Vector Express - Free Vector Conversion, Analyzing and Processing API

Recent updates

• New /get-svg-unit/ analyzer
• New /cad2pdf/ and /cad2svg/ converter
• /cad/ converter deprecated, replaced with /svg2cad/ converter
• Internal improvements
• /ungroup/ processor now has a "selector" parameter
• New /change-attribute/ and /xslt/ processor
• New /fix-illustrator-svg-font-names/ processor

Read more: https://vector.express/pricing

API Frontend: https://vector.express

Vector Express is a free-to-use API for converting, analyzing and processing vector files. Made with love by @vector_express

It runs a combination of different conversion programs that can be chained together to convert between a wide area of formats.

Format	ai	cdr	dwg	dxf	eps	hpgl	pdf	plt	ps	svg
In	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Out			✓	✓	✓		✓	✓	✓	✓

Feel free to use it in your project. It does not support CORS, so you need to run it through/on a back-end.

💌 Stay updated

You can sign up to our newsletter here to be informed about new features, upcoming changes and deprecations: https://buttondown.email/vector.express

Table of Contents

• 📦 Libraries
• 🏃‍ Quickstart
• 🪄 Convert
  • Get possible conversion paths between formats
  • Convert a file
  • Available converter
    • /cad2pdf/
    • /cad2svg/
    • /cadlib/
    • /gs/
    • /hp2xx/
    • /libcdr/
    • /librsvg/
    • /pdf2svg/
    • /pstoedit/
    • /svg2cad/
    • /svgo/
    • /uniconvertor/
• 🔍 Analyze
  • Analyze a file
  • Available analyzers
    • /svg/get-svg-unit/
    • /svg/groups/
    • /svg/linearmovement/
• ⚙️ Process
  • Process a file
  • Available processors
    • /svg/boolean-operation/
    • /svg/change-attribute/
    • /svg/convert-to-path/
    • /svg/exclude-groups/
    • /svg/flatten-beziers/
    • /svg/fix-illustrator-svg-font-names/
    • /svg/include-only-groups/
    • /svg/ungroup/
    • /svg/xpath/
    • /svg/xslt/
• 📄 Get a file
• 📨 Using an existing file
• 🛑 Limits
• 🔼 Increase limits?
• 💡 Feature request?
• 🙊 Feedback

📦 Libraries

• Node.js - @vector-express/vectorexpress-nodejs

🏃‍♀️ Quickstart

1. GET the a compatible conversion path for your input format and desired output format.

curl https://vector.express/api/v2/public/convert/dxf/auto/svg/

2. POST to the the first path, with your file as the body

curl --data-binary @myvector.dxf https://vector.express/api/v2/public/convert/dxf/cadlib/svg/

3. GET the file from the resultUrl

curl https://vector.express/api/v2/public/files/[id].svg --output converted.svg

🪄 Convert

Get possible conversion paths between formats

By requesting the conversion paths you can find out the most efficient path between your formats.

GET https://vector.express/api/v2/public/convert/ext/auto/ext

Convert a file

You can up chain to three programs in the conversion path, and even configure them. See below for all programs and their options.

POST https://vector.express/api/v2/public/convert/ext/prog1/ext/prog2/ext?prog1-opt=val&prog2-opt=val

Available converters

/cad2pdf/

A converter for converting dwg and dxf cad files into pdf.

Format	ai	cdr	dwg	dxf	eps	hpgl	pdf	plt	ps	svg
In			✓	✓
Out							✓

Option	Type	Description
cad2pdf-auto-fit	Boolean	Automatically fit the drawing to to the paper size
cad2pdf-auto-orientation	Boolean	Automatically orient the drawing to fit the paper
cad2pdf-center	Boolean	Center the drawing
cad2pdf-point-size	Number	Point size in mm
cad2pdf-grayscale	Boolean	Grayscale
cad2pdf-landscape	Boolean	Use landscape paper
cad2pdf-margin	Number	Margin in millimeter
cad2pdf-paper-size	String	Paper size in the format "WxH"
cad2pdf-scale	Number	Scale the drawing
cad2pdf-unit	String	Override the drawing's unit (in/m/mm)

/cad2svg/

A converter for converting dwg and dxf cad files into svg.

Format	ai	cdr	dwg	dxf	eps	hpgl	pdf	plt	ps	svg
In			✓	✓
Out										✓

Option	Type	Description
cad2svg-expand-page-for-stroke-width	Boolean	Expand the page to accomodate the stroke width
cad2svg-block	String	Export a specific block
cad2svg-margin	Number	Margin
cad2svg-include-bitmaps	Boolean	Include bitmaps in the export
cad2svg-layers	String	Comma delimted list of layers to export
cad2svg-unit	String	Override the drawing's unit (in/m/mm)

/cadlib/

Custom CadLib based converter for AutoCAD files.

