python / python/mypy

Limited inference with union of callables and assignment to a union

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#18,191 4 comments 18 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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Description

Bug Report

Apologies if this was raised already. The only related issue I could find is https://github.com/python/mypy/issues/15887.

In Pydantic 2.10, we changed the definition of our field function to be:

from typing import Callable, TypeVar

_T = TypeVar('_T')

def Field(
    *,
    default_factory: Callable[[], _T] | Callable[[dict[str, Any]], _T],
) -> _T: ...

While this type checks correctly for some common use cases, we get errors when the Field function is assigned to a union of types, or when the default factory signature isn't trivial (e.g. contains overloads). Here are some examples failing:

(playground)

EDIT: Seems like the issue was fixed since 1.16.0. The issue with Class.b remains:

cvar = ContextVar[None]("session_id", default=None)


class Class:
    # error: Argument "default_factory" to "Field" has incompatible type "type[list[Any]]"; expected "Callable[[], Never] | Callable[[dict[str, Any]], Never]"  [arg-type]:
    a: list | None = Field(default_factory=list)

    # error: Argument "default_factory" to "Field" has incompatible type overloaded function; expected "Callable[[], Never] | Callable[[dict[str, Any]], Never]"  [arg-type]:
    b: None = Field(default_factory=cvar.get)  # note that `cvar.get` is overloaded. The first overload (`() -> None`) should match.


    # fine:
    fine: list = Field(default_factory=list)

Note that (at least for a), this worked as expected with the old type inference.

I first wanted to know if this can be considered a mypy limitation, or is the code really unsafe in some way? Or maybe is it because the typing spec does not provide any info regarding these use cases?

In comparison, pyright and pyre accepts the provided examples. We will currently recommend users to add a type: ignore comment and redirect to this issue. However, feel free to close if there's already an issue tracking this.

Thanks in advance

Your Environment

  • Mypy version used: 1.13
  • Mypy command-line flags: None
  • Mypy configuration options from mypy.ini (and other config files): None
  • Python version used: 3.13

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 provided Python 3.13 reproducer and linked playground, focusing on the remaining Class.b case where ContextVar.get is overloaded and passed to Field. Compare behavior with the old inference described in the report, then add a regression test showing that the first () -> None overload is accepted without a type: ignore.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

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

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