MATLAB: How to change the location where generated Simulink files are placed

simulink coder

When updating or running code generation on my model several files are generated (.C , .MEX, etc) in the same directory as my current model file. Is there any way to specify where these files are stored?

Best Answer

Changing the location of the generated code is done solely through Simulink Preferences via Preferences Menu or Command Line. These parameters are set for a single session of MATLAB; i.e. closing and re-opening MATLAB should restore the default values.
There are documentation pages which explain the default behavior and impact of these preferences on Simulink Coder:
<https://www.mathworks.com/help//rtw/ug/build-process-folders-.html>
and Embedded Coder:
https://www.mathworks.com/help/ecoder/ug/build-process-folders-.html
a) Changing the parameters using the GUI:
1. Navigate to Simulink Preferences. This menu will either be in your MATLAB desktop along the toolstrip at the top under "Preferences">"Simulink Preferences" or, prior to the Simulink Toolstrip, you can open a Simulink Model and select "File">"Simulink Preferences"
2. Specify the two fields on right-hand pane:
Simulation cache folder — root folder in which to place build artifacts used for simulation
Code generation folder — root folder in which to place Simulink Coder code generation files
Here, you can specify any directory of your choosing. Note that all paths specified are added to the MATLAB path.
Please note that all Simulink Models will now use these settings for this MATLAB Session. So, if code is generated for two different models, it will use the exact same path specified here to store generated code.
b) Using the command line:
The "Simulink.fileGenControl" command enables command-line manipulation of the same parameters:
<https://www.mathworks.com/help/simulink/slref/simulink.filegencontrol.html>
which control the location of any generated code.
These lines:
cfg = Simulink.fileGenControl('getConfig');
cfg.CacheFolder = fullfile(eval(['pwd']),'generatedCache');
cfg.CodeGenFolder = fullfile(eval(['pwd']),'generatedCode');
Simulink.fileGenControl('setConfig', 'config', cfg,'createDir',true);
specify the current working directory, 'pwd', create two folders 'generatedCache' and 'generatedCode' in the current directory, and set these as the target folders for all code generation.
Setting these parameters using command line still changes the behavior for all Simulink Models during your MATLAB session. However, using the command line would be a convenient way to programmatically alter the CodeGenFolder and CacheFolder parameters if you wanted to change them for different models.
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