Composer memory exhausted after a PHP upgrade
ComposerComposer is a tool that downloads the code libraries a PHP project needs and notes exactly which versions, so the project can be rebuilt the same way anywhere. stops during an install or update with Allowed memory size exhausted.
Which PHP version does your site report?
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More about this
After changing PHPPHP is a programming language that builds your web pages on the computer that hosts your site, just before they reach the visitor. WordPress runs on it., it is tempting to increase the website's memory setting immediately.
First establish which process produced the message.
Composer may use a different PHP configuration from the website your visitors open.
Before you start
Save the complete error message and its timestamp in a private note. Record which page or action triggers it and what changed immediately beforehand. A screenshot of a blank page gives a developer less to work with than the first relevant log entry.
Do not post passwords, customer information or complete server paths in a public support thread.
Back up both files and the database before changing anything. Check how you would restore that backupA backup is a separate copy of your website's files and database, so you can bring the site back after a mistake, a hack or a failed update. too. Prefer a restricted test copy using the same PHP versionA PHP version is a numbered edition of PHP, like 8.3. Each edition is looked after for a limited time, then gets security fixes only, then nothing..
Disable real payments and outgoing customer emails on that copy. Change one thing per attempt and keep a note of it, so you can reverse an unsuccessful change without guessing what the previous setting was.
What the message establishes
PHP reached the memory allowance for that process. The byte figures do not reliably tell you how much extra memory the entire server needs. Record what Composer was doing at the time.
The failure may happen while selecting packages, or inside a project script run afterwards.
The PHP manual describes memory_limitmemory_limit is a PHP setting that decides how much memory the code behind one page may use. If it needs more, it stops with an error. as a limit for a script. Different execution environments can load different PHP configuration files. A higher value in a hostingWeb hosting is the service that keeps your website's files on a computer that is always online, so visitors can open your site at any time. panel therefore does not establish the value used by a terminal command.
Composer's official troubleshooting guide covers memory errors separately; use it alongside the PHP configuration check.
Five steps to a repair
- Save the command you ran and the relevant end of its output. Remove tokens and private repository information before sharing it. Record whether you were installing from an existing lock file or deliberately selecting new package versions. That distinction determines what needs review later.
- Ask the developer to identify the PHP version and loaded configuration in the same terminal. The read commands php -v and php --ini help with this. Check which PHP executable the Composer launcher uses too. The environment serving web requests needs a separate check.
- Have the effective memory limit and available hosting capacity reviewed together. Agree a reasonable upper bound before making changes. Do not remove all memory limits or buy a larger hosting plan based only on this message. Investigate whether a project-specific script is the failing process.
- Try the targeted adjustment in a test environment. Preserve the lock file when the objective is reinstalling the same recorded package versions. Do not delete it to get around a memory problem. Otherwise you may be comparing a different set of packages and lose evidence about the original failure.
- Check that Composer finishes completely, then run the agreed application tests. A successful installation does not prove the website works under the new PHP version. Test the features using the affected packages and record the configuration that produced the successful result.
If the message is different
A process that reports only Killed provides different evidence from PHP's Allowed memory size error. Ask the host to investigate whether an operating system or process limit intervened. Repeatedly raising the same PHP setting is unhelpful until you know which boundary was actually reached.
When to get help
Use the help form below if you lack terminal experience, a live release has stopped halfway through or you do not know whether packages were partly changed. Give the developer the original command, relevant error lines and intended installation outcome. Establish what can safely be restored before trying another installation over the incomplete one.
Check the result
Repeat the exact action that failed first. Then check login, a form submission and the main journey through your website. For a store, use a test order without a real charge.
Read the log for fresh messages with a recent timestamp. A working homepage alone does not establish that every affected function works again.
Keep the version numbers, the change and the outcome with your maintenance notes. Agree who will check the next update. Stop if the same error returns after the suspected cause has already been addressed.
Revisit the diagnosis instead of changing an increasing number of settings together. The aim is a repeatable repair that someone else can understand and verify.