Scour is an SVG optimizer/cleaner written in Python that reduces the size of scalable vector graphics by optimizing structure and removing unnecessary data.

It can be used to create streamlined vector graphics suitable for web deployment, publishing/sharing or further processing.

The goal of Scour is to output a file that renders identically at a fraction of the size by removing a lot of redundant information created by most SVG editors. Optimization options are typically lossless but can be tweaked for more aggressive cleaning.

Scour is open-source and licensed under Apache License 2.0.

Scour was originally developed by Jeff "codedread" Schiller and Louis Simard in in 2010. The project moved to GitLab in 2013 an is now maintained by Tobias "oberstet" Oberstein and Patrick "Ede_123" Storz.

Scour requires Python 2.7 or 3.4+. Further, for installation, pip should be used.

To install the latest release of Scour from PyPI:

pip install scour

To install the latest trunk version (which might be broken!) from GitHub:

pip install https://github.com/codedread/scour/archive/master.zip

Standard:

scour -i input.svg -o output.svg

Better (for older versions of Internet Explorer):

scour -i input.svg -o output.svg --enable-viewboxing

Maximum scrubbing:

scour -i input.svg -o output.svg --enable-viewboxing --enable-id-stripping \
  --enable-comment-stripping --shorten-ids --indent=none

Maximum scrubbing and a compressed SVGZ file:

scour -i input.svg -o output.svgz --enable-viewboxing --enable-id-stripping \
  --enable-comment-stripping --shorten-ids --indent=none