mlsanityData to 14 Oct 2026

Autonomous Legacy Web Application Upgrades Using a Multi-Agent System

arXiv 2501.19204 ↗First posted 31 Jan 2025cs.SEcited by 1

On the map: LLM agents and tool use → Software engineering coding agents

Abstract (arXiv)

The use of Large Language Models (LLMs) for autonomous code generation is gaining attention in emerging technologies. As LLM capabilities expand, they offer new possibilities such as code refactoring, security enhancements, and legacy application upgrades. Many outdated web applications pose security and reliability challenges, yet companies continue using them due to the complexity and cost of upgrades. To address this, we propose an LLM-based multi-agent system that autonomously upgrades legacy web applications to the latest versions. The system distributes tasks across multiple phases, updating all relevant files. To evaluate its effectiveness, we employed Zero-Shot Learning (ZSL) and One-Shot Learning (OSL) prompts, applying identical instructions in both cases. The evaluation involved updating view files and measuring the number and types of errors in the output. For complex tasks, we counted the successfully met requirements. The experiments compared the proposed system with standalone LLM execution, repeated multiple times to account for stochastic behavior. Results indicate that our system maintains context across tasks and agents, improving solution quality over the base model in some cases. This study provides a foundation for future model implementations in legacy code updates. Additionally, findings highlight LLMs' ability to update small outdated files with high precision, even with basic prompts. The source code is publicly available on GitHub: https://github.com/alasalm1/Multi-agent-pipeline.

Key facts. Cited by 1 paper in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026). Placed in Software engineering coding agents, one of 16 directions in LLM agents and tool use. Builds on 19 of its 43 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 31 Jan 2025.

Builds on

19 of 43 references.

Closest ancestors · 2

Same direction, newest first

  1. 2024CodePori: Large-Scale System for Autonomous Software Development Using Multi-Agent Technology2 Feb
  2. 2023Autonomous Agents in Software Development: A Vision Paper30 Nov

Other references · 17

  1. 2017Attention Is All You Needcited by 60,361
  2. 2020Language Models are Few-Shot Learnerscited by 32,419
  3. 2020Scaling Laws for Neural Language Modelscited by 6,586
  4. 2023Reflexion: Language Agents with Verbal Reinforcement Learningcited by 4,276
  5. 2023Self-Refine: Iterative Refinement with Self-Feedbackcited by 3,442
  6. 2023Refining ChatGPT-Generated Code: Characterizing and Mitigating Code Quality Issuescited by 79
  7. 2024What's Wrong with Your Code Generated by Large Language Models? An Extensive Studycited by 53
  8. 2024Towards Translating Real-World Code with LLMs: A Study of Translating to Rustcited by 35
  9. 2024AI-powered Code Review with LLMs: Early Resultscited by 22
  10. 2024Artificial-Intelligence Generated Code Considered Harmful: A Road Map for Secure and High-Quality Code Generationcited by 12
  11. 2024Large Language Model Evaluation Via Multi AI Agents: Preliminary resultscited by 10
  12. 2024Large-scale, Independent and Comprehensive study of the power of LLMs for test case generationcited by 4
5 more
  1. 2018COBOL to Java and Newspapers Still Get Deliveredcited by 2
  2. 2024TimeLess: A Vision for the Next Generation of Software Developmentcited by 2
  3. 2019Microservices Migration in Industry: Intentions, Strategies, and Challengescited by 1
  4. 2023Penetration Testing and Legacy Systemscited by 1
  5. 2024Transforming C++11 Code to C++03 to Support Legacy Compilation Environmentscited by 1

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Cited by year (2026 to 14 Oct)

Citing papers per year: 2026: 1.

1 paper.

Similar, not cited

Close in wording, no citation either way

  1. 2024Agent-Driven Automatic Software Improvement
  2. 2025VAPU: System for Autonomous Legacy Code Modernization
  3. 2026LLM-Based Multi-Agent Systems for Code Generation: A Multi-Vocal Literature Review
  4. 2025A Survey on Code Generation with LLM-based Agents
  5. 2025SEW: Self-Evolving Agentic Workflows for Automated Code Generation
  6. 2025LLM Agents for Automated Web Vulnerability Reproduction: Are We There Yet?
  7. 2026Developing LLM-based Multi-Agent Systems in Software Engineering: A Mixed-Method Experience Report
  8. 2025Automatically Generating Web Applications from Requirements Via Multi-Agent Test-Driven Development