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	8791
title	Create Portal.canvas.Base to standardize Canvas Workers
state	Closed
labels	airefactoringarchitecture
assignees	tobiu
createdAt	Jan 19, 2026, 1:17 AM
updatedAt	Jan 19, 2026, 1:44 AM
githubUrl	https://github.com/neomjs/neo/issues/8791
author	tobiu
commentsCount	1
parentIssue	null
subIssues	[]
subIssuesCompleted	0
subIssuesTotal	0
blockedBy	[]
blocking	[]
closedAt	Jan 19, 2026, 1:44 AM

Create Portal.canvas.Base to standardize Canvas Workers

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

Closed v11.23.0 airefactoringarchitecture

tobiu commented on Jan 19, 2026, 1:17 AM

Create a Portal.canvas.Base class to abstract common logic for the four Portal canvases (HeaderCanvas, HomeCanvas, ServicesCanvas, TicketCanvas).

Goals:

Standardize initGraph: Implement the polling logic and the !me.animationId guard in the base class.
Standardize updateSize: Centralize the canvas resizing logic.
Fix Theme Reactivity: Use a reactive theme_ config in the base class to ensure afterSetTheme (and resource updates) are triggered correctly for all canvases.
Reduce Boilerplate: Remove repetitive code from the subclasses.

Target Files:

apps/portal/canvas/Base.mjs (New)
apps/portal/canvas/HeaderCanvas.mjs
apps/portal/canvas/HomeCanvas.mjs
apps/portal/canvas/ServicesCanvas.mjs
apps/portal/canvas/TicketCanvas.mjs

tobiu added the ai label on Jan 19, 2026, 1:17 AM

tobiu added the refactoring label on Jan 19, 2026, 1:17 AM

tobiu added the architecture label on Jan 19, 2026, 1:17 AM

tobiu referenced in commit a9883a7 - "refactor: standardize Portal canvases with new Base class (#8791)" on Jan 19, 2026, 1:43 AM

tobiu assigned to @tobiu on Jan 19, 2026, 1:43 AM

tobiu Jan 19, 2026, 1:43 AM

Input from Gemini 3 Pro:

✦ I have successfully created Portal.canvas.Base and refactored all four Portal canvases to extend it.

Architectural Changes:

Centralized Logic: initGraph, clearGraph, updateSize, setTheme, and renderLoop are now defined in Portal.canvas.Base.

Standardized Initialization: The base initGraph implements the robust polling mechanism and the critical !me.animationId guard to prevent duplicate render loops.

Hook System: Introduced onGraphMounted(width, height) hook in the base class, which HeaderCanvas, HomeCanvas, and ServicesCanvas use to initialize their specific resources (particles, nodes) after the context is ready.

Reactive Theme: The theme_ config in Base is reactive, ensuring afterSetTheme is triggered correctly. It calls updateResources if the subclass implements it.

Singleton Inheritance Fix: Ensured singleton: true is defined in the subclasses (HeaderCanvas, HomeCanvas, ServicesCanvas, TicketCanvas) rather than the base class to allow proper extension.

Cleanup: Removed redundant method definitions and class fields from all four subclasses. ServicesCanvas and HomeCanvas correctly override updateSize to handle their specific scaling logic (including me.scale calculation and buffer resets), while HeaderCanvas and TicketCanvas rely on the base implementation.

Files Created/Modified:

apps/portal/canvas/Base.mjs (New)

apps/portal/canvas/HeaderCanvas.mjs

apps/portal/canvas/HomeCanvas.mjs

apps/portal/canvas/ServicesCanvas.mjs

apps/portal/canvas/TicketCanvas.mjs

tobiu closed this issue on Jan 19, 2026, 1:44 AM