# Install bdftopcf with Homebrew, apk, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, zypper Convert X font from Bitmap Distribution Format to Portable Compiled Format. Version 1.1.2 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#bdftopcf. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:bdftopcf ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install bdftopcf ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install bdftopcf ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: x11/bdftopcf/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add bdftopcf ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: bdftopcf from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install bdftopcf ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: bdftopcf from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#bdftopcf ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/bd/bdftopcf/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install bdftopcf ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: bdftopcf from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:bdftopcf - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 1.1.2 - **Source summary:** Convert X font from Bitmap Distribution Format to Portable Compiled Format - **Homepage:** - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - bdftopcf (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 1.1.2 ## Project history and usage bdftopcf is a small X.Org utility that compiles BDF bitmap fonts into PCF, the Portable Compiled Format used by the X server and X font server. It is not glamorous, but it is part of the plumbing that made bitmap font distribution and loading practical across architectures. ### Project history The X.Org manpage carries MIT X Consortium and Open Group copyright notices from the 1990s and identifies Keith Packard as the author. The current upstream README describes bdftopcf as a font compiler whose output is portable across architectures while still allowing fast native reads on the architecture it was optimized for. Like many X11 utilities, bdftopcf moved through the modular X.Org era. The freedesktop GitLab tag history includes modular-copy and X.Org 7.0-era tags in 2005, followed by standalone bdftopcf 1.0.x and 1.1.x releases through bdftopcf-1.1.2 in 2024. ### Adoption history bdftopcf is adopted wherever traditional X11 bitmap-font tooling is still packaged. The input package facts show it in Homebrew, Alpine, Fedora, MacPorts, Nix, and openSUSE packaging, reflecting its role as a compatibility and build utility rather than an end-user application. ### How it is used The documented command takes a .bdf font and writes PCF to standard output or an output file. Options set glyph padding, scanline unit, bit order, byte order, terminal-font conversion, ink-metric handling, and output filename. ### Why package nerds care bdftopcf is package-nerd significant because it is a surviving shard of the X11 bitmap font toolchain. Its value is mostly infrastructural: font packages, old X deployments, reproducible builds, and compatibility stacks need tiny tools like this to keep legacy formats buildable. ### Timeline - 1990s: bdftopcf is part of the MIT X Consortium/Open Group X11 utility set. - 2001: The XFree86/X.Org manpage revisions document the tool and Keith Packard authorship. - 2005: X.Org modularization tags appear in the upstream history. - 2007: bdftopcf-1.0.1 appears as an early standalone util release. - 2024: bdftopcf-1.1.2 is tagged upstream on freedesktop GitLab. ### Related projects - BDF is the text bitmap font source format converted by the tool. - PCF is the compiled bitmap font format produced by the tool. - X.Org Server and the historical X font server are the consumers named by the upstream README and manpage. ### Sources - - - - source_facts.package-manager ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Other Package-Manager Records - Nix - bdftopcf: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/bd/bdftopcf/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - apk - bdftopcf - 1.1.2-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: bdftopcf from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | X.Org font utility | https://xorg.freedesktop.org/ - apk - bdftopcf-doc - 1.1.2-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: bdftopcf-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | X.Org font utility (documentation) | https://xorg.freedesktop.org/ - dnf - bdftopcf - 1.1.2-6.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: bdftopcf from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | Font compiler for the X server and font server | https://www.x.org - zypper - bdftopcf - 1.1.2-1.7: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: bdftopcf from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | Font compiler for the X server and font server | http://xorg.freedesktop.org/ - MacPorts - bdftopcf: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: x11/bdftopcf/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/bdftopcf.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/bdftopcf.yml) ## Sources - pkg.so package database - Geiger risk classifier - curated package history - pkgdb category and tag curation - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph