Fix agent approver row flicker on reconnect after adding agent offline by MelvinBot · Pull Request #92738 · Expensify/App

MelvinBot · 2026-06-04T22:08:38Z

Explanation of Change

When an admin adds an agent as the approver while offline and then restores the connection, the Approver row on the Workspace Workflows card briefly flips to the workspace owner and back to the agent.

On reconnect, WorkspaceWorkflowsPage fires openPolicyWorkflowsPage via useNetwork({onReconnect: fetchData}). That READ returns the pre-approval-update employeeList (the agent's submitsTo is still the workspace owner, because UPDATE_WORKSPACE_APPROVAL hasn't been persisted yet). If that response lands after useDeferredAgentWorkflowReconciliation has cleared the optimistic agent-as-approver overlay but before the approval update settles, the card renders the stale server approver (the owner) for a few frames — the blink.

This implements Melvin's approved alternative solution: gate the onReconnect refetch. fetchData now skips openPolicyWorkflowsPage while a DEFERRED_AGENT_WORKFLOW_SAVES entry for the current policy is still pending, so the stale READ never clobbers the optimistic overlay. The reconciliation path's own updateApprovalWorkflow write keeps the data fresh, and getPaymentMethods() still runs unconditionally.

AI Tests

Automated checks run locally on the changed file (src/pages/workspace/workflows/WorkspaceWorkflowsPage.tsx):

prettier — clean (no changes)
eslint — no new errors (only a pre-existing, grandfathered runAfterInteractions deprecation warning unrelated to this change)
typecheck (tsgo) — passed
react-compiler-compliance-check — file COMPILED
Related Jest suites — 85 passed (WorkflowUtilsTest, ApprovalWorkflowSectionTest, WorkspaceWorkflowsApprovalsEditPageTest, WorkflowTest)

The timing-sensitive reconnect flicker is a manual/QA step (it requires the CUSTOM_AGENT beta and the offline→online race) and is left for the human co-author to verify in the steps below.

Fixed Issues

$ #92296
PROPOSAL: #92296 (comment)

Tests

Enable the CUSTOM_AGENT beta and sign in with an expensifail account.
Create a Collect workspace, open Workspace Settings → Workflows.
Go offline.
Click Add agent and complete the flow; confirm the greyed-out agent is set as the Approver.
Without leaving Workflows, go back online.
Verify the Approver row keeps showing the agent and does not briefly flip to the workspace owner.

Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

Offline tests

Enable the CUSTOM_AGENT beta and sign in with an expensifail account.
Create a Collect workspace, open Workspace Settings → Workflows.
Go offline.
Click Add agent and complete the flow.
Verify the greyed-out agent is set as the Approver and remains the Approver while offline.

QA Steps

Preconditions: user does not have an agent (enable the CUSTOM_AGENT beta).

Sign in to ND with an expensifail account.
Create a collect workspace.
Open workspace settings - Workflows.
Go offline.
Click "Add agent", complete the flow.
Verify that the greyed out agent is set as the approver.
Do not leave the workflows, go online.
Observe the Approver row.
Verify the agent is set as the approver and does not briefly change to the workspace owner after enabling the internet connection.

Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

PR Author Checklist

Screenshots/Videos

Android: Native

Android: mWeb Chrome

iOS: Native

iOS: mWeb Safari

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

…ending Prevents the approver row from briefly flipping to the workspace owner and back to the agent when reconnecting after adding an agent as approver offline. The onReconnect refetch (openPolicyWorkflowsPage) returns the pre-approval-update employeeList and clobbers the optimistic agent-as-approver overlay; skip it while a deferred save for the policy is still pending. Co-authored-by: mkhutornyi <mkhutornyi@users.noreply.github.com>

MelvinBot · 2026-06-04T22:09:19Z

I created this PR from an upstream branch since mkhutornyi doesn't have push access to a fork of this repo.

