[$250] Desktop -BA - Bank account page doesn't load after redirecting from desktop

[IuliiaHerets]

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Version Number: v9.0.85-1
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: Yes
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from TestRail: https://expensify.testrail.io/index.php?/tests/view/5454828&group_by=cases:section_id&group_order=asc&group_id=283225
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Device used: Mac 15.2
App Component: Workspace Settings

Action Performed:

1. Open the app
   2.Go to Settings > WS > Workflow > Connect Bank account
   3.Click on "Note: To connect with Chase, Wells Fargo, Capital One or Bank of America, please click here to complete this process in a browser."

Expected Result:

The bank account page should open in a new browser or tab when trying to add a bank account via Desktop app.

Actual Result:

Bank account page doesn't load after redirecting from desktop.

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

• Android: Standalone
• Android: HybridApp
• Android: mWeb Chrome
• iOS: Standalone
• iOS: HybridApp
• iOS: mWeb Safari
• MacOS: Chrome / Safari
• MacOS: Desktop

Screenshots/Videos

Bug6714196_1736881182130.Untitled.mp4

View all open jobs on GitHub

Upwork Automation - Do Not Edit

• Upwork Job URL: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~021879312300881229146
• Upwork Job ID: 1879312300881229146
• Last Price Increase: 2025-01-14

Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @eVoloshchak

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @jliexpensify (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.

[melvin-bot]

Job added to Upwork: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~021879312300881229146

[melvin-bot]

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

[jliexpensify]

Been chatting to Stites about this, as he wrote the design doc for adding VBA's to ND. He mentioned this seems like a general bug, not tied to a project, and can be worked on by contributors.

[bernhardoj]

🚨 Edited by proposal-police: This proposal was edited at 2025-01-15 06:12:37 UTC.

Proposal

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

BA page shows infinite loading view when redirected from the desktop.

What is the root cause of that problem?

In our case, when redirected from the desktop app, the reimbursementAccount?.isLoading is stuck at true.

App/src/pages/ReimbursementAccount/ReimbursementAccountPage.tsx

Lines 409 to 411 in 7b9e55e

	const isLoading =
	(!!isLoadingApp || !!account?.isLoading || (reimbursementAccount?.isLoading && !reimbursementAccount?.isCreateCorpayBankAccount)) &&
	(!plaidCurrentEvent || plaidCurrentEvent === CONST.BANK_ACCOUNT.PLAID.EVENTS_NAME.EXIT);

If we see the open reimbursement onyx data,

App/src/libs/actions/BankAccounts.ts

Lines 452 to 481 in 7b9e55e

	function openReimbursementAccountPage(stepToOpen: ReimbursementAccountStep, subStep: ReimbursementAccountSubStep, localCurrentStep: ReimbursementAccountStep, policyID: string) {
	const onyxData: OnyxData = {
	optimisticData: [
	{
	onyxMethod: Onyx.METHOD.MERGE,
	key: ONYXKEYS.REIMBURSEMENT_ACCOUNT,
	value: {
	isLoading: true,
	},
	},
	],
	successData: [
	{
	onyxMethod: Onyx.METHOD.MERGE,
	key: ONYXKEYS.REIMBURSEMENT_ACCOUNT,
	value: {
	isLoading: false,
	},
	},
	],
	failureData: [
	{
	onyxMethod: Onyx.METHOD.MERGE,
	key: ONYXKEYS.REIMBURSEMENT_ACCOUNT,
	value: {
	isLoading: false,
	},
	},
	],
	};

we already set it to false either success or failure. But in this case, openReimbursementAccountPage is never called. So, how can reimbursementAccount?.isLoading becomes true?

It's set to true whenever the page is mounted.

App/src/pages/ReimbursementAccount/ReimbursementAccountPage.tsx

Lines 276 to 291 in 7b9e55e

	useEffect(() => {
	if (isPreviousPolicy) {
	return;
	}
	BankAccounts.setReimbursementAccountLoading(true);
	ReimbursementAccount.clearReimbursementAccountDraft();
	// If the step to open is empty, we want to clear the sub step, so the connect option view is shown to the user
	const isStepToOpenEmpty = getStepToOpenFromRouteParams(route) === '';
	if (isStepToOpenEmpty) {
	BankAccounts.setBankAccountSubStep(null);
	BankAccounts.setPlaidEvent(null);
	}
	fetchData();
	// eslint-disable-next-line react-compiler/react-compiler, react-hooks/exhaustive-deps

It was first added by this old PR. At that time, openReimbursementAccountPage will always be called. So, there is no problem.

