pymatreader
Convenient reader for Matlab mat files
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. The package is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, installs with low friction, and solves a specific, well-defined problem. Choose it if you need to read MATLAB files in Python.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python >= 3.10
- Low friction: pure Python wheel with four well-established scientific dependencies.
- Actively maintained with a release 102 days ago.
License · maintenance · safety
BSD-2-Clause (permissive) — BSD-2-Clause permissive license allows free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions—suitable for both open and closed projects.
last release 2026-05-04 (102 days)
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 129,321 downloads/mo, #11,675 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install pymatreader
from pymatreader import read_mat
data = read_mat(filename)
# data is a dict containing all variables from the mat fileWhat it is and what it does
pymatreader is a Python module that reads MATLAB .mat files and converts them into Python dictionaries. It handles both the older MATLAB format (versions before 7.3) and the newer HDF5-based format (>= 7.3), returning the same dictionary structure regardless of which format the input file uses.
The package depends on h5py, numpy, scipy, and xmltodict to handle the underlying file parsing and data conversion. It requires Python >= 3.10 and is classified as production-stable. The typical workflow is a single import and one function call to load an entire .mat file into memory as a dictionary.
Use it for
- Load MATLAB simulation or analysis results into Python for further processing or visualization.
- Migrate legacy MATLAB datasets into Python-based data pipelines without manual format conversion.
- Read HDF5-based .mat files from modern MATLAB versions in scientific computing workflows.
- Extract variables from .mat files for use in machine learning or statistical analysis with numpy and scipy.
- Batch import multiple MATLAB files in research or engineering automation scripts.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
The package is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, installs with low friction, and solves a specific, well-defined problem. Choose it if you need to read MATLAB files in Python.
Install
pymatreader on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction: pure Python wheel with four well-established scientific dependencies. Actively maintained with a release 102 days ago.
Requires Python >= 3.10
License in practice
BSD-2-Clause permissive license allows free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions—suitable for both open and closed projects.
Quickstart
pip install pymatreader
from pymatreader import read_mat
data = read_mat(filename)
# data is a dict containing all variables from the mat filePackage facts
| License | BSD-2-Clause permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.10 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 4 packagesh5pynumpyscipyxmltodict |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 102 days since the last release |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 129,321 / month, #11,675 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: Science/ResearchLicense :: OSI Approved :: BSD LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: PythonTopic :: Scientific/EngineeringTopic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python ModulesTyping :: Typed |
Evidence: pymatreader-1.2.3-py3-none-any.whl
Tags
Let your AI agent find packages like this
Example. Real query, live index.
You found this page by searching. An agent finds it by wishing: SkillFed indexes 14,416 PyPI packages by what they can do, searchable in plain language.
wish › “read matlab mat files”
- pymatreaderReads MATLAB .mat files in both legacy and HDF5-based formats (>=…
- mat73Loads MATLAB 7.3 .mat files (stored as HDF5) into Python dictionaries…
- soundfileReads and writes audio files in formats like WAV, FLAC, OGG, and MAT…
Give your agent the search over MCP, or paste the wish link into any chat.
More Scientific/Engineering packages
NumPy provides an N-dimensional array object and a comprehensive suite of mathematical, linear algebra, Fourier transform, and random number functions for scientific computing in Python.
pandas provides fast, flexible data structures (Series and DataFrame) for loading, cleaning, transforming, and analyzing labeled or relational data in Python.
scipy provides numerical algorithms for mathematics, science, and engineering—including optimization, integration, linear algebra, Fourier transforms, signal and image processing, and ODE solvers—built on numpy arrays.
scikit-learn provides a comprehensive Python library for supervised and unsupervised machine learning, including classification, regression, clustering, dimensionality reduction, and model evaluation tools built on NumPy and SciPy.
Install it if you need to train, evaluate, or deploy supervised or unsupervised learning models.
dill extends Python's pickle module to serialize and deserialize a much wider range of Python objects, including functions, lambdas, classes, and interpreter sessions, to byte streams for storage or network transmission.
Multiprocess is an enhanced fork of Python's standard multiprocessing library that uses dill for better serialization, allowing you to spawn processes with a threading-like API and share complex objects between them.
Install it if you use multiprocessing and encounter pickle serialization limits with lambdas or complex objects.
See also mat73 · h5py · h5netcdf · npTDMS · mmcif · asammdf · fabio · rosettasciio · pymarc · PIMS