# How to install Composer on Windows 10

Composer is a PHP package manager that is used to install PHP libraries and frameworks. For installation on Windows 10, an installer can be used. We’ll guide you through the process step by step.

## Step 1: Download the latest version of Composer

Navigate to the [official Composer download page](https://getcomposer.org/download/ "Composer download page"). Installing Composer on Windows is easiest using the Windows installer. You can download it from the website using the *Composer-Setup.exe* file.

[![Image: Clicking on “Composer-Setup.exe” starts the download of the Windows installer](https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/fileadmin/_processed_/6/7/csm_download-composer_298ee2f2e3.webp "Clicking on “Composer-Setup.exe” starts the download of the Windows installer")](https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/fileadmin/DigitalGuide/Screenshots_2023/download-composer.png) Clicking on Composer-Setup.exe starts the download of the Windows installer. / Source: https://getcomposer.org/download/  Note The installer assumes PHP is already installed on your system. Our [PHP tutorial](https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/websites/website-creation/learn-php-our-all-encompassing-php-tutorial-for-beginners/ "Learn PHP: Our all-encompassing PHP tutorial for beginners") helps you to install PHP and provides useful tips on getting started with the scripting language.

## Step 2: Launch installer and perform installation

[![Image: Composer installation tool](https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/fileadmin/_processed_/a/8/csm_composer-developer-mode_fff3f6e975.webp "Composer installation tool")](https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/fileadmin/DigitalGuide/Screenshots_2023/composer-developer-mode.png) You can use the Developer mode to make advanced settings during the installation of Composer on Windows 10. Click **Next** to continue with the installation. Keep the suggested default path and check the **Add this PHP to your path?** option. Otherwise, the installation won’t be able to continue.

[![Image: Composer installer tool during installation](https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/fileadmin/_processed_/c/9/csm_composer-settings-check_82ba51c89c.webp "Composer installer tool during installation")](https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/fileadmin/DigitalGuide/Screenshots_2023/composer-settings-check.png) Check the Add this PHP to your path? box to continue the installation. You can skip the proxy URL settings. Hit **Install** to start the installation of Composer on Windows.

Tip PHP Composer can be installed on many other operating systems. Find out how to install Composer on the operating system of your choice in one of the articles below:

- [Install Composer on Ubuntu 20.04](https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/server/configuration/php-composer-installation-on-ubuntu-2004/)
- [Install Composer on Ubuntu 22.04](https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/server/configuration/how-to-install-composer-on-ubuntu-2204/)
- [Install Composer on Windows 11](https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/server/configuration/php-composer-installation-on-windows-11/)

## Step 3: Verify installation success

To ensure that the installation of PHP Composer on Windows 10 was successful, launch command prompt and type the following command:

```bash
composer
```

If installation was successful, you’ll see the currently installed Composer version and a list of Composer commands:

[![Image: Terminal after entering the command “composer”](https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/fileadmin/_processed_/a/8/csm_composer-command_6b0a959da8.webp "Terminal after entering the command “composer”")](https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/fileadmin/DigitalGuide/Screenshots_2023/composer-command.png) Following successful installation, you can access Composer from the command prompt using the “composer” command.  Tip You can also [use PHP Composer in IONOS web hosting plans](https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/websites/web-development/using-php-composer-in-ionos-webhosting-packages/ "Using PHP Composer in IONOS web hosting packages"). IONOS [web hosting](https://www.ionos.com/hosting/web-hosting "Low-cost website hosting with hosting plans from IONOS") plans have many benefits such as an integrated DDoS protection and 24/7 support.

## How to get started with Composer

You can use various Composer commands to add and update dependencies. The following are essential for getting started with Composer.

### Step 1: Create *composer.json* file

To use Composer in your project, all you need to do is install Composer and create a JSON file called *composer.json*, where you describe the dependencies of your project.

You can create such a file with the following Composer command:

```bash
composer init
```

If you do not manually create a *composer.json* file, it will be generated automatically when you create your first dependency.

### Step 2: Add dependencies

In our example, we’ll assume you need the logging library Monolog for your project. You can add this to your *composer.json* file with the following command:

```bash
composer require monolog/monolog
```

### Step 3: Update dependencies

Composer provides a built-in command to update your project dependencies. The command searches for current versions of the libraries in your project and installs them.

```bash
composer update
```


This is a markdown version of: [https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/server/configuration/php-composer-installation-on-windows-10/](https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/server/configuration/php-composer-installation-on-windows-10/) for AI/LLM consumption.