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Kerning Pairs Generator

Proof canvas

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Start a kerning proof

Open your working font, then choose a character set. Your proof updates instantly and never leaves this device.

What you can do

  • Release checkCoverage, kerning and metrics in one report
0 glyphs · 0 pairsload a font

Guide

How the Kerning Studio works

A free, browser-based kerning workbench for type designers: kerning and spacing proofs for any script, measured in your own font, plus a release QA studio — nothing is uploaded.

A kerning workbench for type designers

Kerning is the slow part of font production: every script multiplies into thousands of glyph combinations that have to be reviewed and adjusted by hand. This tool removes the setup work — it builds the pair list, lets you proof it in your own typeface, and produces portable text for your editor’s proof or metrics view.

How it works

  1. Choose your characters

    Pick one of the 46 alphabet presets or paste your own glyphs into the Characters field. Toggle numbers and symbols on if your project needs them.

  2. Configure the pairs

    Select a pair pattern (AB, A⇄B, or ABA), narrow the case scope (for example uppercase followed by lowercase), and optionally wrap each pair in a control string such as HH or OO.

  3. Review in your typeface

    Open your working font to preview every pair in your design and see its measured kern value. Select a pair, flag it, mark it too tight or too loose, or nudge it with the arrow keys.

  4. Export to your editor

    Choose a glyph-name format for Glyphs, RoboFont, or FontLab, or a portable proof-text format, then copy it into your editor or download it.

Built for professional workflows

  • 46 built-in alphabet presets from CLDR: Latin, Cyrillic, Greek, Armenian, Georgian, Hebrew, Arabic, Indic, Thai, CJK, and more
  • Three pair patterns: AB, A⇄B (both ways in one ABA string), and ABA
  • Shape-class mode: one representative pair per shape combination, covering the full set in a fraction of the pairs
  • Spacing-string mode with script-aware controls (HHxHH, OOxOO, HOHxHOH; Ո/Օ for Armenian, Н/О for Cyrillic)
  • Kerning measured in your own font (OTF, TTF, WOFF, WOFF2) for every pair — fonts never leave the browser
  • Pair triage, a full-screen review mode, and a live kern sandbox that exports .fea or Glyphs kerning
  • Glyph-name exports for Glyphs, RoboFont, and FontLab, plus portable proof text
  • Font QA Studio: coverage, critical-pair audit per language, accented siblings, kerning heatmap, vertical metrics with fix snippets, family and build diff

Export formats and supported scripts

Output is formatted for Proof text · one pair per line, Proof text · space separated, Proof text · continuous, Glyphs · Sample Strings (/glyph names), RoboFont · Space Center (/glyph names), and FontLab · Glyph window text (/glyph names).

Alphabet presets: Armenian, English, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, French, German, Spanish, Hindi, Japanese, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Czech, Serbian, Bulgarian, Slovakian, Croatian, Romanian, Albanian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Montenegrin, Danish, Dutch, Swedish, Estonian, Hungarian, Finnish, Portuguese, Georgian, Thai, Korean (Hangul), Chinese (Han characters), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi (Gurmukhi), Vietnamese, Turkish.

Frequently asked questions

What are kerning pairs?

Kerning pairs are combinations of two glyphs whose default spacing needs manual adjustment in a font — classics like AV, To, or Ya. Type designers work through a list of such pairs in their font editor and assign each one a kerning value. This tool generates those lists automatically from any character set.

What do the AB, A⇄B, and ABA patterns mean?

AB produces straight two-glyph pairs (AV). A⇄B checks both orders at once: each ABA string such as AVA contains AV and VA, so every unordered pair appears exactly once. ABA wraps every ordered pair in its first glyph (AVA, VAV), which makes spacing easier to judge because the eye compares the gap on both sides of the middle glyph.

How do I use the proof strings in a font editor?

Pick the Glyphs, RoboFont, or FontLab format: pairs are written as /glyphname sequences (production or nice names, with uniXXXX fallbacks) that paste straight into Sample Strings, Space Center, or a FontLab glyph window. For other editors, use a portable newline, spaced, or continuous text format.

Can I preview the pairs in my own font?

Yes. Click “Open working font” or drag an OTF, TTF, WOFF, or WOFF2 file onto the page. The font is read in your browser, every pair’s kern value is measured, and the file is never uploaded. Recent fonts are remembered on this device only, and a demo font is available if you just want to look around.

Which languages and scripts are supported?

There are 46 presets covering Armenian, English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Czech, Georgian, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Thai, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Turkish, and more — and you can paste any custom glyph set. Where pair kerning isn’t customary (for example Chinese, Thai, or most Indic scripts), the tool says so instead of scoring it.

What are context control strings like HH and OO?

A standard spacing-proof technique: each pair is set between control glyphs with known sidebearings (straight controls like HH or nn, round controls like OO or oo), so you judge the pair against a stable reference instead of in isolation.

Is the tool free?

Yes — completely free, no account, no upload. Everything runs in your browser, and your session (characters, settings, flagged pairs) is saved locally between visits.