Use Jetbrains Mono as default monospace font

[felix-andreas]

Jetbrains Mono is a relatively new font licensed under the OFL-1.1 License.

I used it for some time now and in my opinion it would nicely fit the new stylesheet and the new Inter font with regard to legibility. I am by far no expert on fonts, so it is also possible, that my perception of improved readability is just my bias towards something new.

I also found this twitter post, where the author of the Inter mentions that a mono-spaced version of Inter would look very similar to JetBrains Mono.

Terminal

Roboto Mono 10	Jetbrains Mono 10

Code

Roboto Mono 10	Jetbrains Mono 10

[dar5hak]

In JetBrains Mono, I see:

• more readable e, l, t
• quirkier r, u, 3, 4, 6
• larger character height (and larger x-height as a result)

JetBrains Mono generally looks readable but is quirkier than the more neutral Roboto Mono.

[apcamargo]

My problem with JetBrains Mono is that its x-height is just too tall. The font is very quirky. Here's a comparison with Source Code Pro, my personal choice:

Source Code	ProJetBrains Mono

I'm all for changes in elementaryOS's typefaces (see elementary/fonts#8), but this one seems unnecessary to me. In previous versions I'd advocate for Source Code Pro as it pairs much better with Open Sans than Roboto mono, but now that elementaryOS uses Inter, Roboto Mono is the better pair (actually, SF Mono is even better, but we can't use that one...).

[apcamargo]

Just two other options that I find interesting:

IBM Plex Mono	Input Mono

I'm a big fan of IBM Plex Mono because of its distinctiveness and its beautiful italics (which is something that most monospaced fonts lack).

Input Mono is quite cool because on top of having high readability, it has a flexible system that allows customization. Personally, I don't think it is as aesthetically pleasing, though.

[dar5hak]

Hmm, Plex is a tough one. It's the most beautiful monospace I've used (especially italics), and I'll likely set it as my code font regardless of the default, as I do now.

That said, it isn't without its quirks. The italic f, t, l are beautiful but stand out a lot. If neutral is the goal, I'm afraid that Plex is anything but.

[apcamargo]

Yeah, I agree. I think Roboto Mono is the best option for now, even though it is lacking some characters and italics.