diff --git a/bin/omarchy-font-current b/bin/omarchy-font-current
index a52ed821..839bd4db 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-font-current
+++ b/bin/omarchy-font-current
@@ -3,29 +3,7 @@
 # omarchy:summary=Show current monospace font
 # omarchy:examples=omarchy font current
 
-shell_config="$HOME/.config/omarchy/shell.json"
-
-if [[ -f $shell_config ]]; then
-  font_family=$(python3 - "$shell_config" <<'PY'
-import json
-import sys
-
-try:
-  with open(sys.argv[1]) as file:
-    data = json.load(file)
-except (FileNotFoundError, json.JSONDecodeError):
-  data = {}
-
-bar = data.get("bar") if isinstance(data, dict) else None
-font = bar.get("fontFamily") if isinstance(bar, dict) else None
-if font:
-  print(font)
-PY
-)
-fi
-
-if [[ -n $font_family ]]; then
-  printf '%s\n' "$font_family"
-else
-  grep -oP 'font-family:\s*["'\'']?\K[^;"'\'']+' ~/.config/waybar/style.css | head -n1
-fi
+# fontconfig is the source of truth. fc-match returns a comma-separated
+# alias list (e.g. "JetBrainsMono Nerd Font,JetBrainsMono NF") so take
+# the first entry.
+fc-match monospace -f '%{family}\n' | head -n1 | cut -d, -f1
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-font-set b/bin/omarchy-font-set
index cc69a8ae..36a2babd 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-font-set
+++ b/bin/omarchy-font-set
@@ -27,31 +27,15 @@ if [[ -n $font_name ]]; then
     fi
 
     sed -i "s/font_family = .*/font_family = $font_name/g" ~/.config/hypr/hyprlock.conf
-    sed -i "s/font-family: .*/font-family: '$font_name';/g" ~/.config/waybar/style.css
-    mkdir -p "$HOME/.config/omarchy"
-    shell_config="$HOME/.config/omarchy/shell.json"
-    tmp=$(mktemp)
-
-    if [[ -s $shell_config ]] && jq -e 'type == "object"' "$shell_config" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-      jq --arg font_name "$font_name" '
-        .version = 1 |
-        .bar = ((.bar // {}) | if type == "object" then . else {} end) |
-        .bar.fontFamily = $font_name
-      ' "$shell_config" >"$tmp"
-    else
-      jq -n --arg font_name "$font_name" '{ version: 1, bar: { fontFamily: $font_name } }' >"$tmp"
-    fi
-
-    mv "$tmp" "$shell_config"
     sed -i "s/font-family: .*/font-family: '$font_name';/g" ~/.config/swayosd/style.css
+
+    # fontconfig is the canonical source of truth — the omarchy shell, Qt
+    # apps, and anything else that resolves "monospace" all read from here.
     xmlstarlet ed -L \
       -u '//match[@target="pattern"][test/string="monospace"]/edit[@name="family"]/string' \
       -v "$font_name" \
       ~/.config/fontconfig/fonts.conf
 
-    if pgrep -x waybar >/dev/null; then
-      omarchy-restart-waybar
-    fi
     omarchy-restart-swayosd
 
