Composer Linker

A Composer plugin for linking local packages during development, similar to npm link.

Key Features

• No project files - All link information is stored in the global Composer directory
• Simple workflow - Register once, link anywhere
• Clean development - No modifications to your composer.json
• Automatic backups - Original packages are preserved and can be restored

Requirements

• Composer 2.0+
• PHP 8.2+
• Filesystem that supports symbolic links

Installation

composer global require takeshiyu/composer-linker

Usage

Register a local package

First, register your local package globally:

# In your package directory
composer link

# Or specify a path
composer link /path/to/your/package

This makes the package available for linking in any project.

Link a package to your project

In your project directory, link to a registered package:

composer link vendor/package

This creates a symbolic link in your vendor directory pointing to the local package source.

List linked packages

Show all packages linked in your current project:

composer linked

Show all globally registered packages:

composer linked --global

Show all projects and their linked packages:

composer linked --all

Unlink a package

Restore a package to the installed version:

composer unlink vendor/package

How it works

This plugin:

1. Stores all link information in a central links.json file in ~/.composer/links/
2. Uses symbolic links to connect your project to local packages
3. Preserves your composer.json file (no modifications needed)
4. Works at the filesystem level, similar to npm link
5. Never creates any files in your project directory

Benefits

• No files in your project directory that could be committed to version control
• Consistent workflow across projects
• Easy to switch between development and production versions
• Works with Composer's autoloading system

License

Composer Linker package is open-sourced software licensed under the MIT license