Reports - Empty state image in the Concierge RHP chat is blocking the "Show history" button

[izarutskaya]

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Version Number: 9.3.60-1
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: No
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from BrowserStack: #85114
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers):
Logs: https://stackoverflow.com/c/expensify/questions/4856
Expensify/Expensify Issue URL:
Issue reported by: @shawnborton
Slack conversation (hyperlinked to channel name): #expensify_bugs

Action Performed:

1. Go to staging.new.expensify.com
2. Log in with any account (with few expenses/reports)
3. Click Help button in the upper right corner > Show history

Expected Result:

User able to open history.

Actual Result:

There is no Show history button but an empty state image in the Concierge RHP chat

Platforms:

Select the officially supported platforms where the issue was reproduced:

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

Screenshots/Videos

CleanShot.2026-04-16.at.09.23.09.mp4

Recording.3715.mp4

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Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @mallenexpensify

[melvin-bot]

You have been assigned to this deploy blocker because you recently merged this PR: #85114

[melvin-bot]

💬 A slack conversation has been started in #expensify-open-source

[github-actions]

👋 Friendly reminder that deploy blockers are time-sensitive ⏱ issues! Check out the open `StagingDeployCash` deploy checklist to see the list of PRs included in this release, then work quickly to do one of the following:

1. Identify the pull request that introduced this issue and revert it.
2. Find someone who can quickly fix the issue.
3. Fix the issue yourself.

[MelvinBot]

Proposal

What is the root cause of that problem?

hasPreviousMessages in useConciergeSidePanelReportActions.ts:66-71 only checks currently-loaded visibleReportActions, while hadUserMessageAtSessionStart (line 63) also considers hasOlderActions (unloaded server-side history).

When a returning user opens Concierge and older messages exist on the server but aren't loaded yet:

1. hadUserMessageAtSessionStart = true (via hasOlderActions)
2. showConciergeSidePanelWelcome = true → chat is filtered to only [greeting, createdAction]
3. hasPreviousMessages = false (no loaded actions have created < sessionStartTime)
4. The "Show history" button requires hasPreviousMessages to be true (ReportActionsList.tsx:687)

Result: the welcome screen displays with the empty state background, but the "Show history" button never renders, leaving the user stuck.

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

In useConciergeSidePanelReportActions.ts, update hasPreviousMessages to also consider hasOlderActions, mirroring how hadUserMessageAtSessionStart works:

return visibleReportActions.some((action) => !isCreatedAction(action) && action.created < sessionStartTime) || hasOlderActions;

This ensures that when older messages exist on the server (even if not yet loaded), the "Show history" button will appear and allow the user to reveal their history.

What alternative solutions did I explore?

1. Moving the "Show history" button outside the CREATED action cell to avoid potential zIndex overlap with AnimatedEmptyStateBackground — but the primary issue is the button not rendering at all, not being visually hidden.
2. Pre-loading older actions before showing the welcome screen — unnecessary complexity since the button just needs to know history exists, not have it loaded.

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Next Steps for Contributor+ team: Reply with @MelvinBot implement this to create a draft PR, @MelvinBot <your feedback> to refine this analysis, or explain why you are rejecting Melvin's proposal.

[OSBotify]

Investigation Summary: Classification: Frontend bug. Causing PR: #85114 - Migrate main chat to FlashList with inverted flag by @VickyStash (High confidence). Recommendation: REVERT. PR 85114 migrated the main chat list from InvertedFlatList to InvertedFlashList and was merged on 2026-04-15, directly before version 9.3.60-1 (the staging version where this bug reproduces). Reverting this App PR should restore the Show history button in the Concierge RHP chat. Assigned: @VickyStash (PR author), @situchan, @Julesssss, @mountiny (approving reviewers). Labels: DeployBlockerCash kept (Frontend bug). Evidence: (1) Bug is staging-only, aligning with PR 85114 merge date. (2) Melvin-bot already flagged PR 85114. (3) PR 85114 is item 114 in the StagingDeployCash chronological list. (4) The Show history button renders in renderItem in ReportActionsList.tsx (lines 687-704) when the CREATED action is rendered with isConciergeSidePanel + showHiddenHistory + hasPreviousMessages all true. PR 85114 directly modifies that file. Root cause: The new InvertedFlashList hides content via CSS visibility:hidden using a debounce timer on shouldScrollToEndAfterLayout. For Concierge side panel accounts with few messages that do not trigger a scroll event, this flag never resets and the entire FlashList remains hidden, producing the empty state visual.