How to Set Up Composer

What is Composer?

Composer is a PHP package manager used to install specific modules or extensions within a specific directory, which may be required if these modules or extensions are not present in the global PHP installation on a server. By default, Composer is installed in our Shared, VPS, and Dedicated hosting servers.

For the list of programs and software that are supported by the HostGator servers, please check out the article:

• Compatible Technologies

Online documentation about Composer is available. Here is one of them.

• https://getcomposer.org/doc/

You can also view available PHP packages here:

• https://packagist.org/

Setting up Composer

Composer is typically used by advanced users who are familiar with the particulars of Composer and are comfortable running commands in SSH. As always, it is best to generate a backup of your website before making any changes or running any commands as HostGator is not responsible for the aftereffects these commands may cause on your website.

Here are the general guidelines you can use in setting up Composer.

1. Enable your SSH access
   Make sure your jail shell access (SSH) is enabled.
   • For Shared hosting, please check out the article, Enable Shell Access, for details.
   • To enable SSH access for individual cPanels in your VPS/Dedicated hosting, please refer to the instructions in the article, How Do I Get and Use SSH Access?
2. Run the PHP version required by your application

   Example:

   /opt/cpanel/ea-php74/root/usr/bin/php

   In the sample command line above, the PHP version executed is 7.4 (ea-php74). Depending on the needs of your application, specify the PHP version in your command line together with the full path to the php binary. The recommended method is to cd into the directory where you want to run Composer, then execute the full path to the php binary you want to use.

   Example:

   1. cd /home/user/public_html

   2. /opt/cpanel/ea-php56/root/usr/bin/php /opt/cpanel/composer/bin/composer diagnose

3. (Optional) Run any additional INI settings required by your application

   Example:

   /opt/cpanel/ea-php74/root/usr/bin/php -d memory_limit=512M

   In the sample single command line above, it invokes the memory limit to be set to 512M (-d memory_limit=512M). Modifying the memory limit is not required but can be modified if the default 256M is not sufficient for your application.
    

4. Run your "composer" command together with the "argument"

   Example:

   /opt/cpanel/composer/bin/composer require spatie/laravel-tags

   In the single command line above, "composer require" is executed. For the list of composer commands and arguments, you may visit the online documentation, https://getcomposer.org/doc/03-cli.md.
    

5. Run the module or extension you want to install

   Example:

   /opt/cpanel/composer/bin/composer require spatie/laravel-tags

   In the single command line above, the package "spatie/laravel-tags" is executed.
   
   Notice that the commands were executed in a single line.

   Example (entire command in a single command line):

   /opt/cpanel/ea-php74/root/usr/bin/php -d memory_limit=512M  /opt/cpanel/composer/bin/composer require spatie/laravel-tags