Architecture

System shape

static-to-variable is one pipeline with three surfaces:

1. packages/cli validates user intent and runs stages. It is the only published npm package.
2. packages/variable-gen owns font reconstruction, compilation, OpenType finishing, validation, and release output.
3. apps/web demonstrates the tool and committed showcase artifacts; it is not part of font compilation.

The private sibling static-to-variable-glide owns Glide's licensed donor inputs, durable drawing steps, project config, proofs, and release policy. The public engine must stay family-agnostic.

Pipeline flow

Copystv.config.json
  -> donor fonts
  -> rebuild generated Glyphs masters
  -> normalize
  -> export UFO + designspace
  -> fontmake variable TTF
  -> restore layout, kerning, and hinting baseline
  -> validate fidelity and interpolation
  -> release TTF/WOFF2/statics + reports

The config's root is the project boundary. Donor, source, output, UFO, release, and report paths resolve from it. A workspace may build several projects, so artifact identity is the tuple of project config, engine revision, and input files—not merely a familiar filename.