Why will MATLAB not start up properly on my Linux machine?

MATLAB will not start up on my Linux machine and I am not getting license manager errors.

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

If you are having trouble starting MATLAB on a Linux machine and you are not receiving license manager related errors, your start up problems may be resolved by performing the following steps:

Solution #1: Regenerate Preferences

Follow the steps in the article below to remove your preferences directory, so that it can be recreated cleanly:

How do I regenerate my MATLAB preferences?

Solution #2: Move Working Directory

Be sure that there are no files conflicting on your MATLAB path. To verify that your work files and/or startup.m files are not conflicting with this MATLAB installation, perform the following steps:

1. Move the contents of your ~/Documents/MATLAB folder to another location on your computer.
2. Start MATLAB again to see if the problem still occurs.

If this resolves the problem, one of your work files is likely conflicting with your MATLAB installation or your startup.m file is crashing MATLAB.

Solution #3: Disable SELinux, AppArmor or Other Security Software:

Try running MATLAB with SELinux disabled. SELinux may prevent MATLAB from starting. To temporarily disable it, run the following command as root:

/usr/sbin/setenforce 0

(/usr/sbin/setenforce 1 will turn SELinux back on)

To disable AppArmor on newer Ubuntu versions, run the below as root:

invoke-rc.d apparmor kill
update-rc.d -f apparmor remove

Once disabled, try MATLAB again. If it works, see the Related Solution at the bottom of the page:

Why do I receive errors relating to the file "libmwlapack" when starting MATLAB R14SP3 or higher on Linux?

Note: You may also have to reset the permissions on the folder you are trying to install from. Run the following command to modify the permissions:

chmod -R 755 $installfolder

 

Solution #4: Debugging Mode

Open MATLAB with the Desktop and Java options Disabled:

1. From the terminal, type the following:

cd $MATLABROOT/bin/

Where $MATLABROOT is the path to your root MATLAB directory)

By default this will be /usr/local/MATLAB/R2022b/bin for R2022b. 

2. Try launching MATLAB with each of the below commands:

matlab -nodesktop
matlab -nojvm
matlab -nodisplay

If MATLAB starts in either of these modes, there is most likely a Java issue. You can check to see if there is a MATLAB_JAVA environment variable that may be changing the JVM that MATLAB is using. If this variable exists, try removing it. 

If MATLAB fails to start in either of these modes, more information may be obtained from the MATLAB crash dump files. These files will be located in your home folder and will have the names:

~/matlab_crash_dump.XXX

~/java.log.XXX

~/hs_err_pid#.log

If any of these files exists, send those files along with the output of the commands above to the Installation and Licensing team using the form at the bottom of this article.

Solution #5: Missing Libraries

MATLAB is tested and fully qualified on Ubuntu, Debian, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), and SuSE. However, it will still run on most popular distributions of Linux, provided it is a full desktop installation of the distribution. MATLAB is not supported on minimal or server distributions. A minimal installation may not contain all libraries that MATLAB requires. 

MATLAB requires some X11 libraries to run, regardless of whether graphics and UIs are used or not. However, we are not able to specify the X11 requirements down to the exact set of packages required because different distributions may package the libraries differently. MATLAB will work out of the box on desktop installations of any supported distribution. 

See the below for a list of qualified distributions:

MATLAB System Requirements for Linux 

Solution #6: Permissions Issues

If MATLAB does not have the correct permissions to certain files and folders, it may not launch or launch correctly. Make sure the user starting MATLAB has access to read and execute files from where MATLAB is installed.

Solution #7: Corrupt Cache

Sometimes, certain files cached when using MATLAB. Try temporarily removing any temporary files or folders before launching MATLAB.

Solution #8: Citrix Workspace Apps

Citrix Workspace Apps may have a file "/usr/local/lib/AppProtection/libAppProtection.​so" that may be interfering with startup. Try removing/renaming the file.

