diff --git a/src/karax.nim b/src/karax.nim
index 07d4fd5..cdb68f7 100644
--- a/src/karax.nim
+++ b/src/karax.nim
@@ -141,9 +141,13 @@ proc same(n: VNode, e: Node): bool =
   elif toTag[n.kind] == e.nodename:
     result = true
     if n.kind != VNodeKind.text:
-      if e.len != n.len: return false
+      if e.len != n.len:
+        kout e.len, n.len
+        return false
       for i in 0 ..< n.len:
         if not same(n[i], e[i]): return false
+  else:
+    kout toTag[n.kind], e.nodename
 
 proc replaceById(id: cstring; newTree: Node) =
   let x = document.getElementById(id)
@@ -232,6 +236,134 @@ proc printV(n: VNode; depth: cstring = "") =
   for i in 0 ..< n.len:
     printV(n[i], depth & "  ")
 
+type
+  PatchKind = enum
+    pkReplace, pkRemove, pkAppend, pkInsertBefore
+  Patch = object
+    k: PatchKind
+    parent, current, n: Node
+
+proc addPatch(patches: var seq[Patch]; k: PatchKind; parent, current, n: Node) =
+  patches.add(Patch(k: k, parent: parent, current: current, n: n))
+
+proc apply(patches: seq[Patch]; kxi: KaraxInstance) =
+  for p in patches:
+    case p.k
+    of pkReplace:
+      if p.parent == nil:
+        replaceById(kxi.rootId, p.n)
+      else:
+        if p.n != p.current:
+          p.parent.replaceChild(p.n, p.current)
+    of pkRemove:
+      p.parent.removeChild(p.current)
+    of pkAppend:
+      p.parent.appendChild(p.n)
+    of pkInsertBefore:
+      p.parent.insertBefore(p.n, p.current)
+
+proc diff(parent, current: Node; newNode, oldNode: VNode; patches: var seq[Patch];
+          kxi: KaraxInstance): EqResult =
+  result = eq(newNode, oldNode, deep=false)
+  if result <= different:
+    var n: Node
+    if result == changed:
+      assert oldNode.kind == VNodeKind.component
+      let x = VComponent(oldNode)
+      let oldExpanded = x.expanded
+      x.expanded = x.renderImpl(x)
+      x.updatedImpl(x)
+      if oldExpanded == nil:
+        n = vnodeToDom(x.expanded, kxi)
+      else:
+        let res = diff(parent, current, x.expanded, oldExpanded, patches, kxi)
+        if res != different:
+          x.expanded = oldExpanded
+          n = oldExpanded.dom
+          doAssert n != nil, "old expanded.dom is nil"
+        else:
+          n = x.expanded.dom
+          doAssert n != nil, "expanded.dom is nil"
+        return
+    else:
+      detach(oldNode)
+      n = vnodeToDom(newNode, kxi)
+    patches.addPatch(pkReplace, parent, current, n)
+  elif result == similar:
+    updateStyles(newNode, oldNode, false)
+  else:
+    newNode.dom = oldNode.dom
+    let newLength = newNode.len
+    var oldLength = oldNode.len
+    let minLength = min(newLength, oldLength)
+
+    assert oldNode.kind == newNode.kind
+    var commonPrefix = 0
+
+    template eqAndUpdate(a: VNode; i: int; b: VNode; j: int; info, action: untyped) =
+      let oldLen = patches.len
+      if oldNode.kind notin {VNodeKind.component, VNodeKind.vthunk, VNodeKind.dthunk}:
+        assert current != nil
+        assert current.childNodes[j] != nil, $info
+        assert oldNode.len == current.len
+
+      let r = if oldNode.kind in {VNodeKind.component, VNodeKind.vthunk, VNodeKind.dthunk}:
+                diff(parent, current, a[i], b[j], patches, kxi)
+              else:
+                diff(current, current.childNodes[j], a[i], b[j], patches, kxi)
+      case r
+      of identical, changed:
+        a[i] = b[j]
+        action
+      of different:
+        # undo what 'diff' would have done:
+        setLen(patches, oldLen)
+        if result != different: result = r
+        break
+      of similar:
+        updateStyles(a[i], b[j], true)
+        a[i] = b[j]
+        action
+
+    while commonPrefix < minLength:
+      eqAndUpdate(newNode, commonPrefix, oldNode, commonPrefix, cstring"prefix"):
+        inc commonPrefix
+
+    var oldPos = oldLength - 1
+    var newPos = newLength - 1
+    while oldPos >= commonPrefix and newPos >= commonPrefix:
+      eqAndUpdate(newNode, newPos, oldNode, oldPos, cstring"suffix"):
+        dec oldPos
+        dec newPos
+
+    var pos = min(oldPos, newPos) + 1
+    for i in commonPrefix..pos-1:
+      let res = diff(current, current.childNodes[i],
+                        newNode[i], oldNode[i], patches, kxi)
+      if res != different:
+        newNode[i] = oldNode[i]
+      else:
+        result = different
+
+    var nextChildPos = oldPos + 1
+    if nextChildPos == oldLength:
+      for i in pos..newPos:
+        patches.addPatch(pkAppend, current, nil, vnodeToDom(newNode[i], kxi))
+        result = different
+    else:
+      let before = current.childNodes[nextChildPos]
+      for i in pos..newPos:
+        patches.addPatch(pkInsertBefore, current, before,
+                        vnodeToDom(newNode[i], kxi))
+        result = different
+    # XXX call 'attach' here?
+    for i in pos..oldPos:
+      detach(oldNode[i])
+      doAssert i < current.childNodes.len
+      patches.addPatch(pkRemove, current, current.childNodes[i], nil)
+      result = different
+
+
 proc updateElement(parent, current: Node, newNode, oldNode: VNode;
                    kxi: KaraxInstance): EqResult =
   result = eq(newNode, oldNode, deep=false)
@@ -368,9 +500,14 @@ proc dodraw(kxi: KaraxInstance) =
     replaceById(kxi.rootId, asdom)
   else:
     let olddom = document.getElementById(kxi.rootId)
-    discard updateElement(nil, olddom, newtree, kxi.currentTree, kxi)
+    when false:
+      discard updateElement(nil, olddom, newtree, kxi.currentTree, kxi)
+    else:
+      var patches: seq[Patch] = @[]
+      discard diff(nil, olddom, newtree, kxi.currentTree, patches, kxi)
+      patches.apply(kxi)
     kxi.currentTree = newtree
-  doAssert same(kxi.currentTree, document.getElementById(kxi.rootId))
+  #doAssert same(kxi.currentTree, document.getElementById(kxi.rootId))
 
