How can I avoid a recursive Action loop?

In Illustrator, you can't run a script from an action that itself calls another action. Illustrator cannot handle such processes and will freeze.

It may be possible in ExtendScript to write an export of assets without using an action? All I see in your action is a Hide Others command for layers. And no other specific commands. But this can be done in a loop through the layer[idx].visible property.

If you really need to hotkey a script, use third-party utilities AutoHotkey (Win), KeyboardMaestro (Mac), and these are not all possible utilities

If anyone wants to try on their end, paste this into a .jsx file and run it from the File > Scripts menu. It should work fine (alerts selected layers' names):

function get_selected_layers(mode) {
  var doc = app.activeDocument;
  var lays = doc.layers;
  var originalLayers = [];

  for (var i = 0; i < lays.length; i++) {
    originalLayers.push(lays[i].visible);
    if (!lays[i].visible) {
      lays[i].visible = true;
    }
  }
  make_action();

  var SelectedLayers = [];

  for (var i = 0; i < lays.length; i++) {
    if (lays[i].visible) {
      if (mode == "name") {
        SelectedLayers.push(lays[i].name);
      } else {
        SelectedLayers.push(lays[i]);
      }
    }
  }

  for (var i = 0; i < lays.length; i++) {
    lays[i].visible = originalLayers[i];
  }

  return SelectedLayers;

  function make_action() {
    // Set you action name and the set name that it belongs to here

    var myAction = "Select_Layers";
    var mySet = "Scripted_Actions";
    //---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    var currentInteractionLevel = app.userInteractionLevel;

    app.userInteractionLevel = UserInteractionLevel.DONTDISPLAYALERTS;

    var actionStr = [
      "/version 3",
      "/name [ 16",
      "53637269707465645f416374696f6e73",
      "]",
      "/isOpen 0",
      "/actionCount 1",
      "/action-1 {",
      "/name [ 13",
      "53656c6563745f4c6179657273",
      "]",
      "/keyIndex 0",
      "/colorIndex 0",
      "/isOpen 0",
      "/eventCount 1",
      "/event-1 {",
      "/useRulersIn1stQuadrant 0",
      "/internalName (ai_plugin_Layer)",
      "/localizedName [ 5",
      "4c61796572",
      "]",
      "/isOpen 0",
      "/isOn 1",
      "/hasDialog 0",
      "/parameterCount 3",
      "/parameter-1 {",
      "/key 1836411236",
      "/showInPalette -1",
      "/type (integer)",
      "/value 7",
      "}",
      "/parameter-2 {",
      "/key 1937008996",
      "/showInPalette -1",
      "/type (integer)",
      "/value 23",
      "}",
      "/parameter-3 {",
      "/key 1851878757",
      "/showInPalette -1",
      "/type (ustring)",
      "/value [ 11",
      "48696465204f7468657273",
      "]",
      "}",
      "}",
      "}",
    ].join("\n");

    createAction(actionStr);

    app.doScript(myAction, mySet, false);
    actionStr = null;
    app.unloadAction(mySet, "");
    app.userInteractionLevel = currentInteractionLevel;
  }

  function createAction(str) {
    var f = new File("~/ScriptAction.aia");
    f.open("w");
    f.write(str);
    f.close();
    app.loadAction(f);
    f.remove();
  }
}

var selectedLayers = get_selected_layers();

for (var index = 0; index < selectedLayers.length; index++) {
  alert(selectedLayers[index].name);
}

Now, in Illustrator's Actions pallete, create a new Action, record an "Insert Menu Item" and choose the custom script as the only action item. Play the script from the Actions pallete, and it hangs/crashes Illustrator. How can this "actions conflict" be resolved? ( @c.pfaffenbichler any ideas?)

I do not know if this is specficially your issue...

What I've found is that function keys can conflict with the operating system causing Illustrator to see the F-key as being hit twice. There is no warning, no error, no indication that this is the issue. If you watch the action as it plays "step by step" you can often see the action recycle steps after you've hit the Fkey shortcut.

To test this... play the action using the Play button on the panel.. does that work correctly? If yes, then the issue is the Fkey and a conflict. Tracking down the conflict (across the operating system) may take some invistigation.