diff --git a/.github/workflows/clang_tidy.yml b/.github/workflows/clang_tidy.yml
index 65a9643288..545b3be65f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/clang_tidy.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/clang_tidy.yml
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ jobs:
       # to do this, we need to run cmake with the following options:
       # -DCMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS=ON
       # I'm fairly sure that we don't need to run the actual build,
-      # but it's not obvious to me how to do this. So, I'm just going 
+      # but it's not obvious to me how to do this. So, I'm just going
       # to run a full build for now, and we can FIXME this later.
       - name: Prequisites for build
         run: |
diff --git a/.github/workflows/linters.yml b/.github/workflows/linters.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..55ee691f14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/linters.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+name: Linters, using linux
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+  pull_request:
+    branches:
+      - main
+jobs:
+  build:
+    name: Linters
+    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
+    steps:
+      - name: Python check
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v4
+        with:
+          python-version: '3.10'
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: Run linters
+        run: |
+          bash .github/workflows/scripts_new/linters.sh
diff --git a/.github/workflows/linux_x86.yml b/.github/workflows/linux_x86.yml
index 2902822d5b..21623204e1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/linux_x86.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/linux_x86.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-name: Linux x86 on-demand
+name: Linux x86
 on:
   pull_request:
     branches:
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ on:
   workflow_dispatch:
 jobs:
   build:
+    name: Linux x86 Build
     runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
diff --git a/.github/workflows/scripts/ti_build/vulkan.py b/.github/workflows/scripts/ti_build/vulkan.py
index e7e8d06796..b75a80fc41 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/scripts/ti_build/vulkan.py
+++ b/.github/workflows/scripts/ti_build/vulkan.py
@@ -19,7 +19,9 @@
 def setup_vulkan():
     u = platform.uname()
     if u.system == "Linux":
-        url = f"https://sdk.lunarg.com/sdk/download/{VULKAN_VERSION}/linux/vulkansdk-linux-x86_64-{VULKAN_VERSION}.tar.xz"
+        url = (
+            f"https://sdk.lunarg.com/sdk/download/{VULKAN_VERSION}/linux/vulkansdk-linux-x86_64-{VULKAN_VERSION}.tar.xz"
+        )
         prefix = get_cache_home() / f"vulkan-{VULKAN_VERSION}"
 
         download_dep(url, prefix, strip=1)
diff --git a/.github/workflows/scripts_new/linters.sh b/.github/workflows/scripts_new/linters.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9adf829aeb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/scripts_new/linters.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -ex
+
+python -V
+pwd
+ls
+uname -a
+
+# python + C++
+# =============
+
+pip install pre-commit
+pre-commit run -a --show-diff
+
+# python
+# ======
+
+pip install pyright
+# Need to deal with C++ linkage issues first (and possibly
+# some other things), before we can turn on pyright
+
+pip install isort
+# TODO: run isort on all python files, and commit those, then
+# uncomment the following line:
+# isort --check-only --diff python
+
+# C++
+# ===
+
+# TODO: figure out how to run clang-tidy
diff --git a/.pre-commit-config.yaml b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
index d6d70a6617..55d0e839e4 100644
--- a/.pre-commit-config.yaml
+++ b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ ci:
   autoupdate_commit_msg: '[misc] Update pre-commit hooks'
 
 default_language_version:
-    python: python3.12
+    python: python3.10
 
 exclude: ^((tests/python/test_exception)\.py$|external/)
 repos:
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ repos:
     rev: 25.1.0
     hooks:
       - id: black
-        language_version: python3.12
+        language_version: python3.10
         args: ['-l', '120']
 
