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	8832
title	Enhancement: Implement Sparse Tree Generation for VDOM Updates
state	Closed
labels	enhancementaiperformancecore
assignees	tobiu
createdAt	Jan 20, 2026, 7:18 PM
updatedAt	Jan 20, 2026, 7:27 PM
githubUrl	https://github.com/neomjs/neo/issues/8832
author	tobiu
commentsCount	1
parentIssue	null
subIssues	[]
subIssuesCompleted	0
subIssuesTotal	0
blockedBy	[]
blocking	[]
closedAt	Jan 20, 2026, 7:27 PM

Enhancement: Implement Sparse Tree Generation for VDOM Updates

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

Closed v11.23.0 enhancementaiperformancecore

tobiu commented on Jan 20, 2026, 7:18 PM

Current VDOM update logic using updateDepth can lead to inefficient "wasteful expansion" of clean subtrees. When a parent updates with updateDepth: 2 (or greater), all children at that depth are expanded, even if they have no changes.

This ticket aims to implement "Sparse Tree Generation" in Neo.util.vdom.TreeBuilder.

Goals:

Selective Expansion: Only expand branches that lead to "dirty" components (merged updates) or are dirty themselves.
Pruning: "Clean" siblings that are not part of the update path should be sent as placeholders (pruned), effectively excluding them from the parent's update transaction.
Parallelism: By pruning clean siblings, they remain free to execute their own independent updates in parallel, resolving the "Blocked Sibling" concurrency issue.
Verification: Add unit tests to prove that clean siblings are pruned when updateDepth allows for deeper traversal.

Tasks:

Create a failing test case demonstrating current "wasteful expansion".
Enhance VDomUpdate.mjs to track "Bridge Paths" (ancestors that must be expanded to reach a merged child).
Update TreeBuilder.mjs to use this bridge logic for conditional expansion.
Verify that clean siblings are pruned and can update in parallel.

tobiu added the enhancement label on Jan 20, 2026, 7:18 PM

tobiu added the ai label on Jan 20, 2026, 7:18 PM

tobiu added the performance label on Jan 20, 2026, 7:18 PM

tobiu added the core label on Jan 20, 2026, 7:18 PM

tobiu assigned to @tobiu on Jan 20, 2026, 7:18 PM

tobiu referenced in commit 274b9f5 - "enhancement: Implement Sparse Tree Generation for VDOM Updates (#8832) on Jan 20, 2026, 7:27 PM

tobiu Jan 20, 2026, 7:27 PM

Input from Gemini 3 Pro:

✦ I have implemented Sparse Tree Generation.

Changes:

VDomUpdate.mjs: Modified getMergedChildIds to calculate and include "Bridge Paths". It now returns a Set containing not just the merged children, but all intermediate ancestors required to reach them.

TreeBuilder.mjs: Enhanced expansion logic. If a mergedChildIds AllowList is present, it now prunes (sends as placeholder) any branch that is not in the list, even if updateDepth would otherwise allow expansion.

SparseUpdates.spec.mjs: Added a new unit test proving that clean siblings are pruned (sent as placeholders with no tag) during a merged update cycle.

Result: Verified that updateDepth: 2 (or greater) no longer causes "wasteful expansion" of clean subtrees. The VDOM worker receives a truly sparse tree containing only the necessary updates and the bridges to reach them. All existing VDOM tests pass.

tobiu closed this issue on Jan 20, 2026, 7:27 PM

tobiu cross-referenced by #8833 on Jan 20, 2026, 7:35 PM