[$750] Desktop - "Hmm... it's not here" is displayed when a profile deeplink is opened two or more times

[izarutskaya]

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---

Found when executing PR : https://github.com/Expensify/App/pull/29277

Version Number: v1.3.81-6

Reproducible in staging?: Y

Reproducible in production?: Y

If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from TestRail:

Email or phone of affected tester (no customers):

Logs: https://stackoverflow.com/c/expensify/questions/4856

Expensify/Expensify Issue URL:

Issue reported by: Applause-Internal Team

Slack conversation: @

Action Performed:

Precondition: User A and User B should have no prior chat history

As User A:

1. Open a tab and sign in as User A
2. Click on 'Profile avatar' > Share code > Copy URL to clipboard

As User B:

1. Open staging.new.expensify.com and sign in as User B
2. Paste the URL into the address bar
3. Press enter
4. In the ''Open New Expensify'' modal, click on the CTA button to open the app
5. Close the profile page
6. Go back to the web page and paste the profile link for a second time
7. Repeat step 4

Expected Result:

There should be no errors when opening the deeplink from the same profile page multiple times.

Actual Result:

The user encounters a "page not found" error when attempting to open the profile page deeplink two or more times in Desktop app.

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

Which of our officially supported platforms is this issue occurring on?

• [ ] Android: Native
• [ ] Android: mWeb Chrome
• [ ] iOS: Native
• [ ] iOS: mWeb Safari
• [ ] MacOS: Chrome / Safari
• [x] MacOS: Desktop

Screenshots/Videos

Android: Native

Android: mWeb Chrome

iOS: Native

iOS: mWeb Safari

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

MacOS: Desktop

https://github.com/Expensify/App/assets/115492554/33adb5ef-b628-45da-88fa-fc417dbd4d73 [utest-dl.s3.amazonaws.com_12102_26469_432782_6233436_bugAttachment_Bug6233436_1697049112244%21Profile_page_-_Desktop.log_X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20231011T195222Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz.txt](https://github.com/Expensify/App/files/12874038/utest-dl.s3.amazonaws.com_12102_26469_432782_6233436_bugAttachment_Bug6233436_1697049112244.21Profile_page_-_Desktop.log_X-Amz-Algorithm.AWS4-HMAC-SHA256.X-Amz-Date.20231011T195222Z.X-Amz-SignedHeaders.host.X-Amz-Expires.86400.X-Amz.txt) [View all open jobs on GitHub](https://github.com/Expensify/App/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue+label%3A%22Help+Wanted%22)

Upwork Automation - Do Not Edit

• Upwork Job URL: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~019231ee47ef138a05
• Upwork Job ID: 1712194879740461056
• Last Price Increase: 2023-10-27
• Automatic offers:
• situchan | Contributor | 27546164

[melvin-bot[bot]]

Triggered auto assignment to @NicMendonca (Bug), see https://stackoverflow.com/c/expensify/questions/14418 for more details.

[melvin-bot[bot]]

Job added to Upwork: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~019231ee47ef138a05

[melvin-bot[bot]]

Bug0 Triage Checklist (Main S/O)

• [ ] This "bug" occurs on a supported platform (ensure Platforms in OP are ✅)
• [ ] This bug is not a duplicate report (check E/App issues and #expensify-bugs)
  • If it is, comment with a link to the original report, close the issue and add any novel details to the original issue instead
• [ ] This bug is reproducible using the reproduction steps in the OP. S/O
  • If the reproduction steps are clear and you're unable to reproduce the bug, check with the reporter and QA first, then close the issue.
  • If the reproduction steps aren't clear and you determine the correct steps, please update the OP.
• [ ] This issue is filled out as thoroughly and clearly as possible
  • Pay special attention to the title, results, platforms where the bug occurs, and if the bug happens on staging/production.
• [ ] I have reviewed and subscribed to the linked Slack conversation to ensure Slack/Github stay in sync

[melvin-bot[bot]]

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

[akamefi202]

Not reproducible.

[NicMendonca]

@izarutskaya can you still reproduce this issue?

[izarutskaya]

Yes, @NicMendonca, we can reproduce this still on Version 1.3.83-10 (1.3.83-10)

https://github.com/Expensify/App/assets/115492554/b6764432-08be-428d-8034-015ef62abca9

https://github.com/Expensify/App/assets/115492554/0f3d231f-babb-4398-bc83-a8a9e47c4b6d

[NicMendonca]

Waiting for proposals

[melvin-bot[bot]]

📣 It's been a week! Do we have any satisfactory proposals yet? Do we need to adjust the bounty for this issue? 💸

[NicMendonca]

@eVoloshchak should we adjust bounty?

