diff --git a/sources/dataBase/projectdatabase.h b/sources/dataBase/projectdatabase.h
index 69ff9f6fc..32f3153ca 100644
--- a/sources/dataBase/projectdatabase.h
+++ b/sources/dataBase/projectdatabase.h
@@ -60,6 +60,26 @@ class projectDataBase : public QObject
 		QETProject *project() const;
 		QSqlQuery newQuery(const QString &query = QString(), QString *error = nullptr);
 		static bool isReadOnlySelect(const QString &query, QString *error = nullptr);
+
+			/**
+				The most rows any caller reads out of one query result.
+
+				A SELECT is not bounded by how much data the project holds:
+				SQLite produces rows lazily, so a query that never stops
+				producing them makes the loop that reads them never stop
+				either. A recursive CTE does exactly that in one line, and
+				a <graphics_table>'s <query> is stored in the .qet and run
+				on load -- so the text can arrive from a file rather than
+				from the person at the keyboard, and opening that file is
+				the whole attack.
+
+				100000 is far above any real result: the largest table in
+				the shipped examples is 396 rows. It is a backstop, not a
+				page size -- a caller that hits it has almost certainly
+				been handed something it should not run to completion, and
+				says so rather than truncating quietly.
+			*/
+		static constexpr int MaxResultRows = 100000;
 		QSqlDatabase database() const {return m_data_base;}
 		int excludedConductorCount() const;
 
diff --git a/sources/qetgraphicsitem/ViewItem/projectdbmodel.cpp b/sources/qetgraphicsitem/ViewItem/projectdbmodel.cpp
index 1fe814b6a..ca07e5ba8 100644
--- a/sources/qetgraphicsitem/ViewItem/projectdbmodel.cpp
+++ b/sources/qetgraphicsitem/ViewItem/projectdbmodel.cpp
@@ -379,6 +379,21 @@ void ProjectDBModel::fillValue()
 	
 	while (query_.next())
 	{
+		//This query text comes out of the project file, so its result is
+		//not bounded by anything the project actually contains: a
+		//recursive CTE produces rows for as long as anyone reads them.
+		//Without this, opening such a file hangs QElectroTech at 100% CPU
+		//while m_record grows until memory runs out. @see
+		//projectDataBase::MaxResultRows.
+		if (m_record.size() >= projectDataBase::MaxResultRows) {
+			qWarning().noquote()
+				<< "ProjectDBModel: query stopped after"
+				<< projectDataBase::MaxResultRows
+				<< "rows, which is far more than a folio table can show."
+				<< "The table is incomplete. Query:" << m_query;
+			break;
+		}
+
 		QStringList record_;
 		auto i=0;
 		while (query_.value(i).isValid())
diff --git a/sources/scripting/qetscriptapi.cpp b/sources/scripting/qetscriptapi.cpp
index c8f30b417..895f1a492 100644
--- a/sources/scripting/qetscriptapi.cpp
+++ b/sources/scripting/qetscriptapi.cpp
@@ -1217,6 +1217,9 @@ QStringList QetScriptApi::tables() const
 
 	@return the rows; empty on refusal or SQL error, with queryError()
 	saying which. An empty result and a failure are not the same thing.
+	A result that ran past projectDataBase::MaxResultRows is cut there and
+	queryError() says so, so a truncated list is never mistaken for a
+	complete one.
 */
 QVariantList QetScriptApi::query(const QString &sql)
 {
@@ -1243,6 +1246,22 @@ QVariantList QetScriptApi::query(const QString &sql)
 	const QSqlRecord record = q.record();
 	while (q.next())
 	{
+		//SQLite produces rows lazily, so a query that never stops
+		//producing them makes this loop never stop either -- "WITH
+		//RECURSIVE c(n) AS (SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT n+1 FROM c) SELECT n
+		//FROM c" is one line and runs until memory is gone. The script
+		//engine's own 30 s interrupt does not reach here: that aborts
+		//JavaScript execution, and this is C++ inside a single call.
+		//@see projectDataBase::MaxResultRows.
+		if (rows.size() >= projectDataBase::MaxResultRows) {
+			m_query_error = QStringLiteral(
+						"result truncated at %1 rows; add a LIMIT or a "
+						"WHERE clause")
+					.arg(projectDataBase::MaxResultRows);
+			log(QStringLiteral("qet.query: %1").arg(m_query_error));
+			break;
+		}
+
 		QVariantMap row;
 		for (int i = 0 ; i < record.count() ; ++i) {
 			row.insert(record.fieldName(i), q.value(i));