# Stream Contexts

A `context` is a set of `parameters` and wrapper specific `options` which modify or enhance the behavior of a stream. `Contexts` are created using `stream_context_create` and can be passed to most filesystem related stream creation functions (i.e. `fopen`, `file`, `file_get_contents`, etc...).

`Options` can be specified when calling `stream_context_create`, or later using `stream_context_set_option`. A list of wrapper specific `options` can be found in the context chapter.

`Parameters` can be specified for `contexts` using the `stream_context_set_params` function.