Matlab

This guide explains how to install and run MathWorks Matlab on Gentoo.

Downloading Matlab Installer

Before the MATLAB program can be installed, a full copy of the program must be acquired; license holders can access the program via the MathWorks website or on a DVD. A file installation key is also needed.

Mounting the installation media

ISO file

Optical disk

Mounting the installation media

Installing

Troubleshooting

Blank window while using xmonad/awesome/dwm

Set the WM name to "LG3D"

e.g. xmonad:

main =
    xmonad $ defaultConfig {
      startupHook = setWMName "LG3D"
    }

Install gui not show up

This may happen on R2023b. Try

If matlab's gui not show up as well, you can also try to use

'TS_ABNORM​AL_TERMINA​TION' when running installer

The above solution also works for this error at R2024b version.

However an alternative solution is running the installer as root: Explanation

Warning `GLIBCXX_3.4.29' not found

This warning vanishes after linking the current library. For example:

Installer not launching on openrc systems

Matlab versions from 2021a include a new installer that assumes systemd is present. The resulting error is:

 what():  Failed to launch web window with error: Unable to launch the MATLABWindow application. The exit code was: 127

This can be caused by more than one assumed library being missing, but in particular if you are running openrc as your init system it will fail because of a missing libsystemd.so.0. This can be verified by launching the MATLABWindow application directly:

If this is indeed the library causing the fault it can be solved by symlinking /lib64/libelogind.so.0 to the install's glnxa64 path as libsystemd.so.0, as elogind provides all the methods needed by the install:

Failed to load module "canberra-gtk-module"

This warning vanishes after linking the libcanberra module. For example:

Failed to load module "appmenu-gtk-module"

This warning vanishes after linking the libappmenu-gtk module. For example:

Failed to begin installer "libexpat.so.1: file too short"

ERROR 5201 when trying to run matlab

More info Current workaround that works for R2024b and R2024a confirmed is: The second line may be not needed depending on your install. (replace user with your user)

Desktop entry

Optionally create a desktop entry. The MIME type of MATLAB files is text/x-matlab.

MATLAB can be started with several useful flags:

MATLAB startup options

• -h, -help — Show all startup arguments and exit.
• -n — Display final environment variables and diagnostic startup information. MATLAB does not run.
• -e — Display all environment variables and their values. MATLAB does not run.
• v=variant — Start MATLAB from bin/glnxa64/variant instead of the default bin/glnxa64.
• -c licensefile — Use the specified license file or server (e.g., port@host). Ignores LM_LICENSE_FILE and MLM_LICENSE_FILE.
• -display Xdisplay — Send X commands to a specific X display (Linux only).
• -nodisplay — Disable all X display output. No desktop is started, but Java is still initialized unless -nojvm is also used.
• -noFigureWindows — Prevent creation of figure windows (useful for headless execution).
• -nosplash — Suppress the MATLAB splash screen.
• -softwareopengl — Force software OpenGL (common workaround for GPU/driver issues).
• -nosoftwareopengl — Disables automatic fallback to software OpenGL (Linux only).
• -debug — Provide additional debugging information, especially for X-related issues (Linux only).
• -desktop — Allow MATLAB desktop to start without a controlling terminal (required for launching from a desktop entry).
• -nodesktop — Do not start the desktop; run in terminal mode (Java still loads).
• -singleCompThread — Restrict MATLAB to a single computational thread.
• -nojvm — Completely disable the Java Virtual Machine. No desktop and reduced functionality.
• -jdb [port] — Enable remote Java debugging (default port: 4444).
• -batch MATLAB_command — Run MATLAB command(s) non-interactively with no desktop; exit with command status. Cannot be combined with -r.
• -r MATLAB_command — Run MATLAB command at startup. Cannot be combined with -batch.
• -sd folder — Set the startup folder. Cannot be combined with -useStartupFolderPref.
• -useStartupFolderPref — Use the “Initial working folder” preference as the startup folder. Cannot be combined with -sd.
• -logfile file — Mirror all command-window output (including crash reports) to a file.
• -Ddebugger [options] — Start MATLAB under a debugger.
• -nouserjavapath — Ignore javaclasspath.txt and javalibrarypath.txt overrides.

In order for icons to appear correctly StartupWMClass needs to be set in the desktop entry. To find it out start MATLAB, run:

and select the MATLAB window.

Example desktop entry

Place the file at:

/usr/share/applications/matlab.desktop

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
MimeType=text/x-matlab
Terminal=false
Exec=/usr/local/MATLAB/R20xyz/bin/matlab -desktop -useStartupFolderPref -softwareopengl
Name=MATLAB
Icon=matlab
Categories=Development;Math;Science;
Comment=Scientific computing environment
StartupNotify=true
StartupWMClass=matlab

See also

• GNU Octave — a free and open-source computing environment and high-level interactive programming language, that is primarily intended for numerical computations.

External resources