Feature Request

Problem / Opportunity

Right now, when you share a link to an Open Library list, the recipient sees whatever view they last used. There is no URL parameter to enforce a specific display mode (list or grid), unlike the existing sort parameter (e.g. ?sort=last_modified). This makes it harder to share lists with a specific visual context in mind.

Proposal

Add a view URL parameter to list pages, accepting list or grid as values.

Example URLs

• Grid view (default-like): https://openlibrary.org/people/raybb/lists/OL341399L/Automation_for_the_People_Residency_Scifi_book_recs_2026?sort=last_modified&view=grid

• List view: https://openlibrary.org/people/raybb/lists/OL341399L/Automation_for_the_People_Residency_Scifi_book_recs_2026?sort=last_modified&view=list

Behavior

• ?view=list — forces the list to render in list mode.
• ?view=grid — forces the list to render in grid mode.
• If the parameter is omitted, the page falls back to the user’s last selected preference (current behavior).
• The existing sort parameter (sort=last_modified) should continue to work in conjunction with view.
• I'm not sure if we should make the url switch from grid/list when someone clicks on a different mode but I lean towards yes.

Breakdown

Related files

• openlibrary/templates/type/list/view.html
• openlibrary/plugins/openlibrary/js/lists/index.js
• https://github.com/internetarchive/openlibrary/pull/10878

Requirements Checklist

• URL parameter view is parsed on list page load.
• Valid values (list, grid) are accepted and applied.
• Invalid or missing values fall back to existing behavior.
• Sort parameter continues to work correctly alongside view.

Stakeholders

• @cdrini @lokesh

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