Optimize post-expense search page transition with progressive rendering by JakubKorytko · Pull Request #86738 · Expensify/App

JakubKorytko · 2026-03-31T13:51:20Z

Explanation of Change

Optimizes the post-expense-creation search page transition on narrow (mobile) layouts. Instead of waiting for the heavy Search component to mount, we show lightweight static stand-ins and progressively upgrade to the full interactive UI.

Rendering phases (submit-and-navigate flow only):

Phase	Trigger	List area	Chrome (tabs, header, filters)	Interactive?
1 - Static list	Navigation lands	`SearchStaticList` renders real data via plain `FlatList` (max 10 items)	Static pulsing stand-ins (`StaticTabSelector`, `StaticSearchPageHeader`, `StaticFiltersBar`)	Rows are tappable
2 - Header interactive	`SearchStaticList.onLayout` fires	Still `SearchStaticList` (unchanged)	Pulsing stops, real chrome components mount	Header interactive, list rows tappable
3 - Search replaces static	`useEffect` sets `isInteractive=true` via `startTransition`	`Search` mounts and receives `staticListContent` as `initialContent` prop - renders same static content on first frame while hooks initialize	Real chrome	Header interactive
4 - Fully interactive	`Search` finishes deferred work (`shouldShowRowSkeleton` clears)	Full `FlashList` replaces `initialContent`	Real chrome	Yes (everything)

Key design: there is no overlay. SearchStaticList is rendered alone first, then replaced by Search which receives the same staticListContent element as initialContent. This avoids having two list components mounted simultaneously, preventing UI thread contention.

Other changes:

skipWaitForWrites -- fires the search API immediately when a deferred write is pending (no risk of overwriting optimistic data since search snapshots live in separate Onyx keys)
Synchronous navigation in handleNavigateAfterExpenseCreate when navigationRef is already ready
Cached optimistic item index so re-injection preserves sorted position instead of appending to the end
PulsingView -- reusable Reanimated component for opacity pulse animation with wrapperStyle prop for opaque backgrounds that shouldn't pulse
skipSkeleton prop on SearchInputSelectionWrapper to avoid double-skeleton on the static path
SearchStaticList uses useSession() context instead of useCurrentUserPersonalDetails() to avoid extra Onyx subscriptions
Single PulsingView wrapper around all static header components

Performance gains (ManualSubmitToDestinationVisible span):

Platform	`main` avg (ms)	This branch avg (ms)	Improvement
Android	1212	615	-597 ms (49%)
iOS	1736	1118	-618 ms (36%)

Raw measurements (the first one is cold)

Android main (6 runs): 1684, 1079, 1085, 1095, 1079, 1249 ms
Android this branch (6 runs): 617, 628, 579, 575, 604, 686 ms
iOS main (5 runs): 1804, 1758, 1590, 1863, 1664 ms
iOS this branch (5 runs): 904, 1083, 1332, 1129, 1143 ms

Fixed Issues

$ #83634
PROPOSAL: N/A

Tests

Open the app on a narrow-layout device (or resize the browser to mobile width)
Navigate to the expense creation flow (e.g. tap + -> Submit expense), fill in the required fields, and submit
Verify that after submission you are taken to the Search page and a static list of search results with pulsing tab selector, header, and filters bar appears almost instantly (no blank screen or long skeleton)
Wait a moment for the full interactive Search component to mount
Verify that the pulsing animation stops and the page becomes fully interactive (tabs are tappable, filters work, search input is focusable)

Offline tests

Submit an expense while offline (airplane mode / network disabled)
Verify the search page still shows a pulsing skeleton placeholder for the pending expense
Re-enable the network and verify the optimistic expense resolves into the real search list once the API responds

QA Steps

On staging, open the app on a mobile device or narrow browser viewport
Submit an expense and verify the transition to the Search page is fast with the static list and pulsing chrome visible immediately
Verify that after the full interactive components load, all search functionality works correctly (tabs, filters, search input, tapping on expense rows)

PR Author Checklist

Screenshots/Videos

Android: Native

Android_new.mov

Android: mWeb Chrome

iOS: Native

iOS_new.mov

iOS: mWeb Safari

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

JakubKorytko · 2026-03-31T13:52:02Z

@codex review

chatgpt-codex-connector

💡 Codex Review

Here are some automated review suggestions for this pull request.

Reviewed commit: c419a01bdc

ℹ️ About Codex in GitHub

Codex has been enabled to automatically review pull requests in this repo. Reviews are triggered when you

Open a pull request for review
Mark a draft as ready
Comment "@codex review".

If Codex has suggestions, it will comment; otherwise it will react with 👍.

