diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index bcf927590..8bc9f477c 100755
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -23,4 +23,5 @@ variants/*/cache/
 variants/KnownWorld_901/
 ghostRatingData.*
 gr.php
-adminInfo.php
\ No newline at end of file
+adminInfo.php
+vendor/
diff --git a/README.txt b/README.txt
index 287ce67b7..a36b63f97 100755
--- a/README.txt
+++ b/README.txt
@@ -55,6 +55,14 @@ Edit config.sample.php to work with your setup, being very careful to read the w
 about security issues. The salts/secrets, errorlog/orderlog directories, can all
 leave your server wide open if you don't set them right. Rename to config.php when ready.
 
+=> Composer
+
+Install Composer via https://getcomposer.org/. Then run:
+
+    composer install
+
+This will install all external dependencies that webDiplomacy uses.
+
 => Log-on
 Once you've set config.php up you can use the random gameMasterSecret you entered
 to authenticate as the admin. First create a user via the registration page, then 
diff --git a/composer.json b/composer.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d00e6d31b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/composer.json
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+{
+  "name": "kestasjk/web-diplomacy",
+  "description": "webDiplomacy",
+  "keywords": ["diplomacy"],
+  "type": "project",
+  "repositories": [],
+  "require": {
+    "php": "^7.0"
+  },
+  "require-dev": {},
+  "config": {
+    "preferred-install": "dist",
+    "sort-packages": true,
+    "optimize-autoloader": true
+  },
+  "minimum-stability": "dev",
+  "prefer-stable": true
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/composer.lock b/composer.lock
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7e614a206
--- /dev/null
+++ b/composer.lock
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+{
+    "_readme": [
+        "This file locks the dependencies of your project to a known state",
+        "Read more about it at https://getcomposer.org/doc/01-basic-usage.md#installing-dependencies",
+        "This file is @generated automatically"
+    ],
+    "content-hash": "8bb0a2358b29066c199dfaca0f0e7c6a",
+    "packages": [],
+    "packages-dev": [],
+    "aliases": [],
+    "minimum-stability": "dev",
+    "stability-flags": [],
+    "prefer-stable": true,
+    "prefer-lowest": false,
+    "platform": {
+        "php": "^7.0"
+    },
+    "platform-dev": []
+}
diff --git a/header.php b/header.php
index 4898207f3..e41cef086 100755
--- a/header.php
+++ b/header.php
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ function setExpires($expires) {
 if( !defined('IN_CODE') )
 	define('IN_CODE', 1); // A flag to tell scripts they aren't being executed by themselves
 
+require_once 'vendor/autoload.php';
 require_once('config.php');
 
 require_once('global/definitions.php');