Running Matlab using Python gives 'No module named matlab.engine' error

Question

I am trying to run Matlab code using Python. I tried to follow the instructions given on this Mathworks page.

When trying to import Matlab though Python, it was installed using pip install matlab.

However, importing matlab.engine gives the error No module named 'matlab.engine'; 'matlab' is not a package. It cannot be installed using pip install engine either.

How can I get the code running? The Python code I'm running is as below:

import matlab.engine
eng = matlab.engine.start_matlab()
eng.triarea(nargout=0)

Python version - 3.5

Matlab version - 8.5.0.197613 (R2015a)

You have matlab installed? And followed these instructions: mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_external/…? — Pullie
– Pullie, Commented Sep 10, 2017 at 14:36

Fleur · Accepted Answer · 2017-09-10 20:23:39Z

11

You need to install the Matlab Engine for Python, and it cannot be installed using pip. Try the instructions listed here. I have listed the instructions briefly below:

Make sure you have Python in your PATH.
Find the Matlab root folder. You can use the matlabroot command within Matlab to find it.
Go to the Matlab root folder in the command line.
cd "matlabroot\extern\engines\python" (In Windows)
python setup.py install

answered Sep 10, 2017 at 20:23

Fleur

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4 Comments

Audrey Over a year ago

Gave an error saying the engine is not available for Python 3.5. Only for Python 2.7, 3.3 and 3.4.

Sam Roberts Over a year ago

Python 3.5 is supported by MATLAB R2016b and above.

DreamerP Over a year ago

I am using MatlabR2018b and Python 3.6. Getting the error matlab.engine.EngineError: MATLAB function cannot be evaluated

DreamerP Over a year ago

I am just writing a simple function in Matlab and trying to call that using python program.... printk(); function printk() fprintf(' Hello world!'); end

Jeronimo · Accepted Answer · 2017-09-10 14:25:56Z

1

pip install matlab gives you this, which installs a module with

from numpy import *
from pylab import *

inside. I'm quite sure this is not what you wanted...

I guess you tried importing the Matlab Compiler Runtime for Python. This has to be installed with the respective software from Mathworks though, it doesn't come through Python package index / pip. Check out the instrucions on their site.

answered Sep 10, 2017 at 14:25

Jeronimo

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Comments

Madeline Mapes · Accepted Answer · 2021-06-02 23:20:58Z

1

I was stuck on this for so long and I cant find a good explanation for it so here y'all go. There's a package for python called matlab here

And it has nothing to do with the matlab engine for python. When you pip install matlab it's installing this. I'm using pycharm and this is the default one it installed. I uninstalled this matlab and, instead, I copied the necessary information to my python project.

To do this, I located the folder named Matlab that is copied somewhere in AppData when you run python setup.py install in matlabroot/extern/engines/python and copied it to the lib folder in the venv of my python project since I'm using the virtual environment interpreter for pycharm.

answered Jun 2, 2021 at 23:20

Madeline Mapes

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Comments

VARAT BOHARA · Accepted Answer · 2022-05-29 05:21:19Z

You can visit to MATLAB official documentation: https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_external/install-the-matlab-engine-for-python.html

I have copied here as well.

Install Python Engine for Multiple MATLAB Versions You can specify a MATLAB version to run from a Python script by installing the MATLAB Python packages to version-specific locations. For example, suppose that you want to call either MATLAB R2019a or R2019b from a Python version 3.6 script.

From the Windows system prompt, install the R2019a package in a subfolder named matlab19aPy36:

cd "c:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2019a\extern\engines\python" 
python setup.py install --prefix="c:\work\matlab19aPy36"

Install the R2019b package in a matlab19bPy36 subfolder:

cd "c:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2019b\extern\engines\python" 
python setup.py install --prefix="c:\work\matlab19bPy36"

From a Linux system prompt:

cd "/usr/local/MATLAB/R2019a/bin/matlab/extern/engines/python"
python setup.py install --prefix="/local/work/matlab19aPy36"
cd "/usr/local/MATLAB/R2019b/bin/matlab/extern/engines/python"
python setup.py install --prefix="/local/work/matlab19bPy36"

From a Mac Terminal:

cd "/Applications/MATLAB_R2019a.app/extern/engines/python"
python setup.py install --prefix="/local/work/matlab19aPy36"
cd "/Applications/MATLAB_R2019b.app/extern/engines/python"
python setup.py install --prefix="/local/work/matlab19bPy36"

atinjanki · Accepted Answer · 2022-12-16 10:19:14Z

0

I too did the same. Installed matlab using

pip install matlab

and got the same error No module named 'matlab.engine'; 'matlab' is not a package.

Then I checked the official documentation for installing MATLAB Engine API for Python, and followed the installation steps from there.

For me,

pip install matlabengine

solved the issue!

answered Dec 16, 2022 at 10:19

atinjanki

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evelyn · Accepted Answer · 2024-03-14 08:24:23Z

0

I think you need to check the compatibility with python version, matlab version and MATLAB engine version: https://pypi.org/project/matlabengine/#history follow the webpage to install: https://au.mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_external/install-the-matlab-engine-for-python.html

answered Mar 14, 2024 at 8:24

evelyn

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1 Comment

KeyboardCat Over a year ago

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