fonttools

4.62.1 verified Tue May 12 auth: no python install: verified quickstart: stale

fonttools is a Python library for manipulating font files, currently at version 4.62.1, with a release cadence of approximately every few months.

pip install fonttools

Common errors

error ImportError: No module named fontTools ↓

cause The 'fonttools' library is not installed in the Python environment being used, or the Python environment is not correctly configured to find it.

fix

pip install fonttools

error AttributeError: 'tuple' object has no attribute 'minimum' ↓

cause When calling 'fontTools.varLib.instancer.instantiateSTAT' or related variable font functions, axis limits are provided as plain tuples (e.g., '(500, 900)'), but the functions expect 'AxisTriple' objects.

fix

from fontTools.varLib.instancer import AxisTriple; instantiateSTAT(font, {"wght":AxisTriple(500,500,900)})

error ImportError: No module named brotli ↓

cause The 'brotli' compression library, a required dependency for processing WOFF2 font files, is not installed in the Python environment.

fix

pip install brotli

error SyntaxError: invalid syntax (when trying to run 'ttx' command directly in Python script) ↓

cause The 'ttx' command is a command-line utility provided by 'fonttools' and cannot be executed directly as a Python statement within a script; it must be run via the operating system's shell.

fix

import os; os.system("ttx /path/to/font.ttf") OR import subprocess; subprocess.run(["ttx", "/path/to/font.ttf"])

Warnings

breaking fonttools 4.60.0 dropped support for Python 3.9. ↓

fix Upgrade to Python 3.10 or later.

deprecated The 'fonttools[ufo]' extra now uses 'fontTools.misc.filesystem' instead of 'pyfilesystem2'. ↓

fix Update your imports to 'from fontTools.misc.filesystem import ...'.

gotcha Ensure 'setuptools' is installed to avoid build errors during installation. ↓

fix Install 'setuptools' using 'pip install setuptools'.

gotcha The 'TTFont' constructor received a path to a font file that does not exist. Ensure the specified font file path is correct and the file is accessible. ↓

fix Verify that the path provided to 'TTFont' (e.g., 'path_to_font.ttf') correctly points to an existing font file on your system.

gotcha The TTFont() constructor failed because the specified font file could not be found. ↓

fix Ensure the font file specified in the TTFont() constructor (e.g., 'path_to_font.ttf') exists at the given path and that the application has the necessary read permissions.

Install compatibility verified last tested: 2026-05-12

python os / libc status wheel install import disk

3.10 alpine (musl) - - 0.08s 39.5M

3.10 slim (glibc) - - 0.04s 43M

3.11 alpine (musl) - - 0.13s 43.9M

3.11 slim (glibc) - - 0.10s 48M

3.12 alpine (musl) - - 0.10s 35.3M

3.12 slim (glibc) - - 0.11s 39M

3.13 alpine (musl) - - 0.10s 34.9M

3.13 slim (glibc) - - 0.10s 38M

3.9 alpine (musl) - - 0.07s 38.7M

3.9 slim (glibc) - - 0.06s 42M

Imports

TTFont
```
from fontTools.ttLib import TTFont
```
Ensure correct import path to avoid ImportError.

Quickstart stale last tested: 2026-04-23

This script demonstrates loading a TrueType font, accessing its tables, and saving changes.

from fontTools.ttLib import TTFont

# Load a TrueType font file
font = TTFont('path_to_font.ttf')

# Access font tables
print(font.keys())

# Save changes to the font
font.save('path_to_new_font.ttf')