Using Composer is the recommended method for downloading and installing (CI4). This approach simplifies dependency management, ensures your framework stays updated with a single command, and correctly configures the PSR-4 autoloading standard. 1. Prerequisites and System Requirements

Navigate to your web server’s root directory (e.g., htdocs for XAMPP or /var/www/html for Linux).

This command downloads the latest stable version of CodeIgniter 4 and all its necessary dependencies into the vendor folder. Server Requirements — CodeIgniter 4.7.2 documentation

Run the following command to create a new project. Replace my-project with your desired folder name: composer create-project codeigniter4/appstarter my-project Use code with caution.

To download the framework, use the appstarter repository, which provides a clean skeleton for new projects.

Before initiating the download, ensure your environment meets the minimum server requirements for CI4. As of recent versions (v4.4+), the requirements have shifted toward more modern PHP versions: