ml-explore / ml-explore/mlx

[BUG] `__setitem__` with a single Ellipsis fails

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bug low priority python
Dominant language
C++
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Description

Describe the bug

__setitem__ with a single ellipsis fails, while manually wrapping the ellipsis into a tuple makes it work.

To Reproduce

Include code snippet

>>> a = mx.arange(3)
>>> a[...] = 42
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<python-input-29>", line 1, in <module>
    a[...] = 42
    ~^^^^^
ValueError: Cannot index mlx array using the given type.
>>> a[(...,)] = 42
>>> a
array([42, 42, 42], dtype=int32)

Expected behavior

Expected a[...] to be equivalent to a[(Ellipsis,)], similar to indexing with a single integer or a slice: a[key] is a syntax sugar for a[(key,)] for key being an integer, a slice or the Ellipsis singleton.

Desktop (please complete the following information):

  • OS Version: [e.g. MacOS 14.1.2]
  • Version [e.g. 0.7.0]
$ sw_vers -productVersion 
26.4.1
$ python -c'import mlx.core as mx; print(mx.__version__)'
0.32.1

Additional context
Add any other context about the problem here.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reproducing the reported a[...] and a[(...,)] cases, then trace the array setitem path for a bare Ellipsis versus a tuple-wrapped key. Add a regression test showing both forms assign the same values, and confirm the test passes without changing the existing tuple behavior.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
backend-api-design
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
65/100

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