Linux fc-list Command with Practical Examples

Introduction

In this lab, we will explore the Linux fc-list command, which is used to list all available fonts on the system. We will learn how to use the fc-list command to understand its purpose and syntax, list all available fonts, and filter fonts by family, style, and other attributes. This lab covers various practical examples and techniques for working with fonts in a Linux environment.

The fc-list command is a useful tool for managing and working with fonts on a Linux system. It provides a simple and efficient way to list and filter the available fonts, which can be helpful for tasks such as font selection, font management, and font-related troubleshooting.

Linux Commands Cheat Sheet

Understand the Purpose and Syntax of the fc-list Command

In this step, we will explore the purpose and syntax of the fc-list command in Linux. The fc-list command is used to list all available fonts on the system, and it can be used to filter fonts by family, style, and other attributes.

To use the fc-list command, simply run the following command in the terminal:

sudo fc-list

This will display a list of all available fonts on the system. The output will look similar to the following:

Example output:
/usr/share/fonts/truetype/dejavu/DejaVuSans.ttf: DejaVu Sans,DejaVu Sans Book:style=Book,Book
/usr/share/fonts/truetype/dejavu/DejaVuSans-Bold.ttf: DejaVu Sans:style=Bold
/usr/share/fonts/truetype/dejavu/DejaVuSans-Oblique.ttf: DejaVu Sans:style=Oblique
/usr/share/fonts/truetype/dejavu/DejaVuSans-BoldOblique.ttf: DejaVu Sans:style=Bold Oblique

The output shows the font file path, the font family name, and the font style. You can use the fc-list command with various options to filter the output and get more specific information about the fonts on your system.

List All Available Fonts on the System

In this step, we will learn how to list all available fonts on the system using the fc-list command.

To list all available fonts, simply run the following command in the terminal:

sudo fc-list

This will display a list of all the fonts installed on your system, including the font file path, font family name, and font style. The output will look similar to the following:

Example output:
/usr/share/fonts/truetype/dejavu/DejaVuSans.ttf: DejaVu Sans,DejaVu Sans Book:style=Book,Book
/usr/share/fonts/truetype/dejavu/DejaVuSans-Bold.ttf: DejaVu Sans:style=Bold
/usr/share/fonts/truetype/dejavu/DejaVuSans-Oblique.ttf: DejaVu Sans:style=Oblique
/usr/share/fonts/truetype/dejavu/DejaVuSans-BoldOblique.ttf: DejaVu Sans:style=Bold Oblique

You can also use the fc-list command with additional options to get more detailed information about the fonts. For example, to list the font family names only, you can use the following command:

sudo fc-list --format='%{family}\n'

This will display a list of all the font family names installed on your system.

Filter Fonts by Family, Style, and Other Attributes

In this step, we will learn how to filter the list of available fonts by family, style, and other attributes using the fc-list command.

To filter fonts by family, you can use the --format option with the %{family} specifier. For example, to list all fonts in the "DejaVu Sans" family, run the following command:

sudo fc-list --format='%{family}\n' | grep "DejaVu Sans"

This will display a list of all fonts in the "DejaVu Sans" family.

To filter fonts by style, you can use the --format option with the %{style} specifier. For example, to list all bold fonts, run the following command:

sudo fc-list --format='%{family}:%{style}\n' | grep "Bold"

This will display a list of all bold fonts installed on your system.

You can also combine multiple filters to get more specific results. For example, to list all bold fonts in the "DejaVu Sans" family, run the following command:

sudo fc-list --format='%{family}:%{style}\n' | grep "DejaVu Sans" | grep "Bold"

This will display a list of all bold fonts in the "DejaVu Sans" family.

Summary

In this lab, we explored the purpose and syntax of the fc-list command in Linux, which is used to list all available fonts on the system and filter them by family, style, and other attributes. We learned how to use the fc-list command to display a list of all installed fonts, including the font file path, font family name, and font style. We also discussed how to use additional options with the fc-list command to get more detailed information about the fonts on the system.

Linux Commands Cheat Sheet