python / python/cpython

`trace` function is cleared after `RecursionError` is fired

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interpreter-core pending type-bug
Dominant language
Python
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Description

Bug report

Bug description:

I'm using coverage and pytest-cov in CI to measure the line coverage of the unittests. It is achieved by registering a trace function with sys.settrace.

However, after binsecting my unittests, I found that when a RecursionError is raised, the system trace function will be cleared. That will cause a warning emitted by coverage:

~/Projects/cpython/venv/lib/python3.15t/site-packages/coverage/pytracer.py:355: CoverageWarning: Trace function changed, data is likely wrong: None != <bound method PyTracer._trace of <PyTracer at 0x200021dcc20: 2076 data points in 11 files>> (trace-changed)
  self.warn(

Reproducible code:

import sys


def tracer(*args, **kwargs):
    pass


def factorial(n: int) -> int:
    """Calculate the factorial of a number."""
    if n <= 1:
        return 1
    return n * factorial(n - 1)


sys.settrace(tracer)
assert sys.gettrace() is tracer

sys.setrecursionlimit(64)
assert sys.gettrace() is tracer

try:
    _ = factorial(100)
except RecursionError:
    pass

assert sys.gettrace() is None

REPL Output:

# Add a code block here, if required
$ python3                      
Python 3.13.3 (main, Apr  8 2025, 13:54:08) [Clang 16.0.0 (clang-1600.0.26.6)] on darwin
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> import sys
>>> def tracer(*args, **kwargs):
...     pass
... 
>>> def factorial(n):
...     if n <= 1:
...         return 1
...     return n * factorial(n - 1)
...     
>>> sys.settrace(tracer)
>>> sys.gettrace() is tracer
True
>>> sys.setrecursionlimit(64)
>>> _ = factorial(100)
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<python-input-6>", line 1, in <module>
    _ = factorial(100)
  File "<python-input-2>", line 4, in factorial
    return n * factorial(n - 1)
               ~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^
  File "<python-input-2>", line 4, in factorial
    return n * factorial(n - 1)
               ~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^
  File "<python-input-2>", line 4, in factorial
    return n * factorial(n - 1)
               ~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^
  [Previous line repeated 51 more times]
  File "<python-input-2>", line 1, in factorial
    def factorial(n):
    
RecursionError: maximum recursion depth exceeded
>>> sys.gettrace() is None
True
CPython versions tested on:

CPython main branch

Operating systems tested on:

macOS

Contributor guide

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
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  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Run the supplied reproducer and inspect the behavior of sys.settrace, sys.gettrace, and RecursionError around the recursive factorial call. Trace the CPython implementation paths involved in recursion-limit handling and tracing; done means the registered trace function remains available after the RecursionError, with regression coverage for the reproducer.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
compilers
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

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