# kika/fixedsys

Fixedsys Excelsior font with programming ligatures

Repository: https://github.com/kika/fixedsys
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/fixedsys
Language: Rust
License Family: other
Last push: 2026-04-23T02:40:44+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 58/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 78, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3772, "days_push": 132, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1288, forks 57 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:15.103749+00:00)

## What it is
Fixedsys Excelsior is a TrueType monospace font that simulates the classic 8x16 bitmap font from old DOS/Windows systems, extended with programming ligatures like <= and >=. It is distributed as precompiled TTF binaries in normal and ALT ligature variants, with source built using TTX/fonttools.

## Use cases
- use a nostalgic 8x16 bitmap-style font in a modern code editor
- get programming ligatures like <= and >= in a monospace font
- find an alternative to Fira Code with a retro DOS font look
- download a compiled TTF of Fixedsys Excelsior
- make console and terminal text look like old Windows/DOS
- choose between normal and ALT ligature variants for coding

## When to choose
- you want an authentic retro 8x16 monospace coding font with ligatures
- you find other programming fonts hard to read and prefer classic bitmap-style glyphs
- you need a public-domain font you can freely modify and redistribute

## When to avoid
- you need a scalable, high-resolution font with variable weights
- you require an official open-source license file (the repo has none, only CC0/public-domain dedication)
- you want extensive ligature coverage comparable to Fira Code

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: developer-tools, editor
- domain: developer-tools, text-editors, cross-platform
- platform: cross-platform, windows
- tags: font, monospace-font, programming-ligatures, truetype, bitmap-font, retro-computing, 8x16, coding-font, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- kika/fixedsys (main) score 58

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:15.103749+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T04:55:48.880665+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/kika/fixedsys (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:15.103749+00:00, sha 058dc88a3cea)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.