# uswds/public-sans

A strong, neutral, principles-driven, open source typeface for text or display

Repository: https://github.com/uswds/public-sans
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/public-sans
Homepage: https://public-sans.digital.gov/
Language: Shell
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: typeface, sil, ofl, sans-serif, font, geometric
Last push: 2026-07-06T21:21:44+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 64/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 91, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3589, "days_push": 58, "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 4736, forks 126 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:57.722997+00:00)

## What it is
Public Sans is an open source, SIL-licensed sans-serif typeface forked from Libre Franklin, designed for use in text, headlines, and UI. The repository hosts the font source files, webfonts, OpenType fonts, and experimental variable fonts, though the typeface itself is no longer actively developed.

## Use cases
- find a free open source sans-serif font for a website
- use a neutral government-style typeface in a web design system
- get webfont files for a UI project
- download OpenType fonts for print design
- access variable font files for typography experiments
- fork a Libre Franklin-based typeface for custom design work

## When to choose
- you need a free, permissively licensed sans-serif webfont with a broad range of weights and italics
- you want metrics similar to common system fonts for smoother progressive enhancement
- you need tabular figures for data design or a neutral, straightforward typeface for UI and headlines

## When to avoid
- you need a typeface that is actively developed or maintained, since Public Sans is currently unmaintained
- you need non-Latin script support, as Public Sans is Latin-only
- you need cutting-edge variable font features, which are marked experimental

## Facets
- artifact type: dataset
- maturity: maintenance
- function: ui-components, developer-tools
- domain: web-design, frontend, accessibility
- platform: cross-platform, browser
- tags: typeface, font, sans-serif, open-font-license, typography, webfonts, variable-fonts, uswds, government-design, web-server

## Member repositories
- uswds/public-sans (main) score 64

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:57.722997+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 2026-08-29T18:18:59.737038+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/uswds/public-sans (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:57.722997+00:00, sha ef08227d1ff3)
  - homepage: https://public-sans.digital.gov/ (fetched 2026-08-29T09:02:43.071692+00:00, sha 3268e21e554f)
  - site_page: https://digital.gov/about/contribute (fetched 2026-08-29T09:02:43.081203+00:00, sha d5c7efbe39e8)
  - site_page: https://digital.gov/about (fetched 2026-08-29T09:02:43.083449+00:00, sha 55c5178a22e5)
  - site_page: https://digital.gov/about/contact (fetched 2026-08-29T09:02:43.085182+00:00, sha 39a034a577af)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.