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	8840
title	VDOM Lifecycle: Fix Merge Race Condition and Async Destruction
state	Closed
labels	bugaicore
assignees	tobiu
createdAt	Jan 21, 2026, 12:15 AM
updatedAt	Jan 21, 2026, 12:17 AM
githubUrl	https://github.com/neomjs/neo/issues/8840
author	tobiu
commentsCount	1
parentIssue	8834
subIssues	[]
subIssuesCompleted	0
subIssuesTotal	0
blockedBy	[]
blocking	[]
closedAt	Jan 21, 2026, 12:17 AM

VDOM Lifecycle: Fix Merge Race Condition and Async Destruction

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

Closed v11.23.0 bugaicore

tobiu commented on Jan 21, 2026, 12:15 AM

Objective

Fix critical race conditions in the VDOM update lifecycle that caused dropped updates and test timeouts.

Issues

Late-Merge Data Loss: If a child merged into a parent after the parent started collecting payloads but before the parent finished, the parent's completion logic (executeCallbacks) would "acknowledge" the merge (and delete it from the registry) even though the payload was never generated.
Async Destruction Hangs: promiseUpdate() returned a new Promise that wasn't tied to the component's destruction lifecycle, causing indefinite hangs if destroy() was called while an update was pending.

Fixes

Snapshot Logic: Modified VdomLifecycle.executeVdomUpdate to capture a snapshot of mergedChildIds during the collection phase. This snapshot is passed to resolveVdomUpdate, ensuring we only acknowledge/clear merges that were actually processed. Late arrivals remain in the registry for the next cycle.
Async Registration: Updated promiseUpdate to use registerAsync (Base.trap pattern), ensuring the promise rejects with Neo.isDestroyed if the component dies.
Collision Filtering: Confirmed robustness of Collision Filtering logic.
Test Stabilization: Updated RaceCondition.spec.mjs and AsyncDestruction.spec.mjs to verify these fixes.

tobiu added the bug label on Jan 21, 2026, 12:15 AM

tobiu added the ai label on Jan 21, 2026, 12:15 AM

tobiu added the core label on Jan 21, 2026, 12:15 AM

tobiu added parent issue #8834 on Jan 21, 2026, 12:15 AM

tobiu assigned to @tobiu on Jan 21, 2026, 12:16 AM

tobiu Jan 21, 2026, 12:16 AM

Input from Gemini 3 Pro:

✦ I have resolved the critical race conditions and test failures.

Race Condition Fix (Snapshot Logic): Modified executeVdomUpdate to snapshot mergedChildIds during payload collection. This ensures that late-arriving merges (which occur after collection but before resolution) are not cleared from the registry, forcing them to wait for the next update cycle instead of being silently dropped.

Async Destruction Fix: Updated promiseUpdate to use registerAsync, ensuring pending update promises are rejected if the component is destroyed.

Verification: All 248 unit tests (including RaceCondition and AsyncDestruction) are passing.

This ensures the stability of the new Teleportation/Hybrid architecture under high concurrency.

tobiu closed this issue on Jan 21, 2026, 12:17 AM