Installing composer

This article describes how to install and configure composer, the dependency manager solution for PHP. Composer enables you to manage dependencies for each project independently, and is used by frameworks such as Laravel.

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Installing composer

To install composer, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your account using SSH.
2. To download and install composer, type the following commands:
   cd ~
   mkdir -p ~/bin
   wget https://getcomposer.org/installer -O composer-setup.php
   php ~/composer-setup.php --install-dir=$HOME/bin --filename=composer.phar
   

   📘 Note To confirm composer installed correctly, type the following command:

   ls -lh ~/bin/composer.phar
   

   The composer.phar file should be listed in the ~/bin directory.

3. To create a helper script to run composer, type the following command:
   cat > ~/bin/composer << 'EOF'
   #!/bin/bash
   php $HOME/bin/composer.phar "$@"
   EOF
   
4. To make the helper script executable, type the following command:
   chmod +x ~/bin/composer
   
5. To configure your shell environment so you can run composer from any directory, type the following commands:
   echo 'export PATH=$HOME/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bash_profile
   source ~/.bash_profile
   

   📘 Note

   • To confirm composer is configured correctly, type the following command from any directory:
     composer -V
     
     Composer should display the version number.
   • In the future, to update the composer installation to the newest version, type the following command:
     composer self-update
     

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More information

For more information about PHP Composer, go to https://getcomposer.org.