# AgentForge: Execution-Grounded Multi-Agent LLM Framework for Autonomous Software Engineering

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.13120 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.13120/

## Key facts

- Cited by 5 papers 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 26 of its 41 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 13 Apr 2026.

## Placed in

- LLM agents and tool use / [Software engineering coding agents](https://mlsanity.com/agents/software-engineering-coding-agents/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 26 of 26)

- [Language Models are Few-Shot Learners](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.14165/) (2020)
- [Retrieval-Augmented Generation for Knowledge-Intensive NLP Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.11401/) (2020)
- [ReAct: Synergizing Reasoning and Acting in Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.03629/) (2022)
- [Evaluating Large Language Models Trained on Code](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.03374/) (2021)
- [Reflexion: Language Agents with Verbal Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.11366/) (2023)
- [Toolformer: Language Models Can Teach Themselves to Use Tools](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.04761/) (2023)
- [Program Synthesis with Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.07732/) (2021)
- [SWE-bench: Can Language Models Resolve Real-World GitHub Issues?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.06770/) (2023)
- [Code Llama: Open Foundation Models for Code](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.12950/) (2023)
- [AutoGen: Enabling Next-Gen LLM Applications via Multi-Agent Conversation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.08155/) (2023)
- [MetaGPT: Meta Programming for A Multi-Agent Collaborative Framework](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.00352/) (2023)
- [SWE-agent: Agent-Computer Interfaces Enable Automated Software Engineering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.15793/) (2024)
- [Competition-Level Code Generation with AlphaCode](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.07814/) (2022)
- [OpenHands: An Open Platform for AI Software Developers as Generalist Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.16741/) (2024)
- [Teaching Large Language Models to Self-Debug](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.05128/) (2023)
- [ChatDev: Communicative Agents for Software Development](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.07924/) (2023)
- [StarCoder: may the source be with you!](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.06161/) (2023)
- [AutoCodeRover: Autonomous Program Improvement](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.05427/) (2024)
- [Is Self-Repair a Silver Bullet for Code Generation?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.09896/) (2023)
- [MAGIS: LLM-Based Multi-Agent Framework for GitHub Issue Resolution](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.17927/) (2024)
- [Practical Program Repair in the Era of Large Pre-trained Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.14179/) (2022)
- [InferFix: End-to-End Program Repair with LLMs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.07263/) (2023)
- [RGD: Multi-LLM Based Agent Debugger via Refinement and Generation Guidance](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.01242/) (2024)
- [AgentMesh: A Cooperative Multi-Agent Generative AI Framework for Software Development Automation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.19902/) (2025)
- [SEMAG: Self-Evolutionary Multi-Agent Code Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.15707/) (2026)
- [InspectCoder: Dynamic Analysis-Enabled Self Repair through interactive LLM-Debugger Collaboration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.18327/) (2025)

## Built on by (most cited first, 5 of 5)

- [Multi-agent Collaboration with State Management](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.20563/) (2026)
- [Engineering Reliable Coding Agents: Evaluating and Operating the System Around the Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.13867/) (2026)
- [ZhuLong: Execution-Grounded LLM Agent for EDA Scripting with Offline API Self-Exploration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.07925/) (2026)
- [AsynCodeBench: Benchmarking Collaboration of Asynchronous Multi-Agent Systems in Software Engineering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.32662/) (2026)
- [AECP: Artifact-Exclusive Communication Protocol for Multi-Agent Code Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.06481/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Large language models generate plausible code but cannot verify correctness. Existing multi-agent systems simulate execution or leave verification optional. We introduce execution-grounded verification as a first-class principle: every code change must survive sandboxed execution before propagation. We instantiate this principle in AGENTFORGE, a multi-agent framework where Planner, Coder, Tester, Debugger, and Critic agents coordinate through shared memory and a mandatory Docker sandbox. We formalize software engineering with LLMs as an iterative decision process over repository states, where execution feedback provides a stronger supervision signal than next-token likelihood. AGENTFORGE achieves 40.0% resolution on SWE-BENCH Lite, outperforming single-agent baselines by 26--28 points. Ablations confirm that execution feedback and role decomposition each independently drive performance. The framework is open-source at https://github.com/raja21068/AutoCodeAI.