MATLAB MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables seamless integration between MATLAB and MCP-compatible applications like Claude Code. Execute MATLAB code, manage workspace variables, create plots, handle data I/O, and more - all through a token-efficient MCP interface.

Features

• Execute MATLAB Code: Run MATLAB commands and scripts with persistent session
• Workspace Management: Get, set, list, and clear workspace variables
• Figure Operations: Save, export, and close MATLAB figures (PNG, SVG, PDF, etc.)
• Data I/O: Import/export data (CSV, JSON, XLSX) and load/save MAT files
• Environment Info: Check MATLAB version and installed toolboxes
• Documentation Access: Get MATLAB help, search functions, and find toolbox locations
• Token-Efficient Design: Multi-operation tools minimize API calls
• JSON Resources: Structured access to workspace, toolboxes, and session info

Quick Start

Prerequisites:

• MATLAB installed on your system
• uv package manager installed (install uv)

Installation

Choose your MCP client below for setup instructions:

Using CLI (Recommended):

# macOS (Apple Silicon)
claude mcp add --transport stdio matlab \
  --env DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=/Applications/MATLAB_R2025b.app/bin/maca64 \
  -- uvx matlab-mcp-server

# macOS (Intel)
claude mcp add --transport stdio matlab \
  --env DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=/Applications/MATLAB_R2025b.app/bin/maci64 \
  -- uvx matlab-mcp-server

# Linux
claude mcp add --transport stdio matlab \
  --env LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/MATLAB/R2024b/bin/glnxa64 \
  -- uvx matlab-mcp-server

Scope options:

• Default (local): Private to you, only this project
• --scope project: Share with team (stores in .mcp.json, can be committed to git)
• --scope user: Available across all your projects

Manual configuration (.mcp.json in project root):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "matlab": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["matlab-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH": "/Applications/MATLAB_R2025b.app/bin/maca64"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace with your MATLAB path. Use LD_LIBRARY_PATH for Linux.

Verify:

claude mcp list
claude mcp info matlab

Configuration File Location:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "matlab": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["matlab-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH": "/Applications/MATLAB_R2025b.app/bin/maca64"
      }
    }
  }
}

Platform-specific environment variables:

• macOS (Apple Silicon): "DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH": "/Applications/MATLAB_R2025b.app/bin/maca64"
• macOS (Intel): "DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH": "/Applications/MATLAB_R2025b.app/bin/maci64"
• Linux: "LD_LIBRARY_PATH": "/usr/local/MATLAB/R2024b/bin/glnxa64"
• Windows: Usually not needed (installer handles library paths)

Steps:

1. Create or edit the config file at the location above
2. Add your MCP server configuration with correct MATLAB path
3. Restart Claude Desktop completely (quit and reopen)
4. Look for the MCP server icon (🔨) in Claude Desktop interface

UI Configuration:

Go to Cursor Settings → MCP → Add new MCP Server:

• Name: matlab
• Command: uvx matlab-mcp-server
• Click Edit to add environment variables

Configuration File Location:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Cursor/mcp_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Cursor\mcp_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Cursor/mcp_config.json

Configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "matlab": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["matlab-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH": "/Applications/MATLAB_R2025b.app/bin/maca64"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace with your MATLAB path (see Claude Desktop section for platform-specific paths).

Steps:

1. Create mcp_config.json if it doesn't exist
2. Add MCP server configuration
3. Restart Cursor completely

VS Code Settings (User or Workspace):

{
  "github.copilot.chat.mcp.servers": {
    "matlab": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["matlab-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH": "/Applications/MATLAB_R2025b.app/bin/maca64"
      }
    }
  }
}

CLI Installation:

# macOS (Apple Silicon)
code --add-mcp '{"name":"matlab","command":"uvx","args":["matlab-mcp-server"],"env":{"DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH":"/Applications/MATLAB_R2025b.app/bin/maca64"}}'

# Linux
code --add-mcp '{"name":"matlab","command":"uvx","args":["matlab-mcp-server"],"env":{"LD_LIBRARY_PATH":"/usr/local/MATLAB/R2024b/bin/glnxa64"}}'

Replace with your MATLAB path (see Claude Desktop section for platform-specific paths).

