How to update Composer in Windows 10

Question

I am using Composer for my PHP project. I am new to Composer. Now when I update my dependencies using composer update command, it is saying that my Composer version is too old and ask me to update. So I tried as below. But all failed.

My composer.phar file is in C:/ProgramData/ComposerSetup/bin/composer.phar

I opened terminal and tried

composer.phar update

php composer.phar update

composer C:/ProgramData/ComposerSetup/bin/composer.phar update

php composer C:/ProgramData/ComposerSetup/bin/composer.phar update

When I run composer-self-update, error as in screenshot.

All command failed. I am using XAMPP. There is no composer.phar file in xampp/php folder as well. How can I update Composer in Windows 10?

seems like your dns can't resolve getcomposer.org try updating your dns to 8.8.8.8, that might help — rishal, Apr 22 '16 at 07:23
I tried compiser self-update 3 times. It is not working. But I closed terminal. Then do other works. After few minutes, I run "composer self-update" again. Now it is working. Why? I did not do any changes. :o — Wai Yan Hein, Apr 22 '16 at 07:28
Please review *[Why not upload images of code/errors when asking a question?](https://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/285551/)* (e.g., *"Images should only be used to illustrate problems that* ***can't be made clear in any other way,*** *such as to provide screenshots of a user interface."*) and [do the right thing](https://stackoverflow.com/posts/36786908/edit). Thanks in advance. — Peter Mortensen, Apr 20 '23 at 20:48

score 219 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 20 '23 at 20:57

219

Try

composer self-update

If this doesn't work, check your PATH variable. If it's not there, try searching file composer.bat in Windows and add it to your PATH variable. Normally, it’s in the following path.

C:\ProgramData\ComposerSetup\bin

edited Apr 20 '23 at 20:57

Peter Mortensen

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answered Apr 22 '16 at 06:59

rishal

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He is talking about updating composer program, not the project dependencies. – Mubashar Abbas Apr 22 '16 at 07:06
oops i did meant self-update(look at the comment) but wrote composer update. – rishal Apr 22 '16 at 07:09
Hmm.. that was you in the comment. – Mubashar Abbas Apr 22 '16 at 07:12
You mean I have to add it to PATH the is under System variables of environment variables? – Wai Yan Hein Apr 22 '16 at 07:23
no, try updating your dns to 8.8.8.8, that might help – rishal Apr 22 '16 at 07:25
didn't you say its working now? no need to update your dns. – rishal Apr 22 '16 at 07:32
Yes working. But I did not know why. Just working and updated. In first 3 times throwing errors like in my screenshot. – Wai Yan Hein Apr 22 '16 at 08:42
1

This is still working end of 2020, I did: $ composer self-update from Windows 10 (MINGW64) today; version 1.9.1 to 1.10.15 and notifies me of a rollback option if needed with: $ composer self-update --rollback – RustyNox Oct 15 '20 at 02:53
Command "self-update" is not defined. @rishal – Shreyan Mehta Sep 20 '22 at 14:02
it worked for me. Windows 10 Pro – Svetoslav Marinov May 14 '23 at 10:09

score 20 · Answer 2 · edited Apr 20 '23 at 21:01

Windows 10 update for Composer still works (end of 2020, pre version 2) with:

Follow this below image:

composer self-update --1 it will be updated from 1.x

composer self-update --2 it will be updated from 2.x and from 1.x

composer self-update --rollback If you need to roll back to your previous version

composer -V For check your composer version

composer self-update:

If you run composer self-update from 1.x, it will warn you that a new stable major version of Composer is available, and you can use composer self-update --2 to migrate to it.

So run composer self-update --2

How easy is it to upgrade?

Composer 2.0 still supports PHP 5.3 and above, much like Composer 1.x
composer.lock files are interoperable between versions, so you can upgrade to 2.0 and roll back easily if needed.
Most commands and arguments remain the same, and largely what you know about Composer remains true in 2.0.

Use composer -V and not composer -v to check version. – jMike Feb 18 '21 at 12:18 — jMike, Feb 18 '21 at 12:18

score 12 · Answer 3 · edited Apr 20 '23 at 20:59

12

Windows 10 update for Composer still works (end of 2020, pre version 2) with:

composer self-update

If you need to rollback to your previous version, you can do that with:

composer self-update --rollback

edited Apr 20 '23 at 20:59

Peter Mortensen

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answered Oct 15 '20 at 02:58

RustyNox

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Works in Windows 11 too. – cdsaenz Dec 19 '21 at 18:35

score 5 · Answer 4 · edited Apr 20 '23 at 20:58

5

Try.

php composer.phar self-update

'update' updates your dependencies, not Composer itself.

edited Apr 20 '23 at 20:58

Peter Mortensen

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answered Apr 22 '16 at 07:01

Mubashar Abbas

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when you type php compser.phar what happens? – Mubashar Abbas Apr 22 '16 at 07:26
It just open up the composer.phar file in notepad. – Wai Yan Hein Apr 22 '16 at 07:30
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Tell you what.. goto https://getcomposer.org/Composer-Setup.exe Download the composer windows installer.. Installing it from there will install it globally for you.. then you will only have to 'composer' from anywhere and it will be accessible. – Mubashar Abbas Apr 22 '16 at 07:35

score 1 · Answer 5 · edited Apr 20 '23 at 20:47

1

Use

composer self-update --2

By default, the installer and composer self-update will download the latest stable version only. To programmatically install specific major versions you can use the --1 or --2 flag.

To go back to the previous version:

composer self-update --rollback

To check the current version

composer --version

edited Apr 20 '23 at 20:47

Peter Mortensen

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answered Feb 07 '21 at 09:32

Nishal K.R

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How to update Composer in Windows 10

5 Answers5