Keep the current tab when opening an exitTo link from a signed-in val… by yusufdeveloper2903 · Pull Request #101335 · Expensify/App

yusufdeveloper2903 · 2026-09-16T13:37:34Z

Explanation of Change

When a signed-in user opens a report link from an email while the app is on another tab, handleExitToNavigation called goBack(ROUTES.HOME), which switched the tab to Home before the report was opened. Now only ValidateLogin is popped when there is a screen under it, so the report opens on the current tab. goBack(ROUTES.HOME) is still used when ValidateLogin is the only route.

Added unit tests in tests/navigation/HandleExitToNavigationTests.tsx.

Fixed Issues

$ #100680
PROPOSAL: #100680 (comment)

Tests

Precondition: As submitter, submit an expense report so the workspace owner receives the email.

As WS owner, open the app and go to Inbox
Background the app and open the email from the precondition
Tap View
Verify the app opens the report
Go to the Spend tab and repeat steps 2-4

Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

Offline tests

N/A

QA Steps

Same as tests

Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

PR Author Checklist

Screenshots/Videos

Android: Native

AFTER FIX:

REC-20260916180935.mp4

Android: mWeb Chrome

iOS: Native

AFTER FIX:

REC-20260922124122.mp4

iOS: mWeb Safari

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

…idate login

melvin-bot · 2026-09-16T13:37:41Z

@QichenZhu 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]

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…an exitTo link

JmillsExpensify

LGTM

QichenZhu · 2026-09-21T12:47:16Z

        Navigation.waitForProtectedRoutes().then(() => {
-            Navigation.goBack(ROUTES.HOME, {waitForTransition: true});
+            if (navigationRef.canGoBack()) {
+                Navigation.pop(navigationRef.getRootState().key);


I'm not questioning it, just curious why you went with this approach instead of your original proposal. In what scenario would these two approaches behave differently, so I can test it?

Short answer on why I moved off my proposal's line.

goBack(undefined) doesn't always pop ValidateLogin. When shouldPopToSidebar is set, goBack takes the popToSidebar() branch first, and popToSidebar() clears the flag and returns without popping anything, because the top root route is ValidateLogin and not a split navigator. NavigationRoot sets that flag on any wide → narrow change while a split navigator is on top (e.g. rotating landscape → portrait with a report open), and it stays set until the next parameterless goBack().

I ran both versions through the real navigators in Jest with the flag set. The report opens on the right tab either way, so the fix for this issue holds in both, but the resulting root stack differs:

this PR: [TabNavigator → Inbox split: Inbox, Report]

my original line: [TabNavigator(Inbox), ValidateLogin, TabNavigator(Inbox split: Report)]

So with the proposal's line the consumed ValidateLogin stays in the stack and the report is pushed above it in a second tab navigator: Back from the report shows the /v/ loading screen, and only the second Back returns to the report list.

Navigation.pop(navigationRef.getRootState().key) is dispatched at the root stack directly, so the flag can't redirect it and the only route it can remove is ValidateLogin. The lone-route case is unchanged: still goBack(ROUTES.HOME, {waitForTransition: true}). This is covered by removes ValidateLogin even when a pop to sidebar is pending — it fails with my original line (Expected: false Received: true) and passes with this one.

QichenZhu · 2026-09-22T04:46:36Z

Reviewer Checklist

Screenshots/Videos

Android: HybridApp

Screen_recording_20260922_163527.webm

Android: mWeb Chrome

Screen_recording_20260922_164025.webm

iOS: HybridApp

Screen.Recording.2026-09-22.at.4.34.40.PM.mov

iOS: mWeb Safari

Simulator.Screen.Recording.-.iPhone.17.-.2026-09-22.at.16.14.34.mov

Simulator.Screen.Recording.-.iPhone.17.-.2026-09-22.at.16.22.40.mov

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

Screen.Recording.2026-09-22.at.4.44.00.PM.mov

QichenZhu

Thanks! Please record the iOS video. You can test the direct link in the Simulator by running xcrun simctl openurl booted "new-expensify://v/22983538/MZUDTGTRV?exitTo=/r/1848836441519490". Replace the URL with the one from the email.

yusufdeveloper2903 · 2026-09-22T07:44:02Z

Thanks @QichenZhu Added the iOS Native video using the simctl openurl approach — it covers both the Inbox and the Spend tab.

github-actions · 2026-09-23T04:26:07Z

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

OSBotify · 2026-09-23T04:28:22Z

✋ 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 · 2026-09-23T04:33:37Z

🧪🧪 Use the links below to test this adhoc build on Android, iOS, and Web. Happy testing! 🧪🧪
Built from App PR #101335.

