--initialize-matlab-on-startup false is ignored, MATLAB always starts immediately

[KaisvenZ]

Describe the bug The matlab-mcp-core-server ignores the --initialize-matlab-on-startup false command-line argument and always initializes MATLAB on startup (internally treating it as true).

Environment

matlab-mcp-core-server version: v0.10.0
MATLAB version: R2025a
Operating System: macOS (Darwin 27.0.0, Apple Silicon)
AI Agent: Claude Code (VS Code extension 2.1.170)
To Reproduce

Configure MCP server with --initialize-matlab-on-startup false:

Code
· json
{
"matlab": {
"command": "/Users/kaisven/.matlab/agentic-toolkits/bin/matlab-mcp-core-server",
"args": [
"--matlab-root", "/Applications/MATLAB_R2025a.app",
"--matlab-display-mode", "desktop",
"--initialize-matlab-on-startup", "false"
]
}
}
Start the MCP server (e.g., by opening Claude Code)

Observe that MATLAB desktop automatically launches

Expected behavior With --initialize-matlab-on-startup false, MATLAB should NOT start until the first MCP tool is called.

Actual behavior MATLAB desktop launches immediately when the MCP server starts, despite the false argument.

Evidence

Command line shows false:

Code
ps aux | grep matlab-mcp-core-server
.../matlab-mcp-core-server --matlab-root /Applications/MATLAB_R2025a.app --matlab-display-mode desktop --initialize-matlab-on-startup false
Server internal configuration shows true (from server logs):

Code
· json
{
"time": "2026-06-10T16:46:55.846793+08:00",
"level": "INFO",
"msg": "Configuration state",
"InitializeMATLABOnStartup": true,
"MATLABDisplayMode": "desktop",
...
}
Impact

Multiple MATLAB instances accumulate when using different AI agents
MATLAB window steals focus repeatedly, disrupting workflow
System resources consumed by unnecessary MATLAB processes
Additional context

The issue occurs consistently across restarts
Both Claude Code (~/.claude.json) and Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json) configurations are affected
No reliable workaround available

[ybenouag]

Thanks for the detailed report.

This is a CLI parsing quirk. The server uses spf13/pflag, where boolean flags don't accept space-separated values, only =value. Splitting --initialize-matlab-on-startup and false into two argv entries makes pflag set the bool to true (its no-value default) and silently drop "false" as a leftover positional arg, which is exactly what your log shows.

To unblock you: since false is already the default, just drop the flag.

"args": [
  "--matlab-root", "/Applications/MATLAB_R2025a.app",
  "--matlab-display-mode", "desktop"
]

If you want to keep it explicit, combine the flag and value with = in a single entry:

"args": [
  "--matlab-root", "/Applications/MATLAB_R2025a.app",
  "--matlab-display-mode", "desktop",
  "--initialize-matlab-on-startup=false"
]

We'll keep this open to fix the silent-drop on our side. The parser should error or accept the space-separated form like every other flag.