# JavaDoc WTF 4MB of Fonts JDK 23+

> Source: <https://dev.to/hrgdavor/javadoc-wtf-4mb-of-fonts-jdk-23-153a>
> Published: 2026-08-29 13:50:09+00:00

I was publishing two small packages to maven central and saw that they added usage tracking. I clicked and noticed **8MB** number that should not be caused by 2 tiny packages, it was supposed to be kilobytes.

What happened wass that starting in JDK 23, the JDK `javadoc`

tool began embedding default DejaVu web font files (~4 MB) into generated API documentation. The `maven-javadoc-plugin`

passes the JDK's `--no-fonts`

flag to disable this.

**Option 1: Plugin Configuration**

To disable copying web fonts across builds, set `<disableNoFonts>false</disableNoFonts>`

(or explicitly pass additional arguments if running older toolchains) in your `pom.xml`

:

```
<plugin>
    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>maven-javadoc-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>3.11.3</version>
    <configuration>
        <!-- Disables font inclusion in JDK 23+ -->
        <additionalOptions>
            <additionalOption>--no-fonts</additionalOption>
        </additionalOptions>
    </configuration>
</plugin>
```

**Option 2: Property Switch or Maven Property**

You can also control this property directly via the Maven property or command-line flag without modifying your execution configuration:

```
mvn clean javadoc:javadoc -Dmaven.javadoc.disableNoFonts=true
```

JDK Compatibility Note:The`--no-fonts`

option was introduced inJDK 23. If you use JDK 21 or earlier, explicitly passing`--no-fonts`

will cause the JDK`javadoc`

executable to throw an unrecognized option error.