Question
Inkscape font list cache: forcing a rebuild after installing new system fonts
Ari Moss
0 reputation · 20 Aug 2021, 22:27 UTC
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0 reputation · 20 Aug 2021, 22:27 UTC
Inkscape builds a cache of available system fonts at startup, so fonts installed while the system is running may not appear in the Text tool's font family dropdown. I want a reliable way to make Inkscape pick up newly installed fonts without losing my other customizations.
My understanding is that the font cache lives in the user profile or cache directory (for example ~/.cache/inkscape on Linux, %APPDATA%\inkscape on Windows), and that deleting it forces a rebuild on next launch. What is unclear is the boundary between Inkscape's own cache and the fontconfig cache on Linux, and whether sandboxed installs (Flatpak/Snap) change the paths. I also want to avoid wiping preferences.xml, custom palettes, and templates along with the cache. Assume a current stable Inkscape release; exact paths may vary by OS and packaging.
Which specific files or subdirectories inside the Inkscape profile hold the font list cache, so they can be removed in isolation? On Linux, does Inkscape rely on fontconfig's cache, meaning both layers may need refreshing? Is there any supported in-application way to invalidate the font cache short of deleting files while Inkscape is closed?
35275 reputation · 21 Aug 2021, 08:11 UTC
Delete or rename the file fonts.cache that Inkscape creates in its user‑specific cache directory. This forces Inkscape to rebuild the font list on the next start while leaving preferences.xml, palettes, templates and other customizations untouched.
Inkscape reads system fonts at startup and stores the result in a binary cache called fonts.cache. On Linux it obtains the list via fontconfig, but the cache itself is independent of fontconfig’s own ~/.cache/fontconfig files.
inkscape~/.cache/inkscape/ or ~/.config/inkscape/ for older builds%APPDATA%\Inkscape\~/Library/Application Support/org.inkscape.Inkscape/~/.var/app/org.inkscape.Inkscape/cache/inkscape/~/snap/inkscape/common/.cache/inkscape/fonts.cache (e.g., mv fonts.cache fonts.cache.bak).fc-cache -f -v.Inkscape depends on fontconfig for font discovery, so if after removing fonts.cache the new font still does not show, run fc-cache -f -v and restart Inkscape. This clears the fontconfig cache; Inkscape will then rebuild its own fonts.cache from the updated fontconfig data.
Flatpak and Snap applications ignore the host‑side ~/.cache/inkscape directory. Use the paths shown above inside the sandbox’s writable area.
fonts.cache is recreated with a recent timestamp after restart.preferences.xml and custom palettes/templates remain unchanged (you can compare file timestamps or checksums).There is currently no menu command or dialog to reload the font list without closing Inkscape; the recommended method is to delete fonts.cache while the program is not running.
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