Missing Fonts on Windows Server Core
IronPdf needs certain system fonts to render content when generating PDFs. Windows Server Core 2019 and 2022 ship with only a handful of built-in fonts, mainly Lucon, so IronPdf is incompatible by default.
The renderer deploys and initializes normally. The log records Cef initialization succeeded and WebKit initialized, then the host process terminates while it is processing the render job:
[0721/172549.794:ERROR:gpu_channel_manager.cc(884)] Failed to create GLES3 context, fallback to GLES2.
[0721/172549.794:ERROR:gpu_channel_manager.cc(895)] ContextResult::kFatalFailure: Failed to create shared context for virtualization.
[0721/172549.794:ERROR:shared_image_stub.cc(439)] SharedImageStub: unable to create context
[0721/172549.794:ERROR:gpu_channel.cc(589)] GpuChannel: Failed to create SharedImageStub
17:25:49 (21884): WebKit initialized
Command failed with exit code -1073741571The process exits with code -1073741571, which is 0xC00000FD, STATUS_STACK_OVERFLOW, and a full Windows Error Reporting crash dump (dumps\dotnet.exe.<pid>.dmp) is written at the time of the crash. The gpu_channel / SharedImageStub messages above are non-fatal GPU-virtualization warnings; the GPU is already disabled in headless/container mode, so they are not the cause of the crash. The complete deployment and renderer output goes to ironpdf.log.
Solution
To run IronPdf in a Server Core container, install additional fonts such as Arial. The Dockerfile below copies and registers the Arial font:
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:8.0-windowsservercore-ltsc2022 as base
USER ContainerAdministrator
WORKDIR C:/
COPY arial.ttf c:/windows/fonts/arial.ttf
RUN powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts' -Name 'Arial (TrueType)' -PropertyType String -Value arial.ttfWhat each command does:
USER ContainerAdministrator: grants permission to modify the system registry and install fonts.COPY arial.ttf c:/windows/fonts/arial.ttf: copies the Arial font file into the system fonts directory.New-ItemProperty: adds a registry entry for the Arial font so the system recognizes it during PDF rendering.
Note: This solution does not work with Windows Server Nano containers. Nano Server is a highly trimmed-down version of Windows that lacks key font rendering libraries and does not support font installation, making it incompatible with IronPdf.
Curtis Chau holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science (Carleton University) and specializes in front-end development with expertise in Node.js, TypeScript, JavaScript, and React. Passionate about crafting intuitive and aesthetically pleasing user interfaces, Curtis enjoys working with modern frameworks and creating well-structured, visually appealing manuals.
