Ligatures: free font manager for Mac
Ligatures is a free, open-source font manager for macOS. Browse, search and preview every free font family on Google Fonts and Fontshare, then install fonts on your Mac with one click: no account and no subscription.
It runs entirely on your machine, either as a self-contained Mac app or as a small Python server (standard library only) that you open in your browser.
Not affiliated with or endorsed by Google or Indian Type Foundry. "Google Fonts" is a trademark of Google LLC; Fontshare is a service of Indian Type Foundry.
Download
Download Ligatures 1.1.0 for Mac (macOS 12 or later, Apple silicon or Intel), or see all releases. Website: khanh-ly.github.io/ligatures.
Unzip it and drag Ligatures into your Applications folder. The app isn't notarized by Apple, so the first time you open it, macOS asks you to approve it in System Settings; see On another Mac for the steps.
What's new in 1.1.0
- A new red app icon.
- Each release is now built and checked by GitHub Actions, with a SHA-256 checksum file next to the download.
- The repository and the download now use lowercase names (
khanh-ly/ligatures, ligatures.zip). Old links keep working.
See the 1.1.0 release notes for details. Upgrading from 1.0? Replace the app in Applications; your installed fonts and favorites are kept.
Features
- Browse two libraries. The full Google Fonts catalog (about 1,950 families) plus Fontshare's free families (about 65 more), with live previews in your own text and size. Families that both libraries offer are shown once, from Google Fonts.
- Filter by library. Show everything, or only Google Fonts or Fontshare. Fontshare families carry a badge and list their license in the details panel.
- Find fonts fast. Search by family or designer, filter by category and language, and sort by popularity, trending, newest, name or number of styles.
- Grid and list views. Switch between them with a short build-up animation. Your choice is remembered.
- Details panel. Every weight and italic, the designer, dates, variable axes, a link to the Google Fonts page and copy-paste web embed code.
- Install and uninstall. Fonts go straight into
~/Library/Fonts, so they appear in every app at once. Uninstalling moves the files to the Trash, and the app only ever removes fonts it installed itself.
- New font alerts. Each launch checks both libraries for families added since the previous launch and highlights them.
- Favorites. Star families to find them again later.
- Accessible. WCAG AA contrast in light and dark mode, visible keyboard focus, and Reduce Motion is respected.
Requirements
- Mac app: macOS 12 or later, on Apple silicon or Intel. Nothing else needs to be installed.
- Terminal version: Python 3.9 or later, on macOS or Linux. On a Mac, the Python that comes with the Xcode Command Line Tools is enough (
xcode-select --install).
- Building the Mac app: the Xcode Command Line Tools, which include the Swift compiler.
Run it
As a Mac app
Build the app and install it into /Applications:
./build_app.sh --install
Then open Ligatures from Applications, Launchpad or Spotlight. The app serves itself on port 8766 while it's open.
Run ./build_app.sh without --install to only build it into build/.
On another Mac
Each build also makes build/ligatures.zip. Copy the zip to the other Mac (AirDrop, a USB drive, a file share), double-click it, and drag Ligatures into Applications.
Because the app isn't notarized by Apple, macOS blocks it the first time:
- Open the app. macOS says it can't verify it. Click Done.
- Open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down, and click Open Anyway next to the message about Ligatures.
- Confirm with your password. From then on it opens normally.
To skip these steps entirely, the app would need to be signed with a paid Apple Developer ID and notarized.
From the terminal
python3 fontmanager.py
This opens http://127.0.0.1:8765 in your browser. Press Ctrl+C to stop it.
| Option | What it does |
|---|
--no-browser | Don't open a browser window on start |
FONTMANAGER_PORT=9000 | Use a different port |
Keyboard shortcuts
| Key | Action |
|---|
/ | Open search |
Esc | Clear and close search, or close the details panel |
Where things are stored
| What | macOS | Linux |
|---|
| Installed fonts | ~/Library/Fonts | ~/.local/share/fonts/google-fonts |
| Favorites, install records, cached catalogs | ~/Library/Application Support/FontManager | ~/.local/share/fontmanager |
| Mac app log | ~/Library/Logs/FontManager.log | — |
The terminal version and the Mac app share the same data, so they show the same installed fonts and favorites.
Uninstalled fonts go to the Trash. If the Trash can't be used, they're kept in a Removed Fonts folder inside the data folder instead. The terminal version moves files to the Trash through Finder, so the first time, macOS asks whether Terminal may control Finder.
This is the beginning of the README. Read the rest at the original. Read the full README ↗
