zgcagi / Harness-RSI

Harness Self-Evolution: Theory, Algorithms, Evaluation, Applications, and Impact 
 📄 Full version · 66 pages 
Self-Evolving Agent Harness · arXiv · Project Page · Reading List · Citation · 中文版 · 
 Chuyang Wei 1,3 , Haoxiang Guan 1,3 , Minghang Zhu 1 , Kexin Zhou 1,3 , Jiyan He 1,2 , Xiren Zhou 3 , Huanhuan Chen 3 , Yifei Shen 1,2,† 
 1 Zhongguancun Academy  ·  2 Zhongguancun Institute of Artificial Intelligence 
 3 University of Science and Technology of China  ·  † Corresponding author
Companion materials for our survey of how execution experience becomes persistent harness state under a fixed base model. The survey covers update mechanisms, evolutionary search, continual PAC learning, evaluation, applications, and societal impact.
**PDF downloads:** Full report · 66 pages · Short paper · 18 pages.
## Reading Guide
**Background**　Related Surveys · Definition · Taxonomy · Precursors
**Literature**　Interpreted · Executable · Theory · Evaluation
**Resources**　Applications & Outlook · Reported Evidence · Contributing · Citation
## Related Surveys
- **A Survey of Self-Evolving Agents** `TMLR'26` — organizes self-evolution by what, when, how, and where to evolve. [[paper]](https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.21046)
- **A Comprehensive Survey of Self-Evolving AI Agents** `arXiv'25` — organizes methods by optimizer feedback. [[paper]](https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.07407) [[list]](https://github.com/EvoAgentX/Awesome-Self-Evolving-Agents)
- **Externalization in LLM Agents** `arXiv'26` — unified review of memory, skills, protocols, and harness engineering. [[paper]](https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.08224)
- **Code as Agent Harness** `arXiv'26` — organizes by the role of code in the agent loop. [[paper]](https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.18747) [[list]](https://github.com/YennNing/Awesome-Code-as-Agent-Harness-Papers)
- **Recursive Self-Improvement in AI** `arXiv'26` — from bounded self-refinement to autonomous research loops, organized by loop closure. [[paper]](https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.07663)
- **Self-Improvements in Modern Agentic Systems** `arXiv'26` — separates model and scaffold updates under frozen parameters and discusses independent evaluation and component controls. [[paper]](https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.13104) [[list]](https://github.com/selfimproving-agent/awesome-Self-Improving-Agents)
- **Self-Evolving Coding Agents** `arXiv'26` — distinguishes proposal eligibility, runtime activation, and admission, and discusses component controls under a common budget. [[paper]](https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.03392)
## Definition
A **harness** $H$ is the software and configuration that governs how a model $M$ operates in an environment $E$. It includes tools, context construction, memory, and execution control. The final evaluator $J$ scores a trajectory and stays outside the candidate’s editable surface; internal critics and provisional verifiers may belong to the mutable harness.
$$
\tau \sim \mathrm{Run}(M,H,E), \qquad y=J(\tau)
$$
Harness self-evolution uses a batch of trajectorie