feat(apps): introduce alternative node-runtime

.github/workflows/ci-test-e2e.yml

@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ jobs:
         run: echo "DEBUG_LOG_LEVEL=2" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
 
       - name: Start httpbin container and wait for it to be ready
-        if: inputs.type == 'api' || inputs.type == 'api-livechat'
+        if: startsWith(inputs.type, 'api')
         run: |
           docker compose -f docker-compose-ci.yml up -d httpbin
 
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ jobs:
           # behavior on (rate-limiter bypass, short cache TTLs) while letting
           # the deprecation logger log without throwing. Other suites use the
           # docker-compose default of TEST_MODE='true'.
-          TEST_MODE: ${{ (inputs.type == 'api' || inputs.type == 'api-livechat') && 'api' || 'true' }}
+          TEST_MODE: ${{ startsWith(inputs.type, 'api') && 'api' || 'true' }}
         run: |
           # when we are testing CE, we only need to start the rocketchat container
           DEBUG_LOG_LEVEL=${DEBUG_LOG_LEVEL:-0} docker compose -f docker-compose-ci.yml up -d rocketchat --wait
@@ -192,7 +192,8 @@ jobs:
           ENTERPRISE_LICENSE: ${{ inputs.enterprise-license }}
           TRANSPORTER: ${{ inputs.transporter }}
           COMPOSE_PROFILES: ${{ inputs.type == 'api' && 'api' || '' }}
-          TEST_MODE: ${{ (inputs.type == 'api' || inputs.type == 'api-livechat') && 'api' || 'true' }}
+          TEST_MODE: ${{ startsWith(inputs.type, 'api') && 'api' || 'true' }}
+          APPS_ENGINE_RUNTIME_BACKEND: ${{ inputs.type == 'api-apps-node' && 'node' || '' }}
         run: |
           DEBUG_LOG_LEVEL=${DEBUG_LOG_LEVEL:-0} docker compose -f docker-compose-ci.yml up -d --wait
 
@@ -229,6 +230,23 @@ jobs:
           ls -la "$COVERAGE_DIR"
           exit "${s:-0}"
 
+      # This step should be temporary, only here until we remove the deno-runtime
+      - name: E2E Test API (apps + node-runtime)
+        if: (inputs.type == 'api-apps-node' && inputs.release == 'ee')
+        working-directory: ./apps/meteor
+        env:
+          WEBHOOK_TEST_URL: 'http://httpbin'
+          IS_EE: 'true'
+        run: |
+          set -o xtrace
+
+          npm run testapi:apps || s=$?
+
+          docker compose -f ../../docker-compose-ci.yml stop
+
+          ls -la "$COVERAGE_DIR"
+          exit "${s:-0}"
+
       - name: E2E Test API (Livechat)
         if: inputs.type == 'api-livechat'
         working-directory: ./apps/meteor

.github/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -650,6 +650,27 @@ jobs:
       CR_PAT: ${{ secrets.CR_PAT }}
       NPM_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
 
+  test-api-apps-node-ee:
+    name: 🔨 Test API Apps (node-runtime - EE)
+    needs: [checks, build-gh-docker-publish, release-versions]
+
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/ci-test-e2e.yml
+    with:
+      type: api-apps-node
+      release: ee
+      transporter: 'nats://nats:4222'
+      enterprise-license: ${{ needs.release-versions.outputs.enterprise-license }}
+      mongodb-version: "['8.0']"
+      coverage: '8.0'
+      node-version: ${{ needs.release-versions.outputs.node-version }}
+      deno-version: ${{ needs.release-versions.outputs.deno-version }}
+      lowercase-repo: ${{ needs.release-versions.outputs.lowercase-repo }}
+      gh-docker-tag: ${{ needs.release-versions.outputs.gh-docker-tag }}
+    secrets:
+      CR_USER: ${{ secrets.CR_USER }}
+      CR_PAT: ${{ secrets.CR_PAT }}
+      NPM_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
+
   test-ui-ee:
     name: 🔨 Test UI (EE)
     needs: [checks, build-gh-docker-publish, release-versions]

apps/meteor/.mocharc.api.apps.js

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+'use strict';
+
+/*
+ * Mocha configuration for REST API integration tests.
+ */
+
+module.exports = /** @satisfies {import('mocha').MochaOptions} */ ({
+	...require('./.mocharc.base.json'), // see https://github.com/mochajs/mocha/issues/3916
+	timeout: 10000,
+	bail: false,
+	retries: 0,
+	file: 'tests/end-to-end/teardown.ts',
+	reporter: 'tests/end-to-end/reporter.ts',
+	spec: ['tests/end-to-end/apps/*'],
+});