     if pgrep -x ghostty; then
diff --git a/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/bar/Bar.qml b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/bar/Bar.qml
index 47ca7893..6740a5b1 100644
--- a/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/bar/Bar.qml
+++ b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/bar/Bar.qml
@@ -21,8 +21,9 @@ Item {
   // see the same widget catalogue.
   required property var barWidgetRegistry
   // Injected by the host shell every time shell.json is reloaded. Holds the
-  // `bar:` subtree: position, centerAnchor, fontFamily, layout. The host owns
-  // file IO; the bar just renders whatever it's handed.
+  // `bar:` subtree: position, centerAnchor, layout. The host owns file IO;
+  // the bar just renders whatever it's handed. The bar font follows the
+  // OS-level fontconfig monospace binding — it is not stored in shell.json.
   required property var barConfig
   // Injected by the host shell so the bar can detect Noctalia-compat plugins
   // and look up manifests when wiring per-widget Noctalia pluginApi.
@@ -38,7 +39,6 @@ Item {
   property string omarchyConfigDir: home + "/.config/omarchy"
   property var fallbackBarConfig: ({
     position: "top",
-    fontFamily: "JetBrainsMono Nerd Font",
     centerAnchor: "calendar",
     layout: { left: [], center: [], right: [] }
   })
@@ -46,7 +46,9 @@ Item {
   property string centerAnchor: ""
   property int barConfigSerial: 0
   property string position: "top"
-  property string fontFamily: "JetBrainsMono Nerd Font"
+  // "monospace" resolves through fontconfig at paint time, so changing the
+  // system font (via `omarchy-font-set`) updates the bar without a reload.
+  property string fontFamily: "monospace"
   property color foreground: "#cacccc"
   property color background: "#101315"
   property color urgent: "#a55555"
@@ -187,7 +189,6 @@ Item {
     var config = isPlainObject(barConfig) ? barConfig : fallbackBarConfig
 
     position = normalizePosition(config.position)
-    fontFamily = String(config.fontFamily || "JetBrainsMono Nerd Font")
     centerAnchor = String(config.centerAnchor || "")
     layoutConfig = normalizeLayout(config.layout)
     barConfigSerial++
diff --git a/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/settings/SettingsPanel.qml b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/settings/SettingsPanel.qml
index 1a2468df..7e201c4e 100644
--- a/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/settings/SettingsPanel.qml
+++ b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/settings/SettingsPanel.qml
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ Item {
   property color background: "#101315"
   property color accent: "#cacccc"
   property color urgent: "#a55555"
-  property string fontFamily: "JetBrainsMono Nerd Font"
+  property string fontFamily: "monospace"
 
   // Source-of-truth for the shell-wide corner radius. Mirrors what the menu
   // reads from quickshell-menu.json so `omarchy style corners <sharp|round>`
@@ -189,7 +189,7 @@ Item {
     version: 1,
     bar: {
       position: "top",
-      fontFamily: "JetBrainsMono Nerd Font",
+      fontFamily: "monospace",
       centerAnchor: "calendar",
       layout: {
         left: [{ id: "omarchy" }, { id: "workspaces" }, { id: "activeWindow" }],
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ Item {
   })
 
   property var defaultConfig: builtinShellConfig
-  property var draft: ({ version: 1, bar: { position: "top", centerAnchor: "calendar", fontFamily: "JetBrainsMono Nerd Font", layout: { left: [], center: [], right: [] } }, plugins: [] })
+  property var draft: ({ version: 1, bar: { position: "top", centerAnchor: "calendar", layout: { left: [], center: [], right: [] } }, plugins: [] })
   property int draftRevision: 0
   property bool suppressReload: false
 
@@ -248,7 +248,7 @@ Item {
       bar: {
         position: String(bar.position || "top"),
         centerAnchor: String(bar.centerAnchor || ""),
-        fontFamily: String(bar.fontFamily || "JetBrainsMono Nerd Font"),
+        fontFamily: "monospace",
         layout: normalizeLayout(bar.layout || {})
       },
       plugins: plugins
diff --git a/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/settings/components/NDropdown.qml b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/settings/components/NDropdown.qml
index 98d56a2e..71883d05 100644
--- a/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/settings/components/NDropdown.qml
+++ b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/settings/components/NDropdown.qml
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ Item {
   property color foreground: "#cacccc"
   property color background: "#101315"
   property color accent: "#cacccc"
-  property string fontFamily: "JetBrainsMono Nerd Font"
+  property string fontFamily: "monospace"
   property int cornerRadius: 0
   property int rowHeight: 28
   property int popupRowHeight: 28
diff --git a/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/shell-defaults.json b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/shell-defaults.json
index 6316bd66..569fc4d4 100644
--- a/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/shell-defaults.json
+++ b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/shell-defaults.json
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
   "version": 1,
   "bar": {
     "position": "top",
-    "fontFamily": "JetBrainsMono Nerd Font",
     "centerAnchor": "calendar",
     "layout": {
       "left": [