Setfirstline does not seem to be working well with most fonts, perhaps all. The example below shows the issue. \define \Fonts {libertinus,ebgaramond,termes,antykwa, cambria,minion,bonum,heros,pagella,iwona} \define[1] \Setupbodyfont{\setupbodyfont[#1,11pt]} \define[1] \DisplayExample{\switchtobodyfont[#1]\getbuffer} \setupfirstline [alternative=line, style=\setfontfeature{smallcaps}] \setupinitial [location=text,n=2,color=darkred] \setuphead [chapter][ after={\blank[big]\setfirstline\setinitial}] \setuphead [section][continue=yes, after=\setfirstline] \startbuffer \startchapter[title=Initial and first line: \Word{\fontclass}] \startparagraph \input darwin \stopparagraph \startsection[title=First line only] \startparagraph \input montgomery \stopparagraph \startparagraph \input sapolsky \stopparagraph \stopsection \stopchapter \stopbuffer \expandafter\processcommalist\expandafter[\Fonts]\Setupbodyfont \starttext \expandafter\processcommalist\expandafter[\Fonts]\DisplayExample \stoptext -- Rik