MATLAB Actions (original) (raw)
Use MATLAB with GitHub Actions
With GitHub® Actions, you can build and test your MATLAB® project as part of your workflow. For example, you can automatically identify any code issues in your project, run tests and generate test and coverage artifacts, and package your files into a toolbox. The GitHub actions for MATLAB let you run MATLAB code and Simulink® models on GitHub-hosted and self-hosted runners:
- To use a GitHub-hosted runner, include the Setup MATLAB action in your workflow to set up your preferred MATLAB release (R2021a or later) on the runner.
- To use a self-hosted runner, set up a computer with MATLAB on its path and register the runner with GitHub Actions. (On self-hosted UNIX® runners, you can also use the Setup MATLAB action instead of having MATLAB already installed.) The runner uses the topmost MATLAB release on the system path to execute your workflow.
Overview of Actions
To run MATLAB in your workflow, use these actions when you define your workflow in the .github/workflows
directory of your repository:
- To set up your GitHub Actions workflow with a specific release of MATLAB, use the Setup MATLAB action.
- To run a MATLAB build using the MATLAB build tool, use the Run MATLAB Build action.
- To run MATLAB and Simulink tests and generate artifacts, use the Run MATLAB Tests action.
- To run MATLAB scripts, functions, and statements, use the Run MATLAB Command action.
Setup MATLAB
Use the Setup MATLAB action to set up MATLAB and other MathWorks® products on a GitHub-hosted (Linux®, Windows®, or macOS) runner or self-hosted UNIX (Linux or macOS) runner. The action sets up your preferred MATLAB release (R2021a or later) on the runner. If you do not specify a release, the action sets up the latest release of MATLAB.
When you define your workflow, specify this action as matlab-actions/setup-matlab@v2
. For more information, see Action for Setting Up MATLAB.
Run MATLAB Build
Use the Run MATLAB Build action to invoke the MATLAB build tool and run build tasks, such as identifying code issues, running tests, and packaging a toolbox. To use this action, you need MATLAB R2022b or a later release.
When you define your workflow, specify this action as matlab-actions/run-build@v2
. For more information, see Action for Running MATLAB Builds.
Run MATLAB Tests
Use the Run MATLAB Tests action to automatically run tests authored using the MATLAB unit testing framework or Simulink Test™. You can use this action with optional inputs to generate various test and coverage artifacts.
When you define your workflow, specify this action as matlab-actions/run-tests@v2
. For more information, see Action for Running MATLAB Tests.
Run MATLAB Command
Use the Run MATLAB Command action to run MATLAB scripts, functions, and statements. You can use this action to flexibly customize your test run or add a step in MATLAB to your workflow.
When you define your workflow, specify this action as matlab-actions/run-command@v2
. For more information, see Action for Running MATLAB Commands.
Examples
Each example in this section provides the code that defines a workflow. To run an example, copy the example code to a workflow file and store that file in the .github/workflows
directory of your repository. A workflow file can have any name, but it must have either a .yml
or .yaml
file extension (for example, matlab.yml
).
Run Default Tasks in Build File
On a self-hosted runner that has MATLAB installed, run the default tasks in a build file named buildfile.m
in the root of your repository as well as all the tasks on which they depend. To run the tasks, specify the Run MATLAB Build action in your workflow. (The Run MATLAB Build action is supported in MATLAB R2022b and later.)
name: Run Default Tasks in Build File on: [push] jobs: my-job: name: Run MATLAB Build runs-on: self-hosted steps: - name: Check out repository uses: actions/checkout@v4 - name: Run build uses: matlab-actions/run-build@v2
Generate Test and Coverage Artifacts
Using the latest release of MATLAB on a GitHub-hosted runner, run the tests in your MATLAB project and generate test results in JUnit-style XML format and code coverage results in Cobertura XML format. To set up the latest release of MATLAB on the runner, specify the Setup MATLAB action in your workflow. To run the tests and generate the artifacts, specify the Run MATLAB Tests action.
name: Generate Test and Coverage Artifacts on: [push] jobs: my-job: name: Run MATLAB Tests runs-on: ubuntu-latest steps: - name: Check out repository uses: actions/checkout@v4 - name: Set up MATLAB uses: matlab-actions/setup-matlab@v2 - name: Run tests uses: matlab-actions/run-tests@v2 with: test-results-junit: test-results/results.xml code-coverage-cobertura: code-coverage/coverage.xml
Run MATLAB Script
Run the commands in a file named myscript.m
in the root of your repository using MATLAB R2024a on a GitHub-hosted runner. To set up the specified release of MATLAB on the runner, specify the Setup MATLAB action with its release
input in your workflow. To run the script, specify the Run MATLAB Command action.
name: Run MATLAB Script on: [push] jobs: my-job: name: Run MATLAB Script runs-on: ubuntu-latest steps: - name: Check out repository uses: actions/checkout@v4 - name: Set up MATLAB uses: matlab-actions/setup-matlab@v2 with: release: R2024a - name: Run script uses: matlab-actions/run-command@v2 with: command: myscript
Specify MATLAB Release on Self-Hosted Runner
When you use the Run MATLAB Build, Run MATLAB Tests, or Run MATLAB Command action in your workflow, the runner uses the topmost MATLAB release on the system path. The action fails if the runner cannot find any release of MATLAB on the path.
