Entity-Component-System-based JavaScript framework for real-time applications

Features

• Entity-Component-System Architecture - Highly decoupled design for scalable real-time applications
• Prototype-Based Entities - Define entity templates with multi-inheritance support
• Scene Management - Isolate entities across multiple game states (menus, levels, etc.)
• Entity Pooling - Automatic memory optimization through object reuse
• Event System - Decoupled communication via event broker
• Addon System - Modular organization with namespace support
• TypeScript Support - Full type safety with modern ES6+ syntax

Installation

npm install kernox

Quick Start

import { Kernox, KernoAddon } from "kernox";
import { prototypes } from "./setup/prototypes.js";
import { systems } from "./setup/systems.js";
import { collections } from "./setup/collections.js";

// Bundle resources as an addon
const myApp: KernoAddon = {
  name: "myApp",
  prototypes,
  systems,
  collections
};

// Initialize and run
const app = new Kernox();
app.use(myApp);
app.execute();

Core Concepts

Entities and Prototypes

Define entity templates with attributes and collection assignments:

import type { PrototypeSchema, Entity } from "kernox";

interface Player extends Entity {
  position: { x: number; y: number };
  velocity: { x: number; y: number };
  hp: number;
  level: number;
}

const playerPrototype: PrototypeSchema<Player> = {
  name: "Player",
  attributes: {
    position: { x: 0, y: 0 },
    velocity: { x: 0, y: 0 },
    hp: 100,
    level: 1
  },
  collections: new Set(["Players", "Kinetics", "Renderables"])
};

Multi-Inheritance:

const enemyPrototype: PrototypeSchema<Enemy> = {
  name: "Enemy",
  attributes: { damage: 10 },
  collections: new Set(["Enemies"]),
  inherits: [kineticPrototype, spritePrototype]  // Inherit from multiple prototypes
};

Learn more about entities →

Collections

Group entities for efficient processing:

import { ArrayList } from "kernox";

// Define typed collections
class Players extends ArrayList<Player> {}
class Enemies extends ArrayList<Enemy> {}
class Projectiles extends ArrayList<Projectile> {}

export const collections = [Players, Enemies, Projectiles];

Usage:

const players = app.collectionManager.get<Players>("Players");

for (const player of players) {
  console.log(`Player ${player.id} has ${player.hp} HP`);
}

// Array methods
const alive = players.filter(p => p.hp > 0);
const count = players.size();

Learn more about collections →

Systems

Process entities each frame:

import { System } from "kernox";
import type { Kinetics } from "./collections";

class MovementSystem extends System {
  private kinetics!: Kinetics;

  init() {
    this.kinetics = this.getCollection<Kinetics>("Kinetics");
  }

  execute() {
    for (const entity of this.kinetics) {
      entity.position.x += entity.velocity.x;
      entity.position.y += entity.velocity.y;
    }
  }
}

Learn more about systems →

Scene Management

Isolate entities across different game states:

// Switch to menu scene
app.collectionManager.switchScene("menu");
app.entityFactory.create("Button", { text: "Start Game" });

// Switch to level1 - menu entities are preserved but hidden
app.collectionManager.switchScene("level1");
app.entityFactory.create("Player", { position: { x: 100, y: 100 } });

// Switch back to menu - entities still exist
app.collectionManager.switchScene("menu");

Scene-Aware Systems:

class RenderSystem extends System {
  private renderables!: CollectionProxy<Renderables>;

  init() {
    // Automatically updates when scenes change
    this.renderables = this.__kernox.collectionManager.getSmartWrapper<Renderables>("Renderables");
  }

  execute() {
    for (const entity of this.renderables) {
      this.draw(entity);
    }
  }
}

Learn more about scene management →

Events

Decouple communication between systems:

// Define event
interface PlayerDiedEvent {
  playerId: string;
  position: { x: number; y: number };
}

// Emit event
this.__kernox.eventBroker.emit<PlayerDiedEvent>("player:died", {
  playerId: player.id,
  position: player.position
});

// Subscribe to event
this.__kernox.eventBroker.subscribe<PlayerDiedEvent>("player:died", (data) => {
  console.log(`Player ${data.playerId} died at`, data.position);
  this.spawnExplosion(data.position);
});

Learn more about events →

Entity Pooling

Optimize memory usage through automatic entity recycling:

// Create entity (may reuse pooled entity)
const enemy = app.entityFactory.create("Enemy", {
  position: { x: 100, y: 100 }
});

// Return entity to pool for reuse
app.entityFactory.sendToRest(enemy);

// Next create() call may reuse the pooled entity
const newEnemy = app.entityFactory.create("Enemy");

Each entity type has its own pool. Entities are automatically removed from all collections before pooling.

Addon System

Organize code into modular, reusable packages:

import type { KernoAddon } from "kernox";

const gameAddon: KernoAddon = {
  name: "myGame",
  prototypes: [playerPrototype, enemyPrototype],
  systems: [MovementSystem, CombatSystem, RenderSystem],
  collections: [Players, Enemies, Projectiles]
};

// Load addon with automatic namespace registration
app.use(gameAddon);

// Access namespaced resources
app.entityFactory.create("myGame.Player");
const players = app.collectionManager.get("myGame.Players");

Learn more about addons →

Creating Entities

// Create from prototype
const player = app.entityFactory.create("Player", {
  position: { x: 100, y: 200 },
  hp: 80
});

// With namespace
const enemy = app.entityFactory.create("myGame.Enemy");

// Entities are automatically added to their prototype's collections

Application Lifecycle

const app = new Kernox();

// Register addons
app.use(gameAddon);

// Start execution loop
app.execute();

// Stop execution
app.stop();

Demo

Clone the repository and run the demo:

git clone https://github.com/WebAxol/Kernox.git
cd Kernox
npm install
npm start

Then visit localhost:2025

Documentation

For detailed documentation, see the wiki directory:

• Architecture Overview
• Entities
• Collections
• Systems
• Events
• Addons

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please send pull requests to the dev branch.

git clone https://github.com/WebAxol/Kernox.git
cd Kernox
npm install
npm test

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.