apps/meteor/package.json

@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@
 		"test:e2e:nyc": "nyc report --reporter=lcovonly",
 		"testapi": "TS_NODE_COMPILER_OPTIONS='{\"module\": \"commonjs\"}' mocha --config ./.mocharc.api.js",
 		"testapi:livechat": "TS_NODE_COMPILER_OPTIONS='{\"module\": \"commonjs\"}' mocha --config ./.mocharc.api.livechat.js",
+		"testapi:apps": "TS_NODE_COMPILER_OPTIONS='{\"module\": \"commonjs\"}' mocha --config ./.mocharc.api.apps.js",
 		"testunit": "yarn .testunit:definition && yarn .testunit:jest && yarn .testunit:server:cov",
 		"testunit-watch": "TS_NODE_COMPILER_OPTIONS='{\"module\": \"commonjs\"}' mocha --watch --config ./.mocharc.js",
 		"typecheck": "meteor lint && cross-env NODE_OPTIONS=\"--max-old-space-size=8192\" tsc --noEmit --skipLibCheck",

docker-compose-ci.yml

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ services:
     image: ghcr.io/${LOWERCASE_REPOSITORY}/rocket.chat:${DOCKER_TAG}${DOCKER_TAG_SUFFIX_ROCKETCHAT:-}
     environment:
       - 'TEST_MODE=${TEST_MODE:-true}'
+      - APPS_ENGINE_RUNTIME_BACKEND=${APPS_ENGINE_RUNTIME_BACKEND:-}
       - DEBUG=${DEBUG:-}
       - EXIT_UNHANDLEDPROMISEREJECTION=true
       - MONGO_URL=mongodb://mongo:27017/rocketchat?replicaSet=rs0

