scour

Optimize an SVG file

$ scour -i [input.svg] -o [output.svg]

$ scour -i [input.svg] -o [output.svg] --enable-id-stripping --enable-comment-stripping --shorten-ids

$ scour -i [input.svg] -o [output.svg] --remove-metadata

$ scour -i [input.svg] -o [output.svg] --indent=space

$ cat [input.svg] | scour > [output.svg]

$ scour -i [input.svg] -o [output.svg] -v

scour [options] [-i input.svg] [-o output.svg]

Scour is a Python-based SVG optimizer that reduces file size by removing unnecessary data and optimizing structure. It cleans "cruft" added by SVG editors while maintaining identical visual rendering.
Optimizations include removing unused elements and attributes, shortening numeric values, collapsing groups, and converting shapes to paths. The tool is designed for preparing SVGs for web deployment or further processing.
Scour performs lossless optimization by default, preserving the visual appearance of the original file. More aggressive options may alter structure but should not affect rendering.

-i file, --input=file

Input SVG file (default: stdin)

Output SVG file (default: stdout)

Number of significant digits for coordinates

Remove unreferenced ID attributes

Remove all comments

Replace IDs with shorter versions

Remove metadata elements

Indentation type: none, space, tab

Show statistics about optimization

Suppress non-error output

Never overwrite original files; Scour changes document structure and semantics. Hand-edited SVGs may not produce optimal results since Scour is designed for editor-generated files. Some optimizations may cause issues with specific SVG viewers or processors.

Scour was originally created by Jeff Schiller and Louis Simard as an open-source tool for SVG optimization. It became popular in the Inkscape community and is now maintained by Tobias Oberstein and Patrick Storz. Licensed under Apache-2.0.

svgo(1), inkscape(1), convert(1), xmllint(1)