How to Deploy Fonts on macOS Using Microsoft Intune

Microsoft Intune allows IT admins to remotely deploy fonts without requiring manual installation. In this post, I’ll walk through how to install fonts on macOS via Intune using a Bash script.

Why Deploy Fonts via Intune

• Ensure all Mac devices in your organization use the same fonts
• Automate font deployment without requiring user interaction
• Deploy fonts across multiple devices from Microsoft Intune

Prerequisites

Before proceeding, ensure you have:

• macOS devices enrolled in Intune
• Admin access to Microsoft Intune

Step 1: Prepare the Deployment Script

This guide can be used to deploy any fonts, but for this example, I’ll be deploying Roboto.

Use the following shell script to download and install Roboto fonts in /Library/Fonts (making them available to all users).

#!/bin/bash

# Logging to /var/tmp
log="/var/tmp/roboto-install.log"
exec >> "$log" 2>&1
echo "Starting Roboto font installation (system-wide) at $(date)"

# System-wide font directory
FONT_DIR="/Library/Fonts"

# Create the directory if it doesn't exist
mkdir -p "$FONT_DIR"

# Roboto font source
BASE_URL="https://github.com/google/fonts/raw/main/ofl/roboto/"
FONT1="Roboto%5Bwdth%2Cwght%5D.ttf"
FONT2="Roboto-Italic%5Bwdth%2Cwght%5D.ttf"

echo "Downloading Roboto fonts to $FONT_DIR..."

# Download Roboto fonts
curl -L -o "$FONT_DIR/Roboto[wdth,wght].ttf" "${BASE_URL}${FONT1}"
curl -L -o "$FONT_DIR/Roboto-Italic[wdth,wght].ttf" "${BASE_URL}${FONT2}"

echo "Roboto fonts installed successfully in $FONT_DIR"

Step 2: Upload the Script to Microsoft Intune

1. Go to Microsoft Intune
   • Navigate to Devices > macOS > Scripts
   • Click + Add
2. Upload the script
   • Name: macOS – Roboto Fonts
   • Description: Deploys Roboto fonts to macOS devices
   • Upload script: install_roboto_fonts.sh
3. Configure Execution Settings
   • Run script as signed-in user: No (This will install it as root)
   • Hide script notifications: Yes (optional)
   • Script frequency: Every 1 week (optional)
   • Max number of times to retry if script fails: 3 times (optional)
4. Assign to Target Mac Devices
   • Assign to a test group first.
   • Deploy to production devices once tested.

Step 3: Verify Installation

Once deployed, confirm the fonts are installed:

• Open Launchpad or Spotlight and search for font.
• Select the Font Book app and verify that Roboto is in the font list.

Troubleshooting & Logs

If the fonts don’t install, check the install logs using:

cat /var/tmp/roboto-install.log | grep -i roboto

Final Thoughts

By using Microsoft Intune, you can automate font deployment across your macOS devices, reducing manual work for IT admins. This approach can be adapted to deploy any other fonts required by your organization.

Found this helpful? I share more tech tips and real-world automation on GitHub and here on the blog.