   if not kxi.postRenderCallback.isNil:
     kxi.postRenderCallback()
@@ -387,7 +524,7 @@ proc redraw*(kxi: KaraxInstance = kxi) =
     if drawTimeout != nil:
       clearTimeout(drawTimeout)
     drawTimeout = setTimeout(dodraw, 30)
-  elif false:
+  elif true:
     reqFrame(proc () = kxi.dodraw)
   else:
     dodraw(kxi)
@@ -442,7 +579,7 @@ proc prepend(parent, kid: Element) =
   parent.insertBefore(kid, parent.firstChild)
 
 proc loadScript*(jsfilename: cstring; kxi: KaraxInstance = kxi) =
-  let body = getElementById("body")
+  let body = document.getElementById("body")
   let s = document.createElement("script")
   s.setAttr "type", "text/javascript"
   s.setAttr "src", jsfilename
diff --git a/src/kdom.nim b/src/kdom.nim
index 607d882..6799976 100644
--- a/src/kdom.nim
+++ b/src/kdom.nim
@@ -94,6 +94,8 @@ type
     previousSibling*: Node
     innerHTML*: cstring
     style*: Style
+    when defined(nodejs):
+      id*: cstring
 
   Document* = ref DocumentObj
   DocumentObj {.importc.} = object of NodeObj
@@ -395,12 +397,87 @@ type
   TimeOut* {.importc.} = ref object of RootObj
   Interval* {.importc.} = object of RootObj
 
