Anki UI buttons displaying incorrect/bold “Impact-like” font (macOS)

Anki Help
1

Hi everyone,

I’m experiencing a UI issue in Anki where several interface buttons (e.g. Review, Add, Import Deck, etc.) are displayed in a font that looks similar to Impact or a very bold/incorrect fallback font instead of the normal UI font.

This affects the readability and overall interface appearance.

Anki version: Version ⁨26.05 (e64c6b1a)⁩ Python 3.13.11 Qt 6.11.0 Chromium 140
Operating system: macOS Tahoe 26.5
Device: Mac M1 2020

Problem description:
The UI text for buttons such as Review, Add, and Import Deck is rendered in an unusual bold font (similar to Impact or a fallback font). The rest of the interface is mostly normal, but these elements appear visually broken.

Steps to reproduce:

  1. Open Anki
  2. Go to the main screen
  3. Observe the toolbar / main buttons

What I already tried:

  • Changed video driver / rendering settings
  • Reinstalled Anki completely
  • Disabled all add-ons
  • Restarted the system
  • Checked system font settings (no changes solved the issue)

Additional notes:
The issue persists even after a clean reinstall, so it seems related to UI rendering or font fallback behavior rather than add-ons or local configuration.

If anyone has seen this before or knows a fix, I’d really appreciate the help.

2

Have you always seen this problem when using Anki on your Mac, or did the problem begin after a recent Anki or OS update?

Each time you change the video driver setting (in Anki > Preferences), you must quit and restart the Anki app. Could you please confirm, when you tested changing video driver settings, did you perform this quit-and-restart step?

What video driver setting are you using currently?

I note that your operating system is not up-to-date. Have you considered updating your OS to the latest version, Tahoe 26.5.2? I don’t know whether doing so might affect the UI issue, but because the update contains important security fixes, I highly recommend updating the OS.

(I am not able to reproduce this behavior, using almost the same configuration of hardware and software: Anki 26.05, macOS Tahoe 26.5.2, M1 Mac mini 2020.)