When you sign up for Codex through ChatGPT, Codex can also answer questions or update the PR, like "@codex address that feedback".

src/components/Search/index.tsx

codecov · 2026-03-31T14:26:28Z

Codecov Report

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

Files with missing lines	Coverage Δ
src/CONST/index.ts	`93.65% <ø> (ø)`
...earch/SearchInputSelectionWrapper/index.native.tsx	`100.00% <100.00%> (ø)`
...Search/SearchList/ListItem/TransactionListItem.tsx	`0.00% <ø> (ø)`
...SearchList/ListItem/UserInfoAndActionButtonRow.tsx	`100.00% <ø> (ø)`
...Search/SearchPageHeader/SearchFiltersBarNarrow.tsx	`80.00% <ø> (ø)`
...nents/Search/SearchPageHeader/SearchPageHeader.tsx	`66.66% <ø> (ø)`
.../Search/SearchPageHeader/SearchPageHeaderInput.tsx	`46.96% <100.00%> (ø)`
src/hooks/useSearchPageSetup.ts	`100.00% <ø> (ø)`
src/pages/Search/SearchPageTabSelector.tsx	`68.75% <100.00%> (+3.23%)`	⬆️
...nents/Search/SearchInputSelectionWrapper/index.tsx	`0.00% <0.00%> (ø)`
... and 11 more
... and 14 files with indirect coverage changes

staszekscp · 2026-04-01T05:30:43Z

src/components/Search/SearchInputSelectionWrapper/index.native.tsx


-function SearchInputSelectionWrapper({ref, ...props}: SearchAutocompleteInputProps) {
-    const [showSkeleton, setShowSkeleton] = useState(!isAutocompleteInputInitialized);
+function SearchInputSelectionWrapper({ref, skipSkeleton, ...props}: SearchAutocompleteInputProps & {skipSkeleton?: boolean}) {


Can skipSkeleton be a part of SearchAutocompleteInputProps?

Unfortunately no - SearchAutocompleteInput itself doesn't use skipSkeleton, so adding it to SearchAutocompleteInputProps triggers react/no-unused-prop-types. It's only consumed by the wrapper layer, so the intersection type is the correct approach here.

src/components/Search/index.tsx

src/components/Search/SearchStaticList.tsx

src/components/PulsingView.tsx

src/libs/actions/IOU/index.ts

src/libs/actions/Search.ts

src/pages/Search/SearchPageNarrow.tsx

JakubKorytko · 2026-04-01T12:19:47Z

@codex review

chatgpt-codex-connector

💡 Codex Review

Here are some automated review suggestions for this pull request.

Reviewed commit: ec57427727

ℹ️ About Codex in GitHub

Codex has been enabled to automatically review pull requests in this repo. Reviews are triggered when you

Open a pull request for review
Mark a draft as ready
Comment "@codex review".

If Codex has suggestions, it will comment; otherwise it will react with 👍.

When you sign up for Codex through ChatGPT, Codex can also answer questions or update the PR, like "@codex address that feedback".

src/components/Search/SearchStaticList.tsx

src/pages/Search/SearchPageNarrowStatics.tsx

melvin-bot · 2026-04-01T12:46:37Z

@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]

chatgpt-codex-connector

💡 Codex Review

Here are some automated review suggestions for this pull request.

Reviewed commit: f4653768e8

ℹ️ About Codex in GitHub

Codex has been enabled to automatically review pull requests in this repo. Reviews are triggered when you

Open a pull request for review
Mark a draft as ready
Comment "@codex review".

If Codex has suggestions, it will comment; otherwise it will react with 👍.

When you sign up for Codex through ChatGPT, Codex can also answer questions or update the PR, like "@codex address that feedback".

src/components/Search/index.tsx

JakubKorytko · 2026-04-01T13:12:47Z

@codex review

JakubKorytko · 2026-04-01T13:16:50Z

TypeScript failing on main - unrelated.

chatgpt-codex-connector

💡 Codex Review

Here are some automated review suggestions for this pull request.

Reviewed commit: 7dff25d82b

ℹ️ About Codex in GitHub

Codex has been enabled to automatically review pull requests in this repo. Reviews are triggered when you

Open a pull request for review
Mark a draft as ready
Comment "@codex review".

If Codex has suggestions, it will comment; otherwise it will react with 👍.

When you sign up for Codex through ChatGPT, Codex can also answer questions or update the PR, like "@codex address that feedback".

src/components/Search/SearchStaticList.tsx

src/pages/Search/SearchPageNarrow.tsx

JakubKorytko · 2026-04-01T13:41:36Z

@codex review

chatgpt-codex-connector · 2026-04-01T13:55:31Z

Codex Review: Didn't find any major issues. Keep it up!

