Ask HN: What is your default font for coding and terminal?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32055600

by firstSpeaker • 4 years ago

25 100 4 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Recently I saw that there is a thread with some comments on fonts, specially monospaced fonts. I discovered that there are fonts to buy (had no idea about it) and on top of I discovered few of the fonts that some HNers pointed out.

If you are using a special font for the terminal and your IDE, please share some details :)

hprotagonist• 4 years ago

Menlo or something that looks like it. I’m pretty boring.

ElSinchi• 4 years ago

Hack font https://sourcefoundry.org/hack/

Thread closed

PaulHoule• 4 years ago

One of those fonts that puts the 0 in 3270.

azemetre• 4 years ago

I use this font everywhere as well (alacritty, neovim, vscode, etc), I think I've been using it since it was first posted on HN maybe 7 years ago? It's a great font, especially with the differences between O, 0, l, L, I.

My eyesight is bad so I typically have large font sizes (24 for text, 22 for glyphs/icons). One thing I never want to do is "stress" my eyes by having a hard time reading.

t0bia_s2• 4 years ago

Iosevka: https://github.com/be5invis/Iosevka

soneca• 4 years ago

Another vote for Iosevka.

I learned about it here on HN. It is great because it is narrow but very clear and easy to read (and free). I like narrow because I like to use side-by-side panels in VSCode, so it fits more characters per line for readable font sizes. Incredible font.

t0bia_s2• 4 years ago

I love it even for film subtitles. Easy to read and not too much "technical" as other mono fonts.

LarryMade2• 4 years ago

my terminal font is OCR-A gotta have that retro-tech style.

grafelic• 4 years ago

Dina Font, always Dina Font https://www.dcmembers.com/jibsen/download/61/

Wildgoose• 4 years ago

Go Mono and also Iosevka (a fairly narrow font). I also historically used Bitstream Vera Sans, (and occasionally still do).

https://fontlibrary.org/en/font/go-mono

speedgoose• 4 years ago

These days, I use Comic Code for coding and JetBrainsMono for the terminal.

https://tosche.net/fonts/comic-code

https://www.jetbrains.com/lp/mono/

Hamuko• 4 years ago

ProFontIIx for terminal, Source Code Pro for text editor.

yewenjie• 4 years ago

Iosevka with Nerd Fonts patched.

timeon• 4 years ago

SF Mono

kirbyfan64sos• 4 years ago

JetBrains Mono! Used to use Roboto Mono, because I liked how close it was to a standard sans-serif font, but JB Mono is similarly spaced and has the advantage of built-in ligatures and such.

ledgerdev• 4 years ago

Wow JBM is very nice, love ligatures and it's so easy to read. Thanks for mentioning it.

mbirth2• 4 years ago

Also, JBM is available almost everywhere, e.g. it comes with several mobile apps.

dschuessler2• 4 years ago

Genuine question: What's the appeal of ligatures?

I never got the point. I want to see exactly what's in the document. With ligatures I have to translate what I see back to what I get. It seems like unnecessary cognitive load to me.

r4vik• 4 years ago

Source code pro: https://adobe-fonts.github.io/source-code-pro/

lucky_cloud• 4 years ago

I use the "Sauce Code Pro" variant which includes a bunch of glyphs: https://github.com/ryanoasis/nerd-fonts/tree/master/patched-...

flylikeabanana• 4 years ago

Similarly, the Hasklig font is just Source Code Pro with ligatures.

ChrisMarshallNY2• 4 years ago

Terminal: Courier

Xcode (Code editor): Victor Mono Regular (Heard about it here): https://rubjo.github.io/victor-mono/

zabil• 4 years ago

I use Victor Mono too. I like the compact spacing in this font. It works well when I increase my editor font size when sharing screen with my colleagues.

ChrisMarshallNY2• 4 years ago

I like the ligatures (<=, !=, etc.).

