To let PHP recognize Cygwin paths, put this file to /usr/local/bin/php and chmod +x Originally published by http://stackoverflow.com/users/264395/aefxx here: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12276946/composer-cygwin

php

#!/bin/bash

# Path to the PHP executable
php="/cygdrive/c/PHP/php.exe"

for ((n=1; n <= $#; n++)); do
    if [ -e "${!n}" ]; then
        # Converts Unix style paths to Windows equivalents
        path="$(cygpath --mixed ${!n} | xargs)"

        case 1 in
            $(( n == 1 )) )
                set -- "$path" "${@:$(($n+1))}";;
            $(( n < $# )) )
                set -- "${@:1:$((n-1))}" "$path" ${@:$((n+1)):$#};;
            *)
                set -- "${@:1:$(($#-1))}" "$path";;
        esac
    fi
done

"$php" "$@"