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Documents authored by Tabareau, Nicolas

Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.FSCD.2026.26
Divide and Check: Logical Relations, No Algorithms Attached

Authors: Josselin Poiret, Kenji Maillard, and Nicolas Tabareau

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 378, 11th International Conference on Formal Structures for Computation and Deduction (FSCD 2026)

Abstract
The correctness of type-checking implementations for proof assistants based on dependent type theory relies on metatheoretical properties that ensure the decidability of typing, some of which require substantial logical strength. Recent mechanizations of such algorithms have highlighted the importance of separating the algorithmic components of the proof - often intricate but requiring relatively low logical strength - from the logical components, which depend on stronger metatheoretical properties, such as normalization or the injectivity of type constructors. In this work, we revisit the logical relations technique and show how it can be used to derive these metatheoretical properties in a direct and uniform way for a core dependent type theory featuring Π-types, N, ⊥ and a universe U. Our presentation yields a compact and conceptually simplified argument that isolates the logically strong reasoning from the algorithmic core. We argue that this approach scales smoothly to richer type theories, and demonstrate this by extending our construction to Exceptional Type Theory (ExcTT), obtaining the first mechanized canonicity proof for this theory.
Cite as

Josselin Poiret, Kenji Maillard, and Nicolas Tabareau. Divide and Check: Logical Relations, No Algorithms Attached. In 11th International Conference on Formal Structures for Computation and Deduction (FSCD 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 378, pp. 26:1-26:23, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{poiret_et_al:LIPIcs.FSCD.2026.26,
  author =	{Poiret, Josselin and Maillard, Kenji and Tabareau, Nicolas},
  title =	{{Divide and Check: Logical Relations, No Algorithms Attached}},
  booktitle =	{11th International Conference on Formal Structures for Computation and Deduction (FSCD 2026)},
  pages =	{26:1--26:23},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-433-8},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{378},
  editor =	{Pfenning, Frank},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.FSCD.2026.26},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-263764},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.FSCD.2026.26},
  annote =	{Keywords: Type Theory, Proof Assistants}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.LICS.2026.41
Definitional Proof Irrelevance Made Accessible

Authors: Thiago Felicissimo, Yann Leray, Loïc Pujet, Nicolas Tabareau, Éric Tanter, and Théo Winterhalter

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 380, 41st Annual Symposium on Logic in Computer Science (LICS 2026)

Abstract
A universe of propositions equipped with definitional proof irrelevance constitutes a convenient medium to express properties and proofs in type-theoretic proof assistants such as Lean, Rocq, and Agda. However, allowing accessibility predicates - used to establish semantic termination arguments - to inhabit such a universe yields undecidable typechecking, hampering the predictability and foundational bases of a proof assistant. To effectively reconcile definitional proof irrelevance and accessibility predicates with both theoretical foundations and practicality in mind, we describe a type theory that extends the Calculus of Inductive Constructions featuring observational equality in a universe of strict propositions, with two variants for handling the elimination principle of accessibility predicates: one variant safeguards decidability by sticking to propositional unfolding, and the other variant favors flexibility with definitional unfolding, at the expense of a potentially diverging typechecking procedure. Crucially, the metatheory of this dual approach establishes that any proof made in the definitional variant of the theory can be translated into a proof of the same statement in the propositional variant, all while preserving the decidability of the latter. Moreover, we prove the two variants to be consistent and to satisfy forms of canonicity, ensuring that programs can indeed be properly evaluated. We present an implementation in Rocq and compare it with existing approaches. Overall, this work introduces an effective technique that informs the design of proof assistants with strict propositions, enabling local computation with accessibility predicates without compromising the ambient type theory.
Cite as

Thiago Felicissimo, Yann Leray, Loïc Pujet, Nicolas Tabareau, Éric Tanter, and Théo Winterhalter. Definitional Proof Irrelevance Made Accessible. In 41st Annual Symposium on Logic in Computer Science (LICS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 380, pp. 41:1-41:26, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{felicissimo_et_al:LIPIcs.LICS.2026.41,
  author =	{Felicissimo, Thiago and Leray, Yann and Pujet, Lo\"{i}c and Tabareau, Nicolas and Tanter, \'{E}ric and Winterhalter, Th\'{e}o},
  title =	{{Definitional Proof Irrelevance Made Accessible}},
  booktitle =	{41st Annual Symposium on Logic in Computer Science (LICS 2026)},
  pages =	{41:1--41:26},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-434-5},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{380},
  editor =	{Faggian, Claudia and Katoen, Joost-Pieter},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.LICS.2026.41},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-268289},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.LICS.2026.41},
  annote =	{Keywords: Dependent type theory, proof assistants, Rocq, proof irrelevance, accessibility predicates, observational equality, canonicity, set-theoretic models}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITP.2024.26
The Rewster: Type Preserving Rewrite Rules for the Coq Proof Assistant

