Set up PHP and Composer for Elang#

By the end of this lesson, your terminal will run PHP and Composer, and Elang doctor will explain whether your project is ready. You do not need to install a frontend framework.

Before you begin#

Use a computer where you can install development tools, a text editor, and a terminal. A terminal runs commands; it is different from typing PHP into a browser address bar. Run each command from the directory indicated in the lesson.

Elang requires PHP 8.3 or newer within PHP 8.x. If you already have PHP, verify the version before installing another copy. On a machine with multiple PHP installations, Composer and the web server may use different ones.

Windows setup#

1. Follow the official PHP Windows installation instructions and install a supported PHP 8.x build for your system.
2. Add the directory containing php.exe to your user PATH. Create the recommended php.ini from the supplied development template if your installation does not already configure one.
3. Enable the extensions reported by Composer. The local examples need mbstring, Sodium, PDO, and pdo_sqlite, plus the framework and test requirements. php --ini identifies the configuration your terminal actually reads.
4. Install Composer using the official Windows installer, selecting the intended PHP executable.
5. Close and reopen PowerShell, then run the verification commands below.

If php is not recognized, run where.exe php and check PATH. If a command finds PHP 8.2, changing Elang code will not fix the version mismatch.

macOS setup#

Use an installation method described in the PHP macOS installation guidance. A maintained package manager is usually the shortest route to a supported CLI installation. Install Composer using the official Unix/macOS instructions.

When following Composer's installer instructions, use the checksum shown on its official download page. Do not rely on a checksum copied from an old tutorial. Open a new terminal after changing PATH and verify both executables.

Ubuntu 24.04 setup#

On Ubuntu 24.04, the standard PHP packages provide a suitable starting point:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install php-cli php-mbstring php-xml php-sqlite3 php-curl php-zip unzip

Then follow the official Composer installation instructions. On another distribution or release, package names and default PHP versions can differ. Verify php -v; Elang needs 8.3+, even if your package manager successfully installed an older PHP version.

The default SQLite connection needs no separate database server. You can add MySQL or PostgreSQL later when you understand the basic request lifecycle.

Verify the tools#

php -v
php --ini
php -m
composer --version

Expected result: PHP 8.3+ within PHP 8.x, a readable CLI configuration path, the required extensions, and Composer 2. A missing-extension error names the item you need to enable or install.

Create the application with Composer#

Open a terminal in the parent directory where you want your project. Run:

composer create-project --repository=https://elangphp.com/packages elang/elang my-app 0.1.0-dev
cd my-app
php elang doctor
php elang serve

Composer creates the project, installs dependencies, generates its key, and checks the environment. Open http://127.0.0.1:8000 when the server prints that address. Keep the terminal running while using the local site; press Ctrl+C to stop it.

The working preview command includes Elang's Composer repository because the packages have not yet been published to Packagist. You do not need a Git checkout or a manually extracted archive.

A shorter command after one-time setup#

The installation guide explains the global CLI setup. After that setup, elang new my-app creates another project. Inside the application directory, php elang doctor and php elang serve run that application's console.

Check your understanding#

You should now know which PHP executable your terminal uses, where your project's composer.json lives, how to start and stop the local server, and how to read the doctor report. Continue with the PHP you need. If a command failed, use the troubleshooting guide before skipping ahead.