[eVoloshchak]

@NicMendonca, i think we should, since there aren't any proposals

[melvin-bot[bot]]

Upwork job price has been updated to $750

[barttom]

Hey! I'm Bartek from Callstack - an expert contributor group. I’d like to work on this issue. I'm gonna investigate that and prepare proposal

[melvin-bot[bot]]

@eVoloshchak, @NicMendonca Whoops! This issue is 2 days overdue. Let's get this updated quick!

[NicMendonca]

Thank you @barttom 🥳

[barttom]

@izarutskaya Are You still able to reproduce that? I've tried a few times and works fine for me. I used staging on the browsers and current main branch for desktop

https://github.com/Expensify/App/assets/7682108/a7c27a3f-16ac-41d5-99eb-96d08fc4f78c

[ikevin127]

I can still reproduce this on latest staging release of the desktop app Version 1.3.90-2 (1.3.90-2) downloaded via: https://staging.new.expensify.com/NewExpensify.dmg

The thing is that it can be reproduced but not always exactly as stated in the steps of the OP, the interval of when the error occurs differs. Sometimes it happens on 2nd - 3rd try of deep link, sometimes you have to open the link 6-7 times.

I noticed it occurs more often if the left side drawer which the shared link opens, is dismissed (closed) on the desktop app, when re-opening the deep link from web again it's more likely to get the not found page (more context below on debugging).

The equivalent to the not found page from staging that I get on local development of the desktop app is the video shown above with the infinite loading indicator. So instead of the not found page we see the infinite loading indicator on local development with latest main branch.

Debugging: From what I've been able to research so far, my guess is that it's somewhat related to the fact that before the drawer opened by the shared link is triggered, the ReportScreenWrapper's navigator does not have the reportID prop initially but it does get set by ReportScreenIDSetter eventually which in the case of this issue might cause the not found page seen on staging or the infinite loading indicator seen on local dev.

This is just a pointer I wanted to share which might help with debugging. Good luck!

[barttom]

@ikevin127 thanks for the tip, I'll keep debugging it then.

[melvin-bot[bot]]

@eVoloshchak @NicMendonca this issue was created 2 weeks ago. Are we close to approving a proposal? If not, what's blocking us from getting this issue assigned? Don't hesitate to create a thread in #expensify-open-source to align faster in real time. Thanks!

[studentofcoding]

Proposal

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

Desktop - "Hmm... it's not here" is displayed when a profile deeplink is opened two or more times

What is the root cause of that problem?

The root cause of the problem is that the Desktop App deeplink is not correctly handling the routing for profile pages on desktop/main.js

    app.on('will-finish-launching', () => {
        app.on('open-url', (event, url) => {
            event.preventDefault();
            const urlObject = new URL(url);
            deeplinkUrl = `${APP_DOMAIN}${urlObject.pathname}${urlObject.search}${urlObject.hash}`;

            if (browserWindow) {
                browserWindow.loadURL(deeplinkUrl);
                browserWindow.show();
            }
        });
    });

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

In the desktop/main.js file, we need to modify the app.on('open-url', ...) event handler to specifically handle profile page URLs if user open it

Here's the updated code:

app.on('will-finish-launching', () => {
    app.on('open-url', (event, url) => {
        event.preventDefault();
        const urlObject = new URL(url);
        // Check if the URL is a profile page URL
        if (urlObject.pathname.startsWith('/a/')) {
            // If it is, load the profile page URL directly
            deeplinkUrl = url;
        } else {
            // Otherwise, use the existing logic
            deeplinkUrl = `${APP_DOMAIN}${urlObject.pathname}${urlObject.search}${urlObject.hash}`;
        }

        if (browserWindow) {
            browserWindow.loadURL(deeplinkUrl);
            browserWindow.show();
        }
    });
});

This code checks if the URL is a profile page URL (i.e., it starts with /a/). If it is, it loads the profile page URL directly. Otherwise, it uses the existing logic to load the URL.

