From 02510e506ae7b9b571e5433c86a1aef2464eb13f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Ankush Menat <ankush@frappe.io>
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 2026 21:59:44 +0530
Subject: [PATCH] fix: get_docs - Always use iterator internally

When `get_docs` output is unknown, we might end up generating queries
for child table with `in (...)` containing thousands of doc names.

This doesn't fare well with databases, so it's better to chunk it to
1000 by default. This is an acceptable tradeoff IMO.
---
 frappe/model/document.py | 44 ++++++++++++++--------------------------
 1 file changed, 15 insertions(+), 29 deletions(-)

diff --git a/frappe/model/document.py b/frappe/model/document.py
index 6620884749..e1c60bbd78 100644
--- a/frappe/model/document.py
+++ b/frappe/model/document.py
@@ -194,39 +194,32 @@ def get_docs(
 	if limit_start and limit is None:
 		frappe.throw(_("limit cannot be None when limit_start is used"))
 
+	if not order_by:
+		# Sort order is mandatory for iterator logic
+		order_by = "name asc"
+
 	child_tables = [
 		(df.fieldname, df.options) for df in meta.get_table_fields() if not is_virtual_doctype(df.options)
 	]
 	controller = get_controller(doctype)
 	for_update = for_update and frappe.db.db_type != "sqlite"
 
-	if as_iterator:
-		return _get_docs_generator(
-			doctype,
-			controller,
-			child_tables,
-			filters=filters,
-			chunk_size=chunk_size,
-			limit=limit,
-			limit_start=limit_start,
-			order_by=order_by,
-			for_update=for_update,
-			distinct=distinct,
-		)
-
-	# Eagerly fetch all docs
-	all_data = _fetch_rows(
+	iterator = _get_docs_generator(
 		doctype,
+		controller,
+		child_tables,
 		filters=filters,
-		order_by=order_by,
+		chunk_size=chunk_size,
 		limit=limit,
-		offset=limit_start,
+		limit_start=limit_start,
+		order_by=order_by,
 		for_update=for_update,
-		child_tables=child_tables,
 		distinct=distinct,
 	)
 
-	return _build_document_objects(controller, all_data, for_update)
+	if as_iterator:
+		return iterator
+	return list(iterator)
 
 
 def _get_docs_generator(
@@ -267,8 +260,7 @@ def _get_docs_generator(
 		if not chunk_data:
 			break
 
-		built_docs = _build_document_objects(controller, chunk_data, for_update)
-		yield from built_docs
+		yield from _build_document_objects(controller, chunk_data, for_update)
 
 		fetched_count += len(chunk_data)
 		current_offset += len(chunk_data)
@@ -323,17 +315,11 @@ def _fetch_rows(doctype, *, filters, order_by, limit, offset, for_update, child_
 
 
 def _build_document_objects(controller, data: list, for_update: bool):
-	if not data:
-		return []
-
-	built_docs = []
 	for row in data:
 		doc = controller(row)
 		if for_update:
 			doc.flags.for_update = True
-		built_docs.append(doc)
-
-	return built_docs
+		yield doc
 
 
 def get_doc_permission_check(doc: "Document", check_permission: str | bool | None = None) -> "Document":