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[Exploratory] Workspace - App crashes when reopening workspace settings link #98300
Description
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Version Number: 9.4.52-0
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/68133792/folder/53676493/46436410/1639586868?sort=-identifier
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): sdsiodjnosdjiodsj@gmail.com
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Bug source: Exploratory - Significant User Experience Deterioration
Device used: Mac 26.5 / Chrome
App Component: Workspace Settings
Action Performed:
- Go to staging.new.expensify.com
- Create a workspace.
- Go to workspace settings > Overview.
- Click workspace name.
- Copy URL.
- Go to Inbox and send the URL to any chat.
- Click on the sent link.
- Close workspace name RHP.
- Click app back button on the top left.
- Go to Inbox.
- Open the same chat from Step 6 and click on the link.
Expected Result:
App will not crash.
Actual Result:
App crashes when reopening workspace settings link.
Workaround:
Unknown
Platforms:
- Android: App
- Android: mWeb Chrome
- iOS: App
- iOS: mWeb Safari
- iOS: mWeb Chrome
- Windows: Chrome
- MacOS: Chrome Safari
Screenshots/Videos
Bug7230735_1786424586788!staging.new.expensify.com-1786424442508.txt
Bug7230735_1786424586790.25.mp4
Applause Internal Information
Exported by: Mita Rachim
Bug ID: 7230735
Issue Owner
Current Issue Owner: @mananjadhavMetadata
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applause-bot commentedon Aug 11, 2026
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MelvinBot commentedon Sep 5, 2026
Proposal
What is the root cause of that problem?
The console log attached to this issue names the crash exactly:
src/pages/workspace/WorkspaceOverviewPage.tsx:97-98readsroute.params.backToandroute.params.policyIDwith no guard. On the second open of the link,route.paramsisundefined, so the component throws on its first statement — before any render guard can run.route.paramsbecomesundefinedbecauseWORKSPACE.PROFILEis thedefaultCentralScreenof theWorkspaceSplitNavigator(WorkspaceSplitNavigator.tsx:57). When the split navigator is re-entered without its nested state, the router falls back to an initial state holding only the sidebar route, whose params are deliberatelyundefined.SplitRouter.ts:87-90then injects the central screen withparams: state.routes.at(0)?.params— copying thatundefinedstraight ontoWORKSPACE.PROFILE.The first click works and the second crashes because the two clicks take different branches in
linkTo: the first sees an unvisited Workspaces tab and dispatches the full nested state; the repeat visit does not.TypeScript does not catch this.
types.ts:2901-2905typesWORKSPACE.PROFILEparams as{policyID: string; backTo?: Routes}without| undefined, which makes React Navigation's conditionalRoutetype markparamsas required. The type does not match runtime.What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?
Guard the crashing reads in
WorkspaceOverviewPage.tsx— use optional chaining forbackToandpolicyIDat lines 97-98 (and the same reads at lines 349 and 769), and skip the policy fetch whenpolicyIDis missing. This is exactly the pattern already applied to the sibling sidebar screen inWorkspaceInitialPage.tsx:86by Fix workspace navigation after distance settings deep link #98423, and the wrapper this page already renders through,withPolicy.tsx:79, optional-chains the same route object.Fix the type so this class of bug is visible. Widen the split-navigator param list entry so
paramsis optional forWORKSPACE.PROFILE. Without this, adding?.looks like dead code to a reviewer and will get removed again.Preserve the
policyIDat the router level so the central screen is not synthesised paramless —SplitRouter.ts:87-90should carry the sidebar'spolicyIDrather than copying a possibly-undefinedparams object.Step 1 stops the crash. Steps 2 and 3 matter because 20 of the 22 screens registered in
WorkspaceSplitNavigatorreadroute.paramsunguarded — onlyWorkspaceInitialPageandPolicyAccountingPageare defensive. A page-local fix leaves the rest as latent crash sites.What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)
Alternatives considered, evidence, and verification notes
Alternative: treat this as already fixed. #98423 (merged 2026-08-31) repaired the
linkTopath that dropped the split navigator's nested state — the same mechanism described above, and its PR body describes the identical/workspaces/undefinedsymptom. This issue was reported on 2026-08-11 against 9.4.52-0, which predates that fix. I could not rule this out as the reason: the automated web test run for this analysis failed on an infrastructure problem (the browser session never rendered), so I have no live staging confirmation either way. Even if #98423 removed this particular trigger, the unguarded read at line 97 and the incorrect type are still onmaintoday, so the crash remains one navigation change away.Alternative: an error boundary or a not-found page. That converts a crash into a broken screen without fixing the missing
policyID, and #69850 already tracks making error pages recoverable. Not a substitute for the guard.Alternative: a
useEffectguard. Does not work here — the throw happens in the component body at line 97, before any effect runs.Supporting evidence that
params: undefinedis a real runtime state: a merged test,tests/ui/WorkspaceInitialPageTest.tsx:96-101, explicitly mocks{route: {params: undefined}}for a screen in this navigator.Git history: the unguarded
const backTo = route.params.backTo;was introduced in commit113d584b(#56204, 2025-01-16) in the then-namedWorkspaceProfilePage.tsxand carried through the rename in #56920. It was never optional-chained, so no guard was removed.route.params.policyIDat line 98 was added by #89414 (2026-05-08) to satisfy theno-default-id-valueslint rule, which replaced a nullish-coalesced read with a raw one.Related issues: a quick scan of open App issues found no duplicate. #69850 (error pages should be recoverable) is loosely related but not the same bug.
