How to fix Error: mkdir(): Permission denied when running composer - php

Question

I have a ec2 image and get the following error when trying to create a new laravel project.
[ErrorException] mkdir(): Permission denied
Here is the command:
composer create-project laravel/laravel mydir
I can write to the folder with my ec2-user username but do I need to add permission for composer to write?

Answer 1

Quick Answer:
For security reasons, lets keep root as the owner and just allow ourselves to read, write, and execute within the area which we will be working in.
Change directories
cd /var/www/
Change group ownership
sudo chown -Rv root:$USER .
Add priviledges to our group
sudo chmod -Rv g+rw .
For the grand finale, go ahead and create your new laravel project
composer create-project laravel/laravelprojectName--prefer-dist
Congratulations, We're done. :)
In-Depth Explanation
Explanation behind the solution:
By default you have two users; root and $USER(this is the global variable, but the actual name is whatever you put as your username). Every user created comes with a group as well. So if my username is john, I have a group called john.
There are many ways to solve this problem but I perfer this route for a few reasons:
I still want root to be the owner of the files for security reason.
I am working in a localhost so there shouldn't be any other (guest)users writing on my files.
In order to achieve this we will need to edit the group ownership and add the proper permissions. We will leave the others as is and only allow them to read and execute the files.
So lets get started:
I like being in the directory that I am making changes to in order to avoid mistakes so first we will need to enter the the directory which we will be working in.
cd /var/www/
We will need to change the group ownership of the directories which we will be working in. Starting from the directory which we are in and all the future directories and files we will create underneath this directory. So basically any children directories from now on will be own by our group.
sudo chown -Rv root:$USER .
chown = command to change owner.
-R = Recursive - This is basically stating to perform the same command to all the directories within this directory.
-v = verbose - we are stating here to keep us updated by showing us what is actually happening.
root:$USER = This is were we are setting the ownership. The first word before the colon(:) states the root will be the single owner. The second word after the colon(:) states that the group owner will be $USER(the current user).
. = This just means 'here, in this directory'.
Now we are going to add the right privileges to our group. Keep in mind this is where we allow root to be the primary owner while ONLY allowing ourself's to create changes(of course, besides root). As I mentioned before, this does not allow other users to create any changes what so ever.
sudo chmod -Rv g+rw .
chmod = command to change modifications, in this case, privileges.
-Rv = Recursive & Verbose
g = this states who will receive the modifications. In our case g-group Other options are u-user and o-other.
+ = symbolizes add
r = symbolizes read
w = symbolizes write
Now we are done. Try creating a new laravel project.
composer create-project laravel/laravelprojectName` --prefer-dist
Note: If this is not working, enter the command ls -al | grep $USER while inside the /var/www/ directory.
If you get this:
drwxrw-r-x
You are missing the executable(x) privilege for the group. The first x is for the user and last x is for others. There should be middle x for the group.
Run the following command and you should be all set to go:
sudo chmod -Rv g+x .
Now if you run ls -al | grep $USER, you should get:
drwxrwxr-x

Answer 2

add "www" group and add your user to this group
sudo groupadd www
sudo usermod -a -G www ec2-user
logout/login
set ownership and write permissions
sudo chown -R root:www /var/www
sudo chmod 2775 /var/www
find /var/www -type d -exec sudo chmod 2775 {} +
find /var/www -type f -exec sudo chmod 0664 {} +
Referencing: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/install-LAMP.html

Answer 3

I ran into the similar ErrorException, when creating an additional project inside the Homestead/Vagrant environment.
I had previously added folders and path to the Homestead.yaml.
The answers of Oscar and Jens A. Koch pointed into the right direction, but go too far on my dev-machine.
Working narrower solution inside Homestead-Box:
sudo mkdir <ProjectDir>
sudo chgrp vagrant <ProjectDir>
sudo chmod g+wx <ProjectDir>
composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel <Project>

Answer 4

The gist of the problem
Installing Laravel inside /var/www/html folder is a common requirement. However, the system defaults usually sets the user and group for this folder and its parent(www) to root And composer will complain if you run it as root.
Solution
Find the user corresponding to your apache/nginx server. It usually has names like www,www-data etc. You can run the below command to get a clue
cat /etc/group | grep www
With the knowledge of the server user(from above), you can run the below commands. I am assuming that your server user is www-data
# Under your user account, change directories
cd /var/www/
# Change group ownership
sudo chown -Rv root:www-data .
# Give all the privileges to the group
sudo chmod -Rv g+rwx .
# Add your user name to www-data group, use 'who' command to get your username
sudo usermod -a -G www-data your_user_name
# Verify that your user name is in the www-data group by typing
group your_user_name
# Very important, logout of the system and come back to this folder
# Do the the laravel install
composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel projectName
# Not finished yet! recursive make the www-data the group owner of projecName which the folder in which Laravel site resides by now
sudo chown -R :www-data projectName

Answer 5

Make sure that you have read/write folder permission. It works to me.
Like in ubuntu
var/www/html
So if you want to make dir in html folder then first give permission to html folder. Then you are done. Thanks.

Answer 6

This Problem with a Vagrant box
If you tried to install something with composer in a new vagrant box, it is possible that when installing the vagrant you have specified the path you are allowed to use.
So check your personal .yml file in order to check this under
\ansible\vars
there you have something like this
vagrant_local:
vm:
name: oxideshop
hostname: oxideshop.local
aliases:
- www.oxideshop.local
app_shared_folder:
source: oxideshop
target: /var/www/oxideshop
You have to make sure, that the app_shared_folder target is the same you use for the composer installation.
Example:
composer create-project oxid-esales/oxideshop-project
/var/www/oxideshop dev-b-6.1-ce

Answer 7

Make sure that you have read/write folder permission.
LIKE: sudo chown -R USER NAME:www-data /PROJECT PATH/USER NAME/PROJECT NAME/
Example:
$ sudo chown -R tubai:www-data /home/tubai/firstlara/

Answer 8

Run the following commands
cd /var/www
sudo chown -R $USER:www-data html/
sudo chmod -R 775 html/

Answer 9

I had the same problem and executing the command using sudo just worked for me:
sudo composer create-project laravel/laravel mydir

Answer 10

cd to the directory where you currently want to install laravel and change directory access with
sudo chmod -R 777 ./
type your password and you are good to resume to the installation