python / python/mypy

Type Narrowing: `if val == Literal` should always narrow to Literal

Open
#16,819 3 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

feature topic-literal-types topic-type-narrowing
Dominant language
Python
Stars
20.6k
Forks
3.3k
PR merge metrics
PR metrics pending

Description

Feature

Currently mypy already type narrows literals in if

def works(abc: Literal["a", "b", "c"]):
    a: Literal["a"] | None = None
    if abc == "a":
        a = abc

def works_not(anystring: str):
    a: Literal["a"] | None = None
    if anystring == "a":
        a = anystring  # expression has type str

More Complete MyPy Play

Pitch

See #16813 for an example why this is useful.
In general working with TypedDicts in for loop this helps a lot reducing duplicate code / keys.

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 with the narrowing examples in the issue and reproduce them in the linked mypy-play case. Read issue #16813 for the motivating TypedDict usage, then identify the relevant narrowing implementation and tests in the repository; done means a value typed as str narrows to the compared Literal and existing narrowing behavior remains valid.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
compilers
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.