Save MAT files more quickly

Version 1.0.0.0 (1.84 KB) by Tim Holy
Saves large numeric arrays more quickly than Matlab's built-in save command
5K Downloads
Updated 4 Jan 2013

View License

When working with large arrays, Matlab's 'save' command can be very slow, presumably because Matlab attempts to use compression. This function provides a much faster alternative, at the cost of larger files. It only improves speed for variables that are plain arrays; elements of structures or cell arrays are not altered.

Example:
% First make some data
>> ops = struct('algorithm', 'greedy');
>> A = int32(randi(20, 1000, 1200, 40));
>> B = randn(500, 1800, 60);
% Now save it
>> tic; save /tmp/test ops A B; toc
Elapsed time is 22.980294 seconds.
>> tic; savefast /tmp/test ops A B; toc
Elapsed time is 0.571098 seconds.

Happy saving!

Cite As

Tim Holy (2024). Save MAT files more quickly (https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/39721-save-mat-files-more-quickly), MATLAB Central File Exchange. Retrieved .

MATLAB Release Compatibility
Created with R2012b
Compatible with any release
Platform Compatibility
Windows macOS Linux

Community Treasure Hunt

Find the treasures in MATLAB Central and discover how the community can help you!

Start Hunting!
Version Published Release Notes
1.0.0.0