But in #52812, we prevent calling openReimbursementAccountPage if the policyID param is undefined.

App/src/pages/ReimbursementAccount/ReimbursementAccountPage.tsx

Lines 269 to 271 in 7b9e55e

	if (policyIDParam) {
	BankAccounts.openReimbursementAccountPage(stepToOpen, subStep, localCurrentStep, policyIDParam);
	}

Thus, reimbursementAccount?.isLoading is stuck at true.

But why policyID param is undefined? When we build the route, we already include the policyID.

App/src/pages/ReimbursementAccount/BankAccountStep.tsx

Line 93 in 7b9e55e

const bankAccountRoute = `${ROUTES.BANK_ACCOUNT_WITH_STEP_TO_OPEN.getRoute('new', policyID, ROUTES.WORKSPACE_INITIAL.getRoute(policyID))}`;

But we open the link using openExternalLinkWithToken which will append the link to the exitTo param.

App/src/pages/ReimbursementAccount/BankAccountStep.tsx

Line 155 in 7b9e55e

<TextLink onPress={() => Link.openExternalLinkWithToken(bankAccountRoute)}>{translate(plaidDesktopMessage)}</TextLink>

App/src/libs/actions/Link.ts

Lines 197 to 207 in 7b9e55e

	function buildURLWithAuthToken(url: string, shortLivedAuthToken?: string) {
	const authTokenParam = shortLivedAuthToken ? `shortLivedAuthToken=${shortLivedAuthToken}` : '';
	const emailParam = `email=${encodeURIComponent(currentUserEmail)}`;
	const exitTo = `exitTo=${url}`;
	const accountID = `accountID=${currentUserAccountID}`;
	const referrer = 'referrer=desktop';
	const paramsArray = [accountID, emailParam, authTokenParam, exitTo, referrer];
	const params = paramsArray.filter(Boolean).join('&');
	return `${CONFIG.EXPENSIFY.NEW_EXPENSIFY_URL}transition?${params}`;
	}

We previously using openExternalLink which just opens the link as it is, but it was changed in #44517.

Since the exitTo is a param and the link contains another param (nested param) and we don't encode it, the nested param isn't recognized as part of the exitTo link.

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

1. Encode the link that we want to open. This will fix the missing policyID
   

   App/src/pages/ReimbursementAccount/BankAccountStep.tsx

   Line 155 in 7b9e55e

   <TextLink onPress={() => Link.openExternalLinkWithToken(bankAccountRoute)}>{translate(plaidDesktopMessage)}</TextLink>

(or we can do it inside buildURLWithAuthToken)

2. The above is enough for our case, but if the user accesses the page manually without policyID, then the issue will happen again. To fix it,
   we can either allow the API call with an undefined policyID,
   

   App/src/pages/ReimbursementAccount/ReimbursementAccountPage.tsx

   Lines 269 to 271 in 7b9e55e

   	if (policyIDParam) {
   	BankAccounts.openReimbursementAccountPage(stepToOpen, subStep, localCurrentStep, policyIDParam);
   	}

or

only set the loading immediately if there is a policyID

App/src/pages/ReimbursementAccount/ReimbursementAccountPage.tsx

Line 281 in 7b9e55e

BankAccounts.setReimbursementAccountLoading(true);

or remove it at all. If we see the reason why it was added, it was mentioned optimisticData might be set later if there are multiple calls in the queue, but that's not true today because optimisticData is always merged first without waiting on anything.

// Show loader right away, as optimisticData might be set only later in case multiple calls are in the queue

What specific scenarios should we cover in automated tests to prevent reintroducing this issue in the future?

We can probably test rendering the ReimbursementAccountPage without policyID and verify the loading page won't show infinitely.

[github-actions]

⚠️ @bernhardoj Thanks for your proposal. Please update it to follow the proposal template, as proposals are only reviewed if they follow that format.