Composer, the dependency manager for PHP, offers a set of fundamental commands to facilitate efficient package management and dependency handling within your PHP projects. Here’s a quick reference guide to Composer’s basic commands:
1. composer init
Initialize a new composer.json file interactively. This command prompts you to enter information about your project and its dependencies.
bashCopy codecomposer init
2. composer install
Install project dependencies based on the composer.json file. This command will download and install all specified packages and their dependencies.
bashCopy codecomposer install
3. composer require
Add a new package to your project. Use this command to specify the package you want to add, and Composer will handle the installation and update your composer.json file.
bashCopy codecomposer require vendor/package-name
4. composer update
Update all packages in your project to the latest versions based on the version constraints specified in the composer.json file.
bashCopy codecomposer update
5. composer remove
Remove a package from your project. Use this command to remove a package and update your composer.json file accordingly.
bashCopy codecomposer remove vendor/package-name
6. composer create-project
Create a new project using a specified package as a template. This command allows you to start a new project based on an existing package.
bashCopy codecomposer create-project vendor/package directory-name
7. composer show
Display detailed information about a specific package or all installed packages.
bashCopy codecomposer show vendor/package-name
8. composer dump-autoload
Regenerate the autoloader files based on the updated composer.json file. This is necessary after adding or removing packages manually.
bashCopy codecomposer dump-autoload
9. composer self-update
Update Composer itself to the latest version.
bashCopy codecomposer self-update
10. composer help
Get help on using Composer, including a list of all available commands and their descriptions.
bashCopy codecomposer help
These basic Composer commands are essential for managing dependencies, updating packages, and creating and initializing new projects. Familiarize yourself with these commands to streamline your PHP development workflow.
