diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci-testing-deploy.yml b/.github/workflows/ci-testing-deploy.yml
index 2761a6beac2..51623fb7f80 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci-testing-deploy.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci-testing-deploy.yml
@@ -665,7 +665,6 @@ jobs:
         run: ./ci/github/unit-testing/catalog.bash install
       - name: typecheck
         run: ./ci/github/unit-testing/catalog.bash typecheck
-        continue-on-error: true
       - name: test
         if: always()
         run: ./ci/github/unit-testing/catalog.bash test
diff --git a/packages/models-library/src/models_library/rpc_pagination.py b/packages/models-library/src/models_library/rpc_pagination.py
index 2abaa398cde..34eeb997990 100644
--- a/packages/models-library/src/models_library/rpc_pagination.py
+++ b/packages/models-library/src/models_library/rpc_pagination.py
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ def create(
         total: int,
         limit: int,
         offset: int,
-    ):
+    ) -> "PageRpc":
         return cls(
             _meta=PageMetaInfoLimitOffset(
                 total=total, count=len(chunk), limit=limit, offset=offset
diff --git a/services/catalog/requirements/_test.in b/services/catalog/requirements/_test.in
index e215bca4248..c6189773150 100644
--- a/services/catalog/requirements/_test.in
+++ b/services/catalog/requirements/_test.in
@@ -28,3 +28,5 @@ pytest-mock
 pytest-runner
 respx
 sqlalchemy[mypy] # adds Mypy / Pep-484 Support for ORM Mappings SEE https://docs.sqlalchemy.org/en/20/orm/extensions/mypy.html
+types-psycopg2
+types-PyYAML
diff --git a/services/catalog/requirements/_test.txt b/services/catalog/requirements/_test.txt
index bf6b992d58a..1c116c89286 100644
--- a/services/catalog/requirements/_test.txt
+++ b/services/catalog/requirements/_test.txt
@@ -185,6 +185,10 @@ tomli==2.0.1
     #   coverage
     #   mypy
     #   pytest
+types-psycopg2==2.9.21.20240417
+    # via -r requirements/_test.in
+types-pyyaml==6.0.12.20240724
+    # via -r requirements/_test.in
 typing-extensions==4.10.0
     # via
     #   -c requirements/_base.txt
diff --git a/services/catalog/setup.cfg b/services/catalog/setup.cfg
index 32bc36fdac7..144dbc1a4b9 100644
--- a/services/catalog/setup.cfg
+++ b/services/catalog/setup.cfg
@@ -9,5 +9,10 @@ commit_args = --no-verify
 
 [tool:pytest]
 asyncio_mode = auto
-markers = 
+markers =
 	testit: "marks test to run during development"
+
+[mypy]
+plugins =
+	pydantic.mypy
+	sqlalchemy.ext.mypy.plugin
diff --git a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/_constants.py b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/_constants.py
index 0f3a8f3aff8..bc500c24e18 100644
--- a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/_constants.py
+++ b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/_constants.py
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
-from typing import Final
+from typing import Any, Final
 
 # These are equivalent to pydantic export models but for responses
 # SEE https://pydantic-docs.helpmanual.io/usage/exporting_models/#modeldict
 # SEE https://fastapi.tiangolo.com/tutorial/response-model/#use-the-response_model_exclude_unset-parameter
-RESPONSE_MODEL_POLICY: Final[dict[str, bool]] = {
+RESPONSE_MODEL_POLICY: Final[dict[str, Any]] = {
     "response_model_by_alias": True,
     "response_model_exclude_unset": True,
     "response_model_exclude_defaults": False,
diff --git a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/api/dependencies/services.py b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/api/dependencies/services.py
index 7d55dab5f59..a5d0eba83c2 100644
--- a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/api/dependencies/services.py
+++ b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/api/dependencies/services.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import logging
 from dataclasses import dataclass
-from typing import Annotated
+from typing import Annotated, cast
 
