mlsanityData to 7 Oct 2026

G"odel Agent: A Self-Referential Agent Framework for Recursive Self-Improvement

arXiv 2410.04444 ↗First posted 6 Oct 2024cs.AIcited by 27

On the map: LLM agents and tool use → General LLM agent frameworks and benchmarks

also in 1 more
Abstract (arXiv)

The rapid advancement of large language models (LLMs) has significantly enhanced the capabilities of AI-driven agents across various tasks. However, existing agentic systems, whether based on fixed pipeline algorithms or pre-defined meta-learning frameworks, cannot search the whole agent design space due to the restriction of human-designed components, and thus might miss the globally optimal agent design. In this paper, we introduce G"odel Agent, a self-evolving framework inspired by the G"odel machine, enabling agents to recursively improve themselves without relying on predefined routines or fixed optimization algorithms. G"odel Agent leverages LLMs to dynamically modify its own logic and behavior, guided solely by high-level objectives through prompting. Experimental results on mathematical reasoning and complex agent tasks demonstrate that implementation of G"odel Agent can achieve continuous self-improvement, surpassing manually crafted agents in performance, efficiency, and generalizability.

Key facts. Cited by 27 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Placed in General LLM agent frameworks and benchmarks, one of 16 directions in LLM agents and tool use. Builds on 29 of its 50 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 6 Oct 2024.

Builds on

29 of 50 references.

Closest ancestors · 6

Same direction, newest first

  1. 2024Recursive Introspection: Teaching Language Model Agents How to Self-Improve25 Jul
  2. 2024Symbolic Learning Enables Self-Evolving Agents26 Jun
  3. 2024Offline Training of Language Model Agents with Functions as Learnable Weights17 Feb
  4. 2024Investigate-Consolidate-Exploit: A General Strategy for Inter-Task Agent Self-Evolution25 Jan
  5. 2023A Survey on Large Language Model based Autonomous Agents22 Aug
  6. 2023MetaGPT: Meta Programming for A Multi-Agent Collaborative Framework1 Aug

Other references · 23

  1. 2024The Llama 3 Herd of Modelscited by 14,192
  2. 2020Retrieval-Augmented Generation for Knowledge-Intensive NLP Taskscited by 9,160
  3. 2022ReAct: Synergizing Reasoning and Acting in Language Modelscited by 8,355
  4. 2020Measuring Massive Multitask Language Understandingcited by 7,768
  5. 2022Self-Consistency Improves Chain of Thought Reasoning in Language Modelscited by 5,601
  6. 2023Self-Refine: Iterative Refinement with Self-Feedbackcited by 3,317
  7. 2023Improving Factuality and Reasoning in Language Models through Multiagent Debatecited by 1,739
  8. 2021WebGPT: Browser-assisted question-answering with human feedbackcited by 1,722
  9. 2024The AI Scientist: Towards Fully Automated Open-Ended Scientific Discoverycited by 1,002
  10. 2023Teaching Large Language Models to Self-Debugcited by 963
  11. 2019DROP: A Reading Comprehension Benchmark Requiring Discrete Reasoning Over Paragraphscited by 883
  12. 2023DSPy: Compiling Declarative Language Model Calls into Self-Improving Pipelinescited by 803
11 more
  1. 2024A Survey on the Memory Mechanism of Large Language Model based Agentscited by 622
  2. 2022Language Models are Multilingual Chain-of-Thought Reasonerscited by 518
  3. 2023ChatGPT for Robotics: Design Principles and Model Abilitiescited by 296
  4. 2024Tool Learning with Large Language Models: A Surveycited by 221
  5. 2023Take a Step Back: Evoking Reasoning via Abstraction in Large Language Modelscited by 157
  6. 2023ExpertPrompting: Instructing Large Language Models to be Distinguished Expertscited by 140
  7. 2023ChatDB: Augmenting LLMs with Databases as Their Symbolic Memorycited by 136
  8. 2023Self-Taught Optimizer (STOP): Recursively Self-Improving Code Generationcited by 128
  9. 2024GLoRe: When, Where, and How to Improve LLM Reasoning via Global and Local Refinementscited by 101
  10. 2024Agent-Pro: Learning to Evolve via Policy-Level Reflection and Optimizationcited by 93
  11. 2018A Formulation of Recursive Self-Improvement and Its Possible Efficiencycited by 1

Built on by

Cited by year (2026 to 7 Oct)

Citing papers per year: 2025: 12; 2026: 15.

