Zed MATLAB Extension

November 1, 2025 ยท View on GitHub

Zed Extension License

A MATLAB extension for Zed that provides syntax highlighting and language server support.

Features

  • Syntax Highlighting: Full MATLAB syntax highlighting using tree-sitter-matlab
  • Language Server Protocol (LSP): Code completion, diagnostics, hover information, and more via the MATLAB Language Server

Installation

The extension can be installed from the Zed extension marketplace. The syntax highlighting will work out of the box. To enable language server features, follow the setup instructions below.

Language Server Setup

To enable LSP features like code completion and diagnostics, you need to install the MATLAB Language Server and make it available in your PATH.

Prerequisites

  • Node.js (required to run the language server)
  • MATLAB R2021b or later (required for the language server to function)

Installation Steps

  1. Clone the MATLAB Language Server repository:

    git clone https://github.com/mathworks/MATLAB-language-server ~/.local/share/MATLAB-language-server

    On Windows, use a suitable location like:

    git clone https://github.com/mathworks/MATLAB-language-server $env:USERPROFILE\.local\share\MATLAB-language-server

  2. Build the language server:

    cd ~/.local/share/MATLAB-language-server
npm install
npm run compile
npm run package

  3. Create a wrapper script named matlab_ls:

    On Linux/macOS: Create ~/.local/bin/matlab_ls (or another directory in your PATH):

    #!/usr/bin/env bash
exec node "$HOME/.local/share/MATLAB-language-server/out/index.js" "$@"

    Make it executable:

    chmod +x ~/.local/bin/matlab_ls

    On Windows: Create matlab_ls.bat in a directory in your PATH (e.g., C:\Users\<YourUsername>\.local\bin):

    @echo off
node "%USERPROFILE%\.local\share\MATLAB-language-server\out\index.js" %*

  4. Verify the installation:

    matlab_ls --version

Configuration

You can configure the language server by adding settings to your Zed settings.json:

{
  "lsp": {
    "matlab-language-server": {
      "settings": {
        "installPath": "/usr/local/MATLAB/R2024a",
        "indexWorkspace": true,
        "matlabConnectionTiming": "onStart",
        "telemetry": false
      }
    }
  }
}

Configuration Options

  • installPath (string): Path to your MATLAB installation directory (e.g., /usr/local/MATLAB/R2024a on Linux/macOS, or C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2024a on Windows)
  • indexWorkspace (boolean): Whether to index the entire workspace for better code intelligence. Default: false
  • matlabConnectionTiming (string): When to connect to MATLAB. Options: "onStart", "onDemand", "never". Default: "onDemand"
  • telemetry (boolean): Whether to send telemetry data. Default: true

Troubleshooting

Language server not working

If the language server isn't working:

  1. Check that matlab_ls is in your PATH:

    which matlab_ls  # Linux/macOS
where matlab_ls  # Windows

  2. Verify Node.js is installed:

    node --version

  3. Check Zed's log output for error messages (open with Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P and search for "Open Log")

MATLAB installation not found

Make sure the installPath in your settings points to your actual MATLAB installation. The language server needs to locate MATLAB to provide full functionality.

Development

To develop this extension:

  1. Clone this repository
  2. Follow the Developing Extensions guide from Zed docs
  3. Build the extension: cargo build --release
  4. Install locally for testing

Credits

License

See LICENSE file.