Authors: Yann Leray, Gaëtan Gilbert, Nicolas Tabareau, and Théo Winterhalter

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 309, 15th International Conference on Interactive Theorem Proving (ITP 2024)

Abstract
In dependently typed proof assistants, users can declare axioms to extend the ambient logic locally with new principles and propositional equalities governing them. Additionally, rewrite rules have recently been proposed to allow users to extend the logic with new definitional equalities, enabling them to handle new principles with a computational behaviour. While axioms can only break consistency, the addition of arbitrary rewrite rules can break other important metatheoretical properties such as type preservation. In this paper, we present an implementation of rewrite rules on top of the Coq proof assistant, together with a modular criterion to ensure that the added rewrite rules preserve typing. This criterion, based on bidirectional type checking, is formally expressed in PCUIC - the type theory of Coq recently developed in the MetaCoq project.
Cite as

Yann Leray, Gaëtan Gilbert, Nicolas Tabareau, and Théo Winterhalter. The Rewster: Type Preserving Rewrite Rules for the Coq Proof Assistant. In 15th International Conference on Interactive Theorem Proving (ITP 2024). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 309, pp. 26:1-26:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2024)

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@InProceedings{leray_et_al:LIPIcs.ITP.2024.26,
  author =	{Leray, Yann and Gilbert, Ga\"{e}tan and Tabareau, Nicolas and Winterhalter, Th\'{e}o},
  title =	{{The Rewster: Type Preserving Rewrite Rules for the Coq Proof Assistant}},
  booktitle =	{15th International Conference on Interactive Theorem Proving (ITP 2024)},
  pages =	{26:1--26:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-337-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2024},
  volume =	{309},
  editor =	{Bertot, Yves and Kutsia, Temur and Norrish, Michael},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITP.2024.26},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-207545},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITP.2024.26},
  annote =	{Keywords: type theory, dependent types, rewrite rules, type preservation, Coq}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.TLCA.2015.226
Wild omega-Categories for the Homotopy Hypothesis in Type Theory

Authors: André Hirschowitz, Tom Hirschowitz, and Nicolas Tabareau

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 38, 13th International Conference on Typed Lambda Calculi and Applications (TLCA 2015)

Abstract
In classical homotopy theory, the homotopy hypothesis asserts that the fundamental varpi-groupoid construction induces an equivalence between topological spaces and weak varpi-groupoids. In the light of Voevodsky's univalent foundations program, which puts forward an interpretation of types as topological spaces, we consider the question of transposing the homotopy hypothesis to type theory. Indeed such a transposition could stand as a new approach to specifying higher inductive types. Since the formalisation of general weak varpi-groupoids in type theory is a difficult task, we only take a first step towards this goal, which consists in exploring a shortcut through strict varpi-categories. The first outcome is a satisfactory type-theoretic notion of strict varpi-category, which has hsets of cells in all dimensions. For this notion, defining the 'fundamental strict varpi-category' of a type seems out of reach. The second outcome is an 'incoherently strict' notion of type-theoretic varpi-category, which admits arbitrary types of cells in all dimensions. These are the 'wild' varpi-categories of the title. They allow the definition of a 'fundamental wild varpi-category' map, which leads to our (partial) homotopy hypothesis for type theory (stating an adjunction, not an equivalence). All of our results have been formalised in the Coq proof assistant. Our formalisation makes systematic use of the machinery of coinductive types.
Cite as

André Hirschowitz, Tom Hirschowitz, and Nicolas Tabareau. Wild omega-Categories for the Homotopy Hypothesis in Type Theory. In 13th International Conference on Typed Lambda Calculi and Applications (TLCA 2015). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 38, pp. 226-240, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2015)

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@InProceedings{hirschowitz_et_al:LIPIcs.TLCA.2015.226,
  author =	{Hirschowitz, Andr\'{e} and Hirschowitz, Tom and Tabareau, Nicolas},
  title =	{{Wild omega-Categories for the Homotopy Hypothesis in Type Theory}},
  booktitle =	{13th International Conference on Typed Lambda Calculi and Applications (TLCA 2015)},
  pages =	{226--240},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-939897-87-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2015},
  volume =	{38},
  editor =	{Altenkirch, Thorsten},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.TLCA.2015.226},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-51669},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.TLCA.2015.226},
  annote =	{Keywords: Homotopy Type theory; Omega-categories; Coinduction; Homotopy hypothesis}
}
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