Composer is the de-facto dependency manager for PHP. It resolves and downloads packages from Packagist, handles autoloading, and manages project-specific dependencies through a composer.json file. This guide installs Composer globally on Ubuntu 26.04 LTS.

Tested and valid on:

  • Ubuntu 26.04 LTS

Prerequisites

  • Ubuntu 26.04 LTS with PHP 8.4 installed
  • A user with sudo privileges
  • Internet connectivity

Step 1 – Install Required Dependencies

sudo apt update
sudo apt install php8.4-cli php8.4-mbstring php8.4-xml php8.4-curl unzip -y

Step 2 – Download the Composer Installer

cd ~
curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer -o /tmp/composer-setup.php

Step 3 – Verify the Installer Hash

Verify the installer’s integrity:

HASH=$(curl -sS https://composer.github.io/installer.sig)
php -r "if (hash_file('SHA384', '/tmp/composer-setup.php') === '$HASH') { echo 'Installer verified'; } else { echo 'Installer corrupt'; unlink('/tmp/composer-setup.php'); }"

Step 4 – Install Composer Globally

sudo php /tmp/composer-setup.php --install-dir=/usr/local/bin --filename=composer

Step 5 – Verify the Installation

composer --version

Step 6 – Using Composer

Create a new project:

composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel myapp

Install a package into an existing project:

composer require guzzlehttp/guzzle

Update all packages:

composer update

Step 7 – Update Composer

sudo composer self-update

Conclusion

Composer is now installed globally on Ubuntu 26.04 LTS. Use it to install PHP frameworks like Laravel and Symfony, or manage any package available on Packagist.org.