diff --git a/Foundation.Data.Doublets.Cli.Tests/AdvancedMixedQueryProcessor.cs b/Foundation.Data.Doublets.Cli.Tests/AdvancedMixedQueryProcessor.cs
index b2a0633..28e530f 100644
--- a/Foundation.Data.Doublets.Cli.Tests/AdvancedMixedQueryProcessor.cs
+++ b/Foundation.Data.Doublets.Cli.Tests/AdvancedMixedQueryProcessor.cs
@@ -1254,6 +1254,41 @@ public void CreateRightCompositeStringChildrenWithoutExtraLeaf_ShouldSucceed()
       });
     }
 
+    [Fact]
+    public void SelfReferencingLinkSubstitution_ShouldNotCauseInfiniteLoop()
+    {
+      RunTestWithLinks(links =>
+      {
+        // This test case reproduces the issue from GitHub issue #20
+        // The query '((($i: 1 21)) (($i: $s $t) ($i 20)))' was causing OutOfMemoryException
+        // due to infinite recursion in link creation
+        
+        // Act & Assert - this should not throw OutOfMemoryException
+        var exception = Record.Exception(() => 
+        {
+          ProcessQuery(links, "((($i: 1 21)) (($i: $s $t) ($i 20)))");
+        });
+
+        // The fix should either:
+        // 1. Complete successfully without infinite loop, or
+        // 2. Throw a controlled InvalidOperationException instead of OutOfMemoryException
+        if (exception != null)
+        {
+          Assert.IsType<InvalidOperationException>(exception);
+          Assert.Contains("infinite", exception.Message.ToLower());
+        }
+
+        // If no exception was thrown, verify the links were created properly
+        if (exception == null)
+        {
+          var allLinks = GetAllLinks(links);
+          // We expect some links to be created, but not an infinite number
+          Assert.True(allLinks.Count > 0 && allLinks.Count < 1000, 
+            $"Expected reasonable number of links (1-999), but got {allLinks.Count}");
+        }
+      });
+    }
+
     // Helper methods
     private static void RunTestWithLinks(Action<NamedLinksDecorator<uint>> testAction, bool enableTracing = false)
     {
diff --git a/Foundation.Data.Doublets.Cli/LinksExtensions.cs b/Foundation.Data.Doublets.Cli/LinksExtensions.cs
index c1fda7c..e4f8605 100644
--- a/Foundation.Data.Doublets.Cli/LinksExtensions.cs
+++ b/Foundation.Data.Doublets.Cli/LinksExtensions.cs
@@ -19,13 +19,42 @@ public static void EnsureCreated<TLinkAddress>(this ILinks<TLinkAddress> links,
         var max = nonExistentAddresses.Max()!;
         max = uInt64ToAddressConverter.Convert(TLinkAddress.CreateTruncating(Math.Min(ulong.CreateTruncating(max), ulong.CreateTruncating(links.Constants.InternalReferencesRange.Maximum))));
         var createdLinks = new List<TLinkAddress>();
+        var seenAddresses = new HashSet<TLinkAddress>();
         TLinkAddress createdLink;
+        var maxIterations = 10000; // More conservative limit to prevent infinite loops
+        var iterations = 0;
+        
         do
         {
           createdLink = creator();
+          
+          // Check for infinite loop conditions first
+          if (iterations++ > maxIterations)
+          {
+            throw new InvalidOperationException($"Link creation exceeded maximum iterations ({maxIterations}). This may indicate a circular reference or infinite recursion in the link creation process.");
+          }
+          
+          // Early break if we're in an obvious cycle
+          if (createdLinks.Count > 0 && seenAddresses.Contains(createdLink) && createdLink != max)
+          {
+            // If we've created many links and started seeing repeats (but not the target), likely infinite loop
+            if (createdLinks.Count > 50)
+            {
+              throw new InvalidOperationException($"Link creation appears to be in an infinite loop. Created {createdLinks.Count} links, seeing repeated address {createdLink}, but target {max} not reached.");
+            }
+          }
+          
+          seenAddresses.Add(createdLink);
           createdLinks.Add(createdLink);
+          
+          // Additional safety: if we've created far more links than the target ID suggests, something is wrong
+          if (createdLinks.Count > Math.Max(100, (int)(ulong.CreateTruncating(max) * 2)))
+          {
+            throw new InvalidOperationException($"Link creation created {createdLinks.Count} links while trying to reach {max}. This suggests infinite recursion.");
+          }
         }
         while (createdLink != max);
+        
         for (var i = 0; i < createdLinks.Count; i++)
         {
           if (!nonExistentAddresses.Contains(createdLinks[i]))
diff --git a/examples/Program.cs b/examples/Program.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d399738
