ""
@@ -1941,36 +1941,36 @@ msgstr ""
 msgid "Unable to parse URI {value}"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/views.py:307 documents/views.py:2621
+#: documents/views.py:308 documents/views.py:2622
 msgid "Invalid more_like_id"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/views.py:1591
+#: documents/views.py:1592
 msgid "Invalid AI configuration."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/views.py:1602
+#: documents/views.py:1603
 msgid "AI backend request timed out."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/views.py:2446 documents/views.py:2767
+#: documents/views.py:2447 documents/views.py:2768
 msgid "Specify only one of text, title_search, query, or more_like_id."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/views.py:4639
+#: documents/views.py:4645
 #, python-format
 msgid "Insufficient permissions to share document %(id)s."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/views.py:4685
+#: documents/views.py:4691
 msgid "Bundle is already being processed."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/views.py:4749
+#: documents/views.py:4755
 msgid "The share link bundle is still being prepared. Please try again later."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: documents/views.py:4763
+#: documents/views.py:4769
 msgid "The share link bundle is unavailable."
 msgstr ""
 

src/paperless/serialisers.py

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import logging
+import os
 from io import BytesIO
 
 import magic
@@ -212,6 +213,7 @@ class ProfileSerializer(PasswordValidationMixin, serializers.ModelSerializer[Use
 class ApplicationConfigurationSerializer(
     serializers.ModelSerializer[ApplicationConfiguration],
 ):
+    externally_configured_variables = serializers.SerializerMethodField()
     user_args = serializers.JSONField(binary=True, allow_null=True)
     barcode_tag_mapping = serializers.JSONField(binary=True, allow_null=True)
     llm_api_key = ObfuscatedPasswordField(
@@ -227,6 +229,12 @@ class ApplicationConfigurationSerializer(
 
     OBFUSCATED_FIELDS = ("llm_api_key", "remote_ocr_api_key")
 
+    def get_externally_configured_variables(
+        self,
+        instance: ApplicationConfiguration,
+    ) -> list[str]:
+        return sorted(name for name in os.environ if name.startswith("PAPERLESS_"))
+
     def run_validation(self, data):
         # Empty strings treated as None to avoid unexpected behavior
         if "user_args" in data and data["user_args"] == "":