[Due for payment 2025-11-12] [$250] API - Duplicate ReadNewestAction API call for new messages

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Version Number: v9.2.32-0
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: Yes
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from BrowserStack: https://test-management.browserstack.com/projects/2219752/test-runs/TR-1305/folder/13176688/52080502/955759034
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): htad26+eriuiyui@gmail.com
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Device used: Windows 10/Chrome
App Component: Other

Action Performed:

Preconditions
User A and User B already have a chat history

As User A, ensure the currently opened chat screen is not the chat report with User B
As User B, send a message to User A's chat report
As User A, wait until the message has been received
As user A, open the browser's Network tab > Filter the network traffic for the /ReadNewestAction
As User A, navigate to User B's chat report

Expected Result:

Only a single instance of the /ReadNewestAction API call is initiated for the chat report

Actual Result:

Duplicate instances of the /ReadNewestAction API call are initiated for the chat report

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

Screenshots/Videos

Bug6976526_1760614732363.2025-10-16_14_30_58.mp4

Upwork Automation - Do Not Edit

Upwork Job URL: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~021990497809920039578
Upwork Job ID: 1990497809920039578
Last Price Increase: 2025-11-17

Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @

@garrettmknight

Triggered auto assignment to @garrettmknight (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.

Proposal

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

Duplicate instances of the /ReadNewestAction API call are initiated for the chat report

What is the root cause of that problem?

readNewestAction is called sequentially in two useEffect blocks here:

App/src/pages/home/report/ReportActionsList.tsx

Lines 392 to 412 in 27845f8

    
           useEffect(() => { 
        
               if (report.reportID !== prevReportID) { 
        
                   return; 
        
               } 
        
               if (isUnread(report, transactionThreadReport, isReportArchived) || (lastAction && isCurrentActionUnread(report, lastAction, sortedVisibleReportActions))) { 
        
                   // On desktop, when the notification center is displayed, isVisible will return false. 
        
                   // Currently, there's no programmatic way to dismiss the notification center panel. 
        
                   // To handle this, we use the 'referrer' parameter to check if the current navigation is triggered from a notification. 
        
                   const isFromNotification = route?.params?.referrer === CONST.REFERRER.NOTIFICATION; 
        
                   if ((isVisible || isFromNotification) && scrollingVerticalOffset.current < CONST.REPORT.ACTIONS.ACTION_VISIBLE_THRESHOLD) { 
        
                       readNewestAction(report.reportID); 
        
                       if (isFromNotification) { 
        
                           Navigation.setParams({referrer: undefined}); 
        
                       } 
        
                   } else { 
        
                       readActionSkipped.current = true; 
        
                   } 
        
               } 
        
               // eslint-disable-next-line react-compiler/react-compiler, react-hooks/exhaustive-deps 
        
           }, [report.lastVisibleActionCreated, transactionThreadReport?.lastVisibleActionCreated, report.reportID, isVisible]);

App/src/pages/home/report/ReportActionsList.tsx

Lines 610 to 648 in 27845f8

    
           useEffect(() => { 
        
               if (report.reportID !== prevReportID) { 
        
                   return; 
        
               } 
        
               if (!isVisible || !isFocused) { 
        
                   if (!lastMessageTime.current) { 
        
                       lastMessageTime.current = lastAction?.created ?? ''; 
        
                   } 
        
                   return; 
        
               } 
        
               // In case the user read new messages (after being inactive) with other device we should 
        
               // show marker based on report.lastReadTime 
        
               const newMessageTimeReference = lastMessageTime.current && report.lastReadTime && lastMessageTime.current > report.lastReadTime ? userActiveSince.current : report.lastReadTime; 
        
               lastMessageTime.current = null; 
        
               const isArchivedReport = isArchivedNonExpenseReport(report, isReportArchived); 
        
               const hasNewMessagesInView = scrollingVerticalOffset.current < CONST.REPORT.ACTIONS.ACTION_VISIBLE_THRESHOLD; 
        
               const hasUnreadReportAction = sortedVisibleReportActions.some( 
        
                   (reportAction) => 
        
                       newMessageTimeReference && 
        
                       newMessageTimeReference < reportAction.created && 
        
                       (isReportPreviewAction(reportAction) ? reportAction.childLastActorAccountID : reportAction.actorAccountID) !== getCurrentUserAccountID(), 
        
               ); 
        
               if (!isArchivedReport && (!hasNewMessagesInView || !hasUnreadReportAction)) { 
        
                   return; 
        
               } 
        
               readNewestAction(report.reportID); 
        
               userActiveSince.current = DateUtils.getDBTime(); 
        
               // This effect logic to `mark as read` will only run when the report focused has new messages and the App visibility 
        
               //  is changed to visible(meaning user switched to app/web, while user was previously using different tab or application). 
        
