Installing Microsoft fonts on Fedora provides essential compatibility with documents and web pages that rely on Arial, Times New Roman, Verdana, and other Microsoft TrueType fonts. Fedora does not include Microsoft fonts by default, but the msttcore-fonts-installer package offers a straightforward method to add these widely-used Microsoft fonts to your system, ensuring proper rendering of documents created in Microsoft Office and similar applications.
This guide covers installing Microsoft Core Fonts via the community-maintained mscorefonts2 project, verifying font availability through terminal commands and the Font Viewer application, and testing font rendering in LibreOffice Writer. You will download the RPM package directly, install it with signature verification disabled, and confirm the fonts work correctly across your desktop applications.
Update System Packages
Before proceeding with the installation, first update your Fedora system with DNF package manager to minimize potential compatibility issues. Then open your terminal and execute the following command to refresh and upgrade your system packages:
sudo dnf upgrade --refreshInstall Microsoft Fonts via msttcore-fonts-installer
Microsoft does not distribute official RPM packages for these fonts, so the installation uses a community-maintained package from the mscorefonts2 project. Consequently, this package downloads the original Microsoft font files from SourceForge mirrors and installs them to your system font directories.
Microsoft retains the license for these fonts. The installer downloads them from Microsoft’s official redistribution packages hosted on SourceForge mirrors. You may use these fonts to create and view documents (including commercial documents), but you cannot redistribute the font files themselves or embed them in software applications without proper licensing. Ensure you have an active internet connection during installation.
Before installing Microsoft Fonts, ensure the necessary tools are available on your system. These tools include curl for downloading files, cabextract for extracting Microsoft font files, xorg-x11-font-utils for font management utilities, and fontconfig for managing font access. Furthermore, desktop Fedora installations typically include these packages by default, while minimal server installations or container environments may require manual installation.
After confirming the packages you need, use this command to install them:
sudo dnf install curl cabextract xorg-x11-font-utils fontconfigFedora Atomic Users (Bazzite, Silverblue, Kinoite): Immutable Fedora variants use
rpm-ostreeinstead ofdnffor system packages. Runrpm-ostree install curl cabextract xorg-x11-font-utils fontconfigand reboot your system before proceeding with the font installation.
After confirming the prerequisites are installed, download and install the Microsoft Core Fonts package from the mscorefonts2 project. The msttcore-fonts-installer package includes these Microsoft Core Fonts:
- Andale Mono
- Arial (including Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
- Comic Sans MS (including Bold)
- Courier New (including Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
- Georgia (including Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
- Impact
- Times New Roman (including Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
- Trebuchet MS (including Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
- Verdana (including Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
- Webdings
Next, download the package and install it using rpm with digest verification disabled. DNF5 in Fedora 43 and later rejects this package due to missing digest signatures, so the installation requires rpm directly:
curl -LO https://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/mscorefonts2/rpms/msttcore-fonts-installer-2.6-1.noarch.rpmThe version documented above (2.6-1) was current at publication. To check for newer versions, visit the mscorefonts2 project page on SourceForge and browse the rpms directory. The installation commands remain identical regardless of version number. Optionally verify package integrity with
sha1sum msttcore-fonts-installer-2.6-1.noarch.rpm(expected:0cd8fc72921f917ce27b2e639da6fe25eaa736b4) before installation.
Install the package with rpm using digest verification disabled, as DNF5 rejects community packages lacking proper digest signatures:
sudo rpm -ivh --nodigest --nofiledigest msttcore-fonts-installer-2.6-1.noarch.rpmThe installer downloads Microsoft Core Fonts from SourceForge mirrors, extracts them to /usr/share/fonts/msttcore/, and registers them with your system’s font cache. This process takes approximately 30-60 seconds depending on your internet connection.
Verify Microsoft Fonts Installation on Fedora
Installation Progress Output
During installation, the terminal displays progress messages as the installer downloads individual font packages from SourceForge mirrors (andale32.exe, arialb32.exe, comic32.exe, and others), extracts them to /usr/share/fonts/msttcore/, and rebuilds the font cache. The installation output shows each step of the process:
Preparing... ######################################## Updating / installing... msttcore-fonts-installer-2.6-1 ######################################## ### Using tmp directory /tmp/refresh-msttcore-fonts-1rGlOZ ### Downloading andale32.exe from http://downloads.sourceforge.net/corefonts ### cab file andale32.exe successfully downloaded ### extracting fonts from andale32.exe directly into /usr/share/fonts/msttcore ### Downloading arialb32.exe from http://downloads.sourceforge.net/corefonts ### cab file arialb32.exe successfully downloaded ### extracting fonts from arialb32.exe directly into /usr/share/fonts/msttcore ... ### Indexing the new fonts for Xft /usr/bin/fc-cache-64: succeeded
The installer downloads ten font packages, extracts TrueType files to the system font directory, and updates the font cache. When you see “/usr/bin/fc-cache-64: succeeded” at the end, the fonts are registered and immediately available to all applications.
