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Duplicate glyph name

Audit code: duplicate-glyph-name

Definition

Two or more glyphs share the same PostScript name. The OpenType post table requires unique names — OTF export fails. Rename the conflicting glyphs (the AGLFN suggestion chip + bulk AGLFN rename in the glyph browser are the fastest paths).

How Patens surfaces this

The Patens audit module checks for duplicate-glyph-name across five teaching surfaces: the edit-panel inline issue list, the project-wide audit page, the release pre-flight check, the family hub, and the home-page project tile. Every surface shows the same plain-English explanation and links back to this page. This rule is detection-only — there's no automatic fix because the correction is design-dependent (it requires a judgment call about the glyph's intended shape or the font's intended behaviour). The audit message links to the specific glyph or field that needs attention.

Run this check yourself

Patens runs every audit rule live as you draw — including this one. The editor (in private alpha) shows duplicate-glyph-name firing on real glyphs, or check your own work from the CLI:

npx patens audit your-project.font.json

Canonical references

Primary literature where this rule is established or explained. Drawn from the open-licensed corpus — browse the full 42-source canonical library or read the research artifact.

  • OpenType Specification 1.9.1

    Microsoft Typography · 1997 · Microsoft Corporation· § post table — glyph names

    Glyph names must be unique within a font; duplicate names cause undefined behaviour in features that reference by name (.fea substitutions, kerning classes).

Related rules in Glyph naming

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