MetaEvolve is presented, a framework designed to develop meta-skills that can transfer broadly to open-ended problems where such rich training signals are scarce, and aims to inspire generalizable domain-agnostic meta-skills that can transfer broadly to open-ended problems where such rich training signals are scarce.
Abstract
Test-time scaling through iterative self-evolution with environment feedback, as demonstrated by AlphaEvolve, shows remarkable performance gains. We hypothesize that the success of such evolution frameworks hinges on meta-skills, such as self-reflection with environment feedback, that enable effective multi-round refinement, yet are largely neglected by traditional post-training. To bridge this gap, we present MetaEvolve, a framework designed to develop these meta-skills via a data synthesis pipeline, evolution-aware reinforcement learning (RL), and inference-time evolutionary search. Concretely, we ground MetaEvolve in coding, where program execution provides natural, continuous reward signals beyond binary correctness. Building on these signals, we synthesize evolution trajectories as training data, each containing a current program, its fitness score (combining correctness and efficiency), and a history of prior attempts, and train the model via RL with verifiable rewards derived from test case execution. By training on large-scale code data, we aim to inspire generalizable domain-agnostic meta-skills that can transfer broadly to open-ended problems where such rich training signals are scarce. Across seven coding benchmarks, MetaEvolve outperforms the strongest baseline by 10.01% absolute on in-distribution tasks and 24.12% on out-of-distribution tasks. On open-ended algorithm optimization problems entirely outside the training domain, it further achieves a 46.9% relative improvement. These results demonstrate that explicitly cultivating self-evolution meta-skills offers a principled path toward more capable and autonomously self-evolving AI.
LLM training is shifting from manual design and annotation to interaction-driven self-evolution. However, existing self-evolutionary methods face a fundamental dilemma between task diversity and verification reliability: environment-bound methods obtain precise feedback but confine learning to narrow domains, while open-ended self-generation broadens the task space but lacks reliable verification, allowing misleading rewards to pollute the training loop. We identify agent skills as a powerful middle ground to reconcile this tension: each skill ensures deep, verifiable execution in a specific scenario, while dynamic routing across skills maintains open-ended task variety. Leveraging this insight, we introduce Skill Self-Play (Skill-SP), a co-evolutionary framework comprising a proposer, a solver, and a dynamic skill controller. Orchestrated via a reinforcement learning loop, these components co-evolve in a continuous self-play loop: the proposer generates challenging tasks conditioned on dynamically sampled skills; the solver explores candidate solutions to push its capability boundaries; and the skill controller collects execution feedback to update and expand the skill library. This interactive co-evolution effectively bridges the gap between structured verification and open-ended exploration. Empirical evaluations on tool-use and reasoning benchmarks demonstrate that Skill-SP, serving as a robust evolution engine, consistently pushes the performance ceiling of competent backbones while catalyzing striking turnarounds for initially misaligned models. Our code is available at https://github.com/Qwen-Applications/skill-self-play.
Siyuan Huang, Pengyu Cheng, Haotian Liu et al.· 1 citation
Self-Review Reinforcement Learning consistently outperforms the RLVR in final reward performance and achieves greater learning efficiency by successfully transforming feedback into behavioral improvement.
Reinforcement learning (RL) post-training has emerged as a powerful framework for enhancing the capabilities of large language models (LLMs), enabling impressive reasoning, math, and coding capabilities. Yet for many researchers and practitioners, the principles behind classical RL remain a"black box". In this work, we deconstruct the RL post-training algorithm, investigating each step to clarify what is actually happening beneath the surface. By isolating the mechanics of RL with Verifiable Rewards in a controlled and simplified environment, we examine how RL outcomes are shaped by the base model's prior distribution, the granularity of the reward signal, the diversity of the prompt distribution, and model scale. We use the entropy of the policy's output distribution as a lens to compare the distributions learned through pretraining, SFT, and RL post-training, revealing how each stage shapes model certainty. Our investigation sheds light on how these choices interact to affect post-training success. For example, we show that the effect of so-called'spurious rewards'depends on the prompt distribution used for post-training. We also provide insight into why the success of RL post-training depends on whether the base model already places sufficient probability mass on the desired behavior, linking it to the classical concept of exploration in RL. Ultimately, we provide this primer as a resource to those in the NLP community wishing to incorporate RL as a tool in their toolbox.