DHPersonal• 4 years ago

I like using IBM Plex Mono. https://github.com/IBM/plex • https://www.ibm.com/plex/

tcfunk• 4 years ago

I've been using FiraCode for a year or so and like it pretty well https://github.com/tonsky/FiraCode

w0m• 4 years ago

ditto. One of the first things installed when I get a new devbox now.

aeyes• 4 years ago

Source Code Pro

ajross• 4 years ago

Grumpy curmudgeon here still using DejaVu (and it's Vera Sans ancestor before that). I'm sure there's lots of good choices, but DejaVu is great, it's everywhere and it's free. Just don't see a lot of value in shopping around.

thanatos519• 4 years ago

Me too! DejaVuSansMono Nerd Font and when I want serifs, GoMono Nerd Font.

johnmorrison• 4 years ago

I've been using JetBrains Mono recently, switching over from SF Mono on MacOS and Fira Code on Windows. SF Mono looks great and Fira Code has nice ligatures, but JBM has the best of both and a really nice shape.

https://www.jetbrains.com/lp/mono/

ha1zum• 4 years ago

D2Coding by Naver, it's a narrow font but not looking crazy like other narrow fonts

ElectronBadger• 4 years ago

Hack. Both in Sublime Text and urxvt terminals. And as a i3 system font. And as a fixed font for Firefox and Thunderbird.

kitsunesoba3• 4 years ago

For IDEs and text editors, I use Dank Mono[0] 14pt.

On my personal machine, my terminal font is Cozette[1] 13pt, while on my company machine it's Dank Mono[0] 14pt.

In the past I've also used SF Mono[2], Fira Code[3] and Anonymous Pro[4] among others.

[0] https://philpl.gumroad.com/l/dank-mono [1]: https://github.com/slavfox/Cozette [2]: https://developer.apple.com/fonts/ [3]: https://github.com/tonsky/FiraCode [4]: https://www.marksimonson.com/fonts/view/anonymous-pro

platz2• 4 years ago

I cannot stand the trend for the cursive s in programming fonts, but maybe I'm just boomin'

DaveYoakum• 4 years ago

Monaco. I’m old.

usr11063• 4 years ago

I used to spend a lot of time fiddling with visual properties of my desktop in the past.

Nowadays I just install Xubuntu, add i3 and mostly use it as it is. So the terminal happens to be white on black and the Emacs black on white. I don't think about it, but apply the rule they give for healthier sitting: The next position is the healthiest one (meaning switch often).

I don't even know whether my terminal and my Emacs (main tools besides the browser) use the same font or not. Why would that interest me as long as I can read both? Sometimes when something has changed on a new installation (UI people want to do continuous improvement...) it might look ugly at first. After 3 days I don't notice it anymore. Hardly ever that I would spend any time to change it back as it has always been.

If you present online (other than slides) you should know the shortcuts to change the fontsize. And possibly change your cursor and selection color to make them recognizable for remote attendees.

throwingrocks• 4 years ago

So which font do you use?

usr11063• 4 years ago

I wrote I don't know. Whatever was there by the installation procedure described. (I am at sick leave at the moment. The PC is off not to hinder recovery. The phone is on to raise the feeling...).

usr11063• 4 years ago

I you are still reading this. I booted my PC and checked.

Terminal font says DejaVu Sans Mono Book.

Emacs says DejaVu Sans Mono.

I don't know how this font lookup works and I don't want to spend my time on investigating, I guess both use /usr/share/fonts/truetype/dejavu/DejaVuSansMono.ttf

frakt0x90• 4 years ago

The only IDE I've every changed the default font in is Teradata SQL Assistant because the comma was one pixel different from the period and it would confuse me constantly. I'm always a little surprised people are so into coding fonts.

Gualdrapo• 4 years ago

I'm forking envypn[0] to make some characters more recognizable or just give them some personality (a and g, for example), and doing a slanted version. Slow process since I'm not using any graphical editor whatsoever but editing it "by hand". Hope to release it soon though.

[0] https://github.com/hicolour/envypn-font

swozey• 4 years ago

I use HackGen35 Console it's a composite of Hack and GenJyuu-Gothic. It has a brew cask.

https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-cask-fonts/blob/master/...

ofou• 4 years ago

Fira Code with ligatures

    brew tap homebrew/cask-fonts
    brew install --cask font-fira-code

nishs• 4 years ago

PragmataPro.

https://fsd.it/shop/fonts/pragmatapro/

Modularly spaced and monospaced; true bolds and italics; ligatures. It is more condensed than most system fonts.

