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I would like to install some additional fonts on my Mac.

Is it possible to install some fonts (.ttf - true type fonts - which is installed on Windows) can be installed on my Mac?

Are there any free font collections for Mac OS X?

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4 Answers 4

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I'm not getting into the licensing issues here, but if you put fonts in

  • /Library/Fonts/
  • /Users/username/Library/Fonts

and they'll show up. Windows .ttf fonts tend to work.

The first folder installs for all users, the second for that specific user.

I tend to not use free fonts, as they're not built nearly as well, so I don't have a recommendation there.

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  • Great one. Right now license isn't an issue. I am already using mac on other hardware. Everything is on experimental basis.
    – sagarkothari
    Oct 17, 2009 at 23:54
  • In my experience, taking fonts from another OS needs to be checked by Font Book. Other OSes will use fonts without checking, and you'll be likely to find issues with the fonts. Use fonts that are flagged with errors with caution.
    – Benjamin Schollnick
    Oct 19, 2009 at 12:16
  • I've not ever had Font Book find a problem in a font. I guess it depends where you get them from. Mine are usually only high quality purchased fonts.
    – emgee
    Oct 19, 2009 at 16:03
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Caskroom-fonts is a Homebrew Tap which allows you to use the same friendly homebrew-style CLI workflow for the administration of binary font files on your Mac.

Homebrew fonts

$ brew tap homebrew/cask-fonts         # You only need to do this once!
$ brew install font-inconsolata
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    If you have a multi-user setup consider using --fontdir=/Library/Fonts like so: $ brew cask install --fontdir=/Library/Fonts font-inconsolata
    – aculich
    Sep 5, 2016 at 5:14
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    At this point, the last command is brew install font-inconsolata, i.e., omit the cask part.
    – sshine
    Feb 22, 2021 at 6:45
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Yes, you can just copy the fonts into the /library/fonts, or /users/username/library/fonts... But (!!), that doesn't mean the font is safe...

1) Download the font. 2) Open Font Book 3) Select File --> Validate File, and select the font you downloaded.

Did you receive any error messages regarding the font? If so, just forget about it. It's not worth the effort. Font issues can cause lots of issues in the long run.

If there wasn't an error, close the font, and drag the font to Font book. You'll notice in the lower right hand corner of the Font book preview window is "Install font". Click on that button to install the font.

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As well as copying them into /Library/Fonts/ or ~/Library/Fonts/, you can just open them using font book, or drag them into font book, which will put them into ~/Library/Fonts/.

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