Nerd Fonts
ryanoasis/nerd-fontsReviewed by AI
What it does
Nerd Fonts takes well-known programming fonts (Hack, JetBrains Mono, Fira Code, Source Code Pro and about 67 families in total) and adds more than 10,000 small icons to them, so terminals, shell prompts and code editors can show folder, file-type, Git and status symbols. You download the font archive for the family you want and install the font files like any other font. A separate script (font-patcher) lets you add the same icons to a font of your own, but that one needs FontForge and Python, or Docker.
How easy it is to install
B · installer plus one simple step · Windows
- Windows B
- macOS B
- Linux B
The same on all three: there is no installer, so you download a font archive from the releases page (for example JetBrainsMono.tar.xz), unzip it, install the font files the way your system does it, and then pick the font in your terminal or editor settings. Mac and Linux also have a one-command route (brew install font-hack-nerd-font, or the project's install.sh).
Numbers on GitHub
- Stars
- 65,086on Oct 31, 2026
- Downloads
- 47,045,384154,231 this week
- Growth
- +74stars in 5 days
Stars over time
Facts
- Runs on
- Windows, macOS, Linux
- You need to install
- Nothing extra
- To build from source
- Node.js, Docker
- Disk space
- 100 MB–500 MB · estimate
- Accounts or keys
- None
- Cost
- Free
- License
- MIT (Permissive)
- Last update
- Oct 17, 2026
Risk signals (4)
- Infomixed licenses
LICENSE: "Nerd Fonts source fonts, patched fonts, and folders with explict OFL SIL files are licensed under SIL OPEN FONT LICENSE Version 1.1", the scripts are MIT, and "Many other licenses are present in this project" with a separate license-audit.md. GitHub itself reports the repository license as NOASSERTION.
AI review
- Infothird party remote script installer
readme.md lists a third-party PowerShell installer that downloads and runs a script from another domain in one step: "& ([scriptblock]::Create((iwr 'https://to.loredo.me/Install-NerdFont.ps1')))". The Chocolatey and Scoop packages are also described as unofficial. These are optional; the release archives are the main download.
AI review
- Inforeserved font names
The patched-fonts table marks many families "RFN = Reserved Font Name" (Anonymous Pro, IBM Plex Mono, Cascadia Code, Source Code Pro and others), which is why the patched versions are renamed. If you patch and share a font yourself, the OFL rules about reserved names apply to you too.
AI review
- Inforepository itself is not the download
readme.md Important Notices: "cloning this repository is not recommended (due to Repo size)" and Option 8: "Will not work to get newer fonts as they are not inside the repo anymore." The fonts come from the release archives, and the latest release (v3.5.1) has no platform binaries, only font archives.
AI review
Evidence is shown in its original language.
What Radar could not check
- Whether the icons show correctly in your specific terminal or editor on Windows.
- Disk space used if you install many or all of the 67 font families.
- What the unofficial Chocolatey, Scoop and third-party PowerShell installers actually download and run.
- Whether the font patcher runs on Windows, since it needs FontForge with Python, or Docker.