🎯 SetPreferredInstall

Sets the project's preferred-install configuration, controlling whether Composer prefers dist (packaged distribution) or source (source code) when installing packages. Equivalent to running composer config preferred-install <value>.

When to use

Use this when you want to unify the team's installation strategy. For example, prefer dist in production to speed up installation and avoid pulling Git history; prefer source in debugging scenarios to view or modify the source directly.

Signature

func (c *Composer) SetPreferredInstall(value string) error

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
value	string	Install strategy; must be one of dist, source, or auto

Return value

error: returns the corresponding error message when an error occurs while setting the config; nil on success.

Note

This method validates the value and only accepts dist, source, or auto. Passing any other value returns an error directly.

Example

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"log"

	"github.com/scagogogo/composer-skills/pkg/composer"
)

func main() {
	comp, err := composer.New(composer.DefaultOptions())
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatalf("init failed: %v", err)
	}

	// Prefer the packaged distribution
	if err := comp.SetPreferredInstall("dist"); err != nil {
		log.Fatalf("set preferred-install failed: %v", err)
	}

	fmt.Println("preferred-install set to dist")
}

Advanced

• To read the current preferred-install config, use GetPreferredInstall().
• Value meanings: dist (prefer distribution), source (prefer source), auto (automatic, default).
• Shortcuts that apply only to a single install: InstallWithPreferSource() / InstallWithPreferDist().