Installing MATLAB on Linux
MATLAB is a proprietary multi-paradigm programming language and numeric computing environment developed by MathWorks. MATLAB allows matrix manipulations, plotting of functions and data, implementation of algorithms, creation of user interfaces, and interfacing with programs written in other languages.
In this article, we will discuss how to install MATLAB in Linux. For installing MATLAB we will first register on Mathswork, and then we will download the software. Let’s discuss this in detail.
How to log in or register on Mathworks: Go to https://in.mathworks.com/login to log in or click create one to register your account using your school or work email address.
Downloading the software
Before downloading you must activate your license and then proceed with the following steps. Go to your account by clicking this link https://in.mathworks.com/mwaccount/. You will see a download option in your active licenses, click on it and select Linux to download the zip file required for installation.
Note: You must also install 7z to extract the zip file.
Installing MATLAB
- By default, the zip file will be downloaded to the Downloads folder.
- Create a folder and move the downloaded zip file named matlab_R2021a_glnxa64.zip inside it.
- Open a terminal inside the folder and enter the following command to extract the zip file.
- 7z x matlab_R2021a_glnxa64.zip
Now, enter the following command and enter your system password to install MATLAB. sudo ./install
- A window will open up and will ask you to sign in to your Math works account.
- Accept the terms of the license agreement and click NEXT.
- Select the license you have or enter the Activation key if you have any and click NEXT.
- Type your Linux username in the Login Name text field and click NEXT.
- Select a destination folder for installation and click NEXT.
- Select the products you want to install.
- Enable create symbolic links to MATLAB scripts and select Desktop as your destination.
- Confirm the selections and begin the installation. NOTE: Your system should be connected to the internet as the setup will download the necessary packages.
- A Desktop shortcut will be created after installation is complete, open a terminal in desktop and enter ./matlab to start MATLAB Desktop.
Additional steps if required
- If you don’t know your Linux username then enter whoami in terminal to get your username.
- If you want to reactivate/activate your license with different key , then go to bin folder inside installation directory (default installation directory : /usr/local/MATLAB/R2021a/bin/)
- Open a terminal in the above directory and enter ./activate_matlab.sh to start the activation client.
- Click on Activate automatically using the Internet and click NEXT.
- Sign in to your account or provide the license.data file location or create an account and provide the Activation key and click NEXT.
- Select the License and click NEXT to provide the username.
- Provide the Linux username in Login Name to activate it successfully.
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Last Updated : 28 Feb, 2022
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How to install MATLAB in Ubuntu 20.04
MATLAB from Mathworks is a platform-independent software for solving mathematical problems and graphically displaying the results. The software package is best-known for tools for calculating and simulating complex mathematical and technical problems. Here we learn the steps to install MATLAB on Ubuntu Linux and how to create its Desktop shortcut…
In addition to the basic module, a whole range of extensions for MATLAB is available, which is known as Toolbox. This includes Simulink, a graphical user interface block-oriented development platform for the modeling, simulation, and analysis of dynamic, non-linear, and event-driven systems, that can be used to model and simulate systems interactively.
This programming platform is used for a wide range of tasks in industry and at universities, especially in control engineering and technical mechanics. It offers comprehensive functionality for mathematical calculations and visualization as well as a powerful programming language.
The functionality of MATLAB can be used in two ways: one is by using an interactive calculation and simulation environment and the other by calling self-written MATLAB functions that use the numerical methods of MATLAB.
When it comes to numerical procedures, this platform offers almost everything such as solving linear systems of equations, calculating zeros for any functions, numerical integration, and more.
The thing is to be noted, MATLAB is a paid application and available to easily install for Windows 7 or 10, macOS, and Linux. And here we let you know the steps to be used for Linux such as Ubuntu.
How do I install on Ubuntu?
I am a novice Ubuntu user, I know how to use Terminal. I am trying to install MATLAB 2020a on my Ubuntu machine, I have downloaded the Linux Installer which is a zip folder. What do I do from here? Thanks!
1 Comment
Haoran Zhu on 20 Jul 2021
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help me solve the problem.
Answers (3)
Karim Ghezali on 9 May 2020
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How to install MATLAB R2020a on ubuntu
- Download the Matlab installer file
- Unzip the installer file using this command:
unzip -X -K matlab_R2020a_glnxa64.zip -d matlab_2020a_installer
- Open the matalab_2020a_installe r folder and open a terminal
- use your terminal as root using the following command :
- type your password then :
sudo ./install
Now the MATLAB Installer is on, sign in, follow the steps and choose the product that you need
Be sure to run the installer as root that will allow matlab to write in /usr/local/MATLAB/R2020a folder
Using only the sudo command can cause this error message :
$ sudo ./install
No protocol specified
terminate called after throwing an instance of ‘(anonymous namespace)::DisplayError’
what(): No display available.
26 Comments
Sudipto Ghosh on 3 Sep 2020
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Thanks. Really helpful!
Hamza Shaikh on 7 Sep 2020
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Jacob Sandler on 11 Sep 2020
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Running the
sudo ./install
line returns
sudo: ./install: command not found
How can I remedy this?
Stefan Schwarze on 15 Sep 2020
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if «sudo su» is executed before, only «./install» is sufficient
Raul Foronda on 10 Oct 2020
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I runned the commands and received that the instalation was successfully completed, but didn’t find the program on my computer. How can I fix this ?
Carlos Reiakvam on 13 Oct 2020
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sudo apt install matlab-support
This helped me alot after my installation
Karim Ghezali on 13 Oct 2020
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To run Matlab you will not found it on your desktop
Open your terminal :
- Go to this folder using :
cd /usr/local/MATLAB/R2020a/bin
- Then open matlab :
Floriana Vasile on 3 Nov 2020
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if you go on the Ubuntu Software center you will find Matlab. It doesn’t install Matlab, but once installed you will finally have your icon to click (there will be few steps to »configure» it).
