View PCF files in your browser
The compiled bitmap fonts of X11, in the font folders of Linux and BSD systems. Open one right here, even as a .pcf.gz. Nothing leaves your device.
Or drop it anywhere on this page
What you'll see
Your font opens on its glyphs pixel by pixel, every one in a grid at its own size.
- Every glyph pixel by pixel • Each size it has
- Type in it as a terminal shows it • 1× to 4×
- Find a glyph by its character, name or code
- Export • Save as TTF, OTB, BDF, PSF or a PNG sheet
About PCF
The X Window System brought in the Portable Compiled Format with X11R5 in 1991, so a bitmap font made once in BDF could be read fast on any machine. Linux and BSD systems keep their X11 fonts as PCF files, most of them gzipped.
A PCF holds the same font a BDF does, compiled into tables of its glyphs' metrics and pixels, its properties and its character map, in the byte order and padding of the machine it was made for.
Filepeek reads it in your browser, unzipping a .pcf.gz first, and shows every glyph on its pixel grid. Type in it on a terminal's colors from 1× to 4×, and save it as TTF, OTB for Linux apps, BDF to edit it, or PSF for the console.
Portable Compiled Format
.pcf
Format
- MIME type
- application/x-font-pcf
- Made by
- The X Consortium
- Released
- 1991
Inside the file
- Glyphs
- Pixels, padded for fast drawing
- Metrics
- Each glyph's size and place
- Properties
- Family, size, weight and more
- Byte order
- Either, as the font says
Opens in every browser
Browsers download PCF files, and only X11 draws them. Filepeek opens them in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari, gzipped or not, on computers and phones.
- YouChromeOpens through Filepeek
- YouEdgeOpens through Filepeek
- YouFirefoxOpens through Filepeek
- YouSafariOpens through Filepeek
Questions
How do I open a PCF file?
Drop it on this page or choose Peek a PCF. A .pcf.gz opens the same way, and every glyph shows on its pixels at once.
Can I turn a PCF into a BDF?
Yes. Choose Export, then Save as BDF for the text form font editors open. Save as OTB makes it a font GNOME and other Linux apps read.
Is my file uploaded?
No. The font opens inside your browser and never leaves your device.