Why do I get an error that says the MATLAB installer can't be opened because it was not downloaded from the Mac App Store?

When attempting to install MATLAB on OS X (10.7 or higher), I receive the following error message: 

"InstallForMacOSX" can't be opened because it was not downloaded from the Mac App Store.Your security preferences allow installation of only apps from the Mac App Store.

How do I resolve this issue?

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

This error is being caused by your current Gatekeeper settings within OS X.

To work around this, you can either grant a temporary exception for the MATLAB Installer or lower your Gatekeeper settings to allow programs downloaded from the internet to be run.

To allow the MATLAB Installer on a one-time basis (recommended), you should:

1. Navigate into your Downloads directory.
2. Right-click or CTRL+click on 'Install for Mac OS X'.
3. Click 'Open' in the drop-down menu.
4. When asked, click 'Open' to continue using this program.

If you would prefer to disable Gatekeeper all together, try these steps instead:

1. Navigate to: Apple Menu > System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General.
2. Once there, select the radio button that says 'Anywhere'.
3. MATLAB should install successfully.

If 'Anywhere' is not available as an option in the menu:

         1.Navigate to: Applications > Utilities > Terminal or launch Terminal by using Spotlight search 

         2.Type the command: sudo spctl --master-disable

The user will need to enter their administrator password.

Note: You may have to 'open' the pad lock in the corner of the Security & Privacy tab.

For more information directly from Apple, please see the following Apple Knowledge Base article:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202491