What it does
fontTools is a free, MIT-licensed Python library for inspecting and changing font data. Its TTX tool converts TrueType and OpenType fonts to and from XML, a readable text representation. Developers use it for font tables, format conversion and scripted production tasks rather than drawing letters in a visual editor.
Install the base package with pip install fonttools. The core package uses Python’s standard library; specialised modules can need extra dependencies. For example, the documented woff extra adds dependencies for web-font compression.
TTX makes font tables inspectable as XML text. That can help locate a family-name field or compare a font before and after a build. The broader library supports TrueType, OpenType, AFM and some older formats, and its user and developer references cover individual modules.
This is a code and command-line toolkit. It provides no drawing canvas, and font files remain subject to their own permissions when you modify them. The software itself is available without payment under the MIT licence.
Strengths
- Exposes font data through Python.
- TTX provides an inspectable XML representation.
Watch out for
- Requires a Python-based workflow.
- Some modules need optional dependencies.
Best for
- Font production scripting.
- Inspecting binary font tables.
Sources
- fontTools installation and features (Oct 27, 2026)