Format	ai	cdr	dwg	dxf	eps	hpgl	pdf	plt	ps	svg
In			✓	✓
Out				✓						✓ *1

*1 Arcs and curves are converted to lines

Option	Type	Description
cadlib-epsilon	Number
cadlib-arc-segments	Number	Line segment amount on arcs
cadlib-arc-segments-minimum	Number	The minimum amount of segments on arc
cadlib-space-strategy	String	Which ACAD space to prefer for export prefer_native_space / prefer_paper_space / prefer_model_space

/gs/

Ghostscript based converter.

Format	ai	cdr	dwg	dxf	eps	hpgl	pdf	plt	ps	svg
In	✓				✓		✓		✓
Out					✓		✓		✓

/hp2xx/

hp2xx based converter for postscript.

Format	ai	cdr	dwg	dxf	eps	hpgl	pdf	plt	ps	svg
In						✓	✓
Out					✓					✓

/libcdr/

libcdr based converter for CorelDRAW files.

Format	ai	cdr	dwg	dxf	eps	hpgl	pdf	plt	ps	svg
In		✓
Out										✓

/librsvg/

librsvg based converter for converting svg files to various formats.

Format	ai	cdr	dwg	dxf	eps	hpgl	pdf	plt	ps	svg
In										✓
Out					✓		✓		✓

/pdf2svg/

pdf2svg based converter for pdf files to svg.

Format	ai	cdr	dwg	dxf	eps	hpgl	pdf	plt	ps	svg
In							✓
Out										✓

Option	Type	Description
pdf2svg-page	Number	Which page to export

/pstoedit/

pstoedit for converting eps files to dxf.

Format	ai	cdr	dwg	dxf	eps	hpgl	pdf	plt	ps	svg
In					✓
Out				✓

Option	Type	Description
pstoedit-page	Number	Which page to export
pstoedit-xscale	Number	X scale
pstoedit-yscale	Number	Y scale
pstoedit-xshift	Number	X shift
pstoedit-yshift	Number	Y shift
pstoedit-centered	Boolean	Center drawing
pstoedit-rgb	Boolean

/svg2cad/

For converting svg files into dxf or dwg cad files.

Format	ai	cdr	dwg	dxf	eps	hpgl	pdf	plt	ps	svg
In										✓
Out			✓	✓

Option	Type	Description
svg2cad-nojoin	Boolean	If enabled, do not join adjacent lines
svg2cad-version	String	Which AutoCAD version to use R32 / R27 / R24 / R21 / R18 / R15 / R14

/svgo/

SVGO is an svg optimizer.

Format	ai	cdr	dwg	dxf	eps	hpgl	pdf	plt	ps	svg
In										✓
Out										✓

Option	Type	Description
svgo-config	String	JSON string of configuration, representing the default export configuration object. This overrides all other configuration parameters if set
svgo-configSvgo2Syntax	Boolean	Enable this to use the SVGO 2.0 configuration syntax, otherwise v1 syntax will be used
svgo-enable	String	Which plugins to enable (see SVGO docs)
svgo-disable	String	Which plugins to disable (see SVGO docs)
svgo-indent	String
svgo-pretty	Boolean	Prettify code
svgo-precision	Number	Precision
svgo-multipass	Boolean

/uniconvertor/

Uniconvertor based converter for various formats.

Format	ai	cdr	dwg	dxf	eps	hpgl	pdf	plt	ps	svg
In					✓			✓		✓
Out							✓	✓		✓

🔍 Analyze

Analyze a file

You can analyze vector files using this endpoint. The result is always a json file. The analyzers can be configured through the query string.

POST https://vector.express/api/v2/public/analyze/ext/analyzer

POST https://vector.express/api/v2/public/analyze/ext/analyzer1?analyzer-opt1=val&analyzer-opt2=val

Available analyzers

/svg/get-svg-unit/

Gets the unit from an svg document. Also returns an explicit parameter which is true if the unit is explicitly set. (otherwise the unit is px, as per the svg standard)

/svg/groups/

Returns a list of all groups in an svg.

/svg/linearmovement/

Simulates 2D linear movement along all paths in the svg. This can be used for 2D CNC estimation, for example laser cutting, routing, knife cutting and more.

Option	Type	Description
linearmovement-jerk	Number	An arbitrary unit setting the amount of jerk in the movement. Higher number = less deceleration around tight corners.
linearmovement-mm-per-s	Number	The speed to move along the paths, in mm/s.
linearmovement-drawing-unit	String	Which unit the SVG is drawn in. mm / in / pt / px
linearmovement-path-info	Boolean	If enabled, information about individual paths and path segments are included in the outputs.

⚙️ Process

Process a file

You can process vector files using this endpoint. The processors can be configured through the query string.

POST https://vector.express/api/v2/public/process/ext/processor

POST https://vector.express/api/v2/public/process/ext/processor?processor-opt1=val&processor-opt2=val

Available processors

/svg/boolean-operation/

Performs a boolean operation on target element(s) using tool element(s).

Keep in mind that this will not work on grouped elements and/or non-path elements. Please run the convert-to-path and ungroup processors on the drawing first.

