Environment-in-the-Loop: Rethinking Code Migration with LLM-based Agents

TL;DR

The paper tackles the problem that static code migration cannot guarantee runtime correctness due to environment drift. It proposes an environment-driven multi-agent framework comprising a Migration Agent, an Environment Agent, and a Testsuite Agent to create, configure, test, and iteratively repair migrations in a closed loop. Key contributions include formalizing automated environment interaction as a central verification hub, integrating environment construction with migration and testing, and enabling CI/CD-backed artifact propagation to handle dependency and configuration drift. This approach promises more reliable migrations and stronger resilience for long-term software evolution in real ecosystems.

Abstract

Modern software systems continuously undergo code upgrades to enhance functionality, security, and performance, and Large Language Models (LLMs) have demonstrated remarkable capabilities in code migration tasks. However, while research on automated code migration which including refactoring, API adaptation, and dependency updates has advanced rapidly, the exploration of the automated environment interaction that must accompany it remains relatively scarce. In practice, code and its environment are intricately intertwined. Relying solely on static analysis of the environment leads to an inadequate understanding of the target setting, prolongs feedback cycles, and consequently causes significant rework and project delays, thereby reducing overall efficiency. We contend that successful software evolution demands a holistic perspective that integrates both code and environment migration. To understand the current landscape and challenges, we first provide an overview of the status of automated environment construction. We then propose a novel framework paradigm that tightly integrates automated environment setup with the code migration workflow. Finally, we explore the challenges and future directions for automated environment interaction within the code migration domain. Our findings emphasize that without automated environment interaction, the automation of code migration is only half complete.

Figures (3)

• Figure 1: An implicit and subtle runtime error caused by the library upgrade, which is hard to catch by static analysis.
• Figure 2: Examples of error types that can only be discovered through dynamic environment interaction.
• Figure 3: The overall workflow of environment-driven multi-agent code migration.