The full set is €199, and I've found it worth it. You can buy individual fonts too.

rav3ndust• 4 years ago

Terminal: Alacritty Font: Envy Code R

A nice combination in Vim on my minimal Arch setup.

nikanj• 4 years ago

My default font is ”whatever they have selected as default”. I’m not nearly competent enough as an UI designer to pick better fonts than the person working for Apple / Microsoft / Jetbrains. I trust their judgement.

sweettea• 4 years ago

Verily Serif Mono (plus a few modifications). I find serif fonts much easier to read, and this one is the most non-monospace-like font I've ever found. (I've modified it to have a visually heavier semicolon and a visually lighter underscore, so my code is easier to read.)

prirun• 4 years ago

My eyesight isn't so hot because of chronic shingles in my left eye. On a 13" 2015 MBP: SF Mono Medium 18pt, antialias disabled, Use bold fonts enabled. Light beige text on a chalkboard green background. Character spacing .911, line spacing 1. Took a bit of experimenting to settle on this but has been great.

amelius3• 4 years ago

Iosevka Term Regular

https://github.com/be5invis/Iosevka

sam_lowry_2• 4 years ago

Gosh, this is my favourite too!

spiffytech• 4 years ago

I love that Iosevka is narrow (fitting more code panes on my screen) yet still makes all the glyphs clearly distinct.

majewsky• 4 years ago

I switched to Iosevka after I started learning Japanese, because the exact 1:2 aspect ratio of Latin characters means that square-shaped CJK characters align perfectly with the monospace grid.

leephillips• 4 years ago

Personal thanks: in search of more horizontal space I installed it, and it does the trick nicely. I installed the "fixed" variant because I don’t want ligatures in the terminal.

This is a sophisticated font with many variants, stylistic options, and compendious Unicode coverage.

jdknezek• 4 years ago

Iosevka is delightful once you get used to its density. I use a custom build of Iosevka with cues from Atkison Hyperlegible[1] that works really well even at tiny font sizes.

[1] https://brailleinstitute.org/freefont

ericbarrett• 4 years ago

For VS Code: FiraCode with ligatures enabled (yes I'm one of those weirdos)

For the terminal: Inconsolata.

iamwpj• 4 years ago

Big fan of both Inconsolata and Fira Code. If I'm not using one, I'm using the other as my default.

jart• 4 years ago

Pragmata Pro

BaudouinVH• 4 years ago

B 612 because it was designed for the cockpit of Airbus planes. Would feel even better if it wasn't a google font.

mbirth2• 4 years ago

Uhh, it's available as TTF files from GitHub.

https://b612-font.com

platz2• 4 years ago

How does PragmataPro vs Iosevka compare?

I use Iosevka, but am curious about PragmataPro

polyterative2• 4 years ago

Iosevka was less legible at 14/16 but more at below 12 for me. I daily drive PragmataPro now

1983054104• 4 years ago

I like the design and ideas of PragmataPro but it's too confusing for me. The $19 version seems very restricted but it's not clear enough what is missing. I use "Iosevka SS08" which has the narrowness that I love in Iosevka, and the SS08 version has some details from PragmataPro.

Toutouxc• 4 years ago

I'm just posting this for all of us who don't care one bit or are content with the defaults. :)

I know an ugly font when I see one, but whatever JetBrains IDEs, macOS' Terminal and Xcode use is fine by me.

amelius3• 4 years ago

Offtopic.

Something seems wrong with HN.

My newest comments don't show up under "threads".

And curiously when I click on "threads" my karma counter is a few points lower than when I click on a random comment thread.

amelius3• 4 years ago

(it works now)

None4U• 4 years ago

Iosevka

m0llusk• 4 years ago

Courier 10 pitch

mklein994• 4 years ago

Cascadia Mono/Code, depending if I feel like having ligatures:

https://github.com/microsoft/cascadia-code

It has the option to enable cursive italics, which is disabled by default. Been using it for over a year. No complaints.

maxique• 4 years ago

DM Mono! https://fonts.google.com/specimen/DM+Mono

rvdginste• 4 years ago

I used the Terminus bitmap font until a year ago because I found it really clear and sharp even on small sizes. Since bitmap fonts are not that well supported anymore, I switched to JetBrains Mono for both terminal and IDE. I started using JetBrains Mono in my IDEs as soon as it came out.

sam_lowry_2• 4 years ago

I migrated from Terminus to Iosevka Regular Mono for the same reason.

For many years, Terminus was kicking the ass for Mac and Windows users that watched over my shoulder ;-)

wodenokoto• 4 years ago

Super boring answer, but …

On Mac: the Apple one.

On PC: the VS Code one.

They are pleasant to look at. I never have l1I problems and I don’t think ligatures are appropriate in monospace scenarios as I find it quite important for me as a reader of code to know what each individual character is.

tsuujin• 4 years ago

Victor Mono. I went through a bunch of fonts recently looking for that right fit and Victor ended that search nicely.

https://rubjo.github.io/victor-mono/

TheChaplain• 4 years ago

Deja Vu Sans Mono

I've tried many but that one is just unbeatable.

phunehehe0• 4 years ago

Quinze https://www.programmingfonts.org/#quinze

I was on a quest to find the narrowest font and Quinze was the answer. It's something like 20% narrower than Iosevka, which is already quite narrow. I love Iosevka but to me nothing beats maximizing the area of the characters (readability) while minimizing their width (fitting more characters on a line). That means sacrificing the number of lines on the screen, which I solve by splitting when needed.

