OFDK (Open Font Design toolKit) - ofdk.open-fonts.org

The OFDK (Open Font Design toolKit) - ofdk.open-fonts.org

(the planet.open-fonts.org service has been retired)

The OFDK is a (loose and non-exhaustive) collection of font design/development software released under licenses complying with the Open Source Definition and positively reviewed on the Free Software Foundation license list.

The font design and production workflows are changing for the better. New editors are smarter and allow designers and engineers to take advantage of open formats and scriptability. We embrace this trend because we know that being able to adjust and shape our own tools makes us better designers and engineers. We use read/write tools and only use restricted tools only when they play well with open formats. We abandon the opaque and non-interoperable formats. We apply the principles of software engineering like version control, public development, issue tracking, containerisation and continuous integration/continuous delivery to improve font development and production. See Font Development Best Practises and SIL Font Development Notes. The font-related open standards with published royalty-free specifications are: UFO, SFD, FEA, WOFF, OFF.

If you are making and releasing open fonts under the OFL (SIL Open Font License) then publishing your full sources with a documented, open and reproducible buildpath (that can be containerized and does not depend on restricted GUI-only or closed platform-specific tools) - while legally not a strict requirement - is highly recommended and will be beneficial to everyone involved in the long-term. Have you read the most current version of the SIL Open Font License FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)?

Some components of the OFDK are: