diff --git a/src/FontAtlas.zig b/src/FontAtlas.zig
index 0ade9e460..d4dd4d691 100644
--- a/src/FontAtlas.zig
+++ b/src/FontAtlas.zig
@@ -123,10 +123,13 @@ pub fn addGlyph(self: *FontAtlas, alloc: Allocator, v: anytype) !*Glyph {
     errdefer _ = self.glyphs.remove(utf32);
 
     const glyph_index = glyph_index: {
+        // log.warn("glyph load: {x}", .{utf32});
         const idx = ftc.FT_Get_Char_Index(self.ft_face, utf32);
         if (idx > 0) break :glyph_index idx;
 
         // Unknown glyph.
+        log.warn("glyph not found: {x}", .{utf32});
+
         // TODO: render something more identifiable than a space
         break :glyph_index ftc.FT_Get_Char_Index(self.ft_face, ' ');
     };
@@ -178,7 +181,7 @@ pub fn addGlyph(self: *FontAtlas, alloc: Allocator, v: anytype) !*Glyph {
         .advance_x = f26dot6ToFloat(glyph.*.advance.x),
     };
 
-    //log.debug("loaded glyph codepoint={} glyph={}", .{ utf32, gop.value_ptr.* });
+    //log.debug("loaded glyph codepoint=U+{x} glyph={}", .{ utf32, gop.value_ptr.* });
 
     return gop.value_ptr;
 }
diff --git a/src/Grid.zig b/src/Grid.zig
index ae9a46f89..a3c127e31 100644
--- a/src/Grid.zig
+++ b/src/Grid.zig
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ texture: gl.Texture,
 
 /// The font atlas.
 font_atlas: FontAtlas,
+atlas_dirty: bool,
 
 /// Whether the cursor is visible or not. This is used to control cursor
 /// blinking.
@@ -220,6 +221,7 @@ pub fn init(alloc: Allocator) !Grid {
         .vbo = vbo,
         .texture = tex,
         .font_atlas = font,
+        .atlas_dirty = false,
         .cursor_visible = true,
         .cursor_style = .box,
         .foreground = .{ .r = 255, .g = 255, .b = 255 },
@@ -238,27 +240,6 @@ pub fn deinit(self: *Grid) void {
     self.* = undefined;
 }
 
-/// TODO: remove, this is for testing
-pub fn demoCells(self: *Grid) !void {
-    self.cells.clearRetainingCapacity();
-    try self.cells.ensureUnusedCapacity(self.alloc, self.size.columns * self.size.rows);
-
-    var row: u32 = 0;
-    while (row < self.size.rows) : (row += 1) {
-        var col: u32 = 0;
-        while (col < self.size.columns) : (col += 1) {
-            self.cells.appendAssumeCapacity(.{
-                .grid_col = @intCast(u16, col),
-                .grid_row = @intCast(u16, row),
-                .bg_r = @intCast(u8, @mod(col * row, 255)),
-                .bg_g = @intCast(u8, @mod(col, 255)),
-                .bg_b = @intCast(u8, 255 - @mod(col, 255)),
-                .bg_a = 255,
-            });
-        }
-    }
-}
-
 /// updateCells updates our GPU cells from the current terminal view.
 /// The updated cells will take effect on the next render.
 pub fn updateCells(self: *Grid, term: Terminal) !void {
@@ -307,7 +288,12 @@ pub fn updateCells(self: *Grid, term: Terminal) !void {
 
             // Get our glyph
             // TODO: if we add a glyph, I think we need to rerender the texture.
-            const glyph = try self.font_atlas.addGlyph(self.alloc, cell.char);
+            const glyph = if (self.font_atlas.getGlyph(cell.char)) |glyph|
+                glyph
+            else glyph: {
+                self.atlas_dirty = true;
+                break :glyph try self.font_atlas.addGlyph(self.alloc, cell.char);
+            };
 
             const fg = cell.fg orelse self.foreground;
             self.cells.appendAssumeCapacity(.{
@@ -374,6 +360,26 @@ pub fn setScreenSize(self: *Grid, dim: ScreenSize) !void {
     log.debug("screen size screen={} grid={}, cell={}", .{ dim, self.size, self.cell_size });
 }
 
+/// Updates the font texture atlas if it is dirty.
+pub fn flushAtlas(self: *Grid) !void {
+    if (!self.atlas_dirty) return;
+
+    var texbind = try self.texture.bind(.@"2D");
+    defer texbind.unbind();
+    try texbind.subImage2D(
+        0,
+        0,
+        0,
+        @intCast(c_int, self.font_atlas.atlas.size),
+        @intCast(c_int, self.font_atlas.atlas.size),
+        .Red,
+        .UnsignedByte,
+        self.font_atlas.atlas.data.ptr,
+    );
+
+    self.atlas_dirty = false;
+}
+
 pub fn render(self: Grid) !void {
     const t = trace(@src());
     defer t.end();
diff --git a/src/Window.zig b/src/Window.zig
index ccab59479..513ac44ee 100644
--- a/src/Window.zig
+++ b/src/Window.zig
@@ -499,6 +499,9 @@ fn renderTimerCallback(t: *libuv.Timer) void {
     // Update the cells for drawing
     win.grid.updateCells(win.terminal) catch unreachable;
 
+    // Update our texture if we have to
+    win.grid.flushAtlas() catch unreachable;
+
     // Set our background
     gl.clearColor(win.bg_r, win.bg_g, win.bg_b, win.bg_a);
     gl.clear(gl.c.GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT);
diff --git a/src/opengl/Texture.zig b/src/opengl/Texture.zig
index 566d54a4e..810a15c3c 100644
--- a/src/opengl/Texture.zig
+++ b/src/opengl/Texture.zig
@@ -114,6 +114,30 @@ pub const Binding = struct {
             data,
         );
     }
+
+    pub fn subImage2D(
+        b: Binding,
+        level: c.GLint,
+        xoffset: c.GLint,
+        yoffset: c.GLint,
+        width: c.GLsizei,
+        height: c.GLsizei,
+        format: Format,
+        typ: DataType,
+        data: ?*const anyopaque,
+    ) !void {
+        c.glTexSubImage2D(
+            @enumToInt(b.target),
+            level,
+            xoffset,
+            yoffset,
+            width,
+            height,
+            @enumToInt(format),
+            @enumToInt(typ),
+            data,
+        );
+    }
 };
 
 /// Create a single texture.