python / python/mypy

List[Literal[...]] type being narrowed where it shouldn't be

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#9,850 2 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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bug topic-literal-types topic-type-narrowing
Dominant language
Python
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Description

Bug Report

Adding an if check on a specific index of a List of Literals seems to narrow down its scope, even though the list can be modified and the value at that index can change.

To Reproduce

Run mypy over this piece of code:

foo: List[Literal['a', 'b']] = ['a', 'b', 'a']

if foo[0] == 'a':
    print('a')
    exit()

foo.pop(0)
reveal_type(foo[0])
if foo[0] == 'a':
    pass

Expected Behavior

Revealed type to be Literal['a', 'b'], and the conditional to be valid.

Actual Behavior

t.py:11: note: Revealed type is 'Literal['b']'
t.py:12: error: Non-overlapping equality check (left operand type: "Literal['b']", right operand type: "Literal['a']")

Your Environment

  • Mypy version used: 0.790
  • Mypy command-line flags: --strict
  • Python version used: 3.9.1 64-bit
  • Operating system and version: Fedora 33 x86_64

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 running the provided Python reproducer with mypy 0.790 and inspect the type-narrowing behavior for indexed mutable Lists of Literals. Trace the narrowing entry point for foo[0] through the checker; done means reveal_type(foo[0]) remains Literal['a', 'b'] after pop(0), and the later equality check is accepted.

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
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
42/100

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