diff --git a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/Load.scala b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/Load.scala
index c89185e48..2d016305d 100755
--- a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/Load.scala
+++ b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/Load.scala
@@ -715,7 +715,7 @@ private[sbt] object Load {
     val resolve: Project => ResolvedProject = (p: Project) =>
       p.resolve:
         case LocalAggregate => resolveAutoAggregate(uri, p, ps)
-        case ThisProject    => Vector(ProjectRef(uri, p.id))
+        case ThisProject    => Vector.empty // self-reference; treat as no-op to avoid cycle
         case ref            => Vector(Scope.resolveProjectRef(uri, rootProject, ref))
     LoadedBuildUnit(
       unit.unit,
diff --git a/sbt-app/src/sbt-test/project/thisProject-aggregate/test b/sbt-app/src/sbt-test/project/thisProject-aggregate/test
index 788d07bc3..a6c1f7f6e 100644
--- a/sbt-app/src/sbt-test/project/thisProject-aggregate/test
+++ b/sbt-app/src/sbt-test/project/thisProject-aggregate/test
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
 # Verify that ThisProject in aggregate doesn't cause runtime error
 # This tests the fix for https://github.com/sbt/sbt/issues/3616
 > check
+