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	8972
title	refactor: Switch Grid Row to explicit updateContent pattern (#8964)
state	Closed
labels	airefactoring
assignees	tobiu
createdAt	Feb 3, 2026, 10:12 PM
updatedAt	Feb 3, 2026, 10:14 PM
githubUrl	https://github.com/neomjs/neo/issues/8972
author	tobiu
commentsCount	1
parentIssue	null
subIssues	[]
subIssuesCompleted	0
subIssuesTotal	0
blockedBy	[]
blocking	[]
closedAt	Feb 3, 2026, 10:14 PM

refactor: Switch Grid Row to explicit updateContent pattern (#8964)

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

Closed v12.0.0 airefactoring

tobiu commented on Feb 3, 2026, 10:12 PM

The current reactivity model for Neo.grid.Row using record_ and rowIndex_ reactive configs has proven brittle and prone to race conditions, update loops, and stale data (e.g., columns disappearing after scrolling).

Proposed Architecture:

Remove Reactivity: Convert record_ and rowIndex_ to standard non-reactive configs in Neo.grid.Row.
Explicit Update Method: Introduce updateContent({record, rowIndex}) in Neo.grid.Row.
- This method will synchronously update the instance properties.
- It will then explicitly trigger createVdom().
Refactor GridBody:
- Update createViewData to call row.updateContent() directly for every row in the view window.
- Remove the force parameter logic as updateContent will always force a VDOM generation.
- This simplifies the update logic and ensures determinism.

Tasks:

Refactor src/grid/Row.mjs:
- Change record_ to record.
- Change rowIndex_ to rowIndex.
- Remove afterSetRecord.
- Implement updateContent(data).
Refactor src/grid/Body.mjs:
- Update createViewData to use item.updateContent({record, rowIndex}).
- Remove force parameter usage.

tobiu added the ai label on Feb 3, 2026, 10:12 PM

tobiu added the refactoring label on Feb 3, 2026, 10:12 PM

tobiu assigned to @tobiu on Feb 3, 2026, 10:12 PM

tobiu referenced in commit f98df52 - "refactor: Switch Grid Row to explicit updateContent pattern (#8972)" on Feb 3, 2026, 10:14 PM

tobiu Feb 3, 2026, 10:14 PM

Input from Gemini 3 Pro:

✦ I have successfully refactored the Grid Row architecture to use an explicit updateContent pattern.

Converted record and rowIndex to non-reactive configs.

Implemented Row.updateContent for synchronous state updates and VDOM generation.

Updated GridBody.createViewData to unconditionally update all visible rows using this new method.

This removes the brittleness of the reactive config system for this high-performance use case and ensures that rows always reflect the latest state, solving the issue with empty columns after scrolling.

tobiu closed this issue on Feb 3, 2026, 10:14 PM