Share code link doesn't work after deleting an expense

[nlemma]

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Version Number: 9.3.8-0
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: Yes
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from BrowserStack: https://github.com/Expensify/Expensify/issues/508632
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): N/A
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Bug source: Regression TC Execution
Device used: macOS Sequoia 15.4.1
App Component: Other

Action Performed:

1. Open the staging.new.expensify.com website.
2. Open any workspace chat.
3. Create a manual expense.
4. Open the expense report and tap on the header.
5. Tap on "Share" and copy the expense´s link.
6. Return to conversation, long tap on expense preview and delete it.
7. Navigate to a different chat.
8. Paste and send the deleted expense link.
9. Tap on the link.

Expected Result:

The user should be redirected to an error page.

Actual Result:

Share code link doesn't work after deleting an expense

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

• Android: App
• Android: mWeb Chrome
• iOS: App
• iOS: mWeb Safari
• iOS: mWeb Chrome
• Windows: Chrome
• MacOS: Chrome / Safari

Screenshots/Videos

Bug7057579_1769303214165.Recording__1343.mp4

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Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @tylerkaraszewski

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to Contributor-plus team member for initial proposal review - @situchan (External)

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @johncschuster (Bug), see https://stackoverflow.com/c/expensify/questions/14418 for more details. Please add this bug to a GH project, as outlined in the SO.

[MobileMage]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

When a user copies the share link of an expense (e.g., https://new.expensify.com/r/123456), deletes the expense, and then pastes and opens that link, they should see a "Not Found" error page. Instead, the app immediately calls Navigation.goBack() and redirects the user away without showing any error.

What is the root cause of that problem?

The root cause is in the useEffect hook at lines 366-380 in src/pages/home/ReportScreen.tsx:

useEffect(() => {
    if (
        !isFocused ||
        !reportIDFromRoute ||
        report?.reportID ||
        reportMetadata?.isLoadingInitialReportActions ||
        reportMetadata?.isOptimisticReport ||
        isLoadingApp ||
        userLeavingStatus
    ) {
        return;
    }

    Navigation.goBack();
}, [isFocused, reportIDFromRoute, report?.reportID, reportMetadata?.isLoadingInitialReportActions, reportMetadata?.isOptimisticReport, isLoadingApp, userLeavingStatus]);

This effect was introduced in PR #78966 to fix issue #71761 where an unending skeleton was displayed when a user deleted an expense and then clicked the browser back button. The fix correctly navigates back when the report no longer exists.

However, this effect doesn't differentiate between two scenarios:

1. User navigating BACK to a report that was deleted (should go back) - the "browser back" scenario
2. User navigating TO a report via deeplink that doesn't exist (should show Not Found page) - the "share link" scenario

The codebase already has a ref called wasReportAccessibleRef (line 314) that tracks whether the report was ever accessible:

• If wasReportAccessibleRef.current is true: The report was previously accessible, so the user is navigating back to a deleted report
• If wasReportAccessibleRef.current is false: The report was never accessible (user clicked a link to a deleted/non-existent report)

The shouldShowNotFoundPage logic at line 527 already uses this ref correctly:

if (!wasReportAccessibleRef.current && !firstRenderRef.current && !reportID && !isOptimisticDelete && !reportMetadata?.isLoadingInitialReportActions && !userLeavingStatus) {
    return true;
}

But the Navigation.goBack() effect runs before this logic can take effect because it doesn't check wasReportAccessibleRef.current.

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

Add wasReportAccessibleRef.current to the condition in the useEffect that calls Navigation.goBack(). The effect should only navigate back if the report was previously accessible (meaning the user is returning to a deleted report, not navigating to a non-existent report via a link).

The fix is in /Users/user/Documents/GitHub/App/src/pages/home/ReportScreen.tsx at lines 366-380:

Add a check for wasReportAccessibleRef.current - only call Navigation.goBack() if the report was previously accessible:

useEffect(() => {
    if (
        !isFocused ||
        !reportIDFromRoute ||
        report?.reportID ||
        reportMetadata?.isLoadingInitialReportActions ||
        reportMetadata?.isOptimisticReport ||
        isLoadingApp ||
        userLeavingStatus ||
        !wasReportAccessibleRef.current  // Only go back if report was previously accessible
    ) {
        return;
    }

    Navigation.goBack();
}, [isFocused, reportIDFromRoute, report?.reportID, reportMetadata?.isLoadingInitialReportActions, reportMetadata?.isOptimisticReport, isLoadingApp, userLeavingStatus]);

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

[samranahm]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

Share code link doesn't work after deleting an expense

What is the root cause of that problem?

When navigating to a deleted report via deep link, openReport API is called in withReportOrNotFound.tsx. However, if the report doesn't exist on the server, the API failure doesn't set errorFields.notFound on the report.

The canAccessReport function in ReportUtils.ts:9113-9115 checks for this field:

if (report?.errorFields?.notFound) {
    return false;
}

But in the openReport function's failureData in Report.ts:1062-1082, there's no code to set errorFields.notFound when the API fails because the report was deleted.

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

Add errorFields.notFound to the failureData in openReport function:

{
    onyxMethod: Onyx.METHOD.MERGE,
    key: `${ONYXKEYS.COLLECTION.REPORT}${reportID}`,
    value: {
        errorFields: {
            notFound: getMicroSecondOnyxErrorWithTranslationKey('report.genericNotFoundReportMessage'),
        },
    },
},

This ensures when the OpenReport API fails (report deleted/not found), errorFields.notFound is set, causing canAccessReport to return false, and withReportOrNotFound HOC will render NotFoundPage.

