System Commands

Interact programmatically with operating system and MATLAB^® environment

System commands provide programmatic access to your operating system and the MATLAB environment. Using these commands, you can access information about your computer, copy content to the system clipboard, get and set environment variables, and execute operating system commands. To access and modify options for tools within MATLAB, such as the Command Window, Editor, or App Designer, use settings. To store and access your own data across MATLAB sessions, create custom settings.

Functions

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Operating System Commands

`clipboard`	Copy and paste text to and from system clipboard
`computer`	Information about computer on which MATLAB is running
`system`	Execute operating system command and return output
`cmdsep`	Command separator for current platform (Since R2023b)
`dos`	Execute DOS command and return output
`unix`	Execute UNIX command and return output
`getenv`	Get environment variable
`loadenv`	Load environment variables from `.env` and plain text files (Since R2023a)
`isenv`	Determine if environment variable exists (Since R2022b)
`setenv`	Set environment variable
`unsetenv`	Remove environment variable (Since R2022b)
`perl`	Call Perl script using operating system executable
`winqueryreg`	Item from Windows registry

MATLAB Environment

`matlabProcessID`	Process identifier for MATLAB code execution process (Since R2025a)
`matlab.io.saveVariablesToScript`	Save workspace variables to MATLAB script
`getpref`	Get custom setting value
`setpref`	Set custom setting value
`addpref`	Add custom setting
`rmpref`	Remove custom preference
`ispref`	Determine if custom setting exists

Settings API

Access and Modify Settings

`settings`	Access the `SettingsGroup` root object
`clearTemporaryValue`	Clear temporary value for setting
`clearPersonalValue`	Clear personal value for setting
`clearInstallationValue`	Clear installation value for setting (Since R2022a)
`hasActiveValue`	Determine whether setting has active value set (Since R2024a)
`hasTemporaryValue`	Determine whether setting has temporary value set
`hasPersonalValue`	Determine whether setting has personal value set
`hasInstallationValue`	Determine whether setting has installation value set (Since R2022a)
`hasFactoryValue`	Determine whether setting has factory value set
`Setting`	Represents individual setting
`SettingsGroup`	Group of settings and subgroup objects

Create Settings

`addSetting`	Add new setting
`addGroup`	Add new settings group
`hasGroup`	Determine if settings group exists
`hasSetting`	Determine if setting exists in settings group
`removeGroup`	Remove settings group
`removeSetting`	Remove setting

Settings Validation

`matlab.settings.mustBeLogicalScalar`	Validate that setting value is a logical scalar
`matlab.settings.mustBeNumericScalar`	Validate that setting value is a numeric scalar
`matlab.settings.mustBeStringScalar`	Validate that setting value is a string scalar
`matlab.settings.mustBeIntegerScalar`	Validate that setting value is an integer scalar

Factory Settings

`matlab.settings.FactoryGroup.createToolboxGroup`	Create `FactoryGroup` root object for toolbox
`addGroup`	Add new factory settings group
`addSetting`	Add new factory setting
`matlab.settings.SettingsFileUpgrader`	Version-specific changes in factory settings tree of toolbox
`move`	Record move or rename of factory setting or group
`remove`	Record removal of factory setting or group
`matlab.settings.reloadFactoryFile`	Load or reload factory settings
`matlab.settings.loadSettingsCompatibilityResults`	Results of upgrading personal settings of toolbox for specific version
`FactoryGroup`	Group of factory settings and factory subgroup objects
`FactorySetting`	Factory settings object
`ReleaseCompatibilityResults`	Results of upgrading toolbox with specific version number
`ReleaseCompatibilityException`	Exception that occurs when upgrading toolbox
`VersionResults`	Results of upgrade operations
`OperationResult`	Status of individual operation when upgrading toolbox

Settings

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Desktop Environment

matlab.accessibility Settings	Accessibility settings, including screen reader settings (Since R2026a)
matlab.codeanalyzer Settings	Code analyzer settings
matlab.colors Settings	MATLAB syntax highlighting color settings for light theme
matlab.commandwindow Settings	Command Window settings including text display settings
matlab.fonts Settings	Code font settings
matlab.general Settings	General settings including MAT-file and random number settings
matlab.keyboard Settings	Keyboard settings including suggestions and completions settings
matlab.suggestions Settings	Code suggestions settings (Since R2026a)

Editor and App Designer

matlab.editor Settings	Editor settings, including language, backup, and display settings
matlab.appdesigner Settings	App Designer settings, including canvas editor and component browser settings

Topics

Access and Modify Settings Programmatically
Access and modify settings for tools such as fonts and colors programmatically.
Create Custom Settings
Create custom settings to store and access data programmatically across sessions.
Shell Escape Function Example
Call external programs by issuing operating system commands.
Run External Commands, Scripts, and Programs
Use the ! character to call an operating system command. Run UNIX programs off the system path.
Change Environment Variable for Shell Command
Substitute a user-specified value for an environment variable value set by MATLAB when you call a function using the system command.

Related Information

Startup and Shutdown