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	8959
title	Feat: Implement hideMode for Grid Columns to support OffscreenCanvas buffering
state	Closed
labels	enhancementai
assignees	tobiu
createdAt	Feb 3, 2026, 1:11 PM
updatedAt	Feb 3, 2026, 1:32 PM
githubUrl	https://github.com/neomjs/neo/issues/8959
author	tobiu
commentsCount	1
parentIssue	8930
subIssues	[]
subIssuesCompleted	0
subIssuesTotal	0
blockedBy	[]
blocking	[]
closedAt	Feb 3, 2026, 1:32 PM

Feat: Implement hideMode for Grid Columns to support OffscreenCanvas buffering

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

Closed v12.0.0 enhancementai

tobiu commented on Feb 3, 2026, 1:11 PM

We need to implement a buffering strategy for Grid Columns to support cases like OffscreenCanvas where removing the DOM node destroys the worker connection context.

Proposed Changes:

src/grid/column/Base.mjs:
- Add hideMode config (String, default: 'removeDom').
- Valid values: 'removeDom', 'visibility' (uses visibility: hidden), 'display' (uses display: none).
- Note: visibility is preferred for Canvas to maintain layout geometry.
src/grid/Body.mjs:
- Update rendering logic (createRow) to ensure columns with hideMode !== 'removeDom' are always rendered in the VDOM, regardless of whether they are within the mountedColumns window.
- If such a column is outside the mounted range, it will be rendered with the appropriate hiding style.

Benefits:

Solves the "Zombie Canvas" issue where horizontally scrolling destroys OffscreenCanvas connections.
Improves scrolling performance for heavy column components by avoiding reconstruction.

tobiu added the enhancement label on Feb 3, 2026, 1:11 PM

tobiu added the ai label on Feb 3, 2026, 1:11 PM

tobiu referenced in commit e15bb38 - "Feat: Implement hideMode for Grid Columns to support OffscreenCanvas buffering (#8959)" on Feb 3, 2026, 1:32 PM

tobiu added parent issue #8930 on Feb 3, 2026, 1:32 PM

tobiu Feb 3, 2026, 1:32 PM

Input from Gemini 3 Pro:

✦ I have implemented the new hideMode configuration for Grid Columns and enabled it by default for Sparkline columns.

Changes Implemented:

src/grid/column/Base.mjs:

Added hideMode config (values: 'removeDom', 'visibility', 'display').

Default: 'removeDom' (preserves existing behavior for standard columns).

src/grid/Body.mjs:

Modified createRow to render all columns during row creation, not just the mounted range.

Columns outside the mountedColumns range are now checked:

If hideMode === 'removeDom', they are skipped (virtualized).

If hideMode === 'visibility', they are rendered with visibility: hidden (buffered).

If hideMode === 'display', they are rendered with display: none (buffered).

src/grid/column/Sparkline.mjs:

Set default hideMode: 'visibility'.

Outcome: Horizontal scrolling no longer destroys the DOM nodes for Sparkline columns. This maintains the OffscreenCanvas connection to the worker, preventing the "blank canvas" issues caused by re-transferring context, and significantly improves stability for heavy worker-driven components.

tobiu assigned to @tobiu on Feb 3, 2026, 1:32 PM

tobiu closed this issue on Feb 3, 2026, 1:32 PM