Add .catch() to background task registration to handle BGTaskScheduler errors gracefully by MelvinBot · Pull Request #85988 · Expensify/App

MelvinBot · 2026-03-20T19:55:42Z

Explanation of Change

On iOS HybridApp launch, a console error appears: Uncaught (in promise, id: 0): "Error: The operation couldn't be completed. (BGTaskSchedulerErrorDomain error 1.)". This is BGTaskSchedulerErrorCodeUnavailable, which fires when BGTaskScheduler is not available (e.g., iOS Simulator, Background App Refresh disabled).

The TaskManager.defineTask() call at startup does not handle promise rejections, so when BGTaskScheduler returns this error, it surfaces as an unhandled promise rejection in the console.

This PR adds .catch() to the defineTask() call to handle the rejection gracefully by logging a warning instead of surfacing a console error.

Fixed Issues

$ #85986
PROPOSAL: #85986 (comment)

Tests

Launch the iOS HybridApp
Verify that no BGTaskSchedulerErrorDomain console error appears
Launch standalone NewExpensify iOS app
Verify background tasks still register and work as before

Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

Offline tests

N/A — This change only affects background task registration at app startup and does not involve network operations.

QA Steps

Launch the iOS HybridApp
Verify no BGTaskSchedulerErrorDomain console error appears
Launch standalone NewExpensify iOS app
Verify no regressions in background task behavior

Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

PR Author Checklist

Screenshots/Videos

Android: Native

N/A — JS-only change, no UI modifications

Android: mWeb Chrome

N/A — Native-only change (.native.ts)

iOS: Native

N/A — Requires HybridApp build to verify (console error no longer appears)

iOS: mWeb Safari

N/A — Native-only change (.native.ts)

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

N/A — Native-only change (.native.ts)

The BGTaskScheduler is unavailable in HybridApp because the OldDot host app's Info.plist lacks the required BGTaskSchedulerPermittedIdentifiers configuration. Guard the defineTask call with CONFIG.IS_HYBRID_APP check and add .catch() to handle promise rejections gracefully. Co-authored-by: Mykhailo <mkhutornyi@users.noreply.github.com>

Co-authored-by: Mykhailo <mkhutornyi@users.noreply.github.com>

MelvinBot · 2026-03-20T20:01:42Z

Fixed the failing typecheck: Log.warn only accepts 1-2 arguments (message, parameters?), but it was being called with 3 arguments in the Log.info style. Consolidated the message into a single string argument.

mkhutornyi · 2026-03-20T20:04:50Z

This happens because the HybridApp host app (OldDot from Mobile-Expensify/iOS/) lacks the BGTaskSchedulerPermittedIdentifiers configuration in its Info.plist, but the background task JS code unconditionally calls TaskManager.defineTask() at startup.

@MelvinBot this is false alarm. Hybrid app also defines BGTaskSchedulerPermittedIdentifiers in Info.plist

MelvinBot · 2026-03-20T20:12:21Z

Thanks for the correction, mkhutornyi. You're right — the premise in my analysis was wrong.

Looking more closely at the Apple SDK, BGTaskSchedulerErrorDomain error 1 is BGTaskSchedulerErrorCodeUnavailable, which means "background task scheduling functionality is not available." A missing BGTaskSchedulerPermittedIdentifiers plist entry would produce error code 3 (notPermitted), not error 1.

Error code 1 typically fires when:

Running on iOS Simulator (BGTaskScheduler is unsupported there)
Background App Refresh is disabled by the user
registerForTaskWithIdentifier was never called (via RNBackgroundTaskManager.setup())

One thing worth checking: RNBackgroundTaskManager.setup() is called from App/ios/AppDelegate.swift:63, which is not used in HybridApp builds. If Mobile-Expensify's AppDelegate also calls RNBackgroundTaskManager.setup(), then the most likely explanation is this error was observed on iOS Simulator, where it's expected behavior.

Given this, there are two options:

Just add .catch() to handle the promise rejection gracefully (covers Simulator and any transient unavailability) — remove the IS_HYBRID_APP guard since background tasks should still work in HybridApp
Keep the IS_HYBRID_APP guard if background tasks are intentionally not desired in HybridApp mode

Which approach would you prefer? I can update the PR accordingly.

