Does coolLabs Fonts Support the Same API Endpoints and Material Icons as Google Fonts?

Updated

Yes. coolLabs Fonts is built as a drop-in replacement for Google Fonts: it supports the css2 and css API endpoints, and Material Icons are available through the same domain swap. In practice, you keep your existing font URLs and change only the hostname from fonts.googleapis.com to api.fonts.coollabs.io.

What "drop-in replacement" means here

The service describes itself as "Google Fonts, without Google" — same fonts, same API, but without logging anything about your visitors. Because the request format stays the same, existing <link> tags and @import rules continue to work after the domain change.

Google Fonts host coolLabs Fonts host What stays the same
fonts.googleapis.com api.fonts.coollabs.io Path, query parameters, font families, weights
fonts.googleapis.com (icon endpoint) api.fonts.coollabs.io Material Icons request format

How to switch: step by step

  1. Find your font references. Search your templates, CSS, or build config for fonts.googleapis.com. This covers both <link href="..."> tags and @import url(...) statements.
  2. Replace the hostname only. Change fonts.googleapis.com to api.fonts.coollabs.io. Leave the rest of the URL — family names, :wght@ ranges, display=swap, and so on — untouched.
  3. Check icon usage separately. If you load Material Icons, apply the same domain swap to the icon endpoint URL.
  4. Verify in the browser. Reload the page, open DevTools → Network, and confirm font files are requested from the coolLabs domain and render correctly. Check the computed font-family on a few elements to make sure the intended family is applied.

Example: a typical stylesheet link

Before:

<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Inter:wght@400;700&display=swap" rel="stylesheet">

After:

<link href="https://api.fonts.coollabs.io/css2?family=Inter:wght@400;700&display=swap" rel="stylesheet">

The css2 path and all parameters are preserved; only the domain changed.

Compatibility details worth knowing

  • Both API generations are supported. Sites still using the older css endpoint don't need to migrate to css2 first.
  • Material Icons work the same way. The icon endpoint is reachable through the swapped domain, so icon fonts don't need a separate provider.
  • Font files are served from BunnyCDN, with logging disabled on the CDN side according to the project. This matters if your reason for switching is privacy rather than performance.
  • The service is open source and runs as a small HTTP server, so you can inspect or self-host it if you need full control.

Common snags when swapping

  • Hard-coded URLs in multiple places. Font links often live in a theme file, a CMS setting, and a CSS file at once. Grep the whole project rather than editing the first match.
  • Cached CSS. If fonts still load from Google after the change, clear your site cache or CDN cache and hard-reload the browser.
  • Content Security Policy. If your CSP allowlists fonts.googleapis.com, add api.fonts.coollabs.io to style-src and font-src, or the swap will be blocked silently.
  • Preconnect hints. Update any <link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com"> and fonts.gstatic.com hints to point at the new domain, otherwise you keep connections to Google for no benefit.

Is the swap worth it for you?

Choose coolLabs Fonts if you want to keep your current Google Fonts markup and typography while removing Google from the font request path — for example, when a privacy review flags third-party font requests. The one-line domain change keeps migration effort low and is reversible.

Stay with Google Fonts directly if you depend on features beyond the css/css2 endpoints and Material Icons, or if your organization requires a formally contracted provider. The project is funded by sponsors and described as free, but the available material doesn't document service-level guarantees, so treat availability as a consideration for production sites.