fix: Convert pasted emoji images to text in composer

[Uzaifm127]

Explanation of Change

This PR is solving three related emoji paste issues in the composer.

Original issue: Emojis paste as broken images

Some apps copy emojis as <img> tags instead of Unicode emoji text. Previously, those image tags were passed directly to Parser.htmlToMarkdown(), which could turn them into markdown image syntax like:

![:tada:](...)

Those image URLs are not reliable in the app, so the composer could show broken images instead of emojis.

To fix this, we now parse the pasted HTML first, check all embedded images, and replace emoji images with text before converting the HTML to markdown.

Issue 1: First paste keeps Slack emoji shortcodes

Slack can provide emoji image alt text as shortcode text, like :tada:. If we pass that through as-is, the composer can keep the shortcode on first paste.

The root cause is that the pasted shortcode text was relying on the composer’s later shortcode-to-emoji conversion. That conversion runs in ComposerWithSuggestions through replaceAndExtractEmojis():

App/src/pages/inbox/report/ReportActionCompose/ComposerWithSuggestions/ComposerWithSuggestions.tsx

Line 433 in 1029bad

const {text: emojiConvertedText, emojis, cursorPosition} = replaceAndExtractEmojis(commentWithSpaceInserted, preferredSkinTone, preferredLocale);

Inside replaceEmojis(), if the emoji trie is not ready yet, it returns the original text unchanged:

App/src/libs/EmojiUtils.tsx

Lines 397 to 400 in 1029bad

	const trie = getEmojiTrie(normalizedLocale);
	if (!trie) {
	return {text, emojis: []};
	}

To fix this, when an emoji image has shortcode alt text, we convert it directly to the Unicode emoji during HTML paste handling, before inserting it into the composer.

Issue 2: iOS Safari pastes emojis as blob markdown images

This is different from the original broken image issue because iOS Safari does not keep the original Slack emoji CDN URL in the pasted HTML. Instead, it gives us a local blob image URL and puts the emoji information in the image alt text as a codepoint filename, like:

1f389@2x.png

Previously, that blob image was still passed to Parser.htmlToMarkdown(), so it could become markdown like:

![1f389@2x.png](blob:https://...)

To fix this, we detect those codepoint-style image filenames and convert them to Unicode emoji before markdown conversion.

Fixed Issues

$ #85907
PROPOSAL: #85907 (comment)

Tests

Test 1 - Emojis pasted from Slack render as images

1. Open Slack on desktop.
2. Copy a message from slack that contains emojis.
3. Open the app on desktop web.
4. Open any chat.
5. Paste the Slack message into the composer.
6. Verify that the emojis appear as normal emoji characters.
7. Verify that the composer does not show broken image markdown like ![:tada:](...).

Test 2 - First paste keeps slack emoji shortcodes

1. Refresh the app on desktop web.
2. Open any chat.
3. Copy a Slack message that contains emojis.
4. Paste the message into the composer for the first time after refresh.
5. Verify that the emoji shortcodes like :tada: are converted to Unicode emojis like 🎉.
6. Verify the composer does not keep the pasted emojis as colon codes.

Test 3 - iOS safari pastes emojis as blob markdown images

1. Open https://staging.new.expensify.com in iOS Safari.
2. Open any chat.
3. Copy a Slack message that contains emojis.
4. Paste the message into the composer.
5. Verify that the emojis appear as normal emoji characters.
6. Verify that the composer does not show blob image markdown like ![1f389@2x.png](blob:https://...).

• Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

Offline tests

Same as Test

QA Steps

Same as Test

• Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

PR Author Checklist

• I linked the correct issue in the ### Fixed Issues section above
• I wrote clear testing steps that cover the changes made in this PR
  • I added steps for local testing in the Tests section
  • I added steps for the expected offline behavior in the Offline steps section
  • I added steps for Staging and/or Production testing in the QA steps section
  • I added steps to cover 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 tested this PR with a High Traffic account against the staging or production API to ensure there are no regressions (e.g. long loading states that impact usability).
• I included screenshots or videos for tests on all platforms
• I ran the tests on all platforms & verified they passed on:
  • Android: Native
  • Android: mWeb Chrome
  • iOS: Native
  • iOS: mWeb Safari
  • MacOS: Chrome / Safari
• I verified there are no console errors (if there's a console error not related to the PR, report it or open an issue for it to be fixed)
• I followed proper code patterns (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)
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  • 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
    • If any non-english text was added/modified, I used JaimeGPT to get English > Spanish translation. I then posted it in #expensify-open-source and it was approved by an internal Expensify engineer. Link to Slack message:
  • 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 followed the guidelines as stated in the Review Guidelines
• I tested other components that can be impacted by my changes (i.e. if the PR modifies a shared library or component like Avatar, I verified the components using Avatar are working as expected)
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• 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
• I verified that if a function's arguments changed that all usages have also been updated correctly
• 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 new assets were added or existing ones were modified, I verified that:
  • The assets are optimized and compressed (for SVG files, run npm run compress-svg)
  • The assets load correctly across all supported platforms.
• 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.
• I added unit tests for any new feature or bug fix in this PR to help automatically prevent regressions in this user 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.

Screenshots/Videos

Android: Native

Android-native.mp4

Android: mWeb Chrome

android-mweb.mp4

iOS: Native

ios-native.mp4

iOS: mWeb Safari

ios-safari.mp4

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

macOS-1

macOS-1.mov

macOS-2

macOS-2.mov

macOS with logs

macOS-2-with-logs.mov

[codecov]

Codecov Report

❌ Looks like you've decreased code coverage for some files. Please write tests to increase, or at least maintain, the existing level of code coverage. See our documentation here for how to interpret this table.

Files with missing lines	Coverage Δ
src/CONST/index.ts	93.84% <ø> (ø)
src/libs/EmojiUtils.tsx	84.57% <44.44%> (-0.89%)	⬇️
...omponents/Composer/implementation/index.native.tsx	51.35% <30.43%> (-9.44%)	⬇️
src/hooks/useHtmlPaste/index.ts	48.76% <11.76%> (-10.82%)	⬇️
... and 6 files with indirect coverage changes

[melvin-bot]

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[truph01]

@Uzaifm127 Could you merge main?

[Uzaifm127]

@truph01 Done.