yiisoft/yii2 · error · InvalidConfigException

Unexpected configuration type for the "$id" component: getty

Error message

Unexpected configuration type for the "$id" component: gettype($definition)

What it means

The other branch of yii\di\ServiceLocator::setComponent()/set(): the definition is neither an object, a valid callable (which includes class-name strings and 'Class::method' syntax), nor an array - i.e. a scalar like an int, bool, float, or non-callable string. The locator enumerates every acceptable type in the message, so any other PHP type is rejected immediately.

Source

Thrown at framework/di/ServiceLocator.php:213

            return;
        }

        if (is_object($definition) || is_callable($definition, true)) {
            // an object, a class name, or a PHP callable
            $this->_definitions[$id] = $definition;
        } elseif (is_array($definition)) {
            // a configuration array
            if (isset($definition['__class'])) {
                $this->_definitions[$id] = $definition;
                $this->_definitions[$id]['class'] = $definition['__class'];
                unset($this->_definitions[$id]['__class']);
            } elseif (isset($definition['class'])) {
                $this->_definitions[$id] = $definition;
            } else {
                throw new InvalidConfigException("The configuration for the \"$id\" component must contain a \"class\" element.");
            }
        } else {
            throw new InvalidConfigException("Unexpected configuration type for the \"$id\" component: " . gettype($definition));
        }
    }

    /**
     * Removes the component from the locator.
     * @param string $id the component ID
     */
    public function clear($id)
    {
        unset($this->_definitions[$id], $this->_components[$id]);
    }

    /**
     * Returns the list of the component definitions or the loaded component instances.
     * @param bool $returnDefinitions whether to return component definitions instead of the loaded component instances.
     * @return array the list of the component definitions or the loaded component instances (ID => definition or instance).
     */
    public function getComponents($returnDefinitions = true)

View on GitHub (pinned to 66f00d18a2)

Solutions

1. Wrap scalars into a proper definition array with 'class': ['class' => FileCache::class, 'defaultDuration' => 3600].
2. If the intent was to pass an existing object, instantiate it first; if a callable, ensure the syntax is callable (class string or 'Class::method').
3. Validate env-derived config before registering components (is_array with a 'class' key).
4. Fix the config source so it produces structured arrays, not flattened scalars.

Example fix

// before
Yii::$app->setComponents(['cache' => 3600]);

// after
Yii::$app->setComponents([
    'cache' => ['class' => yii\caching\FileCache::class, 'defaultDuration' => 3600],
]);

if (!is_array($definition) && !is_object($definition) && !is_callable($definition, true)) {
    throw new \InvalidArgumentException(
        'Component definition must be an object, callable, or config array; got ' . gettype($definition)
    );
}
Yii::$app->setComponents([$id => $definition]);

/** Narrows untrusted config values to the types setComponents() accepts. */
function normalizeDefinition($value): array
{
    if (is_array($value)) {
        return $value;
    }
    if (is_object($value) || (is_string($value) && class_exists($value))) {
        return ['class' => $value];
    }
    throw new \UnexpectedValueException('Unsupported component definition type: ' . gettype($value));
}

try {
    Yii::$app->setComponents($config['components']);
} catch (\yii\base\InvalidConfigException $e) {
    if (strpos($e->getMessage(), 'Unexpected configuration type') !== false) {
        // a scalar leaked into config - fix at the source (env loader, JSON schema)
        throw new \RuntimeException('Malformed components config', 0, $e);
    }
    throw $e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Yii::$app->setComponents(['cache' => 3600]) or ['debug' => true]; a definition read from .env/JSON as a scalar; passing a resource or an uncallable string ('some unknown id ') that is not valid callable syntax.

Common situations: Env-driven config where a numeric/boolean placeholder was meant to be expanded into a full component config; copy-paste of option values (duration, flags) into the definition slot; degraded config merges collapsing an array to its first scalar.

Related errors

• Unknown component ID: $id
• The configuration for the "$id" component must contain a "cl
• Invalid validation rule: a rule must specify both attribute
• The directory does not exist: $path
• {cipher} is not an allowed cipher

AI-assisted analysis of yiisoft/yii2@66f00d18a2 (2026-08-17). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2cdbbd7ac29927ec. Report an issue: GitHub.