feat(ui): form state queues (#11579)

Implements a form state task queue. This will prevent onChange handlers
within the form component from processing unnecessarily often, sometimes
long after the user has stopped making changes. This leads to a
potentially huge number of network requests if those changes were made
slower than the debounce rate. This is especially noticeable on slow
networks.

Does so through a new `useQueue` hook. This hook maintains a stack of
events that need processing but only processes the final event to
arrive. Every time a new event is pushed to the stack, the currently
running process is aborted (if any), and that event becomes the next in
the queue. This results in a shocking reduction in the time it takes
between final change to form state and the final network response, from
~1.5 minutes to ~3 seconds (depending on the scenario, see below).

This likely fixes a number of existing open issues. I will link those
issues here once they are identified and verifiably fixed.

Before:

I'm typing slowly here to ensure my changes aren't debounce by the form.
There are a total of 60 characters typed, triggering 58 network requests
and taking around 1.5 minutes to complete after the final change was
made.


https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/49ba0790-a8f8-4390-8421-87453ff8b650

After:

Here there are a total of 69 characters typed, triggering 11 network
requests and taking only about 3 seconds to complete after the final
change was made.


https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/447f8303-0957-41bd-bb2d-9e1151ed9ec3

Author: jacobsfletch

.github/workflows/main.yml

@@ -308,6 +308,7 @@ jobs:
           - fields__collections__Text
           - fields__collections__UI
           - fields__collections__Upload
+          - form-state
           - live-preview
           - localization
           - locked-documents

packages/richtext-lexical/src/features/converters/jsx/converter/converters/upload.tsx

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ export const UploadJSXConverter: JSXConverters<SerializedUploadNode> = {
       return null
     }
 
-    // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-unnecessary-type-assertion
+     
     const uploadDoc = uploadNode.value as FileData & TypeWithID
 
     const url = uploadDoc.url

packages/ui/src/forms/Form/index.tsx

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import {
   reduceFieldsToValues,
   wait,
 } from 'payload/shared'
-import React, { useCallback, useEffect, useReducer, useRef, useState } from 'react'
+import React, { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useReducer, useRef, useState } from 'react'
 import { toast } from 'sonner'
 
 import type {
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import type {
 import { FieldErrorsToast } from '../../elements/Toasts/fieldErrors.js'
 import { useDebouncedEffect } from '../../hooks/useDebouncedEffect.js'
 import { useEffectEvent } from '../../hooks/useEffectEvent.js'
+import { useQueues } from '../../hooks/useQueues.js'
 import { useThrottledEffect } from '../../hooks/useThrottledEffect.js'
 import { useAuth } from '../../providers/Auth/index.js'
 import { useConfig } from '../../providers/Config/index.js'
@@ -91,6 +92,7 @@ export const Form: React.FC<FormProps> = (props) => {
   const { i18n, t } = useTranslation()
   const { refreshCookie, user } = useAuth()
   const operation = useOperation()
+  const { queueTask } = useQueues()
 
   const { getFormState } = useServerFunctions()
   const { startRouteTransition } = useRouteTransition()
@@ -101,6 +103,7 @@ export const Form: React.FC<FormProps> = (props) => {
   const [disabled, setDisabled] = useState(disabledFromProps || false)
   const [isMounted, setIsMounted] = useState(false)
   const [modified, setModified] = useState(false)
+
   /**
    * Tracks wether the form state passes validation.
    * For example the state could be submitted but invalid as field errors have been returned.
@@ -114,17 +117,16 @@ export const Form: React.FC<FormProps> = (props) => {
   const formRef = useRef<HTMLFormElement>(null)
   const contextRef = useRef({} as FormContextType)
   const abortResetFormRef = useRef<AbortController>(null)
+  const isFirstRenderRef = useRef(true)
 
   const fieldsReducer = useReducer(fieldReducer, {}, () => initialState)
 