Next Steps for Contributor+ team:
To accept:
@MelvinBot implement [this](https://github.com/Expensify/App/issues/98300)to create a draft PR.To refine:
@MelvinBot <your feedback>To reject: Explain why you are rejecting Melvin's proposal.
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melvin-bot commentedon Sep 5, 2026
Triggered auto assignment to Contributor-plus team member for initial proposal review - @mananjadhav (
External)melvin-bot commentedon Sep 5, 2026
Unable to auto-create job on Upwork. The BZ team member should create it manually for this issue.
mananjadhav commentedon Sep 6, 2026
Reviewing.
melvin-bot commentedon Sep 8, 2026
@mananjadhav this issue is now 4 weeks old, please consider:
Thanks!
11 remaining items
mananjadhav commentedon Sep 22, 2026
@MelvinBot implement this
MelvinBot commentedon Sep 22, 2026
⏱️ Ran out of time before I could finish. This usually means the task was too complex or I got stuck exploring. Please try again with a more specific request or post in #melvinbot-ai.
Run details
melvin-bot commentedon Sep 25, 2026
@mananjadhav Whoops! This issue is 2 days overdue. Let's get this updated quick!
melvin-bot commentedon Sep 29, 2026
@mananjadhav 6 days overdue. This is scarier than being forced to listen to Vogon poetry!
melvin-bot commentedon Oct 1, 2026
@mananjadhav Now this issue is 8 days overdue. Are you sure this should be a Daily? Feel free to change it!
melvin-bot commentedon Oct 5, 2026
@mananjadhav 12 days overdue now... This issue's end is nigh!
melvin-bot commentedon Oct 8, 2026
This issue has not been updated in over 14 days. @mananjadhav eroding to Weekly issue.
mananjadhav commentedon Oct 23, 2026
@MelvinBot Check this comment again #98300 (comment) and see if we have the same update and fix.
MelvinBot commentedon Oct 23, 2026
mananjadhav— yes. On currentmainthe root cause is the same and the fix still works. No merged or open PR has fixed this. Two parts of the proposal need edits: item 1's code moved to a new file, and the item 5 test-harness change has already landed. All links use SHAde7716f.Still broken on
main:SplitRouter.ts:190still falls back tostackRouter.getInitialState().SplitRouter.ts:122still copiesundefinedparams onto the central screen.WorkspaceOverviewPage.tsx:121-122still throws.What changed in each item:
getMatchingFullScreenRoute.ts:157-166(workspace) and:190-199(domain). Neither call passessplitNavigatorParamsyet.linkToandswapBackgroundTabForRHPTargetcall this function too, so the fix covers them as well.getInitialSplitNavigatorState.ts:14is stillRecord<string, string>.types.tswas split up, so the split-navigator entries are now attypes.ts:1322-1323.SplitRouterbackfill sites are still needed. Lines shifted about +4: the sidebar is at 93-106 and the central screen at 120-123. Two PRs touched the file since, #101905 and #103746, but neither changed params.fetchPolicyDatastill has no!routePolicyIDguard. Also add?.at line 407 (clearInviteDraft) and line 951 (RULES_CUSTOM).DomainMembersPageis now at line 57, still unguarded.routeasparentRoute(TestNavigationContainer.tsx:85). It also added a domain split harness. Drop the harness change and keep only the regression test. The newtests/unit/Navigation/SplitRouterTest.tsis a good place for it.Other notes
SplitRouter,getInitialSplitNavigatorState, or the Overview page.SplitRouter,WorkspaceSplitNavigator,splitNavigatorParams,getInitialSplitNavigatorState, and98300. None of them handles split-route params.hasDifferentSplitScope.ts:23-34reads scope only from nested routes. It would ignore the new top-levelpolicyID, which is harmless.Next Steps for Contributor+ team:
To accept:
@MelvinBot implement [this](https://github.com/Expensify/App/issues/98300#issuecomment-5686026959) with the updates in my latest commentto create a draft PR.To refine:
@MelvinBot <your feedback>view run · no recording available