If you already have MinGW-w64 installed on your Windows computer (for instance, through Code::Blocks, CLion, MSYS2, or standalone installation), you do not need to download the full MATLAB Add-On package from scratch. You can configure MATLAB to detect and use your existing MinGW installation for compiling MEX files, C/C++ code, and Simulink S-functions.

Here is the complete step-by-step guide to configuring your existing MinGW compiler in MATLAB.

Step 1: Check Your MinGW Architecture & Installation Path

Before connecting MinGW to MATLAB, ensure your existing installation meets MATLAB's requirements:

  • 64-bit Architecture: Modern 64-bit MATLAB requires x86_64 MinGW-w64. A 32-bit (i686) compiler will cause architecture mismatch errors.
  • No Spaces in the Path: MinGW must be installed in a folder path with no spaces (e.g., C:\mingw64 or C:\msys64\mingw64). Avoid directories like C:\Program Files\MinGW.

Step 2: Set the MW_MINGW64_LOC Environment Variable

MATLAB locates third-party MinGW installations by checking a dedicated environment variable named MW_MINGW64_LOC.

Option A: Configure for the Current MATLAB Session

In the MATLAB Command Window, run the following command (replace C:\mingw64 with your actual MinGW root folder):

% Set the MinGW root folder (Do not include \bin)
setenv('MW_MINGW64_LOC', 'C:\mingw64');
Important: Set the path to the root folder of MinGW-w64 (the folder that contains bin, include, and lib), not the \bin folder itself.

Option B: Configure Permanently in Windows (Recommended)

To avoid setting the variable every time you restart MATLAB, add it permanently to Windows System Environment Variables:

  1. Press Win + R, type sysdm.cpl, and press Enter.
  2. Navigate to the Advanced tab and click Environment Variables.
  3. Under System Variables, click New...
  4. Enter the following details:
    • Variable name: MW_MINGW64_LOC
    • Variable value: C:\mingw64 (your MinGW root path)
  5. Click OK on all windows, then restart MATLAB.

Step 3: Run MEX Setup in MATLAB

Once the environment variable is configured, instruct MATLAB to register the C and C++ compilers:

% Setup C++ compiler
mex -setup C++

% Setup C compiler
mex -setup C

You should see a confirmation message similar to:

MEX configured to use 'MinGW64 Compiler (C++)' for C++ language compilation.

Step 4: Verify MEX Compilation with a Test File

To confirm that your compiler builds working binaries, compile and run MATLAB's built-in yprime.c test example:

% Navigate to the examples directory
cd(fullfile(matlabroot, 'extern', 'examples', 'mex'));

% Compile the C MEX source file
mex yprime.c

% Test the compiled MEX function
yprime(1, 1:4)

If the function outputs 2.0000 8.9685 4.0000 -1.0947, your MinGW compiler is fully operational!

Common Troubleshooting & Fixes

1. "No supported compiler was found"

  • Verify that the MW_MINGW64_LOC path contains bin\gcc.exe and bin\g++.exe.
  • Ensure there are no trailing backslashes in the variable path (use C:\mingw64, not C:\mingw64\).
  • Confirm your MinGW is 64-bit by running gcc -v in the Windows Command Prompt (look for Target: x86_64-w64-mingw32).

2. MSYS2 MinGW-w64 Users

If you installed MinGW through MSYS2, set the variable to the mingw64 directory inside MSYS2:

setenv('MW_MINGW64_LOC', 'C:\msys64\mingw64');
mex -setup C++

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to install Microsoft Visual Studio if I use MinGW?

No. MinGW-w64 is a lightweight, free, and fully functional GCC/G++ compiler for compiling standard MEX files and MATLAB Coder / Simulink models without requiring Microsoft Visual Studio.

Why shouldn't I include the "\bin" folder in MW_MINGW64_LOC?

MATLAB's internal MEX build scripts expect the root folder of the MinGW installation and automatically append \bin, \include, and \lib during compilation. Specifying C:\mingw64\bin will break the path resolver.