MAXIMUM_TRIGGER_DEPTH_EXCEEDED" salesforce error

TL;DR

A trigger updated records that fired the trigger again, past 16 levels deep. Find the recursion (trigger updating its own object) and add a static guard flag.

Error

MAXIMUM_TRIGGER_DEPTH_EXCEEDED

Steps

1. Find the trigger that updates the same object it fires on Expected: you locate the recursion.
2. Add a static boolean guard so the trigger body runs once per transaction Expected: recursion stops.
3. Re-run the operation Expected: it succeeds.
4. Add a test that updates the object twice in one transaction Expected: it cannot regress.

When to use

• MAXIMUMTRIGGERDEPTH_EXCEEDED
• A trigger recurses

When not to use

• No trigger recursion (then check flows and process builders too)
• The depth comes from legitimate chaining (then redesign the chain)

Tool compatibility

• Salesforce trigger recursion guards
• Apex triggers

Variant phrasings

maximum trigger depth exceeded

A trigger fires itself. Add a static guard flag.

trigger depth 16

Same: find the self-updating trigger.

Why it happens

Workflow field updates re-fire triggers, and two triggers can ping-pong. Agents that generate triggers rarely add recursion guards.

Edge cases

• Static variables reset between transactions, not within them; that is the point
• Also guard against flow-triggered recursion

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_v5ETWynt3Z53ichsgS552Q

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_v5ETWynt3Z53ichsgS552Q

Thread query: "MAXIMUMTRIGGERDEPTH_EXCEEDED" salesforce error

TL;DR: A trigger updated records that fired the trigger again, past 16 levels deep. Find the recursion (trigger updating its own object) and add a static guard flag.