Installation of MatlabEngine on Python in Jupyter Notebook

Hello. I have some problem installing MatlabEngine on Python in Jupyter Notebook. I think I am installing the module to a wrong environment but I cannot find a solution. Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks.

Macbook Pro (16-inch, 2011) Apple M1 Max / macOS Monterey 12.4

MATLAB R2022a Update 4 / Jupyter Notebook 6.4.5 / AnacondaNavigator 2.2.0

• What I did on Jupyter.

import os
os.chdir('/Applications/MATLAB_R2022a.app/extern/engines/python')
!python setup.py install

• What I got.

/Users/yasunorihayashi/opt/anaconda3/lib/python3.8/site-packages/setuptools/dist.py:544: UserWarning: The version specified ('R2022a') is an invalid version, this may not work as expected with newer versions of setuptools, pip, and PyPI. Please see PEP 440 for more details.
warnings.warn(
running install
/Users/yasunorihayashi/opt/anaconda3/lib/python3.8/site-packages/setuptools/command/install.py:34: SetuptoolsDeprecationWarning: setup.py install is deprecated. Use build and pip and other standards-based tools.
warnings.warn(
/Users/yasunorihayashi/opt/anaconda3/lib/python3.8/site-packages/setuptools/command/easy_install.py:144: EasyInstallDeprecationWarning: easy_install command is deprecated. Use build and pip and other standards-based tools.
warnings.warn(
/Users/yasunorihayashi/opt/anaconda3/lib/python3.8/site-packages/pkg_resources/__init__.py:123: PkgResourcesDeprecationWarning: R2022a is an invalid version and will not be supported in a future release
warnings.warn(
/Users/yasunorihayashi/opt/anaconda3/lib/python3.8/site-packages/pkg_resources/__init__.py:123: PkgResourcesDeprecationWarning: R2021b is an invalid version and will not be supported in a future release
warnings.warn(
running bdist_egg
running egg_info
writing dist/matlabengineforpython.egg-info/PKG-INFO
writing dependency_links to dist/matlabengineforpython.egg-info/dependency_links.txt
writing top-level names to dist/matlabengineforpython.egg-info/top_level.txt
/Users/yasunorihayashi/opt/anaconda3/lib/python3.8/site-packages/setuptools/command/egg_info.py:632: SetuptoolsDeprecationWarning: Custom 'build_py' does not implement 'get_data_files_without_manifest'.
Please extend command classes from setuptools instead of distutils.
warnings.warn(
reading manifest file 'dist/matlabengineforpython.egg-info/SOURCES.txt'
writing manifest file 'dist/matlabengineforpython.egg-info/SOURCES.txt'
installing library code to build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg
running install_lib
running build_py
creating build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg
creating build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/matlab
copying build/lib/matlab/__init__.py -> build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/matlab
creating build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/matlab/engine
copying build/lib/matlab/engine/fevalfuture.py -> build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/matlab/engine
copying build/lib/matlab/engine/matlabengine.py -> build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/matlab/engine
copying build/lib/matlab/engine/basefuture.py -> build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/matlab/engine
copying build/lib/matlab/engine/__init__.py -> build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/matlab/engine
copying build/lib/matlab/engine/matlabfuture.py -> build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/matlab/engine
copying build/lib/matlab/engine/_arch.txt -> build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/matlab/engine
copying build/lib/matlab/engine/futureresult.py -> build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/matlab/engine
copying build/lib/matlab/engine/enginehelper.py -> build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/matlab/engine
copying build/lib/matlab/engine/engineerror.py -> build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/matlab/engine
copying build/lib/matlab/engine/enginesession.py -> build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/matlab/engine
byte-compiling build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/matlab/__init__.py to __init__.cpython-38.pyc
byte-compiling build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/matlab/engine/fevalfuture.py to fevalfuture.cpython-38.pyc
byte-compiling build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/matlab/engine/matlabengine.py to matlabengine.cpython-38.pyc
byte-compiling build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/matlab/engine/basefuture.py to basefuture.cpython-38.pyc
byte-compiling build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/matlab/engine/__init__.py to __init__.cpython-38.pyc
byte-compiling build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/matlab/engine/matlabfuture.py to matlabfuture.cpython-38.pyc
byte-compiling build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/matlab/engine/futureresult.py to futureresult.cpython-38.pyc
byte-compiling build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/matlab/engine/enginehelper.py to enginehelper.cpython-38.pyc
byte-compiling build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/matlab/engine/engineerror.py to engineerror.cpython-38.pyc
byte-compiling build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/matlab/engine/enginesession.py to enginesession.cpython-38.pyc
creating build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/EGG-INFO
copying dist/matlabengineforpython.egg-info/PKG-INFO -> build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/EGG-INFO
copying dist/matlabengineforpython.egg-info/SOURCES.txt -> build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/EGG-INFO
copying dist/matlabengineforpython.egg-info/dependency_links.txt -> build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/EGG-INFO
copying dist/matlabengineforpython.egg-info/top_level.txt -> build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg/EGG-INFO
zip_safe flag not set; analyzing archive contents...
    matlab.__pycache__.__init__.cpython-38: module references __file__
matlab.__pycache__.__init__.cpython-38: module references __path__
matlab.engine.__pycache__.__init__.cpython-38: module references __file__
creating 'dist/matlabengineforpython-R2022a-py3.8.egg' and adding 'build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg' to it
removing 'build/bdist.macosx-10.9-x86_64/egg' (and everything under it)
Processing matlabengineforpython-R2022a-py3.8.egg
removing '/Users/yasunorihayashi/opt/anaconda3/lib/python3.8/site-packages/matlabengineforpython-R2022a-py3.8.egg' (and everything under it)
creating /Users/yasunorihayashi/opt/anaconda3/lib/python3.8/site-packages/matlabengineforpython-R2022a-py3.8.egg
Extracting matlabengineforpython-R2022a-py3.8.egg to /Users/yasunorihayashi/opt/anaconda3/lib/python3.8/site-packages
matlabengineforpython R2022a is already the active version in easy-install.pth

