diff --git a/src/hope_dedup_engine/apps/faces/admin.py b/src/hope_dedup_engine/apps/faces/admin.py
index f2aa8074..d845c120 100644
--- a/src/hope_dedup_engine/apps/faces/admin.py
+++ b/src/hope_dedup_engine/apps/faces/admin.py
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@
 
 @admin.register(TaskModel)
 class TaskModelAdmin(admin.ModelAdmin):
-
     def has_add_permission(self, request: HttpRequest) -> bool:
         return False
 
diff --git a/src/hope_dedup_engine/apps/security/models.py b/src/hope_dedup_engine/apps/security/models.py
index e492f22e..5ff66739 100644
--- a/src/hope_dedup_engine/apps/security/models.py
+++ b/src/hope_dedup_engine/apps/security/models.py
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ class System(models.Model):
 
 
 class User(SecurityMixin, AbstractUser):
-
     class Meta:
         abstract = False
 
diff --git a/src/hope_dedup_engine/state.py b/src/hope_dedup_engine/state.py
index c8d7f77b..0973df8f 100644
--- a/src/hope_dedup_engine/state.py
+++ b/src/hope_dedup_engine/state.py
@@ -3,14 +3,23 @@
 from copy import copy
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta
 from threading import local
-from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Dict, Iterator, List, Optional
+from typing import Any, Dict, Iterator, List, Mapping, Optional, Protocol
 
+# TODO: find out what is correct value for this
+not_set = None
 
-not_set = object()
+
+class AnyRequest(Protocol):
+    COOKIES: Mapping[str, Any]
+
+
+class AnyResponse(Protocol):
+    def set_cookie(self, name: str, *args: Any) -> None:
+        pass
 
 
 class State(local):
-    request: "AnyRequest|None" = None
+    request: AnyRequest | None = None
     cookies: Dict[str, List[Any]] = {}
 
     def __repr__(self) -> str:
diff --git a/tests/extras/testutils/factories/__init__.py b/tests/extras/testutils/factories/__init__.py
index 1595d1de..6cd5b3ca 100644
--- a/tests/extras/testutils/factories/__init__.py
+++ b/tests/extras/testutils/factories/__init__.py
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@
 
 
 def get_factory_for_model(_model) -> type[TAutoRegisterModelFactory]:
-
     class Meta:
         model = _model
 
diff --git a/tests/test_commands.py b/tests/test_commands.py
index 551ef0a8..25d879fe 100644
--- a/tests/test_commands.py
+++ b/tests/test_commands.py
@@ -115,6 +115,7 @@ def test_env_raise(mocked_responses):
         with pytest.raises(CommandError):
             call_command("env", ignore_errors=False, check=True)
 
+
 def test_upgrade_exception(mocked_responses, environment):
     with mock.patch("hope_dedup_engine.apps.core.management.commands.upgrade.call_command") as m:
         m.side_effect = Exception
@@ -122,6 +123,6 @@ def test_upgrade_exception(mocked_responses, environment):
             call_command("upgrade")
 
     out = StringIO()
-    with mock.patch.dict(os.environ, {"ADMIN_EMAIL": "2222", "ADMIN_USER":"admin", **environment}, clear=True):
+    with mock.patch.dict(os.environ, {"ADMIN_EMAIL": "2222", "ADMIN_USER": "admin", **environment}, clear=True):
         with pytest.raises(SystemExit):
             call_command("upgrade", stdout=out, check=True, admin_email="")