Option	Type	Description
boolean-operation-operation	String	Which operation to perform. Default is union. union / difference / intersection / exclusion / division / cut-path / combine / break-apart
boolean-operation-tool-paths	String	XPath selector* to define the elements to use as the tool. Default is "//svg:path".
boolean-operation-target-paths	String	XPath selector* to define the elements to use as the target. Default is "//svg:path".

* Please note that elements need to be prefixed with svg: to match the SVG namespace. E.g. to select all elements elements with a white-fill style: //svg:path[contains(@style,'#ffffff')

/svg/change-attribute/

Allows modification of attributes or inline CSS properties on certain elements. This can be used to set fill, stroke and many other parameters. You can also use an existing attribute value to set the new one. (For example, setting an outline to match the fill of a path)

Option	Type	Description
change-attribute-set-attr	String	Which attribute to set. Required.
change-attribute-target-elements	String	Which set of element types to affect, separated with a comma. Required.
change-attribute-to-value	String	What value to set the attribute to.
change-attribute-to-attr-value	String	This can be set to get the value from another attribute on the same element. If this is set, "to-value" is ignored.
change-attribute-to-attr-value-fallback	String	An optional fallback to set the attribute to if the attribute from "to-attr-value" has no value.
change-attribute-override	String	If this is set, the value will always be set. If used in combination with not setting "to-value" or "to-attr-value", it will remove the attribute.

/svg/convert-to-path/

Converts elements (text*, circle, rectangles, etc.) to paths. If your SVG file is exported from Adobe Illustrator, consider running the fix-illustrator-svg-font-names processor first.

Option	Type	Description
convert-to-path-selector	String	XPath selector** to define which elements to convert. Default is "//svg:*".

* A selection of open source fonts are compatible. Contact us if you need to convert an unsupported font.
** Please note that elements need to be prefixed with svg: to match the SVG namespace. E.g. to select all elements with a white-fill style: //svg:path[contains(@style,'#ffffff')

/svg/exclude-groups/

Excludes certain groups from an SVG.

Option	Type	Description
exclude-groups-groups	String	A list of group ID's to exclude, separated using the NUL syntax (%00)

/svg/flatten-beziers/

Flattens beziers curves into straight lines.

Option	Type	Description
flatten-beziers-selector	String	XPath selector* to select which path element's beziers to flatten.

* Please note that elements need to be prefixed with svg: to match the SVG namespace. E.g. to select all elements elements with a white-fill style: //svg:path[contains(@style,'#ffffff')

/svg/fix-illustrator-svg-font-names/

Attempts a correction of Adobe Illustrator's incorrectly exported font-family tag attribute/CSS property. For example, it will turn font-family="OpenSans-Bold" into font-family="OpenSans" font-weight="bold".

This is required for the convert-to-path processor to work.

/svg/include-only-groups/

Includes only certain groups from an SVG.

Option	Type	Description
include-only-groups–groups	String	A list of group ID's to include, separated using the NUL syntax (%00)

/svg/ungroup/

Ungroups all elements and nested SVG's recursively. If you require a higher depth than 10, you can make multiple calls.

Option	Type	Description
ungroup-depth	Number	The depth to ungroup, 1 - 10. Default is 10.
ungroup-selector	String	XPath selector* to select certain groups or nested SVG's. If this is set, "depth" is ignored

* Please note that elements need to be prefixed with svg: to match the SVG namespace. E.g. to select all elements elements with a white-fill style: //svg:path[contains(@style,'#ffffff')

/svg/xpath/

Returns a section of an SVG file using the XPath syntax.

Option	Type	Description
xpath-xpath	String	The XPath selector
xpath-text-output	Boolean	If true, the resulting file is a .txt, otherwise it is an .xml file
xpath-add-root	Boolean	Whether or not to add the root element

/svg/xslt/

Exclude certain elements with XSLT. This can be used to remove unwanted defs, specific elements and more.

Option	Type	Description
xslt-exclude-xpath	String	The XPath * syntax selector to exclude from the document.

* Please note that elements need to be prefixed with svg: to match the SVG namespace. E.g. to select all elements elements with a white-fill style: //svg:path[contains(@style,'#ffffff')

📄 Get a file

After getting the result you can retrieve your files here.

GET https://vector.express/api/v2/public/files/filename.ext

📨 Using an existing file

You can also use an already uploaded or resulting file through the use-file query string.

POST https://vector.express/api/v2/public/convert/ext/prog1/ext/prog2?use-file=filename.ext

🛑 Limits

Currently the public API is limited to 5 requests per hour, and a maximum output filesize of 1 MiB and certain CPU and memory limitations.

🔼 Increase limits?

We offer a pay-as-you go plan that removes the rate limit and increases maximum file to 40 MiB.

💡 Feature request?

Get in touch with us and we'll see what we can do!

🙊 Feedback

Feel free to open up an issue, or just tweet at us @vector_express.