Location of X11 library files

When I recently updated to MacOS 10.15.5, I was no longer able to launch Matlab. Now when I try launching Matlab from Terminal I get this error:

dyld: Library not loaded: /usr/X11/lib/libXext.6.dylib

Referenced from: /applications/MATLAB_R2010a.app/bin/maci64/MATLAB.app/Contents/MacOS/libmwhg.dylib

Reason: image not found

Abort trap: 6

So it looks as thought the reason Matlab won't open is that it can't find the file "libXext.6.dylib". Of course, I do have the file "libXext.6.dylib" on my machine, but it is not in the folder /usr/X11/lib/, and indeed that folder is write-protected in the newest macOS.

Is there any way to teach Matlab to look for this file in the proper location?

Answer 1

[TARUN]

Hi @Chris Weber,

The issue you're facing after updating to macOS 10.15.5 is due to MATLAB R2010a looking for an old X11 library (libXext.6.dylib) in /usr/X11/lib, which is no longer a valid path in newer macOS versions.

Feel free to go through the following workaround steps to resolve the issue:

1. Install XQuartz, which provides the missing X11 libraries: https://www.xquartz.org/
2. Find the actual location of libXext.6.dylib using Terminal:

find /opt -name libXext.6.dylib 2>/dev/null

If you're still encountering issues, consider upgrading to a MATLAB version that officially supports macOS Catalina and above.