seniorRuby
How does Ruby handle self-referential object graphs in GC without infinite loops?
Updated May 17, 2026
Short answer
GC uses marking flags to track visited objects and avoid revisiting nodes in cyclic graphs.
Deep explanation
During mark phase, Ruby GC maintains a mark bit per object. When traversing object references, already-marked objects are skipped. This prevents infinite loops in cyclic references such as graphs, linked lists, or mutually referencing objects.
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