Verify Installation via Terminal
After installation completes, confirm the Microsoft fonts are accessible by listing them in the terminal:
fc-list | grep -i "Arial\|Times\|Verdana\|Courier"This command uses grep to search your system’s font cache for common Microsoft fonts. You should see multiple matches showing font paths in /usr/share/fonts/msttcore/:
/usr/share/fonts/msttcore/arial.ttf: Arial:style=Regular /usr/share/fonts/msttcore/arialbd.ttf: Arial:style=Bold /usr/share/fonts/msttcore/ariali.ttf: Arial:style=Italic /usr/share/fonts/msttcore/times.ttf: Times New Roman:style=Regular /usr/share/fonts/msttcore/timesbd.ttf: Times New Roman:style=Bold /usr/share/fonts/msttcore/verdana.ttf: Verdana:style=Regular
The output lists each installed font file with its full path and style variant, confirming the complete font package installed successfully.
Verify via GNOME Fonts Application
Beyond terminal verification, the GNOME Fonts application provides a visual confirmation that Microsoft fonts integrate correctly with your desktop environment. Open the Fonts application by searching for “Fonts” in Activities, then press Enter to launch it.
Within the Fonts application, use the search bar to verify individual Microsoft fonts. Search for “Arial,” “Times New Roman,” and “Verdana” to confirm these core fonts appear in your system’s font library with all their style variants (Regular, Bold, Italic, Bold Italic).
Test Fonts in LibreOffice Writer
After confirming the fonts appear in GNOME Fonts, validate everyday application support by launching LibreOffice Writer and creating a new document. This step ensures Microsoft fonts render correctly in productivity applications where document compatibility matters most.
- Search for “LibreOffice Writer” in Activities and open the application.
- Type a sentence, highlight it, and select Microsoft fonts like Arial, Times New Roman, or Verdana from the font drop-down list.
- Confirm the glyph previews change immediately and that the toolbar shows the selected Microsoft font name without fallback warnings.
When LibreOffice displays the Microsoft fonts and updates the text rendering without errors, desktop applications will handle imported Microsoft Office documents correctly.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
SourceForge Download Failures
If the installer fails during the font download phase, you will see error messages like this in the terminal output:
### Downloading andale32.exe from http://downloads.sourceforge.net/corefonts Could not download andale32.exe Failed to download andale32.exe from http://downloads.sourceforge.net/corefonts
This error indicates SourceForge mirrors are temporarily unavailable. First verify your internet connection is active:
ping -c 3 sourceforge.netIf the network is reachable, wait a few minutes and retry the installation with the same rpm -ivh command. The installer automatically tries multiple mirror servers, so transient failures often resolve on retry. If downloads consistently fail after multiple attempts, check the mscorefonts2 SourceForge page for maintenance announcements or mirror status updates.
DNF5 Package Signature Error
If you attempted to install the package with DNF directly, you will encounter this error:
Transaction failed: Rpm transaction failed. Warning: skipped OpenPGP checks for 1 package from repository: @commandline - package msttcore-fonts-installer-2.6-1.noarch does not verify: no digest
This error confirms the package lacks DNF5-compatible digest signatures. Verify you downloaded the package file to your current directory:
ls -lh msttcore-fonts-installer-2.6-1.noarch.rpmThe file should be approximately 29 KB. Then use the rpm installation method with signature verification disabled as documented in the installation section above: sudo rpm -ivh --nodigest --nofiledigest msttcore-fonts-installer-2.6-1.noarch.rpm.
Fonts Not Appearing After Installation
If fonts don’t appear in applications after installation, first verify the font files exist in the correct directory:
ls /usr/share/fonts/msttcore/ | grep -E 'arial|times|verdana'You should see output listing the TrueType font files:
arial.ttf arialbd.ttf ariali.ttf times.ttf timesbd.ttf verdana.ttf
If the files exist but applications don’t show them, manually rebuild the font cache:
sudo fc-cache -fvThe command output should include /usr/share/fonts/msttcore in the processed directories and end with /usr/bin/fc-cache-64: succeeded. After rebuilding the cache, restart any open applications (LibreOffice, Firefox, etc.) to reload their font lists. Most applications only read the system font cache at startup.
