Managing PHP Project Dependencies with Composer
Plesk Control Panel

Managing PHP Project Dependencies with Composer

Composer is a tool that helps find, install, and update library packages that your PHP project depends on. Libraries are installed in the project's root directory. The Composer utility is available as part of Plesk. You do not need to install Composer in your project manually. Plesk installs the updates for Composer once a week.

Composer uses two files for storing the list of modules necessary for the project:

• composer.json - lists libraries on which your project depends directly.

  Add file composer.json to the root directory of your project and specify packages. You can use the 'composer init' command to create composer.json .

• composer.lock - lists all libraries on which the libraries in composer.json depend directly and indirectly, thus containing all libraries necessary for your project.

For more information, refer to the Composer documentation at https://getcomposer.org/doc/.

Plesk offers two ways to use Composer:

• Through the command line. Refer to the Composer documentation for instructions.

  Note: Use normal environment (not chrooted).

• Through Websites & Domains > Applications. See the instructions below.

Using the UI for Managing PHP Project Dependencies with Composer

To find all applications that have composer.json, so that you can manage dependencies, click Scan in Websites & Domains > Applications. The applications will appear in the list in the Applications section. The commands described below are available only for applications with the composer.json file.

Installing Dependencies

To install all modules necessary for your project, in Websites & Domains > Applications > Manage My Applications > click the application name in the list > Install Dependencies.

Updating Dependencies

To update module dependencies, run Websites & Domains > Applications > Manage My Applications > click the application name > Update Dependencies.

Editing Dependencies

The Edit Configuration button opens composer.json in Plesk's Code Editor for manual editing.

Removing Dependencies Management from Your App

When you click Remove, the application no longer appears in the list of applications in My Apps. However, the composer.json and composer.lock files remain in the application directory, so you can add the application to the list by clicking Scan.