Master references undeclared axis
Audit code: master-orphan-axis
Definition
A master references an axis the project doesn't declare. The unknown axis is ignored at export, which may produce unexpected interpolation results. Either remove the axis reference from the master's location or add the axis to project.axes.
How Patens surfaces this
The Patens audit module checks for master-orphan-axis 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-orphan-axis firing on real
glyphs, or check your own work from the CLI:
npx patens audit your-project.font.jsonCanonical 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· § fvar — designspace axes
Each axis a master references must be declared globally; orphan references cause undefined behaviour during interpolation.