How to Use SVG in Android Development

Q: Why doesn't Android support SVG directly?

VectorDrawable is Android's own vector format optimized for the Android rendering system. Direct SVG would require bundling a full SVG parser/renderer, adding APK size and complexity.

Q: What SVG features are lost when converting to VectorDrawable?

VectorDrawable supports: paths, fills, strokes, gradients, clip paths. Not supported: SVG filters, text, raster images inside SVG, CSS classes, or complex transforms. Simplify SVGs to paths before converting.

Q: Is there a way to use SVG directly in Android without VectorDrawable?

Yes â€” the androidsvg library renders SVG directly at runtime. Or use Coil or Glide image loaders with SVG extension libraries. VectorDrawable is still recommended for icons and simple UI graphics.

Q: How do I add SVG to an Android ImageView in Kotlin?

After converting to VectorDrawable: imageView.setImageResource(R.drawable.your_icon). Or load SVG directly with Coil: imageView.load("file:///android_asset/icon.svg") { decoderFactory { SvgDecoder.Factory() } }.

Android natively supports vector graphics via VectorDrawable XML â€” convert your SVG to VectorDrawable for scalable, theme-aware icons in Android apps.

Preset:

Colors:

Drop your image here

Supports PNG, JPG, BMP, WEBP up to 5MB

VTracer vectorization + SVGO optimizationPrivacy protected

Converting SVG to Android VectorDrawable

Android Studio has a built-in SVG-to-VectorDrawable converter.

In Android Studio: right-click res/drawable folder > New > Vector Asset
Choose 'Local file (SVG or PSD)' and browse to your SVG
Android Studio converts the SVG to VectorDrawable XML automatically
Preview in all densities (mdpi through xxxhdpi) in the preview panel
Click Next > Finish â€” your VectorDrawable XML is saved in res/drawable

Using VectorDrawable in Your Android App

Use the VectorDrawable like any other drawable resource in XML or Kotlin/Java code.

XML: android:src='@drawable/ic_icon' on ImageView
Kotlin: imageView.setImageResource(R.drawable.ic_icon)
Animated: AnimatedVectorDrawable for SVG animation converted to Android XML
Tint: app:tint='@color/primary' on ImageView to colorize the icon
AppCompat: use AppCompatImageView for API < 21 support with vectors

Frequently Asked Questions

Why doesn't Android support SVG directly?

VectorDrawable is Android's own vector format optimized for the Android rendering system. Direct SVG would require bundling a full SVG parser/renderer, adding APK size and complexity.

What SVG features are lost when converting to VectorDrawable?

VectorDrawable supports: paths, fills, strokes, gradients, clip paths. Not supported: SVG filters, text, raster images inside SVG, CSS classes, or complex transforms. Simplify SVGs to paths before converting.

Is there a way to use SVG directly in Android without VectorDrawable?