SVGO
Shrinks SVG image files by removing redundant data, via a Node.js library or command line.
- Stars
- 22.8k
- Forks
- 1.5k
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- JavaScript
- Last update
- 11 days ago
- Type
- Library
What it is
SVGO, short for SVG Optimizer, is a Node.js library and command-line tool for optimizing SVG files. SVG files exported from vector editors often contain editor metadata, comments, hidden elements and default values that can be removed without changing how the image looks. People use SVGO to make these files smaller before putting them on websites or in apps.
- Optimize a single SVG file from the terminal with svgo one.svg -o one.min.svg
- Process an entire directory of SVGs recursively using the -r and -f options
- Call the optimize function from a Node.js script to clean SVG strings in code
- Customize or disable default plugins through an svgo.config.mjs file
Great for
- Web developers who want smaller SVG icons and images loaded in pages
- Developers automating SVG cleanup in a build step or script
- Designers or teams batch-processing folders of exported SVG files via the command line
- Projects that want a configurable plugin pipeline for SVG transformations
Not ideal for
- People who need a graphical app; SVGO is a command-line tool and library with no visual interface shown in the README
- Anyone who cannot run Node.js or npm, since installation depends on them
- Users who need to keep every editor-specific detail in their SVG files, because optimization removes data by design
How to get it
- 1
Install with a package manager
You'll need: Node.js · npm, yarn or pnpm
Install globally with npm
npm install -g svgo - 2
Run it
- Install SVGO globally with npm install -g svgo
- Run svgo one.svg -o one.min.svg on a sample SVG file
- Compare the file sizes of the original and the optimized output
- Optionally create an svgo.config.mjs file to adjust the default plugins
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Use the -rf options to process whole folders of SVG files at once
- Create an svgo.config.mjs file to customize the preset-default plugin settings or disable specific plugins
- Enable extra built-in plugins such as prefixIds by name in the plugins list
- Use the optimize and loadConfig API functions to integrate SVGO into your own tools
Downloads
Strengths
- Removes redundant SVG data while aiming to keep rendering unchanged, per the README's description
- Plugin architecture with a default preset that can be tweaked or overridden
- Offers both a command-line interface and a programmatic API
Trade-offs
- Requires Node.js and npm, yarn or pnpm to install, so it is less accessible to non-developers
- Configuration and plugin behavior take some reading of external docs to master
- The README is truncated here, so detailed limits and edge cases are not covered in this entry
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| svgo (this) | 22.8k | Library | intermediate | 11 days ago | Web developers who want smaller SVG icons and images loaded in pages |
| svgr | 11.1k | Library | beginner | 8 months ago | React developers who import SVG icons or logos into components |
| anime | 74.2k | Library | beginner | 3 months ago | Front-end developers adding motion to websites or web apps |
| feather | 26k | Library | beginner | 1.7 years ago | Web developers who want a clean set of line icons without designing their own |
| rough | 21.3k | Library | intermediate | 2.3 years ago | Web developers who want a casual, hand-drawn look for diagrams or illustrations |
| mojs | 18.9k | Library | intermediate | 3 months ago | Front-end developers who want decorative animated effects like bursts, shapes, or icon animations |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.