python / python/mypy

Can't match a TypedDict with a Protocol

Open
#17,074 0 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

bug
Dominant language
Python
Stars
20.6k
Forks
3.3k
PR merge metrics
PR metrics pending

Description

Bug Report

I was trying to use a Protocol to fish out the value type from a TypedDict type corresponding to a key Literal passed to a function, so I could bind it to a TypeVar. That didn't work, but in trying to debug that I noticed that it's just straight up not possible to get a TypedDict to match a simple Protocol that we can see at type-checking time it does in fact match.

To Reproduce

See https://mypy-play.net/?mypy=latest&python=3.12&gist=928611fe3fcf77630451b8ca6b26dfca

from typing import Literal, TypedDict, Protocol, Optional

class Foo(TypedDict):
    bar: int

concrete_var: Foo = Foo(bar=5)

# This typechecks (though it has to be optional for some reason even if the key
# is Required in the TypedDict):
int_var: Optional[int] = concrete_var.get("bar")

class Gettable(Protocol):
    def get(self, key: Literal["bar"]) -> Optional[int]: ...

# But we don't use that to know that the protocol matches. This fails:
test_var: Gettable = concrete_var 

Actual Behavior

main.py:16: error: Incompatible types in assignment (expression has type "Foo", variable has type "Gettable")  [assignment]
main.py:16: note: Following member(s) of "Foo" have conflicts:
main.py:16: note:     Expected:
main.py:16: note:         def get(self, key: Literal['bar']) -> int | None
main.py:16: note:     Got:
main.py:16: note:         @overload
main.py:16: note:         def get(self, str, /) -> object
main.py:16: note:         @overload
main.py:16: note:         def [_T] get(self, str, /, default: object) -> object
Found 1 error in 1 file (checked 1 source file)

MyPy appears to have forgotten everything it ever knew about the types of the things in the TypedDict when it tries to match the get() method to the protocol.

Your Environment

  • Mypy version used: 1.9.0
  • Python version used: 3.10 and 3.12

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 running the linked mypy-play reproduction with the provided TypedDict and Protocol definitions. Trace how TypedDict get overloads are compared with Protocol methods; done means the reported assignment is correctly accepted, with regression coverage in the relevant existing test area.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
compilers
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.