Fix query builder crashes for Projects relationship queries

[acwhite211]

Fixes #8083

Fixes back-end crashes when Query Builder paths traverse to Projects, including direct Collection Object queries and nested related-table paths. The stored query SQLAlchemy model layer now maps the CollectionObject.projects / Project.collectionObjects many-to-many relationship through project_colobj, and formatted Project relationship aggregation now correlates through that join table instead of assuming a direct foreign key.

Checklist

• Self-review the PR after opening it to make sure the changes look good and
  self-explanatory (or properly documented)
• Add relevant issue to release milestone
• Add pr to documentation list
• Add automated tests

Testing instructions

• Go to Query Builder and select Collection Object as the base table.
• Map a field from Projects, such as Projects -> Project Name, and run the query.
• Map Projects -> formatted and run the query.
• Select another base table that can reach Collection Objects, such as Accession or Locality.
• Traverse from that base table to Collection Objects, then to Projects, and map a Project field.
• Run the query and confirm it returns results or blanks without a backend error.

Summary by CodeRabbit

Release Notes

• New Features

  • Added full support for many-to-many relationships in queries and data aggregation.

• Bug Fixes

  • Fixed resolution of many-to-many relationships that were previously unavailable in queries.

[coderabbitai]

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review. 🎉

ℹ️ Recent review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Organization UI

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro Plus

Run ID: f882ea7c-dbc3-4fba-b5dc-2aa24c798ff9

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between cc41ace and 784b01f.

📒 Files selected for processing (4)

• specifyweb/backend/stored_queries/build_models.py
• specifyweb/backend/stored_queries/format.py
• specifyweb/backend/stored_queries/tests/test_execution/test_run_ephemeral_query.py
• specifyweb/backend/stored_queries/tests/tests.py

💤 Files with no reviewable changes (1)

• specifyweb/backend/stored_queries/tests/tests.py

---

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

This PR adds end-to-end support for many-to-many relationships in the query builder, enabling queries through join tables like Project-CollectionObject that previously crashed the backend. It introduces join metadata types and helpers in build_models.py, integrates them into ORM setup and aggregation queries, and validates the feature with comprehensive tests.

Changes

Many-to-many relationship support

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Many-to-many metadata types and helper functions specifyweb/backend/stored_queries/build_models.py	Introduces ManyToManyJoinInfo NamedTuple with join table and column metadata, MANY_TO_MANY_TABLES configuration, and get_many_to_many_join_info()/make_many_to_many_table() helpers to compute and construct join table definitions.
ORM table and relationship setup specifyweb/backend/stored_queries/build_models.py	Extends make_tables() to create and register configured join tables, and updates map_classes() to wire ManyToMany relationships via SQLAlchemy's secondary parameter with explicit primaryjoin/secondaryjoin conditions.
Aggregation query support for many-to-many specifyweb/backend/stored_queries/format.py	Imports join metadata helpers and updates ObjectFormatter.aggregate() to conditionally build correlated subqueries joining through the secondary table using computed columns, with fallback to single-column logic.
Test coverage and expected behavior update specifyweb/backend/stored_queries/tests/test_execution/test_run_ephemeral_query.py, specifyweb/backend/stored_queries/tests/tests.py	Adds PROJECT_FORMATTERS fixture and test_query_project_many_to_many_relationship() to validate ephemeral queries resolve Project relationships correctly across collection objects and accessions; removes expected error entries now that Project relationships are supported.

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5 | ❌ 1

❌ Failed checks (1 warning)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Testing Instructions	⚠️ Warning	PR summary claims "Testing instructions provided" but no formal user-facing testing instructions are documented. Automated tests cover the changes, but manual QA steps for Query Builder are missing.	Add explicit testing instructions to PR: 1) Query Builder with Collection Object + Projects fields, 2) Nested relationships (e.g., Accession → Projects), 3) Formatted Project aggregation. Code tests exist but lack user documentation.

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly summarizes the primary change: fixing query builder crashes when accessing the Projects relationship, which aligns with the main objective of adding many-to-many relationship support.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	The pull request comprehensively addresses issue #8083 by implementing many-to-many relationship mapping for Projects, preventing backend crashes when querying Projects relationships from Collection Objects and other tables.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	All changes are directly related to fixing Projects relationship queries: build_models.py adds many-to-many support, format.py updates aggregation logic, tests validate the fix, and test expectations are updated accordingly.
Automatic Tests	✅ Passed	PR includes automatic tests for many-to-many Projects relationships. New test covers direct and related queries with proper assertions and mocking.

_{✏️ Tip: You can configure your own custom pre-merge checks in the settings.}

✨ Finishing Touches

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Commit unit tests in branch issue-8083

---

Thanks for using CodeRabbit! It's free for OSS, and your support helps us grow. If you like it, consider giving us a shout-out.

❤️ Share

• X
• Mastodon
• Reddit
• LinkedIn

_{Comment @coderabbitai help to get the list of available commands and usage tips.}

[emenslin]

• Run the query and confirm it returns results or blanks without a backend error.

Looks good, I did not run into any errors!

[Iwantexpresso]

• Run the query and confirm it returns results or blanks without a backend error.

no backend errors occurred. Nice!

[bhumikaguptaa]

• Run the query and confirm it returns results or blanks without a backend error.

Works as expected, no errors noticed!