flarum/framework · error · CircularDependenciesException

Circular dependencies detected: ... - aborting. Please fix…

Error message

Circular dependencies detected: ... - aborting. Please fix this by disabling the extensions that are causing the circular dependencies.

What it means

Thrown in ExtensionManager::sortDependencies when the topological sort (resolveExtensionOrder) detects a cycle in the enabled extensions' require/dependency graph — e.g. A requires B and B requires A. A valid load order cannot be computed, so a CircularDependenciesException is raised during extend()/setEnabledExtensions, listing the extensions in the cycle. This blocks enabling those extensions until the cycle is broken.

Solutions

1. Disable one of the extensions named in the circular chain to break the cycle
2. Ask the extension authors to fix their composer.json require declarations
3. Remove one of the mutually-dependent extensions if it is redundant
4. Re-enable extensions one at a time to identify and isolate the loop

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at framework/core/src/Extension/ExtensionManager.php:410 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of flarum/framework@4b939f6853 (2026-09-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/be7631b50a6a0a9e. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at framework/core/src/Extension/ExtensionManager.php:410

    {
        $this->config->set('extensions_enabled', json_encode(array_map(function (Extension $extension) {
            return $extension->getId();
        }, $this->sortDependencies($enabledExtensions))));
    }

    /**
     * Apply a topological sort to the extensions to ensure that they are in the correct order.
     *
     * @param Extension[] $extensions
     * @return Extension[]
     * @throws CircularDependenciesException
     */
    public function sortDependencies(array $extensions): array
    {
        $resolved = static::resolveExtensionOrder($extensions);

        if (! empty($resolved['circularDependencies'])) {
            throw new Exception\CircularDependenciesException(
                $this->getExtensionsById($resolved['circularDependencies'])->values()->all()
            );
        }

        return $resolved['valid'];
    }

    public function isEnabled(string $extension): bool
    {
        $enabled = $this->getEnabledExtensions();

        return isset($enabled[$extension]);
    }

    /**
     * Returns the titles of the extensions passed.
     *
     * @param Extension[] $extensions

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