Overview

CC Container is a zero-dependency PHP IoC / service container (PHP ≥ 7.4). Its distinguishing feature is a small meta-language — container files (.ctn) — for declaring your services, parameters and configuration, plus the ability to compile those definitions into a plain generated PHP class for near-zero runtime overhead.

If the words service, container or dependency injection don't mean much to you yet, start with Core Concepts. If you just want to get something running, jump to Getting Started.

Two ways to define services

There are two ways to describe your services, and they build the exact same container. You can mix them, but most projects lean on one.

	Container files (.ctn)	Programmatic API (PHP)
How	Declare services in a .ctn file	Call bind() / build a ServiceDefinition in PHP
Compilable	Yes — compiles to a fast generated class	Only when fed through the builder
Best for	The bulk of your application's service graph	Dynamic services decided at runtime, or when you don't want a meta-language
Start here	Container Files	Programmatic API

The recommended path for a typical application is: declare your services in .ctn files and let the Default implementation compile them. Reach for the programmatic API when you need to register or override a service on a live container.

Whichever path you choose, the runtime API is identical — see Using the Container.

How compilation works

The whole point of this library is that the expensive work (parsing files, resolving the dependency graph) happens once, at build time, and produces a plain PHP class. At runtime you just include that class. See The Container Lifecycle for the full pipeline.

Glossary

These terms are used consistently throughout the documentation:

• Service — a PHP object managed by the container (e.g. a logger, a database connection). See Core Concepts.
• Container file (.ctn) — a file written in the meta-language that declares services and parameters.
• Parameter — a scalar/array configuration value, referenced with a leading :.
• Shared service — resolved once and cached; every get() returns the same instance (the default).
• Factory service — rebuilt on every get(), returning a fresh instance. (Not to be confused with the ServiceFactory class.)
• Binding — registering a service on a live container at runtime via bind(). See Service Binding.
• Compiling / building — turning declarations into a generated PHP container class via the ContainerBuilder.