Bootstrapping Coding Agents: The Specification Is the Program

Martin Monperrus
3/18/2026
cs.SEcs.LG

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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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Cite this paper

@article{monperrus2026bootstrapping,
  title  = {Bootstrapping Coding Agents: The Specification Is the Program},
  author = {Martin Monperrus},
  year   = {2026},
  eprint = {2603.17399},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url    = {http://arxiv.org/abs/2603.17399v1}
}

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