MATLAB won’t start – Reset MathWorks Service Host credentials

When MATLAB shows an error at launch - Unable to save login information. You are currently signed in but you will be promted to sign in again the next time that you start this application.

It's because the MathWorks Service Host may be stuck. We can fix this by clearing the local credentials and relaunching MATLAB.

1. Close all MATLAB windows.

2. Run the two commands for your OS to stop MathWorksServiceHost and remove the local credentials folder.
   

   Windows – in Command Prompt:

   taskkill /IM MathWorksServiceHost.exe /F
   rd /s /q %APPDATA%\MathWorks\credentials
   

   Linux – in Terminal:

   killall MathWorksServiceHost
   rm -rf ~/.matlab/credentials
   

   macOS – in Terminal:

   killall MathWorksServiceHost
   rm -rf "$HOME/Library/Application Support/MathWorks/credentials"

3. Start MATLAB again and sign in if prompted.

Notes:

• These steps remove only local cached credentials; they do not affect your MathWorks account or license.

• If you see “access denied” on Windows, open Command Prompt as administrator and try again.

• If MATLAB still fails to start, restart the computer and repeat step 3, then contact IT with the exact error message.