   - repo: https://github.com/pre-commit/mirrors-clang-format
diff --git a/python/taichi/tools/vtk.py b/python/taichi/tools/vtk.py
index 596ec3c308..ef4e4832d8 100644
--- a/python/taichi/tools/vtk.py
+++ b/python/taichi/tools/vtk.py
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@ def write_vtk(scalar_field, filename):
         zcoords = np.array([0, 1])
     elif dimensions == 3:
         zcoords = np.arange(0, field_shape[2])
+    else:
+        raise ValueError("dimensions should be 2 or 3")
     gridToVTK(
         filename,
         x=np.arange(0, field_shape[0]),
diff --git a/python/tools/markdown_link_check.py b/python/tools/markdown_link_check.py
index 6f0ed9f52a..0c12c500df 100644
--- a/python/tools/markdown_link_check.py
+++ b/python/tools/markdown_link_check.py
@@ -6,10 +6,11 @@
 
 error_found = False  # Track if any errors are found
 
+
 def check_markdown_links(file_path, base_dir=None):
     """
     Check all links in a Markdown file, including anchor references.
-    
+
     Args:
         file_path: Path to the Markdown file
         base_dir: Base directory for relative links (defaults to file's directory)
@@ -17,95 +18,91 @@ def check_markdown_links(file_path, base_dir=None):
     global error_found
     if base_dir is None:
         base_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(file_path))
-    
-    with open(file_path, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+
+    with open(file_path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
         content = f.read()
-    
+
     # Find all links and image references
-    link_pattern = r'\[.*?\]\((.*?)\)|!\[.*?\]\((.*?)\)'
+    link_pattern = r"\[.*?\]\((.*?)\)|!\[.*?\]\((.*?)\)"
     matches = re.findall(link_pattern, content)
-    
+
     # Combine both capturing groups (links and images)
     links = [match[0] or match[1] for match in matches if match[0] or match[1]]
-    
+
     for link in links:
         parsed = urlparse(link)
-        
+
         # Skip mailto and external links
-        if parsed.scheme in ('http', 'https', 'mailto'):
+        if parsed.scheme in ("http", "https", "mailto"):
             print(f"[-] External link (not checked): {link}")
             continue
-        
+
         # Handle anchor-only links
         if not parsed.path and parsed.fragment:
             check_anchor(file_path, parsed.fragment)
             continue
-        
+
         # Handle relative paths
         if not parsed.scheme and not parsed.netloc:
             full_path = os.path.normpath(os.path.join(base_dir, parsed.path))
-            
+
             # Check if file exists
             if not os.path.exists(full_path):
                 print(f"❌ Broken link: {link} (File not found: {full_path})")
                 error_found = True
                 continue
-            
+
             # Check anchor in local file
             if parsed.fragment:
-                if full_path.endswith('.md'):
+                if full_path.endswith(".md"):
                     check_anchor(full_path, parsed.fragment)
                 else:
                     # For non-markdown files, we can't check anchors
                     print(f"⚠️ Anchor in non-Markdown file (not checked): {link}")
 
+
 def check_anchor(md_file_path, anchor):
     """
     Check if an anchor exists in a Markdown file.
-    
+
     Args:
         md_file_path: Path to the Markdown file
         anchor: Anchor to check (without #)
     """
     global error_found
     try:
-        with open(md_file_path, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+        with open(md_file_path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
             content = f.read()
-        
+
         # Improved anchor cleaning: remove non-alphanum except hyphens, collapse multiple hyphens, strip hyphens
         def clean_anchor(s):
-            s = s.lower().replace(' ', '-')
-            s = re.sub(r'[^a-z0-9\-]', '', s)
-            s = re.sub(r'-+', '-', s)
-            s = s.strip('-')
+            s = s.lower().replace(" ", "-")
+            s = re.sub(r"[^a-z0-9\-]", "", s)
+            s = re.sub(r"-+", "-", s)
+            s = s.strip("-")
             return s
 
