IndexError and corrupted hosted feature service when using the ViewManager create method

[astjohn-RM]

Describe the bug
The create method in the ViewManager class throws an IndexError when using the query or visible_fields parameters, for hosted feature service containing more than one feature layer.

Removing the query and visible_fields parameters also throws the IndexError after successfully creating just one view from the parent hosted feature service.
It seems to corrupts the parent hosted feature service definition in some way(s), where the layers are no longer recognized via the sharing REST endpoint and in the view creation/update UI.
See screenshots for examples of expected versus corrupted.

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

# example parameters
view = {
      "name": "Sanitary Lift Stations view",
      "hfl_itemid": sanitary_hfl_itemid,
      "layer_id": 0,
      "vis_field": ["*"],
      "filter": "Status <> 'Abandoned' AND StructureType = 'Lift Station'"
  }

view_item = flyr_item.view_manager.create(
                        name=new_view_name, 
                        view_layers=[flyr_item.layers[view['layer_id']]], 
                        allow_schema_changes=False, 
                        updateable=False, 
                        capabilities="Query", 
                        preserve_layer_ids=True, 
                        query=view['filter'], 
                        visible_fields=["OBJECTID", "GlobalID"] + view['vis_field']
                    )

error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Users\<path to .py>", line 140, in <module>
    main()
    ~~~~^^
  File "C:\Users\<path to .py>", line 75, in main
    view_item = flyr_item.view_manager.create(
            name=view_name,
    ...<5 lines>...
            query="Status <> 'Abandoned' AND StructureType = 'Lift Station'" if view_name == "Sanitary_Lift_Stations_view" else "Status <> 'Abandoned' AND (StructureType = 'Outfall' OR StructureType = 'Grass Swale Outfall')"
        )
  File "C:\Users\AStJohn\AppData\Local\Python\pythoncore-3.14-64\Lib\site-packages\arcgis\gis\__init__.py", line 20804, in create
    return mgr.create_view(
           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^
        name=name,
        ^^^^^^^^^^
    ...<14 lines>...
        query=query,
        ^^^^^^^^^^^^
    )
    ^
  File "C:\Users\AStJohn\AppData\Local\Python\pythoncore-3.14-64\Lib\site-packages\arcgis\features\managers.py", line 3110, in create_view
    set_visible_fields_and_query(item, visible_fields, query, gis)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "C:\Users\AStJohn\AppData\Local\Python\pythoncore-3.14-64\Lib\site-packages\arcgis\features\managers.py", line 3078, in set_visible_fields_and_query
    fields = item.layers[0].properties["fields"]
             ~~~~~~~~~~~^^^
IndexError: list index out of range

Screenshots
After running the view create() method, with OR without the query and visible_fields parameters, the UI no longer recognizes feature layers and only tables are available when creating or updating the view.

Expected behavior
This API call has been working for over a year in our scripts, creating hundreds of views programmatically. I expect that the views be created with query and visible_fields parameters defined and that the parent hosted feature service is not altered in any detrimental way.

Platform (please complete the following information):

• OS = Windows 11
• Browser = Chrome
• Python API Version = 2.4.2

Additional context
Add any other context about the problem here, attachments etc.

[kyroskoh]

Root cause (confirmed in arcgis 2.4.2 and 2.4.3)

This public repo is docs/samples only, so a library source PR cannot land here. The bug is in the closed-source package: FeatureLayerCollectionManager.create_view (arcgis/features/managers.py), which ViewManager.create calls.

1. Parent hosted feature service corruption

Near the end of create_view, after correctly resolving the new view item:

view_item = content.get(res["itemId"])  # correct — the new view
# ...
view_item = item  # BUG — `item` is the PARENT serviceItemId
update_item_data(view_item, item, view_layers)

update_item_data then writes a filtered data.layers subset onto the parent. On multi-layer parents with view_layers=[one layer], the parent item JSON is overwritten so Portal/AGOL UI stops treating feature layers as layers (matches the screenshots).

Suggested fix: delete the reassignment and keep the original view item:

# view_item = item  # remove this line
update_item_data(view_item, item, view_layers)

2. IndexError on item.layers[0]

fs_view.manager.add_to_definition(add_def, future=gis._is_arcgisonline)  # not awaited on AGOL
# ...
fields = item.layers[0].properties["fields"]  # IndexError when layers still empty

On AGOL, future=True returns a Future that is never .result()'d before set_visible_fields_and_query runs. Also, query/visible_fields are applied only to layers[0], not every view layer.

Suggested fix:

add_result = fs_view.manager.add_to_definition(add_def, future=gis._is_arcgisonline)
if hasattr(add_result, "result"):
    add_result.result()
fs_view._hydrated = False
fs_view.refresh()

And in set_visible_fields_and_query, guard empty layers and loop all flc.layers (treat visible_fields containing "*" as all fields visible).

Temporary workaround for 2.4.2 / 2.4.3 users

Full usage, limits, removal steps, and tests: misc/tools/issue_2537/README.md on branch fix/issue-2537-viewmanager-create.

Monkey-patch module: fix_viewmanager_create_2537.py

from misc.tools.issue_2537 import apply
apply()
# then use view_manager.create(...) as usual

Or copy the file next to your script:

import fix_viewmanager_create_2537 as fix
fix.apply()

It restores parent item JSON after create, awaits AGOL add_to_definition, writes layer JSON onto the view, and applies query/visible_fields to each view layer.

Mock / smoke tests

No live org required:

python -m unittest misc.tools.issue_2537.test_fix_viewmanager_create_2537 -v

See test_fix_viewmanager_create_2537.py.

Removing the patch when Esri ships a fix

See When Esri releases a fix in the README. Short version:

1. Upgrade to the arcgis release that includes the #2537 fix (check the release notes).
2. Delete or stop calling the workaround imports, for example remove:

from misc.tools.issue_2537 import apply
apply()

or:

import fix_viewmanager_create_2537 as fix
fix.apply()

3. If a long-running process still has the monkey-patch loaded, restore the original method before restarting on the fixed package:

from misc.tools.issue_2537 import unapply
unapply()

4. Re-run a multi-layer view_manager.create(..., query=..., visible_fields=...) smoke test and confirm the parent service data.layers is unchanged.
5. Optionally delete the local misc/tools/issue_2537/ copy so the hotfix cannot be reapplied by mistake.

[nanaeaubry]

@kyroskoh @astjohn-RM Thank you for reporting this and thoroughly explaining the issue.

We are going to take a look at fixing.

Update: We found this issue but it is set to be fixed in 2.4.4 (Released in Fall). I will leave this issue open, after release please test and we can close if correctly addressed.