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Composer Installation of Packages

Summary

Running composer install pulls in the dependencies and also runs the project's setup scripts, which generate the OAuth2 keys and the initial config/autoload files. This page covers the prompts you will be asked during installation and how to enable, disable and check development mode afterwards.

Details

In this step you will:

Composer is required to install Dotkernel api. You can install Composer from the official site.

Before you begin, make sure that you have navigated your command prompt to the folder where you copied the files in the previous step.

Install Dependencies Using Composer

Run this command in the command prompt.

Use the CLI to ensure interactivity for proper configuration. In some IDEs, Composer may not be able to prompt for configuration settings.

composer install

The automatic setup script performs these tasks:

  • Installs the packages listed in the composer.json file and their dependencies into the vendor folder.
  • Creates the composer.lock file that locks all dependencies to exact versions (you can still run composer update to replace them with newer versions, if available and installable without conflicts).
  • Configures PHP CodeSniffer, a utility to detect code style errors in PHP code.
  • Generate and save the OAuth2 keys in the data/oauth folder.
    • Performed by this script ./bin/generate-oauth2-keys.php.
  • Creates the initial config/autoload configuration files.
    • Performed by this script ./bin/composer-post-install-script.php.
    • These files are created:
      • config/autoload/local.php
      • config/autoload/local.test.php
      • config/autoload/mail.global.php

The post install commands are run automatically on every composer install and composer update. The scripts check if the files exist to prevent overwriting them.

You should see this text below, along with a long list of packages to be installed instead of the [...].

In this example there are 146 packages, though the number can change in future updates.

No composer.lock file present. Updating dependencies to latest instead of installing from lock file. See https://getcomposer.org/install for more information.
Loading composer repositories with package information
Updating dependencies
Lock file operations: 146 installs, 0 updates, 0 removals
[...]
Writing lock file
Installing dependencies from lock file (including require-dev)
Package operations: 146 installs, 0 updates, 0 removals
[...]

The setup script may prompt for some configuration settings, for example, the lines below. If you don't see them, you can skip to the next section.

Please select which config file you wish to inject 'Laminas\Diactoros\ConfigProvider' into:
  [0] Do not inject
  [1] config/config.php
  Make your selection (default is 1):

Type 0 to select [0] Do not inject.

If you choose 1, an extra ConfigProvider will be injected, which may return an error for packages you add in the future. Choosing 0 prevents duplicate ConfigProvider registrations, as Dotkernel already includes its own.

The next question is:

Remember this option for other packages of the same type? (y/N)

Type y here, and hit enter to complete this stage.

Development mode

Normally, a new project starts in development mode to prevent caching certain files in the data/cache folder. Enable development mode by running:

composer development-enable

The confirmation message should read:

You are now in development mode.

If you ever need to disable the development mode, run:

composer development-disable

This command displays the development mode status:

composer development-status

You should see the message Development mode is ENABLED or Development mode is DISABLED.

FAQ

Q: Why should I run composer install from the CLI rather than an IDE?

A: The setup script asks interactive questions, and some IDEs cannot display those prompts. Answering them incorrectly — or not at all — leaves the project misconfigured.

Q: What does the installation do besides downloading packages?

A: It writes composer.lock, configures PHP CodeSniffer, generates the OAuth2 keys into data/oauth, and creates the initial config/autoload files.

Q: Will re-running composer install overwrite my configuration?

A: No. The post-install scripts run on every composer install and composer update, but they check whether each file already exists before writing it.

Q: Composer asks where to inject Laminas\Diactoros\ConfigProvider. What do I answer?

A: 0 — do not inject. Dotkernel already registers its own ConfigProvider, and a duplicate registration can break packages you add later.

Q: Should I answer y to remembering that choice?

A: Yes. It applies the same answer to other packages of the same type, so the rest of the installation runs without further prompts.

Q: Why does the package count differ from the documentation?

A: The number changes as dependencies are updated. The example figure is only indicative.

Q: What does development mode actually change?

A: It stops certain files from being cached in data/cache and activates the development error handlers, so code and configuration changes take effect immediately.

Q: How do I check or change development mode later?

A: composer development-status reports the state, composer development-enable turns it on and composer development-disable turns it off. Never leave it enabled in production. See Basic security.

Q: What is the next installation step?

A: Reviewing the generated configuration files. See Configuration files.