               // We will mark the report as read in the above case which marks the LHN report item as read while showing the new message 
        
               // marker for the chat messages received while the user wasn't focused on the report or on another browser tab for web. 
        
               // eslint-disable-next-line react-compiler/react-compiler, react-hooks/exhaustive-deps 
        
           }, [isFocused, isVisible]);

Each useEffect serves a different purpose. One calls readNewestAction whenever there are unread messages, while the other triggers it when the ReportScreen is re-focused or when the app returns from the background to the foreground.

App/src/pages/home/report/ReportActionsList.tsx

Lines 643 to 646 in 27845f8

    
           // This effect logic to `mark as read` will only run when the report focused has new messages and the App visibility 
        
           //  is changed to visible(meaning user switched to app/web, while user was previously using different tab or application). 
        
           // We will mark the report as read in the above case which marks the LHN report item as read while showing the new message 
        
           // marker for the chat messages received while the user wasn't focused on the report or on another browser tab for web.

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

There are two solutions:

Solution 1:
We can merge the two useEffect blocks by adding preIsVisible and preIsFocused to ensure the second effect’s behavior is preserved.

Solution 2:
We can create a ref to store the state that determines whether readNewestAction should be called in the second useEffect.
If readNewestAction has already been triggered in the first useEffect, the state will be set to false.
Then, it can be reset to true in the second useEffect.

Or more simply, we could use useDebounce for readNewestAction with a reasonable delay.

Job added to Upwork: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~021978915596703523565

@dukenv0307

Triggered auto assignment to Contributor-plus team member for initial proposal review - @dukenv0307 (External)

@dmkt9

@dmkt9 I don't think your RCA is correct, that's fine to trigger readNewestAction many times, but in readNewestAction because we already used writeWithNoDuplicatesConflictAction which prevents the duplication. Can you please check again?

@dukenv0307

@dukenv0307 Yes. I just double-checked. We indeed used writeWithNoDuplicatesConflictAction, but because readNewestAction is inside callbacks of two different useEffects, and those callbacks are triggered separately and asynchronously, usually after the first callback, the whole request queue gets resolved successfully, so when the second callback gets triggered, the queue is already empty.

Proposal

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

Opening a chat report that just received a new message fires the /ReadNewestAction API twice, which shows up as duplicate network calls and adds unnecessary traffic.

What is the root cause of that problem?

When the report gains focus, the visibility effect in ReportActionsList calls readNewestAction even if the earlier logic already handled the unread state. There is no guard that checks whether the read was previously skipped, so the second effect retriggers the write request every time the report becomes visible.

App/src/pages/home/report/ReportActionsList.tsx

Lines 610 to 641 in 7165a14

    
           useEffect(() => { 
        
               if (report.reportID !== prevReportID) { 
        
                   return; 
        
               } 
        
               if (!isVisible || !isFocused) { 
        
                   if (!lastMessageTime.current) { 
        
                       lastMessageTime.current = lastAction?.created ?? ''; 
        
                   } 
        
                   return; 
        
               } 
        
               // In case the user read new messages (after being inactive) with other device we should 
        
               // show marker based on report.lastReadTime 
        
               const newMessageTimeReference = lastMessageTime.current && report.lastReadTime && lastMessageTime.current > report.lastReadTime ? userActiveSince.current : report.lastReadTime; 
        
               lastMessageTime.current = null; 
        
               const isArchivedReport = isArchivedNonExpenseReport(report, isReportArchived); 
        
               const hasNewMessagesInView = scrollingVerticalOffset.current < CONST.REPORT.ACTIONS.ACTION_VISIBLE_THRESHOLD; 
        
               const hasUnreadReportAction = sortedVisibleReportActions.some( 
        
                   (reportAction) => 
        
                       newMessageTimeReference && 
        
                       newMessageTimeReference < reportAction.created && 
        
                       (isReportPreviewAction(reportAction) ? reportAction.childLastActorAccountID : reportAction.actorAccountID) !== getCurrentUserAccountID(), 
        
               ); 
        
               if (!isArchivedReport && (!hasNewMessagesInView || !hasUnreadReportAction)) { 
        
                   return; 
        
               } 
        
               readNewestAction(report.reportID); 
        
               userActiveSince.current = DateUtils.getDBTime();