…n test env Co-authored-by: Mykhailo <mkhutornyi@users.noreply.github.com>

MelvinBot · 2026-03-20T20:14:32Z

Fixed the failing test checks: TaskManager.defineTask() returns undefined in the Jest test environment (mocked), so chaining .catch() directly on it caused TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'catch'). Changed to optional chaining ?.catch() so it safely handles both the mocked (undefined) and real (Promise) return values.

mkhutornyi · 2026-03-20T20:15:01Z

@MelvinBot implement option 1

The HybridApp does have BGTaskSchedulerPermittedIdentifiers configured, so the IS_HYBRID_APP guard was based on an incorrect premise. The error (BGTaskSchedulerErrorDomain error 1 = unavailable) can occur on iOS Simulator or when Background App Refresh is disabled. Adding .catch() handles these cases gracefully without suppressing background tasks in HybridApp mode. Co-authored-by: Mykhailo <mkhutornyi@users.noreply.github.com>

MelvinBot · 2026-03-20T20:18:04Z

Implemented option 1. Changes made:

Removed the IS_HYBRID_APP guard — background tasks will continue to register in HybridApp mode as intended
Removed the unused CONFIG import
Kept the .catch() to handle BGTaskSchedulerErrorCodeUnavailable (error 1) gracefully — logs a warning via Log.warn instead of surfacing an unhandled promise rejection

Updated the PR title and description to reflect the corrected understanding.

mkhutornyi · 2026-03-20T20:18:20Z

@MelvinBot mark as ready for review

melvin-bot · 2026-03-20T20:19:55Z

@mkhutornyi Please copy/paste the Reviewer Checklist from here into a new comment on this PR and complete it. If you have the K2 extension, you can simply click: [this button]

