---
updatedAt: 2026-04-14T18:10:58.000Z
agentTools:
  projectIndex: https://snipe-it.readme.io/llms.txt
---

# Install Dependencies

Composer is a package manager for PHP that allows us to manage the dependencies for the various vendor packages we utilize in Snipe-IT. Vendor packages are PHP libraries that someone else wrote, and that we use in Snipe-IT to help make it awesome.

These are not the same thing as the [system requirements](https://snipe-it.readme.io/docs/requirements), which are technologies that the server itself needs in order to run Snipe-IT (such as a database, etc).

For this next step, you'll need an SSH client (such as Terminal.app for Mac or Putty or MobaXterm for Windows).

> ❗️ IMPORTANT:
>
> Never run composer as a super-user or Administrator. Always run it as the user that owns the Snipe-IT files. Running composer as a super-user will break things in ways that will be difficult to debug later. Just don't do it

#  Linux / OSX

It is not required to install composer globally, however if you wish to, you can find instructions on how to do so on [the Composer website](https://getcomposer.org/).

<br />

```shell
$ cd <install-dir>
$ curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | php
$ php composer.phar install --no-dev --prefer-source
```

<br />

### For global composer installations

```shell
$ cd <install-dir>
$ composer install --no-dev --prefer-source
```

<br />

# &#x20;Windows

* [Download Composer-Setup.exe](https://getcomposer.org/Composer-Setup.exe) from the Composer website.
* Move the `Composer-Setup.exe` file to `C:\inetpub\wwwroot\snipe-it`
* Open `C:\inetpub\wwwroot\snipe-it` in Windows Explorer
* Double-Click on Composer-Setup.exe to install it
* Open up a cmd window and run 'cd C:\inetpub\wwwroot\snipe-it'
* Type 'composer install' and run it. This will install the dependencies.

<br />