Action for Running MATLAB Commands

The Run MATLAB Command action enables you to execute MATLAB® scripts, functions, and statements on a self-hosted or GitHub®-hosted runner:

• To use a self-hosted runner, you must set up a computer with MATLAB as your self-hosted runner and register the runner with GitHub Actions. The runner uses the topmost MATLAB release on the system path to execute your workflow.
• To use a GitHub-hosted runner, you must include the Setup MATLAB action in your workflow to set up your preferred MATLAB release (R2021a or later) on the runner.

Examples

Use the Run MATLAB Command action to run MATLAB scripts, functions, and statements. You can use this action to flexibly customize your test run or add a step in MATLAB to your workflow.

Run MATLAB Script

On a self-hosted runner, run a script named myscript.m in the root of your repository. To run the script, specify the Run MATLAB Command action in your workflow.

name: Run MATLAB Script
on: [push]
jobs:
  my-job:
    name: Run MATLAB Script
    runs-on: self-hosted
    steps:
      - name: Check out repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Run script
        uses: matlab-actions/run-command@v2
        with:
          command: myscript

Run MATLAB Statements

Using the latest release of MATLAB on a GitHub-hosted runner, run your MATLAB statements. To set up the latest release of MATLAB on the runner, specify the Setup MATLAB action in your workflow. To run the statements, specify the Run MATLAB Command action.

name: Run MATLAB Statements
on: [push]
jobs:
  my-job:
    name: Run MATLAB Statements
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Check out repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Set up MATLAB
        uses: matlab-actions/setup-matlab@v2
      - name: Run statements
        uses: matlab-actions/run-command@v2
        with:
          command: results = runtests, assertSuccess(results);

Use MATLAB Batch Licensing Token

On a GitHub-hosted runner, you need a MATLAB batch licensing token if your project is private or if your workflow includes transformation products, such as MATLAB Coder™ and MATLAB Compiler™. Batch licensing tokens are strings that enable MATLAB to start in noninteractive environments. You can request a token by submitting the MATLAB Batch Licensing Pilot form.

To use a MATLAB batch licensing token:

1. Set the token as a secret. For more information about secrets, see Using secrets in GitHub Actions.
2. Map the secret to an environment variable named MLM_LICENSE_TOKEN in your workflow.

For example, use the latest release of MATLAB on a GitHub-hosted runner to run a script named myscript.m in your private project. To set up the latest release of MATLAB on the runner, specify the Setup MATLAB action in your workflow. To run the script, specify the Run MATLAB Command action. In this example, MyToken is the name of the secret that holds the batch licensing token.

name: Use MATLAB Batch Licensing Token
on: [push]
env:
  MLM_LICENSE_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.MyToken }}
jobs:
  my-job:
    name: Run MATLAB Script in Private Project
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Check out repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Set up MATLAB
        uses: matlab-actions/setup-matlab@v2
      - name: Run script
        uses: matlab-actions/run-command@v2
        with:
          command: myscript

Run MATLAB Command

When you define your workflow in the .github/workflows directory of your repository, specify the Run MATLAB Command action as matlab-actions/run-command@v2. The action requires an input and also accepts an optional input.

Input	Description
command	(Required) Script, function, or statement to execute. If the value of command is the name of a MATLAB script or function, do not specify the file extension. If you specify more than one script, function, or statement, use a comma or semicolon to separate them. MATLAB exits with exit code 0 if the specified script, function, or statement executes successfully without error. Otherwise, MATLAB terminates with a nonzero exit code, which causes the action to fail. To fail the action in certain conditions, use the assert or error function. Example: command: myscript Example: command: results = runtests, assertSuccess(results);
startup-options	(Optional) MATLAB startup options, specified as a list of options separated by spaces. For more information about startup options, see Commonly Used Startup Options. Using this input to specify the -batch or -r option is not supported. Example: startup-options: -nojvm Example: startup-options: -nojvm -logfile output.log

When you use this action, all of the required files must be on the MATLAB search path. If your script or function is not in the root of your repository, you can use the addpath, cd, or run function to put it on the path. For example, to run myscript.m in a folder named myfolder located in the root of the repository, you can specify command like this:

command: addpath("myfolder"), myscript

Notes

• By default, when you use the Run MATLAB Command action, the root of your repository serves as the MATLAB startup folder. To run your MATLAB commands using a different folder, specify the -sd startup option or the cd command in the action.
• In MATLAB R2019a and later, the Run MATLAB Command action uses the -batch option to start MATLAB noninteractively. Preferences do not persist across different MATLAB sessions launched with the -batch option. To run code that requires the same preferences, use a single action.
• When you use the Run MATLAB Command action, you execute third-party code that is licensed under separate terms.

See Also

• Action for Running MATLAB Builds
• Action for Running MATLAB Tests
• Action for Setting Up MATLAB
• Continuous Integration with MATLAB and Simulink

Contact Us

If you have any questions or suggestions, contact MathWorks® at [email protected].