fix: Arrow key navigation not working in Columns selection

[TaduJR]

Explanation of Change

This PR adds arrow key navigation support to the DraggableList component

Fixed Issues

$ #78188
PROPOSAL: #78188 (comment)

Tests

1. Navigate to Reports → Columns.
2. Try using the Up and Down arrow keys to select column options.
3. Verify that the Up and Down arrow keys allow keyboard navigation

• Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

Offline tests

Same as tests

QA Steps

Same as tests
// TODO: These must be filled out, or the issue title must include "[No QA]."

• Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

PR Author Checklist

• I linked the correct issue in the ### Fixed Issues section above
• I wrote clear testing steps that cover the changes made in this PR
  • I added steps for local testing in the Tests section
  • I added steps for the expected offline behavior in the Offline steps section
  • I added steps for Staging and/or Production testing in the QA steps section
  • I added steps to cover 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 tested this PR with a High Traffic account against the staging or production API to ensure there are no regressions (e.g. long loading states that impact usability).
• I included screenshots or videos for tests on all platforms
• I ran the tests on all platforms & verified they passed on:
  • Android: Native
  • Android: mWeb Chrome
  • iOS: Native
  • iOS: mWeb Safari
  • MacOS: Chrome / Safari
  • MacOS: Desktop
• I verified there are no console errors (if there's a console error not related to the PR, report it or open an issue for it to be fixed)
• I verified there are no new alerts related to the canBeMissing param for useOnyx
• I followed proper code patterns (see Reviewing the code)
  • 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)
  • I verified that comments were added to code that is not self explanatory
  • 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 shown in the product is localized by adding it to src/languages/* files and using the translation method
    • If any non-english text was added/modified, I used JaimeGPT to get English > Spanish translation. I then posted it in #expensify-open-source and it was approved by an internal Expensify engineer. Link to Slack message:
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  • I verified proper file naming conventions were followed for any new files or renamed files. All non-platform specific files are named after what they export and are not named "index.js". All platform-specific files are named for the platform the code supports as outlined in the README.
  • I verified the JSDocs style guidelines (in STYLE.md) were followed
• If a new code pattern is added I verified it was agreed to be used by multiple Expensify engineers
• I followed the guidelines as stated in the Review Guidelines
• I tested other components that can be impacted by my changes (i.e. if the PR modifies a shared library or component like Avatar, I verified the components using Avatar are working as expected)
• I verified all code is DRY (the PR doesn't include any logic written more than once, with the exception of tests)
• I verified any variables that can be defined as constants (ie. in CONST.ts or at the top of the file that uses the constant) are defined as such
• I verified that if a function's arguments changed that all usages have also been updated correctly
• If any new file was added I verified that:
  • The file has a description of what it does and/or why is needed at the top of the file if the code is not self explanatory
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• If new assets were added or existing ones were modified, I verified that:
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  • The assets load correctly across all supported platforms.
• 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.
• If the PR modifies a generic component, I tested and verified that those changes do not break usages of that component in the rest of the App (i.e. if a shared library or component like Avatar is modified, I verified that Avatar is working as expected in all cases)
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• If a new page is added, I verified it's using the ScrollView component to make it scrollable when more elements are added to the page.
• I added unit tests for any new feature or bug fix in this PR to help automatically prevent regressions in this user flow.
• If the main branch was merged into this PR after a review, I tested again and verified the outcome was still expected according to the Test steps.

Screenshots/Videos

Android: Native

Android: mWeb Chrome

iOS: Native

iOS: mWeb Safari

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

MacOS: Desktop

Screen.Recording.2026-01-06.at.12.02.23.in.the.morning.mov

[melvin-bot]

@aimane-chnaif 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]

[codecov]

Codecov Report

✅ Changes either increased or maintained existing code coverage, great job!

Files with missing lines	Coverage Δ
src/components/Checkbox.tsx	89.65% <ø> (ø)
src/components/DraggableList/index.native.tsx	100.00% <100.00%> (ø)
.../SelectionListWithSections/MultiSelectListItem.tsx	0.00% <ø> (ø)
src/hooks/useListKeyboardNav.ts	95.83% <95.83%> (ø)
src/components/DraggableList/SortableItem.tsx	0.00% <0.00%> (ø)
src/components/ColumnsSettingsList.tsx	0.00% <0.00%> (ø)
src/components/DraggableList/index.tsx	0.00% <0.00%> (ø)
... and 28 files with indirect coverage changes

[aimane-chnaif]

@TaduJR please merge main to see if it fixes perf tests failure

[TaduJR]

@TaduJR please merge main to see if it fixes perf tests failure

Done all tests are passing.

[aimane-chnaif]

Author checklist still failing. Remove one.

[TaduJR]

Author checklist still failing. Remove one.

Done I though I was saying Reviewer Check List 😅

[aimane-chnaif]

Let's give this a try. Please be on a look out for any blockers on staging.

[TaduJR]

Please be on a look out for any blockers on staging.

🫡

[aimane-chnaif]

Checks are failing

[TaduJR]

Workflows are complete.

