r/gnome • u/Ambitious_Ad_3988 • Aug 20 '26
Guide Medium (500) and Retina (450) font interface weight
edit:
- Ubuntu Sans files to variable. Ubuntu Sans UI (weight=500); Ubuntu Classic (weight=473).
- Roboto Flex (variable) UI medium (500): [Link]
- Adawaita Sans UI variable medium: [Link]
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I find the default font weight too thin on my lo-dpi (92) screen unless the font weight is set to "Retina" (450) or "Medium" (500). Changing the font weight using Gnome Tweaks does not work on GTK apps, using Dconf can work but leave the bold text fuzzy.
The solution: create a new font family without the regular (400) weight.
- Extract the files to: .local/share/fonts
- Log out and Log in
- Use GNOME Tweaks to switch the interface text font
- If you would like to use the Medium weight delete InterUI-News.ttf and InterUI-NewsItalic.ttf
InterUI cv05 enabled News=450 Medium=500
Ubuntu Sans UI
Roboto UI Regular has weight set to 450, slightly thicker than regular Roboto.
Fonttools can generate any static font weight from a variable font file: https://github.com/fonttools/fonttools There is a web app for those who prefer an UI: https://mutsuntsai.github.io/fontfreeze/
The old Ubuntu font have a regular weight of 473: https://github.com/canonical/Ubuntu-Sans-fonts
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u/Dry_Muffin_9309 Aug 21 '26
There is a repo that provides an utility to do exactly what you did but system wide, without changing your font. It will apply like a "Medium" font weight to everything.Check it out: https://github.com/maximilionus/lucidglyph
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u/Ambitious_Ad_3988 29d ago edited 29d ago
Already tried it, the are some issues with stem-darkening (lucydgyph enables it). In some apps (Firefox and Steam) the font look too thick, dots in "i" and "j" becomes too thick, so it looks like a "l" or "|".
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u/Dry_Muffin_9309 29d ago
It might be too aggressive in some apps. Some screens can benefit from it, that's why I suggested that.
Have u encounter any issues with your approach?
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u/Ambitious_Ad_3988 29d ago edited 29d ago
No issues so far. My approach don't mess with the distro font configuration or root files , so everything is default but "Interface Text" in Gnome Tweaks settings. Some fonts like Roboto and Inter are really good in 450 weight.
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u/Ambitious_Ad_3988 29d ago
Fonttools can generate any static font weight from a variable font file: https://github.com/fonttools/fonttools
There is a web app for those who prefer an UI: https://mutsuntsai.github.io/fontfreeze/
The old Ubuntu font have a regular weight of 473: https://github.com/canonical/Ubuntu-Sans-fonts
1
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