What is a Formula?

A Fontist Formula is a YAML file that describes how to download, install, and manage a font package. Think of it as a recipe for fonts - it tells Fontist where to find the fonts, how to verify them, and what fonts are included.

Key Concepts

Formula = Installation Recipe

Just like a package manager has packages, Fontist has formulas. Each formula contains:

• Where to download fonts from
• How to verify downloads (SHA256 checksums)
• What fonts are included (family names, styles, file names)
• License information

Formula vs Font

Concept	Description
Formula	The installation instructions (YAML file)
Font	The actual font files (TTF, OTF, WOFF, etc.)
Font Family	A group of related fonts (Regular, Bold, Italic, etc.)

What's in a Formula?

name: "Open Sans"              # Display name
description: "Sans-serif font" # Brief description
homepage: "https://..."        # Font homepage

resources:                     # Download sources
  font.zip:
    urls:
      - https://example.com/font.zip
    sha256: "abc123..."       # Verification checksum

fonts:                         # Included fonts
  - name: "Open Sans"
    styles:
      - type: "Regular"
        font: "OpenSans-Regular.ttf"

Why Formulas?

Reproducible Installations

Formulas ensure the same fonts are installed identically across:

• Different machines
• CI/CD pipelines
• Docker containers
• Cloud VMs

Verification

Every download is verified with SHA256 checksums, ensuring:

• Files haven't been tampered with
• Downloads are complete and correct
• Reproducible installations

License Awareness

Formulas include license information so you can:

• Check if a font allows your use case
• Understand redistribution rights
• Make informed decisions

Finding Formulas

Browse Online

Visit the Formulas Index to search and browse all available formulas.

Search via CLI

fontist search "open sans"

List All

fontist list

Formula Sources

Formulas come from various sources:

Source	Prefix	Description
Google Fonts	google/	1600+ open source fonts
SIL International	sil/	Linguistic fonts
macOS System	macos/	Apple system fonts
Expert Curated	(none)	Curated formulas

Installing from a Formula

# Install by formula name
fontist install "open_sans"

# Install by font name (Fontist finds the formula)
fontist install "Open Sans"

# Install specific styles
fontist install "open_sans" --style "Bold"

See Also

• Formula Structure - Detailed YAML structure
• Choosing a Formula - How to pick the right one
• Create a Formula - Make your own formula