D. Clay, Saket Gollapudi, Sankar V Harilal et al.· 0 citations
In the quantitative finance area, particularly in order execution, reinforcement learning (RL) has shown great promise due to its ability to interact with market environments based on real data. However, traditional RL methods suffer from slow research speed and rely on static market assumptions, which do not consider the impact of the agent's execution action on the environment. To address these, we propose a Self-Evolutional single-agent/multi-agent Reinforcement Learning (SE-RL) framework. The framework utilizes a Large Language Model (LLM) to design various RL algorithm modules, such as agent model design, reward function, profiling, communication, and state imagination, by leveraging the LLM generating module output or code. SE-RL could continuously improve the accuracy of LLM-generated RL algorithms through a dual-enhancement kit at both high-level (prompt refinement) and low-level (parameter fine-tuning). Additionally, we use a multi-agent system to simulate dynamic financial markets, accounting for the impact of order executions on market dynamics. To further enhance training in such a dynamic market, we develop a hybrid environment training method that could rebalance each environment's loss weight. Comprehensive experiments on 200 realistic stock datasets demonstrate that our proposed framework outperforms current state-of-the-art baselines. Project page: https://kdd2026-se-rl.github.io/.
Vincent Fu, Xinxin Xu, Weichen Xu et al.· Proceedings of the 32nd ACM...· 0 citations
This paper attempts to outline the evolution of LLMs from classic methods of supervised finetuning models with static human-annotated datasets, to a more dynamic and evolutionary reinforcement learning based autonomous models. Along with the systematic evolution of reasoning capabilities, this is one of the most prominent focal points in the field of AI. This paper attempt to outline the most current advancements in reasoning and reinforcement learning, and classify the occurrences into the applicable areas of criteria, such as: choice of architecture, choice of reward assignments, and choice of evaluation metrics. This paper explore reasoning improvements as a result of self-reflective and exploratory processes within the bounds of the RL with Verifiable Rewards (RLVR) framework. By systematically studying the aforementioned criteria across multiple works and the respective variations in algorithmic efficiency, control of reward signal bias, and performance metrics, this paper want to outline the positive role of reinforcement learning in fostering autonomous self-correction in models and complex thought chain processes. The aim of this paper is to describe the potential autonomous advancements the next generations of large language models may evolve and want to offer some suggestions as a theoretical and a technical framework.
Mengbo Song· Mathematical Modeling and Al...· 0 citations
Post-training Large Language Models (LLMs) with Reinforcement Learning (RL) has become an important tool for improving model capabilities, but the LLM action-space structure introduces challenges distinct from classical RL, with implications for inducing exploration. New methods are required that leverage the broad knowledge and flexibility of pre-trained LLMs to deliberately generate diverse experience at training time. We propose Instruction-Conditioned Exploration (ICE), which appends one of a small fixed set of instructions to task prompts during training, using the same set for every problem, increasing the coverage of behaviours attempted. To facilitate ICE, we combine RL on the instruction-conditioned policy with self-distillation of its correct rollouts into the unconditioned test-time policy. ICE with this objective improves Qwen3-1.7B held-out pass@1 performance at 4K response length on mathematical reasoning tasks by $5.0\%$ relative to training with DAPO, with improvement persisting at a longer 8K context. The improvement does not appear for Qwen3-4B at 4K, where the instructions do not expand base-model coverage.
Jim Dilkes, V. Yazdanpanah, Sebastian Stein· 0 citations