python / python/mypy

Bounded generic type parameter not narrowed past its upper bound, regardless of argument value

Open
#19,285 4 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

bug topic-join-v-union
Dominant language
Python
Stars
20.6k
Forks
3.3k
PR merge metrics
PR metrics pending

Description

Bug Report

If a generic type variable _E has an upper bound B, the upper bound B seems to be used as the inferred type of _E when inferring other type variables that depend on _E, even if there is a more specific type that _E could be narrowed to.

This becomes an issue when trying to infer error types returned by poltergeist (a simple library that provides a generic Result = Ok[_T] | Err[_E] utility type).

To Reproduce

from poltergeist import catch

@catch(TypeError, ValueError)
def validate_positive_number(int_or_str: int | str) -> int:
    if isinstance(int_or_str, str):
        raise TypeError("Input must be an integer")
    if int_or_str <= 0:
        raise ValueError("Input must be positive")
    return int_or_str


def do_something_with_positive_number(int_or_str: int | str) -> None:
    validated_number_result = validate_positive_number(int_or_str)
    reveal_type(validated_number_result)  # Revealed type is "Union[poltergeist.result.Ok[builtins.int], poltergeist.result.Err[builtins.Exception]]" Mypy

The implementation of catch can be found here:

Source code for the `catch` decorator
import functools
from collections.abc import Awaitable
from typing import Callable, ParamSpec, TypeVar, reveal_type

from poltergeist.result import Err, Ok, Result

_T = TypeVar("_T")
_E = TypeVar("_E", bound=BaseException)
_P = ParamSpec("_P")


def catch(
    *errors: type[_E],
) -> Callable[[Callable[_P, _T]], Callable[_P, Result[_T, _E]]]:
    def decorator(func: Callable[_P, _T]) -> Callable[_P, Result[_T, _E]]:
        @functools.wraps(func)
        def wrapper(*args: _P.args, **kwargs: _P.kwargs) -> Result[_T, _E]:
            try:
                result = func(*args, **kwargs)
            except errors as e:
                return Err(e)
            return Ok(result)

        return wrapper

    return decorator


def catch_async(
    *errors: type[_E],
) -> Callable[[Callable[_P, Awaitable[_T]]], Callable[_P, Awaitable[Result[_T, _E]]]]:
    def decorator(
        func: Callable[_P, Awaitable[_T]]
    ) -> Callable[_P, Awaitable[Result[_T, _E]]]:
        @functools.wraps(func)
        async def wrapper(*args: _P.args, **kwargs: _P.kwargs) -> Result[_T, _E]:
            try:
                result = await func(*args, **kwargs)
            except errors as e:
                return Err(e)
            return Ok(result)

        return wrapper

    return decorator

Expected Behavior

mypy should be able to accurately use the value of errors to narrow the inferred type of _E within catch, and thus infer that validated_number_result is of type Result[int, TypeError | ValueError].

Actual Behavior

Mypy keeps _E inferred to its upper bound BaseException, thus inferring validated_number_result as Result[int, BaseException].

By contrast, pylance's type checker is able to narrow validated_number_result as expected:

Image

Your Environment

  • Mypy version used: 1.15.0
  • Mypy configuration options from mypy.ini (and other config files):
mypy.ini

[mypy]
python_version = 3.13
mypy_path = typings
ignore_missing_imports = True
check_untyped_defs = True
disallow_untyped_defs = True
disallow_untyped_calls = True
strict_equality = True
disallow_any_unimported = True
warn_return_any = True
no_implicit_optional = True
pretty = True
show_error_context = True
show_error_codes = True
show_error_code_links = True
no_namespace_packages = True
  • Python version used: 3.13.0

Unsure if related to #19081 , but it's possible, given that both these issues are related to retaining information via generic type parameters.

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 example from the issue with the shown mypy.ini settings and inspect the generic inference behavior for the bounded _E TypeVar. The related implementation example is poltergeist/decorator.py; done means the reveal_type result preserves TypeError | ValueError instead of widening _E to BaseException.

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
38/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.