README

py-maybetype

Documentation: https://py-maybetype.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

PyPI: https://pypi.org/project/py-maybetype/

[!WARNING] This project is in beta, and breaking changes are likely with each 0.x release.

A basic implementation of a maybe/option type in Python, largely aiming for parity (within reason) with Rust’s Option and Result types implemented in a way that makes sense for Python, with a few additional methods.

Usage

Install with pip:

pip install py-maybetype

Call the maybe() function with a T | None value to return either a Some[T] instance containing the wrapped value, or the Nothing singleton. You can also directly use the Some constructor or the Nothing singleton explicitly e.g. when returning a value from a function. Maybe only serves as a base class to provide methods for Some and Nothing and to be used for typing, it should not be instanced directly. If it is, MaybeInstanceError is raised.

Nothing is an instance of the NothingType class, and should be used instead of creating new NothingType instances since all are functionally identical. NothingTypeInitError if the class is instanced more than once.

from maybetype import Maybe, maybe

# Only the maybe() function should be used,
# the Maybe class is only imported here for type annotations

def try_int(x: str) -> int | None:
    """Attempts to convert a string of digits into an `int`, returning `None` if not possible."""
    try:
        return int(x)
    except ValueError:
        return None

num1: Maybe[int] = maybe(try_int('5'))
num2: Maybe[int] = maybe(try_int('five'))

print(num1.unwrap()) # 5
print(num2.unwrap()) # (raises ValueError)

# Some() instances are always truthy, NothingType() is falsy

assert bool(num1) is True
assert bool(num2) is False

The maybe constructor can be given an optional predicate argument to specify a custom condition for which Some(value) is returned. This argument must be a Callable that returns bool, where returning False causes the constructor to return Nothing.

[!NOTE] maybe(None) will always return Nothing, even if predicate(None) would return True

import re
import uuid

from maybetype import maybe

def is_valid_uuid(s: str) -> bool:
    return re.match(r"[0-9a-f]{8}(?:-[0-9a-f]{4}){3}-[0-9a-f]{12}|[0-9a-f]{32}", s) is not None

assert maybe('3b1bcc3a-41d5-49a5-8273-10cc605e31f9', is_valid_uuid)
assert maybe('3b1bcc3a41d549a5827310cc605e31f9', is_valid_uuid)
assert not maybe('qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm', is_valid_uuid)
assert not maybe('nf0cmmdq-l0gt-rq5a-upry-706trht3ocv9', is_valid_uuid)

Maybe instances can also be used in match/case pattern matching to access the wrapped value, like so:

from maybetype import maybe, Some

match maybe(1):
    case Some(val):
        print('Value: ', val)
    case _: # "case Nothing:" also works, but just matching else in this case will be identical
        print('No value')

Other examples

Converting a str | None timestamp into a datetime object if not None, otherwise returning None:

from datetime import datetime
from maybetype import maybe

assert maybe('2025-09-06T030000').then(datetime.fromisoformat) == datetime(2025, 9, 6, 3, 0)

assert maybe(None).then(datetime.fromisoformat) is None

assert maybe('' or None).then(datetime.fromisoformat) is None
# Maybe does not treat falsy values as None, only strictly x-is-None values
# Without `or None` here, datetime.fromisoformat would have raised a ValueError

Converting a str | None timestamp into a datetime object if not None, then ensuring that date meets certain criteria:

from datetime import datetime
from maybetype import maybe

assert maybe('2025-09-06T030000').and_then(datetime.fromisoformat).test(lambda dt: dt.year > 2024)

assert not maybe('2024-09-06T030000').and_then(datetime.fromisoformat).test(lambda dt: dt.year > 2024)

match maybe('2025-09-06T030000').and_then(datetime.fromisoformat).test(lambda dt: dt.year > 2024):
    case Some(date):
        ... # Do something with the date
    case _:
        ... # Do something else