Gtk-Message: 10:32:31.466: Failed to load module "canberra-gtk-module"
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I installed matlab 2019a with update3 on ubuntu 16.04 64bit. When I run matlab, I got output: Gtk-Message: 10:32:31.466: Failed to load module "canberra-gtk-module".
How to sort this problem.
Thanks in advance.
4 Comments
Rica Constantinescu
on 20 Jul 2019
sudo apt-get install libcanberra-gtk*
Zachary LaFlair
on 17 Nov 2020
For anyone still bashing their heads off the wall in 2020 on R2020b. I'm using Arch Linux on Gnome Xorg. Currently patched at Kernel 5.9.8. I installed from the MATLAB website and created a folder with user permissions in the default install folder. Then ran ./install.
Here's what i used.
I first had to install gtk-2 package from the official arch repos.
sudo pacman -S gtk-2 %it might have worked after this if i didn't mess with my java install so much trying to make it work
Next i had to rollback my java version...
java --version %I had absolutely blown away my java install at this point and grabbed many packages from AUR to no avail so i got the official repo package
sudo pacman -S jre8-openjdk % Installs java
sudo pacman -S jdk8-openjdk % Installs java
Finally set matlab to open with my known good/supported version
export MATLAB_JAVA=/usr/lib/jvm/java-8-openjdk/jre
matlab %%opens MATLAB window without issues or failures
% I can and did plot a polynomial just to make it work
% First plot polynomial code that shows up on google.
y_1 = @(x) -0.6729+4.8266*x-0.4855*x.^2+0.0312*x.^3
x_1 = 0:0.1:33.5;
plot(x_1,y_1(x_1))
Michael Levy
on 27 Feb 2025
Edited: Walter Roberson
on 27 Feb 2025
This is not working for me. When I type MATLAB from linux Ubuntu command window, what appears is failed ot load module "canberra-gtk-module" I follow the instructions in
however, in my /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu folder I see gtk-2.0, gtk-3.0, and gtk-4.0 . Which of these am I supposed to use????
Moving on, the answer here is a bit dated and overly specific without explaining how to generalize.
For example, I write export MATLAB_JAVA=/usr/lib/jvm/java-1.21.0-openjdk-amd64
This is because when I try to find where my ---- (I do not know is it is abin file? a run file? execuatable file? nonone tells)
The reason I type that is because from https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5251323/where-can-i-find-the-java-sdk-in-linux-after-installing-it I see that update-java-alternatives -l will tell you which java implementation is the default for your system and where in the filesystem it is installed.
I need help. Please MATLAB help me
Answers (14)
Angel Palacios-Marin
on 11 Jun 2022
Edited: Angel Palacios-Marin
on 11 Jun 2022
So the answer is in a terminal excecute the following
sudo apt-get install libcanberra-gtk* libgconf-2-4
sudo ln -s /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gtk-2.0/modules/libcanberra-gtk-module.so /usr/lib/libcanberra-gtk-module.so
The second line will create a link to the module. Matlab works with gtk-2.0 module. For other linux distributions follow this.
Problem solved, at least for me.
25 Comments
James Herman
on 1 Jul 2022
Thank you! This worked for me on Ubuntu 22.04 with R2022a.
yassine keb
on 5 Jul 2022
had the same issue ubuntu 18.04 matlab 2021b, and this solved it, thank you!
Bibek Dhakal
on 17 Jul 2022
Worked for me. Thanks!
Alireza
on 24 Jul 2022
Thanks!
abdullah mamun
on 15 Aug 2022
Thanks a lot. Worked for me.
Rishabh
on 23 Aug 2022
Works (Ubuntu, MATLAB R2022a)
Rizal ICHWANSYAH
on 7 Sep 2022
WORKS!! Ubuntu 18.04, MATLAB R2022a
Rizal ICHWANSYAH
on 1 Oct 2022
and STILL works for matlab R2022b
Rahul
on 16 Oct 2022
it worked, thanks
Shashank Verma
on 31 Oct 2022
It worked for me. Thanks
Youwei CAO
on 2 Feb 2023
Cool it successfully worked!!!! I have searched for 1h for the solution and it is the ONLY ONE who works.
Thank you !
Jose Vidal-Nunez
on 12 Mar 2023
It also worked in Ubuntu 22.04 with Mathlab 2022b. Thanks so much.
Apratim Majumder
on 17 Mar 2023
Edited: Apratim Majumder
on 19 Mar 2023
It also works in Ubuntu 22.04 with Matlab 2023a.
