Composer is not recognized as an internal or external command

If you have installed composer on your Windows, Linux, and Mac system. If you are getting Composer is not recognized as an internal or external command error while trying to use Composer, it typically means that Composer is not installed correctly or its executable is not in your system’s PATH.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to fix Composer is not recognized as an internal or external command in windows, Linux, and mac systems.

How to Fix the “composer is not recognized as an internal or external command” Error

Steps to fix Composer is not recognized as an internal or external command in windows, Linux, and mac systems:

• Step 1: Verify PHP Installation
• Step 2: Verify Composer Installation
• Step 3: Add Composer to System PATH

Step 1: Verify PHP Installation

Firstly, open a command prompt or terminal and run the following command into it to ensure PHP is correctly installed and in your system’s PATH:

php -v

Step 2: Verify Composer Installation

Once you have verified php installation, then you need to run the following command to check if Composer is correctly installed and accessible:

composer --version

If you still encounter the “composer is not recognized” error, proceed with the following steps to add Composer to your PATH in linux, windows or mac system.

Step 3: Add Composer to System PATH

If you are using Windows system, you need to follow the following steps to fix “composer is not recognized as an internal or external command” error:

1. Search for “Environment Variables” in your Windows search bar and select “Edit the system environment variables.”
2. In the “System Properties” window, click the “Environment Variables” button.
3. Under “System variables,” scroll down and find the “Path” variable. Select it and click “Edit.”
4. In the “Edit Environment Variable” window, click “New” and add the path to your Composer installation. This is typically C:\ProgramData\ComposerSetup\bin, but it may vary depending on your installation location.
5. Click “OK” to close all the windows.
6. Open a new command prompt or terminal and run composer --version again. You should now see Composer’s version information without the error.

If you are using linux or mac system, you need open terminal and follow the following steps to fix “composer is not recognized as an internal or external command” error:

1. Open a terminal window.
2. Edit your shell’s profile configuration file (e.g., ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or ~/.profile) using a text editor. For example:
3. Add the following line at the end of the file, replacing /path/to/composer with the actual path to your Composer executable:
   • export PATH=”$PATH:/path/to/composer”
4. Save and close the file.
5. Run the following command to apply the changes to your current session:
6. Open a new terminal window and run composer --version again. You should now see Composer’s version information without the error.

Conclusion

That’s it, you should have resolved the “composer is not recognized as an internal or external command” error by using this tutorial. Composer should now be accessible from the command line, allowing you to manage your PHP dependencies seamlessly.

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