If the directory does not exist, create it with the following command: $ mkdir ~/.local/share/fonts We’ll use the ~/.local/share/fonts/ path in this example. On Linux systems, font binaries are generally installed in either the system font directory on the path /usr/share/fonts/ or in a user font directory that is frequently on one of the following paths: ~/.local/share/fonts/ or /usr/local/share/fonts. If you are installing a different set of fonts, review the font paths before you move on to the next step. Archives from other typeface projects may result in a different unpacked path structure. The fonts are contained in the root of the directory. Unpack the gzipped tar archive with tar: $ tar -xzvf įor the Hack fonts, this results in an unpacked directory path, ttf. To pull a font archive from a publicly accessible server with a HTTP GET request, navigate to a directory of your choice and use cURL: $ curl -L -O Step 2 : Unpack the font archive Install Fonts on Linux Step 1 : Pull the fonts to your system

Feel free to modify the paths in each step to install any set of fonts that meet these criteria. These steps assume that font files are accessible through HTTP GET requests and come packaged in a gzipped tar archive. We will use our Hack fonts as released in font binary format through a Github repository to demonstrate the entire process. In the final section, I demonstrate how to locate and uninstall fonts that you don’t need.

I provide an example shell script that pulls all of the steps together into a single command for those who want to use it as a basis for a custom installation + upgrade script. This article demonstrates a command line approach to install desktop fonts (i.e., the *.otf and *.ttf build varieties), clear and regenerate your font cache, and verify your font installation. While this takes a bit more effort than font management with a GUI font manager or package manager application, the steps are simple, and an understanding of them will allow you to install and use the many unpackaged fonts that are available out there. The management of fonts that are not packaged in Linux distributions can be performed with a handful of command line tasks.

Installing chinese font to inkscape mac