How to Install Composer on Ubuntu 22.04

Composer is a powerful dependency management tool for PHP projects, facilitating the installation and management of project dependencies. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of installing Composer on an Ubuntu 22.04 system and getting started with its basic usage.

Prerequisites: Before we begin, ensure you have access to an Ubuntu 22.04 server with a non-root sudo user account and the firewall enabled.

Step 1 — Installing PHP and Additional Dependencies: First, update the package manager cache:

sudo apt update

Next, install the required packages:

sudo apt install php-cli unzip

Step 2 — Downloading and Installing Composer: Navigate to your home directory and download the Composer installer:

cd ~
curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer -o /tmp/composer-setup.php

Retrieve the SHA-384 hash for verification:

HASH=` curl -sS https://composer.github.io/installer.sig `

Echo the obtained hash for reference:

echo $HASH

Output:

dac665fdc30fdd8ec78b38b9800061b4150413ff2e3b6f88543c636f7cd84f6db9189d43a81e5503cda447da73c7e5b6

Now execute the following PHP code to verify that the installation script is safe to run:

php -r "if (hash_file('SHA384', '/tmp/composer-setup.php') === '$HASH') { echo 'Installer verified'; } else { echo 'Installer corrupt'; unlink('/tmp/composer-setup.php'); echo 'Download the installer again and double-check the hash. Then, repeat the verification process.'; } echo PHP_EOL;"

Output:

Installer verified

You should see one of the following outputs:

• If the installer is verified: “Installer verified”
• If the installer is corrupt: “Installer corrupt” and a message prompting you to download the installer again and double-check the hash. Then, repeat the verification process.

Once verified, proceed with the installation:

sudo php /tmp/composer-setup.php --install-dir=/usr/local/bin --filename=composer

Output:

All settings correct for using Composer
Downloading...

Composer (version 2.7.2) successfully installed to: /usr/local/bin/composer
Use it: php /usr/local/bin/composer

This command will download and install Composer globally as a system-wide command named composer, under /usr/local/bin.

Step 3 — Testing Composer Installation: To test the installation, run:

composer

Output:

  / ____/___  ____ ___  ____  ____  ________  _____
 / /   / __ \/ __ `__ \/ __ \/ __ \/ ___/ _ \/ ___/
/ /___/ /_/ / / / / / / /_/ / /_/ (__  )  __/ /
\____/\____/_/ /_/ /_/ .___/\____/____/\___/_/
                    /_/
Composer version 2.7.2 2024-03-11 17:12:18

Usage:
  command [options] [arguments]

Options:
  -h, --help                     Display help for the given command. When no command is given display help for the list command
  -q, --quiet                    Do not output any message
  -V, --version                  Display this application version
      --ansi|--no-ansi           Force (or disable --no-ansi) ANSI output
  -n, --no-interaction           Do not ask any interactive question
      --profile                  Display timing and memory usage information
      --no-plugins               Whether to disable plugins.
      --no-scripts               Skips the execution of all scripts defined in composer.json file.
  -d, --working-dir=WORKING-DIR  If specified, use the given directory as working directory.
      --no-cache                 Prevent use of the cache
  -v|vv|vvv, --verbose           Increase the verbosity of messages: 1 for normal output, 2 for more verbose output and 3 for debug

Available commands:
  about                Shows a short information about Composer
  archive              Creates an archive of this composer package
  audit                Checks for security vulnerability advisories for installed packages
  browse               [home] Opens the package's repository URL or homepage in your browser
  bump                 Increases the lower limit of your composer.json requirements to the currently installed versions
  check-platform-reqs  Check that platform requirements are satisfied
  clear-cache          [clearcache|cc] Clears composer's internal package cache
  completion           Dump the shell completion script
  config               Sets config options
  create-project       Creates new project from a package into given directory
  depends              [why] Shows which packages cause the given package to be installed
  diagnose             Diagnoses the system to identify common errors
  dump-autoload        [dumpautoload] Dumps the autoloader
  exec                 Executes a vendored binary/script
  fund                 Discover how to help fund the maintenance of your dependencies
  global               Allows running commands in the global composer dir ($COMPOSER_HOME)
  help                 Display help for a command
  init                 Creates a basic composer.json file in current directory
  install              [i] Installs the project dependencies from the composer.lock file if present, or falls back on the composer.json
  licenses             Shows information about licenses of dependencies
  list                 List commands
  outdated             Shows a list of installed packages that have updates available, including their latest version
  prohibits            [why-not] Shows which packages prevent the given package from being installed
  reinstall            Uninstalls and reinstalls the given package names
  remove               [rm] Removes a package from the require or require-dev
  require              [r] Adds required packages to your composer.json and installs them
  run-script           [run] Runs the scripts defined in composer.json
  search               Searches for packages
  self-update          [selfupdate] Updates composer.phar to the latest version
  show                 [info] Shows information about packages
  status               Shows a list of locally modified packages
  suggests             Shows package suggestions
  update               [u|upgrade] Updates your dependencies to the latest version according to composer.json, and updates the composer.lock file
  validate             Validates a composer.json and composer.lock

You should see Composer version information displayed, confirming that Composer is installed correctly.

Composer is an invaluable tool for managing dependencies in PHP projects. By following this tutorial, you’ve learned how to install Composer on Ubuntu 22.04 and verify its installation. Start using Composer to streamline dependency management in your PHP projects and enhance your development workflow.