VSCode extension: how to start matlab in different shell

Hi,

I am trying out the VSCode Matlab extension (v1.2.1) and it looks promising!

Does anybody how I can make the matlab prompt start from a different terminal? I would like to use cmder (https://cmder.app/), because I would have bash keybindings (ctrl-a moves to start of line, ctrl-k deletes etc.). In the Matlab window, I can change this in the "keyboard shortcuts preferences" (e-macs default set with a couple of tweaks).

Thanks,

Temu

[Manikanta Aditya]

The MATLAB extension for Visual Studio Code does not directly support starting MATLAB from a different terminal like cmder. However, you might be able to achieve this by configuring your system’s PATH variable to include the path to the MATLAB executable and then starting cmder from VSCode.

[Temu]

Thanks for the suggestion. I assume you mean starting Matlab from cmder, and not cmder from VSCode, right? If I open a cmder terminal in VSCode and start matlab from there, the regular matlab opens (so not in terminal mode).

I am now wondering whether it would be possible to load a shortcuts .xml file manually (i.e., not from the menu), so that I could do this in my startup.m

[Manikanta Aditya]

Instead of trying to launch MATLAB from within VSCode, you could launch an external instance of MATLAB from cmder. This would allow you to take advantage of cmder's keybindings and customize MATLAB's keyboard shortcuts using a .xml file.

You can launch MATLAB from cmder by navigating to the MATLAB bin directory (e.g., cd C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2023a\bin) and running the matlab command.

Once MATLAB is running externally, you can use the MATLAB extension in VSCode to connect to that external instance using the 'Attach to MATLAB' command.

While not a perfect solution, this would allow you to use cmder and customize MATLAB's keyboard shortcuts separately from the VSCode integration.

Ultimately, the ability to fully customize the terminal emulator used by the MATLAB extension in VSCode may require a feature request or extension enhancement from the extension developers.

[Temu]

If I launch matlab from cmder, the normal matlab opens. I have also tried the -nojvm and -nodesktop options, but these also open separate windows: I can't run matlab from a cmder terminal.

Am I missing something?

[Manikanta Aditya]

1. Open cmder
2. Navigate to the MATLAB bin directory (e.g. cd C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2023a\bin)
3. Run the command: matlab -nodisplay

These are the three steps even I am aware of.

[Temu]

Hi,

It doesn't know this command (-nodisplay).

With -nodesktop, I get this:

[Manikanta Aditya]

matlab -nodesktop -nosplash

The -nosplash option prevents MATLAB from opening the splash screen window, forcing it to run entirely within the command prompt/terminal.

So give a try with this command and see once. Even if this doesn't work then, I will recommend you to reach to MathWorks Technical support: https://www.mathworks.com/support/contact_us.html

[Temu]

Hi,

-nosplash simply doesn't show the startup matlab image, but thanks.

Temu