Note
I am moving the repository from tinsever/google-font-cli to here. This could take some time.
This tool uses google-webfonts-helper to access Google Fonts without requiring an API key.
Google Font CLI is a Node.js CLI & module that lets you Search, Download and Install fonts offered by Google Fonts.
- Cross-platform: Automatic installation for Linux, macOS, and Windows
- Smart Search: Fuzzy matching for font names makes finding fonts effortless
- Developer Friendly: Use as a CLI or integrate as a Node.js library
- Multiple Formats: Support for both TTF and WOFF2 formats
You can use it in two ways:
- install the module system wide and use the Command Line Interface (CLI)
- require the module in your project and use the APIs
After installing it via npm or homebrew tap you can use the CLI!
# 1. Download
$ npm install -g google-font-cli
# 2. Install a font!
$ gfcli install "Open Sans" -v regular,700In Linux and OSX, the font will be installed in the user's font directory (~/.local/share/fonts for Linux, ~/Library/Fonts for OSX).
In Windows, due to the fact that font installation require some register modifications, I prefered to create a little WScript (a windows script that use ActiveX windows interface) and spawn a cscript process to install the font in a 'windows native way'.
You can install gfcli using...
or anything that can access npm such as bun!
$ npm install -g google-font-cli$ brew tap tinsever/google-font-cli
$ brew install gfcliFrom your terminal emulator, you can use the command gfcli
- The Google Fonts metadata list is cached for 24h at
~/.gfcli/cache.json. - Use
--refresh-cacheon any command to force a fresh download. - If the cache is valid, commands skip the download step for faster startup.
$ gfcli search [family_name]
The search is really permissive, so you can specify only few characters and view all the font families that contains these characters. Words order is also not important. For instance, search for Source Sans or Sans Source will produce the same result.
$ gfcli download [family_name|"family1,family2"] [-d|--dest destination_folder] [-v|--variants comma_separated_variants] [--ttf|--woff2] [--refresh-cache]
If family_name will match more than one family, nothing will be downloaded: a list of alternatives will help you better specify the font family name.
Download command accepts these options:
-dor--destlet you specify the folder where to download the fonts. If this option is omitted the fonts will be download in the folder in which the command was called (or in the home directory if this folder is not writable by the user)-vor--variantslet you specify which variants of the font will be downloaded. You have to write each variant separated by the other with a comma. For example$ gfcli download Source Sans Pro -v 300,400. If omitted, all variants will be downloaded.--ttfdownloads the font in TTF format (default)--woff2downloads the font in WOFF2 format (optimized for web use)- Multiple families: pass a comma-separated list in quotes, e.g.
$ gfcli download "Inter,Roboto" --woff2 -d ./fonts --refresh-cacheforces a fresh font list download and ignores the local cache
$ gfcli install [family_name|"family1,family2"] [-v|--variants comma_separated_variants] [--refresh-cache]
If family_name will match more than one family, nothing will be installed: a list of alternatives will help you better specify the font family name.
Install command accepts only one option:
-vor--variantslet you specify which variants of the font will be installed. You have to write each variant separated by the other with a comma. For example$ gfcli install Source Sans Pro -v 300,400. If omitted, all variants will be downloaded.- Multiple families: pass a comma-separated list in quotes, e.g.
$ gfcli install "Inter,Roboto" -v 400,700 --refresh-cacheforces a fresh font list download and ignores the local cache
$ gfcli copy [family_name] [-v|--variants comma_separeted_variants]
If family_name will match more than one family, nothing will be copied: a list of alternatives will help you better specify the font family name.
Search the source keyword
$ gfcli search source
Search results for: "source"
* Source Code Pro
Category: monospace
Variants: 200, 300, regular, 500, 600, 700, 900
CSS Url: https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Source+Code+Pro
* Source Sans Pro
Category: sans-serif
Variants: 200, 200italic, 300, 300italic, regular, italic, 600, 600italic, 700, 700italic, 900, 900italic
CSS Url: https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Source+Sans+Pro
* Source Serif Pro
Category: serif
Variants: regular, 600, 700
CSS Url: https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Source+Serif+Pro
Download Source Sans Pro 600 and 700italic
$ gfcli download source sans pro -v 600,700italic
Source Sans Pro variant 600 downloaded in /home/user/someFolder/SourceSansPro-600.ttf
Source Sans Pro variant 700italic downloaded in /home/user/someFolder/SourceSansPro-700italic.ttf
Download Inter in WOFF2 format
$ gfcli download inter --woff2
Inter variant regular downloaded in /home/user/someFolder/Inter-regular.woff2
Inter variant 100 downloaded in /home/user/someFolder/Inter-100.woff2
Inter variant 200 downloaded in /home/user/someFolder/Inter-200.woff2
...
Download Inter and Roboto in one command (WOFF2)
$ gfcli download "Inter,Roboto" --woff2 -d ./fonts
Install Inter and Roboto with selected variants
$ gfcli install "Inter,Roboto" -v regular,700
Force refresh of the cached font list
$ gfcli search inter --refresh-cache
Install Lato 100
$ gfcli install lato -v 100
Lato variant 100 downloaded in /home/user/.local/share/fonts/Lato-100.ttf
Copy font url for Work Sans variants 200, normal and 600
$ gfcli copy work sans -v 200,400,600
"work sans" font url has been copied to your clipboard.
(https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Work+Sans:200,400,600 will be available in your clipboard)
- Node.js 14+ (LTS) recommended.
- Windows: run the CLI with administrative privileges when installing system fonts.