fix: bring 3 mixins in line with the TYPE_CHECKING _ImageBase pattern

src/machinevisiontoolbox/ImageBlobs.py

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 import webbrowser
 from collections import UserList, namedtuple
 from dataclasses import dataclass
-from typing import Any, cast
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, cast
 
 import cv2
 import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
@@ -24,6 +24,9 @@
 from machinevisiontoolbox.base import plot_labelbox, mpl_styling
 from machinevisiontoolbox.decorators import array_result, scalar_result
 
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from machinevisiontoolbox._image_typing import _ImageBase
+
 """
 NOTES
 
@@ -2623,7 +2626,7 @@ def dotfile(
                 dot_stream.close()
 
 
-class ImageBlobsMixin:
+class ImageBlobsMixin(_ImageBase if TYPE_CHECKING else object):
     def blobs(self, **kwargs) -> Blobs:
         """
         Find and describe blobs in image

src/machinevisiontoolbox/ImagePointFeatures.py

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 """
 
 import math
-from typing import Any, Iterator
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Iterator
 
 import cv2
 import matplotlib.lines as mlines
@@ -21,13 +21,15 @@
     name2color,
     safe_plt_show,
 )
-from machinevisiontoolbox._image_typing import _ImageBase
 from machinevisiontoolbox.decorators import (
     array_result,
     array_result2,
     scalar_result,
 )
 
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from machinevisiontoolbox._image_typing import _ImageBase
+
 # TODO, either subclass SIFTFeature(BaseFeature2D) or just use BaseFeature2D
 # directly
 
@@ -2012,7 +2014,7 @@ class LUCIDFeature(BaseFeature2D):
     pass
 
 
-class ImagePointFeaturesMixin(_ImageBase):
+class ImagePointFeaturesMixin(_ImageBase if TYPE_CHECKING else object):
     def _image2feature(
         self,
         cls,

src/machinevisiontoolbox/ImageRegionFeatures.py

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 import numpy as np
 from ansitable import ANSITable, Column
 from spatialmath import SE3
-from typing import Any
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any
 
 from machinevisiontoolbox.decorators import array_result
 from machinevisiontoolbox.base import plot_labelbox
@@ -22,8 +22,11 @@
     _pytesseract = None
     _pytesseract_available = False
 
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from machinevisiontoolbox._image_typing import _ImageBase
 
-class ImageRegionFeaturesMixin:
+
+class ImageRegionFeaturesMixin(_ImageBase if TYPE_CHECKING else object):
     def MSER(self, **kwargs: Any) -> "MSERFeature":
         """
         Find MSER features in image

