What it does
Shaperglot checks a font’s language support through character requirements and OpenType behavior. It offers a free browser interface and open-source command-line tools for investigating multilingual fonts.
Having Arabic codepoints does not by itself show that a font joins letters. Shaperglot tests selected strings and features, looking for behavior such as changes in glyphs, mark attachment and required language systems. It gives a designer more specific diagnostics than a character inventory alone.
On the web page, drop a font or use Browse for a font file. Search for a language by name, ISO code, autonym or region, then use the coverage filters and switch between Coverage and Details. The project says processing happens entirely in your browser and the font is not uploaded.
For scripted checks, the Rust command-line version provides check for selected languages, report for overall support and describe for a language’s requirements. A feature producing different output is only the condition of that automated test; it does not prove that the resulting letters are correctly drawn or positioned for fluent readers.
Strengths
- Language tests include joining and mark behavior beyond character presence.
- The describe command explains what a selected language requires.
Watch out for
- A change in shaped output can pass a behavioral check without proving the language is correctly implemented.
Best for
- Multilingual font QA
- Type designers investigating complex-script support
Sources
- Shaperglot README (Oct 27, 2026)
- Shaperglot Apache License 2.0 (Oct 27, 2026)
- Shaperglot! (Oct 27, 2026)