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

None

Result

100% (10 out of 10) load the profile

https://github.com/Expensify/App/assets/20473526/5b86e03b-4cb8-47c1-bcd0-31490a3d6d31

@ikevin127 @eVoloshchak @NicMendonca

[ikevin127]

@studentofcoding Your solution does not solve the problem, it doesn't do anything actually. I tested it both on a staging and local development builds and for staging we still get the not found page while on local we still get the infinite loop loading indicator:

MacOS: Desktop

- staging build: https://github.com/Expensify/App/assets/56457735/3ac2ac55-bfc4-49c2-95d9-3ee070f381e6 - development build: https://github.com/Expensify/App/assets/56457735/cbea76a8-752a-41ab-881c-06f0ef3b2a45

You're close to the root but not quite there, the issue's root is not coming from the electron main.js file nor it can be fixed from there.

The issue is much more complex, hence why the bounty for this issue was raised and why it takes longer than usual to solve it, not to talk about the different behaviour between staging build vs local development, I think a solution is needed which would handle both staging / local issues.

I'm still debugging this and if I'll figure it out will come up with a proposal soon.

[ikevin127]

Proposal

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

The user encounters a "page not found" error when attempting to open the profile page deeplink two or more times in Desktop app.

What is the root cause of that problem?

The reason why we get the page not found error on staging desktop and infinite loading spinner on local development desktop is because the desktop app is calling navigate with transition route and this action is not handled by the navigator.

The way the flow was designed to work for the desktop app:

• user can be authenticated or not
• user visits a shared profile URL in web app
• web app prompts user to open said URL in desktop app
• upon opening, web sends transition route to desktop app with exitTo, email and shortLivedAuthToken to re-authenticate the user then redirect to exitTo route at the end of all this

Important: transition route is used to deeplink web to desktop in this case, it was not designed to actually be called by the navigator once we're in the desktop app.

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

https://github.com/Expensify/App/blob/414d5913999f69d83ab08b6ae6e03325c9ede549/src/libs/actions/Report.js#L1935-L1943

We have to make sure that the transition route passed from the main electron process is NOT called by the navigator once we are transitioned into the web app, for this we check:

• the platform is desktop
• route is transition type

if these conditions are met then we return meaning we not call the react navigation with the transition route which causes the issue on staging / local desktop app.

             if (route === ROUTES.CONCIERGE) { 
                 navigateToConciergeChat(true); 
                 return; 
             }

                // If the platform is desktop and route is `transition` we don't want to navigate
                // to the route because it will throw page not found on staging and
                // infinite loading indicator on local development.
                // See issue: https://github.com/Expensify/App/issues/29372
+               if (getPlatform() === CONST.PLATFORM.DESKTOP && route.includes(ROUTES.TRANSITION_BETWEEN_APPS) {
+                   return;
+               }

             Navigation.navigate(route, CONST.NAVIGATION.TYPE.PUSH);

Videos

MacOS: Desktop (staging / local)

- staging https://github.com/Expensify/App/assets/56457735/5428f539-2b24-4149-8893-7516173b95c6 - local dev https://github.com/Expensify/App/assets/56457735/8bc8be14-30b2-41de-bc61-bf3811926968

[NicMendonca]

@eVoloshchak proposals for you ^

[mvtglobally]

Issue not reproducible during KI retests. (First week)

[melvin-bot[bot]]

📣 It's been a week! Do we have any satisfactory proposals yet? Do we need to adjust the bounty for this issue? 💸

[barttom]

I think we can go with @ikevin127 solution, can't figure out anything else now :) After testing I've had the same results as on videos.

[eVoloshchak]

@ikevin127, could you check if this is still reproducible? I'm unable to reproduce the issue in both dev and prod versions of the Desktop app

https://github.com/Expensify/App/assets/9059945/e47336fa-a167-4cd3-af26-6680c6c12e3d

[ikevin127]

@eVoloshchak Yes, this is still reproducible. Just checked with the latest main, both locally (loading indicator loop) and also with a staging build (not found page).

It just doesn't happen right away (like in action performed), sometimes it can take a few tries as I mentioned in my proposal, it depends on a few factors.

For example in videos below:

• for staging it happened after repeating the action 7 times (console shows navigation /not-found with transition)
• for local dev it happened after 5 times (console show navigation OldDot transition)

MacOS: Desktop (staging / local)

- staging https://github.com/Expensify/App/assets/56457735/b30aefb1-94fe-4963-a68e-278790a31005 - local dev https://github.com/Expensify/App/assets/56457735/c51f270a-eddc-4d47-8a50-3341288e013b

[melvin-bot[bot]]

📣 @eVoloshchak Please request via NewDot manual requests for the Reviewer role ($750)

[melvin-bot[bot]]

@barttom @eVoloshchak @NicMendonca this issue is now 3 weeks old. There is one more week left before this issue breaks WAQ and will need to go internal. What needs to happen to get a PR in review this week? Please create a thread in #expensify-open-source to discuss. Thanks!

