txt2psf(1)

📦
version 1.1.3 · 2 versions
, in nixpkgs unstable, ubuntu stonking

✨ txt2psf(1) ✨

okay so bestie, welcome to txt2psf, a lil tool from PSF Tools that's about to turn your cute lil text file into an actual font. no cap 💖

🌸 NAME 🌸

txt2psf — compile a PC Screen Font file from a textual description

like, you write the font as text, and it compiles it into a real, actual .PSF font file. iconic behavior honestly 👑

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

txt2psf [--psf1] [--psf2] [INPUTFILE [OUTPUTFILE]]

so you can pass an input file, an output file, both, or neither, and you can force a format if you're feeling opinionated 💅

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

txt2psf converts an ASCII source file to a font in the .PSF format. that's the whole vibe. text goes in, font comes out, slay ✨

🌈 INPUT FILE FORMAT 🌈

okay so the source file is composed of a header, followed by a series of character definitions. the first line of the header must be "%PSF2" — like, mandatory, non-negotiable, periodt. then it's followed by these fields, each on a separate line, in any order you want, no rules bestie:

  • Version: nnn — file format version. currently this must be 0. no exceptions, she's strict 😤
  • Flags: nnn — this is 1 if the font should include a Unicode table, else 0. so basically yes/no but make it a number 🙈
  • Length: nnn — the number of characters in this font. if it's too low, the extra characters will be ignored 👀 too high, and the extras will be left blank. so, get it right pls 😭
  • Width: nnn — the width of a character cell 📏
  • Height: nnn — the height of a character cell 📐

after the header, the character definitions follow. each character definition starts as a "%" on a line by itself. it is then followed by two fields, in any order:

  • Bitmap: bitmapdata — the bitmap is composed of width*height cells, each of which is either a '-' (zero) or a '#' (black). whitespace is ignored, so go ahead and format it pretty 🎨 the bitmap can be spread over several lines — the bitmaps created by psf2txt(1) are, for example. so there's precedent, bestie, you're valid 🫶
  • Unicode: unicodestring — this describes the Unicode characters this bitmap represents. it's formed "[single];[sing]e];...[sequence];[sequence];..." where single is a single hexadecimal number, and sequence is two or more hexadecimal numbers separated by + signs. so "[41];" is an example of a single character, and "[00B4+0065];" is an example of a sequence 💫 if the bitmap doesn't represent any Unicode characters this field may be blank or simply missing — she's chill like that 💜
ngl this format is a little picky, so double-check your "%" lines and your hex, bestie

💅 OPTIONS 💅

  • --psf1 — force the resulting file to be in PSF1 format. old school, retro, lowkey nostalgic 🌸
  • --psf2 — force the resulting file to be in PSF2 format. the modern girlie ✨

💀 BUGS 💀

  • the file format is too rigid, and the parser (such as it is) is a quick hack. like, she admits it. not me being honest about my own crimes 🙈
  • the "Length:" header should not be necessary; txt2psf should be able to calculate the file size itself. so yeah, that field is basically doing unpaid labor 😭

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

psf2txt(1)

(the reverse queen. she goes the other way 💖)

🧚 AUTHOR 🧚

John Elliott <seasip.webmaster@gmail.com>.

and that's the whole page bestie!! this one's from PSF Tools, Version 1.1.3, dated 28 April, 2026. go forth and make fonts, you absolute main character 🌟💖🦋

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