docs/proposals/shared-base-runtime.md

@@ -0,0 +1,207 @@
+# Proposal: Shared Base Runtime for Apps (Deno + Node)
+
+## Status
+
+Draft
+
+## Problem
+
+The apps subprocess runtime exists today in two near-duplicate copies:
+
+- `packages/apps/deno-runtime/` — the Deno implementation (files at root)
+- `packages/apps/node-runtime/` — the Node implementation (files under `src/`)
+
+A normalized diff of all 70 non-test source files (stripping import-path extensions,
+`import type` vs `import`, and prettier/tabs-vs-spaces formatting) shows the two trees
+are **~90% byte-identical logic**. The four largest apparent diffs (`BlockBuilder.ts`,
+`lib/accessors/mod.ts`, `lib/ast/operations.ts`, `handlers/uikit/handler.ts`) each reduce
+to **exactly 2 differing tokens** once sorted and whitespace-stripped — those tokens being
+the relocated `require(...)` calls.
+
+Maintaining two copies means every bug fix, accessor change, or handler addition must be
+applied twice and kept in sync by hand. The goal is a single **base runtime** that owns all
+shared logic, with each platform supplying a thin adapter for the genuinely
+platform-specific surface.
+
+## The Platform Boundary
+
+Every genuine divergence between the two runtimes reduces to **one of 11 capabilities**.
+The base runtime depends only on a `RuntimePlatform` interface; each runtime supplies a
+concrete adapter.
+
+```ts
+interface RuntimePlatform {
+  // ── module resolution (the largest coupling: 19 files) ──
+  require(specifier: string): unknown;          // apps-engine runtime classes + sandboxed app require
+  prepareEnvironment(): void;                    // deno: patch Socket.prototype._final; node: no-op
+
+  // ── transport ──
+  readStdin(): AsyncIterable<Uint8Array>;        // deno: Deno.stdin.readable    | node: process.stdin
+  writeStdout(bytes: Uint8Array): Promise<void>; // deno: writeAll(Deno.stdout)  | node: process.stdout.write
+  writeStderr(bytes: Uint8Array): Promise<void>; // deno: writeAll(Deno.stderr)  | node: process.stderr.write
+
+  // ── process lifecycle ──
+  pid: number;                                   // Deno.pid    | process.pid
+  argv: string[];                                // Deno.args   | process.argv
+  parseArgs(argv: string[]): ParsedArgs;         // @std/cli    | node:util
+  exit(code: number): never;                     // Deno.exit   | process.exit
+  registerErrorHandlers(report): void;           // addEventListener | process.on('uncaughtException')
+
+  // ── rpc response correlation ──
+  createResponseObserver(): ResponseObserver;    // EventTarget(+ErrorEvent/CustomEvent) | EventEmitter
+
+  // ── file io ──
+  readFile(path: string): Promise<Uint8Array>;   // Deno.open+toArrayBuffer | node:fs/promises readFile
+}
+```
+
+Everything else — the handler layer, accessor layer, builders, extenders, modify/, AST,
+room logic, codec, secureFields, logger — is logically identical and moves to the base
+unchanged (modulo import-path/idiom normalization that converges automatically under one
+toolchain).
+
+## Decisions Taken
+
+### `require` injection: init-time singleton (Option A)
+
+The 19 `require`-coupled files are constructed deep in the tree (builders instantiated by
+`ModifyCreator`, etc.), so threading `platform` through every constructor would be
+invasive. Instead:
+
+- The base exposes `setPlatform(platform)`, called **once** in `main()` before any handler
+  runs.
+- `require`-coupled files read `platform.require` from a base-internal singleton.
+
+This matches today's module-level `require` usage (Deno imports a shim; Node uses the global
+CJS `require`) and keeps churn to the shared files near zero. The alternative — constructor
+threading (pure DI) — was rejected because it touches every builder/extender/modify
+signature for no functional gain.
+
+### `construct.ts buildRequire`
+
+The allow-lists (`ALLOWED_NATIVE_MODULES` / `ALLOWED_EXTERNAL_MODULES`) and the eval shell
+are base. Only the specifier-prefix policy (`npm:` / `node:` handling, Buffer injection) and
+`prepareEnvironment` differ → both fold into `platform`.
+
+## Suggested Package Shape
+
+```
+packages/apps/
+  base-runtime/        # the ~58 single-source files + RuntimePlatform interface + setPlatform()
+  deno-runtime/        # adapter: require.ts, parseArgs, EventTarget observer, Deno io + bootstrap
+  node-runtime/        # adapter: loader-hook, parseArgs, EventEmitter observer, node io + bootstrap
+```
+
+## Disposition Legend
+
+- **BASE** — moves to base unchanged (only import-path/idiom normalization).
+- **BASE+require** — moves to base; the only coupling is `require()` → reads injected `platform.require`.
+- **BASE+platform** — moves to base; needs a non-require capability injected.
+- **SPLIT** — logic core moves to base; a thin slice stays in the adapter.
+- **ADAPTER** — platform-specific implementation, one copy per runtime.
+
+## Full Inventory
+
+### `lib/` core
+
+| File | Disposition | Injected capability / notes |
+|---|---|---|
+| `lib/codec.ts` | BASE+require | `require('.../App.js')` to load `App` class |
