Bootstrapping Coding Agents: The Specification Is the Program

Martin Monperrus

doi:10.1109/ms.2026.3687051

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arXiv · 2603.17399

Bootstrapping Coding Agents: The Specification Is the Program

Martin Monperrus

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Abstract

A coding agent can bootstrap itself. Starting from a 926-word specification and a first implementation produced by an existing agent (Claude Code), a newly generated agent re-implements the same specification correctly from scratch. This reproduces, in the domain of AI coding agents, the classical bootstrap sequence known from compiler construction, and instantiates the meta-circular property known from Lisp. The result carries a practical implication: the specification, not the implementation, is the stable artifact of record. Improving an agent means improving its specification; the implementation is, in principle, regenerable at any time.

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Martin Monperrus. 2026-03-18. Bootstrapping Coding Agents: The Specification Is the Program. https://doi.org/10.1109/ms.2026.3687051

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