| [](https://github.com/harfbuzz/harfbuzz/workflows/linux-ci/badge.svg) |
| [](https://circleci.com/gh/harfbuzz/harfbuzz/tree/main) |
| [](https://oss-fuzz-build-logs.storage.googleapis.com/index.html) |
| [](https://scan.coverity.com/projects/harfbuzz) |
| [](https://www.codacy.com/gh/harfbuzz/harfbuzz/dashboard?utm_source=github.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=harfbuzz/harfbuzz&utm_campaign=Badge_Grade) |
| [](https://codecov.io/gh/harfbuzz/harfbuzz) |
| [](https://repology.org/project/harfbuzz/versions) |
| |
| # HarfBuzz |
| |
| HarfBuzz is a text shaping engine. It primarily supports [OpenType][1], but also |
| [Apple Advanced Typography][2]. HarfBuzz is used in Android, Chrome, |
| ChromeOS, Firefox, GNOME, GTK+, KDE, LibreOffice, OpenJDK, PlayStation, Qt, |
| XeTeX, and other places. |
| |
| For bug reports, mailing list, and other information please visit: |
| |
| http://harfbuzz.org/ |
| |
| For license information, see [COPYING](COPYING). |
| |
| ## Documentation |
| |
| For user manual as well as API documentation, check: https://harfbuzz.github.io |
| |
| ## Download |
| |
| For tarball releases of HarfBuzz, look [here][3]. At the same place you |
| will also find Win32/Win64 binary bundles that include libharfbuzz DLL, |
| hb-view.exe, hb-shape.exe, and all dependencies. |
| |
| The canonical source tree is available on [github][4]. |
| |
| The API that comes with `hb.h` will not change incompatibly. Other, peripheral, |
| headers are more likely to go through minor modifications, but again, we do our |
| best to never change API in an incompatible way. We will never break the ABI. |
| |
| If you are not sure whether Pango or HarfBuzz is right for you, read [Pango vs |
| HarfBuzz][5]. |
| |
| ## Development |
| |
| For build information, see [BUILD.md](BUILD.md). |
| |
| For custom configurations, see [CONFIG.md](CONFIG.md). |
| |
| For testing and profiling, see [TESTING.md](TESTING.md). |
| |
| To get a better idea of where HarfBuzz stands in the text rendering stack you |
| may want to read [State of Text Rendering][6], though, that document is many |
| years old. Here are a few presentation slides about HarfBuzz at the |
| Internationalization and Unicode Conference over the years: |
| |
| * November 2014, [Unicode, OpenType, and HarfBuzz: Closing the Circle][7], |
| * October 2012, [HarfBuzz, The Free and Open Text Shaping Engine][8], |
| * October 2009, [HarfBuzz: the Free and Open Shaping Engine][9]. |
| |
| Both development and user support discussion around HarfBuzz happens on the |
| [github][4]. |
| |
| To report bugs or submit patches please use [github][4] issues and |
| pull-requests. |
| |
| For a comparison of old vs new HarfBuzz memory consumption see [this][10]. |
| |
| <!--See past and upcoming [HarfBuzz Hackfests](https://freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/HarfBuzz/Hackfests/)!--> |
| |
| ## Name |
| |
| HarfBuzz (حرفباز) is my Persian translation of “[OpenType][1]”, |
| transliterated using the Latin script. It sports a second meaning, but that |
| ain’t translatable. |
| |
| > Background: Originally there was this font format called TrueType. People and |
| > companies started calling their type engines all things ending in Type: |
| > FreeType, CoolType, ClearType, etc. And then came OpenType, which is the |
| > successor of TrueType. So, for my OpenType implementation, I decided to stick |
| > with the concept but use the Persian translation. Which is fitting given that |
| > Persian is written in the Arabic script, and OpenType is an extension of |
| > TrueType that adds support for complex script rendering, and HarfBuzz is an |
| > implementation of OpenType complex text shaping. |
| |
| <details> |
| <summary>Packaging status of HarfBuzz</summary> |
| |
| [](https://repology.org/project/harfbuzz/versions) |
| |
| </details> |
| |
| [1]: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/opentype/spec/ |
| [2]: https://developer.apple.com/fonts/TrueType-Reference-Manual/RM06/Chap6AATIntro.html |
| [3]: https://github.com/harfbuzz/harfbuzz/releases |
| [4]: https://github.com/harfbuzz/harfbuzz |
| [5]: http://mces.blogspot.com/2009/11/pango-vs-harfbuzz.html |
| [6]: http://behdad.org/text/ |
| [7]: https://goo.gl/FSIQuC |
| [8]: https://goo.gl/2wSRu |
| [9]: http://behdad.org/download/Presentations/slippy/harfbuzz_slides.pdf |
| [10]: https://goo.gl/woyty |