You can prepend your preferred release of MATLAB to the PATH
system environment variable of the self-hosted runner. For example, prepend MATLAB R2020b to the path and use it to run a script. The step depends on your operating system and MATLAB root folder.
name: Specify MATLAB Release on Self-Hosted Runner
on: [push]
jobs:
my-job:
name: Run MATLAB Script
runs-on: self-hosted
steps:
- name: Check out repository
uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Prepend MATLAB to PATH on Windows (PowerShell)
if: runner.os == 'Windows'
run: echo "C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2020b\bin" | Out-File -FilePath $env:GITHUB_PATH -Encoding utf8 -Append
- name: Prepend MATLAB to PATH on Linux
if: runner.os == 'Linux'
run: echo "/usr/local/MATLAB/R2020b/bin" >> $GITHUB_PATH
- name: Prepend MATLAB to PATH on macOS
if: runner.os == 'macOS'
run: echo "/Applications/MATLAB_R2020b.app/bin" >> $GITHUB_PATH
- name: Run script
uses: matlab-actions/run-command@v2
with:
command: myscript
Use MATLAB Batch Licensing Token
When you define a workflow using the Setup MATLAB action, you need a MATLAB batch licensing token if your project is private or if your workflow uses transformation products, such as MATLAB Coder™ and MATLAB Compiler™. Batch licensing tokens are strings that enable MATLAB to start in noninteractive environments. You can request a token by submitting the MATLAB Batch Licensing Pilot form.
To use a MATLAB batch licensing token:
- Set the token as a secret. For more information about secrets, see Using secrets in GitHub Actions.
- Map the secret to an environment variable named
MLM_LICENSE_TOKEN
in your workflow.
For example, use the latest release of MATLAB on a GitHub-hosted runner to run the tests in your private project. To set up the latest release of MATLAB on the runner, specify the Setup MATLAB action in your workflow. To run the tests, specify the Run MATLAB Tests action. In this example, MyToken
is the name of the secret that holds the batch licensing token.
name: Use MATLAB Batch Licensing Token on: [push] env: MLM_LICENSE_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.MyToken }} jobs: my-job: name: Run MATLAB Tests in Private Project runs-on: ubuntu-latest steps: - name: Check out repository uses: actions/checkout@v4 - name: Set up MATLAB uses: matlab-actions/setup-matlab@v2 - name: Run tests uses: matlab-actions/run-tests@v2
Use Virtual Display on Linux Runner
GitHub-hosted Linux runners do not provide a display. To run MATLAB code that requires a display, such as tests that interact with an app UI, first set up a virtual display on the runner by starting an Xvfb display server. For example, set up a virtual server to run the tests for an app created in MATLAB.
name: Use Virtual Display on Linux Runner on: [push] jobs: my-job: name: Test an App runs-on: ubuntu-latest steps: - name: Check out repository uses: actions/checkout@v4 - name: Start virtual display server if: runner.os == 'Linux' run: | sudo apt-get install -y xvfb Xvfb :99 & echo "DISPLAY=:99" >> $GITHUB_ENV - name: Set up MATLAB uses: matlab-actions/setup-matlab@v2 - name: Run tests uses: matlab-actions/run-tests@v2
Notes
- To use the GitHub actions for MATLAB, enable GitHub Actions for your repository. For more information about GitHub Actions permissions, see Managing GitHub Actions settings for a repository.
- By default, when you use the Run MATLAB Build, Run MATLAB Tests, or Run MATLAB Command action, the root of your repository serves as the MATLAB startup folder. To run your MATLAB code using a different folder, specify the
-sd
startup option or include thecd
command when using the Run MATLAB Command action. - The Run MATLAB Build action uses the
-batch
option to invoke the buildtool command. In addition, in MATLAB R2019a and later, the Run MATLAB Tests and Run MATLAB Command actions use the-batch
option to start MATLAB noninteractively. Preferences do not persist across different MATLAB sessions launched with the-batch
option. To run code that requires the same preferences, use a single action. - When you use the Setup MATLAB, Run MATLAB Build, Run MATLAB Tests, and Run MATLAB Command actions, you execute third-party code that is licensed under separate terms.
See Also
Contact Us
If you have any questions or suggestions, contact MathWorks at continuous-integration@mathworks.com.