GraphARC: A Comprehensive Benchmark for Graph-Based Abstract Reasoning
On the map: LLM reasoning → Knowledge- and tool-augmented reasoning
Abstract (arXiv)
Relational reasoning lies at the heart of intelligence, but existing benchmarks are typically confined to formats such as grids or text. We introduce GraphARC, a benchmark for abstract reasoning on graph-structured data. GraphARC generalizes the few-shot transformation learning paradigm of the Abstraction and Reasoning Corpus (ARC). Each task requires inferring a transformation rule from a few input-output pairs and applying it to a new test graph, covering local, global, and hierarchical graph transformations. Unlike grid-based ARC, GraphARC instances can be generated at scale across diverse graph families and sizes, enabling systematic evaluation of generalization abilities. We evaluate state-of-the-art language models on GraphARC and observe clear limitations. Models can answer questions about graph properties but often fail to solve the full graph transformation task, revealing a comprehension-execution gap. Performance further degrades on larger instances, exposing scaling barriers. More broadly, by combining aspects of node classification, link prediction, and graph generation within a single framework, GraphARC provides a promising testbed for future graph foundation models.
Key facts. No citing papers in the map yet (data through 7 Oct 2026). Placed in Knowledge- and tool-augmented reasoning, one of 17 directions in LLM reasoning. Builds on 8 of its 32 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 29 May 2026.
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8 of 32 references.
References · 8
- 2023Inverse Scaling: When Bigger Isn't Bettercited by 205
- 2025ARC-AGI-2: A New Challenge for Frontier AI Reasoning Systemscited by 171
- 2019On the Measure of Intelligencecited by 129
- 2023Graph Foundation Models: Concepts, Opportunities and Challengescited by 101
- 2023LLMs and the Abstraction and Reasoning Corpus: Successes, Failures, and the Importance of Object-based Representationscited by 81
- 2025Graph Foundation Models: A Comprehensive Surveycited by 39
- 2024How Do Large Language Models Understand Graph Patterns? A Benchmark for Graph Pattern Comprehensioncited by 30
- 2025Let Me Think! A Long Chain-of-Thought Can Be Worth Exponentially Many Short Onescited by 12
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- 2026ClosureBench: A Constructive Benchmark for Compositional Graph Reasoning
- 2026GTA: Graph Theory Agent and Benchmark for Algorithmic Graph Reasoning with LLMs
- 2026GraphReAct: Reasoning and Acting for Multi-step Graph Inference
- 2026Unified Multi-Dimensional Benchmark for Complex Graph Reasoning in Large Language Models
- 2025TinyGraphEstimator: Adapting Lightweight Language Models for Graph Structure Inference
- 2024Towards Graph Foundation Models: Training on Knowledge Graphs Enables Transferability to General Graphs
- 2024GraphInstruct: Empowering Large Language Models with Graph Understanding and Reasoning Capability
- 2024GraCoRe: Benchmarking Graph Comprehension and Complex Reasoning in Large Language Models