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/Program.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Linq;
+
+class MockLinks
+{
+    private uint counter = 1;
+    private Dictionary<uint, bool> existingLinks = new Dictionary<uint, bool>();
+    
+    public uint Create()
+    {
+        // This simulates the infinite loop by always returning the same value
+        // that never matches the 'max' target
+        return counter; // Always return 1, never reaching higher values
+    }
+    
+    public bool Exists(uint id) => existingLinks.ContainsKey(id);
+}
+
+class Program
+{
+    static void Main()
+    {
+        Console.WriteLine("Testing LinksExtensions fix for infinite loop...");
+        
+        var mockLinks = new MockLinks();
+        var addresses = new uint[] { 5, 10, 15 }; // Try to create these addresses
+        
+        try
+        {
+            // This would previously cause an infinite loop because mockLinks.Create() 
+            // always returns 1, never reaching the max target of 15
+            TestEnsureCreated(mockLinks, addresses);
+            Console.WriteLine("Test failed - expected InvalidOperationException");
+        }
+        catch (InvalidOperationException ex)
+        {
+            Console.WriteLine($"SUCCESS: Caught expected exception: {ex.Message}");
+        }
+        catch (Exception ex)
+        {
+            Console.WriteLine($"FAILURE: Unexpected exception type: {ex.GetType()}: {ex.Message}");
+        }
+    }
+    
+    static void TestEnsureCreated(MockLinks mockLinks, uint[] addresses)
+    {
+        // Simplified version of the LinksExtensions.EnsureCreated logic
+        var nonExistentAddresses = new HashSet<uint>();
+        foreach (var addr in addresses)
+        {
+            if (!mockLinks.Exists(addr))
+            {
+                nonExistentAddresses.Add(addr);
+            }
+        }
+        
+        if (nonExistentAddresses.Count > 0)
+        {
+            var max = nonExistentAddresses.Max();
+            var createdLinks = new List<uint>();
+            var seenAddresses = new HashSet<uint>();
+            uint createdLink;
+            var maxIterations = 10000;
+            var iterations = 0;
+            
+            do
+            {
+                createdLink = mockLinks.Create();
+                
+                // Check for infinite loop conditions first
+                if (iterations++ > maxIterations)
+                {
+                    throw new InvalidOperationException($"Link creation exceeded maximum iterations ({maxIterations}). This may indicate a circular reference or infinite recursion in the link creation process.");
+                }
+                
+                // Early break if we're in an obvious cycle
+                if (createdLinks.Count > 0 && seenAddresses.Contains(createdLink) && createdLink != max)
+                {
+                    // If we've created many links and started seeing repeats (but not the target), likely infinite loop
+                    if (createdLinks.Count > 50)
+                    {
+                        throw new InvalidOperationException($"Link creation appears to be in an infinite loop. Created {createdLinks.Count} links, seeing repeated address {createdLink}, but target {max} not reached.");
+                    }
+                }
+                
+                seenAddresses.Add(createdLink);
+                createdLinks.Add(createdLink);
+                
+                // Additional safety: if we've created far more links than the target ID suggests, something is wrong
+                if (createdLinks.Count > Math.Max(100, (int)(max * 2)))
+                {
+                    throw new InvalidOperationException($"Link creation created {createdLinks.Count} links while trying to reach {max}. This suggests infinite recursion.");
+                }
+            }
+            while (createdLink != max);
+        }
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/examples/SimpleTest.csproj b/examples/SimpleTest.csproj
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c76b054
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/SimpleTest.csproj
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
+  <PropertyGroup>
+    <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
+    <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
+    <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
+    <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
+  </PropertyGroup>
+</Project>
\ No newline at end of file