MelvinBot · 2026-03-20T20:19:58Z

Done — this PR has been marked as ready for review. 👍

mkhutornyi · 2026-03-20T20:20:18Z

Reviewer Checklist

I have verified the author checklist is complete (all boxes are checked off).
I verified the correct issue is linked in the ### Fixed Issues section above
I verified testing steps are clear and they cover the changes made in this PR
- I verified the steps for local testing are in the Tests section
- I verified the steps for Staging and/or Production testing are in the QA steps section
- I verified the steps cover any possible failure scenarios (i.e. verify an input displays the correct error message if the entered data is not correct)
- I turned off my network connection and tested it while offline to ensure it matches the expected behavior (i.e. verify the default avatar icon is displayed if app is offline)
I checked that screenshots or videos are included for tests on all platforms
I included screenshots or videos for tests on all platforms
I verified that the composer does not automatically focus or open the keyboard on mobile unless explicitly intended. This includes checking that returning the app from the background does not unexpectedly open the keyboard.
I verified tests pass on all platforms & I tested again on:
- Android: HybridApp
- Android: mWeb Chrome
- iOS: HybridApp
- iOS: mWeb Safari
- MacOS: Chrome / Safari
- MacOS: Desktop
If there are any errors in the console that are unrelated to this PR, I either fixed them (preferred) or linked to where I reported them in Slack
I verified there are no new alerts related to the canBeMissing param for useOnyx
I verified proper code patterns were followed (see Reviewing the code)
- I verified that any callback methods that were added or modified are named for what the method does and never what callback they handle (i.e. toggleReport and not onIconClick).
- I verified that comments were added to code that is not self explanatory
- I verified that any new or modified comments were clear, correct English, and explained "why" the code was doing something instead of only explaining "what" the code was doing.
- I verified any copy / text shown in the product is localized by adding it to src/languages/* files and using the translation method
- I verified all numbers, amounts, dates and phone numbers shown in the product are using the localization methods
- I verified any copy / text that was added to the app is grammatically correct in English. It adheres to proper capitalization guidelines (note: only the first word of header/labels should be capitalized), and is either coming verbatim from figma or has been approved by marketing (in order to get marketing approval, ask the Bug Zero team member to add the Waiting for copy label to the issue)
- I verified proper file naming conventions were followed for any new files or renamed files. All non-platform specific files are named after what they export and are not named "index.js". All platform-specific files are named for the platform the code supports as outlined in the README.
- I verified the JSDocs style guidelines (in STYLE.md) were followed
If a new code pattern is added I verified it was agreed to be used by multiple Expensify engineers
I verified that this PR follows the guidelines as stated in the Review Guidelines
I verified other components that can be impacted by these changes have been tested, and I retested again (i.e. if the PR modifies a shared library or component like Avatar, I verified the components using Avatar have been tested & I retested again)
I verified all code is DRY (the PR doesn't include any logic written more than once, with the exception of tests)
I verified any variables that can be defined as constants (ie. in CONST.ts or at the top of the file that uses the constant) are defined as such
If a new component is created I verified that:
- A similar component doesn't exist in the codebase
- All props are defined accurately and each prop has a /** comment above it */
- The file is named correctly
- The component has a clear name that is non-ambiguous and the purpose of the component can be inferred from the name alone
- The only data being stored in the state is data necessary for rendering and nothing else
- For Class Components, any internal methods passed to components event handlers are bound to this properly so there are no scoping issues (i.e. for onClick={this.submit} the method this.submit should be bound to this in the constructor)
- Any internal methods bound to this are necessary to be bound (i.e. avoid this.submit = this.submit.bind(this); if this.submit is never passed to a component event handler like onClick)
- All JSX used for rendering exists in the render method
- The component has the minimum amount of code necessary for its purpose, and it is broken down into smaller components in order to separate concerns and functions
If any new file was added I verified that:
- The file has a description of what it does and/or why is needed at the top of the file if the code is not self explanatory
If a new CSS style is added I verified that:
- A similar style doesn't already exist
- The style can't be created with an existing StyleUtils function (i.e. StyleUtils.getBackgroundAndBorderStyle(theme.componentBG)
If the PR modifies code that runs when editing or sending messages, I tested and verified there is no unexpected behavior for all supported markdown - URLs, single line code, code blocks, quotes, headings, bold, strikethrough, and italic.
If the PR modifies a generic component, I tested and verified that those changes do not break usages of that component in the rest of the App (i.e. if a shared library or component like Avatar is modified, I verified that Avatar is working as expected in all cases)
If the PR modifies a component related to any of the existing Storybook stories, I tested and verified all stories for that component are still working as expected.
If the PR modifies a component or page that can be accessed by a direct deeplink, I verified that the code functions as expected when the deeplink is used - from a logged in and logged out account.
If the PR modifies the UI (e.g. new buttons, new UI components, changing the padding/spacing/sizing, moving components, etc) or modifies the form input styles:
- I verified that all the inputs inside a form are aligned with each other.
- I added Design label and/or tagged @Expensify/design so the design team can review the changes.
If a new page is added, I verified it's using the ScrollView component to make it scrollable when more elements are added to the page.
For any bug fix or new feature in this PR, I verified that sufficient unit tests are included to prevent regressions in this flow.
If the main branch was merged into this PR after a review, I tested again and verified the outcome was still expected according to the Test steps.
I have checked off every checkbox in the PR reviewer checklist, including those that don't apply to this PR.

Screenshots/Videos

Android: HybridApp

Android: mWeb Chrome

iOS: HybridApp

before.mov

after.mov

iOS: mWeb Safari

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

melvin-bot · 2026-03-20T20:25:03Z

We did not find an internal engineer to review this PR, trying to assign a random engineer to #85986 as well as to this PR... Please reach out for help on Slack if no one gets assigned!

MelvinBot · 2026-03-20T20:48:07Z

The failing check is unrelated to this PR.

Analysis: The build (New Expensify Dev, DebugDevelopment, false) failure is a pre-existing iOS build issue caused by Swift 6 ambiguous import access levels in ios/AppDelegate.swift:

AppDelegate.swift:12:8: error: ambiguous implicit access level for import of 'ExpoModulesCore'; it is imported as 'internal' elsewhere
AppDelegate.swift:14:8: error: ambiguous implicit access level for import of 'Expo'; it is imported as 'internal' elsewhere

Evidence: This PR only modifies src/setup/backgroundTask/index.native.ts (a TypeScript file), while the build error is in ios/AppDelegate.swift (a Swift file). The same build job is also failing on main (run 23360218421) and other unrelated branches (e.g. scott-showReimbursedReportAction run 23360476862).

codecov · 2026-03-20T22:01:51Z

Codecov Report

❌ Looks like you've decreased code coverage for some files. Please write tests to increase, or at least maintain, the existing level of code coverage. See our documentation here for how to interpret this table.

Files with missing lines	Coverage Δ
src/setup/backgroundTask/index.native.ts	`33.33% <0.00%> (-16.67%)`	⬇️
... and 10 files with indirect coverage changes

JmillsExpensify

No product review required.

