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	7130
title	String-Based VDOM Templates
state	Closed
labels	enhancementepic
assignees	tobiu
createdAt	Jul 30, 2025, 1:00 PM
updatedAt	Aug 3, 2025, 3:09 AM
githubUrl	https://github.com/neomjs/neo/issues/7130
author	tobiu
commentsCount	1
parentIssue	null
subIssues	7131 Dev Mode: Main Thread Addon for Live Parsing 7132 Production Mode: Build-Time Parsing with `parse5` 7136 Alternative Dev Mode: In-Worker Parsing with `parse5` 7137 Template Syntax Specification 7138 Parser: Interpolation and Data Type Handling 7139 Parser: Component vs. HTML Tag Recognition 7140 Bundle `parse5` for Browser Compatibility 7141 Enhance Learning Content 7142 Expand Test Coverage with Real Components 7143 Code Quality Refinement 7144 Create a Real-World Example 7146 Fix Conditional Rendering and Add Tests 7147 Refactor `render` to `initVnode` and `createTemplateVdom` to `render` 7148 Create a Robust VDOM-to-String Serializer 7149 Refactor Build-Time Parser to be AST-Based for Robustness 7150 Build-Time `html` Template to VDOM Conversion 7151 Finalize and Integrate AST-based Build Process 7152 Showcase Nested Templates and Component Usage 7153 Introduce `attributeNameMap` for Robust Attribute Handling 7154 Fix Self-Closing Custom Component Tags 7155 Fix Build-Time Conditional Template Rendering 7156 Finalize Build-Time AST Transformation 7158 Create a Reusable, AST-Based Build-Time Processor 7159 Optimize Build Process with a Pre-emptive Regex Check 7160 Integrate Template Processing into `dist/development` Build 7161 Integrate Template Processing into `dist/production` Build 7162 Add Error Resilience to AST Processor 7163 Create "Under the Hood: HTML Templates" Guide
subIssuesCompleted	28
subIssuesTotal	28
blockedBy	[]
blocking	[]
closedAt	Aug 3, 2025, 3:09 AM

String-Based VDOM Templates

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

Closed v10.3.3 enhancementepic

tobiu commented on Jul 30, 2025, 1:00 PM

This epic covers the exploration and implementation of a new feature allowing developers to use string-based template literals (HTML-like syntax) to define the VDOM for functional components. This will provide a more familiar and intuitive way to structure component views compared to the current JSON-based VDOM approach.

An early proof-of-concept (PoC) already exists in the following files:

test/siesta/tests/functional/HtmlTemplateComponent.mjs
src/functional/component/Base.mjs (see enableHtmlTemplates_ config)
src/functional/util/html.mjs

tobiu assigned to @tobiu on Jul 30, 2025, 1:00 PM

tobiu added the enhancement label on Jul 30, 2025, 1:00 PM

tobiu added the epic label on Jul 30, 2025, 1:00 PM

tobiu added sub-issue #7131 on Jul 30, 2025, 1:01 PM

tobiu added sub-issue #7132 on Jul 30, 2025, 1:02 PM

tobiu referenced in commit a3bbca7 - "String-Based VDOM Templates #7130 early stage PoC" on Jul 30, 2025, 1:02 PM

tobiu referenced in commit 284497b - "#7130 WIP" on Jul 31, 2025, 1:32 AM

tobiu added sub-issue #7136 on Jul 31, 2025, 9:02 AM

tobiu added sub-issue #7137 on Jul 31, 2025, 9:32 AM

tobiu added sub-issue #7138 on Jul 31, 2025, 9:33 AM

tobiu added sub-issue #7139 on Jul 31, 2025, 9:34 AM

tobiu referenced in commit 9f58f44 - "String-Based VDOM Templates #7130 => adding the epic md file into the repo, while in development" on Jul 31, 2025, 9:48 AM

