python / python/mypy

Recursive TypeAlias expansion causes non-terminating single-core CPU saturation

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performance topic-type-alias
Dominant language
Python
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Description

Steps to reproduce

Run the following command:

mypy main.py

the main.py file:

from __future__ import annotations

from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Generic, TypeAlias, TypeVar, cast


class LeafA: ...
class LeafB: ...
class LeafC: ...
class LeafD: ...

L1 = TypeVar("L1")
L2 = TypeVar("L2")
R1 = TypeVar("R1")
R2 = TypeVar("R2")

class Branch(Generic[L1, L2, R1, R2]): ...

A0: TypeAlias = LeafA
B0: TypeAlias = LeafB
C0: TypeAlias = LeafC
D0: TypeAlias = LeafD

A1: TypeAlias = Branch[A0, B0, C0, D0]
B1: TypeAlias = Branch[B0, C0, D0, A0]
C1: TypeAlias = Branch[C0, D0, A0, B0]
D1: TypeAlias = Branch[D0, A0, B0, C0]

A2: TypeAlias = Branch[A1, B1, C1, D1]
B2: TypeAlias = Branch[B1, C1, D1, A1]
C2: TypeAlias = Branch[C1, D1, A1, B1]
D2: TypeAlias = Branch[D1, A1, B1, C1]

A3: TypeAlias = Branch[A2, B2, C2, D2]
B3: TypeAlias = Branch[B2, C2, D2, A2]
C3: TypeAlias = Branch[C2, D2, A2, B2]
D3: TypeAlias = Branch[D2, A2, B2, C2]

A4: TypeAlias = Branch[A3, B3, C3, D3]
B4: TypeAlias = Branch[B3, C3, D3, A3]
C4: TypeAlias = Branch[C3, D3, A3, B3]
D4: TypeAlias = Branch[D3, A3, B3, C3]

A5: TypeAlias = Branch[A4, B4, C4, D4]
B5: TypeAlias = Branch[B4, C4, D4, A4]
C5: TypeAlias = Branch[C4, D4, A4, B4]
D5: TypeAlias = Branch[D4, A4, B4, C4]

A6: TypeAlias = Branch[A5, B5, C5, D5]
B6: TypeAlias = Branch[B5, C5, D5, A5]
C6: TypeAlias = Branch[C5, D5, A5, B5]
D6: TypeAlias = Branch[D5, A5, B5, C5]

A7: TypeAlias = Branch[A6, B6, C6, D6]
B7: TypeAlias = Branch[B6, C6, D6, A6]
C7: TypeAlias = Branch[C6, D6, A6, B6]
D7: TypeAlias = Branch[D6, A6, B6, C6]

A8: TypeAlias = Branch[A7, B7, C7, D7]
B8: TypeAlias = Branch[B7, C7, D7, A7]
C8: TypeAlias = Branch[C7, D7, A7, B7]
D8: TypeAlias = Branch[D7, A7, B7, C7]

A9: TypeAlias = Branch[A8, B8, C8, D8]
B9: TypeAlias = Branch[B8, C8, D8, A8]
C9: TypeAlias = Branch[C8, D8, A8, B8]
D9: TypeAlias = Branch[D8, A8, B8, C8]

A10: TypeAlias = Branch[A9, B9, C9, D9]
B10: TypeAlias = Branch[B9, C9, D9, A9]
C10: TypeAlias = Branch[C9, D9, A9, B9]
D10: TypeAlias = Branch[D9, A9, B9, C9]

A11: TypeAlias = Branch[A10, B10, C10, D10]
B11: TypeAlias = Branch[B10, C10, D10, A10]
C11: TypeAlias = Branch[C10, D10, A10, B10]
D11: TypeAlias = Branch[D10, A10, B10, C10]

A12: TypeAlias = Branch[A11, B11, C11, D11]
B12: TypeAlias = Branch[B11, C11, D11, A11]
C12: TypeAlias = Branch[C11, D11, A11, B11]
D12: TypeAlias = Branch[D11, A11, B11, C11]

A13: TypeAlias = Branch[A12, B12, C12, D12]
B13: TypeAlias = Branch[B12, C12, D12, A12]
C13: TypeAlias = Branch[C12, D12, A12, B12]
D13: TypeAlias = Branch[D12, A12, B12, C12]

A14: TypeAlias = Branch[A13, B13, C13, D13]
B14: TypeAlias = Branch[B13, C13, D13, A13]
C14: TypeAlias = Branch[C13, D13, A13, B13]
D14: TypeAlias = Branch[D13, A13, B13, C13]

A15: TypeAlias = Branch[A14, B14, C14, D14]
B15: TypeAlias = Branch[B14, C14, D14, A14]
C15: TypeAlias = Branch[C14, D14, A14, B14]
D15: TypeAlias = Branch[D14, A14, B14, C14]

ResultType: TypeAlias = A15

def force(x: ResultType) -> None:
    reveal_type(x)

if TYPE_CHECKING:
    force(cast(ResultType, None))

Observed behavior

With N=4, mypy completes in under a second. With N=15, it never terminates and saturates a single CPU core at 100%. Each level references 4 aliases from the previous level, so the type tree grows as O(4^N) — at N=15 this is ~10^9 nodes, eagerly expanded without memoization.

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 main.py reproducer and run mypy main.py at smaller and larger alias depths to observe where expansion stops scaling. Trace the type-alias expansion triggered by reveal_type and identify how recursive aliases are being eagerly traversed. Done means the N=15 case terminates without single-core saturation while retaining correct type checking.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
compilers, devtools
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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