Defer `API.write` during Search screen transition to reduce perceived latency by JakubKorytko · Pull Request #85629 · Expensify/App

JakubKorytko · 2026-03-18T11:19:20Z

Explanation of Change

Reduces perceived latency when navigating to the Search screen after expense creation.
API.write() calls (which trigger expensive Onyx optimistic updates) are now deferred until the Search content actually lays out, preventing JS thread blocking during the skeleton -> content transition.
This benefits all platforms (mobile native, mWeb, and desktop web) though the mobile is the most noticeable.
Also optimizes SearchContext to avoid unnecessary re-renders by extracting primitives from navigation state and memoizing callbacks/values.
Removes the DeferredSearch wrapper in favor of the simpler direct approach.

2408 ms -> 893 ms (span average) native mobile improvement.

Fixed Issues

$ #83634
$ #83342
PROPOSAL: N/A

Tests

Open the app on any platform (mobile native, mWeb, or desktop web)
Create a new expense (e.g. manual expense or scan a receipt) and submit it
After submission, observe the navigation to the Search screen
Verify that the skeleton -> content transition is smooth with no blank frames or noticeable jank
Verify that the submitted expense appears correctly in the search results once loaded
On any platform, create an expense and submit it, then immediately navigate away from Search before it finishes loading
Wait at least 5 seconds (safety timeout)
Navigate back to Search and verify the expense was still created correctly on the backend (the deferred API write fired via the safety timeout)
On web, verify that the Search screen loads and displays results correctly (no regressions from SearchContext optimizations)

Offline tests

Put the device in airplane mode
Create and submit an expense
Verify the expense is queued optimistically (deferred write registers and fires via the safety timeout)
Restore network connection and verify the expense syncs to the server

QA Steps

Create and submit an expense
Verify the transition to the Search screen is smooth with no blank frames or skeleton hanging
Verify the expense appears in search results
Repeat on all platforms (mobile native, mWeb, desktop web) and verify no regressions in search behavior

PR Author Checklist

Screenshots/Videos

Android: Native

android.mov

Android: mWeb Chrome

iOS: Native

iOS: mWeb Safari

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

web.mov

…ation

JakubKorytko · 2026-03-18T11:19:31Z

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src/libs/actions/IOU/index.ts

src/pages/Search/SearchPageNarrow.tsx

melvin-bot · 2026-03-18T13:40:57Z

@ShridharGoel 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 · 2026-03-18T13:55:14Z

Codecov Report

❌ Looks like you've decreased code coverage for some files. Please write tests to increase, or at least maintain, the existing level of code coverage. See our documentation here for how to interpret this table.

Files with missing lines	Coverage Δ
src/CONST/index.ts	`95.20% <ø> (ø)`
src/components/Skeletons/SearchRowSkeleton.tsx	`65.00% <100.00%> (ø)`
src/libs/deferredLayoutWrite.ts	`100.00% <100.00%> (ø)`
src/libs/telemetry/activeSpans.ts	`79.06% <100.00%> (ø)`
src/libs/actions/IOU/PerDiem.ts	`70.88% <85.71%> (+0.32%)`	⬆️
src/libs/actions/IOU/SendInvoice.ts	`95.93% <85.71%> (-0.68%)`	⬇️
...ges/iou/request/step/IOURequestStepCompanyInfo.tsx	`0.00% <0.00%> (ø)`
src/libs/telemetry/submitFollowUpAction.ts	`24.44% <0.00%> (ø)`
src/libs/actions/IOU/index.ts	`73.31% <86.20%> (+0.45%)`	⬆️
src/components/Search/SearchContext.tsx	`48.61% <71.42%> (+6.58%)`	⬆️
... and 1 more
... and 14 files with indirect coverage changes

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src/components/Search/index.tsx