Installed /Users/yasunorihayashi/opt/anaconda3/lib/python3.8/site-packages/matlabengineforpython-R2022a-py3.8.egg
Processing dependencies for matlabengineforpython===R2022a
Finished processing dependencies for matlabengineforpython===R2022a

Even with some warnings, it appears the installation is finished.

However, with

conda list

Jupyter says

# packages in environment at /usr/local/anaconda3:
#
# Name                    Version                   Build  Channel

(skipped)

markdown                  3.4.1                    pypi_0    pypi
markupsafe                1.1.1            py39h9ed2024_0  
mat4py                    0.5.0                    pypi_0    pypi
matlab                    0.1                      pypi_0    pypi
matlab_kernel             0.17.1           py39h6e9494a_0    conda-forge
matplotlib                3.4.3            py39hecd8cb5_0  
matplotlib-base           3.4.3            py39h0a11d32_0  
matplotlib-inline         0.1.2              pyhd3eb1b0_2  
(skipped)

I do not see MatlabEngine. I am concerened that I am not intalling the module to the right environment.

Indeed, when I use

!conda list

Jupyter says

# packages in environment at /Users/yasunorihayashi/opt/anaconda3:
#
# Name                    Version                   Build  Channel

make                      4.3                  h22f3db7_1    conda-forge
markdown                  3.4.1                    pypi_0    pypi
markupsafe                2.1.1            py38hed1de0f_1    conda-forge
matlab_kernel             0.17.1           py38h50d1736_0    conda-forge
matlabengineforpython     R2021b                   pypi_0    pypi
matplotlib                3.5.2            py38h50d1736_1    conda-forge
matplotlib-base           3.5.2            py38h1b6b9d1_1    conda-forge
matplotlib-inline         0.1.3              pyhd8ed1ab_0    conda-forge

I do see matlabengineforpython. I see it when I performed conda list from Terminal.

I also tried to use

python setup.py install

Then Jupyter Notebook gives the following error message.

  File "/var/folders/tn/ndq7xwrx71vgqpzjb_rl91gc0000gn/T/ipykernel_59616/1000827859.py", line 1
    python setup.py install
           ^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax

Thank you again for your feedback.

Answer 1

[arushi]

Hi Yasunori,

The issue you're experiencing is likely due to installing the matlabengineforpython package in a different Python environment than the one Jupyter Notebook is using. Here's how you can resolve this:

1.Verify the Python Environment in Jupyter Notebook: First, check which Python environment Jupyter Notebook is using. You can do this by running the following command in a new Jupyter cell:pythonCopy codeimport sys

                    print(sys.executable)

This will show the path to the Python executable that Jupyter is using.

2. Install MATLAB Engine in the Correct Environment:If the paths don't match, you need to install the MATLAB Engine API in the environment that Jupyter is using.

3.Use pip Instead of setup.py (Optional):If you continue to encounter warnings with setup.py, you can try using pip to install the package. First, ensure you are in the correct environment, then run:bashCopy codepip install .This command installs the package in the current directory, which should be the MATLAB engine's Python directory.

1. Restart Jupyter Notebook:After installing the package, restart your Jupyter Notebook server to ensure it recognizes the newly installed package.
2. Verify Installation:In a Jupyter Notebook cell, try importing the MATLAB engine to verify the installation:pythonCopy codeimport matlab.engineIf there are no errors, the installation was successful.

Hope this helps.