What is the 'Neural Link'?

The Neural Link is a bi-directional bridge that connects AI agents (like Gemini or Claude) directly to the Neo.mjs runtime. It allows agents to 'see' the application's Scene Graph, inspect component state, verify event listeners, and even mutate the running application in real-time. This turns the application into a 'glass box' for AI, enabling autonomous debugging and feature development.

Why is Neo.mjs called an 'Application Engine' instead of a framework?

Traditional frameworks are general-purpose libraries (like a Toyota) that help you organize code, but they compile away into ephemeral DOM nodes. Neo.mjs is a precision-engineered runtime (like an F1 car), similar to Unreal Engine for games. It maintains a persistent 'Scene Graph' of objects in a separate worker thread. These objects retain their identity, state, and relationships, allowing for advanced capabilities like multi-window orchestration, runtime permutation, and deep AI introspection that are impossible with 'melted plastic' DOM-based frameworks.

What is 'Context Engineering'?

Context Engineering is the practice of curating the environment and information flow for AI agents to maximize their autonomy. In Neo.mjs, this is implemented via three Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers: a Knowledge Base for semantic code understanding, a Memory Core for learning from past sessions, and a GitHub Workflow server for project management. This ecosystem allows agents to work as fully integrated members of the development team.

What is 'Object Permanence' in the context of Neo.mjs?

In Neo.mjs, UI components are persistent JavaScript objects living in the App Worker, not just transient rendering results. This 'Object Permanence' means a component (like a Dashboard) maintains its state (scroll position, user input, internal logic) even if it is detached from the DOM or moved to a different browser window. This is the 'Lego Technic' approach versus the 'Duplo' approach of traditional frameworks.

What is an 'Agent Operating System'?

Neo.mjs v11 introduced the concept of an Agent OS, where the platform itself provides the tools and interfaces for AI agents to operate. It combines a standalone, type-safe AI SDK for autonomous 'Code Execution' with the Neural Link for runtime control. This enables agents to monitor, debug, and heal the application autonomously, effectively acting as an operating system for synthetic intelligence.

How does Neo.mjs handle multi-window applications?

Neo.mjs uses shared web workers to run a single application instance across multiple browser windows. All windows share the same application state and data in real-time. Components can even move between windows while retaining their JavaScript instances. This enables desktop-class experiences like multi-window IDEs, browser-based email clients, and multi-screen control rooms.

What makes Neo.mjs different from React, Angular, or Vue?

Neo.mjs is fundamentally different in its architecture: (1) It uses True Multithreading via web workers to prevent UI jank, (2) It is an AI-Native Application Engine with built-in bridges for AI collaboration, and (3) It treats components as persistent objects in a Scene Graph, enabling native multi-window support and runtime permutation.

Frontmatter

id	10664
title	Fail closed for Codex UI wake after Space seed failure
state	Closed
labels	bugairegressionarchitecture
assignees	neo-opus-4-7
createdAt	May 3, 2026, 10:10 PM
updatedAt	May 3, 2026, 10:42 PM
githubUrl	https://github.com/neomjs/neo/issues/10664
author	neo-gpt
commentsCount	2
parentIssue	null
subIssues	[]
subIssuesCompleted	0
subIssuesTotal	0
blockedBy	[]
blocking	[]
closedAt	May 3, 2026, 10:42 PM

Fail closed for Codex UI wake after Space seed failure

Name: Neo.mjs Application Engine
Author: Neo.mjs

Closedbugairegressionarchitecture

neo-gpt commented on May 3, 2026, 10:10 PM

Context

This ticket exists because the post-merge validation path for #10663 was falsified before we restarted the bridge.

On 2026-05-03, @tobiu manually tested Codex Desktop with the composer unfocused and observed:

Pressing Space when the Codex prompt field is not focused applies a focus outline but does not focus the composer.
Pressing Enter behaves similarly: outline / focus affordance, not usable composer focus.
Printable keys such as r can move focus into the prompt, but if the prompt already contains text, the key replaces the existing prompt input. Printable-key seeding is therefore destructive and cannot be used before the bridge's Cmd+A / Cmd+X clear path.

This invalidates the live-behavior hypothesis behind #10662 / PR #10663 for Codex. Unit coverage correctly proves that the daemon emits activate -> Space -> Cmd+A, but the live Codex app shows Space is not a safe composer-focus primitive.

Immediate mitigation already applied by @neo-gpt:

Wake safety gate remains tripped with the updated Codex Space/Enter failure reason.
@neo-gpt's WAKE_SUB:f9a09dfd-37de-40e5-8857-6cd2c7373232 subscription was changed to harnessTarget: 'disabled' to prevent unsafe UI wake injection while preserving Memory Core coordination.

The Problem

The bridge daemon's osascript delivery path is focus-dependent and destructive:

Activate app.
Optionally emit tab/focus seed keys.
Clear current target with Cmd+A / Cmd+X.
Paste the wake payload and press Enter.

For Codex Desktop, no currently validated key seed can guarantee that step 3 targets the composer. Space and Enter are non-destructive but insufficient. Printable keys can focus but mutate or replace user prompt text. Therefore Codex UI wake delivery must fail closed until a verified direct composer-focus primitive or non-UI delivery adapter exists.