 from fastapi import Depends, FastAPI, Header, HTTPException, status
 from models_library.api_schemas_catalog.services_specifications import (
@@ -92,10 +92,13 @@ async def get_service_from_manifest(
     Retrieves service metadata from the docker registry via the director
     """
     try:
-        return await manifest.get_service(
-            key=service_key,
-            version=service_version,
-            director_client=director_client,
+        return cast(
+            ServiceMetaDataPublished,
+            await manifest.get_service(
+                key=service_key,
+                version=service_version,
+                director_client=director_client,
+            ),
         )
 
     except ValidationError as exc:
diff --git a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/api/rest/_services.py b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/api/rest/_services.py
index 5c98e535734..68a9f6490ba 100644
--- a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/api/rest/_services.py
+++ b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/api/rest/_services.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 import urllib.parse
 from typing import Annotated, Any, TypeAlias, cast
 
-from aiocache import cached
+from aiocache import cached  # type: ignore[import-untyped]
 from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, Header, HTTPException, status
 from models_library.api_schemas_catalog.services import ServiceGet, ServiceUpdate
 from models_library.services import ServiceKey, ServiceType, ServiceVersion
@@ -335,6 +335,7 @@ async def update_service(
 
     if updated_service.access_rights:
         # start by updating/inserting new entries
+        assert x_simcore_products_name  # nosec
         new_access_rights = [
             ServiceAccessRightsAtDB(
                 key=service_key,
@@ -366,6 +367,7 @@ async def update_service(
         await services_repo.delete_service_access_rights(deleted_access_rights)
 
     # now return the service
+    assert x_simcore_products_name  # nosec
     return await get_service(
         user_id=user_id,
         service_in_manifest=await get_service_from_manifest(
diff --git a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/api/rest/_services_ports.py b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/api/rest/_services_ports.py
index 84797e4832b..adc7fd338a9 100644
--- a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/api/rest/_services_ports.py
+++ b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/api/rest/_services_ports.py
@@ -30,11 +30,11 @@ async def list_service_ports(
     ports: list[ServicePortGet] = []
 
     if service.inputs:
-        for name, port in service.inputs.items():
-            ports.append(ServicePortGet.from_service_io("input", name, port))
+        for name, input_port in service.inputs.items():
+            ports.append(ServicePortGet.from_service_io("input", name, input_port))
 
     if service.outputs:
-        for name, port in service.outputs.items():
-            ports.append(ServicePortGet.from_service_io("output", name, port))
+        for name, output_port in service.outputs.items():
+            ports.append(ServicePortGet.from_service_io("output", name, output_port))
 
     return ports
diff --git a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/api/rest/_services_resources.py b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/api/rest/_services_resources.py
index 88e2ab4d958..701c4b41f3d 100644
--- a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/api/rest/_services_resources.py
+++ b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/api/rest/_services_resources.py
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ async def get_service_resources(
         )
 
     service_spec: ComposeSpecLabelDict | None = parse_raw_as(
-        ComposeSpecLabelDict | None,
+        ComposeSpecLabelDict | None,  # type: ignore[arg-type]
         service_labels.get(SIMCORE_SERVICE_COMPOSE_SPEC_LABEL, "null"),
     )
     _logger.debug("received %s", f"{service_spec=}")
diff --git a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/api/rpc/_services.py b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/api/rpc/_services.py
index d771326e680..e44a6d01140 100644
--- a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/api/rpc/_services.py
+++ b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/api/rpc/_services.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import functools
 import logging
+from typing import cast
 
 from fastapi import FastAPI
 from models_library.api_schemas_catalog.services import (
@@ -75,11 +76,14 @@ async def list_services_paginated(
     assert len(items) <= total_count  # nosec
     assert len(items) <= limit  # nosec
 
