# Scripts ## What is a script? A script, in Composer's terms, can either be a PHP callback (defined as a static method) or any command-line executable command. Scripts are useful for executing a package's custom code or package-specific commands during the Composer execution process. > **Note:** Only scripts defined in the root package's `composer.json` are > executed. If a dependency of the root package specifies its own scripts, > Composer does not execute those additional scripts. ## Event names Composer fires the following named events during its execution process: ### Command Events - **pre-install-cmd**: occurs before the `install` command is executed. - **post-install-cmd**: occurs after the `install` command is executed. - **pre-update-cmd**: occurs before the `update` command is executed. - **post-update-cmd**: occurs after the `update` command is executed. - **pre-status-cmd**: occurs before the `status` command is executed. - **post-status-cmd**: occurs after the `status` command is executed. - **pre-archive-cmd**: occurs before the `archive` command is executed. - **post-archive-cmd**: occurs after the `archive` command is executed. - **pre-autoload-dump**: occurs before the autoloader is dumped, either during `install`/`update`, or via the `dump-autoload` command. - **post-autoload-dump**: occurs after the autoloader is dumped, either during `install`/`update`, or via the `dump-autoload` command. - **post-root-package-install**: occurs after the root package has been installed, during the `create-project` command. - **post-create-project-cmd**: occurs after the `create-project` command is executed. ### Installer Events - **pre-dependencies-solving**: occurs before the dependencies are resolved. - **post-dependencies-solving**: occurs after the dependencies are resolved. ### Package Events - **pre-package-install**: occurs before a package is installed. - **post-package-install**: occurs after a package is installed. - **pre-package-update**: occurs before a package is updated. - **post-package-update**: occurs after a package is updated. - **pre-package-uninstall**: occurs before a package has been uninstalled. - **post-package-uninstall**: occurs after a package has been uninstalled. ### Plugin Events - **command**: occurs before any Composer Command is executed on the CLI. It provides you with access to the input and output objects of the program. - **pre-file-download**: occurs before files are downloaded and allows you to manipulate the `RemoteFilesystem` object prior to downloading files based on the URL to be downloaded. > **Note:** Composer makes no assumptions about the state of your dependencies > prior to `install` or `update`. Therefore, you should not specify scripts > that require Composer-managed dependencies in the `pre-update-cmd` or > `pre-install-cmd` event hooks. If you need to execute scripts prior to > `install` or `update` please make sure they are self-contained within your > root package. ## Defining scripts The root JSON object in `composer.json` should have a property called `"scripts"`, which contains pairs of named events and each event's corresponding scripts. An event's scripts can be defined as either as a string (only for a single script) or an array (for single or multiple scripts.) For any given event: - Scripts execute in the order defined when their corresponding event is fired. - An array of scripts wired to a single event can contain both PHP callbacks and command-line executable commands. - PHP classes containing defined callbacks must be autoloadable via Composer's autoload functionality. - If a defined callback relies on functions defined outside of a class, the callback itself is responsible for loading the appropriate files, as no files are autoloaded during Composer commands. Script definition example: ```json { "scripts": { "post-update-cmd": "MyVendor\\MyClass::postUpdate", "post-package-install": [ "MyVendor\\MyClass::postPackageInstall" ], "post-install-cmd": [ "MyVendor\\MyClass::warmCache", "phpunit -c app/" ], "post-create-project-cmd" : [ "php -r \"copy('config/local-example.php', 'config/local.php');\"" ] } } ``` Using the previous definition example, here's the class `MyVendor\MyClass` that might be used to execute the PHP callbacks: ```php getComposer(); // do stuff } public static function postAutoloadDump(Event $event) { $vendorDir = $event->getComposer()->getConfig()->get('vendor-dir'); require $vendorDir . '/autoload.php'; some_function_from_an_autoloaded_file(); } public static function postPackageInstall(PackageEvent $event) { $installedPackage = $event->getOperation()->getPackage(); // do stuff } public static function warmCache(Event $event) { // make cache toasty } } ``` When an event is fired, your PHP callback receives as first argument an `Composer\EventDispatcher\Event` object. This object has a `getName()` method that lets you retrieve event name. Depending on the script types (see list above) you will get various event subclasses containing various getters with relevant data and associated objects: - Base class: [`Composer\EventDispatcher\Event`](https://getcomposer.org/apidoc/master/Composer/EventDispatcher/Event.html) - Command Events: [`Composer\Script\Event`](https://getcomposer.org/apidoc/master/Composer/Script/Event.html) - Installer Events: [`Composer\Installer\InstallerEvent`](https://getcomposer.org/apidoc/master/Composer/Installer/InstallerEvent.html) - Package Events: [`Composer\Installer\PackageEvent`](https://getcomposer.org/apidoc/master/Composer/Installer/PackageEvent.html) - Plugin Events: - command: [`Composer\Plugin\CommandEvent`](https://getcomposer.org/apidoc/master/Composer/Plugin/CommandEvent.html) - pre-file-download: [`Composer\Plugin\PreFileDownloadEvent`](https://getcomposer.org/apidoc/master/Composer/Plugin/PreFileDownloadEvent.html) ## Running scripts manually If you would like to run the scripts for an event manually, the syntax is: ```sh composer run-script [--dev] [--no-dev] script ``` For example `composer run-script post-install-cmd` will run any **post-install-cmd** scripts that have been defined. You can also give additional arguments to the script handler by appending `--` followed by the handler arguments. e.g. `composer run-script post-install-cmd -- --check` will pass`--check` along to the script handler. Those arguments are received as CLI arg by CLI handlers, and can be retrieved as an array via `$event->getArguments()` by PHP handlers. ## Writing custom commands If you add custom scripts that do not fit one of the predefined event name above, you can either run them with run-script or also run them as native Composer commands. For example the handler defined below is executable by simply running `composer test`: ```json { "scripts": { "test": "phpunit" } } ``` > **Note:** Composer's bin-dir is pushed on top of the PATH so that binaries > of dependencies are easily accessible as CLI commands when writing scripts.