Resources:

• Use MCP servers in VS Code

CLI:

codex mcp add matlab uvx "matlab-mcp-server"

Then manually edit ~/.codex/config.toml to add environment variables:

Edit ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.matlab]
command = "uvx"
args = ["matlab-mcp-server"]

[mcp_servers.matlab.env]
DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH = "/Applications/MATLAB_R2025b.app/bin/maca64"

Platform-specific environment variables:

• macOS (Apple Silicon): DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH = "/Applications/MATLAB_R2025b.app/bin/maca64"
• macOS (Intel): DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH = "/Applications/MATLAB_R2025b.app/bin/maci64"
• Linux: LD_LIBRARY_PATH = "/usr/local/MATLAB/R2024b/bin/glnxa64"

Resources:

• Codex MCP Documentation

For 11 additional clients (Windsurf, Continue, Amp, Cline, Gemini CLI, Goose, Kiro, LM Studio, opencode, Qodo Gen, Warp), see Complete Setup Guide →

Finding Your MATLAB Library Path

If you don't know your MATLAB library path, use the configuration helper:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/subspace-lab/matlab-mcp-server/main/install-matlab-mcp.sh | bash

The script will:

• Auto-detect your MATLAB installation
• Display the config with the correct paths
• You copy and paste it into your MCP client's config file

That's it! When your MCP client starts, uvx will automatically:

• Download matlab-mcp-server from PyPI
• Install matlabengine and all dependencies
• Start the MATLAB MCP server

Manual Installation

If you prefer to install manually or the automated installer doesn't work:

1. Install matlabengine

# Navigate to your MATLAB Python engine directory
cd /Applications/MATLAB_R20XXx.app/extern/engines/python  # macOS
# OR
cd /usr/local/MATLAB/R20XXx/extern/engines/python  # Linux

# Install using uv
uv pip install .

Replace R20XXx with your MATLAB version (e.g., R2024a, R2024b, R2025a).

2. Install matlab-mcp-server

uv pip install matlab-mcp-server

3. Configure MCP server

Follow the configuration instructions for your MCP client in the sections above. Use matlab-mcp as the command instead of uvx matlab-mcp-server.

Example for Claude Code (.mcp.json in project root):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "matlab": {
      "command": "matlab-mcp",
      "env": {
        "DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH": "/Applications/MATLAB_R2025b.app/bin/maca64"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace with your MATLAB path:

• macOS (Apple Silicon): DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH → /Applications/MATLAB_R20XXx.app/bin/maca64
• macOS (Intel): DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH → /Applications/MATLAB_R20XXx.app/bin/maci64
• Linux: LD_LIBRARY_PATH → /usr/local/MATLAB/R20XXx/bin/glnxa64
• Windows: Usually not needed

For other MCP clients, see configuration sections above or MCP_CLIENT_SETUP.md

Available Tools

The server provides 8 MCP tools for interacting with MATLAB:

• execute_matlab - Execute MATLAB code and get results
• workspace - Manage workspace variables (get, set, list, clear)
• figure - Save, export, and manage MATLAB figures (PNG, SVG, PDF, etc.)
• data_io - Import/export data in various formats (CSV, JSON, XLSX, MAT files)
• env - Get MATLAB version and check installed toolboxes
• get_help - Access MATLAB documentation and search functions
• route_intent - Suggest appropriate tool mode (meta-tool)
• select_mode - Enable optional tool groups (meta-tool)

For detailed documentation on each tool, see TOOLS.md or MATLAB_MCP_GUIDE.md.

Troubleshooting

MATLAB Engine Not Found

If you get an error about MATLAB engine not being found:

1. Ensure MATLAB is properly installed
2. Verify MATLAB Engine API for Python is installed
3. Check Python version matches MATLAB compatibility
4. Verify library path is correctly set in config

Library Path Issues

Default MATLAB locations:

• macOS: /Applications/MATLAB_R20XXx.app
• Linux: /usr/local/MATLAB/R20XXx
• Windows: C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R20XXx

If MATLAB is in a non-standard location, update the library path in your config.

Documentation

• CONTRIBUTING.md - Development setup and guidelines
• PLANNING.md - Roadmap and architecture
• MATLAB_MCP_GUIDE.md - Detailed usage guide
• TOOLS.md - Tool catalog

License

MIT License

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for development setup and guidelines.

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