Repeated SET label on the same node across row fanout may fail instead of acting idempotently #4017

ArcadeDB version
Observed on Docker images:

• arcadedata/arcadedb:latest
• arcadedata/arcadedb:26.3.2
• arcadedata/arcadedb:26.4.1-SNAPSHOT
• arcadedata/arcadedb:26.4.2

The failure mode changes by version:

• latest: duplicate-key failure while reapplying the new label
• 26.3.2: Record #... not found
• 26.4.1-SNAPSHOT and 26.4.2: Record #... not found

So this looks like one stable semantic family with different internal failure modes.

Environment

• Host OS: Windows 10
• Architecture: x86_64
• Deployment: Docker
• ArcadeDB endpoint: HTTP /api/v1/command/arcade
• Request mode matches ArcadeDB Studio:
  • language: opencypher
  • serializer: studio
• Differential comparison target: Neo4j Docker neo4j:latest

Describe the bug
When the same node appears on multiple rows in a single query, reapplying a label with SET n:Label should act idempotently.

Neo4j handles this normally: if the same node is reached twice, the first row adds the label and later rows keep going.

ArcadeDB instead fails as soon as the same node is hit again by the same label-setting operation.

This means ArcadeDB may crash on ordinary row fanout shapes where a label is applied after a join, cartesian expansion, or any other pattern that can duplicate a bound node.

To Reproduce

Setup:

CREATE (:Person {name:'Alice', age:30}),
       (:Person {name:'Bob', age:25}),
       (:Person {name:'Charlie', age:35});

Query:

MATCH (n:Person)
MATCH (m:Person)
WHERE n.age > m.age
SET n:Employee
RETURN n.name AS name
ORDER BY name;

Expected behavior
The same node may appear on multiple rows, but adding the same label repeatedly should still be harmless.

Observed Neo4j result:

Alice
Charlie
Charlie

ArcadeDB should also return the rows successfully.

Actual behavior
Observed ArcadeDB results:

• latest:
  • Duplicated key [Charlie] found on index 'Employee%257EPerson_...'
• 26.3.2:
  • Record #5:2 not found
• 26.4.1-SNAPSHOT:
  • Record #1:2 not found
• 26.4.2:
  • Record #1:2 not found

So the repeated label application fails instead of acting idempotently.

Control cases

If the label is applied only once per node, ArcadeDB behaves normally:

MATCH (n:Person)
WHERE n.age > 25
SET n:Employee
RETURN n.name AS name
ORDER BY name;

Observed result on Neo4j and all tested ArcadeDB versions:

Alice
Charlie

If the duplicated rows are collapsed first, ArcadeDB also behaves normally:

MATCH (n:Person)
MATCH (m:Person)
WHERE n.age > m.age
WITH DISTINCT n
SET n:Employee
RETURN n.name AS name
ORDER BY name;

Observed result on Neo4j and all tested ArcadeDB versions:

Alice
Charlie

So the problem is not ordinary SET n:Employee.
It starts when the same bound node is reached multiple times in one statement.

If the same row-fanout shape performs a simple constant property assignment instead of adding a label, ArcadeDB does not fail:

MATCH (n:Person)
MATCH (m:Person)
WHERE n.age > m.age
SET n.flag = true
RETURN n.name AS name
ORDER BY name;

Observed result on Neo4j and all tested ArcadeDB versions:

Alice
Charlie
Charlie

This makes the boundary much clearer:

• repeated row hits alone are fine
• simple constant property assignment on repeated row hits is fine
• repeated SET n:Label on the same node is what breaks

Later rechecking on 2026-04-25 found a separate family where repeated self-referential arithmetic updates such as SET n.age = n.age + 1 do not crash, but also do not accumulate correctly.
That is tracked separately and is not the same bug as this repeated-label failure.

Stronger reproducer
The same family also appears when more than one label is added:

MATCH (n:Person)
MATCH (m:Person)
WHERE n.age > m.age
SET n:Employee:Checked
RETURN n.name AS name
ORDER BY name;

Observed ArcadeDB results:

• latest:
  • duplicate-key failure on a multi-label index like Checked%7EEmployee%7EPerson_...
• 26.3.2 / 26.4.1-SNAPSHOT / 26.4.2:
  • Record #... not found

So this does not look specific to the single label name Employee.