+| `lib/secureFields.ts` | BASE | identical |
+| `lib/sanitizeDeprecatedUsage.ts` | BASE | — |
+| `lib/requestContext.ts` | BASE | — |
+| `lib/room.ts` | BASE | only `??` / strictness idiom |
+| `lib/roomFactory.ts` | BASE | — |
+| `lib/wrapAppForRequest.ts` | BASE | — |
+| `lib/logger.ts` | BASE | use Node's `implements ILogger` superset as canonical |
+| `lib/messenger.ts` | SPLIT | `writeStdout` + `createResponseObserver` injected; Queue/encode logic is base |
+| `lib/metricsCollector.ts` | BASE+platform | `writeStderr`, `pid` |
+| `lib/parseArgs.ts` | ADAPTER | shape differs (`@std/cli` vs `node:util`); exposed via `platform.parseArgs` |
+| `lib/require.ts` | ADAPTER (deno) | becomes the Deno `require` impl |
+| `lib/loader-hook.ts` | ADAPTER (node) | Node `registerHooks` resolver |
+
+### `lib/ast/`
+
+| File | Disposition | Notes |
+|---|---|---|
+| `lib/ast/mod.ts` | BASE | drop `@deno-types` comments; use real acorn imports |
+| `lib/ast/operations.ts` | BASE | type-assertion idiom only |
+| `acorn.d.ts`, `acorn-walk.d.ts` | BASE | dedupe the two copies (deno root vs node `lib/ast/`) into one |
+
+### `lib/accessors/`
+
+| File | Disposition | Notes |
+|---|---|---|
+| `accessors/mod.ts` | BASE | 48-line "diff" was whitespace + `WithProxy` typing |
+| `accessors/http.ts` | BASE | identical after norm |
+| `accessors/formatResponseErrorHandler.ts` | BASE | byte-identical today |
+| `accessors/notifier.ts` | BASE+require | — |
+| `accessors/builders/BlockBuilder.ts` | BASE+require | loads BlockType/ElementType/TextObjectType |
+| `accessors/builders/DiscussionBuilder.ts` | BASE+require | — |
+| `accessors/builders/LivechatMessageBuilder.ts` | BASE+require | — |
+| `accessors/builders/MessageBuilder.ts` | BASE+require | — |
+| `accessors/builders/RoomBuilder.ts` | BASE+require | — |
+| `accessors/builders/UserBuilder.ts` | BASE+require | — |
+| `accessors/builders/VideoConferenceBuilder.ts` | BASE+require | — |
+| `accessors/extenders/HttpExtender.ts` | BASE | byte-identical today |
+| `accessors/extenders/MessageExtender.ts` | BASE+require | — |
+| `accessors/extenders/RoomExtender.ts` | BASE+require | — |
+| `accessors/extenders/VideoConferenceExtend.ts` | BASE+require | — |
+| `accessors/modify/ModifyCreator.ts` | BASE+require | — |
+| `accessors/modify/ModifyExtender.ts` | BASE+require | — |
+| `accessors/modify/ModifyUpdater.ts` | BASE+require | — |
+
+### `handlers/`
+
+| File | Disposition | Notes |
+|---|---|---|
+| `handlers/api-handler.ts` | BASE | lint-directive idiom only |
+| `handlers/outboundcomms-handler.ts` | BASE | — |
+| `handlers/scheduler-handler.ts` | BASE | — |
+| `handlers/slashcommand-handler.ts` | BASE | type-assertion idiom only |
+| `handlers/videoconference-handler.ts` | BASE | — |
+| `handlers/uikit/handler.ts` | BASE+require | — |
+| `handlers/listener/handler.ts` | BASE+require | — |
+| `handlers/lib/assertions.ts` | BASE | — |
+| `handlers/app/handler.ts` | BASE | dispatch table |
+| `handlers/app/handleInitialize.ts` | BASE | — |
+| `handlers/app/handleGetStatus.ts` | BASE | — |
+| `handlers/app/handleSetStatus.ts` | BASE+require | — |
+| `handlers/app/handleOnEnable.ts` | BASE | — |
+| `handlers/app/handleOnDisable.ts` | BASE | — |
+| `handlers/app/handleOnInstall.ts` | BASE | — |
+| `handlers/app/handleOnUninstall.ts` | BASE | — |
+| `handlers/app/handleOnUpdate.ts` | BASE | — |
+| `handlers/app/handleOnPreSettingUpdate.ts` | BASE | — |
+| `handlers/app/handleOnSettingUpdated.ts` | BASE | — |
+| `handlers/app/handleUploadEvents.ts` | BASE+platform | `readFile(path)` |
+| `handlers/app/construct.ts` | SPLIT | `require`, `prepareEnvironment`, `buildRequire` specifier policy injected; sandbox-eval logic is base |
+
+### Top-level / entry / config
+
+| File | Disposition | Notes |
+|---|---|---|
+| `AppObjectRegistry.ts` | BASE | IIFE-paren idiom only |
+| `error-handlers.ts` | SPLIT | notification-shape builder is base; `registerErrorHandlers` hook is adapter |
+| `main.ts` | SPLIT | message loop is base; `readStdin` / `argv` / `exit` / observer-dispatch injected |
+| `globals.d.ts` (node) | ADAPTER (node) | ambient types |
+| `deno.jsonc`, `deno.runtime.jsonc`, `deno.lock`, `.gitignore` | ADAPTER (deno) | + import map for adapter wiring |
+| `tsconfig.json` (node) | ADAPTER (node) | — |
+
+## Tally
+
+- **BASE (pure)**: 33 files
+- **BASE+require**: 19 files
+- **BASE+platform**: 2 files (`metricsCollector`, `handleUploadEvents`)
+- **SPLIT**: 4 files (`main`, `messenger`, `construct`, `error-handlers`)
+- **ADAPTER**: `require.ts` / `loader-hook.ts`, `parseArgs.ts`, `globals.d.ts`, config
+
+→ **~58 of 62 logic files become single-source.** Only 4 files split, and the per-runtime
+adapter is roughly ~250 lines total.
+
+## Out of Scope (this proposal)
+
+- Step-by-step migration ordering and the strategy for keeping both runtimes green during
+  the move (to be covered in a follow-up implementation plan).
+- Test consolidation: both trees carry parallel `tests/` suites that would also collapse to
+  a single base suite running against each adapter.

