Add a directory for fc-cache to scan

nix
Author

gil

Published

February 7, 2024

I’ve been using nixpkgs to install things on my $WORK_LAPTOP, as they’re a bit faster to resolve as compared to using apt. nixpkgs also provides more updated packages, generally.

I installed FiraCodeNerd because I felt like it was time for a change in my terminal, but I couldn’t get fc-cache to pick it up. I’m using nix profile install for this and the installed contents tend to end up somewhere inside $HOME/.nix-profile/.

I found them in $HOME/.nix-profile/share/fonts. Then, after delving through a few manpages, discovered that I could create a new file in /etc/fonts/local.conf to add a directory for the fc-cache search.

I had to create /etc/fonts/local.conf as follows:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE fontconfig SYSTEM "fonts.dtd">
<fontconfig>
 <dir>/home/gil/.nix-profile/share/fonts/</dir>
</fontconfig>

And it worked!