Installing composer

Composer is a dependency manager for PHP that allows you to install and manage libraries and frameworks easily. On ruachost.com, Composer can be installed and configured directly from the command line.

Why Use Composer?

Manage project dependencies automatically.
Keep libraries up to date with a single command.
Ensure consistent environments across development and production.
Required by popular frameworks such as Laravel, Symfony, and CodeIgniter.

Steps to Install Composer

Step 1: Log in via SSH

Access your hosting account using SSH.
Navigate to your home directory:
Terminal window
```
cd ~
```

Step 2: Create a Bin Directory

Create a directory for Composer:
Terminal window
```
mkdir -p ~/bin
```

Step 3: Download the Installer

Run the following command to download Composer’s installer:
Terminal window
```
wget https://getcomposer.org/installer -O composer-setup.php
```

Step 4: Install Composer

Execute the installer:
Terminal window
```
php ~/composer-setup.php
```

Move the Composer binary to your bin directory:

php ~/composer-setup.php --install-dir=$HOME/bin --filename=composer.phar

Step 5: Create a Helper Script

Create a helper script to run Composer easily:

cat > ~/bin/composer << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
php $HOME/bin/composer.phar "$@"
EOF

Make the script executable:
Terminal window
```
chmod +x ~/bin/composer
```

Step 6: Update Your PATH

Add the bin directory to your PATH:

echo 'export PATH=$HOME/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bash_profile
source ~/.bash_profile

Verifying Installation

Run the following command to confirm Composer is installed:
Terminal window
```
composer -V
```
You should see the Composer version number displayed.

Updating Composer

To update Composer to the latest version:
Terminal window
```
composer self-update
```