FontLift

A cross-platform font management library and CLI tool written in Rust, consolidating the functionality of the existing Swift and C++ implementations into a unified codebase.

Overview

FontLift provides:

• Core Library: Cross-platform font management abstraction
• Platform Implementations: Native macOS and Windows integration
• CLI Tool: Command-line interface for font operations
• Python Bindings: PyO3 bindings for Python integration

Status (2025-12-03)

• macOS: Parity with the Swift CLI including install/uninstall/remove, descriptor-based listing, cleanup with prune/cache toggles, and fake-registry/dry-run support.
• Windows: Registry + GDI install/uninstall/list and cache cleanup (FontCache + Adobe) are implemented; needs validation on a Windows host and golden-output capture.
• Python: Bindings expose FontliftFontSource/FontliftFontFaceInfo, name-based operations, cleanup toggles, and a Fire CLI; wheels build via maturin.
• CI: GitHub Actions matrix on macOS 14 and Windows runs cargo fmt, cargo clippy, platform-scoped tests, and maturin develop + pytest for Python bindings.

Architecture

The project is organized into several crates:

• fontlift-core: Core traits, types, and platform-agnostic logic
• fontlift-platform-mac: macOS-specific implementation using Core Text
• fontlift-platform-win: Windows-specific implementation using Registry APIs
• fontlift-cli: Command-line interface built with Clap
• fontlift-python: Python bindings using PyO3

Features

Font Management

• ✅ Install fonts (user-level and system-level)
• ✅ Uninstall fonts (keeping files)
• ✅ Remove fonts (uninstall and delete)
• ✅ List installed fonts with metadata
• ✅ Clear font caches
• ✅ Cross-platform support (macOS, Windows)

Font Formats Supported

• TrueType (.ttf, .ttc)
• OpenType (.otf, .otc)
• Web Open Font Format (.woff, .woff2)
• macOS dfont (.dfont)

Safety Features

• Validation of font files before installation
• Protection against modifying system fonts
• Proper error handling and reporting
• Scope-based operations (user vs system)

Quick Start

As a Rust Library

use fontlift_core::{FontManager, FontScope};
use fontlift_platform_mac::MacFontManager; // or WinFontManager

let manager = MacFontManager::new();
let font_path = std::path::PathBuf::from("my-font.ttf");

// Install font for current user
manager.install_font(&font_path, FontScope::User)?;

// List installed fonts
let fonts = manager.list_installed_fonts()?;
for font in fonts {
    println!("{}: {}", font.family_name, font.style);
}

CLI Usage

# Install a font
fontlift install my-font.ttf

# List installed fonts (sorted; path-only output is deduped)
fontlift list

# List installed fonts as deterministic JSON
fontlift list --json

# Install multiple fonts or an entire directory (non-recursive)
fontlift install my-font.ttf extras/AnotherFont.otf fonts/

# Preview changes without touching the system
fontlift install my-font.ttf --dry-run --quiet

# Install system-wide (requires admin)
fontlift install my-font.ttf --admin

# List installed fonts with detailed fields (use --sorted to dedupe names/paths when combining)
fontlift list --path --name --sorted

# Uninstall a font
fontlift uninstall --name "MyFont"

# Remove a font (uninstall + delete)
fontlift remove my-font.ttf

# Clear font caches
fontlift cleanup

# Clear system caches (requires admin)
fontlift cleanup --admin

# Prune stale registrations without touching caches
fontlift cleanup --prune-only

# Clear caches only (skip pruning)
fontlift cleanup --cache-only

# Generate shell completions (bash|zsh|fish|powershell|elvish)
fontlift completions bash > /usr/local/etc/bash_completion.d/fontlift

Python Integration

import fontlift

# Create manager
manager = fontlift.FontliftManager()

# List fonts
fonts = manager.list_fonts()
for font in fonts:
    print(f"{font['family_name']}: {font['style']}")

# Install font
manager.install_font("my-font.ttf")

# Or use functional API
fontlift.install("my-font.ttf", admin=False)
fontlift.list()
fontlift.cleanup(prune=True, cache=True, admin=False, dry_run=True)