         normalized_anchor = clean_anchor(anchor)
-        
+
         # Pattern for Markdown headers
-        header_pattern = r'^#+\s+(.*)$'
-        
+        header_pattern = r"^#+\s+(.*)$"
+
         found = False
         available_anchors = []
-        for line in content.split('\n'):
+        for line in content.split("\n"):
             match = re.match(header_pattern, line)
             if match:
                 header_text = match.group(1)
                 anchor_dash = clean_anchor(header_text)
-                anchor_underscore = re.sub(r'[^a-z0-9\-]', '', header_text.lower().replace(' ', '_'))
-                anchor_nospace = re.sub(r'[^a-z0-9\-]', '', header_text.replace(' ', ''))
-                anchor_raw = re.sub(r'[^a-z0-9\-]', '', header_text)
-                possible_anchors = [
-                    anchor_dash,
-                    anchor_underscore,
-                    anchor_nospace,
-                    anchor_raw
-                ]
+                anchor_underscore = re.sub(r"[^a-z0-9\-]", "", header_text.lower().replace(" ", "_"))
+                anchor_nospace = re.sub(r"[^a-z0-9\-]", "", header_text.replace(" ", ""))
+                anchor_raw = re.sub(r"[^a-z0-9\-]", "", header_text)
+                possible_anchors = [anchor_dash, anchor_underscore, anchor_nospace, anchor_raw]
                 available_anchors.append(anchor_dash)
                 if normalized_anchor in possible_anchors:
                     found = True
                     break
-        
+
         if not found:
             print(f"❌ Broken anchor: #{anchor} in {md_file_path}")
             print(f"   Available anchors in this file:")
@@ -115,6 +112,7 @@ def clean_anchor(s):
     except Exception as e:
         print(f"⚠️ Error checking anchor #{anchor} in {md_file_path}: {str(e)}")
 
+
 def find_markdown_files(root_dir):
     """
     Recursively find all .md files under root_dir.
@@ -122,11 +120,12 @@ def find_markdown_files(root_dir):
     md_files = []
     for dirpath, _, filenames in os.walk(root_dir):
         for filename in filenames:
-            if filename.lower().endswith('.md'):
+            if filename.lower().endswith(".md"):
                 md_files.append(os.path.join(dirpath, filename))
     return md_files
 
-if __name__ == '__main__':
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Check Markdown links in a directory or a single Markdown file.")
     parser.add_argument("path", help="Path to the root directory or a Markdown file")
     args = parser.parse_args()
@@ -139,7 +138,7 @@ def find_markdown_files(root_dir):
         if not md_files:
             print(f"No Markdown files found in {input_path}")
             exit(0)
-    elif os.path.isfile(input_path) and input_path.lower().endswith('.md'):
+    elif os.path.isfile(input_path) and input_path.lower().endswith(".md"):
         md_files = [input_path]
     else:
         print(f"Error: {input_path} is not a directory or a Markdown (.md) file.")
diff --git a/taichi/program/sparse_solver.cpp b/taichi/program/sparse_solver.cpp
index c775847271..3a8cea13e4 100644
--- a/taichi/program/sparse_solver.cpp
+++ b/taichi/program/sparse_solver.cpp
@@ -221,17 +221,17 @@ void CuSparseSolver::reorder(const CuSparseMatrix &A) {
   assert(nullptr != h_csr_val_B_);
   assert(nullptr != h_map_B_from_A_);
 
-  CUDADriver::get_instance().memcpy_device_to_host(h_csr_row_ptr_B_, d_csrRowPtrA,
-                                                   sizeof(int) * (rowsA + 1));
-  CUDADriver::get_instance().memcpy_device_to_host(h_csr_col_ind_B_, d_csrColIndA,
-                                                   sizeof(int) * nnzA);
+  CUDADriver::get_instance().memcpy_device_to_host(
+      h_csr_row_ptr_B_, d_csrRowPtrA, sizeof(int) * (rowsA + 1));
+  CUDADriver::get_instance().memcpy_device_to_host(
+      h_csr_col_ind_B_, d_csrColIndA, sizeof(int) * nnzA);
   CUDADriver::get_instance().memcpy_device_to_host(h_csrValA, d_csrValA,
                                                    sizeof(float) * nnzA);
 
