Get started

1. Pick how you'll use it

You only need one of these. Choose by where you want to call it from.

npm installs into your project's node_modules, pip into the active environment's site-packages, and cargo install puts docsvg in ~/.cargo/bin.

cargo install document-svg --locked

npm install document-svg

python -m pip install document-svg

cargo add document-svg

npm package page →PyPI package page →crates.io page →Rust API reference (docs.rs) →Download a ready-made command (Releases) →

2. Convert your first file

The same conversion works the same way from anywhere. Each example runs as written.

docsvg report.pdf --output output/report
docsvg slides.pptx --output output/slides
docsvg architecture.drawio --output output/diagram --stencils path/to/stencils.xml

docsvg report.pdf --output output/report --jobs 4 --max-pages 100

docsvg reverse output/slides --output slides.pptx
docsvg reverse output/diagram --output diagram.drawio
docsvg reverse output/drawing --output drawing.dxf

docsvg transform diagram.svg --output diagram.min.svg \
  --minify --monochrome "#1e293b" --responsive --precision 1

const { convert } = require('document-svg')

const report = await convert('report.docx', 'output/report', { maxPages: 100 })
const needsReview = report.warnings.length > 0 ||
  report.pages.some((page) => page.warnings.length > 0)

console.log(report.pageCount, needsReview)

import { preview } from 'document-svg'

const report = await preview('slides.pptx', { maxPages: 100 })
for (const page of report.pages) {
  console.log(page.number, page.widthPoints, page.heightPoints)
  // page.svg is the complete SVG XML string
}
console.log('review required:', report.needsReview)

import { createSvgPreviewUrl, revokeSvgPreviewUrl } from 'document-svg/preview-ui'

const url = createSvgPreviewUrl(svgMarkup)
// <img src={url} alt="Office document preview" />

// when replacing the image or disposing of the view:
revokeSvgPreviewUrl(url)

const { reverse } = require('document-svg')

const report = await reverse('output/diagram', 'diagram.drawio')
console.log(report.pageCount, report.warnings)

from document_svg import convert

report = convert("input.pptx", "output/pptx", jobs=1, max_pages=500)
needs_review = bool(report["warnings"]) or any(
    page["warnings"] for page in report["pages"]
)
print(report["page_count"], needs_review)

from document_svg import reverse

report = reverse("output/slides", "slides.pptx")
print(report["page_count"], report["warnings"])

use document_svg::{convert_path, ConvertOptions};

let options = ConvertOptions { jobs: 4, max_pages: 500, ..ConvertOptions::default() };
let report = convert_path("input.pdf", "output/pdf", &options)?;
println!("{} pages", report.page_count);

use document_svg::ir::{IDENTITY, Node, Page, Paint, Stroke};
use document_svg::svg::write_page;

let mut page = Page::new(1, 320.0, 180.0, "custom");
page.nodes.push(Node::Path {
    id: "card".into(),
    d: "M 20 20 H 300 V 160 H 20 Z".into(),
    fill_rule: "nonzero".into(),
    fill: Paint::solid("#E8F1FF"),
    stroke: Stroke { paint: Paint::solid("#246BCE"), width: 2.0, ..Stroke::default() },
    transform: IDENTITY,
    clip_id: None,
    meta: Default::default(),
});
write_page(&mut std::fs::File::create("out.svg")?, &page)?;

use document_svg::{svg_to_document, ReverseOptions};

let report = svg_to_document("output/slides", "slides.pptx", &ReverseOptions::default())?;
println!("{} pages", report.page_count);

3. Check the result

Give it a new or empty output folder. Inside you get one SVG per page and one record of the conversion (conversion.json).

output/slides/
├── page-0001.svg
├── page-0002.svg
└── conversion.json

• The record lists, as warnings, anything that could not be reproduced exactly.
• Finishing without an error is not the same as perfect. If there are warnings, have a person look at the pages.
• Even with no warnings, the pages are not guaranteed to match Office pixel for pixel. Text, for example, uses the fonts available where the SVG is viewed.

4. Show it in your app

Show each SVG as an image, for example with an image element. Don't paste the SVG's markup straight into your page's HTML.

The included display helpers do some basic checks, but they are not a filter that makes any SVG harmless.

5. Use it from tools you already have

Setup steps for GitHub and AI tools →

6. If something goes wrong

• Ready-made packages exist for Windows, macOS and Linux, on both x64 and ARM64.
• Python on Alpine Linux has no ready-made package, so Rust and build tools are needed there.
• If the npm package installs but won't load, check that optional dependencies were installed and that Node.js matches your machine's CPU. Copying node_modules to another system won't work.
• The SVG pages display in current browsers, resvg, and librsvg 2.46 or newer.

Platform support and troubleshooting →