Nexus Nexus - MATLAB Compatible Computing Platform

💻 Nexus IDE Setup Guide

Visual Studio Code (Recommended)

VS Code is the recommended IDE for developing with Nexus (Octave MATLAB Compatibility). It provides excellent support for MATLAB/Octave syntax, debugging, and extensions.

Step 1: Install VS Code

  1. Download VS Code from code.visualstudio.com
  2. Install VS Code on your system
  3. Launch VS Code

Step 2: Install MATLAB Extension

  1. Open VS Code
  2. Click the Extensions icon in the sidebar (or press Ctrl+Shift+X)
  3. Search for "MATLAB"
  4. Install the "MATLAB" extension by MathWorks
  5. Alternatively, install "Octave" extension for Octave-specific support

Step 3: Configure Nexus Path

  1. Open VS Code Settings (Ctrl+, or Cmd+, on Mac)
  2. Search for "matlab" or "octave"
  3. Set the MATLAB Path or Octave Path to your Nexus installation:
    • Linux: /usr/local/nexus/bin/octave or /path/to/nexus/src/octave
    • Windows: C:\Program Files\Nexus\bin\octave.exe
    • macOS: /usr/local/nexus/bin/octave
  4. If building from source, use: /home/bryantaylor/camlogic_repos/nexus/src/octave

Step 4: Open Your Project

  1. In VS Code, go to File → Open Folder
  2. Navigate to your Nexus project directory
  3. Select the folder containing your .m files

Step 5: Verify Setup

  1. Create a test file test.m:
    2. % Test Nexus installation
disp('Nexus is working!');
version
  2. Right-click the file and select "Run in MATLAB" or "Run in Octave"
  3. Check the output panel to verify Nexus is executing your code

VS Code Features for Nexus:

  • ✅ Syntax highlighting for MATLAB/Octave
  • ✅ Code completion and IntelliSense
  • ✅ Integrated terminal for running Nexus
  • ✅ Debugging support
  • ✅ Git integration
  • ✅ Extension marketplace for additional tools

Alternative IDEs

GNU Emacs

Emacs has excellent support for Octave/MATLAB with the octave-mode package.

  1. Install Emacs: sudo apt-get install emacs
  2. Install octave-mode via package manager
  3. Configure .emacs to load octave-mode for .m files

MATLAB Desktop (if licensed)

If you have a MATLAB license, you can use MATLAB Desktop IDE, but Nexus is designed to be a drop-in replacement, so VS Code is recommended.

Command Line Usage

You can also use Nexus directly from the command line: 

# Run a script
nexus script.m

# Interactive mode
nexus

# With options
nexus --no-gui script.m

Troubleshooting

VS Code can't find Nexus

  • Verify Nexus is installed and in your PATH
  • Check the path in VS Code settings matches your installation
  • Restart VS Code after changing settings

Extension not working

  • Ensure the extension is enabled
  • Check VS Code output panel for errors
  • Try reloading the window (Ctrl+Shift+P → "Reload Window")

Syntax highlighting issues

  • Ensure file has .m extension
  • Manually set language mode: Ctrl+K M → "MATLAB" or "Octave"

Additional Resources