Installation Guide

March 25, 2026 ยท View on GitHub

Install MATLAB Slash Commands for Claude Code using one of the methods below.

Prerequisites

  • Claude Code CLI installed and configured
  • MATLAB development environment (optional, for testing generated code)
  • Git (for manual installation)

Installation Methods

Note: This method will be available once the plugin is published to the Claude Code registry.

# Install directly from Claude Code
/plugin install matlab-slash-commands

# Or install from GitHub
/plugin install github:matlab/slash-commands

Method 2: Manual Installation

Step 1: Clone the Repository

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/matlab/slash-commands.git

# Navigate to the directory
cd slash-commands

Step 2: Copy Plugin Files

Windows:

# Copy plugin files to Claude Code directory
xcopy /E /I .claude-plugin "%APPDATA%\claude\plugins\matlab-slash-commands"
xcopy /E /I commands "%APPDATA%\claude\plugins\matlab-slash-commands\commands"

macOS/Linux:

# Create plugins directory if it doesn't exist
mkdir -p ~/.claude/plugins/matlab-slash-commands

# Copy plugin files
cp -r .claude-plugin/* ~/.claude/plugins/matlab-slash-commands/
cp -r commands ~/.claude/plugins/matlab-slash-commands/

Step 3: Verify Installation

  1. Restart Claude Code or reload plugins
  2. Type /matlab- to see available commands
  3. Test a simple command: /matlab-explain

Method 3: Development Installation

For contributing or customizing commands:

# Fork the repository first, then:
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/slash-commands.git
cd slash-commands

# Create a symbolic link (Windows - run as Administrator)
mklink /D "%APPDATA%\claude\plugins\matlab-slash-commands" "%CD%"

# Create a symbolic link (macOS/Linux)
ln -s $(pwd) ~/.claude/plugins/matlab-slash-commands

Method 4: GitHub Copilot

Copy the prompt files to your repository:

# From the cloned repo
cp -r copilot/prompts/ /path/to/your/repo/.github/prompts/

Commands appear as slash commands in Copilot Chat (VS Code, JetBrains). 6 key commands available.

Method 5: Cursor IDE

Copy the rules file to your project:

mkdir -p /path/to/your/project/.cursor/rules
cp cursor/rules/matlab-development.mdc /path/to/your/project/.cursor/rules/

Provides always-on MATLAB context for .m, .mlx, and .mlapp files.

MCP Server Setup (Optional, All Agents)

The MATLAB MCP Core Server enables live code execution across any agent:

  1. Install from github.com/matlab/matlab-mcp-core-server
  2. Configure your agent (see MCP Integration Guide)
  3. Verify with /matlab-toolboxes (Claude Code) or check toolbox listing

Configuration

Plugin Settings

Edit .claude-plugin/plugin.json to customize:

{
  "name": "matlab-slash-commands",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "settings": {
    "defaultMatlabVersion": "R2023b",
    "enableVerboseMode": false,
    "preferredOptimizationLevel": "balanced"
  }
}

Command Customization

Individual commands can be customized by editing their markdown files in the commands/ directory.

Updating

Automatic Updates

/plugin update matlab-slash-commands

Manual Updates

cd slash-commands
git pull origin main

# If using symbolic links, changes are immediate
# Otherwise, repeat the copy process from installation

Troubleshooting

Commands Not Appearing

  1. Check Claude Code plugin directory:

    • Windows: %APPDATA%\claude\plugins\
    • macOS/Linux: ~/.claude/plugins/

  2. Verify plugin.json is valid JSON:

# Validate JSON syntax
python -m json.tool .claude-plugin/plugin.json
  1. Reload plugins in Claude Code:
/plugin reload

Command Execution Errors

  1. Check command file exists in correct location
  2. Verify markdown frontmatter is properly formatted
  3. Ensure no syntax errors in command content

MCP Server Not Connecting

  1. Verify MATLAB is installed and on the PATH
  2. Check the MCP server logs for errors
  3. Ensure the MATLAB MCP Core Server is running
  4. See MCP Integration Guide for detailed troubleshooting

Version Conflicts

If you have multiple versions installed:

  1. Remove all versions:
# Windows
rmdir /S "%APPDATA%\claude\plugins\matlab-slash-commands"

# macOS/Linux
rm -rf ~/.claude/plugins/matlab-slash-commands
  1. Reinstall fresh version

Platform-Specific Notes

Windows

  • Run Command Prompt as Administrator for symbolic links
  • Use PowerShell for better Unix-like command support
  • Path separators use backslash (\)

macOS

  • May need to grant terminal permissions for file access
  • Use Homebrew to install git if needed: brew install git

Linux

  • Ensure proper file permissions: chmod -R 755 ~/.claude/plugins/matlab-slash-commands
  • Some distributions may use different config directories

Verification Tests

After installation, test these commands:

# Test documentation generation
/matlab-readme

# Test function documentation
/matlab-docs myFunction

# Test code explanation
/matlab-explain

# Test optimization
/matlab-optimize

Uninstallation

Via Plugin Manager

/plugin uninstall matlab-slash-commands

Manual Removal

Windows:

rmdir /S /Q "%APPDATA%\claude\plugins\matlab-slash-commands"

macOS/Linux:

rm -rf ~/.claude/plugins/matlab-slash-commands

Getting Help

Next Steps

After installation:

  1. Read the Usage Guide
  2. Review Command Reference
  3. Try example workflows in the main README
  4. Customize commands for your development process