diff --git a/dot_config/foot/foot.ini b/dot_config/foot/foot.ini
index 9e1ce53..91443e5 100644
--- a/dot_config/foot/foot.ini
+++ b/dot_config/foot/foot.ini
@@ -1,11 +1,19 @@
-# foot terminal — gruvbox dark, Maple Mono 14pt with Terminus fallback
+# foot terminal — gruvbox dark, Maple Mono NF 14pt.
 # Reference: man foot.ini
+#
+# IMPORTANT: use `Maple Mono NF` (the Latin-only Nerd Font variant installed by
+# run_once_20). NOT `Maple Mono CN` — that's the CJK variant from a separate
+# release zip we don't install. foot silently falls back to the system sans
+# font if the requested family is missing (Liberation Sans / Noto Sans Mono /
+# DejaVu Sans depending on distro), and the terminal still LOOKS fine — you
+# just get the wrong font. Verified 2026-06-23: every box except miche was
+# rendering Liberation Sans / Noto Sans Mono in foot instead of Maple Mono NF.
 
 [main]
-font=Maple Mono CN:size=14,Terminus:size=14
-font-bold=Maple Mono CN:weight=bold:size=14
-font-italic=Maple Mono CN:slant=italic:size=14
-font-bold-italic=Maple Mono CN:weight=bold:slant=italic:size=14
+font=Maple Mono NF:size=14
+font-bold=Maple Mono NF:weight=bold:size=14
+font-italic=Maple Mono NF:slant=italic:size=14
+font-bold-italic=Maple Mono NF:weight=bold:slant=italic:size=14
 font-size-adjustment=0.5
 pad=8x8
 term=foot