[No QA] Document when Onyx.connectWithoutView is acceptable by cristipaval · Pull Request #95207 · Expensify/App

cristipaval · 2026-07-02T14:44:48Z

Explanation of Change

Contributors and AI agents have been adding Onyx.connectWithoutView by copying existing usage, instead of preferring pure functions / useOnyx. This documents the rules: pure functions take precedence, useOnyx is the default in components, and connectWithoutView is only for non-render logic (and existing usage is not a template to copy). The rare performance exception requires @frontend-performance sign-off on Slack. It adds the authoritative section to ONYX-DATA-MANAGEMENT.md, reconciles the library-files rule in DATA-BINDING.md, and adds a short agent-facing summary to CLAUDE.md.

Fixed Issues

$ #93692
PROPOSAL: N/A (internal task)

Tests

N/A — documentation only.

Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

Offline tests

N/A — documentation only.

QA Steps

N/A — documentation only.

Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

PR Author Checklist

…GEMENT

melvin-bot · 2026-07-02T14:46:05Z

@thelullabyy 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]

github-actions · 2026-07-02T14:46:09Z

This PR adds a new Onyx.connectWithoutView call, so I've requested a review from the Onyx performance reviewers (@tgolen, @mountiny, @luacmartins) — a review from any one of them is enough. Please add a link in your PR description to the Slack discussion where the @frontend-performance team approved using connectWithoutView here.

cristipaval · 2026-07-02T14:46:20Z

No need for C+ review

mountiny · 2026-07-02T15:08:52Z

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
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- 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
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
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- 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).
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- 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 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)
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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)
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- A similar component doesn't exist in the codebase
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- The file is named correctly
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- 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
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If any new file was added I verified that:
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- A similar style doesn't already exist
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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.
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Screenshots/Videos

Android: HybridApp

Android: mWeb Chrome

iOS: HybridApp

iOS: mWeb Safari

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

mountiny · 2026-07-02T15:20:14Z


+### Reading Onyx data (`useOnyx` vs `Onyx.connectWithoutView`)
+Read Onyx data in this order of preference, always choosing the earliest that fits:
+1. A **pure function** that receives the data as parameters — no Onyx connection.


Same as above. I don't understand how Pure Function reads the onyx data. It has to be the useOnyx that does it and then passes it to Pure Function.

luacmartins · 2026-07-02T18:44:15Z

 ### - Library files that are not connected or associated to any UI SHOULD use `Onyx.connectWithoutView()` to subscribe to changes in Onyx data
 Library files are located in `/src/lib` but excluding the actions in `/src/lib/actions` which have their own rule below.

+`Onyx.connectWithoutView()` is not the default, even in a library file: first prefer a pure function that receives the data as parameters, and reach for `Onyx.connectWithoutView()` only when the library genuinely needs to react to Onyx changes outside of render. Never add one just because nearby code uses it. See [Reading Onyx data: `useOnyx` vs `Onyx.connectWithoutView`](/contributingGuides/philosophies/ONYX-DATA-MANAGEMENT.md#reading-onyx-data-useonyx-vs-onyxconnectwithoutview) for the full rules.


Can we add examples to clarify this?

tgolen · 2026-07-05T21:07:40Z

+Do not add a new `Onyx.connectWithoutView` just because nearby code uses it. Justify each new use on its own against the rule above; when in doubt, use a pure function or `useOnyx`.
+
+### - Using `Onyx.connectWithoutView` in a component for performance REQUIRES @frontend-performance approval
+In rare cases a component that subscribes to multiple large collections through `useOnyx` suffers a significant performance regression. Reaching for `Onyx.connectWithoutView` to avoid that is an explicit exception, not a self-serve option: it MUST be approved by the `@frontend-performance` team on Slack, and the PR description MUST link to that discussion.


Co-authored-by: Tim Golen <tgolen@gmail.com>

…view-guidance

cristipaval · 2026-08-03T07:10:52Z

@tgolen @luacmartins @mountiny this is ready again for review 🙏

mountiny

Thanks! I think I will merge this now but @tgolen @luacmartins feel free to leave comments when you are back from Ooo

github-actions · 2026-08-04T17:08:14Z

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

OSBotify · 2026-08-04T17:10:41Z

✋ This PR was not deployed to staging yet because QA is ongoing. It will be automatically deployed to staging after the next production release.

github-actions · 2026-08-04T17:14:46Z

🧪🧪 Use the links below to test this adhoc build on Android, iOS, and Web. Happy testing! 🧪🧪
Built from App PR #95207.

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OSBotify · 2026-08-04T21:59:15Z

🚀 Deployed to staging by https://github.com/mountiny in version: 9.4.50-0 🚀

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

OSBotify · 2026-08-05T22:43:22Z

🚀 Deployed to production by https://github.com/arosiclair in version: 9.4.50-3 🚀

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

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Android

cristipaval added 3 commits July 2, 2026 17:31

Document when Onyx.connectWithoutView is acceptable in ONYX-DATA-MANA…

2a6c231

…GEMENT

Defer to pure functions over Onyx.connectWithoutView in DATA-BINDING

d833144

Add Onyx.connectWithoutView guidance for agents in CLAUDE.md

01eee94

melvin-bot Bot assigned cristipaval Jul 2, 2026

cristipaval marked this pull request as ready for review July 2, 2026 14:45

cristipaval requested review from a team and tgolen as code owners July 2, 2026 14:46

melvin-bot Bot requested review from thelullabyy and removed request for a team July 2, 2026 14:46

github-actions Bot requested review from luacmartins and mountiny July 2, 2026 14:46

cristipaval removed request for luacmartins, mountiny and thelullabyy July 2, 2026 14:46

cristipaval requested review from luacmartins and mountiny July 2, 2026 14:48

This was referenced Jul 2, 2026

[Due for payment 2026-08-12] Coding instructions for Onyx.connectWithoutView() #93692

Closed

Gate new manual Onyx connections (Onyx.connect / Onyx.connectWithoutView) #93690

Closed

mountiny requested changes Jul 2, 2026

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luacmartins reviewed Jul 2, 2026

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tgolen reviewed Jul 5, 2026

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cristipaval and others added 4 commits August 1, 2026 13:10

Apply suggestion from @tgolen

89bd41d

Co-authored-by: Tim Golen <tgolen@gmail.com>

Apply suggestion from @tgolen

f021a0e

Co-authored-by: Tim Golen <tgolen@gmail.com>

Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/main' into cristi_connectwithout…

0335ecf

…view-guidance

Reframe Onyx reading as two methods, add connectWithoutView comment rule

093a994

cristipaval requested a review from mountiny August 3, 2026 07:09

cristipaval requested review from luacmartins and tgolen August 3, 2026 07:09

mountiny approved these changes Aug 4, 2026

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mountiny merged commit fe681f8 into main Aug 4, 2026
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mountiny deleted the cristi_connectwithoutview-guidance branch August 4, 2026 16:56

OSBotify mentioned this pull request Aug 4, 2026

Deploy Checklist: New Expensify 2026-08-04 #97828

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cristipaval commented Jul 2, 2026

Explanation of Change

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