-proc len*(x: Node): int {.importcpp: "#.childNodes.length".}
-proc `[]`*(x: Node; idx: int): Element {.importcpp: "#.childNodes[#]".}
+when defined(nodejs):
+  # we provide a dummy DOM for nodejs for testing purposes
+  proc len*(x: Node): int = x.childNodes.len
+  proc `[]`*(x: Node; idx: int): Element =
+    assert idx >= 0 and idx < x.childNodes.len
+    result = cast[Element](x.childNodes[idx])
+
+  var document* = Document(nodeType: DocumentNode)
+
+  proc getElem(x: Element; id: cstring): Element =
+    if x.id == id: return x
+    for i in 0..<x.len:
+      result = getElem(x[i], id)
+      if result != nil: return result
+
+  proc getElementById*(doc: Document; id: cstring): Element =
+    getElem(doc.body, id)
+  proc getElementById*(id: cstring): Element = document.getElementById(id)
+
+  proc appendChild*(parent, n: Node) =
+    n.parentNode = parent
+    parent.childNodes.add n
+
+  proc replaceChild*(parent, newNode, oldNode: Node) =
+    newNode.parentNode = parent
+    oldNode.parentNode = nil
+    var i = 0
+    while i < parent.len:
+      if Node(parent[i]) == oldNode:
+        parent.childNodes[i] = newNode
+        return
+      inc i
+    doAssert false, "old node not in node list"
+
+  proc removeChild*(parent, child: Node) =
+    child.parentNode = nil
+    var i = 0
+    while i < parent.len:
+      if Node(parent[i]) == child:
+        parent.childNodes.delete(i)
+        return
+      inc i
+    doAssert false, "old node not in node list"
+
+  proc insertBefore*(parent, newNode, before: Node) =
+    appendChild(parent, newNode)
+    var i = 0
+    while i < parent.len-1:
+      if Node(parent[i]) == before:
+        for j in countdown(parent.len-1, i-1):
+          parent.childNodes[j] = parent.childNodes[j-1]
+        parent.childNodes[i-1] = newNode
+        return
+      inc i
+    #doAssert false, "before not in node list"
+
+  proc createElement*(d: Document, identifier: cstring): Element =
+    new(result)
+    result.nodeName = identifier
+    result.nodeType = NodeType.ElementNode
+
+  proc createTextNode*(d: Document, identifier: cstring): Node =
+    new(result)
+    result.nodeName = "#text"
+    result.nodeValue = identifier
+    result.nodeType = NodeType.TextNode
+
+else:
+  proc len*(x: Node): int {.importcpp: "#.childNodes.length".}
+  proc `[]`*(x: Node; idx: int): Element {.importcpp: "#.childNodes[#]".}
+  proc getElementById*(id: cstring): Element {.importc: "document.getElementById", nodecl.}
+  proc appendChild*(n, child: Node) {.importcpp.}
+  proc removeChild*(n, child: Node) {.importcpp.}
+  proc replaceChild*(n, newNode, oldNode: Node) {.importcpp.}
+  proc insertBefore*(n, newNode, before: Node) {.importcpp.}
+  proc getElementById*(d: Document, id: cstring): Element {.importcpp.}
+  proc createElement*(d: Document, identifier: cstring): Element {.importcpp.}
+  proc createTextNode*(d: Document, identifier: cstring): Node {.importcpp.}
 
 proc setTimeout*(action: proc(); ms: int): Timeout {.importc, nodecl.}
 proc clearTimeout*(t: Timeout) {.importc, nodecl.}
-proc getElementById*(id: cstring): Element {.importc: "document.getElementById", nodecl.}
 
 {.push importcpp.}
 
@@ -445,19 +522,15 @@ proc requestAnimationFrame*(w: Window, function: proc (time: float)): int
 proc cancelAnimationFrame*(w: Window, id: int)
 
 # Node "methods"
-proc appendChild*(n, child: Node)
 proc appendData*(n: Node, data: cstring)
 proc cloneNode*(n: Node, copyContent: bool): Node
 proc deleteData*(n: Node, start, len: int)
 proc getAttribute*(n: Node, attr: cstring): cstring
 proc getAttributeNode*(n: Node, attr: cstring): Node
 proc hasChildNodes*(n: Node): bool
-proc insertBefore*(n, newNode, before: Node)
 proc insertData*(n: Node, position: int, data: cstring)
 proc removeAttribute*(n: Node, attr: cstring)
 proc removeAttributeNode*(n, attr: Node)
-proc removeChild*(n, child: Node)
-proc replaceChild*(n, newNode, oldNode: Node)
 proc replaceData*(n: Node, start, len: int, text: cstring)
 proc scrollIntoView*(n: Node)
 proc setAttribute*(n: Node, name, value: cstring)
@@ -466,9 +539,6 @@ proc setAttributeNode*(n: Node, attr: Node)
 # Document "methods"
 proc captureEvents*(d: Document, eventMask: int) {.deprecated.}
 proc createAttribute*(d: Document, identifier: cstring): Node
-proc createElement*(d: Document, identifier: cstring): Element
-proc createTextNode*(d: Document, identifier: cstring): Node
-proc getElementById*(d: Document, id: cstring): Element
 proc getElementsByName*(d: Document, name: cstring): seq[Element]
 proc getElementsByTagName*(d: Document, name: cstring): seq[Element]
 proc getElementsByClassName*(d: Document, name: cstring): seq[Element]
@@ -534,10 +604,12 @@ proc setAttr*(n: Node; key, val: cstring) {.importcpp: "#.setAttribute(@)".}
 
 var
   window* {.importc, nodecl.}: Window
-  document* {.importc, nodecl.}: Document
   navigator* {.importc, nodecl.}: Navigator
   screen* {.importc, nodecl.}: Screen
 
+when not defined(nodejs):
+  var document* {.importc, nodecl.}: Document
+
 proc decodeURI*(uri: cstring): cstring {.importc, nodecl.}
 proc encodeURI*(uri: cstring): cstring {.importc, nodecl.}
 
diff --git a/src/vdom.nim b/src/vdom.nim
index 16b0f36..9a88d0a 100644
--- a/src/vdom.nim
+++ b/src/vdom.nim
@@ -114,8 +114,9 @@ type
     # even index: key, odd index: value; done this way for memory efficiency:
     attrs: seq[cstring]
     events*: seq[(EventKind, EventHandler)]
-    hash*: Hash
-    validHash*: bool
+    when false:
+      hash*: Hash
+      validHash*: bool
     style*: VStyle ## the style that should be applied to the virtual node.
     dom*: Node ## the attached real DOM node. Can be 'nil' if the virtual node
                ## is not part of the virtual DOM anymore.
@@ -248,32 +249,33 @@ proc toString*(n: VNode; result: var string; indent: int) =
   for i in 1..indent: result.add ' '
   result.add "\L</" & $n.kind & ">"
 
-proc calcHash*(n: VNode) =
-  if n.validHash: return
-  n.validHash = true
-  var h: Hash = ord n.kind
-  if n.id != nil:
-    h &= "id"
-    h &= n.id
-  if n.class != nil:
-    h &= "class"
-    h &= n.class
-  if n.key >= 0:
-    h &= "k"
-    h &= n.key
-  for k, v in attrs(n):
-    h &= " "
-    h &= k
-    h &= "="
-    h &= v
-  if n.kind == VNodeKind.text or n.text != nil:
-    h &= "t"
-    h &= n.text
-  else:
-    for child in items(n):
-      calcHash(child)
-      h &= child.hash
-  n.hash = h
+when false:
+  proc calcHash*(n: VNode) =
+    if n.validHash: return
+    n.validHash = true
+    var h: Hash = ord n.kind
+    if n.id != nil:
+      h &= "id"
+      h &= n.id
+    if n.class != nil:
+      h &= "class"
+      h &= n.class
+    if n.key >= 0:
+      h &= "k"
+      h &= n.key
+    for k, v in attrs(n):
+      h &= " "
+      h &= k
+      h &= "="
+      h &= v
+    if n.kind == VNodeKind.text or n.text != nil:
+      h &= "t"
+      h &= n.text
+    else:
+      for child in items(n):
+        calcHash(child)
+        h &= child.hash
+    n.hash = h
 
 proc `$`*(n: VNode): cstring =
   var res = ""
diff --git a/tests/difftest.nim b/tests/difftest.nim
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9f80037
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/difftest.nim
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+
+include "../src/karax"
+import "../src/karaxdsl"
+
+proc doDiff(a, b: VNode) =
+  var patches: seq[Patch] = @[]
+  echo diff(nil, vnodeToDom(a, kxi), b, a, patches, kxi)
+  echo patches
+
+proc testAppend() =
+  let a = buildHtml(tdiv):
+    ul:
+      li: text "A"
+      li: text "B"
+  let b = buildHtml(tdiv):
+    ul:
+      li: text "A"
+      li: text "B"
+      li: text "C"
+  doDiff(a, b)
+
+proc testInsert() =
+  let a = buildHtml(tdiv):
+    ul:
+      li: text "A"
+      li: text "C"
+  let b = buildHtml(tdiv):
+    ul:
+      li: text "A"
+      li: text "B"
+      li: text "C"
+  doDiff(a, b)
+
+kxi = KaraxInstance(rootId: cstring"ROOT", renderer: proc (): VNode = discard)
+
+#testAppend()
+testInsert()
diff --git a/tests/lists.nim b/tests/lists.nim
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cce9abf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/lists.nim
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+import vdom, kdom, vstyles, karax, karaxdsl, jdict, jstrutils
+
+var contents: seq[cstring] = @[]
+
+proc onTodoEnter(e: Event; n: VNode) =
+  contents.insert(n.value & "BBBB")
+  contents.insert(n.value)
+  n.value = ""
+
+proc createDom(): VNode =
+  result = buildHtml(tdiv):
+    input(class = "new-todo", placeholder="What needs to be done?", name = "newTodo",
+          onkeyupenter = onTodoEnter, setFocus)
+    for c in contents:
+      tdiv:
+        text c
+
+setRenderer createDom