python / python/mypy

Union interacts poorly with `isinstance`-based unreachability

Open
#20,057 0 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

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

Description

Bug Report

This is probably already a bug report but the only place I know where this was mentioned was https://github.com/python/mypy/pull/13607#issuecomment-1236357236.

Including | None in a type makes isinstance type narrowing incorrectly report unreachability. This isn't only a problem with | None.

To Reproduce

class SymbolTableNode: pass
class FuncBase: pass

def bad(node: SymbolTableNode | None) -> None:
    assert isinstance(node, FuncBase)
    reveal_type(node)  # unreachable

def good(node: SymbolTableNode) -> None:
    assert isinstance(node, FuncBase)
    reveal_type(node)  # <subclass of SymbolTableNode and FuncBase>

Expected Behavior

No unreachable statements.

Actual Behavior

Unreachable reveal_type(node).

Your Environment

Reproduced in mypy-play.

  • Mypy version used: 1.18.2
  • Mypy command-line flags: --warn-unreachable
  • Mypy configuration options from mypy.ini (and other config files): N/A
  • Python version used: 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 with the supplied reproducer in mypy-play using mypy 1.18.2 and --warn-unreachable, comparing the Union | None case with the non-Union case. Trace the isinstance-based narrowing behavior; done means reveal_type(node) is not reported as unreachable in the Union example while the expected narrowing remains intact.

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
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
45/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.