:-D Thanks!
Giuseppe
on 4 May 2023
it works in Ubuntu 22.04 with Matlab 2023a. great
Larry Godwin
on 11 May 2023
Thank you so much. It works for Matlab 2023a.
Rizhong Lin
on 23 May 2023
Thank you very much! It works on Ubuntu 22.04.2 LTS with Matlab 2022b.
Ali
on 13 Jul 2023
thank you
嘉祯
on 4 Apr 2024
Thank you very much! It also works on Ubuntu20.04 with Matlab 2024a
Terje Sparengen
on 17 Apr 2024
Thanks!
It works on Ubuntu22.04 with matlab R2020a
Caio Lima
on 8 May 2024
Thank you!
It works on Ubuntu 22.04 too with Matlab R2021a
Dean
on 3 Jul 2024
Works for me ... MATLAB 2023b, Ubuntu / Pop_OS 22.04
Rezim
on 16 Aug 2024
worked. MATLAB 2024a, Ubuntu 22.04
Thanks man..!!
Nithin
on 15 Sep 2024
Worked for MATLAB R2024b.
Thank you.
Hao
on 23 Sep 2024
Worked for MATLAB R2024b, Ubuntu 24.04.
Thank you.
chaoliang
on 8 Oct 2024
Worked for matlab 2022b. But we use the command of 'sudo apt-get -y install libcanberra-gtk-module' to install libcanberra-gtk. The second step is important. Don't forget to create link under /usr/lib directory using the command uppon. If the Linux version and related gtk version is different, you should check it under the /usr/lib/*-linux-gnu/gtk-*.
Scott Minkin
on 15 Dec 2019
Edited: Scott Minkin
on 15 Dec 2019
I believe the canberra-gtk-module messages have no detrimental effect on MATLAB and can be ignored, but having said that...
To run MATLAB R2019a or R2019b on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS without the canberra-gtk-message:
You have three environmental variables that need to be set before running matlab
export GTK_PATH=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gtk-2.0
export LIBOVERLAY_SCROLLBAR=0
export GIO_EXTRA_MODULES=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gio/modules
OR you can run matlab in the bash shell by typing:
$ GTK_PATH=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gtk-2.0 LIBOVERLAY_SCROLLBAR=0 GIO_EXTRA_MODULES=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gio/modules /usr/local/MATLAB/R2019a/bin/matlab
----
To run R2019a on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS without the canberra-gtk-message:
You need to install libcanberra-gtk-module and libgconf-2-4
You don't need to set any environmental variables.
----
To run R2019b on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS without the canberra-gtk-message:
you need to install libcanberra-gtk-module
You have one environmental variable that needs to be set before running matlab:
export GTK_PATH=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gtk-2.0
OR you can run matlab in the bash shell by typing:
$ GTK_PATH=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gtk-2.0 /usr/local/MATLAB/R2019b/bin/matlab
Good luck.
6 Comments
I am running Matlab R2019b on Ubuntu 19.10 and this solved my issue. Thank you!
I ran the following command in my terminal:
export GTK_PATH=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gtk-2.0
Now when I run Matlab the canberra message is no longer displayed.
However I still have the following message appearing in my Terminal:
[0210/125521.960859:INFO:context.cpp(159)] Using multi-threaded message loop for Linux
Any ideas how to get rid of this?
Brian Zelenke
on 23 May 2020
To run MATLAB R2020a on RedHat (RHEL) 8.2 without either the canberra-gtk-module or pk-gtk-module "failed to load module" warnings, setting just one environmental variable before running MATLAB fixed both warnings:
export GTK_PATH=/usr/lib64/gtk-2.0/
Walter Roberson
on 12 Sep 2020
SREEJITH V S comments to LeChat:
This worked for me
Paul Galloux
on 21 May 2021
Edited: Paul Galloux
on 21 May 2021
We have this messages with matlab 2020a ubuntu 18.04 :
Gtk-Message: 12:35:22.680: Failed to load module "overlay-scrollbar"
Gtk-Message: 12:35:22.685: Failed to load module "canberra-gtk-module"
and the command lines :
GTK_PATH=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gtk-2.0 LIBOVERLAY_SCROLLBAR=0 /usr/local/bin/matlab
or :
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gtk-2.0/modules:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH LIBOVERLAY_SCROLLBAR=0 /usr/local/bin/matlab
solve this for us.
precisions : overlay-scrollbar and libcanberra-gtk-module had been already installed before the messages (sudo apt install overlay-scrollbar overlay-scrollbar-gtk2 libcanberra-gtk-module)
many thanks for the tip
ubaidulla
on 10 Mar 2022
This worked for me on ubuntu 20.04; Thank you
Julija Bucar
on 26 Feb 2023
solution on arch was to export and set GTK_PATH to matlab executable
Xiao Wang
on 18 Jul 2019
7 votes
12 Comments
Pedro Tareco
on 12 Nov 2019
This solved it for me. Thanks!
