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	8574
title	Allow subclasses to override config descriptors in Neo.setupClass
state	Closed
labels	enhancementarchitecturecore
assignees	tobiu
createdAt	Jan 12, 2026, 3:39 AM
updatedAt	Jan 12, 2026, 3:42 AM
githubUrl	https://github.com/neomjs/neo/issues/8574
author	tobiu
commentsCount	1
parentIssue	null
subIssues	[]
subIssuesCompleted	0
subIssuesTotal	0
blockedBy	[]
blocking	[]
closedAt	Jan 12, 2026, 3:42 AM

Allow subclasses to override config descriptors in Neo.setupClass

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

Closed v11.20.0 enhancementarchitecturecore

tobiu commented on Jan 12, 2026, 3:39 AM

Neo.setupClass currently employs a "first-defined wins" strategy for merging configuration descriptors (configDescriptors). This prevents subclasses from overriding descriptors defined in parent classes.

Problem: If a parent class (e.g., Neo.container.Base) defines a reactive config with a descriptor (e.g., clone: 'shallow'), a subclass cannot override this to use clone: 'deep' because the parent's descriptor takes precedence.

Proposed Change: Modify the merge logic in Neo.setupClass to use a "last-defined wins" (or merge) strategy. If a subclass defines a descriptor for an existing key, it should be merged into the accumulated descriptor object, allowing overrides.

Impact: This enables subclasses to refine configuration behaviors (like cloning strategies) without redefining the property entirely or being blocked by the base class.

Verified: Verified via test/playwright/unit/core/ConfigMerging.spec.mjs (Prototype Pollution tests pass with clone: 'deep' active).

tobiu added the enhancement label on Jan 12, 2026, 3:39 AM

tobiu added the architecture label on Jan 12, 2026, 3:39 AM

tobiu added the core label on Jan 12, 2026, 3:39 AM

tobiu referenced in commit 038cf49 - "fix: Allow subclasses to override config descriptors in Neo.setupClass (#8574)" on Jan 12, 2026, 3:40 AM

tobiu Jan 12, 2026, 3:41 AM

Input from Gemini 3 Pro:

✦ I have resolved the Prototype Pollution issue and verified it with unit tests.

Fix:

Core: Updated Neo.setupClass to allow subclasses to override config descriptors (merge strategy: last-defined wins for same key). This ensures clone: 'deep' defined in subclasses is respected even if parent defined clone: 'shallow'.

Shared Containers: Added clone: 'deep' to the items descriptor in Shared.Container.mjs and PageContainer.mjs. This forces Neo.createConfig to deep-clone the shared static item definitions before assigning them to the instance, isolating them from mutation by beforeSetItems or parseItemConfigs.

Recursion: mergeFrom implementation in parseItemConfigs is recursive and handles Object maps correctly.

Verification: test/playwright/unit/core/ConfigMerging.spec.mjs now passes all 4 tests, including strict pollution checks and nested object scenarios.

This ensures that "switching views" (creating new instances) no longer results in cross-contamination of configuration state (e.g. empty toolbar or wrong tree config).

Closing as completed.

tobiu assigned to @tobiu on Jan 12, 2026, 3:41 AM

tobiu closed this issue on Jan 12, 2026, 3:42 AM