Composer Error while installing Laravel "Failed to decode response: zlib_decode(): data error" - laravel

Question

I've already installed laravel a lot of times, but today when I had to install it for my project I experienced the following strange error:
Failed to decode response: zlib_decode(): data error
Retrying with degraded mode
I ran the following command to install laravel:
composer create-project laravel/laravel myproject --prefer-dist
in my /var/www/ directory which is totally read, write and executable.

Answer 1

Try the following command:
composer clear-cache

Answer 2

Add this lines to " composer.json " before the last line that conten this symbol " } "
,
"repositories": [
{
"type": "composer",
"url": "https://packagist.org"
},
{ "packagist": false }
]
Now cd to your project folder and type :
Composer install
Credits to:
http://www.webdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?285403-Need-Help-Installing-Laravel

Answer 3

Short: Run composer self-update --update-keys and follow instructions.
Step by step:
I had the same error when trying to install dependencies for my project:
Failed to decode response: zlib_decode(): data error
Retrying with degraded mode, check https://getcomposer.org/doc/articles/troubleshooting.md#degraded-mode for more info
Your configuration does not allow connection to http://packagist.org. See https://getcomposer.org/doc/06-config.md#secure-http for details.
http://packagist.org could not be fully loaded, package information was loaded from the local cache and may be out of date
Just to be sure, I tried to update the composer with composer self-update, which gave me the same error, but another hint:
[RuntimeException]
The phar signature did not match the file you downloaded, this means your public keys are outdated or that the phar file is corrupt/has been modified
The issues is solved by running
composer self-update --update-keys
and entering the keys from Composer Public Keys / Signatures page. I was able to download my dependencies afterwards.

Answer 4

In my case, the version of VirtualBox was the issue.
https://github.com/composer/composer/issues/5814
Make sure that your VB is not 5.0.28 or 5.1.8.

Answer 5

Following what #dwainm says, you can also define this configuration globally to avoid editing the composer.json from your project.
Create a ~/.composer/config.json with:
{
"repositories": [
{
"type": "composer",
"url": "https://packagist.org"
},
{
"packagist": false
}
]
}

Answer 6

install or update the library after running
composer config --global repositories.packagist.allow_ssl_downgrade false

Answer 7

If you look at the answers people come up with this, there are a wide variety of things that fixed it for various people, including using "sudo", using "self-update", etc etc.
After a lot of testing, I found that the real answer is to just keep on running it over and over again. It gets a little farther each time, and caches the previous data that it was able to get the last time. So eventually it just works, and then people think that the last thing they did is what solved it. In reality you just have to run it over and over. This is clearly something that composer should fix.
The key to seeing that it is making progress each time you run it is to use
composer update -vvv
That will show you how far it got with the last time you ran it. Each time you run it, it will usually download another repo or two.
Until composer fixes whatever the underlying cause is, that appears to be the best solution. Good luck.

Answer 8

Quick fix from composer
Degraded Mode#
Due to some intermittent issues on Travis and other systems, we introduced a degraded network mode which helps Composer finish successfully but disables a few optimizations. This is enabled automatically when an issue is first detected. If you see this issue sporadically you probably don't have to worry (a slow or overloaded network can also cause those time outs), but if it appears repeatedly you might want to look at the options below to identify and resolve it.
If you have been pointed to this page, you want to check a few things:
If you are using ESET antivirus, go in "Advanced Settings" and disable "HTTP-scanner" under "web access protection"
If you are using IPv6, try disabling it. If that solves your issues, get in touch with your ISP or server host, the problem is not at the Packagist level but in the routing rules between you and Packagist (i.e. the internet at large). The best way to get these fixed is raise awareness to the network engineers that have the power to fix it.
To disable IPv6 on Linux, try using this command which appends a rule preferring IPv4 over IPv6 to your config:
sudo sh -c "echo 'precedence ::ffff:0:0/96 100' >> /etc/gai.conf"
If none of the above helped, please report the error.

Answer 9

I'll leave this answer to those like me have tried all of the above solutions do not succeed. In my case the problem was related version of Virtual Box (1.5.8) for Mac. I did downgrade my previous version (1.5.2) and all returned to work properly.

Answer 10

This may seem redundant, but try restarting your machine. If you've just installed composer and other things, then your system may just need to be refreshed..
I was having this same issue, but it is now working correctly after a restart (on Mac).

Answer 11

There are many answers to this question because there are a variety of factors that could be causing this issue. It basically comes down to 1) a caching issue, 2) a connection issue to your repository (e.g. Packagist), or 3) a config issue with your Composer project.
Before you reconfigure your entire setup, eliminate options 1 and 2 first. For example, on May 23, 2017 Packagist was having issues, so switching to a different mirror solved the issue for me.

Answer 12

in Linux i used sudo before 'composer update' and problem solved.
sudo composer update

Answer 13

composer clear-cache
sudo composer self-update

Answer 14

Use the command composer clear-cache to clear composer cache. Also, make sure you have access to your .composer directory. It is usually located in ~/.composer.