Seth Wagenman
on 8 Apr 2020
I did the install followed by:
export GTK_PATH=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gtk-2.0
Now the message is gone completely.
Adam
on 18 Aug 2020
Same. Good solution.
seager1989
on 21 Aug 2020
I also did the:
export GTK_PATH=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gtk-2.0
. Fixed, Thank you
francisco borja sanz martinez
on 2 Mar 2021
It fix the report in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS but when you use this then after you close matlab you have also stop the program in the terminal with <CTRL + C>
Greg Fichter
on 4 Jun 2021
Thanks, this works with R2021a in Ubuntu 20.04.
Kamal Lamichhane
on 22 Jun 2021
export GTK_PATH=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gtk-2.0 worked me too with MatlabR2020b and Ubuntu20.04. Thanks @seager1989!
Ada Görgün
on 22 Jun 2021
Edited: Ada Görgün
on 22 Jun 2021
export GTK_PATH=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gtk-2.0 worked for me too with MatlabR2020b and Ubuntu 18.04. Thanks everyone!
Mark Thomas
on 13 Aug 2021
Edited: Walter Roberson
on 14 Aug 2021
export GTK_PATH=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gtk-3.0
(and .../gtk-2.0) worked for me with MATLAB R2020b Update 6 and Ubuntu 21.04. Many thanks.
and...
export GTK_PATH=/usr/lib64/gtk-2.0
worked with MATLAB R2020a Update 6 on CentOS 6.
Maximilian Nentwich
on 9 Sep 2021
Edited: Maximilian Nentwich
on 9 Sep 2021
export GTK_PATH=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gtk-2.0
for MATLAB R2021a Update 4 and Ubuntu 20.04
Thank you!
Tim Divett
on 18 Nov 2021
worked for me, thanks
Jan Studnicka
on 16 Oct 2019
4 votes
See bug reports:
"On some Linux distributions, a message appears in the terminal window when starting MATLAB:
Gtk-Message: <timestamp>: Failed to load module "canberra-gtk-module"
and/or
Gtk-Message: <timestamp>: Failed to load module "pk-gtk-module"
This message is informational and has no effect on MATLAB."
3 Comments
Rachel Clark
on 13 Oct 2020
It doesn't have an effect on MATLAB but it disables your terminal as the process keeps running whilst MATLAB is open
Robert Eng
on 26 Nov 2020
I tried the work around suggested in the "bug report" from the above link. Did not fix the problem. I can use the matlab as is with the error but irritating to keep the terminal open and running otherwise Matlab closes
Nour
on 11 Aug 2022
worked for me, thanks !
Frederico Azevedo
on 14 Dec 2019
3 votes
I had the same error with my R2019b installation in ubuntu 19.10. After I installed the module with "sudo apt install libcanberra-gtk-module -y", if I call matlab from the command line with the cmd "LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gtk-2.0/modules:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH /usr/local/bin/matlab", the error message doesn't appear anymore.
2 Comments
Kefan Yu
on 9 Jun 2021
It works on R2021a Ubuntu20.04.
Estefania Murcia Lozano
on 15 Sep 2021
Very thankfull.
Kehelwala Dewage Gayan Maduranga
on 18 Nov 2020
Edited: Kehelwala Dewage Gayan Maduranga
on 18 Nov 2020
2 votes
I am installing matlab R2020b on Ubuntu 18.04 and having this error
Gtk-Message: 17:15:55.104: Failed to load module "canberra-gtk-module"
8 Comments
Mehdi Zouari
on 5 Dec 2020
same
Anyun Sharma
on 12 Jan 2021
Same
Anyun Sharma
on 12 Jan 2021
Pls help
Mohamed Ibrahim
on 8 Feb 2021
same on ubuntu 20.04
ARJUN YADAV
on 22 Apr 2021
same (ubuntu 20.04 LTS)
Rob Kudyba
on 17 May 2021
Edited: Rob Kudyba
on 17 May 2021
same on Fedora 33 and Matlab 2021A
Imad Abied
on 27 May 2021
same on Ubuntu 20.04 and Matlab R2021A
Paul Galloux
on 1 Feb 2022
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gtk-2.0/modules:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
before to launch matlab or put this line in your .bashrc
solve-it for me ub20.04
Chen Wang
on 12 Oct 2019
0 votes
Finally I solve this problem by change from 2019b to 2019a. The error message disappear. There must be something wrong with 2019b's Linux version.
