MATLAB: Does MATLAB fail to start on macOS citing with a permissions directory warning when launched from the terminal

MATLAB

When I try to launch MATLAB on my Mac, it bounces once or twice in the dock and I see the splash screen for a second, but then MATLAB never loads. If I launch from the Terminal by running $MATLAB/bin/matlab I see an error like this one in the Terminal window:

"Check Directory Permissions.Warning: failed to create preference directory /Users/<user>/.matlab/R2016a."

What does this mean and how can I fix it?

Best Answer

This error indicates that the user you are launching MATLAB as does not have permission to write to the MATLAB preferences directory. Usually this is due to a problem which can sometimes occur when using Migration Assistant to transfer data from one Mac to another.

To resolve the issue, change the owner on the MATLAB preferences directory to match the logged in user. First, run this command to determine who the logged in user is:

whoami

Then, run this command to change ownership on the MATLAB preferences directory. Replace <username> with the results from the previous command:

R2016a and earlier

sudo chown -R <username> /Users/<username>/.matlab

R2016b and later

sudo chown -R <username> /Users/<username>/Library/Application\ Support/MathWorks

You need to be an administrator to run this command and you will be prompted for your password before running it. Once you have changed the owner of your MATLAB preferences directory to you, you should be able to run MATLAB.

Related Solutions

MATLAB: Do I get an error when trying to run the MATLAB R2012b deployed application from the Mac Finder window

This is due to a bug in the R2012b Compiler code and may affect shared libraries as well as standalone applications. Apply the patch below to your MATLAB R2012b installation and then recompile your standalone application to fix the issue. The patch should fix all subsequent compiled applications or libraries.

* Notes *

1. This patch is only for MATLAB Compiler R2012b. Do not apply this patch to other versions of MATLAB.

2. Administrator privileges are necessary to apply the patch.

* To apply the patch *

1. Download the appropriate patch below, attached to this Solution:

R2012b_LauncherFix.patch

These instructions assume you download it to the default location Safari uses, namely the “Downloads” folder of your home folder.

2. Start MATLAB, if it is not already running.

3. Unpack the patch into the correct folder. In the MATLAB Command Window, type:

>> cd(matlabroot)
>> !unzip -o ~/Downloads/R2012b_LauncherFix.patch

This should put the applauncher and prelaunch files into the <matlabroot>/bin/maci64 folder, where <matlabroot> is the installation location of your MATLAB.

4. Add proper permissions to the applauncher and prelaunch files. In the MATLAB Command Window, type:

>> cd([matlabroot '/bin/maci64'])
>> !chmod 775 applauncher
>> !chmod 775 prelaunch

The above code will require administrator privileges. If the CHMOD commands fail, please try the below:

>> cd([matlabroot '/bin/maci64'])
>> !sudo chmod 775 applauncher
>> !sudo chmod 775 prelaunch

The above should prompt administrator password before continuing with CHMOD. The CHMOD command changes the permissions on the patched files so that new deployed components won't run into unexpected permissions issues.

5. Recompile your application or library.

MATLAB: How to resolve ulimit related issues in R2017a on macOS Sierra

This issue has been resolved as of MATLAB R2017b.

For releases prior to MATLAB R2017b, the default ulimit is set to 256 on macOS. In previous releases of MATLAB our launch scripts would temporarily increase the ulimit for the session to prevent the MATLAB instance from encountering the low limit. In R2017a, we no longer have such a script in place when MATLAB is launched from the application bundle or the dock. To avoid these issues, you will need to set the ulimit to a higher number, for instance 1024. In order to ensure that the change in ulimit persists across reboots please attempt the following workaround:

 In Library/LaunchDaemons create a file named limit.maxfiles.plist and paste the following in:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>  
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN"  
        "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">  
  <dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>limit.maxfiles</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
      <string>launchctl</string>
      <string>limit</string>
      <string>maxfiles</string>
      <string>1024</string>
      <string>unlimited</string>
    </array>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <true/>
    <key>ServiceIPC</key>
    <false/>
  </dict>
</plist>

*Note: 1024 was arbitrarily picked, please increase as necessary.

2. Change the owner of your new file:

sudo chown root:wheel /Library/LaunchDaemons/limit.maxfiles.plist

3. Load these new settings:

sudo launchctl load -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/limit.maxfiles.plist

Finally reboot your machine and verify that your ulimit has increased in terminal by running the command "ulmit -Sn". Assuming it has you should be able to start MATLAB without issue.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

MATLAB: Do I get an error when trying to run the MATLAB R2012b deployed application from the Mac Finder window

MATLAB: How to resolve ulimit related issues in R2017a on macOS Sierra

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