diff --git a/index.php b/index.php
index 626fda5..fab99db 100644
--- a/index.php
+++ b/index.php
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 <?php
-
 /*
  * This file is part of Flarum.
  *
@@ -9,8 +8,98 @@
  * file that was distributed with this source code.
  */
 
-require 'vendor/autoload.php';
+// prevent all those questions concerning ::class and possible composer installation errors (5.3+)
+if (PHP_VERSION_ID < 50509) {
+    throw new Exception('At least PHP 5.5.9 is required to make Flarum work. See the system requirements: http://flarum.org/docs/installation/#system-requirements');
+} elseif (file_exists('vendor/autoload.php')) {
 
-$server = new Flarum\Forum\Server(__DIR__);
+    /**
+     * Start up the Flarum installation wizard or the Forums.
+     */
+    require 'vendor/autoload.php';
 
-$server->listen();
+    // delete /_install_tmp using composer functionality
+    if (is_dir('_install_tmp') && file_exists('_install_tmp/composer/vendor/autoload.php')) {
+        if (array_key_exists('install-done', $_GET)) {
+            echo 1;
+            exit;
+        }
+        // include the extracted composer libraries
+        require_once '_install_tmp/composer/vendor/autoload.php';
+
+        $fs = new Composer\Util\Filesystem();
+        $fs->removeDirectory('_install_tmp');
+    }
+
+    $server = new Flarum\Forum\Server(__DIR__);
+
+    $server->listen();
+
+} elseif ((ini_get('allow_url_fopen') && !ini_get('phar.readonly')) || file_exists('scripts/composer.phar')) {
+    if (array_key_exists('install-done', $_GET)) {
+        echo 0;
+        exit;
+    }
+    // prevent time out of page, drawback of running in browser
+    @set_time_limit(0);
+    // prevent extracting composer anew if already exists
+    if (!is_dir('_install_tmp/composer')) {
+        // attempt to download the latest composer file
+        if (!file_exists('scripts/composer.phar') && ini_get('allow_url_fopen')) {
+            file_put_contents('https://getcomposer.org/installer', 'scripts/composer.phar');
+        }
+        // use Phar to extract the composer package
+        $composer = new Phar('scripts/composer.phar');
+        // create a temporary directory for saving the package
+        mkdir('_install_tmp');
+        // extract composer
+        $composer->extractTo('_install_tmp/composer');
+    }
+    // if extraction succeeded, let's run the update command.
+    if (is_dir('_install_tmp/composer') && file_exists('_install_tmp/composer/vendor/autoload.php')) {
+        // force memory to at least 1GB (default for composer) otherwise composer will run out of memory
+        if (function_exists('ini_set')) {
+            ini_set('memory_limit', '1G');
+        }
+
+        // show an installation html
+        include "storage/views/composer-installation.html";
+        // force the template to the user
+        ob_flush();
+        // sets a home directory for storing information
+        putenv('COMPOSER_HOME=' . getcwd() . '/_install_tmp/home');
+        // prevents any interaction composer might require
+        putenv('COMPOSER_NO_INTERACTION=true');
+
+        require_once '_install_tmp/composer/vendor/autoload.php';
+
+        // run the composer installation command
+        $application = new Composer\Console\Application();
+
+        // disable auto exit
+        $application->setAutoExit(false);
+
+        // first set the github token to prevent installation errors
+        $input = new \Symfony\Component\Console\Input\ArrayInput([
+            'command'                 => 'config',
+            'github-oauth.github.com' => 'ec785da935d5535e151f7b3386190265f00e8fe2'
+        ]);
+        $application->run($input);
+
+        // set the input for the composer install command
+        $input = new Symfony\Component\Console\Input\ArrayInput([
+            'command'               => 'install',
+            '--no-dev'              => true,
+            '--prefer-dist'         => true,
+            '--optimize-autoloader' => true,
+            '-q'                    => true
+        ]);
+        $application->run($input);
+
+        // application installation is now done, redirect to Flarum installer
+        // we cannot send a header or redirect because we're already flushed the buffer
+    }
+} else {
+    // todo provide proper error message
+    throw new Exception('This method of installation is currently unsupported.');
+}
\ No newline at end of file