Recursive TypeAlias expansion causes non-terminating single-core CPU saturation
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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
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- 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