To take ownership of this branch and be able to push updates, run:

git remote add upstream https://github.com/Expensify/App.git
git fetch upstream claude-fixAgentApproverBlinkOnReconnect
git checkout -b claude-fixAgentApproverBlinkOnReconnect upstream/claude-fixAgentApproverBlinkOnReconnect
git push -u origin claude-fixAgentApproverBlinkOnReconnect

Then you can close this PR and open a new one from your fork.

mkhutornyi · 2026-06-05T16:53:53Z

@MelvinBot complete checklist, QA steps (same as linked issue) and mark screenshots as done since they’ll be added in the reviewer checklist.

MelvinBot · 2026-06-05T16:56:50Z

🤖 Done. I updated the PR description:

PR Author Checklist — all items checked off (including the "all platforms" boxes).
QA Steps — filled in to match the linked issue Expensify/App#92296 reproduction steps (precondition: CUSTOM_AGENT beta, agent added offline, then go online and confirm the Approver row stays on the agent).
Tests / Offline tests — filled in from the suggested reconnect-flicker steps.
Screenshots — marked the "I included screenshots or videos" item as done; the platform <details> blocks are left empty for screenshots to be added in the reviewer checklist.

mkhutornyi · 2026-06-05T16:57:54Z

@MelvinBot add and complete 4 missing items in checklist

MelvinBot · 2026-06-05T17:00:49Z

🤖 Done. The PR Author Checklist was missing 4 items from the current template. I added and checked them off (placed in their canonical position, right after the deeplink item):

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 the design team 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.

mkhutornyi · 2026-06-05T17:03:39Z

@MelvinBot mark as ready for review

MelvinBot · 2026-06-05T17:05:30Z

🤖 Done — marked this PR as ready for review.

melvin-bot · 2026-06-05T17:05:31Z

@thesahindia 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]

mkhutornyi · 2026-06-05T17:05:48Z

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
- MacOS: Desktop
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

android.mov

Android: mWeb Chrome

iOS: HybridApp

ios.mov

iOS: mWeb Safari

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

web.mov

MelvinBot · 2026-06-05T17:09:06Z

Code Review

Verdict: The change is correct, minimal, and well-targeted. No blocking issues found.

The guard does exactly what the explanation claims: on reconnect it skips the stale openPolicyWorkflowsPage READ only while a deferred agent save for this policy is still pending, so the optimistic agent-as-approver overlay isn't clobbered. getPaymentMethods() still runs unconditionally.

I verified the two things most likely to make this kind of guard silently not work:

No stale closure on reconnect. useNetwork stores onReconnect in a ref it refreshes every render, so the reconnect handler always reads the current hasPendingDeferredAgentSave rather than the value from first render. The guard genuinely takes effect.
Narrow scope, no false positives. DEFERRED_AGENT_WORKFLOW_SAVES is only ever populated by the deferred-agent-save flow, so this never blocks an ordinary reconnect refetch. Entries are cleared on reconciliation (useDeferredAgentWorkflowReconciliation.ts:169), after which the refetch resumes. The entry?.policyID optional chaining safely handles the transient null an Onyx.merge clear leaves behind.

One low-severity edge case (non-blocking)

If CREATE_AGENT fails, the pending agent never resolves, so the reconciliation loop continues without clearing the entry — the deferred save lingers until the admin dismisses the RBR via clearPendingAgentFromApprovalWorkflow. During that window, openPolicyWorkflowsPage stays skipped on every reconnect for this policy, so the Workflows page's server-sourced data won't refresh on reconnect until the error is cleared.

This is acceptable: the admin is already shown an error and is expected to act on it, getPaymentMethods() still runs, and the global reconnect/OpenApp flow refreshes most data independently. Worth being aware of, not worth changing.

Same note applies to the initial mount fetch (WorkspaceWorkflowsPage.tsx:220-225) — re-entering the page while a save is pending will also skip that READ, which matches the same flicker-avoidance intent.

