FontForge

What is FontForge?

FontForge is a font editor for creating and modifying digital typefaces. It is used by type designers, developers, and hobbyists to draw glyphs, adjust spacing and kerning, edit font metadata, and generate fonts in common formats. On macOS, the app is distributed outside the App Store and relies on XQuartz for its graphical interface, so it behaves a little differently from a typical native Mac app. FontForge is useful for building new fonts, fixing existing fonts, converting between font formats, and inspecting technical font details. It also includes scripting and utility tools that support more advanced font production workflows.

Key features

• Create and edit vector glyph outlines
• Adjust spacing, kerning, and font metrics
• Generate fonts in common formats such as OpenType and TrueType
• Inspect and edit font names, metadata, and encoding details
• Convert fonts between supported formats
• Use scripting and companion utilities for advanced workflows

Safety overview

Status: Mostly safe

FontForge is legitimate open-source font editing software. On macOS, it is commonly installed from the project's website rather than the App Store, and it may require XQuartz to launch and display properly. It can read and modify font files you open, which is normal for its purpose. Keep backups of important font projects before making major edits or conversions, especially when overwriting existing font files.

Recommendation: Keep FontForge if you create, inspect, repair, or convert fonts. If you no longer use font editing tools, you can remove the app without affecting macOS itself, though you may also want to keep any font project files you created separately.

Common paths

• /Applications/FontForge.app

Related apps

• XQuartz

Related can I delete pages

• /Applications/FontForge.app

Share your experience

Be the first to share your experience.