To get native crash reports for MATLAB on a Mac, you will need to start MATLAB with native crash mode enabled. Follow the steps below:
1. Open the Terminal app
2. Execute the following commands, replacing <path_to_matlab_app> with the MATLAB release you are using (for example, /Applications/MATLAB_R2023b.app):
env MW_CRASH_MODE=native open -a <path_to_matlab_app>
3. After MATLAB opens, continue to work as normal up until MATLAB terminates unexpectedly
4. Once MATLAB terminates, it may take a few minutes for the OS to generate a crash report. After this time, check both of these folders for files ending in .crash (or .ips on macOS 12 and newer):
- ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports
- /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports
If you are sharing your native crash logs for Technical Support purposes, be sure to provide any files in the directory above associated with the general time the crash occurred. Sometimes, native crash reports may not be present, but there may be other files generated that will help identify the source of the issue. Note that it is also possible that the native crash report will not be generated if MATLAB crashes on startup.
How do I know if MATLAB is unresponsive vs. crashing?
A crash occurs when the program terminates unexpectedly. Therefore, if you are unable to continue to use MATLAB but the program/MATLAB window is not forcefully closing, then MATLAB is likely unresponsive/freezing. Some other indicators of MATLAB being unresponsive would include (1) the spinning pinwheel, or (2) MATLAB not responding to interactions, requiring a force close to stop the app.
Native crash reports do not generate if MATLAB freezes (hangs). If this is the case, follow the steps on the following post instead:
https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/2108701-what-files-should-i-provide-if-matlab-freezes-on-a-mac
