MATLAB and GNU Octave

Use this skill to design or review numerical code, migrate MATLAB releases, prepare reproducible projects, and plan trusted execution. MATLAB and GNU Octave are distinct products: compatibility is partial, not a license or behavior guarantee.

Review scope

Reviewed against current MathWorks R2026b documentation and GNU Octave 11.3.0 sources on 2026-10-01. The bundled Engine planner and MATLAB examples retain an explicit R2026a baseline. R2026b supports CPython 3.10-3.14; do not reuse the R2026a Engine package for it. MATLAB/Octave examples are illustrative and were not executed in this review; the Python helpers have local synthetic tests. This skill uses local runtime APIs, with no remote service endpoint or API key.

Product and license gate

• MATLAB R2026a is proprietary. Do not assume MATLAB, MATLAB Online, a named toolbox, MATLAB Test, MATLAB Compiler, MATLAB Coder, Parallel Computing Toolbox, or an add-on is installed, licensed, or available to the user.
• MATLAB Runtime is not MATLAB. It runs compatible applications produced with MATLAB Compiler; it cannot run arbitrary source or host MATLAB Engine for Python. Building artifacts needs the applicable licensed compiler and every product used by the source.
• GNU Octave 11.3.0 is free software under GPLv3+. Octave packages are not MATLAB toolboxes. Similar names do not imply API, numerical, graphics, or licensing equivalence.
• Ask which runtime, release, platform, installed products, and license context the user actually has. Treat availability as unknown until confirmed.

See Octave compatibility and execution/product boundaries.

Nonnegotiable safety boundary

Never run an untrusted .m, .mlx, MEX binary, MAT file, project startup or shutdown action, package installer, or generated artifact. Static review does not prove safety.

Treat these as execution or code-loading surfaces:

• eval, evalin, assignin, text-derived feval, str2func, callbacks, timers, app callbacks, and dynamically modified paths;
• system, unix, dos, shell escape !, Java, .NET, Python (py.*, pyrun, pyrunfile), MEX, and native libraries;
• mex, codegen, MATLAB Compiler, build tasks, package/project startup, and generated code;
• load, object deserialization (loadobj, custom serialization), function handles, Java/System objects, and class code reachable from MAT files.

.mlx is an opaque archive for this toolkit and MEX is native executable code. Do not use Python pickle for exchange. Inspect first, isolate when appropriate, obtain explicit approval, then invoke a user-confirmed executable and license. Bundled scripts are static or dry-run tools: none launches MATLAB, Octave, Python Engine, a compiler, or a subprocess.

Default workflow

1. Clarify target. Record MATLAB release or Octave version, OS/architecture, base product versus required toolboxes/packages, expected inputs/outputs, numerical tolerances, and whether execution is authorized.
2. Inventory statically. Scan .m files, opaque artifacts, project paths, required products, and MAT headers before any runtime loads them.
3. Choose code form. Prefer functions with an arguments block for automation. Use scripts only for controlled orchestration and live scripts for reviewed interactive narratives.
4. Make semantics explicit. Record shapes, classes, units, missing-value rules, indexing, implicit expansion, RNG algorithm/seed, tolerances, and output formats.
5. Test without hidden state. Keep fixtures synthetic, paths project-local, graphics deterministic, and tests independent of base-workspace residue.
6. Plan execution. Generate an argv plan, review startup/path effects and licenses, and launch only after explicit approval outside these helpers.
7. Capture provenance. Hash named inputs/code and record release, products, RNG policy, tolerances, and command plan without dumping the environment.

Language and data checklist

Scripts, functions, and live scripts

• Scripts share the caller/base workspace and leave variables behind. Functions have local workspaces and explicit inputs/outputs.
• Live scripts (.mlx) mix code and rich output but are not plain-text review artifacts. Export reviewed code to .m for static inspection.

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