iOS - App crashes when launched

[applause-bot]

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Version Number: 9.4.49-0
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: No
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from BrowserStack: #97593
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): sdsiodjnosdjiodsj@gmail.com
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Bug source: Exploratory - Significant User Experience Deterioration
Device used: iPhone 15 Pro Max / iOS 26.5.2
App Component: Other

Action Performed:

1. Launch Expensify app.

Expected Result:

App will not crash.

Actual Result:

App crashes when launched.

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

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

Screenshots/Videos

log : https://platform.applause.com/services/links/v1/external/5de9154ad41c435b87af014e27123be2e40357773ad84fdc28ccea239f0e9cfc

Bug7225121_1785801862213.ScreenRecording_08-04-2026_07-51-23_1.mp4

View all open jobs on GitHub

Applause Internal Information
Exported by: Mita Rachim
Bug ID: 7225121

[applause-bot]

While Applause doesn't embed attachments for this bug, here are the links for quick view:
https://platform.applause.com/services/links/v1/external/55ef816c37fdc81c29c4a850e758825f3b0576b29d000f3336fecb27558d4c81

[melvin-bot]

You have been assigned to this deploy blocker because you recently merged this PR: #97593

[melvin-bot]

@mountiny you have been assigned to this deploy blocker because you reviewed the offending PR: #97593

[melvin-bot]

@war-in you have been assigned to this deploy blocker because you authored the offending PR: #97593

[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]

🔍 Investigation Summary

Classification: Frontend bug (iOS build-toolchain change in Expensify/App)
Causing PR: #97593 - "[No QA] Update iOS build workflows to Xcode 26.6" by @war-in (High confidence)
Related Issues: #97552 (identical launch crash on 9.4.47-0 from the first attempt at this same bump), #97450 (the tracking issue for the bump), #97452 (first bump, reverted by #97580)

Recommendation: REVERT

Re-applying the Xcode 26.2 → 26.6 toolchain bump is the only change in this release that alters how the native iOS binary is compiled, and the identical bump already produced the identical "crashes on launch" blocker (#97552) one release earlier. Revert #97593 to restore the Xcode 26.2 pin that is currently shipping cleanly on production — exactly how the previous instance was mitigated (#97580 reverted #97452).

Assigned: @war-in (PR author), @mountiny (approving reviewer) — both already auto-assigned from #97593.
Labels: No change. DeployBlockerCash is correct and kept (App deploy is blocked, fix lives in Expensify/App). DeployBlocker (Web) was not present, so nothing to remove.

📋 Detailed Analysis

Evidence

• The auto-assignment is correct here, not a false positive. Although melvin assigned [No QA] Update iOS build workflows to Xcode 26.6 #97593 via the "regression testing" link field, independent code/diff analysis confirms [No QA] Update iOS build workflows to Xcode 26.6 #97593 is a genuine and highly likely cause — it is not merely coincidental.
• This is a native, iOS-App-only, crash-on-launch bug (iOS: App only, iPhone 15 Pro Max / iOS 26.5.2). A whole-app launch crash that reproduces on native but not on web points at a native/build-level change, not a JS feature change.
• Staging-only, not production. Production still runs a binary built with the previous toolchain (Xcode 26.2), so it doesn't crash. Only the staging 9.4.49-0 build — the first build to include the re-applied Xcode 26.6 bump — crashes. This staging-only / production-clean split is the signature of a build-toolchain regression.
• Direct historical precedent — same change, same crash. [Due for payment 2026-08-08] iOS - App crashes upon launch #97552 ("iOS - App crashes upon launch", v9.4.47-0, staging yes / production no) was caused by the first attempt at this bump ([No QA] Update iOS build workflows to Xcode 26.6 #97452) and was resolved by reverting it ([CP Staging] Revert "[No QA] Update iOS build workflows to Xcode 26.6" #97580). [No QA] Update iOS build workflows to Xcode 26.6 #97593 re-applies that exact bump and iOS - App crashes when launched #97745 is the same symptom on 9.4.49-0.
• [No QA] Update iOS build workflows to Xcode 26.6 #97593's own description acknowledges the failure mode: "the mixed-toolchain link that crashed 9.4.47.0 on launch." The cache-key fix it adds was intended to prevent that, but the app is crashing on launch again — so switching the compile toolchain to Xcode 26.6 is still producing a binary that fails to launch on device.

Verification

• Affected area: the iOS build/compile toolchain, controlled entirely by the CI workflow files this PR edits.
• [No QA] Update iOS build workflows to Xcode 26.6 #97593 modifies exactly these files (confirmed via gh pr view --json files):
  • .github/actions/composite/getXcodeVersion/action.yml — new action hard-coding VERSION="26.6" and exporting DEVELOPER_DIR=/Applications/Xcode_26.6.app/Contents/Developer.
  • .github/workflows/buildIOS.yml — removes the DEVELOPER_DIR: .../Xcode_26.2.app/... pin, adds the composite step, and adds the Xcode version to the Pods cache key.
  • .github/workflows/deploy.yml — same swap for the iosUploadTestflight (TestFlight) and iosSubmit jobs (this is the binary that ships to staging).
  • .github/workflows/publishReactNativeiOSArtifacts.yml and .github/workflows/remote-build-ios.yml — same 26.2 → 26.6 swap.
• Merge timing aligns: [No QA] Update iOS build workflows to Xcode 26.6 #97593 merged 2026-08-03, included in the 2026-08-03 deploy checklist (Deploy Checklist: New Expensify 2026-08-03 #97732, item 11) that produced 9.4.49-0; the blocker was filed 2026-08-04 against that staging build.
• I scanned the release PR list for other iOS-native / build candidates; [No QA] Update iOS build workflows to Xcode 26.6 #97593 is the only PR that touches the iOS build toolchain, and it matches the symptom precisely.

Root Cause

The four iOS build/deploy jobs previously pinned DEVELOPER_DIR to Xcode 26.2 — a toolchain that produces a binary which launches correctly (as production demonstrates). #97593 switches the compile/link/archive toolchain for the TestFlight (staging) build to Xcode 26.6. The resulting binary crashes on launch on device — the same failure class as the earlier 26.6 attempt (#97552 / #97452). The diff itself is well-formed (all five pins moved in one commit, Pods cache key busted by Xcode version to avoid a mixed-toolchain link), so this is not a reviewable code-shape defect; it only manifests at runtime on a real iOS device, which is why it slipped past a "No QA" build-config PR.

Why REVERT over ROLL FORWARD: the previous identical breakage was resolved by reverting, Xcode 26.2 is a known-good toolchain currently live on production, and no dependent PRs build on this change (it's an isolated CI-config PR). Reverting is clean and low-risk. The toolchain bump can then be re-attempted behind an on-device launch smoke test before shipping to staging.