ℹ️ About Codex in GitHub

Codex has been enabled to automatically review pull requests in this repo. Reviews are triggered when you

Open a pull request for review
Mark a draft as ready
Comment "@codex review".

If Codex has suggestions, it will comment; otherwise it will react with 👍.

When you sign up for Codex through ChatGPT, Codex can also answer questions or update the PR, like "@codex address that feedback".

joekaufmanexpensify · 2026-04-01T19:49:11Z

No product review needed

ShridharGoel · 2026-04-01T20:48:47Z

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)
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
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.2026-04-02.at.10.05.23.PM.mov

Android: mWeb Chrome

Screen.Recording.2026-04-02.at.10.09.03.PM.mov

iOS: HybridApp

iOS: mWeb Safari

Screen.Recording.2026-04-02.at.3.09.51.AM.mov

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

ShridharGoel · 2026-04-01T21:47:46Z

Can people have a look at the offline experience? It is a bit unstable I guess (might not be related to the changes here though)

Screen.Recording.2026-04-02.at.3.09.51.AM.mov

JakubKorytko · 2026-04-02T07:26:37Z

@ShridharGoel Next time, please try to provide the minimum number of steps necessary to reproduce the issue, as the video is quite long and it will make it easier for QA's in future. 🙏 The offline + no Onyx issue is reproducible on main, though I agree it's something to look into but out of scope here.

Repro steps:

Go to Troubleshoot page
Clear the Onyx cache
Turn on the offline mode
Add an expense outside of the Inbox

Video from main:

Screen.Recording.2026-04-02.at.09.21.49.mov

About the headers, I can't seem to reproduce neither on main or my branch 😕 Can you reliably reproduce this?

…ion-visible

ShridharGoel · 2026-04-02T16:25:27Z

Discussed over Slack, we can ignore this since it is happening on main also

luacmartins

I'm slightly concerned with the maintainability of this architecture and the potential class of bugs it might introduce. I think we should revisit this solution once the tab navigation changes are in.

OSBotify · 2026-04-02T17:27:17Z

✋ This PR was not deployed to staging yet because QA is ongoing. It will be automatically deployed to staging after the next production release.

github-actions · 2026-04-02T17:30:02Z

🚧 @luacmartins has triggered a test Expensify/App build. You can view the workflow run here.

github-actions · 2026-04-02T17:34:29Z

🧪🧪 Use the links below to test this adhoc build on Android, iOS, and Web. Happy testing! 🧪🧪
Built from App PR #86738.

Android 🤖	iOS 🍎
https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/rock-artifacts/ad-hoc/rock-android-Adhoc-b308830-9f1b0ad-0a79936beae2168a2513c412dee66ed2dd58adf2/index.html	https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/rock-artifacts/ad-hoc/rock-ios-device-AdHoc-b308830-9f1b0ad-268bd62f525d16118b50b44206db6f5a28da862d/index.html

Web 🕸️
https://86738.pr-testing.expensify.com

👀 View the workflow run that generated this build 👀

OSBotify · 2026-04-02T20:21:41Z

🚀 Deployed to staging by https://github.com/luacmartins in version: 9.3.52-0 🚀

platform	result
🕸 web 🕸	success ✅
🤖 android 🤖	success ✅
🍎 iOS 🍎	success ✅

Bundle Size Analysis (Sentry):

Android
iOS

MelvinBot · 2026-04-02T20:22:59Z

No help site changes are required.

This PR is a performance optimization for the search page transition after expense creation on narrow layouts. It introduces progressive rendering (static placeholders → full interactive UI) to reduce load time by ~36-49%.

The changes are entirely internal:

New internal components (PulsingView, SearchStaticList, static header stand-ins)
Rendering strategy changes (progressive mounting, skipWaitForWrites, synchronous navigation)
No new user-facing features, settings, or workflows
No changed button labels, tab names, or UI terminology
No changed user flows — the same actions produce the same results, just faster

The help site documents user-facing features and workflows, none of which are affected by this PR.

OSBotify · 2026-04-07T01:12:40Z

🚀 Deployed to production by https://github.com/roryabraham in version: 9.3.52-9 🚀

platform	result
🕸 web 🕸	success ✅
🤖 android 🤖	success ✅
🍎 iOS 🍎	success ✅

JakubKorytko added 6 commits March 31, 2026 15:46

perf: add static version of search components

b990576

fix: disappearing expense

937d611

add: pulsing view animation

1979352

skip waitForWrites on submit expense flow

12b3a5b

add one-frame skeleton to static list

1967b52

remove one-frame skeleton

c419a01

melvin-bot bot assigned JakubKorytko Mar 31, 2026

chatgpt-codex-connector bot reviewed Mar 31, 2026

View reviewed changes

src/components/Search/index.tsx Show resolved Hide resolved

fix: ts, test, codex comment

f605fdb

staszekscp suggested changes Apr 1, 2026

View reviewed changes

JakubKorytko mentioned this pull request Apr 1, 2026

[$250] Refactor Search highlight logic from timer-based to readiness-based #85521

