Setup
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Install MATLAB (MathWorks) R2021a or later and add it to the system PATH.
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The server supports any AI application that uses Model Context Protocol. To set up the MATLAB MCP Server for Claude Desktop, skip to the instructions for Claude Desktop. To set up the server for other applications, follow these instructions:
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For Windows or Linux, Download the Latest Release. (Alternatively, you can build from source: install Go and build the binary using go install github.com/matlab/matlab-mcp-server/cmd/matlab-mcp-server@latest).
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For macOS, first download the latest release by running the following command in your terminal:
- For Apple silicon processors, run:
curl -L -o ~/Downloads/matlab-mcp-server https://github.com/matlab/matlab-mcp-server/releases/latest/download/matlab-mcp-server-macos-arm64
- For Intel processors, run:
curl -L -o ~/Downloads/matlab-mcp-server https://github.com/matlab/matlab-mcp-server/releases/latest/download/matlab-mcp-server-macos-x64
Then grant executable permissions to the downloaded binary so you can run the MATLAB MCP Server:
chmod +x ~/Downloads/matlab-mcp-server
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Add the MATLAB MCP Server to your AI application. You can find instructions for adding MCP servers in the documentation of your AI application. For example instructions on using Claude Code®, Claude Desktop®, and GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio® Code, see below. Note that you can customize the server by specifying optional Arguments.
Claude Code
In your terminal, run the following, remembering to insert the full path to the server binary you acquired in the setup:
claude mcp add --transport stdio matlab -- /fullpath/to/matlab-mcp-server-binary
You can customize the server by specifying optional Arguments. Note the -- separator between Claude Code's options and the server arguments:
claude mcp add --transport stdio matlab -- /fullpath/to/matlab-mcp-server-binary --initial-working-folder=/home/username/myproject
For details on adding MCP servers in Claude Code, see Add a local stdio server (Claude Code). To remove the server later, run:
claude mcp remove matlab
Claude Desktop
You install the MATLAB MCP Server in Claude Desktop using the MATLAB MCP Server bundle.
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Install the Filesystem extension in Claude Desktop to allow Claude to read and write files on your system. In Claude Desktop, click Settings > Extensions > Browse extensions. Search for the Filesystem extension developed by Anthropic and click Install. Specify the folders you want to allow the MCP server to access, then toggle the Disabled button to Enable the Filesystem extension.
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Download the MATLAB MCP Server bundle matlab-mcp-server.mcpb from the Latest Release page.
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To install the MATLAB MCP Server bundle as a desktop extension, double click the downloaded matlab-mcp-server.mcpb file and click Install in Claude Desktop. (Alternatively, navigate in Claude to File menu > Settings > Extensions > Advanced Settings > Install Extension and select the matlab-mcp-server.mcpb file. Click Install).
To customize the behaviour of the MATLAB MCP Server, navigate to Settings > Extensions > Configure, where you can modify the server's Arguments.
GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code
In your VS Code workspace, create a file named .vscode/mcp.json. Insert the following JSON, remembering to specify the full path to the server binary you acquired in the setup, as well as any Arguments. Then save the file. (Note that on Windows, your paths require extra slashes as escape characters).
{
"servers": {
"matlab": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "C:\\fullpath\\to\\matlab-mcp-server-windows-x64.exe",
"args": []
}
}
}
For more information about using MCP servers in VS Code, see Add and Manage MCP servers in VS Code (VS Code).
Codex
In your terminal, run the following, remembering to insert the full path to the server binary you acquired in the setup:
codex mcp add matlab -- /fullpath/to/matlab-mcp-server-binary
You can customize the server by specifying optional Arguments. For example:
codex mcp add matlab -- /fullpath/to/matlab-mcp-server-binary --initial-working-folder=/home/username/myproject
[!NOTE]
Windows users: Codex does not forward the WINDIR environment variable, which you need to run MATLAB and Simulink (see #32).
To add the variable, open your Codex config file at C:\Users\<username>\.codex\config.toml, and add env_vars = ["WINDIR"] to the [mcp_servers.matlab] section:
[mcp_servers.matlab]
command = 'C:\fullpath\to\matlab-mcp-server-windows-x64.exe'
args = []
env_vars = ["WINDIR"]