tech-debt.md

@@ -1,5 +1,100 @@
 # Technical Debt
 
+## [HIGH PRIORITY] mypy is not run anywhere in CI or dev tooling
+
+Found 2026-07-29 while fixing the `_ImageBase` Protocol gaps in
+`ImageBlobs.py`/`ImageRegionFeatures.py`/`ImagePointFeatures.py`
+(see git history — three mixins were missing the
+`class XMixin(_ImageBase if TYPE_CHECKING else object)` pattern every
+other mixin uses). That fix prompted the question: if a new method is
+added to a mixin and it's accessed via `self.` from a *different*
+mixin, and it's not yet declared in `_image_typing.py`'s `_ImageBase`
+Protocol, what actually catches that? Answer: **nothing, currently**.
+`mypy` is not in `pyproject.toml`'s `dev` extra and does not run in any
+`.github/workflows/*.yml` — confirmed by grep, zero hits. So a Protocol
+gap like this doesn't fail a build or even show a warning; it just
+silently produces incomplete/wrong type information for anyone using an
+editor with type-checking (Pylance, mypy in an IDE), with no automated
+signal anywhere. This is the quietest version of a pattern that's
+already bitten this project twice today in more visible forms (the
+`image_class.rst` autosummary list silently going stale for the whole
+`Image` sidebar, and `ci.yml`'s conda `create-args` list silently
+missing `pgraph-python`/drifting on `opencv`) — a hand-maintained
+shadow list with no automated check that it stays in sync with reality.
+
+**Ran `mypy src/machinevisiontoolbox --ignore-missing-imports` fresh,
+2026-07-29** (superseding the stale, less-categorized April audit in
+`NOTES`): **524 errors in 31 files** (checked 49 source files). By
+category:
+
+| Code | Count |
+|---|---|
+| `attr-defined` | 84 |
+| `assignment` | 82 |
+| `union-attr` | 76 |
+| `index` | 75 |
+| `arg-type` | 53 |
+| `misc` | 26 |
+| `name-defined` | 24 |
+| `var-annotated` | 18 |
+| `valid-type` | 15 |
+| `operator` | 15 |
+| `call-overload` | 14 |
+| `return-value` | 13 |
+| `has-type` | 11 |
+| `return` | 6 |
+| `no-redef` | 5 |
+| `override` | 4 |
+| `method-assign` | 2 |
+| `call-arg` | 1 |
+
+**Correcting an initial hypothesis**: expected most `attr-defined`
+errors to trace to incomplete `_ImageBase` coverage (only ~96 of
+`Image`'s ~290 public members are declared — by design, since the
+Protocol only needs to cover attributes actually cross-referenced
+between mixins, not the full public API). Checked the real breakdown
+instead of assuming: **none** of the current `attr-defined` errors are
+actually `_ImageBase` gaps. The two real dominant causes are unrelated:
+- 23 of 84: `machinevisiontoolbox/base/__init__.py` re-exports every
+  submodule via wildcard `from X import *` (9 submodules) with no
+  explicit `__all__`/direct re-export list; mypy can't reliably resolve
+  names through that chain, so every file that does
+  `from machinevisiontoolbox.base import (draw_circle, plot_labelbox,
+  findpeaks2d, ...)` gets a false "module has no attribute" even though
+  these work fine at runtime.
+- 8 of 84: `cv2.<X>_create` dynamic dispatch (`getattr(cv2, ...)` /
+  `getattr(cv2.xfeatures2d, ...)` patterns in `ImagePointFeatures.py`'s
+  feature-detector dict) — mypy can't type-check dynamic attribute
+  access, expected and low-value to fix.
+- The remaining ~53 are scattered; `VisualServo.py` alone accounts for
+  44 of the 84 `attr-defined` errors (a mix of real typos like
+  `"plotpose"; maybe "plot_pose"?` and missing `machinevisiontoolbox.base`
+  attributes via the same wildcard-import issue) and is worth its own
+  look independent of the mixin-Protocol question that prompted this
+  audit.
+
+The `_ImageBase`-completeness risk described above is still real, just
+currently *latent* rather than demonstrated by a live error — worth
+re-running this same `mypy` audit after any future mixin refactor to
+catch it if it does start manifesting.
+
+### Fix
+
+Two independent pieces, roughly in priority order:
+1. Fix `machinevisiontoolbox/base/__init__.py`'s wildcard re-exports
+   (add explicit `__all__` composed from each submodule's own `__all__`,
+   or switch to explicit `from X import (name1, name2, ...)` — either
+   should immediately clear ~23+ of the `attr-defined` count and is a
+   mechanical, low-risk change).
+2. Wire `mypy` into CI (even just as a non-blocking/advisory job at
+   first, given 524 existing errors) so future drift is visible instead
+   of silent. Add `mypy` to `pyproject.toml`'s `dev` extra either way.
+Do not attempt to fix all 524 errors in one pass — triage by category
+(the `[call-arg]`/`[override]`/`[return]` categories are more likely to
+be real bugs; `assignment`/`arg-type`/`index` are more likely the
+`ArrayLike`-union-too-broad pattern the April `NOTES` audit already
+identified).
+
 ## `Image.ncdf` is documented as deprecated but never warns
 
 `ncdf` (`src/machinevisiontoolbox/ImageWholeFeatures.py:511-523`) has a
@@ -147,6 +242,33 @@ new extra or dependency. Patched directly (added `ipython`/`pygments` to
 `create-args`) and merged 2026-07-29 — the underlying architectural gap
 below is still open.
 
+**Third example, found 2026-07-29 (pre-existing, not a new incident)**:
+`pgraph-python` is a real, declared dependency in `pyproject.toml`'s
+`dependencies` list, but is completely absent from `ci.yml`'s
+`create-args` — not merely unpinned, never installed at all. The only
+file that imports it, `BundleAdjust.py`, does so inside a bare
+`except:` (see the bare-except finding elsewhere in this file) that
+silently falls back when the import fails. So every CI run has been
+exercising `BundleAdjust`'s pgraph-dependent code in "not installed"
+fallback mode this whole time, with nothing surfacing it. Not fixed
+here — decided (2026-07-29) to leave the conda→pip migration itself as
+deferred tech debt rather than keep patching individual missing
+packages one at a time; noting this one so it's not lost.
+
+**Decision, 2026-07-29**: known who introduced the conda/micromamba
+setup and why (a well-intentioned contributor's preference for conda,
+not a technical requirement) — confirmed not urgent enough to fix now.
+Branch protection on `main` (`All tests passed` + `build` required,
+strict/up-to-date-with-base required) now contains the *blast radius*
+of a future incident like this — it'll block just the one PR that hits
+it, rather than silently landing on `main` and confusing every other
+open PR at once, which was the actually painful part of the opencv5
+incident. The root architectural gap remains real and will very likely
+surface again the same way (a fourth missing/drifted package), but
+that's an acceptable trade for now given the fix requires careful
+cross-OS testing (libegl/Xvfb handling, `matplotlib-base` vs
+`matplotlib` naming) rather than a quick patch.
+
 ### Fix
 
 Normalize to the same `actions/setup-python` + `pip install .[dev]`