instance

Generate static font instances from variable fonts.

License Consideration

Many commercial variable fonts require a special license to generate static instances. Check your font's EULA before using this command.

Quick Reference

fontisan instance <variable-font> [options]

What are Variable Font Instances?

Variable fonts contain multiple variations along design axes (weight, width, slant, etc.). The instance command extracts a specific variation as a standalone static font.

For example, a variable font with a wght (weight) axis from 100-900 can generate instances like:

• Light (wght: 300)
• Regular (wght: 400)
• Medium (wght: 500)
• Bold (wght: 700)

Options

Option	Description
--output FILE	Output file path
--wght VALUE	Weight axis value (e.g., 400, 700)
--wdth VALUE	Width axis value
--slnt VALUE	Slant axis value
--ital VALUE	Italic axis value
--opsz VALUE	Optical size axis value
--named INSTANCE	Use named instance (e.g., "Bold")
--format FORMAT	Output format (ttf, otf, woff, woff2)

Examples

Generate by Axis Values

# Generate Regular weight
fontisan instance VariableFont.ttf --wght 400 --output Regular.ttf

# Generate Bold weight
fontisan instance VariableFont.ttf --wght 700 --output Bold.ttf

# Generate with multiple axes
fontisan instance VariableFont.ttf --wght 500 --wdth 75 --output MediumCondensed.ttf

# Generate with optical size
fontisan instance VariableFont.ttf --wght 400 --opsz 12 --output Text-12pt.ttf

Generate by Named Instance

# Use a named instance from the font
fontisan instance VariableFont.ttf --named "Bold" --output Bold.ttf

# List available named instances first
fontisan variable VariableFont.ttf

Generate for Web

# Generate and convert to WOFF2 in one step
fontisan instance VariableFont.ttf --wght 400 --format woff2 --output Regular.woff2
fontisan instance VariableFont.ttf --wght 700 --format woff2 --output Bold.woff2

Batch Generation

# Generate common weights
for wght in 300 400 500 600 700; do
  fontisan instance VariableFont.ttf --wght $wght --output Font-$wght.ttf
done

Common Axes

Axis Tag	Name	Typical Range
wght	Weight	1-999 (100-900 common)
wdth	Width	0-200 (% of normal)
slnt	Slant	-90 to +90 (degrees)
ital	Italic	0-1
opsz	Optical Size	8-144 (point size)
GRAD	Grade	-1 to 1
XTRA	X-height	Various
XOPQ	X opaque	Various
YOPQ	Y opaque	Various

Discovering Axes

Use the variable command to see what axes a font has:

fontisan variable VariableFont.ttf

Output shows:

• Available axes with their ranges
• Named instances defined in the font
• Default values

Detailed Documentation

For comprehensive documentation including:

• How variable fonts work
• Instance generation algorithms
• Handling complex axes
• Format conversion options

See the Variable Fonts Guide.