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

Reminder: Please use plain English, be brief and avoid jargon. Feel free to use images, charts or pseudo-code if necessary. Do not post large multi-line diffs or write walls of text. Do not create PRs unless you have been hired for this job.

[nkdengineer]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

Share code link doesn't work after deleting an expense

What is the root cause of that problem?

After the expense is deleted, the report is deleted and this logic will close the report screen of the deleted expense report.

App/src/pages/home/ReportScreen.tsx

Lines 367 to 393 in 87e6d66

	useEffect(() => {
	if (
	!isFocused ||
	!reportIDFromRoute ||
	report?.reportID ||
	reportMetadata?.isLoadingInitialReportActions ||
	reportMetadata?.isOptimisticReport ||
	isLoadingApp ||
	userLeavingStatus
	) {
	return;
	}
	Navigation.goBack();
	}, [isFocused, reportIDFromRoute, report?.reportID, reportMetadata?.isLoadingInitialReportActions, reportMetadata?.isOptimisticReport, isLoadingApp, userLeavingStatus]);
	useEffect(() => {
	if (!prevIsFocused || isFocused) {
	return;
	}
	hideEmojiPicker(true);
	}, [prevIsFocused, isFocused]);
	const backTo = route?.params?.backTo as string;
	const onBackButtonPress = useCallback(
	(prioritizeBackTo = false) => {
	if (isInSidePanel) {

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

We shouldn't go back if the report has the notFound error from the backend. In this case, we will display the not found page. It will not re-introduce #78966

useEffect(() => {
        if (
            !isFocused ||
            !reportIDFromRoute ||
            report?.reportID ||
            reportMetadata?.isLoadingInitialReportActions ||
            reportMetadata?.isOptimisticReport ||
            isLoadingApp ||
            userLeavingStatus  ||
            report?.errorFields?.notFound
        ) {
            return;
        }

        Navigation.goBack();
    }, [isFocused, reportIDFromRoute, report?.reportID, reportMetadata?.isLoadingInitialReportActions, reportMetadata?.isOptimisticReport, isLoadingApp, userLeavingStatus, report]);

App/src/pages/home/ReportScreen.tsx

Lines 367 to 393 in 87e6d66

	useEffect(() => {
	if (
	!isFocused ||
	!reportIDFromRoute ||
	report?.reportID ||
	reportMetadata?.isLoadingInitialReportActions ||
	reportMetadata?.isOptimisticReport ||
	isLoadingApp ||
	userLeavingStatus
	) {
	return;
	}
	Navigation.goBack();
	}, [isFocused, reportIDFromRoute, report?.reportID, reportMetadata?.isLoadingInitialReportActions, reportMetadata?.isOptimisticReport, isLoadingApp, userLeavingStatus]);
	useEffect(() => {
	if (!prevIsFocused || isFocused) {
	return;
	}
	hideEmojiPicker(true);
	}, [prevIsFocused, isFocused]);
	const backTo = route?.params?.backTo as string;
	const onBackButtonPress = useCallback(
	(prioritizeBackTo = false) => {
	if (isInSidePanel) {

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

N/A

Reminder: Please use plain English, be brief and avoid jargon. Feel free to use images, charts or pseudo-code if necessary. Do not post large multi-line diffs or write walls of text. Do not create PRs unless you have been hired for this job.

[annaweber830]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

The user should be redirected to an error page.

What is the root cause of that problem?

ReportScreen has a useEffect that calls Navigation.goBack() whenever the screen is focused, a reportIDFromRoute exists, and the report never loads (no report.reportID), once initial loading flags are cleared. This “go back on missing report” logic is correct for the browser-back-to-a-deleted-report scenario, but it also triggers for the open-a-link-to-a-deleted/non-existent-report scenario, preventing the Not Found UI from being shown.

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

Update the Navigation.goBack() effect in src/pages/home/ReportScreen.tsx so it only navigates back when we know the report was previously accessible in this screen instance and then got deleted. We already track this via useReportWasDeleted(...) (e.g. reportWasDeleted). If reportWasDeleted is false, do not auto-goBack; allow the existing Not Found rendering path to display the error page.

App/src/pages/home/ReportScreen.tsx

Lines 367 to 381 in f251b86

	useEffect(() => {
	if (
	!isFocused ||
	!reportIDFromRoute ||
	report?.reportID ||
	reportMetadata?.isLoadingInitialReportActions ||
	reportMetadata?.isOptimisticReport ||
	isLoadingApp ||
	userLeavingStatus
	) {
	return;
	}
	Navigation.goBack();
	}, [isFocused, reportIDFromRoute, report?.reportID, reportMetadata?.isLoadingInitialReportActions, reportMetadata?.isOptimisticReport, isLoadingApp, userLeavingStatus]);

useEffect(() => {
        if (
            !isFocused ||
            !reportIDFromRoute ||
            report?.reportID ||
            reportMetadata?.isLoadingInitialReportActions ||
            reportMetadata?.isOptimisticReport ||
            isLoadingApp ||
            userLeavingStatus ||
            !reportWasDeleted
        ) {
            return;
        }

        Navigation.goBack();
    }, [isFocused, reportIDFromRoute, report?.reportID, reportMetadata?.isLoadingInitialReportActions, reportMetadata?.isOptimisticReport, isLoadingApp, userLeavingStatus, reportWasDeleted]);

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

[situchan]

Thanks for the proposals.

@MobileMage wasReportAccessibleRef no longer exists in ReportScreen so your solution is deprecated.
@samranahm @nkdengineer your proposals still don't fix the issue when open the non-existing report first time.

@annaweber830's proposal looks good to me.

🎀 👀 🎀 C+ reviewed