In fact this font is so narrow that when I attempted to force its use in all monospace text in the browser, readability took a hit instead of improving. This is because at the same height Quinze is much smaller than "normal" fonts. In my coding setup I use a huge font size so it's no problem.

glmeece• 4 years ago

I've tried a lot of different monospaced fonts, but I've settled on these 3:

IDE:

• Cascadia Mono - https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/terminal/cascadia-c...

• CaskaydiaCove Nerd Font (as a fallback) - https://github.com/ryanoasis/nerd-fonts/tree/master/patched-...

Terminal:

• Hack Nerd Font - https://github.com/ryanoasis/nerd-fonts/tree/master/patched-...

beej71• 4 years ago

I also use Hack Nerd Font.

polyterative2• 4 years ago

Pragmata Pro

theandrewbailey• 4 years ago

Nouveau IBM

https://www.dafont.com/nouveau-ibm.font

Before that, I used Cousine. I probably still do in some places.

https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Cousine

valbaca• 4 years ago

macOS, iTerm, Menlo

Menlo isn't the perfect font, but it's good enough and I wasted way too much time trying to find the perfect font. So to force myself from fiddling with fonts, I just stick with Menlo (This is also the same reason why I prefer macOS over Linux for my OS: forces me to fiddle less with customization because it has less).

JetBrains Mono is quite nice as well. I don't always switch it off when using JetBrains products.

kitsunesoba3• 4 years ago

This is also the same reason why I prefer macOS over Linux for my OS: forces me to fiddle less with customization because it has less

Similar here, although it has more to do with the defaults on macOS being generally decent and needing less fiddling with. I can have a brand new Mac ready for productive work in half an hour tops without any maintenance of dotfile repos or config transfer. Fine tuning things to a fully preferred state takes a little longer, but it's not even remotely critical and can be pushed off until I have some downtime due to being blocked.

thiht• 4 years ago

Agree. I know I use Menlo on macOS but I’ve never needed to change it. Same for Consolas when I used Windows, these fonts are just sane defaults.

On any Linux I tried, the default mono fonts were always so awful it would trigger my fiddling nerve. They’re either too wide or too thin or too round, they never seem to get the perfect balance of Menlo or Consolas

Tolexx• 4 years ago

I currently use jetbrains font on vscode. It's quite good. The bold font-weight and font-size of 15 are the settings I use.

https://www.jetbrains.com/lp/mono/

rudilee• 4 years ago

I use Input sans condensed for all programming languages because I prefer non squeezed display for wide characters, except for Go lang, which I used Input mono condensed instead since the auto formatter use space as comments offsets

https://input.djr.com/

btach• 4 years ago

I've been pretty happy with Fantasque Sans Mono.

majso• 4 years ago

InconsolotaGo NF for Terminals and Consolas for IDE

not_a_throwaw12• 4 years ago

Berekely Mono

https://berkeleygraphics.com/typefaces/berkeley-mono

maxhille• 4 years ago

Fantasque Sans

anon2020dot00• 4 years ago

Consolas looks good and is the default for VS code on Windows

GNOMES• 4 years ago

Huge fan of Ubuntu Mono (UbuntuMono Nerd Font Mono)

vermaden• 4 years ago

I usually switch between these:

- Consolas

- IBM Plex Mono

- Monaco

- Monofur

- Ubuntu Mono

- -*-clean-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-iso8859-2

lackbeard• 4 years ago

Menlo on MacOS, Ubuntu Mono on Linux.

sys_64738• 4 years ago

Whatever the default Windows Terminal font is.

jaskyle• 4 years ago

Comic Sans

HKH2• 4 years ago

Comic Mono

agnivade• 4 years ago

Hack (https://sourcefoundry.org/hack/) in editor, and Monospace Regular in terminal.

klavinski• 4 years ago

Julia Mono: https://juliamono.netlify.app/

By far the best monospaced font I have seen, discovered on HN. Before that, I used Ligconsolata (Inconsolata with ligatures).

dschuessler2• 4 years ago

I settled on SF Mono long ago.

Ask HN: What is your default font for coding and terminal?

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