Rango: Adaptive Retrieval-Augmented Proving for Automated Software Verification

Formal verification using proof assistants, such as Coq, enables the creation of high-quality software. However, the verification process requires significant expertise and manual effort to write proofs. Recent work has explored automating proof synthesis using machine learning and large language models (LLMs). This work has shown that identifying relevant premises, such as lemmas and definitions, can aid synthesis. We present Rango, a fully automated proof synthesis tool for Coq that automatically identifies relevant premises and also similar proofs from the current project and uses them during synthesis. Rango uses retrieval augmentation at every step of the proof to automatically determine which proofs and premises to include in the context of its fine-tuned LLM. In this way, Rango adapts to the project and to the evolving state of the proof. We create a new dataset, CoqStoq, of 2,226 open-source Coq projects and 196,929 theorems from GitHub, which includes both training data and a curated evaluation benchmark of well-maintained projects. On this benchmark, Rango synthesizes proofs for 32.0% of the theorems, which is 29% more theorems than the prior state-of-the-art tool Tactician. Our evaluation also shows that Rango adding relevant proofs to its context leads to a 47% increase in the number of theorems proven.

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Publication Details

Published
2025-04-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1109/icse55347.2025.00161
Citations
3
Primary Topic
Software Testing and Debugging Techniques
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
6.92

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article

Rango: Adaptive Retrieval-Augmented Proving for Automated Software Verification

João F. Ferreira, Kyle Thompson, Kevin D. Fisher, Yuriy Brun et al.
3 citations
Software Testing and Debugging Techniques
6.92
article

Rango: Adaptive Retrieval-Augmented Proving for Automated Software Verification

João F. Ferreira, Kyle Thompson, Kevin D. Fisher, Yuriy Brun, Sorin Lerner, Alex Sanchez-Stern, Nuno Saavedra, Pedro Carrott, Emily First
article en
3 citations

Abstract

Formal verification using proof assistants, such as Coq, enables the creation of high-quality software. However, the verification process requires significant expertise and manual effort to write proofs. Recent work has explored automating proof synthesis using machine learning and large language models (LLMs). This work has shown that identifying relevant premises, such as lemmas and definitions, can aid synthesis. We present Rango, a fully automated proof synthesis tool for Coq that automatically identifies relevant premises and also similar proofs from the current project and uses them during synthesis. Rango uses retrieval augmentation at every step of the proof to automatically determine which proofs and premises to include in the context of its fine-tuned LLM. In this way, Rango adapts to the project and to the evolving state of the proof. We create a new dataset, CoqStoq, of 2,226 open-source Coq projects and 196,929 theorems from GitHub, which includes both training data and a curated evaluation benchmark of well-maintained projects. On this benchmark, Rango synthesizes proofs for 32.0% of the theorems, which is 29% more theorems than the prior state-of-the-art tool Tactician. Our evaluation also shows that Rango adding relevant proofs to its context leads to a 47% increase in the number of theorems proven.

Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores Investigação e Desenvolvimento (PT), University of Lisbon (PT), University of Massachusetts Amherst (US), University of California San Diego (US), Imperial College London (GB)
National Science Foundation, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Air Force Research Laboratory
Openalex Percentile: Top 4%
Software Testing and Debugging Techniques
6.92
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