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	8571
title	Feature: Native Declarative Config Injection (mergeFrom) in Container Items
state	Closed
labels	enhancementarchitecturecore
assignees	tobiu
createdAt	Jan 12, 2026, 2:56 AM
updatedAt	Jan 12, 2026, 3:01 AM
githubUrl	https://github.com/neomjs/neo/issues/8571
author	tobiu
commentsCount	1
parentIssue	null
subIssues	[]
subIssuesCompleted	0
subIssuesTotal	0
blockedBy	[]
blocking	[]
closedAt	Jan 12, 2026, 3:01 AM

Feature: Native Declarative Config Injection (mergeFrom) in Container Items

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

Closed v11.20.0 enhancementarchitecturecore

tobiu commented on Jan 12, 2026, 2:56 AM

We have identified a powerful pattern for declarative configuration injection in Containers, dubbed the "Structural Injection Pattern". Currently, this is achieved manually in subclasses via afterSetContentItems.

We want to support this natively in Neo.container.Base by introducing a mergeFrom property (likely a Symbol) on item configurations.

Proposed Logic: When Container processes its items (in createItem), if it encounters an item with [mergeFrom]: 'configName', it should:

Look up the configName on the container instance (e.g., this.headerConfig).
Deeply merge the item's properties on top of the referenced config object.
Use the merged result to create the item.

Benefits:

Eliminates manual Neo.assignDefaults in afterSet... hooks.
Decouples structural definition (items) from configuration data.
Enables cleaner subclassing where configuration can be injected declaratively.

Proof of Concept: A working prototype has been verified in test/playwright/unit/core/ConfigMerging.spec.mjs.

Tasks:

Define the mergeFrom Symbol in src/core/ConfigSymbols.mjs.
Implement the interception logic in src/container/Base.mjs (likely inside createItem).
Ensure it handles both Object-based and Array-based item definitions if applicable (though createItem handles individual items).
Verify with existing tests.

tobiu added the enhancement label on Jan 12, 2026, 2:56 AM

tobiu added the architecture label on Jan 12, 2026, 2:56 AM

tobiu added the core label on Jan 12, 2026, 2:56 AM

tobiu referenced in commit 0b56c73 - "feat: Implement native declarative config injection (mergeFrom) for Container items (#8571)" on Jan 12, 2026, 3:00 AM

tobiu Jan 12, 2026, 3:00 AM

Input from Gemini 3 Pro:

✦ I have implemented the native mergeFrom feature in Neo.container.Base.

Changes:

Symbol Definition: Added mergeFrom symbol to src/core/ConfigSymbols.mjs.

Core Logic: Updated createItem in src/container/Base.mjs to intercept items with the mergeFrom symbol. It retrieves the referenced config from the instance, deeply merges the item properties on top of it, and cleans up the symbol.

Verification: Added and verified test/playwright/unit/core/ConfigMerging.spec.mjs.

This enables the Structural Injection Pattern natively without manual afterSet... logic in subclasses.

Closing as completed.

tobiu assigned to @tobiu on Jan 12, 2026, 3:01 AM

tobiu closed this issue on Jan 12, 2026, 3:01 AM