mlsanityData to 7 Oct 2026

AgentAssay: Token-Efficient Regression Testing for Non-Deterministic AI Agent Workflows

arXiv 2603.02601 ↗First posted 3 Mar 2026cs.AI cs.SEcited by 2

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

Abstract (arXiv)

Autonomous AI agents are deployed at unprecedented scale, yet no principled methodology exists for verifying that an agent has not regressed after changes to its prompts, tools, models, or orchestration logic. We present AgentAssay, the first token-efficient framework for regression testing non-deterministic AI agent workflows, achieving 78-100% cost reduction while maintaining rigorous statistical guarantees. Our contributions include: (1) stochastic three-valued verdicts (PASS/FAIL/INCONCLUSIVE) grounded in hypothesis testing; (2) five-dimensional agent coverage metrics; (3) agent-specific mutation testing operators; (4) metamorphic relations for agent workflows; (5) CI/CD deployment gates as statistical decision procedures; (6) behavioral fingerprinting that maps execution traces to compact vectors, enabling multivariate regression detection; (7) adaptive budget optimization calibrating trial counts to behavioral variance; and (8) trace-first offline analysis enabling zero-cost testing on production traces. Experiments across 5 models (GPT-5.2, Claude Sonnet 4.6, Mistral-Large-3, Llama-4-Maverick, Phi-4), 3 scenarios, and 7,605 trials demonstrate that behavioral fingerprinting achieves 86% detection power where binary testing has 0%, SPRT reduces trials by 78%, and the full pipeline achieves 100% cost savings through trace-first analysis. Implementation: 20,000+ lines of Python, 751 tests, 10 framework adapters.

Key facts. Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Placed in Software engineering coding agents, one of 16 directions in LLM agents and tool use. Builds on 5 of its 36 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 3 Mar 2026.

Builds on

5 of 36 references.

Closest ancestors · 1

Same direction, newest first

  1. 2023AutoGen: Enabling Next-Gen LLM Applications via Multi-Agent Conversation16 Aug

Other references · 4

  1. 2026SoK: Agentic Skills -- Beyond Tool Use in LLM Agentscited by 120
  2. 2026Formal Analysis and Supply Chain Security for Agentic AI Skillscited by 21
  3. 2025Knowledge Integration for Physics-informed Symbolic Regression Using Pre-trained Large Language Modelscited by 7
  4. 2026Capable but Unreliable: Canonical Path Deviation as a Causal Mechanism of Agent Failure in Long-Horizon Taskscited by 5

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Cited by year (2026 to 7 Oct)

Citing papers per year: 2026: 2.

2 papers.

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Close in wording, no citation either way

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