Composer has the option to load several dependencies only while being in development, so the tools will not be installed in production (on the live server). This is (in theory) very handy for scripts that only make sense in development, like tests, fake-data-tools, debugger, etc.
The way to go is to add an additional require-dev
block with the tools you need in dev:
"require-dev": { "codeception/codeception": "1.6.0.3" }
and then (theoretically) load these dependencies via
composer install --dev
Problem & Question:
Composer has changed the behaviour of install
and update
dramatically in 2013, require-dev
-dependencies are now installed by default (!), feel free to create a composer.json with a require-dev
block and perform an composer install
to reproduce.
As the most accepted way to deploy is to push the composer.lock (that holds your current composer setup) and then do an composer install
on the production server, this will also install the development stuff.
What’s the correct way to deploy this without installing the -dev dependencies ?
Note: I’m trying to create a canonical Q/A here to clarify the weird Composer deployment. Feel free to edit this question.
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Answer
Why
There is IMHO a good reason why Composer will use the --dev
flag by default (on install and update) nowadays. Composer is mostly run in scenario’s where this is desired behavior:
The basic Composer workflow is as follows:
- A new project is started:
composer.phar install --dev
, json and lock files are commited to VCS. - Other developers start working on the project: checkout of VCS and
composer.phar install --dev
. - A developer adds dependancies:
composer.phar require <package>
, add--dev
if you want the package in therequire-dev
section (and commit). - Others go along: (checkout and)
composer.phar install --dev
. - A developer wants newer versions of dependencies:
composer.phar update --dev <package>
(and commit). - Others go along: (checkout and)
composer.phar install --dev
. - Project is deployed:
composer.phar install --no-dev
As you can see the --dev
flag is used (far) more than the --no-dev
flag, especially when the number of developers working on the project grows.
Production deploy
What’s the correct way to deploy this without installing the “dev” dependencies?
Well, the composer.json
and composer.lock
file should be committed to VCS. Don’t omit composer.lock
because it contains important information on package-versions that should be used.
When performing a production deploy, you can pass the --no-dev
flag to Composer:
composer.phar install --no-dev
The composer.lock
file might contain information about dev-packages. This doesn’t matter. The --no-dev
flag will make sure those dev-packages are not installed.
When I say “production deploy”, I mean a deploy that’s aimed at being used in production. I’m not arguing whether a composer.phar install
should be done on a production server, or on a staging server where things can be reviewed. That is not the scope of this answer. I’m merely pointing out how to composer.phar install
without installing “dev” dependencies.
Offtopic
The --optimize-autoloader
flag might also be desirable on production (it generates a class-map which will speed up autoloading in your application):
composer.phar install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader
Or when automated deployment is done:
composer.phar install --no-ansi --no-dev --no-interaction --no-plugins --no-progress --no-scripts --optimize-autoloader
If your codebase supports it, you could swap out --optimize-autoloader
for --classmap-authoritative
. More info here