Guide

Cloud VMs

Using Fontist formulas on cloud virtual machines

Fontist works on cloud VMs from AWS, Azure, GCP, and other providers.

Platform Considerations

Linux VMs

Most cloud VMs run Linux - use open source or freely distributable fonts:

# SSH into VM
gem install fontist
fontist install "open_sans" "roboto"

Windows VMs (Azure)

Windows VMs on Azure can use Microsoft fonts:

  1. Microsoft Office fonts - If MS Office is installed
  2. Microsoft Web Fonts - Freely distributable (Andale, Arial, etc.)
  3. Open source fonts - Via Fontist

macOS VMs (MacStadium, GitHub Actions)

macOS VMs can use Apple system fonts:

  • Available: All macOS system fonts
  • Restriction: Only on Apple-branded hardware
  • GitHub Actions: Available on macos-latest runners

AWS

EC2 User Data

#!/bin/bash
# Install Ruby
yum install -y ruby ruby-devel

# Install Fontist
gem install fontist

# Install fonts
fontist install "open_sans"

ECS Task Definition

{
  "containerDefinitions": [{
    "name": "app",
    "image": "myapp:latest",
    "command": ["fontist", "install", "open_sans"]
  }]
}

Azure

VM Extension

{
  "type": "CustomScript",
  "properties": {
    "commandToExecute": "gem install fontist && fontist install open_sans"
  }
}

Windows on Azure

For Windows VMs with MS Office:

# MS Office fonts are already available
# Install additional fonts via Fontist
gem install fontist
fontist install "google/roboto"

Google Cloud

Compute Engine Startup Script

#!/bin/bash
apt-get update
apt-get install -y ruby
gem install fontist
fontist install "open_sans"

Cloud Run

Fonts must be in the container image:

FROM ruby:3.2-slim
RUN gem install fontist
RUN fontist install "open_sans"

GitHub Hosted Runners

Ubuntu Runner

runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
  - run: gem install fontist
  - run: fontist install "open_sans"

macOS Runner

runs-on: macos-latest
steps:
  # Apple fonts are pre-installed
  - run: fontist install "open_sans"  # Additional fonts

Windows Runner

runs-on: windows-latest
steps:
  - run: gem install fontist
  - run: fontist install "open_sans"

License Compliance

PlatformAllowed Fonts
Linux VMsOpen source, freely distributable
Windows VMs (with Office)MS Office fonts, open source
macOS VMsApple fonts, open source
GitHub Actions macOSApple fonts, open source

Warning. Apple-only fonts are only legal on Apple-branded hardware. GitHub Actions and MacStadium provide legitimate macOS VMs.

See Also