-  /**
-   * `fields` is the current, up-to-date state/data of all fields in the form. It can be modified by using dispatchFields,
-   * which calls the fieldReducer, which then updates the state.
-   */
   const [fields, dispatchFields] = fieldsReducer
 
   contextRef.current.fields = fields
 
+  const prevFields = useRef(fields)
+
   const validateForm = useCallback(async () => {
     const validatedFieldState = {}
     let isValid = true
@@ -718,11 +720,15 @@ export const Form: React.FC<FormProps> = (props) => {
 
   const classes = [className, baseClass].filter(Boolean).join(' ')
 
-  const executeOnChange = useEffectEvent(async (submitted: boolean) => {
+  const executeOnChange = useEffectEvent(async (submitted: boolean, signal: AbortSignal) => {
     if (Array.isArray(onChange)) {
       let revalidatedFormState: FormState = contextRef.current.fields
 
       for (const onChangeFn of onChange) {
+        if (signal.aborted) {
+          return
+        }
+
         // Edit view default onChange is in packages/ui/src/views/Edit/index.tsx. This onChange usually sends a form state request
         revalidatedFormState = await onChangeFn({
           formState: deepCopyObjectSimpleWithoutReactComponents(contextRef.current.fields),
@@ -739,7 +745,9 @@ export const Form: React.FC<FormProps> = (props) => {
         incomingState: revalidatedFormState,
       })
 
-      if (changed) {
+      if (changed && !signal.aborted) {
+        prevFields.current = newState
+
         dispatchFields({
           type: 'REPLACE_STATE',
           optimize: false,
@@ -749,29 +757,16 @@ export const Form: React.FC<FormProps> = (props) => {
     }
   })
 
-  const prevFields = useRef(contextRef.current.fields)
-  const isFirstRenderRef = useRef(true)
-
   useDebouncedEffect(
     () => {
-      if (isFirstRenderRef.current || !dequal(contextRef.current.fields, prevFields.current)) {
-        if (modified) {
-          void executeOnChange(submitted)
-        }
+      if ((isFirstRenderRef.current || !dequal(fields, prevFields.current)) && modified) {
+        queueTask(async (signal) => executeOnChange(submitted, signal))
       }
 
+      prevFields.current = fields
       isFirstRenderRef.current = false
-      prevFields.current = contextRef.current.fields
     },
-    /*
-      Make sure we trigger this whenever modified changes (not just when `fields` changes),
-      otherwise we will miss merging server form state for the first form update/onChange.
-
-      Here's why:
-        `fields` updates before `modified`, because setModified is in a setTimeout.
-        So on the first change, modified is false, so we don't trigger the effect even though we should.
-    **/
-    [modified, submitted, contextRef.current.fields],
+    [modified, submitted, fields, queueTask],
     250,
   )
 

packages/ui/src/hooks/useQueues.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+import { useRef } from 'react'
+
+export function useQueues(): {
+  queueTask: (fn: (signal: AbortSignal) => Promise<void>) => void
+} {
+  const runningTaskRef = useRef<null | Promise<void>>(null)
+  const queuedTask = useRef<((signal: AbortSignal) => Promise<void>) | null>(null)
+  const abortControllerRef = useRef<AbortController | null>(null)
+
+  const queueTask = (fn: (signal: AbortSignal) => Promise<void>) => {
+    // Overwrite the queued task every time a new one arrives
+    queuedTask.current = fn
+
+    // If a task is already running, abort it and return
+    if (runningTaskRef.current !== null) {
+      if (abortControllerRef.current) {
+        abortControllerRef.current.abort()
+      }
+
+      return
+    }
+
+    const executeTask = async () => {
+      while (queuedTask.current) {
+        const taskToRun = queuedTask.current
+        queuedTask.current = null // Reset latest task before running
+
+        const controller = new AbortController()
+        abortControllerRef.current = controller
+
+        try {
+          runningTaskRef.current = taskToRun(controller.signal)
+          await runningTaskRef.current // Wait for the task to complete
+        } catch (err) {
+          if (err.name !== 'AbortError') {
+            console.error('Error in queued function:', err) // eslint-disable-line no-console
+          }
+        } finally {
+          runningTaskRef.current = null
+        }
+      }
+    }
+
+    void executeTask()
+  }
+
+  return { queueTask }
+}

