Why doesn't my matlab open after ubuntu update?

I updated ubuntu to 22.04 and matlab no longer launches. I tried uninstalling and installing again several times. Installation goes well, but when I call matlab from the terminal it never opens. When I created a desktop shortcut and tried to open matlab, it gives me an error saying that "This .desktop file has errors or points to a program without permissions. It can not be executed" even though the path is exactly where matlab is installed. Do you have any idea if new update of ubuntu has changed any permissions? Do you know how to solve the problem?

Answer 1

[Aniket]

Hi @Catarina Tristão Pereira,

I understand that you are unable to launch MATLAB on Ubuntu 22.04 after an update, possibly due to MATLAB installation issues.

Please follow the below mentioned steps to resolve these issues:

1. Check Executable Path and Permissions:

a. Verify that MATLAB is correctly linked in the system's PATH by running the following command in terminal:

echo $PATH 
whereis matlab 

b. If MATLAB is not in the PATH, create a symbolic link to the MATLAB executable: by entering this command in the terminal

sudo ln -s /path/to/matlab/bin/matlab /usr/local/bin/matlab 

c. Ensure necessary permissions to execute MATLAB by changing ownership of the MATLAB directory in terminal:

sudo chown -R username /path/to/matlab 

2. Install the “matlab-support" package using below command in terminal:

sudo apt-get install matlab-support 

You may need to manually terminate the MATLAB command if it hangs during installation.

3. Desktop Shortcut: If the desktop shortcut is problematic, manually create a `.desktop` file by following below steps:

a. Navigate to “/usr/share/applications”

b. Find a simple `.desktop` file to use as a template

c. Copy and edit the new file to point to the MATLAB installation path.

d. Ensure the file has executable permissions.

4. Remove the MATLAB preference directory found in the home directory under `.matlab`.

These steps should help in troubleshooting and resolving the issue with MATLAB not launching.

For more detailed guidance, follow the debugging steps given in this MATLAB Central question:

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/1437679-matlab-won-t-start-on-ubuntu-20-04.

If the issue persists, please contact MathWorks Technical Support using this link https://www.mathworks.com/support/contact_us.html.

Hope this helps!