What causes "Service '{name}' not found" in phalcon/cphalcon?

Register the service first: $container->set('logger', Logger::class) (or load the ServiceProvider that registers it) before calling extend()

phalcon/cphalcon · error · Phalcon\Container\Exceptions\ServiceNotFound

Service '{name}' not found

Error message

Service '{name}' not found

What it means

Thrown by Container::extend() when the service name (after alias resolution) has no entry in the container's service map. extend() attaches a decorator callable that runs after a service is built, and it only works on names already registered with set(); unlike get(), it never autowires or lazily registers a class name. Hitting this means the decoration target does not exist at the time extend() is called.

Source

Thrown at phalcon/Container/Container.zep:170

     * Extends the definition
     *
     * @param string   $name
     * @param callable $callable
     *
     * @return void
     * @throws CannotExtendResolved
     * @throws ServiceNotFound
     */
    public function extend(string name, callable callableObject) -> void
    {
        let name = this->resolveAlias(name);

        if (array_key_exists(name, this->instances)) {
            throw new CannotExtendResolved(name);
        }

        if (!array_key_exists(name, this->services)) {
            throw new ServiceNotFound(name);
        }

        this->services[name]->addExtender(callableObject);
    }

    /**
     * Resolve and return an element registerd in the container
     *
     * @param string $name
     *
     * @return mixed
     * @throws ServiceNotFound
     */
    public function get(string name) -> mixed
    {
        let name = this->resolveAlias(name);

        if (array_key_exists(name, this->parameters)) {

View on GitHub (pinned to b7419de9cd)

Solutions

Register the service first: $container->set('logger', Logger::class) (or load the ServiceProvider that registers it) before calling extend()
Guard the call: if ($container->hasDefinition('logger')) { $container->extend('logger', $fn); }
Verify the exact name — extend() resolves aliases internally, so the alias target must be a registered service name
If your intent was to decorate an already-built object, register that object with set() instead of extending a definition

Example fix

// before
$container->extend('logger', fn ($l) => $l->pushHandler($handler)); // ServiceNotFound

// after
$container->set('logger', Logger::class);
$container->extend('logger', fn ($l, $c) => $l->pushHandler($handler));

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if ($container->hasDefinition('logger')) {
    $container->extend('logger', fn ($logger, $c) => $logger->pushHandler($handler));
} else {
    throw new LogicException("Cannot extend 'logger': service is not registered.");
}

Try / catch

use Phalcon\Container\Exceptions\ServiceNotFound;

try {
    $container->extend('logger', $decorator);
} catch (ServiceNotFound $e) {
    // register then retry once, or fail with context
    $container->set('logger', Logger::class);
    $container->extend('logger', $decorator);
}

Prevention

Register every service before extending it; treat extend() as post-registration decoration only
Centralize service names in constants to avoid typo drift between set() and extend()
In providers, extend services at registration time, not lazily after resolution (that risks CannotExtendResolved)

When it happens

Trigger: Calling $container->extend('logger', fn ($logger, $container) => ...) when 'logger' was never passed to set() or registered by a ServiceProvider; passing an alias whose resolved target is not registered; extending before the provider that registers the service has been loaded into the container.

Common situations: Provider ordering during bootstrap (extending in provider A a service registered in provider B that runs later), migrating from Phalcon\Di\DI where service names differ, assuming extend() lazily creates the service like get() does with autowire, or a simple typo in the service name.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of phalcon/cphalcon@b7419de9cd (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/38fbf8af04df6ef7. Report an issue: GitHub.