System Requirements

  • Windows / macOS / Linux – 64-bit
  • MATLAB R2017a or later (R2018b+ recommended, mainly tested in R2021a)
    PsychBench does not run in GNU Octave.
  • Psychtoolbox most recent version (free)
  • Psychtoolbox further requires GStreamer (free). See here for the Psychtoolbox page on GStreamer, which contains important notes. Links to the version Psychtoolbox currently recommends are:
            Windows: GStreamer 64-bit MSVC runtime 1.22.1
            macOS (Intel and ARM): GStreamer runtime 1.22.1
            Linux: generally already installed
            Note Homebrew installations of GStreamer will not work.

Psychtoolbox requirements

More specific requirements are inherited from Psychtoolbox, and may depend on the functionality you need. For full information see psychtoolbox.org/requirements. Following is a brief summary assuming the most recent version of Psychtoolbox (3.0.19):

  • MATLAB:
    Psychtoolbox tested on R2022b but generally works on other recent versions.
  • Windows:
    Psychtoolbox tested and supported on Windows 10.
    Compatible with Windows 7/8 but unsupported and end-of-life.
    * Medium visual timing precision.
  • macOS:
    Psychtoolbox lightly tested and supported on Monterey on Intel Macs.
    Compatible with earlier versions but unsupported.
    Our own light testing shows reasonable compatibility with Ventura and ARM Macs, but currently not developed and unsupported by Psychtoolbox.
    * Least good visual timing precision. Not recommended for running precise timing experiments on real subjects.
  • Linux:
    Psychtoolbox tested and supported on the most recent Ubuntu LTS version.
    Compatible with earlier versions and other distributions but not fully supported.
    * Best visual timing precision. Recommended for precise timing experiments.
  • See Psychtoolbox webpage above for details on graphics hardware and other aspects.

(Compatibility Settings)

If you see problems like failing to open or close the experiment window (especially on Mac, sometimes on Windows), you may want to use pb_prefs → screen → disable Psychtoolbox sync tests and/or enable system compositor
(or on MATLAB versions < R2021a: add lines <cd>screen.doSyncTests = -1; screen.useCompositor = true;<cd> to the script pb_prefs opens). Note: This generally reduces timing precision, but Psychtoolbox recommends not running precise timing experiments on such systems anyway. You can still develop and test precise timing experiments and/or run experiments that don't need precise timing. For more information from Psychtoolbox, see SyncTrouble.