ction parameter has a value equivalent to the provided literal (or one of several literals):: def validate_simple(data: Any) -> Literal[True]: # always returns True ... MODE = Literal['r', 'rb', 'w', 'wb'] def open_helper(file: str, mode: MODE) -> str: ... open_helper('/some/path', 'r') # Passes type check open_helper('/other/path', 'typo') # Error in type checker Literal[...] cannot be subclassed. At runtime, an arbitrary value is allowed as type argument to Literal[...], but type checkers may impose restrictions. c