-    return PageRpcServicesGetV2.create(
-        items,
-        total=total_count,
-        limit=limit,
-        offset=offset,
+    return cast(
+        PageRpcServicesGetV2,
+        PageRpcServicesGetV2.create(
+            items,
+            total=total_count,
+            limit=limit,
+            offset=offset,
+        ),
     )
 
 
diff --git a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/core/background_tasks.py b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/core/background_tasks.py
index 89079b7561d..fa1c4cbb659 100644
--- a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/core/background_tasks.py
+++ b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/core/background_tasks.py
@@ -141,8 +141,8 @@ async def _ensure_published_templates_accessible(
     missing_services = published_services - available_services
     missing_services_access_rights = [
         ServiceAccessRightsAtDB(
-            key=service[0],
-            version=service[1],
+            key=ServiceKey(service[0]),
+            version=ServiceVersion(service[1]),
             gid=everyone_gid,
             execute_access=True,
             product_name=default_product_name,
diff --git a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/db/repositories/_services_sql.py b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/db/repositories/_services_sql.py
index 8cc2fc1c6f5..17512b5e8d5 100644
--- a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/db/repositories/_services_sql.py
+++ b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/db/repositories/_services_sql.py
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+from typing import Any
+
 import sqlalchemy as sa
 from models_library.products import ProductName
 from models_library.services_types import ServiceKey, ServiceVersion
@@ -26,13 +28,13 @@ def list_services_stmt(
 ) -> Select:
     stmt = sa.select(services_meta_data)
     if gids or execute_access or write_access:
-        conditions = []
+        conditions: list[Any] = []
 
         # access rights
         logic_operator = and_ if combine_access_with_and else or_
         default = bool(combine_access_with_and)
 
-        access_query_part = logic_operator(
+        access_query_part = logic_operator(  # type: ignore[type-var]
             services_access_rights.c.execute_access if execute_access else default,
             services_access_rights.c.write_access if write_access else default,
         )
diff --git a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/db/repositories/services.py b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/db/repositories/services.py
index b4138eb8ed7..93f53d6bacb 100644
--- a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/db/repositories/services.py
+++ b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/db/repositories/services.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 import logging
 from collections import defaultdict
 from collections.abc import Iterable
-from typing import Any, cast
+from typing import Any
 
 import packaging.version
 import sqlalchemy as sa
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ async def list_service_releases(
 
         # Now sort naturally from latest first: (This is lame, the sorting should be done in the db)
         def _by_version(x: ServiceMetaDataAtDB) -> packaging.version.Version:
-            return cast(packaging.version.Version, packaging.version.parse(x.version))
+            return packaging.version.parse(x.version)
 
         return sorted(releases, key=_by_version, reverse=True)
 
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ async def get_latest_release(self, key: str) -> ServiceMetaDataAtDB | None:
             result = await conn.execute(query)
             row = result.first()
         if row:
-            return cast(ServiceMetaDataAtDB, ServiceMetaDataAtDB.from_orm(row))
+            return ServiceMetaDataAtDB.from_orm(row)
         return None  # mypy
 
     async def get_service(
@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ async def get_service(
             result = await conn.execute(query)
             row = result.first()
         if row:
-            return cast(ServiceMetaDataAtDB, ServiceMetaDataAtDB.from_orm(row))
+            return ServiceMetaDataAtDB.from_orm(row)
         return None  # mypy
 
     async def create_or_update_service(
@@ -233,9 +233,7 @@ async def create_or_update_service(
             )
             row = result.first()
             assert row  # nosec
-            created_service = cast(
-                ServiceMetaDataAtDB, ServiceMetaDataAtDB.from_orm(row)
-            )
+            created_service = ServiceMetaDataAtDB.from_orm(row)
 
             for access_rights in new_service_access_rights:
                 insert_stmt = pg_insert(services_access_rights).values(
@@ -268,7 +266,7 @@ async def update_service(
             result = await conn.execute(stmt_update)
             row = result.first()
             assert row  # nosec
-        return cast(ServiceMetaDataAtDB, ServiceMetaDataAtDB.from_orm(row))
+        return ServiceMetaDataAtDB.from_orm(row)
 
     async def can_get_service(
         self,
diff --git a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/exceptions/handlers/_http_error.py b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/exceptions/handlers/_http_error.py
index f76edb1ed6b..a28839dad42 100644
--- a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/exceptions/handlers/_http_error.py
+++ b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/exceptions/handlers/_http_error.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 from collections.abc import Callable
+from typing import Awaitable
 
