Lightning Navigation Dead Link Handling

---
name: lightning-navigation-dead-link-handling
description: "Use when an LWC navigates via NavigationMixin to records or pages that may no longer exist, lack the user's access, or be permanently moved. Triggers: 'lightning navigation 404', 'navigate to deleted record', 'NavigationMixin error toast', 'graceful fallback when target page missing', 'permission denied on navigation'. NOT for ordinary NavigationMixin calls that work — use lwc/lwc-navigation-mixin. NOT for designing URL/deep-link routing — use lwc/navigation-and-routing."
category: lwc
salesforce-version: "Spring '25+"
well-architected-pillars:
  - User Experience
  - Reliability
triggers:
  - "navigation to a deleted record gives ugly toast"
  - "user has no access to target page after navigation"
  - "NavigationMixin returns blank screen instead of error"
  - "fallback navigation when target component is missing"
  - "deep link from email opens broken page"
tags:
  - lwc
  - navigation
  - error-handling
  - ux
inputs:
  - "the navigation target (recordId, pageReference, named page, URL)"
  - "expected failure modes (deleted, no access, missing component)"
  - "fallback behavior — toast, redirect, in-place message"
outputs:
  - "pre-navigation existence/access check"
  - "navigation handler with explicit failure path"
  - "user-facing fallback (toast, alternative target, contact-admin message)"
dependencies: []
version: 1.0.0
author: Pranav Nagrecha
updated: 2026-04-30
---

# Lightning Navigation Dead-Link Handling

Activate when an LWC's `NavigationMixin.Navigate` may target a record or page the user can't reach — deleted records, sharing-restricted records, retired Lightning pages, or component-named targets that have been removed. The skill produces a pre-navigation guard, a graceful failure path, and a user message that doesn't leave them on a blank screen.

---

## Before Starting

Gather this context before working on anything in this domain:

- The navigation target type: `recordPage`, `comm__namedPage`, `standard__webPage`, etc. Each fails in distinct ways.
- The user's expected access path. A reportable record may have been shared at one point and lost access later; a deep link from an email sent yesterday may target a record deleted today.
- The downstream UX expectation. Some teams want a toast + stay-in-place; others want a redirect to a "default" page; service console teams sometimes want to open a different subtab as fallback.

---

## Core Concepts

### Failure modes

| Failure | Surfaces as | Detection |
|---|---|---|
| Record deleted | Lightning shows "Insufficient privileges" or generic error | Pre-navigation `getRecord` returns error with `INVALID_ID` |
| User lacks access | "Insufficient privileges" toast | Pre-check via UI API; or wire `getRecord` and inspect error |
| Lightning page retired/unpublished | Blank tab, no toast | `getNavigationItems` doesn't return target — must validate before navigating |
| Component target removed | Console error in dev tools, blank surface | Caught only at the destination's `connectedCallback` |
| External URL 404 | Browser tab shows external 404 | Cannot detect from LWC; can only set `window.open` and let browser handle |

### NavigationMixin contract

`NavigationMixin.Navigate(pageReference, replace)` returns a promise that **resolves** as soon as Lightning *initiates* the navigation, not when the target finishes loading. The promise does not reject for inaccessible records — Lightning navigates, then the destination throws inside its own component lifecycle. That means catching errors with `.catch()` on the Navigate call alone is insufficient.

### Pre-navigation validation

The reliable pattern is to validate the target *before* calling Navigate. For records, use `getRecord` from `lightning/uiRecordApi` to confirm existence + access. For named pages, query `getNavigationItems` to confirm publish status. For external URLs, accept that detection isn't possible from the LWC and surface a "this may take you outside Salesforce" warning.

---

## Common Patterns

### Pattern: pre-flight `getRecord` check

**When to use:** Navigating to a record passed in via custom button, deep link, or stale tab.

**How it works:** Call `getRecord({ recordId, fields: ['Id'] })` first. If the wire returns an error, show a friendly message and don't navigate. If success, call `NavigationMixin.Navigate`.

