composer/composer · error · RuntimeException

Could not retrieve RAR archive entries

Error message

Could not retrieve RAR archive entries

What it means

Thrown by RarDownloader::extract() (line 65-69) when $rarArchive->getEntries() returns false. The archive opened but its internal entry table could not be read, indicating structural corruption.

Source

Thrown at src/Composer/Downloader/RarDownloader.php:68

                . $iniMessage . "\n" . $processError;

            if (!Platform::isWindows()) {
                $error = "Could not decompress the archive, enable the PHP rar extension.\n" . $iniMessage;
            }

            throw new \RuntimeException($error);
        }

        $rarArchive = RarArchive::open($file);

        if (false === $rarArchive) {
            throw new \UnexpectedValueException('Could not open RAR archive: ' . $file);
        }

        $entries = $rarArchive->getEntries();

        if (false === $entries) {
            throw new \RuntimeException('Could not retrieve RAR archive entries');
        }

        foreach ($entries as $entry) {
            if (false === $entry->extract($path)) {
                throw new \RuntimeException('Could not extract entry');
            }
        }

        $rarArchive->close();

        return \React\Promise\resolve(null);
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 6ffc117740)

Solutions

1. Clear cache and re-download the package to rule out a corrupt transfer
2. Verify the archive opens correctly in a standalone RAR tool
3. Use a zip or tar.gz dist archive instead

try {
    $downloader->downloadAndExtract($package, $path);
} catch (\RuntimeException $e) {
    if (str_contains($e->getMessage(), 'Could not retrieve RAR archive entries')) {
        $this->cache?->clear();
        $downloader->downloadAndExtract($package, $path); // retry once
    } else { throw $e; }
}

When it happens

Trigger: RarArchive::open() succeeded but getEntries() returns false while enumerating archive members.

Common situations: A RAR archive with a corrupt header or entry table; password-protected archive opened without a password; partial multi-volume archive.

Related errors

• Could not open RAR archive: {file}
• Could not decompress the archive, enable the PHP rar extensi
• Could not extract entry
• Installing {package} would lead to overwriting the {to}/{fil
• Failed to execute {command} {errorOutput}

AI-assisted analysis of composer/composer@6ffc117740 (2026-08-07). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0e95315b33e1701a. Report an issue: GitHub.