Alex Pedcenko
on 28 Nov 2019
0 votes
this is not the "problem"
It had the same message and then I followed @Scott Minkin recommandation and I still have a message, but a different one:
me@myPC:~$ matlab &
[1] 22115
me@myPC:~$ Gtk-Message: 17:29:07.572: Failed to load module "canberra-gtk-module"
[0116/172911.622390:INFO:context.cpp(159)] Using multi-threaded message loop for Linux
me@myPC:~$ export GTK_PATH=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gtk-2.0
[1]+ Done matlab
me@myPC:~$ matlab &
[1] 29896
me@myPC:~$ [0116/173302.576327:INFO:context.cpp(159)] Using multi-threaded message loop for Linux
I then tried this:
me@myPC:~$ sudo apt install libcanberra-gtk-module libcanberra-gtk3-module
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
libcanberra-gtk3-module is already the newest version (0.30-7ubuntu1).
libcanberra-gtk-module is already the newest version (0.30-7ubuntu1).
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 13 not upgraded.
me@myPC:~$ matlab &
[2] 7532
me@myPC:~$ [0116/173838.654136:INFO:context.cpp(159)] Using multi-threaded message loop for Linux
In both case Matlab 2019b is launched as expected but I am wondering if everything is ok because of the messages I keep having in the Terminal.
I am running Ubuntu 19.10. Thank you for your expertise.
3 Comments
Manuel Mercier
on 4 Apr 2020
I am running Matlab R2020a on 19.10 and also experiencing:
Gtk-Message: 11:36:25.279: Failed to load module "appmenu-gtk-module"
Gtk-Message: 11:36:25.286: Failed to load module "canberra-gtk-module"
Gtk-Message: 11:36:25.287: Failed to load module "pk-gtk-module"
When I do the call
$ GTK_PATH=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gtk-2.0 matlab
only the last error message shows up.
Of course I did update the package to the last version and so on...
So far I did not see any related bug while running matlab scripts. Still it would be reinsurring to see the Matlab crew taking care of this issue.
Scott Minkin
on 8 Apr 2020
Not sure why the pk-gtk-module warning is coming up. What is the value of $GTK_MODULES? And can you try blanking it out by setting GTK_MODULES=
GTK_PATH=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gtk-2.0 GTK_MODULES= matlab
Good luck.
--Scott
Manuel Mercier
on 16 Apr 2020
GTK_PATH=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gtk-2.0 GTK_MODULES = matlab
launch Matlab, and display
Failed to load module "pk-gtk-module"
in the console
Burcin Arici
on 9 Apr 2020
0 votes
I also get the same error message while running
Gtk-Message: 04:38:48.679: Failed to load module "canberra-gtk-module"
for Matlab R2020a on Ubuntu 19.10, it works slower than R2019b but untill now, during running the program, it does not give an another error.
Chase Philport
on 7 Dec 2022
0 votes
Also having this error with my install

Leonardo
on 5 Mar 2025
Had the same problem on EndeavourOS (Arch-based). By looking through yay I saw that libcanberra was actually installed, but running again
yay -S libcanberra
solved the problem apparently. I have been using MATLAB R2024b Revision 5.
Andreas Viborg
on 15 Apr 2025
Edited: Andreas Viborg
on 3 May 2025
I learned that the two files libgtk-x11-2.0.so.0 supplied in /usr/local/MATLAB/R2019b/bin/glnxa64 are causing this issue. Simply removing them helped me:
cd /usr/local/MATLAB/R2019b/bin/glnxa64
sudo mkdir exclude
sudo mv libg*-x11-2.0.so.0 exclude/
1 Comment
Andreas Viborg
on 3 May 2025
After the above I still got:
Failed to load module "pk-gtk-module"
I found the required libpk-gtk-module file my gtk-3.0 module folder. Copying it to the Matlab folder clears this error message:
sudo cp /usr/lib64/gtk-3.0/modules/libpk-gtk-module.so /usr/local/MATLAB/R2019b/bin/glnxa64/
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