Question on gihub file and file exchange involving Mex files and git submodule in Matlab Project

I am working on a TOML parser based on Tomlplusplus: https://github.com/sylvanoMTL/Matlab-tomlplusplus

The github works on by compiling mex functions. that are calling routines from the git submodule tomlplusplus.

Should I add the compiled mex files (win64) to the project? are these mex file reusable by other Win64 machines?

Do I need to compile mex files for unix/mac? and can I do that using my computer win64?

In that way the user won't have to recompile the mex functions. but I have the feel it is machine dependent.

Answer 1

[Abhipsa]

Hey @Sylvain,

I would like to answer ypur questions seprately:

1. “Should I add compiled .mexw64 to the project? Are they reusable?”

Yes. They should run on other Win64 machines with a compatible MATLAB release and the right MSVC runtime. They are not tied to your machine, but they are tied to OS/arch/release/compiler.

2. “Do I need to compile for Unix/mac?”

If you want out-of-the-box support there, yes you can provide .mexa64 and .mexmaci64 too. Otherwise, ship sources and a build script so those users can mex locally.

3. “Can I build mac/linux MEX from my Windows box?”

No. MATLAB MEX doesn’t support cross-compiling between OSes; build natively on each platform (or use CI runners for each OS)

You can refer to the following MATLAB documentations and forum links for more details:

• https://www.mathworks.com/help/releases/R2025a/matlab/matlab_external/before-you-run-a-mex-file.html
• https://www.mathworks.com/help/releases/R2025a/matlab/ref/mexext.html
• https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/451281-mex-for-different-platforms-deployment-question

I hope this resolves your query