Answer 15

Check that you have ZIP extension installed for your PHP CLI
for me helped(ubuntu): sudo apt-get install php7.0-zip

Answer 16

here is the correct way of installation of composer for slim.
1.start the composer installer (composerSetup.exe)
note: if no php.exe file is selected by default, then go to the folder of your installation (wamp, xamp, lamp -your choice of installation) folder and under bin folder, look for php\php.exe - which happens to be your command-line php for slim.
2.start the wamp, xamp or lamp (of your choice) server (to avoid the error "failed to decode zlib stream" )
3. then proceed with the rest of the installation(which will eventually lead to completion of installation with no user input required further).

Answer 17

I ran in the same issue while trying to composer install doctrine/dbal
This message kept showing: Failed to decode response: zlib_decode(): data error
I had to update my composer.json by adding the following lines:
{
...
"config": {
"http": true
}
...
}
And it fixed the problem. I hope it will help some of you.

Answer 18

For me, this error disappears when I switch off my VPN (ExpressVPN). The other methods suggested here did not work.

Answer 19

In my case, the issue was caused by bad file permissions in my ~/.composer directory.
So I ran
sudo chown myusername:myusername ~/.composer
(replacing myusername with my actual user name)
Then composer ran fine.

Answer 20

in window i used this cmd
php composer.phar clear-cache

Answer 21

Workaround Mac OS X:
Get name of your network device:
networksetup -listallnetworkservices
Disable IPv6 on that device (in this case "Wi-Fi"):
networksetup -setv6off Wi-Fi
Run composer ...
You can enable IPv6 again with:
networksetup -setv6automatic Wi-Fi

Answer 22

From Composer documentation:
Due to some intermittent issues on Travis and other systems, we
introduced a degraded network mode which helps Composer finish
successfully but disables a few optimizations. This is enabled
automatically when an issue is first detected. If you see this issue
sporadically you probably don't have to worry (a slow or overloaded
network can also cause those time outs), but if it appears repeatedly
you might want to look at the options below to identify and resolve
it.
If you are using IPv6, try disabling it. If that solves your issues,
get in touch with your ISP or server host, the problem is not at the
Packagist level but in the routing rules between you and Packagist
(i.e. the internet at large). The best way to get these fixed is raise
awareness to the network engineers that have the power to fix it. Take
a look at the next section for IPv6 workarounds.
SOLUTION FOR LINUX:
To disable ipv6, you have to open /etc/sysctl.conf using any text editor and insert the following lines at the end:
net.ipv6.conf.all.disable_ipv6 = 1
net.ipv6.conf.default.disable_ipv6 = 1
net.ipv6.conf.lo.disable_ipv6 = 1

Answer 23

I have been facing a similar problem. Writing the given lines in your composer.json files and then run composer update following the next composer command. Hope it helps someone as it does to me.
"repositories": [
{
"type": "composer",
"url": "https://packagist.org"
},
{ "packagist": false }
]

Answer 24

For Windows 10
According to TroubleShooting Composer as stated by other answers also for other OS, this may happen due to ipv6. If we disable it for all tunnels, it gets solved in Windows 10.
To disable ipv6 in Windows:
Download EasyFix file from Microsoft Support and follow the steps as stated there:
Click the Download button for the procedure that you want to run.
Click Run or Open in the File Download dialog box.
Follow the steps in the easy fix wizard.
Note: I downloaded Disable IPv6 on all tunnel interfacesversion and ran it. Then I could use composer create-project command.

Answer 25

Try composer clear-cache and then turn off your windows firewall

Answer 26

For linux ubuntu 20.04
try these step by step:
0-go to home by command "**cd ~**"
1-**composer clear-cache**
2-remove old version of composer (1.x.x) if exists "**sudo rm -R ~/.config/composer**"
3-change your internet connection(cable or wifi or ...)(important)
4-install new version with these commands...
4-1: **sudo apt update**
4-2: **sudo apt install php-cli unzip**
4-3: **sudo apt install curl**
4-4: **cd ~**
4-5: **curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer -o composer-setup.php**
4-6: **HASH=`curl -sS https://composer.github.io/installer.sig`**
4-7: **php -r "if (hash_file('SHA384', 'composer-setup.php') === '$HASH') { echo 'Installer verified'; } else { echo 'Installer corrupt'; unlink('composer-setup.php'); } echo PHP_EOL;"**
4-8: **sudo php composer-setup.php --install-dir=/usr/local/bin --filename=composer**
4-9: check composer version with "**composer --version**"
if return composer 1.x.x, check this:
php /usr/local/bin/composer
if return 2.x.x, you must find your composer that installed locally and delete its folder.
Do Not Remove this folder /usr/local/bin/composer

Answer 27

For myself, I just made
sudo apt-get upgrade composer