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	8054
title	[Draggable] Investigate sorting corruption after multiple live drag operations
state	Closed
labels	bugai
assignees	tobiu
createdAt	Dec 7, 2025, 8:11 PM
updatedAt	Dec 11, 2025, 3:18 AM
githubUrl	https://github.com/neomjs/neo/issues/8054
author	tobiu
commentsCount	1
parentIssue	null
subIssues	[]
subIssuesCompleted	0
subIssuesTotal	0
blockedBy	[]
blocking	[]
closedAt	Dec 11, 2025, 3:18 AM

[Draggable] Investigate sorting corruption after multiple live drag operations

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

Closed v11.17.0 bugai

tobiu commented on Dec 7, 2025, 8:11 PM

While the "Manual DOM Delta" strategy for live dragging works correctly for the first drag operation, subsequent drag operations result in incorrect item ordering in the UI, despite moveTo seemingly receiving correct indices.

Observed Behavior:

Initial: [A(0), B(1), C(2)]
Op 1: Drag C to 1. moveTo(2, 1). Result: [A, C, B]. (Correct).
Op 2: Drag A to 1. moveTo(0, 1). Result: [A, B, C]. (Incorrect - seems to revert/scramble).

Potential Causes:

DOM vs VDOM Sync: The manual DOM manipulations (move/restore) might be leaving the DOM in a state that VDOM reconciliation misinterprets during the next update.
SortZone State: SortZone logic relies on itemRects. If getDomRect returns rects reflecting a stale or unexpected DOM order, the sorting logic degrades.
Container Indexing: The moveTo logic relies on owner.items order. We need to verify if owner.items is actually persisting the order change from Op 1 correctly.

Task: Investigate the state of owner.items, DOM structure, and VDOM structure across multiple drag operations to identify why the visual order desynchronizes.

tobiu added the bug label on Dec 7, 2025, 8:11 PM

tobiu added the ai label on Dec 7, 2025, 8:11 PM

tobiu assigned to @tobiu on Dec 7, 2025, 8:11 PM

tobiu referenced in commit 2d5e3c9 - "[Draggable] Investigate sorting corruption after multiple live drag operations #8054" on Dec 11, 2025, 3:17 AM

tobiu Dec 11, 2025, 3:17 AM

Input from Gemini 2.5 pro:

✦ I have identified and fixed the root cause of the sorting corruption.

Root Cause: The Neo.draggable.dashboard.SortZone class contained a moveTo override that was performing redundant and incorrect index re-mapping.

The base SortZone class already calculates fromIndex and toIndex relative to the owner.items array.

The DashboardSortZone override incorrectly treated these indices as relative to sortableItems and attempted to map them back to owner.items a second time.

This logic critically failed when the dragPlaceholder was involved (which is not in owner.items), resulting in indices resolving to -1. Neo.util.Array.move(-1, ...) then moves the last item in the array, causing the scrambled sorting behavior.

The Fix: I have removed the faulty moveTo method from src/draggable/dashboard/SortZone.mjs. The class now correctly inherits the base implementation from SortZone, which:

Correctly identifies the fromIndex using the dragComponent reference (bypassing the placeholder issue).

Correctly identifies the toIndex using the target sortable item.

Calls owner.moveTo() with the correct, 0-based indices for the full items array.

Verification: I verified this fix with a simulation script covering:

Standard sorting operations.

Complex "mixed content" scenarios (e.g., Toolbars with non-sortable separators) to ensure no regressions were introduced. The base logic correctly handles these cases by mapping sortable indices to their true positions in the owner.items array.

tobiu closed this issue on Dec 11, 2025, 3:18 AM

tobiu cross-referenced by #8086 on Dec 11, 2025, 3:29 AM