[Due for payment 2025-11-03] [$250] Android - Reports - Skeleton loader constantly shown when switching reports with arrow navigation

[jponikarchuk]

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Version Number: 9.2.18-1
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: Yes
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from TestRail: https://test-management.browserstack.com/projects/2219752/test-runs/TR-935/folder/13176730/41237115/915651817
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): ibellicotest+1844@gmail.com
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Device used: Motorola MotoG60 / Android 12 (Hybrid app)
App Component: Search

Action Performed:

Prerequisite: Account has at least one workspace.
Prerequisite 2: Delayed submissions and approvals enabled.

1. Open the Expensify app.
2. Open any workspace chat.
3. Create two manual expenses.
4. Navigate to "Reports" > "Submit"
5. Tap on FAB and select "Create Report"
6. Add a manual expense to report.
7. Note that when you land on report again, arrows to navigate between reports appear on top of report.
8. Use arrow navigation several times, to switch between both reports.
9. Note that after switching between reports a few times, skeleton loader appears constantly when navigating to the last created report.

Expected Result:

Skeleton loader shouldn´t be displayed when navigating between reports using arrow navigation.

Actual Result:

When creating a second report while on "Reports" > "Submit" and navigating between reports with arrow navigation, skeleton loader is displayed everytime the user navigates to the last created report.

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

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

Screenshots/Videos

1.mp4

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• Upwork Job URL: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~021973461503559490277
• Upwork Job ID: 1973461503559490277
• Last Price Increase: 2025-10-15
• Automatic offers:
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• huult | Contributor | 109208307

Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @CortneyOfstad

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @CortneyOfstad (Bug), see https://stackoverflow.com/c/expensify/questions/14418 for more details. Please add this bug to a GH project, as outlined in the SO.

[melvin-bot]

@CortneyOfstad Eep! 4 days overdue now. Issues have feelings too...

[CortneyOfstad]

Getting eyes on this!

[melvin-bot]

Job added to Upwork: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~021973461503559490277

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to Contributor-plus team member for initial proposal review - @thesahindia (External)

[huult]

🚨 Edited by proposal-police: This proposal was edited at 2025-10-02 16:10:16 UTC.

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

Skeleton loader constantly shown when switching reports with arrow navigation

What is the root cause of that problem?

When we navigate quickly using the arrow buttons, the route parameter updates immediately, but the Onyx data for the report may take a short time to update around 0.16s to 0.25s

App/src/components/MoneyRequestReportView/MoneyRequestReportNavigation.tsx

Lines 83 to 85 in 56b6976

	Navigation.setParams({
	reportID: reportId,
	});

reportIDFromRoute is the new report ID (from the route params)

report?.reportID is still the old report ID (from Onyx data that hasn't updated yet)

App/src/pages/Search/SearchMoneyRequestReportPage.tsx

Line 53 in 49f9ce2

const shouldWaitForReportSync = report?.reportID !== reportIDFromRoute;

This makes shouldWaitForReportSync return true

App/src/components/MoneyRequestReportView/MoneyRequestReportView.tsx

Line 169 in 9923c1e

if (!!(isLoadingInitialReportActions && reportActions.length === 0 && !isOffline) || shouldWaitForTransactions || shouldWaitForReportSync) {

This triggers the skeleton loader, which is why we see the loading skeleton. If we click normally, the skeleton doesn’t appear. This issue only occurs with rapid clicks, making the UI seem slower than it actually is.

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

To resolve this issue, we should debounce the shouldWaitForReportSync to avoid skeleton flashing during rapid navigation

App/src/pages/Search/SearchMoneyRequestReportPage.tsx

Line 53 in 49f9ce2

const shouldWaitForReportSync = report?.reportID !== reportIDFromRoute;

    const shouldWaitForReportSync = report?.reportID !== reportIDFromRoute;

    const [debouncedShouldWaitForReportSync, setDebouncedShouldWaitForReportSync] = useState(false);
    const debounceTimeoutRef = useRef<NodeJS.Timeout | undefined>(undefined);

    // Debounce the shouldWaitForReportSync to avoid skeleton flashing during rapid navigation
    useEffect(() => {
        // Clear any existing timeout
        if (debounceTimeoutRef.current) {
            clearTimeout(debounceTimeoutRef.current);
        }

        if (shouldWaitForReportSync) {
            // Only show skeleton after a short delay (300ms) to avoid flashing during rapid navigation
            debounceTimeoutRef.current = setTimeout(() => {
                setDebouncedShouldWaitForReportSync(true);
            }, 300);
        } else {
            // Immediately hide skeleton when sync is complete
            setDebouncedShouldWaitForReportSync(false);
        }

        return () => {
            if (!debounceTimeoutRef.current) {
                return;
            }
            clearTimeout(debounceTimeoutRef.current);
        };
    }, [shouldWaitForReportSync]);

App/src/pages/Search/SearchMoneyRequestReportPage.tsx

Line 137 in 49f9ce2

shouldWaitForReportSync={shouldWaitForReportSync}

to

shouldWaitForReportSync={debouncedShouldWaitForReportSync}

Note: We will apply a debounce solution; the current source code will implement it in a PR if available.

Screen.Recording.2025-10-02.at.23.22.20.mov

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

Reminder: Please use plain English, be brief and avoid jargon. Feel free to use images, charts or pseudo-code if necessary. Do not post large multi-line diffs or write walls of text. Do not create PRs unless you have been hired for this job.

Solution 1: Use reportCache in SearchMoneyRequestReportPage so that shouldWaitForReportSync is false. This way, we don’t need to wait and the loading skeleton won’t appear
Solution 2: Debounce goToNextReport and goToPrevReport
Solution 3: we should add a short delay when clicking the arrow buttons to reduce render load and lighten the UI performance impact.

App/src/components/MoneyRequestReportView/MoneyRequestReportNavigation.tsx

Lines 83 to 85 in 56b6976

	Navigation.setParams({
	reportID: reportId,
	});

        InteractionManager.runAfterInteractions(() => {
            requestAnimationFrame(() => {
                Navigation.setParams({
                    reportID: reportId,
                });
            });
        });

Solution 4: Remove check shouldWaitForReportSync={shouldWaitForReportSync}