 from fastapi import HTTPException
 from fastapi.encoders import jsonable_encoder
@@ -14,7 +15,7 @@ async def http_error_handler(_: Request, exc: HTTPException) -> JSONResponse:
 
 def make_http_error_handler_for_exception(
     status_code: int, exception_cls: type[BaseException]
-) -> Callable[[Request, type[BaseException]], JSONResponse]:
+) -> Callable[[Request, type[BaseException]], Awaitable[JSONResponse]]:
     """
     Produces a handler for BaseException-type exceptions which converts them
     into an error JSON response with a given status code
diff --git a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/access_rights.py b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/access_rights.py
index 73ee7f71f7d..8e1f485b0d7 100644
--- a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/access_rights.py
+++ b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/access_rights.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 """ Services Access Rights policies
 
 """
+
 import logging
 import operator
 from collections.abc import Callable
@@ -11,6 +12,7 @@
 import arrow
 from fastapi import FastAPI
 from models_library.services import ServiceMetaDataPublished
+from models_library.services_types import ServiceKey, ServiceVersion
 from packaging.version import Version
 from pydantic.types import PositiveInt
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncEngine
@@ -184,8 +186,8 @@ def _get_flags(access: ServiceAccessRightsAtDB) -> dict[str, bool]:
 
     reduced_access_rights: list[ServiceAccessRightsAtDB] = [
         ServiceAccessRightsAtDB(
-            key=f"{target[0]}",
-            version=f"{target[1]}",
+            key=ServiceKey(f"{target[0]}"),
+            version=ServiceVersion(f"{target[1]}"),
             gid=int(target[2]),
             product_name=f"{target[3]}",
             **access_flags_map[target],
diff --git a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/compatibility.py b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/compatibility.py
index 9514c166b3e..1e9ea2b9a48 100644
--- a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/compatibility.py
+++ b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/compatibility.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 from models_library.users import UserID
 from packaging.specifiers import SpecifierSet
 from packaging.version import Version
+from pydantic import parse_obj_as
 from simcore_service_catalog.utils.versioning import as_version
 
 from ..db.repositories.services import ServicesRepository
@@ -78,12 +79,12 @@ async def _evaluate_custom_compatibility(
             return Compatibility(
                 can_update_to=CompatibleService(
                     key=other_service_key,
-                    version=f"{latest_version}",
+                    version=parse_obj_as(ServiceVersion, f"{latest_version}"),
                 )
             )
         return Compatibility(
             can_update_to=CompatibleService(
-                version=f"{latest_version}",
+                version=parse_obj_as(ServiceVersion, f"{latest_version}"),
             )
         )
 
@@ -95,9 +96,9 @@ async def evaluate_service_compatibility_map(
     product_name: ProductName,
     user_id: UserID,
     service_release_history: list[ReleaseFromDB],
-) -> dict[ServiceVersion, Compatibility]:
+) -> dict[ServiceVersion, Compatibility | None]:
     released_versions = _convert_to_versions(service_release_history)
-    result = {}
+    result: dict[ServiceVersion, Compatibility | None] = {}
 
     for release in service_release_history:
         compatibility = None
@@ -108,16 +109,17 @@ async def evaluate_service_compatibility_map(
                 repo=repo,
                 target_version=release.version,
                 released_versions=released_versions,
-                compatibility_policy=release.compatibility_policy,
+                compatibility_policy={**release.compatibility_policy},
             )
         elif latest_version := _get_latest_compatible_version(
             release.version,
             released_versions,
         ):
             compatibility = Compatibility(
-                can_update_to=CompatibleService(version=f"{latest_version}")
+                can_update_to=CompatibleService(
+                    version=parse_obj_as(ServiceVersion, f"{latest_version}")
+                )
             )
-
         result[release.version] = compatibility
 
     return result
diff --git a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/director.py b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/director.py
index b8de738b19a..135e2ab4b1f 100644
--- a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/director.py
+++ b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/director.py
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 
 MINUTE = 60
 
