[Android] Element with position: absolute is incorrectly marked as not visible to the user if it's rendered outside of parent
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Description
Description
When using UI automation suite like Maestro, on Android it uses AccessibilityNodeInfo isVisibleToUser method to determine if the element is visible to the user and clickable.
Despite an element rendered with position: absolute and no overflow: hidden on the parent being visible on the screen, the isVisibleToUser flag is incorrectly set to false if the element is outside of the bounds of the parent, causing E2E test to fail (mobile-dev-inc/maestro#1609)
Steps to reproduce
Clone the repro repository first.
To reproduce the issue:
- Install the packages with
yarnornpm - Open Android emulator
- Run
yarn android/npm run android - Make sure the app is visible
- Press on the dropdown to open it
Then:
- Install maestro locally
- Run
maestro -p android test maestro.ymland see the test fail - Run
maestro hierarchyand see that the dropdown items are not visible in the output
React Native Version
0.79.2
Affected Platforms
Runtime - Android
Output of npx @react-native-community/cli info
System:
OS: macOS 15.4.1
CPU: (12) arm64 Apple M2 Max
Memory: 166.94 MB / 32.00 GB
Shell:
version: "5.9"
path: /bin/zsh
Binaries:
Node:
version: 20.13.1
path: ~/.asdf/installs/nodejs/20.13.1/bin/node
Yarn:
version: 1.22.22
path: ~/.asdf/installs/nodejs/20.13.1/bin/yarn
npm:
version: 10.5.2
path: ~/.asdf/installs/nodejs/20.13.1/bin/npm
Watchman:
version: 2025.04.28.00
path: /opt/homebrew/bin/watchman
Managers:
CocoaPods:
version: 1.15.2
path: /Users/matyas/.asdf/shims/pod
SDKs:
iOS SDK:
Platforms:
- DriverKit 24.4
- iOS 18.4
- macOS 15.4
- tvOS 18.4
- visionOS 2.4
- watchOS 11.4
Android SDK:
API Levels:
- "33"
- "33"
- "34"
Build Tools:
- 30.0.3
- 33.0.0
- 33.0.2
- 34.0.0
- 34.0.0
System Images:
- android-33 | Google APIs ARM 64 v8a
- android-34 | Google APIs ARM 64 v8a
- android-36 | Google Play ARM 64 v8a
Android NDK: Not Found
IDEs:
Android Studio: 2023.2 AI-232.10300.40.2321.11668458
Xcode:
version: 16.3/16E140
path: /usr/bin/xcodebuild
Languages:
Java:
version: javac 17
path: /Users/matyas/.asdf/shims/javac
Ruby:
version: 3.2.3
path: /Users/matyas/.asdf/shims/ruby
npmPackages:
"@react-native-community/cli": Not Found
react:
installed: 19.0.0
wanted: 19.0.0
react-native:
installed: 0.79.2
wanted: 0.79.2
react-native-macos: Not Found
npmGlobalPackages:
"*react-native*": Not Found
Android:
hermesEnabled: Not found
newArchEnabled: Not found
iOS:
hermesEnabled: Not found
newArchEnabled: Not found
Stacktrace or Logs
(no stack trace)
MANDATORY Reproducer
https://github.com/d4rky-pl/PositionAbsoluteBug
Screenshots and Videos
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start with the mandatory PositionAbsoluteBug reproducer and inspect Android accessibility output for the dropdown rendered outside its parent. Trace how AccessibilityNodeInfo.isVisibleToUser is determined for this case, then verify that the dropdown items appear in maestro hierarchy and the Maestro test can interact with them without overflow hidden.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- android, react-native
- Domain
- accessibility, mobile
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 45/100