A Composer plugin that automatically applies git-format patches to your project. Useful for patching vendor packages without forking.

• Automatic patching - Patches are applied after every composer install and composer update
• Development patches - Use .patch.dev files for patches that only apply in dev mode
• Organized structure - Supports subdirectories to organize patches by package
• Idempotent - Safely re-applies patches on every run (reverses first, then applies)
• Whitespace tolerant - Ignores whitespace differences when applying patches
• Interactive patch creation - Generate patches from modified vendor files with a single command
• Clear reporting - Grouped output showing success/failure status for all patches

composer require sidworks/composer-patcher

1. Create a patches directory in your project root
2. Add .patch files (git diff format)
3. Run composer install

your-project/ ├── composer.json ├── patches/ │ ├── fix-typo.patch # Applied always │ ├── debug-helper.patch.dev # Applied only in dev mode │ └── acme/ # Organize by package │ └── utils/ │ └── fix-calculation.patch └── vendor/ 

The easiest way to create a patch from a modified vendor file:

composer sidworks:composer-patcher --create

This interactive command will:

1. Ask for the file path (e.g., vendor/acme/utils/src/Calculator.php)
2. Extract the original file from the package
3. Generate a diff between original and modified versions
4. Ask if you want to save in the package folder (e.g., patches/acme/utils/)
5. Save the patch with your chosen filename

Example session:

Enter the file path (relative to project root): > vendor/acme/utils/src/Calculator.php Save in patches/acme/utils/? [Y/n] y Enter patch filename [Calculator.php.patch]: > ✓ Patch created successfully! Location: patches/acme/utils/Calculator.php.patch 

Generate a patch using git diff:

# For tracked files git diff vendor/package/file.php > patches/my-fix.patch # Or from scratch using diff diff -u original.php modified.php > patches/my-fix.patch

Patches must use git-style headers:

--- a/vendor/package/src/File.php +++ b/vendor/package/src/File.php @@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ public function example() { - return 'old'; + return 'new'; }

composer sidworks:composer-patcher

Runs the patcher manually (useful for testing). Always runs in dev mode.

composer sidworks:composer-patcher --create # or composer sidworks:composer-patcher -c

1. On composer install or composer update, the plugin activates
2. All existing patches are reversed (to handle updates cleanly)
3. Patches are re-applied in alphabetical order
4. Results are displayed grouped by folder
5. If any patch fails, Composer exits with error code 1

• PHP 8.0+
• Composer 2.x
• Git (for applying patches)

MIT