test/admin/collections/Posts.ts

@@ -263,25 +263,6 @@ export const Posts: CollectionConfig = {
         position: 'sidebar',
       },
     },
-    {
-      name: 'validateUsingEvent',
-      type: 'text',
-      admin: {
-        description:
-          'This field should only validate on submit. Try typing "Not allowed" and submitting the form.',
-      },
-      validate: (value, { event }) => {
-        if (event === 'onChange') {
-          return true
-        }
-
-        if (value === 'Not allowed') {
-          return 'This field has been validated only on submit'
-        }
-
-        return true
-      },
-    },
   ],
   labels: {
     plural: slugPluralLabel,

test/admin/e2e/document-view/e2e.spec.ts

@@ -174,36 +174,12 @@ describe('Document View', () => {
     })
   })
 
-  describe('form state', () => {
-    test('collection — should re-enable fields after save', async () => {
-      await page.goto(postsUrl.create)
-      await page.locator('#field-title').fill(title)
-      await saveDocAndAssert(page)
-      await expect(page.locator('#field-title')).toBeEnabled()
-    })
-
-    test('global — should re-enable fields after save', async () => {
-      await page.goto(globalURL.global(globalSlug))
-      await page.locator('#field-title').fill(title)
-      await saveDocAndAssert(page)
-      await expect(page.locator('#field-title')).toBeEnabled()
-    })
-
-    test('should thread proper event argument to validation functions', async () => {
-      await page.goto(postsUrl.create)
-      await page.locator('#field-title').fill(title)
-      await page.locator('#field-validateUsingEvent').fill('Not allowed')
-      await saveDocAndAssert(page, '#action-save', 'error')
-    })
-  })
-
   describe('document titles', () => {
     test('collection — should render fallback titles when creating new', async () => {
       await page.goto(postsUrl.create)
       await checkPageTitle(page, '[Untitled]')
       await checkBreadcrumb(page, 'Create New')
       await saveDocAndAssert(page)
-      expect(true).toBe(true)
     })
 
     test('collection — should render `useAsTitle` field', async () => {
@@ -213,7 +189,6 @@ describe('Document View', () => {
       await wait(500)
       await checkPageTitle(page, title)
       await checkBreadcrumb(page, title)
-      expect(true).toBe(true)
     })
 
     test('collection — should render `id` as `useAsTitle` fallback', async () => {

test/eslint.config.js

@@ -65,7 +65,12 @@ export const testEslintConfig = [
       'playwright/expect-expect': [
         'error',
         {
-          assertFunctionNames: ['assertToastErrors', 'saveDocAndAssert', 'runFilterOptionsTest'],
+          assertFunctionNames: [
+            'assertToastErrors',
+            'saveDocAndAssert',
+            'runFilterOptionsTest',
+            'assertNetworkRequests',
+          ],
         },
       ],
     },

test/fields-relationship/e2e.spec.ts

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ import type {
 
 import { ensureCompilationIsDone, initPageConsoleErrorCatch, saveDocAndAssert } from '../helpers.js'
 import { AdminUrlUtil } from '../helpers/adminUrlUtil.js'
-import { trackNetworkRequests } from '../helpers/e2e/trackNetworkRequests.js'
+import { assertNetworkRequests } from '../helpers/e2e/assertNetworkRequests.js'
 import { initPayloadE2ENoConfig } from '../helpers/initPayloadE2ENoConfig.js'
 import { POLL_TOPASS_TIMEOUT, TEST_TIMEOUT_LONG } from '../playwright.config.js'
 import {
@@ -176,7 +176,7 @@ describe('Relationship Field', () => {
     await expect(options).toHaveCount(2) // two docs
     await options.nth(0).click()
     await expect(field).toContainText(relationOneDoc.id)
-    await trackNetworkRequests(page, `/api/${relationOneSlug}`, async () => {
+    await assertNetworkRequests(page, `/api/${relationOneSlug}`, async () => {
       await saveDocAndAssert(page)
       await wait(200)
     })

test/fields/collections/Array/e2e.spec.ts

@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ describe('Array', () => {
     await expect(page.locator('#field-customArrayField__0__text')).toBeVisible()
   })
 
-  // eslint-disable-next-line playwright/expect-expect
+   
   test('should bypass min rows validation when no rows present and field is not required', async () => {
     await page.goto(url.create)
     await saveDocAndAssert(page)

test/fields/collections/Lexical/e2e/blocks/e2e.spec.ts

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ import {
 } from '../../../../../helpers.js'
 import { AdminUrlUtil } from '../../../../../helpers/adminUrlUtil.js'
 import { assertToastErrors } from '../../../../../helpers/assertToastErrors.js'
-import { trackNetworkRequests } from '../../../../../helpers/e2e/trackNetworkRequests.js'
+import { assertNetworkRequests } from '../../../../../helpers/e2e/assertNetworkRequests.js'
 import { initPayloadE2ENoConfig } from '../../../../../helpers/initPayloadE2ENoConfig.js'
 import { reInitializeDB } from '../../../../../helpers/reInitializeDB.js'
 import { RESTClient } from '../../../../../helpers/rest.js'
@@ -400,11 +400,12 @@ describe('lexicalBlocks', () => {
       await dependsOnBlockData.locator('.rs__control').click()
 
       // Fill and wait for form state to come back
-      await trackNetworkRequests(page, '/admin/collections/lexical-fields', async () => {
+      await assertNetworkRequests(page, '/admin/collections/lexical-fields', async () => {
         await topLevelDocTextField.fill('invalid')
       })
+
       // Ensure block form state is updated and comes back (=> filter options are updated)
-      await trackNetworkRequests(
+      await assertNetworkRequests(
         page,
         '/admin/collections/lexical-fields',
         async () => {
@@ -442,7 +443,7 @@ describe('lexicalBlocks', () => {
         topLevelDocTextField,
       } = await setupFilterOptionsTests()
 
-      await trackNetworkRequests(
+      await assertNetworkRequests(
         page,
         '/admin/collections/lexical-fields',
         async () => {
@@ -478,7 +479,7 @@ describe('lexicalBlocks', () => {
         topLevelDocTextField,
       } = await setupFilterOptionsTests()
 
-      await trackNetworkRequests(
+      await assertNetworkRequests(
         page,
         '/admin/collections/lexical-fields',
         async () => {
@@ -571,19 +572,21 @@ describe('lexicalBlocks', () => {
       await topLevelDocTextField.fill('invalid')
 
       await saveDocAndAssert(page, '#action-save', 'error')
+
       await assertToastErrors({
         page,
         errors: ['Lexical With Blocks', 'Lexical With Blocks → Group → Text Depends On Doc Data'],
       })
+
       await expect(page.locator('.payload-toast-container .payload-toast-item')).toBeHidden()
 
-      await trackNetworkRequests(
+      await assertNetworkRequests(
         page,
         '/admin/collections/lexical-fields',
         async () => {
           await topLevelDocTextField.fill('Rich Text') // Default value
         },
-        { allowedNumberOfRequests: 2 },
+        { allowedNumberOfRequests: 1 },
       )
 
       await saveDocAndAssert(page)
@@ -604,13 +607,13 @@ describe('lexicalBlocks', () => {
       })
       await expect(page.locator('.payload-toast-container .payload-toast-item')).toBeHidden()
 
-      await trackNetworkRequests(
+      await assertNetworkRequests(
         page,
         '/admin/collections/lexical-fields',
         async () => {
           await blockGroupTextField.fill('')
         },
-        { allowedNumberOfRequests: 3 },
+        { allowedNumberOfRequests: 2 },
       )
 
       await saveDocAndAssert(page)
@@ -628,13 +631,13 @@ describe('lexicalBlocks', () => {
       })
       await expect(page.locator('.payload-toast-container .payload-toast-item')).toBeHidden()
 
-      await trackNetworkRequests(
+      await assertNetworkRequests(
         page,
         '/admin/collections/lexical-fields',
         async () => {
           await blockTextField.fill('')
         },
-        { allowedNumberOfRequests: 3 },
+        { allowedNumberOfRequests: 2 },
       )
 
       await saveDocAndAssert(page)