system — Execute an operating-system command and return status and output text.
status = system(command) runs a host operating-system command. [status, output] = system(command) also returns the command's combined standard output and standard error text.
Syntax
[status, output] = system(command)
[status, output] = system(command, '-echo')Inputs
| Name | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
command | StringScalar | Yes | — | Operating-system command to execute. |
echo | StringScalar | Yes | '-echo' | The literal '-echo', which also writes command output to the console. |
Returns
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
status | NumericScalar | 0 on success, nonzero on failure. |
message | StringScalar | Command output or diagnostic text. |
Returned values from system depend on how many outputs the caller requests.
How system works
- Executes commands through cmd /C on Windows and sh -c on Unix-like hosts.
- The command must be a character vector or string scalar. Numeric and GPU-resident values are rejected before any process is started.
- Pass
'-echo'as the optional second argument to write command output to the RunMat console while still returning the requested outputs. - Returns status by default; with two requested outputs returns status and combined stdout/stderr text.
- When called with zero requested outputs, command output is written to the RunMat console stream.
- In WebAssembly builds, returns a nonzero status and an explanatory message because process execution is unavailable.
Using system with coding agents
Open a RunMat example with live inputs, then ask the agent to explain how system changes the result.
Run a small system example, explain the result, then change one input and compare the output.
Related Io functions
Repl Fs
addpath · cd · copyfile · delete · dir · exist · fileattrib · fileparts · fullfile · genpath · getenv · getpref · isenv · isfile · isfolder · ispref · ls · matlabroot · memmapfile · mkdir · movefile · open · opentoline · path · pathsep · pcode · pwd · readstruct · rehash · restoredefaultpath · rmdir · rmpath · run · savepath · setenv · setpref · tempdir · tempname · uigetdir · uigetfile · uiputfile · unsetenv · userpath · what · winqueryreg · xmlread · xmlwrite
Tabular
arrayDatastore · csvread · csvwrite · detectImportOptions · dlmread · dlmwrite · fileDatastore · parquetDatastore · parquetinfo · parquetread · readcell · readmatrix · readtable · readtimetable · spreadsheetImportOptions · writecell · writematrix · writetable · writetimetable · xlsread · xlswrite
Filetext
fclose · feof · fgetl · fgets · fileread · filewrite · fopen · fprintf · fread · frewind · fwrite · readlines · writelines
Import
Json
About RunMat
RunMat is an open-source runtime that executes MATLAB-syntax code blazing on any GPU. It is licensed under the Apache 2.0 license.
- RunMat automatically optimizes your math for GPU execution on Apple, Nvidia, and AMD hardware. No code changes needed. Simulations that took hours now take minutes.
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