Leaving the merged #10663 Codex Space default as if it were sufficient is dangerous for two reasons:

It can give future agents a false green signal that Codex prompt landing is fixed.
If the Codex bridge-daemon subscription is re-enabled prematurely, osascript can still operate on thread history or other focused UI rather than the composer.

The Architectural Reality

Relevant code and state:

ai/scripts/bridge-daemon.mjs now defaults focusSeedKey = 'space' for appName === 'Claude' || appName === 'Codex' after PR #10663.
test/playwright/unit/ai/scripts/bridge-daemon.spec.mjs verifies Codex emits activate -> Space -> Cmd+A and does not emit Cmd+3.
test/playwright/unit/ai/mcp/server/memory-core/services/WakeSubscriptionService.spec.mjs verifies focusSeedKey: 'space' can round-trip for Codex metadata.
@neo-gpt's live subscription currently remains active but harnessTarget is disabled as a runtime safety mitigation.
#10517 is the medium-term non-UI routing lane for Codex app-server delivery (turn/start, turn/steer, thread/inject_items) and should not be duplicated here.

The bridge layer owns the immediate fail-closed behavior; #10517 owns the durable app-server routing architecture.

The Fix

Implement a narrow safety correction for Codex UI wake delivery:

Remove or neutralize the Codex default focusSeedKey: 'space' claim in bridge-daemon.mjs so the code no longer implies Space is sufficient for Codex composer focus.
Add a fail-closed guard for appName === 'Codex' on the osascript bridge path unless an explicitly validated non-destructive Codex focus primitive is configured in metadata.
Keep Claude's Space seed intact and keep Antigravity on the verified Cmd+Shift+I path.
Preserve @neo-gpt's disabled bridge-daemon subscription until a safe delivery path exists.
Point future Codex delivery work to #10517 rather than extending blind key-seed experiments.

Acceptance Criteria

bridge-daemon.mjs no longer presents Codex Space seeding as a validated default composer-focus fix.
Codex osascript UI delivery fails closed by default, or otherwise refuses to proceed before destructive Cmd+A / Cmd+X when composer focus is unproven.
Claude's existing Space seed remains covered and unchanged.
Antigravity's Cmd+Shift+I route remains covered and unchanged.
Unit tests prove Codex no longer silently proceeds through the destructive clear path under the default metadata shape.
Issue / PR body explicitly links #10517 as the durable Codex app-server delivery lane.
Post-merge: @neo-gpt wake subscription remains disabled until a verified safe Codex path exists.

Out of Scope

Implementing the Codex app-server adapter itself. That belongs to #10517 or a narrower sub-ticket under #10517.
Retesting Claude Desktop prompt focus. Claude remains covered by #10660 / #10661.
Changing Antigravity / Gemini delivery. Antigravity remains green via Cmd+Shift+I.
Heartbeat reactivation, WAKE_GATE_OVERRIDE=1, or fresh-session recovery. Those stay blocked until the full matrix is green and @tobiu explicitly flips the gate.

Avoided Traps

Trap: try another printable key seed such as r. Rejected. Printable keys can replace existing Codex prompt text when the composer is unfocused, so they are not safe pre-clear focus primitives.
Trap: treat unit ordering tests as matrix green evidence. Rejected. The unit test proves emitted osascript order only; live Codex behavior falsified the focus assumption.
Trap: duplicate #10517. Rejected. This ticket is only the immediate fail-closed correction for unsafe Codex UI wake. #10517 remains the durable app-server / wakePolicy routing lane.
Trap: re-enable heartbeat because #10663 merged. Rejected. The merge did not produce live prompt-landing proof; the gate remains tripped.

#10649 — Wake prompt-landing matrix; Codex row remains red.
#10662 / PR #10663 — Codex Space seed quick-fix hypothesis, now live-falsified.
#10660 / PR #10661 — Claude Space seed, still valid for Claude.
#10517 — Medium-term Codex app-server / HarnessPresence routing lane.
#10650 — Wake Substrate Incident Protocol; matrix green is required before reactivation.
#10647 — Original wake incident safety tree epic, now closed but still the incident context.

Origin Session ID

Origin Session ID: d9cd4943-3285-47a6-b629-c05a9a2a38e4

Retrieval Hint

query_raw_memories("Codex Space Enter focus outline printable key replaces prompt focusSeedKey") and query_raw_memories("Codex collapsed-sidebar #10663 Space seed failed manual validation").

Duplicate sweep performed before creation:

Local content sweep found adjacent tickets #10658, #10660, #10644, #10517, but no exact ticket for live-falsified Codex Space seed fail-closed correction.
Latest 20 open GitHub tickets were reviewed for title/author/labels; #10517 is related but medium-term routing, not this immediate safety correction.
Knowledge Base ticket query returned no relevant documents for this exact framing.

tobiu referenced in commit 60b9c7b - "fix(ai): fail closed for Codex UI wake (#10664) (#10665) on May 3, 2026, 10:42 PM

tobiu closed this issue on May 3, 2026, 10:42 PM