I have successfully patched font awesome to 5.6.3. Both free or pro should work fine. As a total newbie to nodebb, there might be issues that I am not aware yet. Below is a simple script to assist any future updates.
I have not fully tested the procedures. Proceed at your own risk!
#!/bin/bash
#########################################################################################################
## copy latest font awesome's /webfonts/* to public/vendor/fontawesome/fonts ##
## copy latest font awesome's /less/_variables.less to public/vendor/fontawesome/less/variables.less ##
## copy latest font awesome's /less/_icons.less to public/vendor/fontawesome/less/icons.less ##
#########################################################################################################
latestfa=`curl -s https://github.com/FortAwesome/Font-Awesome/releases | grep "tree" | head -1 | grep -o -P '(?<=title=).*(?=>)'`
if ! grep $latestfa public/vendor/fontawesome/less/variables.less; then
echo "Latest Font Awesome not copied yet!"
exit 0;
fi
#Use back nodebb preferred font sizes
sed -i 's#../webfonts#./vendor/fontawesome/fonts#; s/16px/14px/; s#2em#(30em / 14)#' public/vendor/fontawesome/less/variables.less
#css for latest FA fonts
cat <<EOF > public/vendor/fontawesome/less/path.less
@font-face {
font-family: 'FontAwesome';
font-style: normal;
font-weight: 400;
src: url("@{fa-font-path}/fa-brands-400.eot");
src: url("@{fa-font-path}/fa-brands-400.eot?#iefix") format("embedded-opentype"), url("@{fa-font-path}/fa-brands-400.woff2") format("woff2"), url("@{fa-font-path}/fa-brands-400.woff") format("woff"), url("@{fa-font-path}/fa-brands-400.ttf") format("truetype"), url("@{fa-font-path}/fa-brands-400.svg#fontawesome") format("svg"); }
@font-face {
font-family: 'FontAwesome';
font-style: normal;
font-weight: 400;
src: url("@{fa-font-path}/fa-regular-400.eot");
src: url("@{fa-font-path}/fa-regular-400.eot?#iefix") format("embedded-opentype"), url("@{fa-font-path}/fa-regular-400.woff2") format("woff2"), url("@{fa-font-path}/fa-regular-400.woff") format("woff"), url("@{fa-font-path}/fa-regular-400.ttf") format("truetype"), url("@{fa-font-path}/fa-regular-400.svg#fontawesome") format("svg"); }
EOF
#Delete the old font links
sed -i '/fa fa-/d; ' src/views/partials/fontawesome.tpl
#Get new icons into variable
newfontawesome=`grep -o -P '(?<=fa-var-).*(?=:)' public/vendor/fontawesome/less/variables.less`
#Make icon Links
for i in $newfontawesome; do
echo "Insert $i Into Template"
echo "<i class=\"fa fa-$i\"></i>" >>/tmp/newfontawesome.txt
done
#Insert icons into template
sed -i '/fa-icons/r /tmp/newfontawesome.txt' src/views/partials/fontawesome.tpl #insert the new font links
#Fix notification bell
grep -rl fa-bell-o | xargs sed -i 's/fa-bell-o/fa-bells/g'
grep -rl fa-bell-slash-o | xargs sed -i 's/fa-bell-slash-o/fa-bell-slash/g'
#Fix chats comment
grep -rl fa-comment-o | xargs sed -i 's/fa-comment-o/fa-comments/g'
#Fix setting gear
grep -rl fa-gear | xargs sed -i 's/fa-gear/fa-cogs/g'
#Fix clock
grep -rl fa-clock-o | xargs sed -i 's/fa-clock-o/fa-clock/g'
#Fix group
grep -rl fa-group | xargs sed -i 's/fa-group/fa-users/g'
#Fix floppy saving button
grep -rl fa-floppy-o | xargs sed -i 's/fa-floppy-o/fa-save/g'
#Fix Thumbs UP Down
grep -rl fa-thumbs-o | xargs sed -i 's/fa-thumbs-o/fa-thumbs/g'
#Fix Bookmark
grep -rl fa-heart-o | xargs sed -i 's/fa-heart-o/fa-book-heart/g'
#Fix ThumbTack
grep -rl fa-thumb-tack | xargs sed -i 's/fa-thumb-tack/fa-thumbtack/g'
#Fix Fork Topic
grep -rl fa-code-fork | xargs sed -i 's/fa-code-fork/fa-handshake/g'
#Fix Trash
grep -rl fa-trash-o | xargs sed -i 's/fa-trash-o/fa-trash-alt/g'
#Fix Rebuild
grep -rl fa-refresh | xargs sed -i 's/fa-refresh/fa-sync/g'
#Fix Mail Forward
grep -rl fa-mail-forward | xargs sed -i 's/fa-mail-forward/fa-mail/g'
#Fix Picture in Editor
grep -rl fa-picture-o | xargs sed -i 's/fa-picture-o/fa-image/g'
#Fix Emoji in Editor
grep -rl fa-smile-o | xargs sed -i 's/fa-smile-o/fa-smile-wink/g'
#Fix Rotate Left Right
grep -rl fa-rotate-left | xargs sed -i 's/fa-rotate-left/fa-undo/g'
grep -rl fa-rotate-right | xargs sed -i 's/fa-rotate-right/fa-redo/g'
./nodebb upgrade
./nodebb restart
#Some icons like fa-clock-o in /recent and fa-group in /group have been renamed and are not compatible with the latest FA5. In order to change them, inspect the element in your browser, under iconPicker class abd change fa-clock-o or fa-group to fa-500px or something else that you can click on and change it.
