Where does MATLAB keep preference settings? Is it possible for multiple users to have different preferences while using the same installation of MATLAB?
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Where does MATLAB keep preference settings?
Is it possible for multiple users to have different preferences while using the same installation of MATLAB?
Accepted Answer
MathWorks Support Team
on 10 Oct 2025
Edited: MathWorks Support Team
on 10 Oct 2025
1 vote
Multiple users can share a single installation of MATLAB but still keep individual preferences. This does not require any extra configuration.
Under Windows, MATLAB checks the %UserProfile% environment variable or the Windows Registry and creates several files under the current user's profile. Once created, these files are used to store the user's preferences.
The process is similar in a Unix, Linux, or Mac environment. MATLAB checks the current users $HOME environment variable for the user's home directory and stores preferences in a /home/<username>/.matlab directory.
In order to find the current location of a user's preferences files, the "prefdir" function can be used from within MATLAB.
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