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Composer VS Packagist

Compare Composer VS Packagist and see what are their differences

Composer logo Composer

Composer is a tool for dependency management in PHP.

Packagist logo Packagist

The PHP Package Repository
  • Composer Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-19
  • Packagist Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-11-26

Composer features and specs

  • Dependency Management
    Composer allows for easy and efficient management of PHP dependencies, ensuring that the correct versions are used and conflicts are minimized.
  • Autoloading
    Composer supports autoloading, which means you don't have to manually include or require files, reducing boilerplate code.
  • Version Control
    It allows developers to specify and install the exact versions of the libraries they need, which helps in maintaining consistency across different environments.
  • Community Support
    Composer has a vast and active community, resulting in a plethora of libraries and packages readily available for use.
  • PSR Compliance
    Composer adheres to PHP-FIG PSR standards, promoting best practices and interoperability among PHP projects.
  • Custom Repositories
    Ability to use custom repositories allows for flexibility, enabling enterprises to create their own repository for internal use.

Possible disadvantages of Composer

  • Learning Curve
    Beginners may find Composer overwhelming due to its command-line interface and the complexity of managing dependencies.
  • Performance
    Installing or updating packages can sometimes be slow, particularly for projects with many dependencies.
  • Dependency Conflicts
    While Composer aims to minimize conflicts, complex projects can still face issues with dependency resolution that require manual intervention.
  • File Size
    Projects using Composer can lead to increased file sizes due to the inclusion of multiple libraries and their dependencies.
  • Security
    Including third-party packages can expose a project to potential security vulnerabilities if those packages are not well-maintained or audited.

Packagist features and specs

  • Comprehensive Repository
    Packagist hosts a large collection of PHP packages, making it a centralized repository where developers can easily find a wide variety of libraries and tools for their PHP projects.
  • Composer Integration
    Packagist works seamlessly with Composer, a dependency manager for PHP, allowing for straightforward installation and management of dependencies in PHP applications.
  • Automatic Updates
    Packagist can automatically update package information through hooks with version control repositories such as GitHub, ensuring developers have access to the latest package versions.
  • Community Driven
    Being an open platform, Packagist benefits from community contributions, leading to a diverse and constantly updated library of packages.
  • Easy Versioning
    Packagist supports semantic versioning, making it easy for developers to manage package versions and ensure compatibility within their projects.

Possible disadvantages of Packagist

  • Quality Variability
    Since Packagist is open for community contributions, the quality of packages can vary significantly, requiring developers to carefully evaluate and vet packages before use.
  • Security Concerns
    Third-party packages may introduce security vulnerabilities to projects, necessitating due diligence and an understanding of the package's security implications.
  • Overhead for Small Projects
    For small projects, using Packagist with Composer can introduce unnecessary complexity and overhead compared to simply including libraries manually.
  • Dependency Management Difficulties
    Managing dependencies with multiple versions can become tricky, especially when there are conflicts between package requirements, leading to potential integration issues.

Composer videos

AI vs Human Music Composer 2019 - Orb Composer Review

More videos:

  • Review - Review Composer Cloud from EastWest / Soundsonline.com
  • Review - Behringer Composer PRO-XL MDX2600 Review (AUDIO TEST)

Packagist videos

PHP Package Development Part 3 | Build Custom Package And Release On Packagist | The Test Coder

More videos:

  • Review - Laravel Package Development - Local Installation and Deployment to Packagist - Part 4
  • Review - Deploy Friday: E40 Composer 2 and Packagist

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Composer and Packagist)
Development Tools
96 96%
4% 4
Package Manager
0 0%
100% 100
Javascript UI Libraries
Software Development
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Composer should be more popular than Packagist. It has been mentiond 143 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Composer mentions (143)

  • Arguments a customer can understand not to use WordPress
    There is also no requirement to follow the PHP-FIG standards. The best thing that is build because of those standards is Composer. The most plugins I downloaded while writing use composer. The problem is that the plugins ship with their own vendor directory. While the standard is to have one vendor directory for the whole project. This results in different packages with the same or different version of it in the... - Source: dev.to / 14 days ago
  • Insights from the PHP Foundation Executive Director
    “Extensions are now very close to being like packages; they basically look like Composer packages. It’s still open to discussion whether PIE will be part of Composer someday. It’s not decided yet, but I hope it will be,” Roman added. - Source: dev.to / 19 days ago
  • PHP Core Security Audit Results
    Dependencies are managed by Composer (like npm, cargo, etc) for more than 10 years now. https://getcomposer.org. - Source: Hacker News / 23 days ago
  • WordPress and Components
    Composer and Packagist have become key tools for establishing the foundations of PHP-based applications. Packagist is essentially a directory containing PHP code out of which Composer, a PHP-dependency manager, retrieves packages. Their ease of use and exceptional features simplify the process of importing and managing own and third-party components into our PHP projects. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • 2025 Best PHP Micro Frameworks: Slim, Flight, Fat-Free, Lumen, and More!
    Simplicity: Getting started is a breeze—install via Composer, define some routes, and you’re off. Scaling up? Add middleware or libs like Twig or Eloquent as needed. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
View more

Packagist mentions (57)

  • WordPress and Components
    Composer and Packagist have become key tools for establishing the foundations of PHP-based applications. Packagist is essentially a directory containing PHP code out of which Composer, a PHP-dependency manager, retrieves packages. Their ease of use and exceptional features simplify the process of importing and managing own and third-party components into our PHP projects. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • How to Create a Package in Laravel
    Submit it to Packagist by registering it in your Composer account. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Publishing Open-Source Packages: Is It Really Worth It?
    Despite the criticisms that some make about the effort involved in creating and maintaining open-source packages, the truth is that the process of publishing on platforms like PyPI and Packagist has become incredibly accessible. If you have a solid project and follow a few simple steps, your code can be available to thousands of developers in a matter of minutes. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • How to Install and Use Composer Packages in PHP Project?
    Open your browser and navigate to ( https://packagist.org/ ). - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • Get YouTube Channel Details API: Testing Connection
    What will we do next time? Actually, the whole package is ready, and all that's left is to publish it on Packagist. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Composer and Packagist, you can also consider the following products

jQuery - The Write Less, Do More, JavaScript Library.

fpm - DevOps, Build, Test, Deploy, and Hosted Package Repository

React Native - A framework for building native apps with React

Conan - Conan is an Action-Adventure, Hack and Slash and Single-player video game developed by Nihilistic Software and published by THQ.

Babel - Babel is a compiler for writing next generation JavaScript.

Gemfury - Gemfury is a hosted repository for your public and private packages, where they are safe and within reach.