fonttools
Tools to manipulate font files
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. fonttools is a mature, zero-dependency library with active maintenance, no known vulnerabilities, and a permissive MIT license. Install it if you need to read, write, or manipulate fonts programmatically or via the TTX command-line tool. The base package is lightweight; add extras only if you need WOFF compression, UFO support, or variable font analysis.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.10 or later.
- Low install friction; pure Python wheel with no runtime dependencies.
- Active maintenance with recent releases and a well-established project (since 2013) with 5203 GitHub stars.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license permits free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions—suitable for both open-source and proprietary projects.
last release 2026-05-14 (92 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-12 · 5,203 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 235,943,843 downloads/mo, #168 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install fonttools
from fontTools.ttLib import TTFont
font = TTFont('example.ttf')
font.save('modified.ttf')- Performance characteristics when handling large or complex font files.
- Completeness of support for less common font formats (Type 1, Mac-specific) beyond the documented scope.
- Whether optional dependencies (lxml, brotli, scipy, etc.) are automatically installed or require explicit extras specification.
What it is and what it does
fonttools is a Python library for reading, writing, and manipulating font files across multiple formats including TrueType, OpenType, AFM, Type 1, and Mac-specific formats. It includes TTX, a command-line tool and API that converts fonts to and from an XML text representation, making fonts human-readable and editable as text. The library has no required external dependencies beyond Python's standard library, though optional features (WOFF compression, UFO support, variable font analysis, visualization) can be unlocked by installing extras like lxml, brotli, scipy, or matplotlib.
The package is production-stable, actively maintained, and widely used in font design workflows, build pipelines, and graphics applications. It supports Python 3.10 and later and installs as a pure Python wheel with low friction. Most use cases require only the base package; specialized tasks like variable font interpolation or WOFF2 compression require opt-in dependencies.
Use it for
- Convert TrueType or OpenType fonts to XML (TTX) for inspection, editing, or version control.
- Programmatically extract font metadata, glyph names, and Unicode mappings from font files.
- Build font processing pipelines that read, modify, and save fonts in multiple formats.
- Compress fonts for web delivery using WOFF or WOFF2 formats with optional brotli support.
- Analyze variable font masters and detect contour/component ordering issues in design workflows.
- Generate font subsets or modify glyph tables for custom font distributions.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
fonttools is a mature, zero-dependency library with active maintenance, no known vulnerabilities, and a permissive MIT license. Install it if you need to read, write, or manipulate fonts programmatically or via the TTX command-line tool. The base package is lightweight; add extras only if you need WOFF compression, UFO support, or variable font analysis.
Install
fonttools on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction; pure Python wheel with no runtime dependencies. Active maintenance with recent releases and a well-established project (since 2013) with 5203 GitHub stars.
Requires Python 3.10 or later.
License in practice
MIT license permits free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions—suitable for both open-source and proprietary projects.
Quickstart
pip install fonttools
from fontTools.ttLib import TTFont
font = TTFont('example.ttf')
font.save('modified.ttf')Verify before relying
- Performance characteristics when handling large or complex font files.
- Completeness of support for less common font formats (Type 1, Mac-specific) beyond the documented scope.
- Whether optional dependencies (lxml, brotli, scipy, etc.) are automatically installed or require explicit extras specification.
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.10 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 92 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 235,943,843 / month, #168 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableEnvironment :: ConsoleEnvironment :: Other EnvironmentIntended Audience :: DevelopersIntended Audience :: End Users/DesktopNatural Language :: EnglishOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Topic :: Multimedia :: GraphicsTopic :: Multimedia :: Graphics :: Graphics ConversionTopic :: Text Processing :: Fonts |
Evidence: fonttools-4.63.0-py3-none-any.whl
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