tobiu added sub-issue #7140 on Jul 31, 2025, 9:55 AM

tobiu added sub-issue #7141 on Jul 31, 2025, 12:50 PM

tobiu added sub-issue #7142 on Jul 31, 2025, 12:50 PM

tobiu added sub-issue #7143 on Jul 31, 2025, 12:54 PM

tobiu added sub-issue #7144 on Jul 31, 2025, 12:55 PM

tobiu referenced in commit c27cf88 - "#7130 WIP" on Jul 31, 2025, 3:54 PM

tobiu referenced in commit f2d091e - "#7130 regex enhancement for storing non-lowercase attributes => config names" on Jul 31, 2025, 4:13 PM

tobiu referenced in commit 8247da6 - "#7130 resolving all tests inside test/siesta/tests/functional/HtmlTemplateComponent.mjs" on Jul 31, 2025, 4:18 PM

tobiu referenced in commit f06c076 - "#7130 guide and epic md file update" on Jul 31, 2025, 4:26 PM

tobiu referenced in commit b1648ad - "#7130 guide update" on Jul 31, 2025, 4:40 PM

tobiu added sub-issue #7146 on Jul 31, 2025, 4:56 PM

tobiu added sub-issue #7147 on Jul 31, 2025, 9:20 PM

tobiu referenced in commit b60c0e2 - "#7130 updated learning content for clarity (mounted vs rendered)" on Jul 31, 2025, 9:54 PM

tobiu added sub-issue #7148 on Aug 1, 2025, 1:06 AM

tobiu added sub-issue #7149 on Aug 1, 2025, 1:07 AM

tobiu referenced in commit df2dfee - "#7130 splitting HtmlTemplateProcessor into /HtmlTemplateProcessorLogic.mjs for supporting client-side & builds (WIP)" on Aug 1, 2025, 1:08 AM

tobiu referenced in commit a16d33f - "#7130 WIP - not fully stable yet" on Aug 1, 2025, 1:09 AM

tobiu referenced in commit bbd71b2 - "#7130 test adjustments for the rendering refactoring" on Aug 1, 2025, 1:16 AM

tobiu referenced in commit e79ab5e - "#7130 fixed the unit tests regression" on Aug 1, 2025, 2:05 AM

tobiu added sub-issue #7150 on Aug 1, 2025, 12:09 PM

tobiu added sub-issue #7151 on Aug 1, 2025, 12:33 PM

tobiu added sub-issue #7152 on Aug 1, 2025, 2:23 PM

tobiu referenced in commit 2b1eb64 - "#7130 processVdomForComponents() => simplification" on Aug 1, 2025, 2:30 PM

tobiu added sub-issue #7153 on Aug 1, 2025, 3:01 PM

tobiu added sub-issue #7154 on Aug 1, 2025, 4:14 PM

tobiu added sub-issue #7155 on Aug 1, 2025, 4:40 PM

tobiu added sub-issue #7156 on Aug 1, 2025, 6:07 PM

tobiu referenced in commit 47b3b0e - "#7130 functional.component.Base: only import template conversion logic for the dev mode" on Aug 1, 2025, 6:10 PM

tobiu referenced in commit d103789 - "#7130 epic update" on Aug 1, 2025, 6:10 PM

tobiu referenced in commit 9f04ced - "#7130 functional.component.Base: devmode check fix" on Aug 1, 2025, 7:33 PM

tobiu referenced in commit 4901a6d - "#7130 removed a now obsolete file" on Aug 2, 2025, 1:09 AM

tobiu referenced in commit 74bc55f - "#7130 functional.util.HtmlTemplateProcessor: docs formatting" on Aug 2, 2025, 1:12 AM

tobiu referenced in commit 16b31b7 - "#7130 functional.util.HtmlTemplateProcessor: cleanup" on Aug 2, 2025, 1:16 AM

tobiu referenced in commit 1abb26f - "#7130 functional.util.HtmlTemplateProcessor: cleanup" on Aug 2, 2025, 1:16 AM

tobiu added sub-issue #7158 on Aug 2, 2025, 1:28 PM

tobiu added sub-issue #7159 on Aug 2, 2025, 1:29 PM

tobiu added sub-issue #7160 on Aug 2, 2025, 1:30 PM

tobiu added sub-issue #7161 on Aug 2, 2025, 1:33 PM