**Why not the alternative:** Calling Navigate on a deleted record drops the user into an opaque error page with no way back to context.

### Pattern: navigation-items existence check

**When to use:** Navigating to a `comm__namedPage` or a navigation menu item that may have been retired.

**How it works:** Wire `getNavigationItems` (or call it imperatively) at component connect time. Cache the available targets. Validate the requested target against the cache before each Navigate. If absent, show a "this destination is no longer available" message and (optionally) navigate to a default page.

### Pattern: console-aware fallback

**When to use:** In Service Console, the user clicked a link that should open a subtab; the target record is gone.

**How it works:** Use `lightning/platformWorkspaceApi` to detect console context. On dead link, instead of opening a broken subtab, open a "lookup the right record" search subtab keyed by the original record name (if known) so the user has a recovery path.

---

## Decision Guidance

| Target type | Recommended pre-check | Failure UX |
|---|---|---|
| Record (recordPage) | `getRecord` wire | Toast + stay in place; offer search-by-name |
| Standard named page | None (always available) | n/a |
| `comm__namedPage` (Experience Cloud) | `getNavigationItems` | Toast + redirect to community home |
| `standard__webPage` (external) | None possible | Open in new tab + warning |
| Component-named (`standard__component`) | `getNavigationItems` doesn't cover; document expected components in source | Stay in place |

---

## Recommended Workflow

1. Identify the navigation target type and the most likely failure mode for the calling context (deep link from email, in-app button, console subtab, etc.).
2. Add a pre-navigation check appropriate to the target type. For records, wire `getRecord` and only enable the navigate trigger when the wire returns success.
3. Wrap the actual `NavigationMixin.Navigate` call in a try/catch with an error path, even though most failures don't surface there — defense in depth.
4. Define the fallback UX. A toast is always table-stakes; for high-value journeys, define a recovery route (alternative page, search-by-name, contact-admin link).
5. Log the failure (custom event to a parent logger, or a Lightning Platform Event publish for analytics) so the team learns where dead links cluster.
6. Test by manually deleting a record between page-load and click, confirming the user lands on the fallback rather than the broken page.

---

## Review Checklist

- [ ] Pre-navigation existence/access check appropriate to the target type
- [ ] `Navigate` call wrapped in try/catch with explicit failure path
- [ ] Fallback UX defined (toast, redirect, in-place message) — not silent
- [ ] Failure logged or eventized so dead-link patterns are observable
- [ ] Console-context detection if relevant
- [ ] Tests cover both success and failure paths

---

## Salesforce-Specific Gotchas

1. **`Navigate` resolves before the destination loads** — A `.then()` on Navigate runs before the destination decides it can't render. Don't put success logic in the `.then()` of Navigate.
2. **`getRecord` error semantics differ for deleted vs. no-access** — Deleted gives `INVALID_ID`; no-access gives `INSUFFICIENT_ACCESS_OR_READONLY`. Distinguish in your error UX.
3. **Experience Cloud guest user navigation may silently no-op** — Guest users without access to a target get no toast at all. Always pre-check.
4. **`NavigationMixin` is not available in headless Aura sites** — Confirm host context; fall back to `window.location.assign` only when truly necessary and origin-checked.
5. **Console workspace navigation is not the same as page navigation** — Use the workspace API for subtab actions; mixing the two leads to subtabs opening as new tabs instead.

---

## Output Artifacts

| Artifact | Description |
|---|---|
| Navigation handler module | Pre-check + Navigate + fallback flow as a reusable LWC module |
| Failure UX components | Toast, "page no longer available" placeholder, contact-admin link |
| Telemetry event | Custom event or Platform Event documenting dead-link occurrence for observability |

---

## Related Skills

- lwc/lwc-imperative-apex — for cases where the pre-check needs an Apex SOQL rather than `getRecord`
- lwc/common-lwc-runtime-errors — for the broader catalog of runtime failures including those that surface after navigation
- lwc/headless-experience-cloud — for navigation in headless contexts where `NavigationMixin` is partially unavailable