
I just opened https://bugs.python.org/issue46414 to propose adding `typing.reveal_type` to Python 3.11. Copying my message there: --- The `reveal_type()` primitive is injected by type checkers into the builtins. When the type checker sees a call, it prints the inferred type of the argument. This has been implemented across all type checkers, but adding an implementation to `typing` would help document the behavior and make it more discoverable for users. Also, it means code with `reveal_type()` calls can run without runtime errors, useful if you want to run your tests at the same time as you're debugging a typing issue. The runtime implementation can be very simple: def reveal_type(obj: _T, /) -> _T: print("Runtime type is", type(obj)) return obj reveal_type() is supported by all type checkers that I'm aware of (docs include https://google.github.io/pytype/faq.html#can-i-find-out-what-pytype-thinks-t... for pytype and https://mypy.readthedocs.io/en/stable/common_issues.html#reveal-type for mypy). One area of divergence is the return value. Pyright returns the inferred type of the expression as a string (and uses that in its test suite for testing type inference). Mypy returns the argument, which has the advantage that you can insert `reveal_type()` in the middle of an expression without having to put it on its own line. Also, the Pyright behavior cannot sensibly be implemented at runtime. Therefore, I suggest using Mypy's behavior for `typing.reveal_type`. ---- I'm hoping this will be simple and noncontroversial enough that we can add it quickly, but if there are concerns from any type checker authors, I'd love to hear them.