Skip to main content

MATLAB

MATLAB is a proprietary multi-paradigm programming language and numeric computing environment developed by MathWorks. MATLAB allows matrix manipulations, plotting of functions and data, implementation of algorithms, creation of user interfaces, and interfacing with programs written in other languages.

MATLAB Session Options​

MATLAB can be launched on Hyak using either of these methods:

MATLAB License Authentication​

UW's MATLAB license is transitioning from a concurrent license to a named-user license per the request from MathWorks MATLAB. Beginning August 1, 2026, only MATLAB R2023b and newer versions will be valid on Hyak due to this license change.

Firstly, make sure you have access to MathWorks account through your UW email.

info
  • Students may obtain a free MATLAB license by visiting the UW portal at Mathworks to register your UW student Mathworks account.
  • Faculty and staff may purchase MATLAB through UWare, which includes all toolboxes. Instructions and more details are available here.
  • For command-line MATLAB sessions, users need to authenticate their named-user license with SSO using a one-time password:
    1. Launch MATLAB from the command line.
    2. When prompted, enter the email address associated with your UW MathWorks account.
    3. In a web browser, open the MathWorks one-time password page and sign in with UW SSO if prompted.
    4. Copy the one-time password from MathWorks into the MATLAB prompt.
$ module load matlab
$ matlab -nodisplay -notesktop
Please enter your MathWorks Account email address and press Enter: <UWNetID>@uw.edu
You need a one-time password to sign in. To get a one-time password, follow these steps:
	1. Go to https://www.mathworks.com/mwa/otp
	2. Enter your MathWorks Account email address.
	3. Copy the generated one-time password.
	4. Return here and enter the password.
Enter the one-time password:
xxxxxx


                                      < M A T L A B (R) >
                            Copyright 1984-2026 The MathWorks, Inc.
                       R2026a Update 2 (26.1.0.3251617) 64-bit (glnxa64)
                                          May 5, 2026
 
To get started, type doc.
For product information, visit www.mathworks.com.
 
>>
  • For GUI MATLAB sessions, users will be prompted for signing in to their MathWorks account using UW email address the first time they launch MATLAB.

Screenshot of MathWorks MATLAB account signing in with GUI.

Then you need to complete the authentication with UW NetID SSO.

Screenshot of MATLAB account authentication using UW NetID with GUI.

Once you've authenticated, MATLAB should not prompt you to sign in again until the license expires or the saved credentials are cleared.

Managing .MathWorks Storage​

With the current MATLAB named-user license, running multiple MATLAB jobs can consume significant space in your home directory. If your home directory is near or over its quota, MATLAB may fail with an error like:

Unable to communicate with required MathWorks services.

By default, each time you launch MATLAB on a compute node, MATLAB creates a host-specific directory under ~/.MathWorks/ServiceHost/<hostname> to store runtime data. Over time, these directories can accumulate and cause ~/.MathWorks to grow significantly.

We recommend moving the entire ~/.MathWorks directory to dedicated storage outside your home directory, such as your lab's directory or another storage location you have access to, then creating a symbolic link from your home directory:

mv ~/.MathWorks /path/to/custom/location/.MathWorks
ln -s /path/to/custom/location/.MathWorks ~/.MathWorks

Replace /path/to/custom/location with the storage location you want to use.

You may also want to clean up the corresponding ServiceHost/<hostname> directory after jobs finish, or periodically remove stale ServiceHost/<hostname> directories to reduce storage usage. Before removing files, list the matching directories to confirm they are the ones you intend to delete:

ls ~/.MathWorks/ServiceHost/

Then remove stale node-specific runtime directories as needed. For example,

rm -r ~/.MathWorks/ServiceHost/n*

MATLAB via Command Line​

The latest Matlab version on klone is R2026a. You can use LMOD to load the module then run the binary, be sure to use the -nodisplay flag unless you enabled X11 forwarding to get the GUI.

n3000:~ $ module load matlab                    
n3000:~ $ matlab -nodisplay

                            < M A T L A B (R) >
                  Copyright 1984-2026 The MathWorks, Inc.
                  R2026a Update 2 (26.1.0.3251617) 64-bit (glnxa64)
                              May 5, 2026

To get started, type doc.
For product information, visit www.mathworks.com.
 
>>