phpcomposer-php

How do I install Composer PHP packages without Composer?

I'm trying to install the Coinbase PHP API but it requires Composer:

https://github.com/coinbase/coinbase-php

I'm looking for a universal PHP solution (perhaps a function) to let me install composer packages directly onto my server, without having to use Composer.

Solution

  • The composer.json file lists the dependencies. In your example:

    "require": {
    "php": ">=5.5.0",
    "guzzlehttp/guzzle": "^6.0",
    "psr/http-message": "^1.0",
    "psr/log": "^1.0"
},

    You must then find the corresponding packages in the packagist site. Repeat the same process for each dependency: find additional dependencies in their corresponding composer.json files and search again.

    When you finally have a complete list of the required packages, you only need to install them all one by one. For the most part, it's just a matter of dropping the files somewhere in your project directory. But you must also ensure that PHP can find the needed classes. Since you aren't using Composer's auto-loader, you need to add them to your own custom autoloader. You can figure out the information from the respective composer.json files, e.g.:

    "autoload": {
    "psr-4": { "Coinbase\\Wallet\\": "src/" }
},

    If you don't use a class auto-loader you'll need to figure out the individual require_once statements. You'll probably need a lot of trial and error because most library authors won't care documenting that.

    Also, and just in case there's confusion about this:

    Composer is not perfect and it doesn't suit all use cases but, when it comes to installing a library that relies on it, it's undoubtedly the best alternative and it's a fairly decent one.

    I've checked other answers that came after mine. They mostly fall in two categories:

    1. Install a library and write a custom download script with it
    2. Use an online web based interface for Composer

    Unless I'm missing something, none of them address the complaints expressed by the OP: