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Font Configuration

This entry addresses the handling of fonts for Linux-based operating systems.

Setup

Fontconfig is the standard library used to customize and configure. On most Linux distributions fontconfig can be setup by installing the package fontconfig.

Configuration

The configuration file is usually stored in the file ~/.config/fontconfig/fonts.conf. A configuration typically looks like the following lines.

<?xml version='1.0'?>
<!DOCTYPE fontconfig SYSTEM 'fonts.dtd'>
<fontconfig>
	<alias>
		<family>serif</family>
		<prefer>
			<family>Linux Libertine</family>
			<family>Joy Pixels</family>
		</prefer>
	</alias>
	<alias>
		<family>sans-serif</family>
		<prefer>
			<family>Linux Biolinum</family>
			<family>Joy Pixels</family>
		</prefer>
	</alias>
	<alias>
		<family>monospace</family>
		<prefer>
            <family>JetBrainsMono Nerd Font Mono</family>
			<family>Joy Pixels</family>
		</prefer>
	</alias>
</fontconfig>

This configuration requires some fonts that are not necessarily present in any Linux installation so they may have to be installed. Follow the section on adding new fonts and recommended fonts as needed.

Usage

This section addresses important commands and packages for the configuration of fonts.

Show Characters Of A Font

Using FontForge all characters of a given .ttf file can be shown. The following shows the structure of a command to call FontForge with a file.

fontforge arial.ttf

Add TTF Font

A font can be added to the local users fonts using a .ttf file. The file has to be copied into the local fonts directory ~/.local/share/fonts. Afterwards the cache should be reloaded. Finally the font can be found.

Reload the Cache

The cache needs to be reloaded in certain situations like after a new font has been added. This can be achieved by the following command.

fc-cache -f -c

List or Find Font Family

A list of all fonts can be displayed using the command fc-match -a. If the name of the font is not clear the command fc-match -a | grep <search term> can be used to get an overview of the fonts available. For matching the command fc-match -s <search term> is be used. This will display a list of font families that match best with the given search term.

Adding New Font to Configuration

A new font can be added by placing its name inside <family>/</family>-tags. Make sure to place it inside the correct font family. If you want to add a font into the configuration make sure its name matches correctly.

Recommended Fonts

In this section various fonts are listed for the different typefaces. Make sure to follow the adding new fonts section after installing new fonts.

Monospace

For monospace the font JetBrainsMono Nerd Font Mono that is also used IntelliJ and other JetBrains software is recommended. As an additional feature it can be used packaged as a Nerd Font. For some distributions it is available in the ttf-jetbrains-mono-nerd package. alternatively it can be downloaded from the Nerd Fonts download page.

CJK

CJK fonts can be installed together by using Google Noto CJK fonts. They are typically inside a package named noto-fonts-cjk but can also be retrieved from their website.

An alternative to this are the Adobe fonts. They are typically installed separately. The repository is split into source han sans, source han serif and source han mono . On some package managers the fonts are further split depending on typeface and language. The following list shows the name of the Arch Linux packages. The names on other distributions can vary slightly.

  • adobe-source-han-sans-jp-fonts is for japanese sans style fonts.
  • adobe-source-han-serif-jp-fonts is for japanese sans style fonts.
  • adobe-source-han-mono-jp-fonts is for japanese mono style fonts.
  • adobe-source-han-sans-kr-fonts is for korean sans font.
  • adobe-source-han-serif-kr-fonts is for korean serif font.
  • adobe-source-han-mono-kr-fonts is for korean mono font.

Emojis

Emojis are typically unicode characters that need special packages to be displayed properly.

JoyPixels feature many emoji icons. The fonts can be obtained from their website or for most distributions from the ttf-joypixels package.

Special Fonts

This section lists some fonts that are good in certain situations but are not intended to be used as day-to-day font.