How To Install PHP Composer on CentOS 7

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install and configuration of PHP Composer on your CentOS 7 server. For those of you who didn’t know, PHP Composer is an essential tool for modern PHP development, providing a standardized way to manage dependencies and streamline the development process. As a dependency manager for PHP, Composer simplifies the installation and updating of libraries and packages, making it a must-have for any serious PHP developer.

This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple. I will show you the step-by-step installation of PHP Composer on the CentOS 7 server.

Prerequisites

• A server running one of the following operating systems: CentOS 7.
• It’s recommended that you use a fresh OS install to prevent any potential issues.
• SSH access to the server (or just open Terminal if you’re on a desktop).
• Basic command-line knowledge to navigate and interact with the terminal.
• A non-root sudo user or access to the root user. We recommend acting as a non-root sudo user, however, as you can harm your system if you’re not careful when acting as the root.

Install PHP Composer on CentOS 7

Step 1. Updating the System.

To ensure a smooth installation process and maintain a secure environment, it’s crucial to update your CentOS 7 system to the latest stable release. Open a terminal and execute the following command:

yum -y update

This command will update the local repository and upgrade any outdated packages to their latest versions. Keeping your system up to date helps prevent potential compatibility issues and security vulnerabilities.

Step 2. Installing Required Dependencies.

Composer requires several dependencies to function properly. Install them using the following command:

sudo yum install php-cli php-mbstring git curl unzip

Next, check if PHP 7 is installed, run the following command in your terminal:

php -v

If the output shows a version lower than 7, you’ll need to install PHP 7. You can do this by running:

sudo yum install epel-release
sudo yum install php php-cli php-common php-devel php-mbstring php-pdo php-gd php-mysqlnd

Step 3. Installing Composer on CentOS 7.

Download and install Composer by executing the following command:

curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | php

Sample result:

[root@idroot ~]# curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | php
#!/usr/bin/env php
Some settings on your machine may cause stability issues with Composer.
If you encounter issues, try to change the following:

Your PHP (5.3.3) is quite old, upgrading to PHP 5.3.4 or higher is recommended.
Composer works with 5.3.2+ for most people, but there might be edge case issues.

Downloading...

Composer successfully installed to: /root/composer.phar
Use it: php composer.phar

Once the process is completed, you can make the ‘composer.phar’ file executable by running the following command:

chmod +x composer.phar

Now use the following commands to make composer available globally for all users in your system, which can be used for all PHP applications on that system:

mv composer.phar /usr/local/bin/composer

You can also check the version of the composer by running the command:

composer -V

The output of the command should be similar to this:

Composer version 1.0-dev (7a9eb02190d334513e99a479510f87eed18cf958) 2015-9-08 10:46:33

Congratulations! You have successfully installed PHP Composer. Thanks for using this tutorial for installing PHP Composer on your CentOS 7 system. For additional help or useful information, we recommend you check the official composer website.