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	7201
title	Dashboard Drag & Drop
state	Open
labels	enhancementepicno auto close
assignees	tobiu
createdAt	Aug 21, 2025, 12:03 AM
updatedAt	Nov 19, 2025, 3:01 PM
githubUrl	https://github.com/neomjs/neo/issues/7201
author	tobiu
commentsCount	1
parentIssue	null
subIssues	7202 Phase 1: Foundational Sorting 7203 Phase 2: Live In-Page Proxy 7204 Phase 3: Dynamic Proxy Transitioning (Windowing) 7205 Phase 4: Framework-Level Dashboard Abstraction 7206 Initial Dashboard Drag & Drop 7207 Enhance container.SortZone for Complex Layouts 7208 main.addon.DragDrop: onDragMove() => pass the dragElement rect to the app worker 7209 draggable.dashboard.SortZone: moveTo() => regression bug 7210 Implement Window Management Permission Request
subIssuesCompleted	5
subIssuesTotal	9
blockedBy	[]
blocking	[]

Dashboard Drag & Drop

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

Openenhancementepicno auto close

tobiu commented on Aug 21, 2025, 12:03 AM

Overview

This epic covers the implementation of drag-and-drop functionality for the main widgets within the Colors App dashboard (apps/colors/view/Viewport.mjs). The goal is to allow users to reorder the Grid, Pie Chart, and Bar Chart components. The implementation should be inspired by the fluid, main-thread driven drag-and-drop logic used for TabContainer headers.

This epic serves as the foundational R&D for the multi-window dashboard capabilities of the upcoming Neo Studio.

Key Requirements

Users can reorder the three main dashboard widgets.
The HeaderToolbar at the top of the viewport will be excluded from reordering.
The drag operation should be initiated by clicking and dragging the header of each widget.
The drag-and-drop experience should be visually fluent, with the drag proxy moving pixel-by-pixel.

Design Rationale & Strategy

This section outlines the key architectural decisions and strategic insights that inform the implementation phases.

Architectural Approach (Phase 1): The plan is to refactor the existing toolbar.SortZone into a more generic container.SortZone. While simply reusing the toolbar-specific class might be a faster shortcut, the refactoring approach was chosen as the correct long-term solution. It establishes a clean, reusable abstraction for sorting items in any flexbox-based container, improving maintainability and avoiding technical debt.
Live Proxy (Phase 2): The core goal is to create a high-fidelity user experience, where the dragged component is not a static image but remains a fully "live" instance. This leverages the Neo.mjs VDOM engine's ability to reparent live components, which is a key technical differentiator and provides the foundation for the advanced effects in Phase 3.
Dynamic Windowing (Phase 3): The implementation of this ambitious phase is significantly de-risked and accelerated by adapting existing, proven logic. The apps/colors/view/ViewportController already contains robust functionality for detaching a live widget into a separate popup window. Phase 3 will adapt this logic to trigger dynamically mid-drag. Furthermore, Neo.util.Rectangle.getIntersection() has been identified as the ideal utility for the boundary-check calculations.

tobiu assigned to @tobiu on Aug 21, 2025, 12:03 AM

tobiu added the enhancement label on Aug 21, 2025, 12:03 AM

tobiu added the epic label on Aug 21, 2025, 12:03 AM

tobiu added sub-issue #7202 on Aug 21, 2025, 12:04 AM

tobiu added sub-issue #7203 on Aug 21, 2025, 12:05 AM

tobiu added sub-issue #7204 on Aug 21, 2025, 12:06 AM

tobiu added sub-issue #7205 on Aug 21, 2025, 12:06 AM

tobiu referenced in commit 01020b6 - "Dashboard Drag & Drop #7201: epic md file" on Aug 21, 2025, 12:07 AM

tobiu added sub-issue #7206 on Aug 21, 2025, 12:34 AM

tobiu added sub-issue #7207 on Aug 21, 2025, 11:12 AM

tobiu added sub-issue #7208 on Aug 21, 2025, 8:46 PM

tobiu referenced in commit 57a5d97 - "#7201 switched drag-handles back to cursor pointer (important for e.g. tab header buttons)" on Aug 21, 2025, 8:58 PM

tobiu added sub-issue #7209 on Aug 21, 2025, 9:22 PM

tobiu added sub-issue #7210 on Aug 21, 2025, 9:50 PM

tobiu removed the stale label on Nov 19, 2025, 3:01 PM

tobiu added the no auto close label on Nov 19, 2025, 3:01 PM