Our favourite fonts for the Linux terminal

Terminal emulators got here up as a subject for me not too long ago, and it bought me considering: What’s everybody’s favourite terminal font?

So I requested Opensource.com contributors to share what font they like to make use of. Here are their solutions.

VT323

I like to make use of a special font (VT323) in my GNOME Terminal than the font I exploit (Source Code Pro) in my programming editors or different apps that use a monospace font. I similar to the look of the basic VT-style font.

Sometimes, I swap to the unique IBM EGA font, as a result of to my eye it appears to be like very nice. But I affiliate EGA with DOS, and I affiliate VT323 with basic Unix terminals, so I exploit VT323 more often than not. Here’s my screenshot of GNOME Terminal utilizing VT323 because the monospace font:

Image by:

(Jim Hall CC BY-SA 4.0)

I arrange the terminal utilizing VT323 at 24 pt, which supplies a pleasant huge window. If I’m going to convey up a terminal window, I need to actually use it to do actual work, not simply do one factor and exit. I’m in all probability going to remain in that terminal window for some time, so it must be huge and simple to see. I additionally want 80×25, as a result of I’m an outdated DOS command line man and 25 strains appears to be like “right” to my eyes:

Image by:

(Jim Hall CC BY-SA 4.0)

—Jim Hall

Monospaced fonts

I do not know that I’ve a particular font that I exploit. I normally use both DejaVu or Liberation Mono. I like monospaced fonts as a result of they’re simpler to learn. Even then, I do not need the letters to be too shut collectively. The primary factor is having the ability to inform a small “L” from the number one, Q from O, and so forth. It’s additionally good to have all particular characters stand out clearly.

I additionally like a very good distinction between the font and background, so I set the background to black and characters to white.

—Greg Pittman

Hack

I like to make use of monospaced fonts, notably for the terminal and coding as a result of they’re simpler to learn. I’ve been utilizing the Hack font household for years. It gives a pleasant monospace font mixed with further glyphs and Powerline characters that I can use to show standing on the command line.

Image by:

(Ricardo Gerardi CC BY-SA 4.0)

Here’s the font preview generated with Fontpreview tool.

Image by:

(Ricardo Gerardi CC BY-SA 4.0)

—Ricardo Gerardi

Victor Mono

I’ve been utilizing Victor Mono for each my terminal and IDE for a number of years. It’s maybe a little bit of an acquired style, as a result of the italic characters are in a monospace cursive script. I like this as a result of code feedback have a definite look that is noticeably completely different from the remainder of the code. Here’s what it appears to be like like in a terminal:

Image by:

(Chris Reynolds CC BY-SA 4.0)

I additionally use the Solarized Dark coloration scheme for each my IDE and the terminal. If I might, something work or code associated would all use the identical coloration scheme, and the identical fonts, so all of it appears to be like uniform. I’ve gone by numerous fonts over time, however I at all times attempt to use the identical factor in my terminal as in my IDE.

—Chris Reynolds

Monaco

At the second, Monaco common at 16 pt (so significantly better than 12 or 14 pt fonts).

—Jenny Panighetti

Keeping it fairly in pink

This jogs my memory of the time I pranked the opposite devs on my group by making all of their terminals pink (I used to be the one girl). It was like a child pink background with sizzling pink textual content.

I wish to make my private terminals fairly, however for work I go away it white on black and simply make the font round 16 pt as a result of I respect the bigger font dimension.

I simply go away my terminal set to SF Mono font, however I make it bolder and bump it up a number of factors so I can see it higher. My favourite colours to make use of are pink or a pleasant aqua blue coloration. I additionally just like the default type the terminal has, referred to as “Novel”.

Image by:

(RachieVee CC BY-SA 4.0)

—RachieVee

Let’s ask ChatGPT

For the heck of it, I made a decision to ask ChatGPT. Here was its response:

As a language mannequin, I don’t have private preferences or the flexibility to have a favourite font. However, some common terminal fonts embody Monospace, Consolas, and Inconsolata. These fonts are common as a result of they’re simple to learn, have clear distinctions between completely different characters, and are extremely legible even at small font sizes. Additionally, they’re designed to work effectively with a wide range of completely different working methods and terminals, making them versatile selections for builders and customers alike.

I generated this textual content partially with GPT-3, OpenAI’s large-scale language-generation mannequin. Upon producing draft language, the writer reviewed, edited, and revised the language to my very own liking and takes final duty for the content material of this publication.

—Stephanie Brinley

Fantasque Sans Mono

$ grep font ~/.Xdefaults
URxvt*font: xft:FantasqueSansMono-Regular:pixelsize=12:antialias=true

I do not keep in mind once I settled on Fantasque Sans Mono, however I suppose it has been my default for the previous 8 years now, each in Rxvt and Konsole. I do not know what font I’m utilizing in my GNOME terminal. Probably regardless of the default is on GNOME.

—Seth Kenlon

Jetbrains Mono

Lately, I’ve Tilix set as my default terminal. My Tilix config has related settings to what Jim Hall makes use of. The few variations are:

• Cursor form is underline as a substitute of a block
• Font is Jetbrains Mono Nerd Font Mono Medium 14

Image by:

(Alan Formy-Duval CC BY-SA 4.0)

 —Alan Formy-Duval