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

Add a guard that only lets the visibility effect call readNewestAction when readActionSkipped is true, and reset the flag after the call so the API runs once per unread batch.

useEffect(() => {
    // .... existing code

    // Existing
    if (!isVisible || !isFocused) {
        if (!lastMessageTime.current) {
            lastMessageTime.current = lastAction?.created ?? '';
        }
        return;
    }

    // New
    if (!readActionSkipped.current) {
        return;
    }

    // .... existing code

    readNewestAction(report.reportID);
    readActionSkipped.current = false; // New
    userActiveSince.current = DateUtils.getDBTime();
}, [isFocused, isVisible]);

Job added to Upwork: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~021990497809920039578

@dukenv0307

Current assignee @dukenv0307 is eligible for the External assigner, not assigning anyone new.

@dmkt9

📣 @dmkt9 You have been assigned to this job!
Please apply to the Upwork job and leave a comment on the Github issue letting us know when we can expect a PR to be ready for review 🧑‍💻
Once you apply to this job, your Upwork ID will be stored and you will be automatically hired for future jobs!
Keep in mind: Code of Conduct | Contributing 📖

@dmkt9

@dmkt9 please apply to the new upwork job for payment.

@dukenv0307 request when you're ready.

@garrettmknight

@garrettmknight Thanks. I just applied for this job.

@dmkt9

@dmkt9 offer out to you.

@garrettmknight

@garrettmknight Thanks. I've just requested payment.

All paid up!

@dukenv0307

Approved $250 to @dukenv0307

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[Due for payment 2025-11-12] [$250] API - Duplicate ReadNewestAction API call for new messages #72774

Action Performed:

Expected Result:

Actual Result:

Workaround:

Platforms:

Screenshots/Videos

Proposal

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

What is the root cause of that problem?

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

Proposal

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

What is the root cause of that problem?

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

65 remaining items

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	useEffect(() => {
	if (report.reportID !== prevReportID) {
	return;
	}

	if (isUnread(report, transactionThreadReport, isReportArchived) \|\| (lastAction && isCurrentActionUnread(report, lastAction, sortedVisibleReportActions))) {
	// On desktop, when the notification center is displayed, isVisible will return false.
	// Currently, there's no programmatic way to dismiss the notification center panel.
	// To handle this, we use the 'referrer' parameter to check if the current navigation is triggered from a notification.
	const isFromNotification = route?.params?.referrer === CONST.REFERRER.NOTIFICATION;
	if ((isVisible \|\| isFromNotification) && scrollingVerticalOffset.current < CONST.REPORT.ACTIONS.ACTION_VISIBLE_THRESHOLD) {
	readNewestAction(report.reportID);
	if (isFromNotification) {
	Navigation.setParams({referrer: undefined});
	}
	} else {
	readActionSkipped.current = true;
	}
	}
	// eslint-disable-next-line react-compiler/react-compiler, react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
	}, [report.lastVisibleActionCreated, transactionThreadReport?.lastVisibleActionCreated, report.reportID, isVisible]);

	// This effect logic to `mark as read` will only run when the report focused has new messages and the App visibility
	// is changed to visible(meaning user switched to app/web, while user was previously using different tab or application).
	// We will mark the report as read in the above case which marks the LHN report item as read while showing the new message
	// marker for the chat messages received while the user wasn't focused on the report or on another browser tab for web.

[Due for payment 2025-11-12] [$250] API - Duplicate ReadNewestAction API call for new messages #72774

Description

Action Performed:

Expected Result:

Actual Result:

Workaround:

Platforms:

Screenshots/Videos

Activity

melvin-bot commented on Oct 16, 2025

dmkt9 commented on Oct 16, 2025

Proposal

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

What is the root cause of that problem?

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

melvin-bot commented on Oct 16, 2025

melvin-bot commented on Oct 16, 2025

dukenv0307 commented on Oct 18, 2025

dmkt9 commented on Oct 19, 2025

ShridharGoel commented on Oct 19, 2025

Proposal

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

What is the root cause of that problem?

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

65 remaining items

melvin-bot commented on Nov 17, 2025

melvin-bot commented on Nov 17, 2025

melvin-bot commented on Nov 17, 2025

garrettmknight commented on Nov 17, 2025

dmkt9 commented on Nov 18, 2025

garrettmknight commented on Nov 18, 2025

dmkt9 commented on Nov 18, 2025

garrettmknight commented on Nov 19, 2025

quinthar commented on Dec 19, 2025

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