diff --git a/v2/content/posts/2020/github-emoji-linux/github-emoji-before-after.png b/v2/content/posts/2020/github-emoji-linux/github-emoji-before-after.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7c7f706 Binary files /dev/null and b/v2/content/posts/2020/github-emoji-linux/github-emoji-before-after.png differ diff --git a/v2/content/posts/2020/github-emoji-linux/index.md b/v2/content/posts/2020/github-emoji-linux/index.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ad56c0b --- /dev/null +++ b/v2/content/posts/2020/github-emoji-linux/index.md @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ ++++ +title = "Working Around GitHub Browser Sniffing to Get Better Emoji on Linux" +date = 2020-06-19T18:03:43+10:00 + +# [extra] +# updated = 2020-06-19T09:30:00+10:00 ++++ + +I have my system configured[^1] to use [JoyPixels] for emoji, which I consider +vastly more attractive than Noto Color Emoji. Sadly GitHub uses browser +sniffing to detect Linux user-agents and replaces emoji with (badly aligned) +images of Noto Color Emoji. They don't do this on macOS and Windows. In this +post I explain how I worked around this. + + + +
+ Screenshot of GitHub showing two comments, one with emoji set in the Noto Color Emoji font, the other in the JoyPixels Font. +
+ +The solution is simple: make GitHub think you're using a Mac or Windows PC. +There are various ways to change the User-Agent string of Firefox. The easiest +is via `about:config` bit I didn't want it to be a global change — I +want sites to know that I'm using Linux in logs/privacy respecting analytics (I +block most trackers). + +I ended up using the [User-Agent Switcher and Manager] browser add-on. I +configured its allow list to only include `github.com`, and use the +`User-Agent` string for Firefox on macOS. The end result? JoyPixels, just like +I wanted. + +**P.S.** If anyone from GitHub sees this. Please stop browser sniffing Linux +visitors. Linux desktops and browsers have had working emoji support for years +now. + +[^1]: I use the term, "configured", loosely here as all I really did was install the +[ttf-joypixels](https://www.archlinux.org/packages/community/any/ttf-joypixels/) package. + +[JoyPixels]: https://www.joypixels.com/ +[User-Agent Switcher and Manager]: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/user-agent-string-switcher/