ShridharGoel · 2026-03-18T14:17:29Z

Reviewer Checklist

I have verified the author checklist is complete (all boxes are checked off).
I verified the correct issue is linked in the ### Fixed Issues section above
I verified testing steps are clear and they cover the changes made in this PR
- I verified the steps for local testing are in the Tests section
- I verified the steps for Staging and/or Production testing are in the QA steps section
- I verified the steps cover any possible 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 checked that screenshots or videos are included for tests on all platforms
I included screenshots or videos for tests on all platforms
I verified that the composer does not automatically focus or open the keyboard on mobile unless explicitly intended. This includes checking that returning the app from the background does not unexpectedly open the keyboard.
I verified tests pass on all platforms & I tested again on:
- Android: HybridApp
- Android: mWeb Chrome
- iOS: HybridApp
- iOS: mWeb Safari
- MacOS: Chrome / Safari
If there are any errors in the console that are unrelated to this PR, I either fixed them (preferred) or linked to where I reported them in Slack
I verified there are no new alerts related to the canBeMissing param for useOnyx
I verified proper code patterns were followed (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
- I verified all numbers, amounts, dates and phone numbers shown in the product are using the localization methods
- I verified any copy / text that was added to the app is grammatically correct in English. It adheres to proper capitalization guidelines (note: only the first word of header/labels should be capitalized), and is either coming verbatim from figma or has been approved by marketing (in order to get marketing approval, ask the Bug Zero team member to add the Waiting for copy label to the issue)
- 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 verified that this PR follows the guidelines as stated in the Review Guidelines
I verified other components that can be impacted by these changes have been tested, and I retested again (i.e. if the PR modifies a shared library or component like Avatar, I verified the components using Avatar have been tested & I retested again)
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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
If a new component is created I verified that:
- A similar component doesn't exist in the codebase
- All props are defined accurately and each prop has a /** comment above it */
- The file is named correctly
- The component has a clear name that is non-ambiguous and the purpose of the component can be inferred from the name alone
- The only data being stored in the state is data necessary for rendering and nothing else
- For Class Components, any internal methods passed to components event handlers are bound to this properly so there are no scoping issues (i.e. for onClick={this.submit} the method this.submit should be bound to this in the constructor)
- Any internal methods bound to this are necessary to be bound (i.e. avoid this.submit = this.submit.bind(this); if this.submit is never passed to a component event handler like onClick)
- All JSX used for rendering exists in the render method
- The component has the minimum amount of code necessary for its purpose, and it is broken down into smaller components in order to separate concerns and functions
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
If a new CSS style is added I verified that:
- A similar style doesn't already exist
- The style can't be created with an existing StyleUtils function (i.e. StyleUtils.getBackgroundAndBorderStyle(theme.componentBG)
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)
If the PR modifies a component related to any of the existing Storybook stories, I tested and verified all stories for that component are still working as expected.
If the PR modifies a component or page that can be accessed by a direct deeplink, I verified that the code functions as expected when the deeplink is used - from a logged in and logged out account.
If the PR modifies the UI (e.g. new buttons, new UI components, changing the padding/spacing/sizing, moving components, etc) or modifies the form input styles:
- I verified that all the inputs inside a form are aligned with each other.
- I added Design label and/or tagged @Expensify/design so the design team can review the changes.
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.
For any bug fix or new feature in this PR, I verified that sufficient unit tests are included to prevent regressions in this 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.
I have checked off every checkbox in the PR reviewer checklist, including those that don't apply to this PR.

Screenshots/Videos

Android: HybridApp

Screen.Recording.2026-03-20.at.12.47.42.AM.mov

Android: mWeb Chrome

iOS: HybridApp

iOS: mWeb Safari

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

Screen.Recording.2026-03-20.at.1.28.43.PM.mov

src/components/Search/index.tsx

src/components/Search/SearchContext.tsx

ShridharGoel · 2026-03-20T08:05:51Z

It shows the empty state while the new expense hasn't loaded.

Screen.Recording.2026-03-20.at.1.33.56.PM.mov

luacmartins · 2026-03-24T00:17:33Z

@ShridharGoel can you prioritize this review when you're online please?

ShridharGoel · 2026-03-24T04:46:51Z

NAB: The list doesn't get updated unless we refresh or switch between menu items after creating expense offline and then going online. But seems like the same thing happens on staging as well.

