/inspect-font

/inspect-font Command

Comprehensive font analysis and visualization tool with support for large CJK character sets.

Usage

/inspect-font <font_file> [options]

Options

Basic Options

• --info - Display font metadata only (default if no other options)
• --svg - Export glyphs as SVG files
• --ufo - Convert font to UFO format
• --all - Run all analysis steps

Character Selection (for SVG export)

• --chars "ABC你好" - Export specific characters
• --range 0x4E00-0x9FFF - Export Unicode range
• --preset <name> - Use predefined character set
  • latin - Basic Latin (A-Z, a-z, 0-9)
  • latin-extended - Latin + accented characters
  • cjk-basic - Most common 500 CJK characters
  • cjk-common - Common 3000 CJK characters
  • cjk-full - All CJK Unified Ideographs (20,000+)

CJK Optimization

• --limit <n> - Maximum number of characters to export
• --batch-size <n> - Process in batches (default: 500)
• --progress - Show progress bar for large exports

Output Options

• --output <dir> - Output directory (default: ./font_analysis/)
• --format <type> - SVG output format: individual (default) or sprite

Examples

Example 1: Quick Font Info

/inspect-font MyFont.ttf

Displays font metadata, character count, and Unicode coverage.

Example 2: Export Specific Characters

/inspect-font NotoSansCJK.otf --svg --chars "你好世界Hello"

Exports only the specified characters as SVG files.

Example 3: CJK Common Characters

/inspect-font SimSun.ttf --svg --preset cjk-common --output ./analysis/

Exports the 3000 most common CJK characters with progress tracking.

Example 4: Unicode Range Export

/inspect-font MyFont.otf --svg --range 0x4E00-0x4EFF --output ./cjk_subset/

Exports CJK characters in the specified Unicode range (256 characters).

Example 5: Full Analysis with UFO

/inspect-font MyFont.ttf --all --ufo --output ./full_analysis/

Runs complete analysis: metadata, SVG export, and UFO conversion.

Example 6: Large CJK Font (Optimized)

/inspect-font HugeFont.otf --svg --preset cjk-common --limit 1000 --batch-size 200 --progress

Exports 1000 characters in batches of 200 with progress display.

Output Structure

font_analysis/
├── metadata.json          # Font information
├── svg_glyphs/           # Individual SVG files
│   ├── A.svg
│   ├── B.svg
│   ├── uni4E00.svg       # 一
│   └── ...
├── manifest.json         # SVG path data for Claude
└── output.ufo/           # UFO format (if --ufo)
    ├── fontinfo.plist
    ├── glyphs/
    └── ...

Performance Notes

Small Fonts (< 1000 characters)

• Processing time: < 10 seconds
• Memory usage: < 100MB
• No optimization needed

Medium Fonts (1000-5000 characters)

• Processing time: 30-60 seconds
• Memory usage: 100-300MB
• Recommended: Use --batch-size 500

Large CJK Fonts (> 10,000 characters)

• Processing time: 5-15 minutes
• Memory usage: 500MB-1GB
• Strongly recommended: Use --preset or --limit
• Use --progress to monitor

CJK Font Best Practices

For Exploration

Start with a small sample:

/inspect-font font.otf --svg --chars "你好世界"

For Analysis

Use common character preset:

/inspect-font font.otf --svg --preset cjk-common

For Specific Needs

Target Unicode ranges:

# Hiragana
/inspect-font font.otf --svg --range 0x3040-0x309F

# Katakana
/inspect-font font.otf --svg --range 0x30A0-0x30FF

# CJK Unified Ideographs
/inspect-font font.otf --svg --range 0x4E00-0x9FFF --limit 1000

Error Handling

• File not found: Verify font file path
• Unsupported format: Only TTF, OTF, WOFF, WOFF2 supported
• Memory error: Reduce --limit or use smaller --batch-size
• Timeout: Use --preset or --range to reduce character count

Integration with Claude Analysis

After running /inspect-font, Claude can:

1. Read manifest.json for SVG path data
2. Analyze glyph structure and design patterns
3. Compare characters across fonts
4. Identify design inconsistencies
5. Suggest improvements

Technical Details

• SVG coordinate system: Origin at baseline, Y-axis points up
• Path precision: 2 decimal places
• Bounding box: Calculated from actual path data
• Advance width: Preserved from original font

---

Command created by Violet 💜 | CJK optimized 🀄