-_director_startup_retry_policy = {
+_director_startup_retry_policy: dict[str, Any] = {
     # Random service startup order in swarm.
     # wait_random prevents saturating other services while startup
     #
diff --git a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/function_services.py b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/function_services.py
index e56ef218bdc..006da49d413 100644
--- a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/function_services.py
+++ b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/function_services.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-from typing import Any, cast
+# mypy: disable-error-code=truthy-function
+from typing import Any
 
 from fastapi import status
 from fastapi.applications import FastAPI
@@ -13,7 +14,7 @@
 
 
 def _as_dict(model_instance: ServiceMetaDataPublished) -> dict[str, Any]:
-    return cast(dict[str, Any], model_instance.dict(by_alias=True, exclude_unset=True))
+    return model_instance.dict(by_alias=True, exclude_unset=True)
 
 
 def get_function_service(key, version) -> ServiceMetaDataPublished:
diff --git a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/manifest.py b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/manifest.py
index 59149111780..aa6caf52618 100644
--- a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/manifest.py
+++ b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/manifest.py
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
 import logging
 from typing import Any, TypeAlias, cast
 
-from aiocache import cached
+from aiocache import cached  # type: ignore[import-untyped]
 from models_library.function_services_catalog.api import iter_service_docker_data
 from models_library.services_metadata_published import ServiceMetaDataPublished
 from models_library.services_types import ServiceKey, ServiceVersion
diff --git a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/services_api.py b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/services_api.py
index dfccc672344..792fa03f912 100644
--- a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/services_api.py
+++ b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/services/services_api.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
     ServiceGroupAccessRightsV2,
     ServiceUpdate,
 )
+from models_library.emails import LowerCaseEmailStr
 from models_library.products import ProductName
 from models_library.rest_pagination import PageLimitInt
 from models_library.services_enums import ServiceType
@@ -12,7 +13,7 @@
 from models_library.services_metadata_published import ServiceMetaDataPublished
 from models_library.services_types import ServiceKey, ServiceVersion
 from models_library.users import UserID
-from pydantic import NonNegativeInt
+from pydantic import HttpUrl, NonNegativeInt, parse_obj_as
 from servicelib.rabbitmq.rpc_interfaces.catalog.errors import (
     CatalogForbiddenError,
     CatalogItemNotFoundError,
@@ -44,7 +45,7 @@ def _db_to_api_model(
     service_db: ServiceWithHistoryFromDB,
     access_rights_db: list[ServiceAccessRightsAtDB],
     service_manifest: ServiceMetaDataPublished,
-    compatibility_map: dict[ServiceKey, Compatibility] | None = None,
+    compatibility_map: dict[ServiceVersion, Compatibility | None] | None = None,
 ) -> ServiceGetV2:
     compatibility_map = compatibility_map or {}
     assert (  # nosec
@@ -55,13 +56,21 @@ def _db_to_api_model(
         key=service_db.key,
         version=service_db.version,
         name=service_db.name,
-        thumbnail=service_db.thumbnail or None,
+        thumbnail=(
+            parse_obj_as(HttpUrl, service_db.thumbnail)
+            if service_db.thumbnail
+            else None
+        ),
         description=service_db.description,
         version_display=service_db.version_display,
         type=service_manifest.service_type,
         contact=service_manifest.contact,
         authors=service_manifest.authors,
-        owner=service_db.owner_email or None,
+        owner=(
+            LowerCaseEmailStr(service_db.owner_email)
+            if service_db.owner_email
+            else None
+        ),
         inputs=service_manifest.inputs or {},
         outputs=service_manifest.outputs or {},
         boot_options=service_manifest.boot_options,
diff --git a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/utils/versioning.py b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/utils/versioning.py
index cc08bfec969..d577b81bd75 100644
--- a/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/utils/versioning.py
+++ b/services/catalog/src/simcore_service_catalog/utils/versioning.py
@@ -18,4 +18,4 @@ def is_patch_release(version: _VersionOrStr, reference: _VersionOrStr) -> bool:
     """Returns True if version is a patch release from reference"""
     v: Version = as_version(version)
     r: Version = as_version(reference)
-    return v.major == r.major and v.minor == r.minor and r.micro < v.micro  # type: ignore
+    return v.major == r.major and v.minor == r.minor and r.micro < v.micro