How to Install Fonts in Ubuntu

Most people will probably consider the collection of fonts that comes with the latest version of Ubuntu as “more than enough.” Others, though, may need (much) more in their line of work. And some would like to have more choices. If you, too, would like to install more fonts in Ubuntu, read on, for this is precisely what this tutorial tackles.

The Mainstay: Microsoft Core Fonts

As long as their installer is available, Microsoft’s Core Fonts will feature in every tutorial about adding fonts to a Linux installation. Some of them remain hugely popular, and you may need them, especially if you’re collaborating with Windows users. To install them, fire up your favorite terminal and enter:

sudo apt install ttf-mscorefonts-installer

Individual Free Fonts

Ubuntu doesn’t come with every font under the sun by default. There are many more you can get individually, however, to extend your font collection. You can install them, as with any other package, using:

sudo apt install PACKAGE_NAME

Replace “PACKAGE_NAME” with any of the following:

• fonts-cantarell
• lmodern
• ttf-aenigma
• ttf-georgewilliams
• ttf-bitstream-vera
• ttf-sjfonts
• ttf-unifont
• fonts-entypo
• fonts-isabella
• fonts-mplus
• fonts-prociono
• ttf-anonymous-pro
• ttf-engadget
• ttf-staypuft
• ttf-summersby

All at Once

If you don’t only need one or two more fonts but have decided to drastically expand your collection with everything we mentioned up until now, don’t install each package individually. You can bring them all on board at once by combining their installation in a single apt command, like:

sudo apt install ttf-mscorefonts-installer fonts-cantarell lmodern ttf-aenigma ttf-georgewilliams ttf-bitstream-vera ttf-sjfonts ttf-unifont fonts-entypo fonts-isabella fonts-mplus fonts-prociono ttf-anonymous-pro ttf-engadget ttf-staypuft ttf-summersby

Copy the line above, paste it in your terminal, press Enter, and soon you’ll be playing with a ton of new fonts.

Manual TTF Installation

If you already have a specific TrueType Font (or more) that you want to install, you only have to copy it to a specific folder.

First, make sure that what you have is in TTF format. If you downloaded some fonts from a site, they might be compressed in an archive that you will have to extract. We won’t get into details about how to do that since it depends on the archive format, and there are dozens available.

When you have one or more TTF files in a folder, to install them, move them to the hidden “fonts” folder in your Home directory with:

mv FONT_FILE ~/.fonts

If you have more than one TTF file in a folder, you can move them all at once using:

mv *.ttf ~/.fonts/

This can be done as long as they all have a TTF file extension.

If you need the fonts to be available system-wide so other users can make use of them too, use this command instead:

sudo mv *.tff /usr/share/fonts/

Update the Font Cache

If your fonts don’t show up in any application, you can try manually updating the fonts cache with:

fc-cache -f

For system-wide fonts:

sudo fc-cache -f

If they still don’t appear, double-check that they were in TTF format and that you have copied them to the correct folder, “~/.fonts.” Check that they have been copied with:

ls ~/.fonts

Converting your Fonts

If you own a font that is not in the otf or ttf format, and you want to use it in Ubuntu, one way you can do is to convert the fonts to ttf format. To do that, we can make use of the FontForge software.

1. Install it in Ubuntu:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:fontforge/fontforge
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install fontforge

2. Open FontForge and load up the font you want to convert
3. Without making any changes, go to “File -> Generate Fonts”. Save the file with .ttf extension.

With the newly generated .ttf file, you can now install it in Ubuntu with the above method.

Fonts in Action

Your new fonts should be available in any application that supports the manual selection of TrueType Fonts. For example, run LibreOffice Writer, type something, select it with your mouse, and change the font from the pull-down menu. Your new fonts should appear among the previously available ones.

As you can see, it is very easy to install fonts in Ubuntu 20.04. If you have read our Ubuntu 20.04 review, you will know that it is fast and stable. Are you currently using Ubuntu 20.04? Tell us in the comments section below.

Odysseas Kourafalos

OK's real life started at around 10, when he got his first computer - a Commodore 128. Since then, he's been melting keycaps by typing 24/7, trying to spread The Word Of Tech to anyone interested enough to listen. Or, rather, read.