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Ted Sumner
Courses Plus Student 17,967 Pointschange Linux to run a file without having to enter the path
I am doing the Building Websites with PHP course and am installing Composer on my computer (Linux Mint). I followed the download instructions to install the program globally, but it did not work. The commands were:
curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | php
mv composer.phar /usr/local/bin/composer
I am supposed to be able to run: composer init to create the JSON file, but I have to enter:
php /usr/local/bin/composer/composer.phar init
How can I make it so I do not have to enter the entire path to get composer to run?
4 Answers
Ted Sumner
Courses Plus Student 17,967 PointsI figured out the problem. The file has to be in the /usr/local/bin folder, not in a subfolder. I don't know why the alias doesn't work.
Marcus Parsons
15,719 PointsHi Ted,
You should be able to run a command like that by adding it as an alias to a .bashrc file. First, open/create a .bashrc file in your home directory (run this from terminal):
gedit ~/.bashrc
Next, in the file that pops up, type out an alias for the command. The alias command is going to be the word that comes right after alias so you want it to just be composer and then you set it equal to the path for the binary file that it needs to execute:
alias composer='/usr/local/bin/composer/composer.phar'
And then save the file and close it. Restart your terminal. So, now when you run your command, you should only need to type out:
php composer init
or:
composer init
Ted Sumner
Courses Plus Student 17,967 PointsI added the line so now the .bashrc file reads:
alias composer='/usr/local/bin/composer/composer.phar' export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/.rvm/bin" # Add RVM to PATH for scripting
when I try php composer init or composer init I get the following errors:
When at ~$: could not open input file: composer
When at /opt/lampp/htdocs/composer_project $ No command 'composer' found, did you mean: Command 'compose' from package 'mimme-support' (main) composer: command not found
Ted Sumner
Courses Plus Student 17,967 PointsCan we assign the following an alias?
php /usr/local/bin/composer/composer.phar
If so, then maybe I can add the init or other command after the alias.
Marcus Parsons
15,719 PointsYou should be able to just add php to the beginning like that. I've never ran composer before, but I've had experience with the Linux CLI.
Ted Sumner
Courses Plus Student 17,967 PointsSame errors
Marcus Parsons
15,719 PointsAh it looks like you have to log out and log back in, and not just close the terminal. Or just run the command:
source ~/.bashrc
Marcus Parsons
15,719 PointsI forgot that you have to register the new bashrc with the system.
Ted Sumner
Courses Plus Student 17,967 PointsI think my brain is full. Learning HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Sass, Compass, PHP, Composer, Linux all at once is a lot. lol
Marcus Parsons
15,719 PointsSame here! lol
Marcus Parsons
15,719 PointsMarcus Parsons
15,719 PointsThe alias wouldn't work because you have to register the new
bashrcwith the system. You either have to log out or run thesourcecommand.