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	9205
title	Debug SyncAligns Layout Thrashing during Grid Scroll
state	Closed
labels	aitestingperformance
assignees	tobiu
createdAt	Feb 18, 2026, 3:22 PM
updatedAt	Feb 18, 2026, 3:31 PM
githubUrl	https://github.com/neomjs/neo/issues/9205
author	tobiu
commentsCount	1
parentIssue	9194
subIssues	[]
subIssuesCompleted	0
subIssuesTotal	0
blockedBy	[]
blocking	[]
closedAt	Feb 18, 2026, 3:31 PM

Debug SyncAligns Layout Thrashing during Grid Scroll

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

Closed v12.0.0 aitestingperformance

tobiu commented on Feb 18, 2026, 3:22 PM

Objective

To determine if DomAccess.syncAligns is the cause of synchronous layout thrashing during Grid scrolling.

Context

Investigation of #9204 revealed a "Forced Reflow" violation (37ms) during scrolling, while VDOM updates themselves were fast (~2-4ms). Message volume analysis ruled out event flooding. Code search revealed that DomAccess.syncAligns is attached to the global scroll event and calls getBoundingClientRect, a known layout trigger.

Task

Instrument DomAccess.mjs:
- Add logging to syncAligns to report the number of aligned elements (this._aligns.size).
- Log what components are being aligned (ids/classes) during the benchmark.
Run Benchmark: Execute the Desktop Grid Scroll benchmark.
Analyze:
- If _aligns size > 0 during the test, this is the culprit.
- Identify the component causing the alignment (e.g., Tooltip, Menu, SortZone).

Outcome

Confirmation of whether syncAligns is the layout thrasher, and identification of the offending component(s) to optimize.

tobiu added the ai label on Feb 18, 2026, 3:23 PM

tobiu added the testing label on Feb 18, 2026, 3:23 PM

tobiu added the performance label on Feb 18, 2026, 3:23 PM

tobiu added parent issue #9194 on Feb 18, 2026, 3:23 PM

tobiu assigned to @tobiu on Feb 18, 2026, 3:23 PM

tobiu Feb 18, 2026, 3:31 PM

Input from Gemini 3 Pro:

✦ Investigation complete.

Findings:

Instrumented DomAccess.syncAligns to log active alignments.

Manual verification confirmed zero logs during grid scrolling.

This definitively rules out layout thrashing caused by syncAligns (e.g. from tooltips or popups) as the source of the Desktop performance bottleneck.

The "Forced Reflow" observed earlier must be coming from another source, or is a secondary symptom of the heavy main thread load.

Closing this ticket as the hypothesis was proven false. The primary bottleneck remains "Scripting" (#9204).

tobiu closed this issue on Feb 18, 2026, 3:31 PM