SVG Viewer
Paste SVG markup to render it instantly, zoom from 25% to 400%, check it against light, dark or checkerboard backgrounds, and read its dimensions, viewBox and element breakdown. Rendering is sandboxed, so pasted artwork cannot run scripts.
Image & SVG ToolsHow to use SVG Viewer
- Paste the contents of an .svg file into the source panel.
- The preview renders immediately, with width, height and viewBox shown underneath.
- Zoom between 25% and 400% to inspect detail, or press Fit to return to 100%.
- Switch the background between checkerboard, light and dark to check transparency.
- Copy the markup or download it as image.svg.
Examples
A minimal icon
A viewBox makes the graphic scale to any size.
<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"> <circle cx="12" cy="12" r="10" fill="#3b82f6" /> </svg>
Why viewBox matters
Without a viewBox an SVG has no intrinsic aspect ratio and will not scale predictably in CSS. The tool tells you whether one is present.
Features
- Live rendering as you paste or edit
- Zoom presets from 25% to 400%, plus Fit
- Checkerboard, light and dark backgrounds for checking transparency
- Reads width, height, viewBox and total element count
- Element breakdown showing which tags the file uses and how many of each
- Warns when the file contains scripts, event handlers, foreignObject or external references
- Reports XML parse errors instead of failing silently
- Sandboxed preview with scripting fully disabled
Frequently asked questions
- Is it safe to paste an SVG I downloaded?
- Here, yes. SVG is active content — it can carry script elements, event-handler attributes and foreignObject — so the preview runs in an iframe with an empty sandbox attribute. Nothing in the file can execute or reach this page.
- What does the security warning mean?
- It means the file contains something that would execute if you inlined the SVG into your own page. That is worth knowing before you ship third-party artwork; treat it the way you would treat pasted JavaScript.
- Why will my SVG not render?
- SVG is XML, so it is stricter than HTML: every tag must be closed, every attribute quoted, and ampersands escaped. The tool reports the parser's message so you can find the problem.
- What is a viewBox and do I need one?
- The viewBox defines the coordinate system the graphic is drawn in. With one, the SVG scales cleanly to any size; without one it falls back to fixed width and height attributes and can behave unpredictably in flexible layouts.
- Can I open a .svg file directly?
- Open the file in a text editor and paste its contents. Nothing is uploaded either way, and pasting keeps the tool entirely client-side.
- Does zooming change the file?
- No. Zoom is a CSS transform on the preview only; the markup and the downloaded file are exactly what you pasted.
Related tools
About SVG Viewer
SVG Viewer is part of Image & SVG Tools on ToolHive, a growing collection of small, focused utilities for developers, designers and students. View, optimise and inspect images and SVG files entirely on your device. Everything runs client-side, so your data never leaves the browser tab — which makes these tools safe to use with work-in-progress code and private content.