#  `dump_fonts`

Extract font metadata
## Usage
> pdftl `<input>` `dump_fonts` `[<spec>...]` `[output` `<output>]`

## Details
The `dump_fonts` operation extracts comprehensive structural and layout metadata
about both embedded and un-embedded fonts defined across the document's page resources.

Outputs a normalized JSON object grouping fonts by their internal object IDs, including:
* **name**: Raw PostScript name of the font exactly as it appears in the PDF (including subset
  prefix)
* **base_font**: Cleaned PostScript name of the font (e.g., Helvetica-Bold)
* **subtype**: The layout design specification style (e.g., TrueType, Type0, Type1, Type3)
* **is_embedded**: Boolean indicating if the binary font asset stream exists inside the PDF
* **font_bytes**: Actual compressed payload size of the embedded stream in bytes (0 if un-embedded)
* **is_subset**: True if the font has been structurally subsetted to reduce file size
* **encoding**: Character mapping sequence used (e.g., WinAnsiEncoding, Identity-H, Standard)
* **has_to_unicode**: True if a /ToUnicode translation CMap exists (crucial for reliable text
  extraction)
* **traits**: Decoded stylistic metadata dictionary extracted from the font's descriptor bitmask
* **metrics**: Extracted typography metrics (like ascent, descent, and italic angle), only
  including keys natively present in the PDF descriptor.
* **obj_id**: PDF indirect object reference index number
* **usages**: A dictionary mapping the local resource name (e.g., "F1") to an array of pages
  where it appears.

You can optionally provide page specifications to limit inspection to specific pages.
## Examples

> Print font metadata for in.pdf to console
```
pdftl in.pdf dump_fonts
```

> Save font metadata for in.pdf to a file
```
pdftl in.pdf dump_fonts output fonts.json
```

> Print font metadata for pages 1, 2, 3, and 4
```
pdftl in.pdf dump_fonts 1 2-4
```


**Tags**: info, metadata, fonts

*Source: pdftl.operations.dump_fonts*

*Read online: [https://pdftl.readthedocs.io/en/latest/operations/dump_fonts.html](https://pdftl.readthedocs.io/en/latest/operations/dump_fonts.html)*

*Type: Operation*