fslsfonts

fslsfonts [-help] [-m pattern] [-l] [-a] [-1] [-v] [-t] [-n] [-u] [-C name] [server]

-help
    Print command syntax summary.

-m pattern
    Match and list only fonts against XLFD pattern (*, ? wildcards).

-l
    Show detailed XLFD fields for each font.

-a
    List all font aliases.

-1
    One font per line (default).

-v
    Verbose output (implies -l).

-t
    Include font table name.

-n
    Names only, no XLFD details.

-u
    List fonts with unknown encodings.

-C name
    Exclude font names containing name.

fslsfonts queries an X Font Server (XFS) and lists available fonts in XLFD (X Logical Font Description) format. It connects to a specified server or defaults via environment variables, making it ideal for remote font inventory, administration, and debugging in distributed X11 environments.

Unlike xlsfonts(1), which scans local X server font paths, fslsfonts uses the X Font Server protocol over TCP, DECnet, or Unix sockets. Default output shows one font name per line. Options enable pattern matching, detailed XLFD breakdowns, alias listings, and custom formats for scripting or analysis.

Key use cases include verifying font availability on centralized servers, generating font lists for documentation, or troubleshooting applications failing to load server-hosted fonts. Output is parseable but verbose; combine with grep for targeted queries.

In modern Linux, font servers are rare—superseded by Fontconfig—but fslsfonts persists for legacy X11, embedded systems, or custom XFS deployments via the xfonts-utils package.

Requires running X Font Server (xfs); deprecated in Fontconfig era. Uses legacy XLFD; may return empty on modern systems without xfs.

server format: host:port, unix/path, tcp/host:port. Defaults to unix/:-1.

FSLSFONTS_SERVER or XFSERVERS sets default server.

Introduced in X11R4 (1989) with X Font Server protocol; evolved through X11R6. Bundled in xfonts-utils; maintained for legacy compatibility.

xlsfonts(1), xfs(1), showfont(1), fc-list(1)