Campus Software Library - Running the Matlab Activation Client

Steps to update your license file and run the Matlab Activation Client in order to renew a yearly Matlab license.

MATLAB - Updating the License File

  1. Open MATLAB.
  2. Select the drop-down menu under the Help button on the toolbar.
  3. Select Licensing.
  4. Select Update Current License.
  5. Select the license that you want to update.
  6. Click on the update.
  7. Confirm that you want to update the license by selecting Yes on the next screen.
  8. If this step fails, you may need to run the Activation Client directly. Please see the steps below on how to do that based on your operating system.

    Running the Activation Client - Windows

    1. Click Start.
    2. Go to All Programs.
    3. Then go to MATLAB.
    4. Click on the folder for the MATLAB release that you wish to activate (e.g., R2025a). 
    5. Select the option to Activate MATLAB.

    You can also launch the activation client directly by running activate_matlab.exe from $MATLABROOT\bin\win64. You can find $MATLABROOT\bin\win64 in the MATLAB installation folder.

    Running the Activation Client - Linux

    To launch the activation client, you will need to use the activate_matlab.sh script in the $MATLABROOT\bin folder. To launch this script, follow the subsequent steps:

    1. Open a Terminal window.
      • On Mac OS X, go to Applications 
        ➤ Utilities 
        ➤ Terminal.
    2. In the Terminal window, run the following commands:

    cd $MATLABROOT/bin

    ./activate_matlab

    You can find $MATLABROOT\bin\lin64 in the MATLAB installation folder.

    Note: You may need administrator or superuser permissions in order to complete activation.

    Running the Activation Client - Mac OS X+

    For MATLAB 7.8 (R2008b) and later on Mac OS X, you can also launch the activation client from Finder, as outlined below:

    1. Open a Finder window.
    2. Locate the MATLAB.app icon in your Applications folder (e.g., MATLAB_R2025b.app).
    3. Open the MATLAB folder by pressing Ctrl + click (or right-click).
    4. Select Show Package Contents.
    5. Double-click on Activate in the MATLAB folder to start the activation client.


    Keywords:
    Campus software library, CSL, Matlab, renewal, update, matlab license 
    Doc ID:
    46404
    Owned by:
    Chris L. in DoIT Help Desk
    Created:
    2015-01-23
    Updated:
    2025-12-17
    Sites:
    DoIT Help Desk