packages/apps/deno-runtime/acorn-walk.d.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import type acorn from './acorn.d.ts';
+import type acorn from './acorn.d';
 
 export type FullWalkerCallback<TState> = (
 	node: acorn.AnyNode,

packages/apps/deno-runtime/error-handlers.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import * as Messenger from './lib/messenger.ts';
+import * as Messenger from './lib/messenger';
 
 export function unhandledRejectionListener(event: PromiseRejectionEvent) {
 	event.preventDefault();

packages/apps/deno-runtime/handlers/api-handler.ts

@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 import type { IApiEndpoint } from '@rocket.chat/apps-engine/definition/api/IApiEndpoint';
 import { Defined, JsonRpcError } from 'jsonrpc-lite';
 
-import { AppObjectRegistry } from '../AppObjectRegistry.ts';
-import { AppAccessorsInstance } from '../lib/accessors/mod.ts';
-import { RequestContext } from '../lib/requestContext.ts';
-import { wrapComposedApp } from '../lib/wrapAppForRequest.ts';
+import { AppObjectRegistry } from '../AppObjectRegistry';
+import { AppAccessorsInstance } from '../lib/accessors/mod';
+import { RequestContext } from '../lib/requestContext';
+import { wrapComposedApp } from '../lib/wrapAppForRequest';
 
 export default async function apiHandler(request: RequestContext): Promise<JsonRpcError | Defined> {
 	const { method: call, params } = request;

packages/apps/deno-runtime/handlers/app/construct.ts

@@ -2,11 +2,11 @@ import { Socket } from 'node:net';
 
 import type { IParseAppPackageResult } from '@rocket.chat/apps/dist/server/compiler/IParseAppPackageResult';
 
-import { AppObjectRegistry } from '../../AppObjectRegistry.ts';
-import { require } from '../../lib/require.ts';
-import { sanitizeDeprecatedUsage } from '../../lib/sanitizeDeprecatedUsage.ts';
-import { AppAccessorsInstance } from '../../lib/accessors/mod.ts';
-import { RequestContext } from '../../lib/requestContext.ts';
+import { AppObjectRegistry } from '../../AppObjectRegistry';
+import { require } from '../../lib/require';
+import { sanitizeDeprecatedUsage } from '../../lib/sanitizeDeprecatedUsage';
+import { AppAccessorsInstance } from '../../lib/accessors/mod';
+import { RequestContext } from '../../lib/requestContext';
 
 const ALLOWED_NATIVE_MODULES = ['path', 'url', 'crypto', 'buffer', 'stream', 'net', 'http', 'https', 'zlib', 'util', 'punycode', 'os', 'querystring', 'fs'];
 const ALLOWED_EXTERNAL_MODULES = ['uuid'];

packages/apps/deno-runtime/handlers/app/handleGetStatus.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import type { App } from '@rocket.chat/apps-engine/definition/App';
 
-import { AppObjectRegistry } from '../../AppObjectRegistry.ts';
+import { AppObjectRegistry } from '../../AppObjectRegistry';
 
 export default function handleGetStatus(): Promise<boolean> {
 	const app = AppObjectRegistry.get<App>('app');

packages/apps/deno-runtime/handlers/app/handleInitialize.ts

@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 import type { App } from '@rocket.chat/apps-engine/definition/App';
 
-import { AppObjectRegistry } from '../../AppObjectRegistry.ts';
-import { AppAccessorsInstance } from '../../lib/accessors/mod.ts';
-import { RequestContext } from '../../lib/requestContext.ts';
-import { wrapAppForRequest } from '../../lib/wrapAppForRequest.ts';
+import { AppObjectRegistry } from '../../AppObjectRegistry';
+import { AppAccessorsInstance } from '../../lib/accessors/mod';
+import { RequestContext } from '../../lib/requestContext';
+import { wrapAppForRequest } from '../../lib/wrapAppForRequest';
 
 export default async function handleInitialize(request: RequestContext): Promise<boolean> {
 	const app = AppObjectRegistry.get<App>('app');

packages/apps/deno-runtime/handlers/app/handleOnDisable.ts

@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 import type { App } from '@rocket.chat/apps-engine/definition/App';
 
-import { AppObjectRegistry } from '../../AppObjectRegistry.ts';
-import { AppAccessorsInstance } from '../../lib/accessors/mod.ts';
-import { RequestContext } from '../../lib/requestContext.ts';
-import { wrapAppForRequest } from '../../lib/wrapAppForRequest.ts';
+import { AppObjectRegistry } from '../../AppObjectRegistry';
+import { AppAccessorsInstance } from '../../lib/accessors/mod';
+import { RequestContext } from '../../lib/requestContext';
+import { wrapAppForRequest } from '../../lib/wrapAppForRequest';
 
 export default async function handleOnDisable(request: RequestContext): Promise<boolean> {
 	const app = AppObjectRegistry.get<App>('app');