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	8756
title	Refactor Mermaid Theming to use YAML Frontmatter Injection
state	Closed
labels	airefactoringarchitectureperformance
assignees	tobiu
createdAt	Jan 17, 2026, 11:49 AM
updatedAt	Jan 17, 2026, 12:03 PM
githubUrl	https://github.com/neomjs/neo/issues/8756
author	tobiu
commentsCount	1
parentIssue	null
subIssues	[]
subIssuesCompleted	0
subIssuesTotal	0
blockedBy	[]
blocking	[]
closedAt	Jan 17, 2026, 12:03 PM

Refactor Mermaid Theming to use YAML Frontmatter Injection

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

Closed v11.23.0 airefactoringarchitectureperformance

tobiu commented on Jan 17, 2026, 11:49 AM

Refactor the Mermaid integration to use diagram-specific YAML frontmatter configuration instead of global re-initialization.

Current State: The Main Thread Addon maintains a currentTheme state and calls mermaid.initialize({ theme }) whenever a diagram requests a different theme. This is global and affects all diagrams.

New Architecture:

Wrapper Component (Neo.component.wrapper.Mermaid):
- Owns the themeMap (Neo Theme -> Mermaid Theme).
- Dynamically prepends the YAML frontmatter to the diagram code string before sending it to the addon.
- Example:
Main Thread Addon (Neo.main.addon.Mermaid):
- Removes all theme-specific logic (themeMap, currentTheme, initialize).
- Simply calls mermaid.render() with the code provided by the wrapper.

Benefits:

Isolation: Multiple diagrams with different themes can coexist.
Performance: Removes costly global re-initialization.
Separation of Concerns: The App Worker handles business logic (theming), Main Thread handles rendering.

tobiu added the ai label on Jan 17, 2026, 11:49 AM

tobiu added the refactoring label on Jan 17, 2026, 11:49 AM

tobiu added the architecture label on Jan 17, 2026, 11:49 AM

tobiu added the performance label on Jan 17, 2026, 11:49 AM

tobiu referenced in commit 9bcaa17 - "refactor: Implement Mermaid YAML Frontmatter Theming (#8756)" on Jan 17, 2026, 11:51 AM

tobiu assigned to @tobiu on Jan 17, 2026, 11:51 AM

tobiu referenced in commit bce0aa5 - "feat: Move mermaidTheme to static config to enable prototype overwrites (#8756)" on Jan 17, 2026, 11:57 AM

tobiu Jan 17, 2026, 11:57 AM

Input from Gemini 3 Pro:

✦ I have refined the Neo.component.wrapper.Mermaid implementation based on the code review.

Refinement:

Moved the mermaidTheme property from a class field to the static config block.

Why: This allows the mermaidTheme default value to be overridden globally via Neo.overwrites, consistent with the framework's configuration architecture.

Status: The implementation is now complete, including dynamic theming, manual overrides, and correct architectural placement of configs.

tobiu closed this issue on Jan 17, 2026, 12:03 PM