Checking Package Version on SourceForge
The package version documented in this guide (2.6-1) was current at publication. To check for newer versions, visit the mscorefonts2 project on SourceForge and look in the rpms directory for updated packages. The installation process remains identical regardless of version number.
Remove Microsoft Fonts
When you need to uninstall Microsoft Fonts from your Fedora system for troubleshooting or system cleanup, remove the package and rebuild the font cache. Execute the following command in the terminal:
sudo dnf remove msttcore-fonts-installerAfter removal, rebuild the font cache to ensure applications recognize the changes:
sudo fc-cache -fvVerify the Microsoft fonts are no longer available by checking the font cache:
fc-list | grep -i "Arial\|Times\|Verdana"If the removal succeeded, this command returns no output. Applications will fall back to alternative fonts like Liberation Sans and Liberation Serif for documents that previously used Microsoft typography.
Conclusion
Your Fedora system now includes Microsoft Core Fonts through the msttcore-fonts-installer package, providing Arial, Times New Roman, Verdana, and other essential typefaces for cross-platform document compatibility. You verified the installation through terminal commands, GNOME Fonts, and LibreOffice Writer, ensuring Microsoft Office documents render correctly without font substitution warnings. For additional productivity tools, explore LibreOffice installation options or OnlyOffice for enhanced compatibility.
Trying to do this on Bazzite results in the following:
sudo rpm -ivh –nodigest –nofiledigest msttcore-fonts-installer-2.6-1.noarch.rpm
[sudo] password for [myusername]:
error: can’t create transaction lock on /usr/share/rpm/.rpm.lock (Success)
Hello, I can’t get the installation of the pre-requisite (curl cabextract xorg-x11-font-utils fontconfig) to work.
For some background, I’m trying it on Bazzite (Fedora Atomic)
ERROR: Feodra Atomic utilize rpm-ostree instead
Thanks for reporting this, Arthur. You are correct that the prerequisites command does not work on Bazzite or other Fedora Atomic variants (Silverblue, Kinoite, etc.). These immutable systems use
rpm-ostreeinstead ofdnffor base system packages.For Bazzite and Fedora Atomic systems, you have two options to install the Microsoft Fonts prerequisites:
Option 1: Layer packages with rpm-ostree (requires reboot)
After running that command, reboot your system to apply the layered packages. Then proceed with the font installation steps from the article.
Option 2: Install fonts to your user directory (no reboot needed)
Download the font installer RPM to your Downloads folder, then extract and install the fonts manually to your user font directory:
Note that the extraction script may require
cabextractto be available. If you encounter errors, layeringcabextractwith rpm-ostree is the most reliable approach. After fonts are installed, rebuild your font cache withfc-cache -fv.The article focuses on standard Fedora Workstation, but I will consider adding a note about Fedora Atomic variants for future readers.
Thank you very much that is very kind of you indeed. I am still getting acquainted with commands.
I managed to find an alternative way by copying over my Windows fonts .rtf files and by installing them using KDE options.
But the ‘rpm-ostree install’ instead of ‘dnf instal’ will come in handy. Have an excellent day.
doesn’t work december 2025, can’t install package
Thanks for reporting this, Joe. You were absolutely right. The article had the old DNF installation method that fails on Fedora 43 due to DNF5’s stricter package signature verification. The guide has been updated today with the working method.
The corrected installation uses two commands instead of one:
DNF5 in Fedora 43 rejects packages without proper digest signatures, so the installation requires using
rpmdirectly with the--nodigestand--nofiledigestflags. The fonts will install successfully and register with your system font cache. After installation, verify the fonts withfc-list | grep -i Arialto confirm they are available.Instructions were much easier than doing it by hand. Thanx
thanks worked for me
Worked perfectly. Thank you very much.
Thanks, there are no good tutorials to install the fonts on my Fedora. Post for those who do not have the app to check the font, run this command to install it “sudo dnf install gnome-font-viewer”
Thanks for sharing this, Fabian! That is a great tip for anyone running a minimal Fedora setup or a desktop environment that does not include the Fonts app by default.
If the Font Viewer is missing, install it with:
After installing
gnome-font-viewer, you can follow the steps in the “Verify via Fonts Application” section to check Arial, Verdana, Times New Roman, and the other Microsoft fonts visually. This is especially helpful alongside the terminal check withfc-list.