Fontsequal

A local-first desktop font manager for focused type work.

Search, inspect, compare, and manage the font families your work depends on—without handing control of your library to a cloud service.

Features · Quick start · Safety · Contributing

Pre-release: Fontsequal is in active development. Build from source while v0.1.0 is prepared.

A calm font workspace

Fontsequal is arranged like a focused desktop editor: navigation on the left, a specimen-first library in the middle, and contextual details on the right.

Browse	Inspect	Compare
Search real provider data, filter families, and switch between grid and list views.	Select a family to open a right-side inspector, then expand into a focused full-font viewer.	Use the dedicated Compare page to place two to four families side by side.

Organize	Manage	Stay in flow
Keep favorites and project collections close to the font library.	Scan local metadata, find duplicates, import copies, and safely manage user-scope fonts.	Collapse the sidebar into an icon rail when the specimen needs more room.

Keyboard workflow

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl/Cmd + K	Focus font search
Arrow keys	Move the selected family
Enter	Open or focus the inspector
Space	Open the full-font viewer
Esc	Close menus, sheets, and dialogs

Local by design

Fontsequal is built around ownership boundaries.

• Managed installs use the current user's Fontsequal directory only.
• System-wide installation is not included in the MVP.
• Imports copy valid font files; original files remain untouched.
• Only fonts managed by Fontsequal can be uninstalled by Fontsequal.
• System and external fonts are shown as read-only.
• Your font data and preferences stay local. Cloud sync is planned as an explicit opt-in feature.

Quick start

Desktop app

Arch Linux example:

sudo pacman -S --needed bun rustup base-devel webkit2gtk-4.1 gtk3 libappindicator-gtk3 librsvg fontconfig
rustup default stable

git clone https://github.com/fontsequal/fontsequal.git
cd fontsequal
bun install
bun run tauri:dev

Managed font copies live at:

Platform	Managed directory
Linux	~/.local/share/fonts/fontsequal
Windows	%LOCALAPPDATA%\Fontsequal\fonts

Browser layout preview

bun run dev

The Vite preview is useful for layout work, but it does not have Tauri's local command bridge. Run bun run tauri:dev to scan, import, install, or browse real local/provider data. Fontsequal intentionally does not substitute mock font records.

Build from source

Requirements: Bun, Rust stable, and the Tauri platform dependencies for your OS.

bun install
bun run typecheck
bun run lint
bun run test
bun run tauri:build

Why Fontsequal?

	Fontsequal	Typical system font folders	Cloud font services
Local-first library	Yes	Partial	Usually no
Safe managed uninstall	Yes	Manual and risky	Varies
System font protection	Yes	No ownership context	Varies
Focused specimen and comparison tools	Yes	No	Varies
Cloud sync	Planned, opt-in	No	Usually yes

Roadmap

• Local scanning, import, managed install, and safe uninstall
• Google Fonts cache, favorites, collections, duplicate detection, and settings
• Contextual font inspector, full viewer, and multi-font comparison page
• Responsive material desktop UI with collapsible icon sidebar
• Windows and Linux build targets
• Published installers and signed release artifacts
• Provider-neutral unified font index
• Optional cloud sync with explicit opt-in

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Read CONTRIBUTING.md before opening a pull request. Use Bun for frontend tooling and keep all font operations local and user-scoped.

Security

Report vulnerabilities privately. See SECURITY.md. Never include API keys or personal file paths in public reports.

License

Fontsequal is released under the MIT License.