[[ https://design.wikimedia.org/style-guide/visual-style_typography.html | Design Style Guide's Typography section ]] features font stacks for `serif` and `sans-serif` usages.
A well-balanced style guide, especially for technical spaces like ours, should also include a `monospace` choice.
Readability is highest-priority here, our most used choice across products `monospace, monospace` has it's main reason in a technical shortcoming.
Platforms/repository managers like GitHub or GitLab features successfully a system-specific stack as well.
- GitHub: `SFMono-Regular, Consolas, "Liberation Mono", Menlo, Courier, monospace`
-- SFMono-Regular: OS X Xcode 8/Terminal, Consolas: Windows (clear type enabled), Liberation Mono: Windows/Linux,
- GitLab: `Menlo, "DejaVu Sans Mono", "Liberation Mono", Consolas, "Ubuntu Mono", "Courier New", "andale mono", "lucida console", monospace`
-- Menlo: OS X Snow Leopard, DejaVu Sans Mono: Linux derivates, Consolas: Windows, Ubuntu: "Ubuntu Mono"
---
== Proposal
**Provide a short stack and a synthesized selection of above and experience:**
```lang=css
/**
* System font stack for monospace fonts
*
* `Menlo` – macOS 10.6+
* `Consolas` – Windows Vista & newer
* `Liberation Mono` – Fedora, Ubuntu, … OFL licensed
* `Courier New` – (Generic) web font fallback
*/
'Menlo', 'Consolas', 'Liberation Mono', 'Courier New', monospace
```
| Before | After
| {F27262839} macOS w Menlo | {F27262844}
A CodePen providing an overview of the suggested stack (1), GitHub and GitLab's (2), CodePen's (3) and MW core's (4)
https://codepen.io/Volker_E/pen/pQpNEP
== Updates
- DejaVu Sans Mono feels very wide, same issue is with only 'Courier' on Windows, therefore removed/replaced by "Courier New"
**2019-04**
* 'SFMono-Regular' would only be available if user willingly installs it in macOS, following [[ https://medium.com/@shashikant.jagtap/getting-apples-sf-mono-font-in-macos-1de5183add84 | those or similar instructions ]]. It doesn't seem useful to include it in the stack for the time being, 'Menlo' is already an advantage over 'Courier New' or generic monospace.