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	8875
title	Test: Verify Wrapper Node Lifecycle and ID Changes
state	Closed
labels	aitestingregression
assignees	tobiu
createdAt	Jan 24, 2026, 2:58 PM
updatedAt	Jan 24, 2026, 3:17 PM
githubUrl	https://github.com/neomjs/neo/issues/8875
author	tobiu
commentsCount	1
parentIssue	null
subIssues	[]
subIssuesCompleted	0
subIssuesTotal	0
blockedBy	[]
blocking	[]
closedAt	Jan 24, 2026, 3:17 PM

Test: Verify Wrapper Node Lifecycle and ID Changes

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

Closed v11.24.0 aitestingregression

tobiu commented on Jan 24, 2026, 2:58 PM

Description: Recent optimizations to ComponentManager.unregister refactored wrapper node cleanup. We need to ensure that wrapper nodes are correctly managed during the entire component lifecycle, especially during destruction and ID changes.

Goals:

Verify Unregister Cleanup: Ensure ComponentManager.wrapperNodes does not retain references to destroyed components.
Verify ID Change Handling: When a component's id is changed via set({id: 'newId'}):
- Ensure the old wrapper ID entry is removed from wrapperNodes.
- Ensure the new wrapper ID entry is added.
- Ensure childMap is updated correctly.
Verify ChildMap Integration: Ensure wrapped components are correctly tracked in the new O(1) reverse map.

Proposed Test File: test/playwright/unit/component/WrapperLifecycle.spec.mjs

Scenarios:

Create a component with a wrapper node.
Verify registration in wrapperNodes and childMap.
Change ID. Verify consistency.
Destroy. Verify cleanup of both maps.

tobiu added the ai label on Jan 24, 2026, 2:58 PM

tobiu added the testing label on Jan 24, 2026, 2:58 PM

tobiu added the regression label on Jan 24, 2026, 2:58 PM

tobiu referenced in commit 1177058 - "test: Verify Wrapper Node Lifecycle and ID Changes (#8875)" on Jan 24, 2026, 3:16 PM

tobiu assigned to @tobiu on Jan 24, 2026, 3:16 PM

tobiu Jan 24, 2026, 3:17 PM

Input from Gemini 3 Pro:

✦ I have addressed the objectives of this ticket by:

Creating a robust verification test: test/playwright/unit/component/WrapperLifecycle.spec.mjs was implemented to specifically target wrapper node registration, ID changes, and cleanup.

Fixing a wrapper cleanup bug: The test revealed that ComponentManager.unregister was failing to delete wrapper nodes when called with a string ID (e.g., during an ID change). I refactored unregister to ensure wrapper cleanup logic executes regardless of the input type (string or object).

Refactoring for Optimization and Safety: The unregister method was further refined to use safe destructuring (const {id, parentId} = component || {}) and a cleaner flow, removing redundant checks and nested logic.

Enhancing Documentation: I added intent-driven JSDoc to ComponentManager (childMap, getDirectChildren, register, unregister, onParentIdChange) and the test file to ensure the purpose of these mechanisms is clear for future maintenance.

Stabilizing Unit Tests: I renamed test classes in ParentIdChange.spec.mjs and WrapperLifecycle.spec.mjs to unique namespaces to prevent global scope collisions that were causing flaky regressions in HiddenChildren.spec.mjs.

The implementation is now stable, optimized, and covered by regression tests.

tobiu closed this issue on Jan 24, 2026, 3:17 PM