[MelvinBot]

Code Review

Architecture

The PR introduces a clean controlled/uncontrolled pattern for keyboard navigation in DraggableList. The new useListKeyboardNav hook is well-structured and properly gates shortcut registration. Existing DraggableList consumers (IOURequestStepDistance, IOURequestStepDistanceMap) are not affected since they don't pass onSelectRow, which correctly results in hasKeyboardNav = false. Test coverage is solid.

Issues

1. outline: 'none' removes visible focus indicator (accessibility)

In SortableItem.tsx, outline: 'none' is applied unconditionally to all sortable items. When a keyboard user navigates to an item, .focus() is called but the browser's native focus ring is suppressed. The isFocused prop drives hover-like styling in the parent, but if that styling is subtle or missing, keyboard users lose their focus indicator entirely. This could fail WCAG 2.4.7 (Focus Visible). Consider applying outline: 'none' only when isFocused is true (where the custom styling takes over), or ensure there's a visible :focus-visible style.

2. Arrow keys active before container is focused

In useListKeyboardNav.ts:45:

const isArrowKeyActive = isActive && (hasFocus || (isFocused && !hasBeenFocused));

The isFocused && !hasBeenFocused branch means arrow key shortcuts are globally active on page load, before the user has interacted with the list at all. Since useKeyboardShortcut prevents default by default, this could intercept arrow key presses intended for other page elements (e.g., scrolling, other focusable controls). Consider requiring at least one focusin event before activating arrow key navigation, or scoping the initial activation more tightly.

3. Space shortcut conflicts with native scroll

Registering CONST.KEYBOARD_SHORTCUTS.SPACE with shouldPreventDefault: true (the default) will block the browser's native Space-to-scroll behavior whenever the shortcut is active and focus is in the list container. If the list is inside a ScrollView, users who press Space expecting to scroll will instead toggle a row selection. Consider either using shouldPreventDefault: false for Space, or only activating the Space shortcut when the active element is a list item (not a scrollable container).

4. useLayoutEffect with no dependency array

In useListKeyboardNav.ts:41-43:

useLayoutEffect(() => {
    itemKeysRef.current = itemKeys;
});

A useLayoutEffect with no deps array runs on every render. While this is intentional to keep the ref in sync before SortableItem's focus effect fires, it's an unusual pattern. A brief comment explaining why no deps are used would help future maintainers. Consider:

// No deps array: must update before SortableItem's useEffect calls .focus()
// so the focusin handler reads fresh item keys
useLayoutEffect(() => { ... });

5. getDraggableItemFlags type safety

In DraggableList/index.tsx:

const flags = item as DraggableItemFlags;

This uses an unsafe cast. A type-safe alternative:

return {
    isDragDisabled: 'isDragDisabled' in item && !!(item as DraggableItemFlags).isDragDisabled,
    isDisabled: 'isDisabled' in item && !!(item as DraggableItemFlags).isDisabled,
};

Or better yet, use an in operator check without the cast.

6. Missing integration tests for DraggableList keyboard nav

The unit tests cover useListKeyboardNav in isolation, which is good. However, there are no tests for the uncontrolled keyboard nav path inside DraggableList itself, or for the controlled path in ColumnsSettingsList where a single useListKeyboardNav manages focus across two sub-lists. Edge cases like switching between group and type lists via arrow keys, or pressing Enter after drag-and-drop, would be worth testing.

Minor Notes

• The tabIndex={-1} addition to MultiSelectListItem's Checkbox is correct — it prevents double tab stops between the parent row and the checkbox.
• The Checkbox.tsx change to accept a tabIndex prop is clean and minimal.
• Resetting focusedIndex to -1 after drag-end is good defensive behavior.

[chatgpt-codex-connector]

Codex Review: Didn't find any major issues. Nice work!

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[JS00001]

This seems extraordinarily complicated for a keyboard-based focus state (which we use all over the app). Why do we need all of these changes? Can you please give me a high level overview of why we needed to make all of these changes? Are there no existing patterns/solutions we can use?

[TaduJR]

This seems extraordinarily complicated for a keyboard-based focus state (which we use all over the app). Why do we need all of these changes? Can you please give me a high level overview of why we needed to make all of these changes? Are there no existing patterns/solutions we can use?

DraggableList uses @dnd-kit completely different rendering model than SelectionList/FlashList, so we can't reuse BaseSelectionList directly. The core pattern is the same though: I reuse useArrowKeyFocusManager (same hook BaseSelectionList uses) and pass isFocused to each item for programmatic focus. The new useListKeyboardNav hook is kinda a thin wrapper around it.

The main addition is focus scoping. BaseSelectionList uses isActive: isFocused (screen-level) arrow keys active whenever the screen is focused. That works because it typically owns the entire screen. Here, DraggableList coexists with a Save button and potentially two DraggableLists (grouped mode), so we track DOM focus (focusin/focusout) to scope arrows to the focused list only.

Everything else follows existing conventions useArrowKeyFocusManager for arrows, isFocused prop for programmatic focus, controlled/uncontrolled mode for grouped vs single list.

[JS00001]

Thanks for the explanation @TaduJR , rereviewing now

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