Question 1

Is retype still maintained or should I use something else?

Accepted Answer

No, retype was abandoned in August 2022 and is no longer supported. For active projects, consider manual annotation updates or alternative tools if available, though few directly replicate its stub-to-source functionality.

Question 2

How do I run retype on a directory of Python files?

Accepted Answer

Use the command 'retype [directory]' to process .py files recursively. By default, it looks for .pyi stubs in a 'types/' folder and outputs to 'typed-src/', but you can customize paths with --pyi-dir and --target-dir options.

Question 3

Can retype handle Python 2 code with type comments?

Accepted Answer

Yes, retype runs as a Python 3.6+ tool but can parse Python 2 syntax. It converts type comments in .pyi files or source to modern annotations, making it useful for migration, though the output is Python 3-only.

Question 4

What's the difference between retype and mypy's stubgen?

Accepted Answer

mypy's stubgen generates .pyi stub files from source code, while retype does the reverse: it applies annotations from .pyi stubs back to source. They are complementary for maintaining type information across separate stub files.

Question 5

Why does retype change line numbers in my code?

Accepted Answer

retype inserts typing imports and alias definitions from .pyi files, which shifts line numbers. This is a known limitation that can break tools relying on exact line mappings, so it's not ideal for debugging-sensitive workflows.

Question 6

How do I fix forward reference errors with retype?

Accepted Answer

Manually modify your .pyi files to use string literals for forward references, as retype won't auto-stringify them. For example, change 'Class' in annotations to '"Class"' to ensure compatibility in the source.

retype

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