LHN - Deep linking does not work when user is already on workspace chat

[lanitochka17]

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Version Number: 9.3.40-0
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: N/A - new feature, doesn't exist in prod
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from BrowserStack: #85192
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): sdjsdjosijnsodiosd@gmail.com
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Bug source: Exploratory - Significant User Experience Deterioration
Device used: Mac 26.2 / Chrome
App Component: Money Requests

Action Performed:

1. Go to staging.new.expensify.com
2. Go to workspace chat with no unsettled expense.
3. Create an expense.
4. Click on the workspace chat on LHN.
   → No deep linking occurs.
5. Open a different chat.
6. Click on the workspace chat.
   → Deep linking occurs.

Expected Result:

In Step 4, deep linking should work when user is on workspace chat.

Actual Result:

In Step 4, deep linking does not work when user is on workspace chat.
In Step 6, deep linking only occurs when workspace chat is opened from another report.

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

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

Screenshots/Videos

Bug7106315_1773844631597.11.mp4

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Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @hoangzinh

Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @aimane-chnaif

[melvin-bot]

You have been assigned to this deploy blocker because you recently merged this PR: #85192

[melvin-bot]

💬 A slack conversation has been started in #expensify-open-source

[github-actions]

👋 Friendly reminder that deploy blockers are time-sensitive ⏱ issues! Check out the open `StagingDeployCash` deploy checklist to see the list of PRs included in this release, then work quickly to do one of the following:

1. Identify the pull request that introduced this issue and revert it.
2. Find someone who can quickly fix the issue.
3. Fix the issue yourself.

[MelvinBot]

Proposal

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

When a user is already viewing a workspace chat and clicks on it in the LHN (after a GBR/RBR badge appears from creating an expense), the app does not deep link to the specific reportAction. Deep linking only works when navigating from a different chat to the workspace chat.

What is the root cause of that problem?

The guard condition in src/pages/inbox/sidebar/SidebarLinks.tsx (lines 68-75) prevents navigation when clicking on the already-active report, without considering whether the click should deep link to a specific reportAction.

The guard on line 62 reads reportActionID from Navigation.getTopmostReportActionId() — this is the reportActionID currently in the navigation state (the URL), not the target deep-link actionTargetReportActionID from the LHN option data.

When a user is already viewing a report normally (no reportActionID in the URL):

• reportActionID (from getTopmostReportActionId()) = undefined
• !reportActionID = true
• option.reportID === Navigation.getTopmostReportId() = true (same report)
• The guard on line 69 evaluates to true, and the function returns early on line 74

The Navigation.navigate() call on line 76 — which correctly passes option.actionTargetReportActionID — is never reached.

When navigating from a different report, option.reportID === Navigation.getTopmostReportId() is false, so the guard doesn't trigger and deep linking works correctly. This explains the exact behavior described in the issue.

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

Modify the guard condition in src/pages/inbox/sidebar/SidebarLinks.tsx (lines 68-71) to allow navigation through when option.actionTargetReportActionID exists, even if the user is already viewing the same report. Both conditions (line 69 for wide layout and line 70 for narrow layout) need to additionally check !option.actionTargetReportActionID so that clicking an LHN row with a deep-link target is not blocked.

The linkTo function already handles navigating to the same report with different params correctly — it uses NAVIGATE (not PUSH) for same-reportID navigations, which updates the route params on the existing screen instance.

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

An alternative would be to handle this inside the linkTo function or SplitRouter, but modifying the SidebarLinks.tsx guard is the most targeted fix since that's where the navigation is being blocked before it even reaches the navigation system.

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Next Steps for Contributor+ team: Reply with @MelvinBot implement this to create a draft PR, @MelvinBot <your feedback> to refine this analysis, or explain why you are rejecting Melvin's proposal.