{"id":"https://openalex.org/W7164944436","doi":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2606.14790","title":"XFlow: An Executable Protocol Programming System for Reliable Multi-Agent Workflows","display_name":"XFlow: An Executable Protocol Programming System for Reliable Multi-Agent Workflows","publication_year":2026,"publication_date":"2026-06-11","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W7164944436","doi":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2606.14790"},"language":null,"primary_location":{"id":"doi:10.48550/arxiv.2606.14790","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2606.14790","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":null,"is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"Preprint"},"type":"preprint","indexed_in":["datacite"],"open_access":{"is_oa":true,"oa_status":"green","oa_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2606.14790","any_repository_has_fulltext":true},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5138705266","display_name":"Hanqi Li","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Li, Hanqi","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5102735864","display_name":"Jie Peng","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6957-3881"},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Peng, Jing","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5138713535","display_name":"Zijian Wang","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Wang, Zijian","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5138748899","display_name":"Lu Chen","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Chen, Lu","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"last","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5138718197","display_name":"Kai Yu","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Yu, Kai","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":0,"institutions_distinct_count":0,"corresponding_author_ids":[],"corresponding_institution_ids":[],"apc_list":null,"apc_paid":null,"fwci":null,"has_fulltext":false,"cited_by_count":0,"citation_normalized_percentile":null,"cited_by_percentile_year":null,"biblio":{"volume":null,"issue":null,"first_page":null,"last_page":null},"is_retracted":false,"is_paratext":false,"is_xpac":false,"primary_topic":{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10456","display_name":"Multi-Agent Systems and Negotiation","score":0.8770999908447266,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10456","display_name":"Multi-Agent Systems and Negotiation","score":0.8770999908447266,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10703","display_name":"Business Process Modeling and Analysis","score":0.015399999916553497,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1404","display_name":"Management Information Systems"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/14","display_name":"Business, Management and Accounting"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/2","display_name":"Social Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10215","display_name":"Semantic Web and Ontologies","score":0.014800000004470348,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/executable","display_name":"Executable","score":0.7868000268936157},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/workflow","display_name":"Workflow","score":0.6970999836921692},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/orchestration","display_name":"Orchestration","score":0.6571999788284302},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/protocol","display_name":"Protocol (science)","score":0.6353999972343445},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/commit","display_name":"Commit","score":0.5347999930381775},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/reliability","display_name":"Reliability (semiconductor)","score":0.45320001244544983},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/process","display_name":"Process (computing)","score":0.40790000557899475},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/state","display_name":"State (computer science)","score":0.39989998936653137}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.810699999332428},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C160145156","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q778586","display_name":"Executable","level":2,"score":0.7868000268936157},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C177212765","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q627335","display_name":"Workflow","level":2,"score":0.6970999836921692},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C199168358","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3367000","display_name":"Orchestration","level":3,"score":0.6571999788284302},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2780385302","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q367158","display_name":"Protocol (science)","level":3,"score":0.6353999972343445},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C115903868","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q80993","display_name":"Software engineering","level":1,"score":0.590499997138977},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C153180980","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19776675","display_name":"Commit","level":2,"score":0.5347999930381775},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C43214815","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7310987","display_name":"Reliability (semiconductor)","level":3,"score":0.45320001244544983},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C199360897","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q9143","display_name":"Programming