How can I fix the 'Target class [App\Services\UserService] does not exist' error when converting my Laravel service architecture into a package?

The error

JSONCopied
{
    "message": "Target class [App\\Services\\UserService] does not exist.",
    "exception": "Illuminate\\Contracts\\Container\\BindingResolutionException",
    "file": "D:\\microvision\\projects\\_test\\packages\\test-project-1\\vendor\\laravel\\framework\\src\\Illuminate\\Container\\Container.php",
    "line": 946
}

typically means that Laravel’s container cannot find the class by the given namespace. In your package, you likely have your service files under your package’s own namespace (for example, Vendor\Package\Services) but somewhere the code is expecting them to be in the App namespace (App\Services\UserService).

Here are a few steps to resolve the issue:

1. Update Namespacing

Ensure that the classes inside your package use your package’s namespace instead of the default App namespace. For example, if your package is under Vendor\Package, your UserService should be declared like:

PHPCopied
<?php

namespace Vendor\Package\Services;

class UserService
{
    // Service methods...
}

2. Configure Composer Autoloading

In your package’s composer.json, make sure you have a proper PSR‑4 autoloading entry that maps your package namespace to the src/ directory. For example:

JSONCopied
{
    "autoload": {
        "psr-4": {
            "Vendor\\Package\\": "src/"
        }
    }
}

After updating the composer file, run:

BASHCopied
composer dump-autoload

3. Update Binding in Your Service Provider

If your package’s service provider or other classes are binding or referring to the UserService class, update them to use the correct namespace. For instance, in a service provider:

PHPCopied
<?php

namespace Vendor\Package\Providers;

use Illuminate\Support\ServiceProvider;
use Vendor\Package\Services\UserService;

class PackageServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider
{
    public function register()
    {
        // Binding the UserService into the container using its package namespace
        $this->app->bind(UserService::class, function ($app) {
            return new UserService();
        });
    }

    public function boot()
    {
        // Bootstrapping your package...
    }
}

4. Check Your Consumer Code

If your application or tests are type-hinting or referencing App\Services\UserService, update those references to point to your package’s namespace instead (e.g., Vendor\Package\Services\UserService). Alternatively, if you intend to keep the reference to App\Services\UserService, you can bind it to your package’s implementation in your service provider:

PHPCopied
$this->app->bind(\App\Services\UserService::class, \Vendor\Package\Services\UserService::class);

This tells the container to resolve App\Services\UserService with your package’s implementation.

Summary

The root of the issue is that Laravel is attempting to resolve a service in the App namespace while your package’s classes live in a different namespace. By updating your namespaces, composer autoloading, and ensuring that your service provider binds the correct classes, you’ll resolve the error.