# Fire CLI mirror with JSON/quiet/verbose/dry-run toggles (parity with Rust CLI)
# fontliftpy list --json --path --name --sorted
# fontliftpy install my-font.ttf --dry_run True --quiet True

Platform-Specific Details

macOS

• Uses Core Text APIs for font registration
• Supports both user (~/Library/Fonts) and system (/Library/Fonts) scopes
• Cache clearing via atsutil commands
• Safe handling of system font protection

Windows

• Uses Windows Registry and GDI APIs
• Supports per-user and system-wide font installation
• Registry-based font tracking
• Safe handling of Windows Fonts directory protection

Building

Prerequisites

• Rust 1.75+
• Platform-specific build tools:
  • macOS: Xcode Command Line Tools
  • Windows: Visual Studio Build Tools

Build Commands

# Build all workspace members
cargo build --workspace

# Build release
cargo build --workspace --release

# Run tests
cargo test --workspace

# Run with specific features
cargo build --workspace --features "python"

Platform-Specific Builds

# Build only current platform
cargo build -p fontlift-core
cargo build -p fontlift-platform-mac  # macOS only
cargo build -p fontlift-platform-win  # Windows only

# Build CLI
cargo build -p fontlift-cli

# Build Python bindings
cargo build -p fontlift-python

Packaging (CLI + Python wheels)

• Windows: run from the "x64 Native Tools" developer prompt with Visual Studio Build Tools installed; ensure Python 3.12+ is on PATH for PyO3.
• Cross-platform build helper: ./build.sh will run fmt/clippy, build the workspace, and, when maturin is available, emit wheels via crates/fontlift-python/Cargo.toml into dist-<mode>-<platform>-<arch>/.
• Python wheels only: maturin build -m crates/fontlift-python/Cargo.toml --release -o dist.
• CLI release artifacts: cargo build -p fontlift-cli --release produces target/release/fontlift/fontlift.exe ready for packaging or signing.

Testing

# Run all tests
cargo test --workspace

# Run specific crate tests
cargo test -p fontlift-core
cargo test -p fontlift-cli

# Run documentation tests
cargo test --doc

# Run with logging
RUST_LOG=debug cargo test --workspace

Development

Project Structure

fontlift/
├── Cargo.toml              # Workspace configuration
├── README.md
├── crates/
│   ├── fontlift-core/      # Core library
│   ├── fontlift-platform-mac/  # macOS implementation
│   ├── fontlift-platform-win/  # Windows implementation
│   ├── fontlift-cli/       # Command-line interface
│   └── fontlift-python/    # Python bindings
└── docs/
    └── platform-specific.md

Adding New Platforms

1. Create a new crate: fontlift-platform-{platform}
2. Implement the FontManager trait
3. Add platform-specific dependencies
4. Update workspace and CLI integration
5. Add tests and documentation

Code Style

• Use cargo fmt for formatting
• Use cargo clippy -- -D warnings for linting
• Follow Rust API guidelines
• Document all public APIs

Error Handling

FontLift uses a comprehensive error type system:

• FontNotFound: Font file doesn't exist
• InvalidFormat: Not a valid font file
• RegistrationFailed: Platform registration failed
• SystemFontProtection: Attempted to modify system font
• PermissionDenied: Insufficient privileges
• AlreadyInstalled: Font already exists
• UnsupportedOperation: Platform doesn't support operation

Security Considerations

• Font files are validated before installation
• System fonts are protected from modification
• Scope-based privilege separation
• Safe path handling and sandboxing
• No network operations by default

Performance

• Minimal memory allocations
• Efficient font metadata extraction
• Lazy loading of platform resources
• Async operations where applicable
• Optimized for bulk operations

Roadmap

• Linux platform support (fontconfig integration)
• Font collection (.ttc/.otc) handling
• Variable font metadata extraction
• Font conflict detection and resolution
• Batch installation/uninstallation
• Font preview generation
• GUI application (via testypf integration)

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Add tests for new functionality
4. Ensure all tests pass
5. Submit a pull request

See CONTRIBUTING.md for detailed guidelines.

License

FontLift is licensed under the Apache License 2.0. See LICENSE for details.

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for version history and release notes.

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Made by FontLab https://www.fontlab.com/