JetBrains, the makers of programmer tools such as IntelliJ, WebStorm, CLion and Rider, as well as the programming language Kotlin have been working on a font specifically designed for code. JetBrains Mono is an open source font family consisting of 8 fonts specifically designed with reading and writing code in mind.
Details from the JetBrains blog:
For the most part of our day we, as developers, look at the code. And it is no wonder that we are always on the lookout for the best font to make looking at the text on the screen easier on our eyes. However, the logic in many popular fonts does not always take into account the difference between reading through code and reading a book. Our eyes move along code in a very different way, often having to move vertically as often as they do horizontally, which is opposed to reading a book where they slide along the text always in the same direction.
Therefore, while working on JetBrains Mono we focused, among other things, on the issues that can cause eye fatigue during long sessions of working with code. We have considered things like the size and shape of letters; the amount of space between them, a balance naturally engineered in monospace fonts; unnecessary details and unclear distinctions between symbols, such as I’s and l’s for example; and programming ligatures when developing our font.
Today, we proudly present JetBrains Mono – a new open-source typeface specifically made for developers. Check out what makes JetBrains Mono unique in the big family of monospaced fonts and try it in your favorite code editor. Have a look at JetBrains Mono, your eyes will thank you for it.
More details about Mono are available here. It is the default font on all 2020 JetBrains IDEs and is available as an option in version 2019.3 and beyond of all JetBrain products. If you use another IDE you can download the zip here. Learn more about JetBrains Mono, including how to install and configure in Visual Studio Code in the video below.