Open

JakubKorytko added 3 commits April 1, 2026 12:03

Merge branch 'main' into korytko/perf/destination-visible

3dcc3f9

address staszekscp comments

dba5d5e

polishing: get rid of absolute, perf opt

ec57427

chatgpt-codex-connector bot reviewed Apr 1, 2026

View reviewed changes

src/components/Search/SearchStaticList.tsx Outdated Show resolved Hide resolved

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

address codex review

f465376

JakubKorytko marked this pull request as ready for review April 1, 2026 12:46

JakubKorytko requested review from a team as code owners April 1, 2026 12:46

melvin-bot bot requested review from ShridharGoel and joekaufmanexpensify April 1, 2026 12:46

melvin-bot bot removed request for a team April 1, 2026 12:46

JakubKorytko requested a review from staszekscp April 1, 2026 12:52

chatgpt-codex-connector bot reviewed Apr 1, 2026

View reviewed changes

src/components/Search/index.tsx Show resolved Hide resolved

clear optimistic tracking

7dff25d

chatgpt-codex-connector bot reviewed Apr 1, 2026

View reviewed changes

src/components/Search/SearchStaticList.tsx Show resolved Hide resolved

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

JakubKorytko added 2 commits April 1, 2026 15:59

narrow flow to navigate_to_search

4fac654

Merge branch 'main' into korytko/perf/destination-visible

29da0c0

joekaufmanexpensify removed their request for review April 1, 2026 19:49

JakubKorytko added 3 commits April 2, 2026 11:15

re-organize structure

089416d

add few more comments to statics

8de401e

Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/main' into korytko/perf/destinat…

ab68eea

…ion-visible

luacmartins self-requested a review April 2, 2026 14:25

ShridharGoel approved these changes Apr 2, 2026

View reviewed changes

melvin-bot bot requested a review from mountiny April 2, 2026 16:40

luacmartins approved these changes Apr 2, 2026

View reviewed changes

luacmartins merged commit b308830 into Expensify:main Apr 2, 2026
32 checks passed

OSBotify mentioned this pull request Apr 2, 2026

Deploy Checklist: New Expensify 2026-04-02 #86989

Closed

lanitochka17 mentioned this pull request Apr 2, 2026

[Due for payment 2026-04-14] [Due for payment 2026-04-14] Reports - Clicking on disabled Submit button opens the expense report when offline #87002

Closed

7 tasks

melvin-bot bot mentioned this pull request Apr 7, 2026

[Due for Payment 2026-04-14][Metrics] ManualSubmitToDestinationVisible - Measure end-to-end time from expense creation submit to destination page render #83634

Open

Conversation

JakubKorytko commented Mar 31, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Explanation of Change

Fixed Issues

Tests

Offline tests

QA Steps

PR Author Checklist

Screenshots/Videos

Uh oh!

JakubKorytko commented Mar 31, 2026

Uh oh!

chatgpt-codex-connector bot left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

💡 Codex Review

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

codecov bot commented Mar 31, 2026 • edited by github-actions bot Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Codecov Report

Uh oh!

staszekscp Apr 1, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

JakubKorytko Apr 1, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

JakubKorytko commented Apr 1, 2026

Uh oh!

chatgpt-codex-connector bot left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

💡 Codex Review

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

melvin-bot bot commented Apr 1, 2026

Uh oh!

chatgpt-codex-connector bot left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

💡 Codex Review

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

JakubKorytko commented Apr 1, 2026

Uh oh!

JakubKorytko commented Apr 1, 2026

Uh oh!

chatgpt-codex-connector bot left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

💡 Codex Review

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

JakubKorytko commented Apr 1, 2026

Uh oh!

chatgpt-codex-connector bot commented Apr 1, 2026

Uh oh!

joekaufmanexpensify commented Apr 1, 2026

Uh oh!

ShridharGoel commented Apr 1, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Reviewer Checklist

Screenshots/Videos

Uh oh!

ShridharGoel commented Apr 1, 2026

Uh oh!

JakubKorytko commented Apr 2, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

ShridharGoel commented Apr 2, 2026

Uh oh!

JakubKorytko commented Mar 31, 2026 •

edited

Loading

codecov bot commented Mar 31, 2026 •

edited by github-actions bot

Loading

ShridharGoel commented Apr 1, 2026 •

edited

Loading

JakubKorytko commented Apr 2, 2026 •

edited

Loading