FlatList with initialScrollIndex skips earlier items when list fits viewport

[DragomirAndrei19]

Description

If initialScrollIndex is set to a non-zero value and the list fits entirely on screen, items before that index are not rendered on Android.

You land at the correct index, but the items before it never appear and can’t be reached

Steps to reproduce

1. Render a short FlatList so all items fit in the viewport (no scrolling)
2. Set initialScrollIndex to something > 0
3. Provide getItemLayout

The provided expo snack has a complete demo example with trigger buttons.

React Native Version

0.84.1

Affected Platforms

Runtime - Android

Output of npx @react-native-community/cli info

System:
  OS: Windows 11 10.0.26200
  CPU: "(16) x64 AMD Ryzen 7 6800H with Radeon Graphics         "
  Memory: 4.72 GB / 15.25 GB
Binaries:
  Node:
    version: 23.5.0
    path: C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.EXE
  Yarn:
    version: 1.22.22
    path: C:\Users\Andrei\AppData\Roaming\npm\yarn.CMD
  npm:
    version: 11.9.0
    path: C:\Program Files\nodejs\npm.CMD
  Watchman: Not Found
SDKs:
  Android SDK: Not Found
  Windows SDK:
    AllowAllTrustedApps: Enabled
    Versions:
      - 10.0.26100.0
IDEs:
  Android Studio: Not Found
  Visual Studio: Not Found
Languages:
  Java:
    version: 23.0.1
    path: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Oracle\Java\javapath\javac.EXE
  Ruby: Not Found
npmPackages:
  "@react-native-community/cli":
    installed: 20.1.0
    wanted: 20.1.0
  react:
    installed: 19.2.3
    wanted: 19.2.3
  react-native:
    installed: 0.84.1
    wanted: 0.84.1
  react-native-windows: Not Found
npmGlobalPackages:
  "*react-native*": Not Found
Android:
  hermesEnabled: true
  newArchEnabled: true
iOS:
  hermesEnabled: Not found
  newArchEnabled: Not found

Stacktrace or Logs

There is no crash or thrown error in this case.

This is a rendering issue:

MANDATORY Reproducer

https://snack.expo.dev/@andyhoover/flatlist-initialscrollindex-bug-2026

Screenshots and Videos

[Jithinkrishnapu]

Thanks for reporting this with a clear repro. I was able to reproduce the Android rendering issue when initialScrollIndex is set on a short FlatList that fits the viewport. The behavior looks related to how the virtualized render window is initialized after jumping to the target index.

I’ll try to verify whether this can be worked around with initialNumToRender, windowSize, or a delayed scrollToIndex approach, and I’ll update if I find a stable fix.