Installing Nerd Fonts manually isn’t hard. Just download the font you want, unzip it, and move it to the right folder. Simple, right? But it’s still a few steps—and if you’re like me, you’d rather not repeat them every time.
That’s where Nefoin comes in.
Nefoin is a lightweight tool that lets you install any Nerd Font automatically. One command. Done.
In this guide, I’ll explain what Nefoin is and how to use it to install Nerd Fonts on Linux and macOS with zero hassle.
Table of Contents
What is Nefoin?
Nefoin stands for "Nerd Font Installer." It’s a lightweight command-line script that fetches and installs Nerd Fonts directly from the official ryanoasis/nerd-fonts GitHub release. Whether you’re on Linux or macOS, it works the same way.
It’s built for people who want:
- Fast installs,
- Less bloat,
- No manual steps.
Nefoin doesn’t bundle fonts or force you to install extras. You pick the font. Nefoin does the rest.
Why Use Nerd Fonts?
You might wonder why you might want Nerd Fonts in the first place.
Nerd Fonts are special versions of popular fonts like FiraCode, Hack, or JetBrainsMono. They come packed with:
- Extra icons (for file trees, terminals, and status lines)
- Developer-friendly symbols (like for powerlines and vim)
- Consistent spacing in terminals and code editors
If you’re using Neovim, tmux, or any tiling window manager, Nerd Fonts are almost essential.
Nefoin Features
You might be wondering - what about getnf or manual downloads? I have tried the manual way. It is not that difficult. I also find it using Nefoin is way easier than the manual way.
Nefoin is Faster
Other tools clone the entire Nerd Fonts repository. That’s over 2GB. Nefoin just grabs the font you want from the GitHub release page. It's lightweight and quick.
Nefoin is Simpler
There’s no GUI, no configs, and no packages to install. You pass the font name as a variable, and it does the rest.
Nefoin Works Well in Scripts
It’s one small shell script (~100 lines). That makes it easy to automate in dotfiles or use in Docker containers.
No License Restrictions
Tools like getnf use GPL-3.0, which limits use in closed-source projects. Nefoin is more permissive.
List of Popular Nerd Fonts You Can Install
Nefoin supports any font listed on ryanoasis/nerd-fonts/releases that ends in .zip.
Some common Nerd fonts are:
HackFiraCodeJetBrainsMonoIosevkaMesloCascadiaCodeUbuntuMonoSourceCodeProRobotoMono
Just swap the name in the command, and you're good to go.
Install Nerd Fonts using Nefoin in 4 Steps
Let me show you how I installed a font using Nefoin in just 4 steps in my Ubuntu 24.04 LTS system. I’ll use FiraCode Nerd Font as an example.
Step 1: Install Dependencies
Make sure you have curl, unzip, and fontconfig.
On Linux:
sudo apt install curl unzip fontconfig
On macOS:
brew install fontconfig
Step 2: Run the Nerd Font Installer Script
Open a terminal and run:
nerd_font_name="FiraCode" bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/monoira/nefoin/main/install.sh)
That’s it! The script will download FiraCode.zip from the official GitHub release, unzip it, and move it to your fonts directory:
- On Linux:
~/.local/share/fonts - On macOS:
~/Library/Fonts
If the font already exists, it will ask before replacing it.
Step 3: Refresh Your Font Cache
On Linux:
fc-cache -fv
On macOS, just reopen your terminal or code editor.
Step 4: Verify Nerd Fonts
Verify if the fonts have been installed by looking at the default fonts directory:
ls ~/.local/share/fonts/ | grep FiraCode
Sample Output:
FiraCodeNerdFont-Bold.ttf FiraCodeNerdFont-Light.ttf FiraCodeNerdFont-Medium.ttf FiraCodeNerdFontMono-Bold.ttf FiraCodeNerdFontMono-Light.ttf FiraCodeNerdFontMono-Medium.ttf FiraCodeNerdFontMono-Regular.ttf FiraCodeNerdFontMono-Retina.ttf FiraCodeNerdFontMono-SemiBold.ttf FiraCodeNerdFontPropo-Bold.ttf FiraCodeNerdFontPropo-Light.ttf FiraCodeNerdFontPropo-Medium.ttf FiraCodeNerdFontPropo-Regular.ttf FiraCodeNerdFontPropo-Retina.ttf FiraCodeNerdFontPropo-SemiBold.ttf FiraCodeNerdFont-Regular.ttf FiraCodeNerdFont-Retina.ttf FiraCodeNerdFont-SemiBold.ttf
Try Nerd Fonts in a Docker Container
If you want to test Nefoin in a clean environment, run it in a Docker container. Make sure you have installed Docker on your system.
- Install Docker Engine And Docker Compose In Ubuntu
- Install Docker Engine And Docker Compose In AlmaLinux, CentOS, Rocky Linux
Once Docker is installed, run the following command to install a Nerd Font inside a Docker container:
docker run -it --rm ubuntu:latest bash -uelic ' apt update -y apt install -y fontconfig curl unzip nerd_font_name="Hack" bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/monoira/nefoin/main/install.sh) bash '
Bonus Tip: Install Custom Fonts
If your favorite font is available on the release page, just pass the name without the .zip extension. Example:
nerd_font_name="VictorMono" bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/monoira/nefoin/main/install.sh)
Nefoin will handle the rest.
Conclusion
Nefoin has become my go-to way to install Nerd Fonts. It’s simple, fast, and doesn’t get in the way. No bloated scripts, no huge downloads, and no surprises.
If you're setting up a dev environment or customizing your terminal, give it a try. You'll likely never go back to manual installs again.
Have you tried Nefoin? Which Nerd Font is your favorite? Let me know in the comments!
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