27 papers.

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By area:

  1. 2025Darwin Godel Machine: Open-Ended Evolution of Self-Improving Agentscited by 294
  2. 2025A Survey of Self-Evolving Agents: What, When, How, and Where to Evolve on the Path to Artificial Super Intelligencecited by 155
  3. 2025Advances and Challenges in Foundation Agents: From Brain-Inspired Intelligence to Evolutionary, Collaborative, and Safe Systemscited by 125
  4. 2025WebEvolver: Enhancing Web Agent Self-Improvement with Coevolving World Modelcited by 56
  5. 2025Huxley-G"odel Machine: Human-Level Coding Agent Development by an Approximation of the Optimal Self-Improving Machinecited by 44
  6. 2026SkillRevise: Improving LLM-Authored Agent Skills via Trace-Conditioned Skill Revisioncited by 21
  7. 2025Weak-for-Strong: Training Weak Meta-Agent to Harness Strong Executorscited by 20
  8. 2025SwarmAgentic: Towards Fully Automated Agentic System Generation via Swarm Intelligencecited by 17
  9. 2025AgentBreeder: Mitigating the AI Safety Risks of Multi-Agent Scaffolds via Self-Improvementcited by 13
  10. 2026PACE: Anytime-Valid Acceptance Tests for Self-Evolving Agentscited by 8
  11. 2025Revisiting Prompt Optimization with Large Reasoning Models-A Case Study on Event Extractioncited by 6
  12. 2026Autonomous Research Agents: A Survey of AI Scientists and the Verification Gapcited by 6
15 more
  1. 2026Are You Still the Agent I Authorized? Earned Authority under a Fixed Ceiling for Evolving Agentscited by 4
  2. 2025Divide, Optimize, Merge: Fine-Grained LLM Agent Optimization at Scalecited by 3
  3. 2025Galaxy: A Cognition-Centered Framework for Proactive, Privacy-Preserving, and Self-Evolving LLM Agentscited by 2
  4. 2026JudgeFlow: Agentic Workflow Optimization via Block Judgecited by 2
  5. 2026Learning to Self-Evolvecited by 2
  6. 2026Polaris: A G"odel Agent Framework for Small Language Models through Experience-Abstracted Policy Repaircited by 2
  7. 2025Differentiable Evolutionary Reinforcement Learningcited by 1
  8. 2026Prompting Complexity: Shortest Prompts for Texts and Behaviors in LLMscited by 1
  9. 2026The Path to Self-Evolving Clinical Systems: Scaling Medical Agents from Assistance to Autonomycited by 1
  10. 2026Belief-Calibrated Optimization: An Explicit World Model for Agentic Optimizationcited by 1
  11. 2026Self-Programmed Execution for Language-Model Agentscited by 0
  12. 2026EvoUndo: Recoverability-Constrained Self-Evolution for LLM Agent Harnessescited by 0
  13. 2026Scope Before You Persist: Preventing Cross-Family Interference in Agent Memorycited by 0
  14. 2026VidHarness: Evolving Agent Harnesses for Cost-Efficient Long Video Understandingcited by 0
  15. 2026The Harness as the Only Mutable Surface: Compliance-Bounded Self-Evolution of LLM Agents in Credit Pipelines, with a Measured Admission Gatecited by 0

Similar, not cited

Close in wording, no citation either way

  1. 2026Learn Like Humans: Use Meta-cognitive Reflection for Efficient Self-Improvement
  2. 2026MetaSkill-Evolve: Recursive Self-Improvement of LLM Agents via Two-Timescale Meta-Skill Evolution
  3. 2026Towards AGI A Pragmatic Approach Towards Self Evolving Agent
  4. 2025Agent0: Unleashing Self-Evolving Agents from Zero Data via Tool-Integrated Reasoning
  5. 2026Recursive Self-Evolving Agents via Held-Out Selection
  6. 2024Can Large Language Models Invent Algorithms to Improve Themselves?: Algorithm Discovery for Recursive Self-Improvement through Reinforcement Learning
  7. 2026Metan: Recursive Self-Improvement through Emergent Depth
  8. 2026SAGE: Multi-Agent Self-Evolution for LLM Reasoning