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MATLAB MCP Tool

by neuromechanist
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MATLAB MCP Tool

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides tools for developing and running MATLAB files. This tool integrates with Cline and other MCP-compatible clients to provide interactive MATLAB development capabilities.

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.10+

  • MATLAB with Python Engine installed

  • uv package manager (required)

Features

  1. Execute MATLAB Scripts

    • Run complete MATLAB scripts

    • Execute individual script sections

    • Maintain workspace context between executions

    • Capture and display plots

  2. Section-based Execution

    • Execute specific sections of MATLAB files

    • Support for cell mode (%% delimited sections)

    • Maintain workspace context between sections

Installation

Quick Start (Recommended)

One-command installation with auto-detection:

./install-matlab-mcp.sh

That's it! The installer will:

  • ✅ Auto-detect MATLAB installations (including external volumes like /Volumes/S1/)

  • ✅ Auto-install UV package manager if needed

  • ✅ Create optimized virtual environment with MATLAB-compatible Python version

  • ✅ Install all dependencies including MATLAB Python engine

  • ✅ Generate MCP configuration ready for Cursor/Claude Code

  • ✅ Verify installation works correctly

  • ✅ Optionally configure Cursor automatically

Reduces installation time from 15+ minutes to ~2 minutes!

Advanced Installation

If you need custom configuration:

  1. Clone this repository:

git clone [repository-url] cd matlab-mcp-tools

  1. Set custom MATLAB path (optional - installer auto-detects):

# Only needed if MATLAB is in unusual location export MATLAB_PATH=/path/to/your/matlab/installation

  1. Run installer:

./install-matlab-mcp.sh

Legacy Installation (Manual)

  1. Install uv package manager:

# Install uv using Homebrew brew install uv # OR install using pip pip install uv

  1. Set MATLAB path environment variable:

# For macOS (auto-detection searches common locations) export MATLAB_PATH=/Applications/MATLAB_R2024b.app # For Windows (use Git Bash terminal) export MATLAB_PATH="C:/Program Files/MATLAB/R2024b"

  1. Run legacy setup script:

./scripts/setup-matlab-mcp.sh

  1. Configure Cursor manually:

cp mcp-pip.json ~/.cursor/mcp.json

Testing Installation

Test your installation:

./scripts/test-matlab-mcp.sh

Installation complete! The MATLAB MCP server is now ready to use with Cursor/Claude Code.

Usage

  1. Start the MCP server:

matlab-mcp-server

This is equivalent to running:

python -m matlab_mcp.server

You should see a startup message listing the available tools and confirming the server is running:

MATLAB MCP Server is running... Available tools: - execute_script: Execute MATLAB code or script file - execute_script_section: Execute specific sections of a MATLAB script - get_script_sections: Get information about script sections - create_matlab_script: Create a new MATLAB script - get_workspace: Get current MATLAB workspace variables Use the tools with Cline or other MCP-compatible clients.

  1. Use the provided MCP configuration (see Installation) file to configure Cline/Cursor:

{ "mcpServers": { "matlab": { "command": "matlab-mcp-server", "args": [], "env": { "MATLAB_PATH": "${MATLAB_PATH}", "PATH": "${MATLAB_PATH}/bin:${PATH}" }, "disabled": false, "autoApprove": [ "list_tools", "get_script_sections" ] } } }

Hint: You can find the MATLAB engine installation path by running python -c "import matlab; print(matlab.__file__)".

  1. Available Tools:

  • execute_matlab_script

    { "script": "x = 1:10;\nplot(x, x.^2);", "isFile": false }

  • execute_matlab_section

    { "filePath": "analysis.m", "sectionStart": 1, "sectionEnd": 10 }

Examples

1. Simple Script Execution with Plot

This example demonstrates running a complete MATLAB script that generates a plot:

% test_plot.m x = linspace(0, 2*pi, 100); y = sin(x); % Create a figure with some styling figure; plot(x, y, 'LineWidth', 2); title('Sine Wave'); xlabel('x'); ylabel('sin(x)'); grid on; % Add some annotations text(pi, 0, '\leftarrow \pi', 'FontSize', 12);

To execute this script using the MCP tool:

{ "script": "test_plot.m", "isFile": true }

The tool will execute the script and capture the generated plot, saving it to the output directory.

2. Section-Based Execution

This example shows how to execute specific sections of a MATLAB script:

%% Section 1: Data Generation % Generate sample data x = linspace(0, 10, 100); y = sin(x); fprintf('Generated %d data points\n', length(x)); %% Section 2: Basic Statistics % Calculate basic statistics mean_y = mean(y); std_y = std(y); max_y = max(y); min_y = min(y); fprintf('Statistics:\n'); fprintf('Mean: %.4f\n', mean_y); fprintf('Std Dev: %.4f\n', std_y); fprintf('Max: %.4f\n', max_y); fprintf('Min: %.4f\n', min_y); %% Section 3: Plotting % Create visualization figure('Position', [100, 100, 800, 400]); subplot(1, 2, 1); plot(x, y, 'b-', 'LineWidth', 2); title('Signal'); xlabel('x'); ylabel('y'); grid on; subplot(1, 2, 2); histogram(y, 20); title('Distribution'); xlabel('Value'); ylabel('Count'); grid on; sgtitle('Signal Analysis');

To execute specific sections:

{ "filePath": "section_test.m", "sectionStart": 1, "sectionEnd": 2 }

This will run sections 1 and 2, generating the data and calculating statistics. The output will include:

Generated 100 data points Statistics: Mean: 0.0000 Std Dev: 0.7071 Max: 1.0000 Min: -1.0000

Output Directory

The tool creates matlab_output and test_output directories to store:

  • Plot images generated during script execution

  • Other temporary files

Error Handling

  • Script execution errors are captured and returned with detailed error messages

  • Workspace state is preserved even after errors

Installation Troubleshooting

The new install-matlab-mcp.sh installer handles most common issues automatically. If you encounter problems:

Common Issues and Solutions

1. MATLAB not found:

  • The installer auto-detects MATLAB in common locations

  • If you have MATLAB in unusual location: export MATLAB_PATH=/your/matlab/path

  • Supported locations include external volumes (e.g., /Volumes/S1/Applications/)

2. UV package manager issues:

  • The installer automatically installs UV if needed

  • For manual installation: curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

3. Python version compatibility:

  • Installer automatically selects MATLAB-compatible Python version

  • MATLAB R2024b: Python 3.11, R2024a: Python 3.10, R2023x: Python 3.9

4. Permission errors:

  • Run installer with appropriate permissions

  • On Windows: use Git Bash with Admin privileges

5. Configuration issues:

  • Use the auto-generated mcp-pip.json configuration

  • Installer offers automatic Cursor configuration

Legacy Issues (if using manual installation)

  1. Make sure uv is installed before running legacy scripts

  2. For ENONET errors, ensure Python executable consistency:

{ "command": "bash", "args": ["-c", "source ~/.zshrc && /path/to/matlab-mcp-install/.venv/bin/matlab-mcp-server"] }

  1. MATLAB Python Engine compatibility: See MATLAB Engine docs

Still Having Issues?

  1. Check installer output for specific error messages

  2. Verify MATLAB license is valid and active

  3. Test manually: .venv/bin/matlab-mcp-server --help

  4. Open an issue with installer output if problem persists

Contributing

  1. Fork the repository

  2. Create a feature branch

  3. Submit a pull request

License

This project is licensed under the BSD-3-Clause License. See the LICENSE file for details.

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