   // compoute h_Q_
-  CUSOLVERDriver::get_instance().csSpXcsrsymamdHost(cusolver_handle_, rowsA,
-                                                    nnzA, descr_, h_csr_row_ptr_B_,
-                                                    h_csr_col_ind_B_, h_Q_);
+  CUSOLVERDriver::get_instance().csSpXcsrsymamdHost(
+      cusolver_handle_, rowsA, nnzA, descr_, h_csr_row_ptr_B_, h_csr_col_ind_B_,
+      h_Q_);
   CUDADriver::get_instance().malloc((void **)&d_Q_, sizeof(int) * colsA);
   CUDADriver::get_instance().memcpy_host_to_device((void *)d_Q_, (void *)h_Q_,
                                                    sizeof(int) * (colsA));
@@ -255,9 +255,11 @@ void CuSparseSolver::reorder(const CuSparseMatrix &A) {
                                     sizeof(int) * (rowsA + 1));
   CUDADriver::get_instance().malloc((void **)&d_csr_col_ind_B_,
                                     sizeof(int) * nnzA);
-  CUDADriver::get_instance().malloc((void **)&d_csr_val_B_, sizeof(float) * nnzA);
-  CUDADriver::get_instance().memcpy_host_to_device(
-      (void *)d_csr_row_ptr_B_, (void *)h_csr_row_ptr_B_, sizeof(int) * (rowsA + 1));
+  CUDADriver::get_instance().malloc((void **)&d_csr_val_B_,
+                                    sizeof(float) * nnzA);
+  CUDADriver::get_instance().memcpy_host_to_device((void *)d_csr_row_ptr_B_,
+                                                   (void *)h_csr_row_ptr_B_,
+                                                   sizeof(int) * (rowsA + 1));
   CUDADriver::get_instance().memcpy_host_to_device(
       (void *)d_csr_col_ind_B_, (void *)h_csr_col_ind_B_, sizeof(int) * nnzA);
   CUDADriver::get_instance().memcpy_host_to_device(
diff --git a/taichi/program/sparse_solver.h b/taichi/program/sparse_solver.h
index 57b2203d5f..48da79d3b4 100644
--- a/taichi/program/sparse_solver.h
+++ b/taichi/program/sparse_solver.h
@@ -97,12 +97,12 @@ class CuSparseSolver : public SparseSolver {
   int *d_Q_{nullptr};
   int *h_csr_row_ptr_B_{nullptr}; /* <int> n+1 */
   int *h_csr_col_ind_B_{nullptr}; /* <int> nnzA */
-  float *h_csr_val_B_{nullptr};  /* <float> nnzA */
+  float *h_csr_val_B_{nullptr};   /* <float> nnzA */
   int *h_map_B_from_A_{nullptr};  /* <int> nnzA */
   int *d_csr_row_ptr_B_{nullptr}; /* <int> n+1 */
   int *d_csr_col_ind_B_{nullptr}; /* <int> nnzA */
-  float *d_csr_val_B_{nullptr};  /* <float> nnzA */
-  // NOLINTEND
+  float *d_csr_val_B_{nullptr};   /* <float> nnzA */
+                                  // NOLINTEND
  public:
   CuSparseSolver();
   explicit CuSparseSolver(SolverType solver_type) : solver_type_(solver_type) {
diff --git a/taichi/python/export_lang.cpp b/taichi/python/export_lang.cpp
index f4a209290c..bf56db31d8 100644
--- a/taichi/python/export_lang.cpp
+++ b/taichi/python/export_lang.cpp
@@ -350,11 +350,11 @@ void export_lang(py::module &m) {
       .def("insert_snode_access_flag", &ASTBuilder::insert_snode_access_flag)
       .def("reset_snode_access_flag", &ASTBuilder::reset_snode_access_flag);
 