language","level":1,"score":0.41190001368522644},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C98045186","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q205663","display_name":"Process (computing)","level":2,"score":0.40790000557899475},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C48103436","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q599031","display_name":"State (computer science)","level":2,"score":0.39989998936653137},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2777904410","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7397","display_name":"Software","level":2,"score":0.3741999864578247},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C184337299","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1437428","display_name":"Semantics (computer science)","level":2,"score":0.3521000146865845},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C34165917","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q188267","display_name":"Programming paradigm","level":2,"score":0.34549999237060547},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C120314980","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q180634","display_name":"Distributed computing","level":1,"score":0.334199994802475},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C117447612","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1412670","display_name":"Software quality","level":4,"score":0.3172999918460846},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C529173508","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q638608","display_name":"Software development","level":3,"score":0.3043999969959259},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C149091818","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2429814","display_name":"Software system","level":3,"score":0.303600013256073},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C133112747","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7251931","display_name":"Protocol analysis","level":2,"score":0.27880001068115234},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2779038628","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7248497","display_name":"Programming by demonstration","level":3,"score":0.2599000036716461},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C188220564","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3325097","display_name":"Workflow engine","level":3,"score":0.2558000087738037}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":1,"locations":[{"id":"doi:10.48550/arxiv.2606.14790","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2606.14790","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":null,"is_accepted":false,"is_published":null,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"Preprint"}],"best_oa_location":{"id":"doi:10.48550/arxiv.2606.14790","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2606.14790","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":null,"is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"Preprint"},"sustainable_development_goals":[{"id":"https://metadata.un.org/sdg/4","score":0.6132515668869019,"display_name":"Quality Education"}],"awards":[],"funders":[],"has_content":{"grobid_xml":false,"pdf":false},"content_urls":null,"referenced_works_count":0,"referenced_works":[],"related_works":[],"abstract_inverted_index":{"LLM-based":[0],"multi-agent":[1,59],"systems":[2,29],"increasingly":[3],"coordinate":[4],"planning,":[5],"reasoning,":[6],"tool":[7],"use,":[8],"and":[9,43,61,79,94,119,136,164,179,183],"human":[10],"interaction,":[11],"yet":[12],"their":[13],"reliability":[14,173],"remains":[15,84],"limited.":[16],"A":[17],"central":[18],"source":[19],"of":[20,149],"this":[21],"limitation":[22],"is":[23,92],"the":[24],"underspecified":[25],"prompt--harness":[26],"boundary.":[27],"Current":[28],"lack":[30],"a":[31,73,87,97],"principled":[32],"way":[33],"to":[34],"decide":[35],"which":[36,44,129],"workflow":[37,81],"commitments":[38,110],"should":[39,45],"remain":[40],"in":[41],"prompts":[42],"become":[46,145],"harness":[47,112],"structure.":[48],"We":[49],"present":[50],"\\textbf{XFlow},":[51],"an":[52],"executable":[53],"protocol":[54,68],"programming":[55,69],"system":[56],"for":[57],"reliable":[58],"workflows,":[60],"\\textbf{XPF}":[62],"(XFlow":[63],"Protocol":[64],"Format),":[65],"its":[66],"domain-specific":[67],"language.":[70],"XFlow":[71,123,171],"occupies":[72],"middle":[74],"position":[75],"between":[76],"prompt-only":[77],"orchestration":[78],"markup-like":[80],"descriptions.":[82],"XPF":[83],"readable":[85],"as":[86,96],"literate":[88],"protocol,":[89],"but":[90],"it":[91],"compiled":[93],"executed":[95],"program.":[98],"Its":[99],"design":[100],"keeps":[101],"informal":[102],"semantic":[103],"work":[104],"inside":[105],"actors":[106],"while":[107],"moving":[108],"selected":[109],"into":[111],"structure":[113],"that":[114,170],"can":[115],"be":[116],"checked,":[117],"preserved,":[118],"enforced.":[120],"At":[121],"runtime,":[122],"stages":[124],"uncertainty":[125],"through":[126,151],"lifecycle-governed":[127],"symbols,":[128],"are":[130,141],"typed":[131],"state":[132],"cells":[133],"with":[134],"validation":[135],"commit":[137],"states.":[138],"Actor":[139],"outputs":[140],"mediated":[142],"before":[143],"they":[144],"shared":[146],"state,":[147],"instead":[148],"spreading":[150],"prompts,":[152],"transcripts,":[153],"or":[154],"implicit":[155],"memory.":[156],"Our":[157],"experiments":[158],"cover":[159],"Constrained":[160],"Interaction,":[161],"Long-Context":[162],"Reasoning,":[163],"Agentic":[165],"Software":[166],"Engineering.":[167],"They":[168],"show":[169],"improves":[172],"by":[174],"making":[175],"constraints,":[176],"evidence":[177],"handling,":[178],"process":[180],"requirements":[181],"explicit":[182],"enforceable.":[184]},"counts_by_year":[],"updated_date":"2026-07-01T06:00:48.157686","created_date":"2026-06-17T00:00:00"}
