App Designer

Create desktop and web apps in MATLAB

App Designer lets you create professional apps without having to be a professional software developer. Drag and drop visual components to lay out the design of your graphical user interface (GUI) and use the integrated editor to quickly program its behavior.

Share your apps using MATLAB Drive™, or by creating standalone desktop or web apps with MATLAB Compiler™ and Simulink Compiler™.

Live Editor

App Building

Use an integrated environment to lay out the user interface and write the code for your app’s behavior.

Building Your App

App Designer integrates the two primary tasks of app building – laying out the visual components of a graphical user interface (GUI) and programming app behavior. It is the recommended environment for building apps in MATLAB.

Building Apps in MATLAB (2 Videos)

If you have existing apps built in GUIDE*, you can use GUIDE to App Designer Migration Tool for MATLAB to migrate your existing GUIDE apps to App Designer.

* GUIDE will be removed in a future release.

Design a User Interface

Drag and drop visual components to the design canvas and use alignment hints to get a precise layout. App Designer automatically generates the object-oriented code that specifies the app’s layout and design.

Use the Design View in App Designer to layout the user interface of your app.

Use the Design View in App Designer to layout the user interface of your app.

Define App Behavior

Use the integrated version of the MATLAB Editor to define your app’s behavior. App Designer can automatically check for coding problems using the Code Analyzer. You can view warning and error messages about your code as you’re writing it, and modify your app based on the messages. You can also model the app behavior using a Stateflow® chart.

Define your app’s behavior using the Code View in App Designer.

Define your app’s behavior using the Code View in App Designer.

App Components

Build modern, full-featured applications using the rich set of components and custom interactions available in App Designer.

Component Library

Build apps with standard components such as buttons, check boxes, trees, and drop-down lists. App Designer also provides controls such as gauges, lamps, knobs, and switches that let you replicate the look and actions of instrumentation panels. You can also use container components, such as tabs, panels, and grid layouts to organize your user interface.

App Designer’s Component Library

App Designer’s Component Library allows you to easily drag and drop components into your app.

Component Interactions

Add component callbacks and custom mouse and keyboard interactions that execute when a user interacts with your app. Use 2D and 3D plots, as well as tables, in your app to allow users to interactively explore data.

Example app in App Designer using a hierarchical tree to display patient information.

Example app in App Designer using a hierarchical tree to display patient information.

App Sharing

Share apps with other users – even if they don’t have MATLAB.

Share Apps with Other MATLAB Users

Package any MATLAB app into a single file that can be easily shared with other users using MATLAB Desktop and MATLAB Online. When you package an app, MATLAB creates a single app installation file (.mlappinstall). The installation file enables you and others to install your app and access it with a single-click from the apps gallery.

You can then share your app with other MATLAB users through MATLAB Online and MATLAB Drive, allowing them to run and collaborate on your app design by extending permission to edit your files. 

Creating a packaged app to share with other MATLAB users.

Creating a packaged app to share with other MATLAB users.

Create Standalone Desktop and Web Apps

Create standalone applications using MATLAB Compiler and Simulink Compiler to share them royalty-free with other users. You can also package your apps as interactive web apps and share them using MATLAB Web App Server. End-users can run the web apps directly from their browser without installing any additional software.

Web app compiler, which allows you to share apps with other users using a unique URL.

Web app compiler, which allows you to share apps with other users using a unique URL.