If it doesn’t work open the terminal with ctrl + shift + t and then just write matlab. It is very useful, since if matlab doesn’t respond you can also just close the terminal to close it!
Md Shahid Ansari on 27 Jan 2021
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I tried to follow the steps after rooting, sudo ./install shows error » error while loading shared libraries:file too short»
how can I resolve this problem?
Trying to install in ubuntu 16.04 R2020a matlab version.
Shubham Vermani on 1 Mar 2021
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before unzipping the file
Brian Derstine on 17 May 2021
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For whatever reason, this answer did not work.
I ran sudo su for the unzip command to avoid error messages related to the options -X -K but received the No protocol specified error when attempting to run sudo ./install as root.
If instead, I exit out of sudo and run sudo ./install as my user, the install just works. I believe this has something to do with the root user not being able to launch the installer GUI i.e., No display available .
One additional step might be to create the destination installation directory: sudo mkdir /usr/local/MATLAB/R2021a (or whatever version) prior to running the install.
Sunreeta Bhattacharya on 18 May 2021
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You can create a desktop shortcut icon launcher to open matlab by defining the path to launch. If you installed it to the usr folder the path will look like: /usr/local/MATLAB/R2020a/bin/matlab -desktop
Ahmad Bayhaqi on 16 Aug 2021
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I have tried to install matlab R2021a version following this code.
However, I got warning like this :
GLIBC_2.14 is not found.
What should I do then?
Ahmad Abuaish on 22 Sep 2021
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I am installing MATLAB 2021b prerelease. When I am in su, the install program won’t run, i.e., the installation gui won’t launch and the terminal would halt. However, when login as a user, the install program would run and installation gui would appear, but I get the root permission error. I could choose a different directory. But I think I should stick the defualt directory.
So, how can I get the install program to run in su mode? I even tried sudo ./install when I was in user mode.
Kind regards, and I look forward to hearing from any one.
Yantong Wang on 23 Sep 2021
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Same problem with Ahmad. by the way, my OS is ubuntu 20.04.
Satheesh S on 23 Sep 2021
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Same problem with Yantong and Ahmad
Shiro Hirano on 26 Sep 2021
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Same problem with the above three for LinuxMint 20.2, although I was able to install R2020a and R2021a to /usr/local/MATLAB/.
Fabiano Baroni on 27 Sep 2021
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Same problem here. What is the recommended solution? Running it with gksudo could be a good option?
Álvaro F. López de Quadros on 5 Oct 2021
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If installation GUI doesn’t launch, it could very well be that MATLAB is not being able to access the X Server. Run:
xhost +SI:localuser:root
sudo ./install
Karnbir Saini on 5 Oct 2021
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@Álvaro F. López de Quadros the xhost command solved my issue. Thanks!
Nicholas William Chai on 12 Oct 2021
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@Álvaro F. López de Quadros Yes, the xhost solved the issue.
yogesh nijsure on 11 Nov 2021
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@Álvaro F. López de Quadros , xhost command solved my issue.
Kristan Sears on 21 Dec 2021
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Hello, I’m a novice user of both Matlab and Linux, but most of my Matlab experience has been on Windows 7, 10. When I try to install on Kubuntu 20.10, I get this error:
.. $ sudo ./install
/home/
ared libraries: /home/
JOONSOO YOO on 24 May 2022
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@ Álvaro F. López de Quadros Thanks, it solved my issue as well
Sébastien MAILFERT on 4 Jul 2022
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MAMATHA YADAVALLI on 28 Dec 2022
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While installaing matlab in ubunru i am geeting below error.Please help me to install.
William Rolen on 26 Oct 2020
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You dont actually have to install it to root. You can just install to your home directory. I would actually prefer this way, particularly if you work on a cluster.
2 Comments
Mahmod Karndash on 22 Jun 2022
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I have ubuntu18.04 in wsl2 how install matlab r2018a step by step please help
I tried but I do not Succeed
root@DESKTOP-SMROJT0:~/softwares/R2018a# sudo ./install
Preparing installation files .
Installing .
root@DESKTOP-SMROJT0:~/softwares/R2018a# xhost +SI:localuser:root
localuser:root being added to access control list
X Error of failed request: BadValue (integer parameter out of range for operation)
Major opcode of failed request: 109 (X_ChangeHosts)
Value in failed request: 0xe
Serial number of failed request: 7
Current serial number in output stream: 9
root@DESKTOP-SMROJT0:~/softwares/R2018a# sudo ./install
Preparing installation files .
Installing .
root@DESKTOP-SMROJT0:~/softwares/R2018a#
Mahmod Karndash on 22 Jun 2022
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root@DESKTOP-SMROJT0:~/softwares/R2018a# sudo ./install
Preparing installation files .
Installing .
the installer does not launch and MATLAB is not installed.
please help
Samuel Gray on 25 May 2021
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The basic problem is that «Linux Matlab» was initially only compatible with RedHat based Linux and has gained compatibility with Debian-based Ubuntu over time.
https://www.mathworks.com/support/requirements/matlab-system-requirements.html
To install the older RH based Matlab on Ubuntu you have to go into the distribution tree and run an «alternate» installer. Look at the readme files which will show how to do this. Look for the section that has to do with the GUI failing to launch.
The later versions are compatible with Ubuntu and as such an upgraded version should not have this problem. So now you just have to worry about what version of Linux to run as there are definite advantages to each.