Answer 2

[Steph Bredenhann]

Please commands issue by, I can't start matalb R2024b on Ubuntu 24.04LTS

None of the files:

~/matlab_crash_dump.XXX

~/java.log.XXX

~/hs_err_pid#.log

I see from Google search that this is a common problem, please assist, I am desparate.

steph@sjb-pc:$ matlab

Cannot locate or initialize class com/mathworks/jmi/OpaqueJavaInterface.

java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: com/mathworks/jmi/OpaqueJavaInterface

Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: com.mathworks.jmi.OpaqueJavaInterface

at java.net.URLClassLoader.findClass(URLClassLoader.java:382)

at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:424)

at sun.misc.Launcher$AppClassLoader.loadClass(Launcher.java:349)

at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:357)

steph@sjb-pc:$ cd /usr/local/MATLAB/R2024b/bin/

steph@sjb-pc:$ matlab -nodesktop

Cannot locate or initialize class com/mathworks/jmi/OpaqueJavaInterface.

java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: com/mathworks/jmi/OpaqueJavaInterface

Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: com.mathworks.jmi.OpaqueJavaInterface

at java.net.URLClassLoader.findClass(URLClassLoader.java:382)

at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:424)

at sun.misc.Launcher$AppClassLoader.loadClass(Launcher.java:349)

at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:357)

steph@sjb-pc:$ matlab -jvm

Cannot locate or initialize class com/mathworks/jmi/OpaqueJavaInterface.

java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: com/mathworks/jmi/OpaqueJavaInterface

Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: com.mathworks.jmi.OpaqueJavaInterface

at java.net.URLClassLoader.findClass(URLClassLoader.java:382)

at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:424)

at sun.misc.Launcher$AppClassLoader.loadClass(Launcher.java:349)

at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:357)

steph@sjb-pc:$ matlab -nodisplay

Cannot locate or initialize class com/mathworks/jmi/OpaqueJavaInterface.

java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: com/mathworks/jmi/OpaqueJavaInterface

Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: com.mathworks.jmi.OpaqueJavaInterface

at java.net.URLClassLoader.findClass(URLClassLoader.java:382)

at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:424)

at sun.misc.Launcher$AppClassLoader.loadClass(Launcher.java:349)

at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:357)

steph@sjb-pc:$ pwd

/usr/local/MATLAB/R2024b/bin

steph@sjb-pc:$ cd ~

steph@sjb-pc:$ pwd

/home/steph

[Star Strider]

@Steph Bredenhann --

How did you install MATLAB?

That may be the actual problem. When I installed it, I first needed to create /home/<username>/usr/local/MATLAB using sudo, then the installer did the rest.

For you, the directory path probably needs to be /home/steph/usr/local/MATLAB. The installer will choose the directory path structure, incuding your user name, however if will likely need you to create the directory path first.

After that, launching it was straightforward. I use the MATLAB file that I access by right-clicking on the 'Files' icon in the left toolstrip to bring up the Home directory, then navigating to usr then local . Right-clicking on matlab and choosing 'Run as a Program' from the dropdown menu always works for me.

(I needed help with this, since I'm relatively new with Ubuntu Linux and as usual, MathWorks Support came through. Updating it was another problem, however that got solved with the assistance of MathWorks Support.)

The directory I use to launch MATLAB --

.

EDIT -- Corrected typographical errors.

[Steph Bredenhann]

Star Strider:

I have installed Matlab as per the instructions, using ./install after unzipping the downloaded file. It was installed to /usr/local/MATLAB/R2024b which is the default directory.

[Star Strider]

@Steph Bredenhann — I have the same version of Linux as you reported, and I have never had any problems with it, once installed.

I fiirst created the path using:

sudo mkdir -p Home/usr/local/MATLAB

since the installer reported an error in not being able to create the path by itself. (I believe that is the command I used.) Then, I downloaded the installer from Download Products and then clicked on the ‘Download for Linux’ link. After that, I clicked the path I created, and the download proceeded on its own.

I only ran into one problem that being with Simulink not being able to find a C compiler. My HP laptop came with Ubuntu preinstalled, and includes an appropriate compiiler. I still have to complete the Simulink setup with it.

[Steph Bredenhann]

@Star Strider, I followed the same procedure, except I didn't create the usr/local/MATLAB in my home folder, MATLAB created the folder under /usr directory, thus usr/local/MATLAB. The only difference between your installation and my installation is that you created a folder in your home directory. I wouldn't use sudo to create directories in my home directory, it defeats the purpose of a home directory. However, I'll give your way of doing the installation some thought, that you very much for your input, I appreciate it.

[Star Strider]

@Steph Bredenhann — My pleasure!

When I had problems installing MATLAB iniitially, I contacted MathWorks Support, and they suggested doing what I outlined. I did, and I’ve not had any problems since. You might check to see where the Java files are in your installation.

EDIT — (17 Dec 2024 at 2:25)

During the installation process, the installer should have given you the option to change the directory you want MATLAB installed in. If you want to install it in something other than Home/usr/local/MATLAB (that was its preference when I installed it, so the one I went with), first create the path and then try the installation again with the path you want.