[ikevin127]

@barttom I noticed you've been assigned to this. Are you handling this issue based on my proposal or are you working on your own proposal for this ?

[barttom]

@ikevin127 I think Your solution is great, didn't find any better. Based on that proposal is Yours, shouldn't Youb implement it? If You want me to handle that, just say a word, it's not a problem for me at all :)

[ikevin127]

@barttom Sure, the reason I made the proposal is because I want to handle this issue. I was asking because I seen you've been assigned by @NicMendonca and did not know why or whether or not you will be taking on this.

[eVoloshchak]

Still can't reproduce this even after trying for 10 minutes straight. Throttling the network speed also doesn't do anything. I think this might be related to performance, @ikevin127, which machine are you using to reproduce the issue?

[ikevin127]

@eVoloshchak I used a MacBook Air - M1 2020, 8GB RAM on Sonoma 14.0 to reproduce this.

What are you using ?

@izarutskaya and @barttom were also able to reproduce this, maybe they can help with info about their machines.

[barttom]

so mine is Apple M1 Pro 32GB RAM and macOS 13.5.1 and I reproduced that a few times. It's tricky; when it starts working - never breaks again for me. I was able to reproduce that by creating a new pair of users.

[melvin-bot[bot]]

@barttom, @eVoloshchak, @NicMendonca Uh oh! This issue is overdue by 2 days. Don't forget to update your issues!

[eVoloshchak]

My setup is similar (M1 pro, but I'm using macOS14), but still cannot reproduce this one even when creating new accounts Asked on Slack for this to be reassigned, maybe others would be able to reproduce the issue

[melvin-bot[bot]]

📣 @eVoloshchak Please request via NewDot manual requests for the Reviewer role ($750)

[melvin-bot[bot]]

📣 @situchan 🎉 An offer has been automatically sent to your Upwork account for the Contributor role 🎉 Thanks for contributing to the Expensify app!

Offer link Upwork job Please accept the offer and leave a comment on the Github issue letting us know when we can expect a PR to be ready for review 🧑‍💻 Keep in mind: Code of Conduct | Contributing 📖

[melvin-bot[bot]]

@barttom @NicMendonca @situchan this issue is now 4 weeks old and preventing us from maintaining WAQ, can you:

• Decide whether any proposals currently meet our guidelines and can be approved as-is today
• If no proposals meet that standard, please take this issue internal and treat it as one of your highest priorities
• If you have any questions, don't hesitate to start a discussion in #expensify-open-source

Thanks!

[melvin-bot[bot]]

Current assignee @situchan is eligible for the Internal assigner, not assigning anyone new.

[melvin-bot[bot]]

@barttom, @NicMendonca, @situchan Whoops! This issue is 2 days overdue. Let's get this updated quick!

[situchan]

updating today

[situchan]

After some random testing, I reproduced this on web rather than desktop. I think the issue is not limited to desktop app. And it seems related to navigation logic.

[ikevin127]

What are the parameters of reproducing this issue on web, what were the actions performed exactly ?

I'd argue that the reported not found page on web has nothing to do with the RCA of this web to desktop deep-linking issue. If it can be determined precisely that both have the same root cause then I'll update my proposal if needed, otherwise I'd keep the 2 issues separated.

Update:

Just checked with latest main, ran npm install then built desktop app on both dev and stg and I can still reproduce the same behaviour: on dev we get infinite loading spinner and on stg build we get page not found for the same root cause.

MacOS: Desktop (STG / DEV)

- STG https://github.com/Expensify/App/assets/56457735/91a4f87b-cb50-4594-84d5-6a6cac87ceae - DEV https://github.com/Expensify/App/assets/56457735/3b143914-6725-4a72-ae58-0319804aef52

Details for reviewer:

• can use this share profile link: https://staging.new.expensify.com/a/15938988
• make sure the account that you're logged-in with has other chats, not only concierge but no chats with the shared profile

[melvin-bot[bot]]

@barttom, @NicMendonca, @situchan Whoops! This issue is 2 days overdue. Let's get this updated quick!

[situchan]

still we're trying to have constant repro step

[melvin-bot[bot]]

@barttom, @NicMendonca, @situchan Whoops! This issue is 2 days overdue. Let's get this updated quick!

[melvin-bot[bot]]

@barttom, @NicMendonca, @situchan Huh... This is 4 days overdue. Who can take care of this?