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MATLAB MCP Server Wiki

Welcome to the MATLAB MCP Server wiki! This server connects any AI agent to a shared MATLAB installation via the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Quick Navigation

• Installation — Prerequisites, MATLAB Engine API, server setup
• Configuration — Full YAML config reference with all options
• MCP Tools Reference — All built-in tools with parameters and examples
• Custom Tools — Expose your own .m functions as AI-callable tools
• Examples — Ready-to-run MATLAB examples for common tasks
• Architecture — System design, engine pool, async jobs, session model
• Async Jobs — Long-running jobs, progress reporting, job lifecycle
• Security — Function blocklist, workspace isolation, upload limits
• Plot Conversion — MATLAB figures to interactive Plotly charts
• Troubleshooting — Common issues and solutions
• FAQ — Frequently asked questions

What is this?

A Python MCP server that gives AI agents (Claude, Cursor, Copilot, custom agents) the ability to:

• Execute MATLAB code — sync for fast commands, async for long-running jobs
• Discover toolboxes — browse installed toolboxes, functions, and help text
• Check code quality — run checkcode/mlint before execution
• Get interactive plots — figures auto-converted to interactive Plotly JSON
• Use custom libraries — expose your .m/.mex functions as first-class MCP tools
• Manage async jobs — run hours-long simulations with progress reporting
• Share one MATLAB server — elastic engine pool scales 2-10+ engines per demand

Key Features

Feature	Description
Execute MATLAB code	Sync for fast commands, auto-async for long jobs (>30s)
Elastic engine pool	Scales 2-10+ engines based on demand
Toolbox discovery	Browse installed toolboxes, functions, help text
Code checker	Run checkcode/mlint before execution
Interactive plots	Figures auto-converted to Plotly JSON with full style fidelity
Multi-user (SSE)	Session isolation with per-user workspaces
Custom tools	Expose your .m functions as MCP tools via YAML
Progress reporting	Long jobs report percentage back to the agent
File management	Upload data, read .mat/.csv/.json/.xlsx files, view images
Monitoring	Pool status, server metrics, health checks, error logs
Cross-platform	Windows + macOS, MATLAB 2020b+

Supported Platforms

Platform	MATLAB Version	Transport
macOS	2020b+	stdio, SSE
Windows	2020b+	stdio, SSE
Docker	2020b+	stdio, SSE

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+
• MATLAB 2020b+ with the MATLAB Engine API for Python

Install

pip install matlab-mcp-python

Run

# Single user (stdio)
matlab-mcp

# Multi-user (SSE)
matlab-mcp --transport sse

Connect to Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "matlab": {
      "command": "matlab-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Getting Help

• GitHub Issues
• README
• PyPI Package