Downloading CVX
Effective April 23, 2024, the official source for builds of CVX has shifted to our open-source repository, hosted on GitHub. To obtain CVX, visit our Releases page, where you can download complete bundles of CVX in .zip or .tgz formats. The two bundles have identical contents:
- The full source code for CVX 2.2.x;
- Precompiled MEX files for Windows, Linux, macOS Intel, and macOS Apple Silicon.
- Up-to-date versions of the free solvers SeDuMi and SDPT3, including precompiled MEX files for each.
- Open-source versions of the solver shims for commercial solvers MOSEK and Gurobi.
- HTML and PDF versions of the documentation.
- A copy of the complete example library.
The commercial solver shims no longer contain any license management code. You are free to use CVX with these solvers for any purpose, commercial or non-commercial. That said, CVX does not attempt to install those solvers for you or manage the licenses you may need from either of these vendors. Make sure those solvers are accessible from MATLAB prior to setting up CVX.
Legacy Download matrix (deprecated)
If you have processes that remain dependent on our original CVX bundles, you will find that the links below still work. We will leave these in place as long as we are capable, but they are henceforth unsupported. As soon as is practical, you should revert to the bundles distributed on GitHub.
| OS | mexext | Download links | SDPT3 | SeDuMi | Gurobi | MOSEK | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard bundles, including Gurobi and/or MOSEK | ||||||||
| Linux | mexa64 | cvx-a64.zip | cvx-a64.tar.gz | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Mac | mexmaci64 | cvx-maci64.zip | cvx-maci64.tar.gz | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Windows | mexw64 | cvx-w64.zip | cvx-w64.tar.gz | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Redistributable: free solvers only | ||||||||
| All platforms | cvx-rd.zip | cvx-rd.tar.gz | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| All platforms (v1.22) | cvx-1.22.zip | cvx-1.22.tar.gz | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Commercial solvers only | ||||||||
| Linux | mexa64 | cvx-a64-co.zip | cvx-a64-co.tar.gz | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Mac | mexmaci64 | cvx-maci64-co.zip | cvx-maci64-co.tar.gz | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Windows | mexw64 | cvx-w64-co.zip | cvx-w64-co.tar.gz | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Which package should I download?
For most users, the bundles distributed on GitHub will be the right choice. These include all of the supported solvers available for your platform.
The Redistributable bundle is appropriate if you do not intend to use a commercial solver, or if you wish to distribute CVX with your application, under the CVX Standard License (v2.0) or the GPLv2 (v1.22).
The Commercial bundles are appropriate for organizations that are sensitive to the use of GPL-licensed software. These bundles do not include the solvers SDPT3 or SeDuMi, which are subject to the GPLv2 license and are included with CVX with permission.
Still using 32-bit Linux or Windows? Unfortunately, we can no longer support these older platforms, and our commercial software vendors are dropping support as well.
Please note that the use of Gurobi and MOSEK with these bundles requires a CVX Professional license key, which are no longer being issued. In addition, Gurobi requires a separate license key obtained directly from Gurobi Optimization. Without these licenses, the Full package still provides full functionality with the free solvers SeDuMi and SDPT3, so there is no harm in downloading the Full package even if you do not intend to use the commercial solvers.
Installation instructions
For most platforms, installation is relatively simple: unpack the distribution to an empty directory, and then run cvx_setup from the MATLAB command line. Do not add CVX to your path yourself; let cvx_setup do it for you. Full instructions can be found in the Installation section of the users’ guide, found here online or included with the distribution in the doc/ subdirectory.
We have created two separate sections in the users’ guide for using CVX with Gurobi and MOSEK. These sections include special instructions for connecting external installations of Gurobi and MOSEK to CVX, and instructions on licenses.
Licensing and redistribution
As of April 21, 2024, CVX is free for use in all academic, commercial, and non-commercial applications. A distinction is no longer made between the free solvers SDPT3/SeDuMI and the commercial solvers, Gurobi/MOSEK. The license management system bundled with previous versions of CVX has been removed. or commercial applications when paired with one of the free bundled free solvers, SDPT3 or SeDuMi. A CVX Professional license is required to use CVX with the commercial solvers Gurobi and MOSEK. Academic users can obtain a license key at no charge. For more information, visit the Licensing page. The use of Gurobi also requires a license key from Gurobi as well; again, academic users can obtain such a key free of charge.
Each of the packages above come with different licensing conditions. A brief summary:
- The packages hosted on GitHub, as well as the “Redistributed” legacy packages hosted here, are subject to the terms of the CVX Standard License. This is a minor
modification of the GNU General Public License, Version 3. - Version 1.22 is distributed under a pure GNU Standard License, Version 2.
- The legacy “Full” and “BYOS” packages hosted directly on this page may not be redistributed without the advance written permission of CVX Research, Inc.