Master has no glyph overrides
Audit code: master-empty
Definition
A variable-font master has no glyph overrides — every codepoint falls back to the default master's shape. Either add at least one override (the typical case: the difference is what defines the master) or remove the master from the designspace.
How Patens surfaces this
The Patens audit module checks for master-empty 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 master-empty firing on real
glyphs, or check your own work from the CLI:
npx patens audit your-project.font.json