"Invalid MEX-file" and "Missing dependent shared libraries", Matlab 2017a, MacOS 10.12

[thelittlekid]

I got the error below after I upgrade Matlab from 2016b to 2017a:
Invalid MEX-file

'.../MATLAB/vlfeat/vlfeat-0.9.20/toolbox/mex/mexmaci64/vl_version.mexmaci64':
Missing dependent shared libraries:
'@loader_path/libvl.dylib' required by
'.../MATLAB/vlfeat/vlfeat-0.9.20/toolbox/mex/mexmaci64/vl_version.mexmaci64'

Plus a bunch of missing symbols like:

Missing symbol '___tolower' required by
'.../MATLAB/vlfeat/vlfeat-0.9.20/toolbox/mex/mexmaci64/vl_version.mexmaci64'

I did not make any change on vlfeat folder, and 'libvl.dylib' is right under the '/toolbox/mex/mexmaci64/' folder.

Is someone able to run vlfeat with Matlab 2017a on MacOS?

[ChengliangTang]

I met the same problem. Actually, I reinstalled the MATLAB and get the above results when I run vlfeat. However, I don't know how to solve it.

[philippesalembier]

I also had the same problem. This can be solved by recompiling the library following the instruction described in http://www.vlfeat.org/compiling-unix.html. I used:
make MEX=/Applications/MATLAB_R2017a.app/bin/mex ARCH=maci64

Hope this helps

[thelittlekid]

Thanks, it works.

[zzzyq]

Hi, I face the same problem. I type "make MEX=/Applications/MATLAB_R2017a.app/bin/mex ARCH=maci64" in terminal but it shows "make: *** No targets specified and no makefile found. Stop." Did I miss any steps?

[thelittlekid]

Did you change your working directory to VLFEATROOT according to http://www.vlfeat.org/compiling-unix.html? There should be a makefile in that directory. It worked for me.

[zzzyq]

Thanks for your quick reply. Yeah, I tried but there is still something wrong. I downgraded my MATLAB to 2016b finally. It became normal.

[craigchamplin]

It worked for me. Did you make sure to compile Matlab support?

[hkjpkg]

I face the same problem. It's really hard to use MATLAB 2017a in iOS 10.12.5.
I try to use "make MEX=/Applications/MATLAB_R2017a.app/bin/mex ARCH=maci64" in terminal,
however it does not work.

Invalid MEX-file '/Users//Documents/MATLAB/VLFEATROOT/toolbox/mex/mexmaci64/vl_version.mexmaci64': Missing dependent
shared libraries:
'@loader_path/libvl.dylib' required by
'/Users//Documents/MATLAB/VLFEATROOT/toolbox/mex/mexmaci64/vl_version.mexmaci64'

[sunwell1994]

@zzzyq same as you. it does not work. I am not sure what happened.

[NCH18]

Sorry to revive an old thread but I am stuck on this. I am using Mac OS 10.13.6 and Matlab 2015a. I followed instructions on this website:
http://www.vlfeat.org/compiling-unix.html
When I try

sudo make CC=BREWROOT/opt/llvm/bin/clang DISABLE_OPENMP=no

I get

/bin/bash: /usr/local/bin/brew/opt/llvm/bin/clang: Not a directory
Detected compiler: clang
MATLAB support disabled
The MALTAB version will be detected in the next phase of Make
CC bin/maci64/libvl.dylib
/bin/bash: /usr/local/bin/brew/opt/llvm/bin/clang: Not a directory
make: *** [bin/maci64/libvl.dylib] Error 126

So I tried to follow instructions here about clang:
https://www.ics.uci.edu/~majumder/VC/211HW3/vlfeat/doc/compiling-unix.html

But when I try

sudo port install apple-gcc42

I get

---> Computing dependencies for apple-gcc42
---> Fetching distfiles for apple-gcc42
Error: apple-gcc42 is not supported on OS X versions newer than El Capitan.
Error: Failed to fetch apple-gcc42: unsupported platform
Error: See /opt/local/var/macports/logs/_opt_local_var_macports_sources_rsync.macports.org_release_tarballs_ports_lang_apple-gcc42/apple-gcc42/main.log for details.
Error: Follow https://guide.macports.org/#project.tickets to report a bug.
Error: Processing of port apple-gcc42 failed

Any advice much appreciated!