Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 2, 2026

Composer (software)

Composer is an application-level dependency manager for the PHP programming language that provides a standard format for managing dependencies of PHP software and required libraries. It was developed by Nils Adermann and Jordi Boggiano, who continue to manage the project. They began development in April 2011 and first released it on March 1, 2012. Composer is strongly inspired by Node.js's "npm" and Ruby's "bundler". The project's dependency solving algorithm started out as a PHP-based port of openSUSE's libzypp SAT solver.

Last revised
Jun 2, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
296 w
Citations
6
Source
Composer.
DevelopersNils Adermann,
Jordi Boggiano
Initial releaseMarch 1, 2012 (2012-03-01)1
Stable release
2.10.02 Edit this on Wikidata / 28 May 2026 (28 May 2026)
Written inPHP
Operating systemCross-platform
TypePackage manager
LicenseMIT License
Websitegetcomposer.org
Repository

Composer is an application-level dependency manager for the PHP programming language that provides a standard format for managing dependencies of PHP software and required libraries. It was developed by Nils Adermann and Jordi Boggiano, who continue to manage the project. They began development in April 2011 and first released it on March 1, 2012.1 Composer is strongly inspired by Node.js's "npm" and Ruby's "bundler".3 The project's dependency solving algorithm started out as a PHP-based port of openSUSE's libzypp SAT solver.4

Composer runs from the command line and installs dependencies (e.g. libraries) for an application. It also allows users to install PHP applications that are available on "Packagist"5 which is its main repository containing available packages. It also provides autoload capabilities for libraries that specify autoload information to ease usage of third-party code.

Supported frameworks

  • Symfony version 2 and later
  • Laravel version 5 and later
  • CodeIgniter version 3.0 and later
  • CakePHP version 3.0 and later
  • FuelPHP version 2.0 and later
  • Drupal version 8 and later
  • TYPO3 version 6.2 and later
  • Neos Flow version 2.0 and later
  • Silverstripe version 3.0 later
  • Magento version 2.0 later
  • OpenMage version 20.0.0 and later
  • Yii version 1.1 and later
  • Laminas
  • Silex (web framework)
  • Lumen (web framework)
  • Adianti Framework version 1 and later
See also

See also

References

References

  1. Software release, github.com, Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  2. "Release 2.10.0". 28 May 2026. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  3. Getting Started/Dependency management, getcomposer.org, Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  4. "composer/composer". Jun 23, 2020. Retrieved Jun 24, 2020 – via GitHub.
  5. See packagist.org
External links