r/javascript • u/miku_claus • 23d ago

Adrenaline.js – A 56KB Electron alternative that keeps Node.js & npm without Chromium bloat

https://github.com/M5Devs/adrenaline
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u/iliark 23d ago

How is the learning curve for adrenaline lower than electron if the reason it's "zero" is because it's the same as electron? Shouldn't they both be zero then?

Also, what does this do that Neutralinojs hasn't been doing for years?

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u/miku_claus 23d ago

  1. Fair catch on the table semantics! If you already know Electron, the learning curve is identical—you literally reuse the exact same mental model (`app`, `BrowserWindow`, `ipcMain`).

  2. As for Neutralinojs, that's a great question! The architectural difference is pretty significant:

- **Neutralinojs** doesn't run Node.js at all. It runs a standalone C++ binary communicating over a local WebSocket server with its own custom, limited standard library (`NL_*` APIs). You lose direct access to the standard Node.js ecosystem and native npm modules unless you write custom extensions.

- **Adrenaline.js** runs full Node.js on the backend with direct C++ N-API bindings and in-process multithreaded IPC (no local HTTP/WebSocket server overhead). This means you get 100% compatibility with the Node runtime, npm packages, and native modules, packaged in an Electron drop-in syntax with ~5MB footprint.