Android 🤖	iOS 🍎
https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/rock-artifacts/ad-hoc/rock-android-Adhoc-e750762-e33cdf5-1f6540b29409d1230419d6c6efd7ebe41c3cd94a/index.html	https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/rock-artifacts/ad-hoc/rock-ios-device-AdHoc-e750762-e33cdf5-705956030054fa7fb1d967472b717ee5860283c9/index.html

Web 🕸️
https://101335.pr-testing.expensify.com

👀 View the workflow run that generated this build 👀

OSBotify · 2026-09-23T06:17:45Z

🚀 Deployed to staging by https://github.com/mollfpr in version: 9.4.92-0 🚀

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

MelvinBot · 2026-09-23T06:20:24Z

🤖 No help site changes are required for this PR, so I did not create a docs draft PR.

This PR is a navigation bug fix, not a product change. It swaps goBack(ROUTES.HOME) for a pop of the ValidateLogin route when a screen sits under it, in src/libs/actions/Session/index.ts:1603-1607, plus a new unit test file. The only other file touched is tests/navigation/HandleExitToNavigationTests.tsx.

It restores the behavior users already expect — tapping View in an email opens the report — rather than introducing new behavior. Nothing user-facing changed: no new feature, no new or renamed setting, no new button, tab, or label.

How I checked the help site

I searched docs/articles for the topics this PR could touch:

magic link, deep link, exitTo — only hit is an unrelated MCP connection article.
from the email — hits in Login-Troubleshooting.md, Troubleshoot-Adding-Your-Work-Email.md, and Submit-Workspace.md. All describe signing in or adding an email, none describe which tab you land on afterward.
Spend tab, Inbox tab, Reports tab — hits in Navigating-New-Expensify.md and related articles. None document the tab you return to after following a report link from an email.

No article states the old (buggy) behavior, so there is no stale text to correct and no gap to fill. Writing a new article about it would document an implementation detail, which the help authoring guidelines do not call for.

One caveat: browser control was unavailable in this run, so I could not verify the fix live in NewDot web. The conclusion above comes from reading the diff, the linked issue, and the help site markdown.

Since there is no docs PR, there is nothing to label HelpDot, assign, or mark Ready for review. If you disagree and want an article added or updated anyway, reply with @MelvinBot and the article you have in mind, and I'll draft it.

yusufdeveloper2903, please confirm you agree that no help site update is needed here.

view run

OSBotify · 2026-09-24T12:31:55Z

🚀 Deployed to production by https://github.com/lakchote in version: 9.4.92-8 🚀

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

Bundle Size Analysis (Sentry):

Android

Keep the current tab when opening an exitTo link from a signed-in val…

5ab422b

…idate login

yusufdeveloper2903 requested review from a team as code owners September 16, 2026 13:37

melvin-bot Bot assigned yusufdeveloper2903 Sep 16, 2026

melvin-bot Bot requested review from JmillsExpensify and QichenZhu and removed request for a team September 16, 2026 13:37

melvin-bot Bot removed the request for review from a team September 16, 2026 13:37

chatgpt-codex-connector Bot reviewed Sep 16, 2026

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Comment thread src/libs/actions/Session/index.ts Outdated

Remove ValidateLogin directly instead of through goBack when opening …

721ec61

…an exitTo link

JmillsExpensify approved these changes Sep 16, 2026

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yusufdeveloper2903 mentioned this pull request Sep 18, 2026

[Due for payment 2026-10-01] Navigation - Tap on view from email opens the Home if any other tab is open before #100680

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QichenZhu reviewed Sep 21, 2026

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QichenZhu reviewed Sep 22, 2026

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QichenZhu approved these changes Sep 22, 2026

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melvin-bot Bot requested a review from mollfpr September 22, 2026 10:35

mollfpr approved these changes Sep 23, 2026

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mollfpr merged commit e750762 into Expensify:main Sep 23, 2026
36 of 41 checks passed

OSBotify mentioned this pull request Sep 23, 2026

Deploy Checklist: New Expensify 2026-09-23 #101971

Closed

This was referenced Sep 30, 2026

fix: Tapping back arrow endless loading with blank page #91162

Merged

[$250] Email - Tapping back arrow, endless loading with blank page is displayed instead Home page #90140

Closed

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yusufdeveloper2903 commented Sep 16, 2026 •

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