Agent skill

Matlab Environment

by isetbio in isetbio/isetbio

Configure or troubleshoot a local MATLAB and VS Code environment for ISETBio.

MITAuto-check passed

Install Matlab Environment

skills CLI
$ npx skills add isetbio/isetbio --skill matlab-environment -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install isetbio/isetbio matlab-environment --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/isetbio/isetbio.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.github/skills/matlab-environment .claude/skills/matlab-environment && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
matlab-environment
GitHub stars
115
Token cost
~558 tokens
SKILL.md length
211 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
9
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Configure or troubleshoot a local MATLAB and VS Code environment for ISETBio.

  • Setting MATLAB paths
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
  • Configuring the MathWorks VS Code extension
  • Starting MATLAB Desktop

What it does

Matlab Environment is an agent skill from isetbio/isetbio. Configure or troubleshoot a local MATLAB and VS Code environment for ISETBio. Use when setting MATLAB paths, configuring the MathWorks VS Code extension, starting MATLAB Desktop or Live Editor, or diagnosing MATLAB session startup and connection behavior.

Its SKILL.md is about 560 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It works with Visual Studio Code. The repository describes itself as: Tools for modeling image systems engineering in the human visual system front end. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Setting MATLAB paths
  • Configuring the MathWorks VS Code extension
  • Starting MATLAB Desktop
  • Diagnosing MATLAB session startup and connection behavior

Example prompts

  • “/matlab-environment”

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit d2924c2. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are matlab and jsonc).

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Matlab Environment loads about 558 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 69 tokens; SKILL.md has 211 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~69
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~558

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from isetbio/isetbio at commit d2924c2, republished under its MIT licence (© isetbio). 211 words, ~558 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/matlab-environment/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
matlab-environment
description
Configure or troubleshoot a local MATLAB and VS Code environment for ISETBio. Use when setting MATLAB paths, configuring the MathWorks VS Code extension, starting MATLAB Desktop or Live Editor, or diagnosing MATLAB session startup and connection behavior.

MATLAB Environment

Instructions & Guidelines

Use a MATLAB session with both ISETCam and ISETBio, including subdirectories, on its path. ISETCam is required for ISETBio development and testing.

Run the following in the MATLAB Command Window for the session you intend to use:

matlab
addpath(genpath(fullfile(getenv('HOME'),'Documents','MATLAB','isetcam')));
addpath(genpath(fullfile(getenv('HOME'),'Documents','MATLAB','isetbio')));

which ieInit

For repeated parfor-heavy tutorial or example work, optionally warm the pool after path setup:

matlab
ieParallelPoolWarmUp('config','conservative','runSilent',true);
VS Code

Install the recommended MathWorks.language-matlab extension. The repository uses MATLAB.matlabConnectionTiming: "onDemand"; retain that workspace default unless the team intentionally changes it. Set MATLAB.installPath in personal VS Code settings when automatic discovery does not find MATLAB, for example:

jsonc
"MATLAB.installPath": "/Applications/MATLAB_R2025b.app",
"files.associations": { "*.m": "matlab" }

When using MATLAB Desktop or Live Editor, start the Desktop first, wait for it to become responsive, then open VS Code and a .m file. The extension may run a separate background MATLAB process for language features; this is expected.

If a VS Code-started session prevents Desktop MATLAB from opening later, quit both applications and stop only the lingering MathWorks helper processes before relaunching the Desktop.

Personal startup.m

Keep desktop-specific personal initialization from running in headless or VS Code sessions. A guard can test usejava('desktop'), VSCODE_PID, and VSCODE_IPC_HOOK_CLI; in a VS Code-only session, print the path-setup reminder and, if needed for debugging, call matlab.engine.shareEngine.

Do not commit machine-specific MATLAB installation paths or personal startup.m changes to this repository.

© isetbio, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in .github/skills/matlab-environment of isetbio/isetbio.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit d2924c2

Compare with similar skills

Matlab Environment next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Matlab Environment compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Matlab Environment this skillisetbio/isetbio115—~558Automated safety check: PassMIT
Agent Browser CLIvercel-labs/agent-browser44k24 repos~864Automated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Electron App Automationvercel-labs/agent-browser44k5 repos~1.7kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Microsoft Skill CreatorMicrosoftDocs/mcp1.9k3 repos~2.1kAutomated safety check: PassCC-BY-4.0
Evals Contextzgsm-ai/costrict4.4k1 repos~1.9kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Ketch1broseidon/ketch6971 repos~3.9kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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More from isetbio/isetbio

All 9 skills in this repo
  • Matlab Evaluation

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    Run MATLAB non-interactively from a shell on this machine — locating the MATLAB binary, setting ISETCam/ISETBio paths for a batch session, and invoking -batch evaluation.

    115 GitHub stars~568 tokensUpdated 12 days ago
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  • Matlab Testing

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    Develop, run, diagnose, or report ISETBio MATLAB tests. An agent skill from isetbio/isetbio.

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  • Retinal Mosaic Data

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  • Create, move, review, publish, or test ISETBio tutorials, examples, and data-generation scripts.

    115 GitHub stars~560 tokensUpdated 12 days ago
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  • Sdr Mosaic Data

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    Create, publish, organize, or fetch the ISETBio retinal mosaic data deposit in the Stanford Digital Repository (SDR).

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  • Matlab Script Review

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Questions about Matlab Environment

What does Matlab Environment do?

Configure or troubleshoot a local MATLAB and VS Code environment for ISETBio. Matlab Environment is an agent skill from isetbio/isetbio. Configure or troubleshoot a local MATLAB and VS Code environment for ISETBio.

When should I use Matlab Environment?

Matlab Environment fits situations like: setting MATLAB paths; configuring the MathWorks VS Code extension; starting MATLAB Desktop; diagnosing MATLAB session startup and connection behavior.

How do I install Matlab Environment in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add isetbio/isetbio --skill matlab-environment -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.github/skills/matlab-environment in isetbio/isetbio) into .claude/skills/matlab-environment in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Matlab Environment in Codex?

Run `npx skills add isetbio/isetbio --skill matlab-environment -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.github/skills/matlab-environment in isetbio/isetbio) into .agents/skills/matlab-environment in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Matlab Environment in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add isetbio/isetbio --skill matlab-environment -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/matlab-environment, .gemini/skills/matlab-environment, .github/skills/matlab-environment and .opencode/skills/matlab-environment in your project.

What does Matlab Environment need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Matlab Environment is instructions for the agent only.

Does Matlab Environment access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Matlab Environment safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Matlab Environment use?

Matlab Environment is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Matlab Environment use?

About 558 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 2.2k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Matlab Environment?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Matlab Environment: Agent Browser CLI (vercel-labs/agent-browser, 44k stars), Electron App Automation (vercel-labs/agent-browser, 44k stars), Microsoft Skill Creator (MicrosoftDocs/mcp, 1.9k stars) and Evals Context (zgsm-ai/costrict, 4.4k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Matlab Environment?

isetbio (a GitHub organization) maintains it in isetbio/isetbio, which has 115 GitHub stars. The repository holds 9 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on September 25, 2026.

Source: isetbio/isetbio on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.