Table of Contents
Set a Custom PHP Binary for Composer
Use phpenv or brew to Switch PHP Versions
Specify PHP Version in composer.json
Windows: Update the PATH or Use Batch Scripts
Home Development Tools composer How do I configure Composer to use a specific PHP version?

How do I configure Composer to use a specific PHP version?

Jul 03, 2025 am 12:07 AM
composer php version

You can make Composer use a specific PHP version by specifying PHP binary files, using version management tools, or configuring composer.json. 1. In Unix-like systems, you can set an alias or export the COMPOSER_PHP environment variable to directly specify the PHP binary file; 2. Use tools such as phpenv or brew to switch the PHP version to achieve global or project-level version control; 3. Configure the platform.php field in composer.json to declare the PHP version required for the project to ensure that the dependency check is correct; 4. Windows users can run the Composer command by modifying the PATH environment variable or creating a batch script to call the specified PHP version. These methods can effectively control the PHP version used by Composer.

You can configure Composer to use a specific PHP version by telling it which PHP binary to use. This is especially useful when you have multiple PHP versions installed and want Composer to run with a particular one—like using PHP 8.1 even if your system default is PHP 8.2.

Here's how to do it depending on your setup and needs.


Set a Custom PHP Binary for Composer

Composer uses the PHP binary it finds in your system path by default. But you can override this using the COMPOSER_PHP environment variable or by creating a custom wrapper script.

  • On Unix-like systems (Linux/macOS), you can set an alias like this:
 alias composer='php8.1 /path/to/composer.phar'
  • Or, export the COMPOSER_PHP variable before running Composer:
 export COMPOSER_PHP=/usr/bin/php8.1
composer install

This tells Composer exactly which PHP executable to use for that command.


Use phpenv or brew to Switch PHP Versions

If you're managing PHP versions with tools like phpenv or brew , switching versions globally or per-project becomes easier.

For example, with phpenv , you can do:

 phpenv global 8.1

Now any Composer commands will use PHP 8.1 automatically.

With brew , you might switch versions like this:

 brew unlink php@8.2
brew link --force php@8.1

These methods are great if you work across multiple projects with different PHP requirements.


Specify PHP Version in composer.json

While this doesn't directly change which PHP binary runs Composer, setting the platform config in composer.json tells Composer what PHP version your project expects:

 {
  "config": {
    "platform": {
      "php": "8.1.0"
    }
  }
}

This helps avoid issues where dependencies expect certain PHP features. Composer will check against this version instead of the one it detects from your system.


Windows: Update the PATH or Use Batch Scripts

On Windows, you can update your system PATH to point to the desired PHP version before running Composer.

Alternatively, create a batch file like composer81.bat with content like:

 @"C:\php\php-8.1\php.exe" "C:\composer\composer.phar" %*

Now just run composer81 install instead of the regular composer .


Depending on your OS and workflow, any of these methods should help you pin Composer to a specific PHP version. Whether through environment variables, version managers, or direct scripting, the key is making sure the correct PHP binary gets used at runtime.

That's basically all there is to it — not too complicated, but easy to miss a small detail and wonder why Composer is still using the wrong version.

The above is the detailed content of How do I configure Composer to use a specific PHP version?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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