Metadata extraction

Font Detection API Identify Fonts on Any Website

Detect every font used on any webpage programmatically. The Nodium font detection API loads the page in a real browser, analyzes computed styles, and returns a structured list of font families, weights, and sources. No browser extension needed.

Free plan includes 100 API calls/month. No credit card required.

https://example.com
Inter, 700
Inter, 400
Inter, 600
JetBrains Mono, 400

How Font Detection Works

Accurate font identification using a real browser rendering engine.

1

We load the page

Nodium loads the target URL in a headless Chromium browser. All JavaScript executes, web fonts download, and CSS styles are fully applied, just like a real user visiting the site.

2

Analyze computed styles

We traverse the DOM and inspect computed font styles on every text element. This captures the actual rendered fonts, not just what the CSS declares. Fallback fonts and system fonts are detected accurately.

3

Return structured data

You receive a JSON response with every font family found on the page, including font weights, styles, and the source (Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts, self-hosted, or system). Clean, structured data ready for your application.

What the Font Detection API Returns

Rich, structured font metadata from any webpage.

Font family names
Every unique font family used on the page, from headings to body text to code blocks. Includes the full CSS font-family stack and the actually rendered font.
Font weights and styles
All font weights (100-900) and styles (normal, italic, oblique) used on the page. Know exactly which weight variants a site uses, helpful for design audits and optimization.
Font sources
Where each font is loaded from: Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts (Typekit), self-hosted files, or system/built-in fonts. Includes the actual font file URLs when available.

API Parameters for Font Detection

Enable font extraction with the metadata extraction parameters.

ParameterTypeDefaultDescription
extract_metadatabooleanfalseEnable metadata extraction mode. Returns a JSON response with page metadata instead of a screenshot image.
metadata_fontsbooleanfalseInclude font information in the metadata response. Lists all font families, weights, styles, and sources found on the page.

Detect Fonts in One API Call

Pass extract_metadata=true and metadata_fonts=true to get font data.

Request (cURL)
curl "https://api.nodium.io/api/v1/screenshot?\
  url=https://example.com&\
  extract_metadata=true&\
  metadata_fonts=true" \
  -H "X-API-Key: ndm_your_api_key"
Response (JSON)
{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "metadata": {
    "fonts": [
      {
        "family": "Inter",
        "weights": [400, 500, 600, 700],
        "styles": ["normal"],
        "source": "google_fonts",
        "url": "https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Inter:wght@400;500;600;700"
      },
      {
        "family": "JetBrains Mono",
        "weights": [400],
        "styles": ["normal"],
        "source": "google_fonts",
        "url": "https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=JetBrains+Mono"
      },
      {
        "family": "Georgia",
        "weights": [400, 700],
        "styles": ["normal", "italic"],
        "source": "system",
        "url": null
      }
    ]
  }
}
JavaScript usage
const response = await fetch(
  "https://api.nodium.io/api/v1/screenshot?" +
    new URLSearchParams({
      url: "https://example.com",
      extract_metadata: "true",
      metadata_fonts: "true",
    }),
  {
    headers: { "X-API-Key": "ndm_your_api_key" },
  }
);

const data = await response.json();

// List all Google Fonts used on the page
const googleFonts = data.metadata.fonts
  .filter((f) => f.source === "google_fonts")
  .map((f) => f.family);

console.log("Google Fonts:", googleFonts);
// => ["Inter", "JetBrains Mono"]

Use Cases for Font Detection

Design research and inspiration

Discover what fonts successful websites use. Build a database of font pairings from real-world examples. Analyze typography trends across industries and competitors without manually inspecting each page.

Brand consistency auditing

Verify that all your web properties use the correct brand fonts. Detect unauthorized font usage or inconsistencies across multiple domains, subdomains, and microsites in your organization.

Competitive analysis

Analyze competitor websites to understand their design choices. Track font changes over time to spot rebranding efforts, design system updates, or A/B testing of typography.

Accessibility audits

Identify problematic font choices that affect readability. Detect overly thin font weights, decorative fonts used for body text, or missing fallback fonts that could cause layout shifts for users without the specified fonts installed.

Why Use an API Instead of Browser Extensions

Font detection via API offers advantages that manual inspection and browser extensions cannot match.

Automated and scalable

Analyze fonts on hundreds or thousands of URLs programmatically. No manual clicking through pages or installing browser extensions on every machine.

Accurate rendering

Nodium uses headless Chromium which renders fonts exactly like a real browser. Computed styles are inspected after full page rendering, catching fonts loaded via JavaScript and CSS @import.

Structured output

Get clean JSON data with font families, weights, styles, and sources. No parsing HTML or scraping extension UIs. The response is ready for your database, spreadsheet, or application.

Combine with screenshots

Request both a screenshot and font metadata in a single API call. Get a visual reference alongside the structured font data for comprehensive design documentation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a font detection API?
A font detection API is a web service that analyzes a webpage and returns a list of all fonts used on it. Unlike browser extensions that require manual inspection, an API automates font identification at scale. Nodium loads the page in a real Chromium browser, inspects computed CSS styles on every text element, and returns structured data about each font family, weight, style, and source.
How accurate is the font detection?
Nodium uses headless Chromium to render pages, which means fonts are detected from actual computed styles after full page rendering. This is more accurate than parsing CSS source files because it accounts for font fallbacks, JavaScript-loaded fonts, and conditional font loading. The API detects the fonts that actually render on screen, not just what the stylesheet declares.
Can the API detect fonts loaded via JavaScript?
Yes. Because Nodium renders the page in a full Chromium browser with JavaScript execution enabled, fonts loaded dynamically via JavaScript (including those loaded by font loading libraries, A/B testing tools, or custom scripts) are detected just as accurately as fonts declared in CSS stylesheets.
Does font detection work alongside screenshots?
Yes. You can combine font detection with a regular screenshot in the same API request. Set extract_metadata=true and metadata_fonts=true along with your screenshot parameters. You will receive both the image output and the font metadata, which is useful for design documentation and visual audits.
What font sources can the API identify?
The API identifies fonts from Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts (Typekit), self-hosted font files (woff, woff2, ttf, otf), and system/built-in fonts. For hosted fonts, the API includes the source URL so you can trace exactly where each font is loaded from. System fonts like Arial, Georgia, and Times New Roman are identified with their system source.

Start detecting fonts today

Identify every font on any website with a single API call. 100 free requests per month, no credit card required.