MATLAB icon not showing in Ubuntu while running!!

I have installed MATLAB 2022b on Ubuntu 24.04.01. I could install MATLAB, and the launcher using sudo apt-get install matlab-support, Shortcut works fine and shortcut has MATLAB icon. The MATLAB also works fine and fast.

However, I cannot see MATLAB icon on the dock (taskbar), while it is runnig, instead I can see a gear icon (like settings icon). This is very confusing while running multiple applications, there is also a chance of wrongly closing the application.

Thanks in advance.

[Sreejith Thazhathe Veetil]

The issue occurs because the default desktop shortcut created during installation contains an incorrect entry:

StartupWMClass=MATLAB R2025a

This happens both when installing via the MATLAB installer and when using:

sudo apt-get install matlab-support

As a result, the shortcut fails to work properly. I found the solution as follows:Fix Steps

Step 1: Create a desktop shortcut using:

sudo apt-get install matlab-support

Step 2: Edit the shortcut file and update its content: The desktop shortcut can be found out by searchig for matlab.desktop. Then edit the file. In my system, the desktop file was in the folder /usr/share/applications/

[Desktop Entry]

Version=1.0

Type=Application

Terminal=false

Exec=matlab -desktop

Name=MATLAB

Icon=matlab

Categories=Development;Math;Science

Comment=Scientific computing environment

Comment[zh_CN]=科学计算环境

StartupNotify=true

StartupWMClass=MATLAB R2025a Update 1

👉 The original shortcut had the wrong value in the last line.

👉 Replace it with the correct StartupWMClass as shown above.

👉 To find the actual wmclass, you can run Matlab software and then press Alt+F2, and then lg, you can see wmclass in Windows tab appearing there.

Step 3: Refresh desktop entries:

sudo update-desktop-database

Step 4: Log out and log back in (or restart GNOME Shell with Alt+F2, then type r).

[Sreejith Thazhathe Veetil]

To find the actual wmclass, you can run the program and then press Alt+F2, and then lg, you can see wmclass in Windows tab appearing then

Answer 1

[Juergen]

You need to edit your matlab.desktop file and make sure the following entry is set:

StartupWMClass=MATLAB R2025a

The matlab.desktop file is in

/home/username/.local/share/applications

Here's the full content of this file on my Ubuntu 24.04 system:

#!/usr/bin/env xdg-open

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Matlab
Comment=Matlab
Comment[de]=Matlab
Exec=matlab -desktop
Icon=path-to-your-icons/matlab_icon.png
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=Office;
MimeType=text/x-bibtex;
Keywords=Matlab;
StartupWMClass=MATLAB R2025a

I found the hint to why this works here: https://itsfoss.com/ubuntu-app-icon-missing/

Good luck.

[Xiangrui Li]

I figured this out following the link. It is a little tricky.

You need to go to alt-F2, run lg, to find the EXACT wmClass for Matlab instances, and input that as the value for "StartupWMClass". For my case, the value is "MATLAB R2024b - academic use". Once the .desktop is saved, the extra gear icon is combined into the launch icon with dots underneath.

Thanks @Juergen

[Sreejith Thazhathe Veetil]

StartupWMClass=MATLAB R2025a Update 1

Answer 2

[Alan]

Hi Sreejith,

From what I understand, you have installed MATLAB on Ubuntu using “sudo apt-get install matlab-support” and the icon is not displaying correctly on the dock.

The first step I would recommend is to ensure that necessary system updates are installed for Ubuntu.

The next step is to reinstall MATLAB using an installer as described in the following documentation: https://www.mathworks.com/help/releases/R2022b/install/ug/install-products-with-internet-connection.html

You can download the installer form here: https://www.mathworks.com/downloads/

Make sure that you select the correct release and the “Download for Linux” option.

Here is another post worth checking out, about installing MATLAB on Ubuntu: https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/518584-how-do-i-install-on-ubuntu

If this problem persists after all these steps, you can contact MathWorks technical support: https://www.mathworks.com/support/contact_us.html

Regards,

Alan

[Sreejith Thazhathe Veetil]

I am using Ubuntu 24.04 and I have downloaded MATLAB 2022b as per your suggestion but the following error is shown while running sudo ./install

terminate called after throwing an instance of 'std::runtime_error'

what(): Failed to launch web window with error: Unable to launch the MATLABWindow application. The exit code was: 127

Aborted

[Sreejith Thazhathe Veetil]

For your note, I have installed matlab using the above mentioned process only. I have used "sudo apt-get install matlab-support”" for installing the launcher.

[Alan]

Check out the following post: https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/513449-what-unable-to-launch-the-matlabwindow-application-during-installation

It is regarding a similar error.

[Sreejith Thazhathe Veetil]

How much is the average RAM usage for MATLAB 2024b? As per the release note, it requires minimum 8 GB and recommended 16 GB.

[Alan]

On average it takes about 1.5 to 2 GB for me. It goes up to 5-6 GB on heavy usage.