Also, the new expense wasn't showing optimistically when created offline while being on the search page (also happening on staging).

Screen.Recording.2026-03-24.at.10.15.49.AM.mov

JakubKorytko · 2026-03-24T12:22:55Z

Yeah, the above happening on staging + I've pretty much not touched submitting expense while being on the Search page at all (only when submitting outside Inbox & Search page)

JakubKorytko · 2026-03-24T12:31:21Z

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src/libs/actions/IOU/index.ts

ShridharGoel · 2026-03-24T13:43:03Z

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chatgpt-codex-connector · 2026-03-24T14:01:12Z

src/libs/deferredLayoutWrite.ts

+    const safetyTimeoutId = setTimeout(() => {
+        Log.warn(`[DeferredLayoutWrite] Safety timeout (${safetyTimeoutMs}ms) fired for key "${key}" - the target component likely never laid out`);
+        flushDeferredWrite(key);
+    }, safetyTimeoutMs);


Persist deferred writes across app restarts

registerDeferredWrite() stores the pending API.write callback only in memory and depends on a JS setTimeout/layout flush to execute it. For the newly deferred expense submission paths, if the app is background-killed or restarted before Search lays out (or before the 5s timeout fires), the callback is lost and the expense request is never queued or sent. Before this change, those flows called API.write immediately, so this introduces a real data-loss window for submit actions.

Useful? React with 👍 / 👎.

luacmartins · 2026-03-24T16:44:40Z

@JakubKorytko is still addressing this comment #85629 (comment)

JakubKorytko added 4 commits March 17, 2026 19:21

perf: reduce perceived latency navigating to search after expense cre…

b71c90e

…ation

defer submit expense API write

5a7f5cc

delete DeferredSearch component

103c16c

add comment to SAFETY_TIMEOUT_MS

c5dca7f

melvin-bot bot assigned JakubKorytko Mar 18, 2026

chatgpt-codex-connector bot reviewed Mar 18, 2026

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src/pages/Search/SearchPageNarrow.tsx Outdated Show resolved Hide resolved

JakubKorytko added 2 commits March 18, 2026 13:00

add gate to API deferral

a0d5e89

fix: IOUTest

131594a

JakubKorytko marked this pull request as ready for review March 18, 2026 13:40

JakubKorytko requested review from a team as code owners March 18, 2026 13:40

melvin-bot bot requested a review from ShridharGoel March 18, 2026 13:40

melvin-bot bot requested review from heyjennahay and removed request for a team March 18, 2026 13:40

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JakubKorytko added 3 commits March 18, 2026 16:40

fix: flush deferred search write on re-focus and error/empty bail-out

bf6257d

Merge branch 'main' into korytko/perf/optimize-mobile-navigate-to-search

c37bc29

add search-level skeleton back

ebea71e

luacmartins reviewed Mar 19, 2026

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JakubKorytko added 5 commits March 23, 2026 10:04

Merge branch 'main' into korytko/perf/optimize-mobile-navigate-to-search

c0f704b

generalize API write delay

8a6c1f9

address luacmartins comments

4b9295f

update cspell.json

faa40a2

always display skeleton on submit expense path

7436542

kacper-mikolajczak mentioned this pull request Mar 23, 2026

[NoQA] Fix reviewer using absolute paths for compiler check script #86082

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JakubKorytko added 4 commits March 23, 2026 12:04

track onyx optimistic update

b18d679

handle optimistic row in Search

dd7e161

some code improvements

d552c74

fix failing eslint

c9b9868

ShridharGoel approved these changes Mar 24, 2026

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melvin-bot bot requested a review from luacmartins March 24, 2026 04:52

JakubKorytko added 4 commits March 24, 2026 12:09

fix invoice span

68a86e8

defer invoices

aeec609

defer per-diem & self-dm's

06b801a

correct navigateToSearch attributes

6ee930a

Merge branch 'main' into korytko/perf/optimize-mobile-navigate-to-search

e56416a

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fix: requestMoney guard

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