Seemingly erroneous incompatible type "list[int]"; expected "Iterable[Never]"
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Description
Bug Report
mypy seems to not like an argument of type Union[T, Iterable[T]] where T = TypeVar("T"), instead considering it to be Iterable[Never].
To Reproduce
https://mypy-play.net/?mypy=latest&python=3.12&gist=1471ed0391c1e251edc0ecd85a28d684
from typing import List, Iterable, TypeVar, Union
T = TypeVar("T")
def coerce_list(x: Union[T, Iterable[T]]) -> List[T]:
reveal_type(x)
raise NotImplementedError()
def test() -> None:
coerce_list(1)
coerce_list([1, 2])
Expected Behavior
I expected no errors. I expected [1, 2] to match Iterable[T] with T = int.
Actual Behavior
example.py:6: note: Revealed type is "Union[T`-1, typing.Iterable[T`-1]]"
example.py:11: error: Argument 1 to "coerce_list" has incompatible type "list[int]"; expected "Iterable[Never]" [arg-type]
Found 1 error in 1 file (checked 1 source file)
I'm confused why the revealed type of x looks to be correct (although I don't understand the -1 part), but the expected type of the parameter is Iterable[Never].
Your Environment
- Mypy version used:
mypy 1.8.0 (compiled: yes) - Mypy command-line flags: (none)
- Mypy configuration options from
mypy.ini(and other config files): (none) - Python version used: 3.11.2 (Debian 12)
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start by running the linked mypy-play reproduction, or the shown example.py, with mypy 1.8.0 and current mypy to compare behavior. Trace how generic arguments are inferred for Union[T, Iterable[T]], then verify that both coerce_list(1) and coerce_list([1, 2]) pass without errors.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- python
- Domain
- compilers, devtools
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 45/100