-  auto device_capability_config = py::class_<DeviceCapabilityConfig>(
-      m, "DeviceCapabilityConfig");
+  auto device_capability_config =
+      py::class_<DeviceCapabilityConfig>(m, "DeviceCapabilityConfig");
 
-  auto compiled_kernel_data = py::class_<CompiledKernelData>(
-      m, "CompiledKernelData");
+  auto compiled_kernel_data =
+      py::class_<CompiledKernelData>(m, "CompiledKernelData");
 
   py::class_<Program>(m, "Program")
       .def(py::init<>())
diff --git a/tests/python/test_tools_markdown_check.py b/tests/python/test_tools_markdown_check.py
index cc5a0ed7a9..fa2d525567 100644
--- a/tests/python/test_tools_markdown_check.py
+++ b/tests/python/test_tools_markdown_check.py
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ def temp_dir():
     with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as d:
         yield d
 
+
 def write_md(base_dir, filename, content):
     path = os.path.join(base_dir, filename)
     os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(path), exist_ok=True)
@@ -25,6 +26,7 @@ def write_md(base_dir, filename, content):
         f.write(content)
     return path
 
+
 def test_find_markdown_files(temp_dir):
     write_md(temp_dir, "a.md", "# Title")
     write_md(temp_dir, "b.txt", "not markdown")
@@ -35,6 +37,7 @@ def test_find_markdown_files(temp_dir):
     assert any(f.endswith("a.md") for f in files)
     assert any(f.endswith("c.md") for f in files)
 
+
 def test_check_markdown_links_valid(temp_dir, capsys):
     md = "# Title\n[Link](other.md)\n"
     other = "# Other"
@@ -44,6 +47,7 @@ def test_check_markdown_links_valid(temp_dir, capsys):
     out = capsys.readouterr().out
     assert "❌" not in out
 
+
 def test_check_markdown_links_broken_file(temp_dir, capsys):
     md = "# Title\n[Missing](missing.md)\n"
     write_md(temp_dir, "main.md", md)
@@ -51,6 +55,7 @@ def test_check_markdown_links_broken_file(temp_dir, capsys):
     out = capsys.readouterr().out
     assert "❌ Broken link" in out
 
+
 def test_check_anchor_found(temp_dir, capsys):
     md = "# My Header\n"
     path = write_md(temp_dir, "doc.md", md)
@@ -58,6 +63,7 @@ def test_check_anchor_found(temp_dir, capsys):
     out = capsys.readouterr().out
     assert "❌" not in out
 
+
 def test_check_anchor_not_found(temp_dir, capsys):
     md = "# My Header\n"
     path = write_md(temp_dir, "doc.md", md)
@@ -65,6 +71,7 @@ def test_check_anchor_not_found(temp_dir, capsys):
     out = capsys.readouterr().out
     assert "❌ Broken anchor" in out
 
+
 def test_check_anchor_symbol_removal(temp_dir, capsys):
     md = "# My `Header`.\n"
     path = write_md(temp_dir, "doc.md", md)
@@ -72,6 +79,7 @@ def test_check_anchor_symbol_removal(temp_dir, capsys):
     out = capsys.readouterr().out
     assert "❌" not in out
 
+
 def test_external_and_mailto_links(temp_dir, capsys):
     md = "# Title\n[Google](https://google.com)\n[Email](mailto:test@example.com)\n"
     path = write_md(temp_dir, "main.md", md)
@@ -79,6 +87,7 @@ def test_external_and_mailto_links(temp_dir, capsys):
     out = capsys.readouterr().out
     assert "External link" in out
 
+
 def test_anchor_only_link(temp_dir, capsys):
     md = "# Section 1\n[Go](#section-1)\n"
     path = write_md(temp_dir, "main.md", md)
@@ -89,7 +98,7 @@ def test_anchor_only_link(temp_dir, capsys):
 
 def test_pr_review(temp_dir, capsys):
     md = """
-    
+
 - [PR review & merging checklist](#pr-review-merging-checklist)
 
 ### PR review & merging checklist