…ulerErrorInHybridApp Co-authored-by: Mykhailo <mkhutornyi@users.noreply.github.com>

melvin-bot · 2026-03-23T14:58:23Z

@mkhutornyi Please copy/paste the Reviewer Checklist from here into a new comment on this PR and complete it. If you have the K2 extension, you can simply click: [this button]

MelvinBot · 2026-03-23T14:58:24Z

Fixed the failing iOS build by merging main into the PR branch. The build (New Expensify Dev, DebugDevelopment, false) check was failing because ios/AppDelegate.swift on this branch had outdated import statements (import ExpoModulesCore and import Expo) that conflict with the newer Xcode/Swift 6 build settings. Main had already fixed this by removing the ExpoModulesCore import and changing import Expo to internal import Expo. The merge brings those fixes into this branch.

github-actions · 2026-03-23T15:19:14Z

🚧 @MariaHCD has triggered a test Expensify/App build. You can view the workflow run here.

github-actions · 2026-03-23T15:23:45Z

🧪🧪 Use the links below to test this adhoc build on Android, iOS, and Web. Happy testing! 🧪🧪
Built from App PR #85988.

Android 🤖	iOS 🍎
https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/rock-artifacts/ad-hoc/rock-android-Adhoc-78a4b4f-d6051eb-695dba489635c9790dd4303a68636b672c19b701/index.html	https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/rock-artifacts/ad-hoc/rock-ios-device-AdHoc-78a4b4f-d6051eb-7530cdadd64ffeda4ac4e1d597322c10f5bae0b6/index.html

Web 🕸️
https://85988.pr-testing.expensify.com

👀 View the workflow run that generated this build 👀

m-natarajan · 2026-03-24T12:11:55Z

@MariaHCD @mkhutornyi We can't validate this step Verify no BGTaskSchedulerErrorDomain console error appears, Can this one please be tested internally

mkhutornyi · 2026-03-24T12:13:00Z

This is dev only console error. Please feel free to check off.

OSBotify · 2026-03-25T16:11:11Z

🚀 Deployed to production by https://github.com/Julesssss in version: 9.3.43-3 🚀

platform	result
🕸 web 🕸	success ✅
🤖 android 🤖	success ✅
🍎 iOS 🍎	success ✅

MelvinBot assigned mkhutornyi Mar 20, 2026

MelvinBot requested a review from a team March 20, 2026 19:55

MelvinBot mentioned this pull request Mar 20, 2026

[Due for payment 2026-04-01] [$250] DEV console error: BGTaskSchedulerErrorDomain error 1 #85986

Open

7 tasks

Fix: correct Log.warn call signature to match 1-2 parameter API

ccf085c

Co-authored-by: Mykhailo <mkhutornyi@users.noreply.github.com>

Fix: use optional chaining on defineTask to handle undefined return i…

76cc727

…n test env Co-authored-by: Mykhailo <mkhutornyi@users.noreply.github.com>

MelvinBot changed the title ~~Skip background task registration in HybridApp mode~~ Add .catch() to background task registration to handle BGTaskScheduler errors gracefully Mar 20, 2026

MelvinBot marked this pull request as ready for review March 20, 2026 20:19

MelvinBot requested a review from a team as a code owner March 20, 2026 20:19

melvin-bot bot requested review from JmillsExpensify and mkhutornyi and removed request for a team March 20, 2026 20:19

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melvin-bot bot requested a review from MariaHCD March 20, 2026 20:25

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MariaHCD approved these changes Mar 23, 2026

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Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/main' into claude-fixBGTaskSched…

e39a49d

…ulerErrorInHybridApp Co-authored-by: Mykhailo <mkhutornyi@users.noreply.github.com>

MelvinBot requested a review from a team as a code owner March 23, 2026 14:58

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MariaHCD merged commit 78a4b4f into main Mar 23, 2026
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MariaHCD deleted the claude-fixBGTaskSchedulerErrorInHybridApp branch March 23, 2026 15:18

github-actions bot mentioned this pull request Mar 23, 2026

Investigate workflow job failing on main: chooseDeployActions #86107

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OSBotify mentioned this pull request Mar 24, 2026

Deploy Checklist: New Expensify 2026-03-24 #86199

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Explanation of Change

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