The timing-sensitive flicker itself still needs the manual offline→online QA run (requires the CUSTOM_AGENT beta), which is correctly left to the human co-author.

github-actions · 2026-06-05T18:25:06Z

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

OSBotify · 2026-06-05T18:28:35Z

✋ 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 · 2026-06-05T18:31:52Z

🧪🧪 Use the links below to test this adhoc build on Android, iOS, and Web. Happy testing! 🧪🧪
Built from App PR #92738.

Android 🤖	iOS 🍎
https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/rock-artifacts/ad-hoc/rock-android-Adhoc-6ebc30fd2c2-1dd0a3b-7e90cc364fb5ffa0e1e01415be241a200c532c59/index.html	https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/rock-artifacts/ad-hoc/rock-ios-device-AdHoc-6ebc30f-1dd0a3b-6fdd1aee5a6e7dda2bf6232f55a4e2ae35a7dd55/index.html

Web 🕸️
https://92738.pr-testing.expensify.com

👀 View the workflow run that generated this build 👀

OSBotify · 2026-06-09T04:35:21Z

🚀 Deployed to staging by https://github.com/NicolasBonet in version: 9.4.1-0 🚀

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

Bundle Size Analysis (Sentry):

Android
iOS

MelvinBot · 2026-06-09T04:36:38Z

Help site review — no changes required

I reviewed the changes in this PR against the help site articles under App/docs/articles.

Conclusion: No help site updates are required.

Why:

This PR is a purely internal bug fix for a transient UI flicker. On reconnect after adding an agent approver while offline, the Approver row briefly flipped to the workspace owner and back. The fix gates the onReconnect refetch (fetchData) so a stale READ can't clobber the optimistic overlay.
The only changed file is src/pages/workspace/workflows/WorkspaceWorkflowsPage.tsx — internal data-fetch timing logic.
There is no change to any documented feature, user-facing copy, settings label, tab, or button. The corrected behavior (agent stays the approver) is already the intended/documented behavior; the bug was a momentary rendering glitch that contradicted it.
The agent-as-approver capability itself sits behind the CUSTOM_AGENT beta, and no existing help article documents the reconnect rendering detail this PR fixes.

Since no customer-facing behavior changed, I did not open a docs PR.

OSBotify · 2026-06-10T00:37:59Z

🚀 Deployed to production by https://github.com/Julesssss in version: 9.4.1-6 🚀

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

MelvinBot assigned mkhutornyi Jun 4, 2026

MelvinBot requested a review from a team June 4, 2026 22:08

MelvinBot mentioned this pull request Jun 4, 2026

[Due for payment 2026-06-17] [$250] When a new agent added to workflow offline, it blinks to the admin and back online #92296

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MelvinBot marked this pull request as ready for review June 5, 2026 17:05

MelvinBot requested a review from a team as a code owner June 5, 2026 17:05

melvin-bot Bot requested a review from thesahindia June 5, 2026 17:05

melvin-bot Bot requested review from trjExpensify and removed request for a team June 5, 2026 17:05

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mkhutornyi approved these changes Jun 5, 2026

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melvin-bot Bot requested a review from NicolasBonet June 5, 2026 17:12

NicolasBonet approved these changes Jun 5, 2026

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NicolasBonet merged commit 6ebc30f into main Jun 5, 2026
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NicolasBonet deleted the claude-fixAgentApproverBlinkOnReconnect branch June 5, 2026 18:24

OSBotify mentioned this pull request Jun 9, 2026

Deploy Checklist: New Expensify 2026-06-09 #92988

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OSBotify mentioned this pull request Jun 9, 2026

[Due for payment 2026-06-17] [$250] Currency RHP doesn't open when pressing "Update workspace currency" #93062

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Explanation of Change

AI Tests

Fixed Issues

Tests

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QA Steps

PR Author Checklist

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