Composer

8.3easy start · #7 of 93
in Package Managers

Free to practise onyes
Free trialnot on record
Well documentedyes
Runs where you workyes

Runs on Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows.

Composer is ranked #7 of 93 in package managers on The Geeks Club. It runs on Linux, macOS, Self-hosted, Windows. There is a free plan.

Composer plans and pricing

All plans

Composer Free PHP dependency management · MIT license getcomposer.org · 4 Oct 2026

Compared on package managers

Free plan: Yes
Package formats: PHP packages; ZIP; TAR; VCS repositories
Supported platforms: PHP; Windows; Linux; macOS
Dependency resolution: Yes
Lockfile support: Yes
Workspace support: Yes
Private registry auth: Yes
Offline installation: Yes

Best Composer alternatives

See all 12

npm 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 18.8 uv 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 28.6 Gradle 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 38.6 Cargo 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 48.5 Hex 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 58.5 Yarn 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 68.4

The record

Purpose: Composer is a tool for managing PHP project dependencies, installing and updating the libraries a project declares.
Project scope: Composer installs dependencies in a directory within each project by default, and also supports a global project for convenience.
PHP requirements: The latest Composer version requires PHP 7.2.5; the 2.2.x LTS line supports PHP 5.3.2 and later.
Platforms: Composer says it is multi-platform and aims to run on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
Version control integrations: Composer integrates with Fossil, Git, Mercurial, Perforce, and Subversion.
Archive tools: For decompressing files, Composer relies on tools such as 7z, gzip, tar, unrar, unzip, and xz.
Installation options: Composer can be installed locally in a project or globally as a system wide executable.
Windows installation: The Windows installer installs the latest Composer version and sets up PATH so it can be called from any command line directory.
Containers: Composer is published as a Docker container, and its documentation shows how to run install against a mounted project directory.
Installer verification: The download instructions verify the installer using its SHA-384 hash before running it.
Release maintenance: The 2.10.x release line receives bug and security fixes until the next minor release; the 2.2.x LTS line receives critical security fixes through at least 2026-12-31.
License: Composer and the content on its site are released under the MIT license.
Support and funding: The Composer site says commercial support and consulting are available through its sponsorship page.
Sponsor support: Silver and Gold sponsors receive a shared Slack channel and priority issue or bug response on GitHub.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on The Geeks Club

Best Package Managers in 2026#7 of 93

Is Composer yours?

Claim it for free: prove the domain, then correct facts, plans and screenshots. An editor reviews every change.

Claim it free Promote Composer

Sources

getcomposer.org/doc/00-intro.md· checked 4 Oct 2026
getcomposer.org/download/· checked 4 Oct 2026
getcomposer.org· checked 4 Oct 2026
getcomposer.org/sponsor/· checked 4 Oct 2026
getcomposer.org/doc/04-schema.md· checked 4 Oct 2026
getcomposer.org/doc/03-cli.md· checked 4 Oct 2026
getcomposer.org/doc/faqs/how-to-install-untrusted-packa· checked 4 Oct 2026