`RecursionError: maximum recursion depth exceeded` when saving a File that shares `content_hash` with another File

[dvdl16]

Summary

When two (or more) File records share the same content_hash (duplicate content), saving one of them triggers an infinite save loop between the duplicate rows via validate() → associate_files() → save(), ending in:

builtins.RecursionError: maximum recursion depth exceeded while calling a Python object

Environment

• App: cloud_storage (version-15)
• Frappe: v15

Root cause

validate() unconditionally calls self.associate_files():

def validate(self):
    self.associate_files()
    ...

When a duplicate-content File exists, associate_files() looks up the other File by content_hash, loads it, and saves it:

associated_doc = frappe.get_value(
    "File",
    {"content_hash": self.content_hash, "name": ["!=", self.name], "is_folder": False},
)
if associated_doc and associated_doc != self.name:
    existing_file = frappe.get_doc("File", associated_doc)
    ...
    existing_file.save()   # <-- re-enters validate() -> associate_files()

That existing_file.save() re-runs validate() on the other row, which calls associate_files() again - and finds the original file by content_hash and saves it. The two rows save each other in an endless A → B → A → … loop until Python hits the recursion limit.

Steps to reproduce

1. Have two File records with identical content (same content_hash). 2. Trigger a save/validate on one of them (e.g. attach it to a document, or any operation that re-validates the File). 3. validate() → associate_files() saves the duplicate, which validates and saves back → RecursionError.

Expected behaviour

Associating duplicate-content files should not cause validate() to recurse into itself indefinitely. A File being saved as part of the association process should not re-trigger another round of association.