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	8494
title	Investigate and Fix Service Worker Cache Update Flakiness
state	Closed
labels	bugaicore
assignees	tobiu
createdAt	Jan 10, 2026, 11:01 AM
updatedAt	Jan 10, 2026, 11:46 AM
githubUrl	https://github.com/neomjs/neo/issues/8494
author	tobiu
commentsCount	2
parentIssue	null
subIssues	[]
subIssuesCompleted	0
subIssuesTotal	0
blockedBy	[]
blocking	[]
closedAt	Jan 10, 2026, 11:46 AM

Investigate and Fix Service Worker Cache Update Flakiness

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

Closed v11.20.0 bugaicore

tobiu commented on Jan 10, 2026, 11:01 AM

The Service Worker update mechanism is inconsistent. While a version bump in ServiceWorker.mjs triggers a new SW installation, the takeover process is flaky. Users sometimes require multiple reloads or manual DevTools intervention to clear the old cache and load the new version.

Risk: A "blank page" scenario for first-time or returning users after a deployment.

Goal: Ensure a robust, zero-friction update strategy where the new Service Worker takes over immediately and reliably clears outdated cache assets.

Investigation Areas:

skipWaiting() and clients.claim() implementation.
Cache invalidation logic.
Potential race conditions during the activate phase.

tobiu added the bug label on Jan 10, 2026, 11:01 AM

tobiu added the ai label on Jan 10, 2026, 11:01 AM

tobiu added the core label on Jan 10, 2026, 11:01 AM

tobiu Jan 10, 2026, 11:12 AM

Input from Gemini 3 Pro:

✦ Correction on Risk Assessment: The failure mode is not just users getting stuck on an old version; the critical risk is that the update process can fail midway, leaving the user with a blank page. This elevates the severity of this issue significantly.

tobiu assigned to @tobiu on Jan 10, 2026, 11:21 AM

tobiu referenced in commit 3448118 - "fix: Harden Service Worker lifecycle and prevent cache poisoning (#8494)" on Jan 10, 2026, 11:45 AM

tobiu Jan 10, 2026, 11:46 AM

Input from tobiu:

◆ I have implemented a fix to harden the Service Worker lifecycle and prevent cache poisoning.

Changes:

Prevent Cache Poisoning: Refactored onFetch in src/worker/ServiceBase.mjs to only cache responses with response.ok (status 200-299) or response.status === 0 (opaque responses). This prevents 404s or 500s from polluting the cache during deployment windows.

Lifecycle Hardening: Added event.waitUntil() to onInstall and onActivate handlers. This ensures the browser does not terminate the Service Worker before it has finished critical tasks like skipWaiting(), claiming clients, and cleaning up old caches.

Removed Aggressive Reload: Removed the updatefound listener in src/main/addon/ServiceWorker.mjs that triggered an immediate page reload. This prevents jarring user experiences where the page would reload unexpectedly when a new version was detected.

Async Message Handling: Updated onMessage to support event.waitUntil() for asynchronous message handlers, ensuring promises resolve correctly before the event is considered complete.

These changes should eliminate the "blank page" risk by ensuring only valid assets are cached and that the Service Worker transitions states reliably.

tobiu closed this issue on Jan 10, 2026, 11:46 AM