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Remove or Hide System Fonts in Catalina

I've read that the System Fonts, in Catalina, can't be removed (ridiculous, given the long list of unneeded, unwanted fonts). However, could I remove or hide these fonts if I disable System Integrity Protection?


I know how to turn SIP off and on, but then where would I find the fonts I want to remove?


Thank you, Michael

Mac mini, macOS 10.15

Posted on May 17, 2020 7:28 AM

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Posted on May 17, 2020 9:32 AM

Minor correction to Tom's reply. All OS supplied fonts in Catalina have been moved. The /Library/Fonts/ folder is now empty, save for any third party fonts you may have put there. The locations are now:


/System/Library/Fonts

/System/Library/Fonts/Supplemental (what used to be in the /Library/Fonts/ folder)

8 replies

May 17, 2020 8:06 AM in response to Tom Gewecke

Method 2 seems very straight forward, and I've worked with SIP before (so I know how careful and exacting I have to be).


An alternative that doesn't require you to navigate anywhere in Terminal is to type sudo rm with a space typed after rm. Don't press Enter yet. Drag a font you want removed into Terminal. Its path and name will be appended. Now press Enter. Repeat for each font you want to remove.


 You can also use wildcards this way. Using the NotoSans fonts again as an example, after dragging one of the NotoSans

fonts into Terminal, use the backspace/delete key to edit the full font name down to NotoSa, type an asterisk *, and then press Enter.

 

8. Continue removing fonts from the Fonts and Supplemental folders. Close Terminal when done.


9. Restart into Recovery Mode. Re-enable SIP in Terminal by entering: csrutil enable


Type reboot to return to the normal desktop.


Where are the fonts listed so that I can drag them into oblivion?


Much thanx, Michael

May 17, 2020 9:39 AM in response to MichaelJonas

I only mention it in one place (just ahead of the list of system fonts), but I would strongly suggest setting aside copies of every font you plan on removing.


The lists are very much geared so everything in the OS, and the Apple installed apps work as expected. If you find you need any of the removed fonts later on for third party apps, you can simply activate them with any font manager. Such as, a reader recently let me know iReal Pro required MarkerFelt to launch.

Remove or Hide System Fonts in Catalina

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