| name | cli-anything-inkscape |
| description | Command-line interface for Inkscape - A stateful command-line interface for vector graphics editing, following the same patterns as the GI... |
cli-anything-inkscape
A stateful command-line interface for vector graphics editing, following the same patterns as the GIMP and Blender CLI harnesses. Directly manipulates SVG (XML) documents with a JSON project format for state tracking.
Installation
This CLI is installed as part of the cli-anything-inkscape package:
pip install cli-anything-inkscape
Prerequisites:
- Python 3.10+
- inkscape must be installed on your system
Usage
Basic Commands
cli-anything-inkscape --help
cli-anything-inkscape
cli-anything-inkscape document new -o project.json
cli-anything-inkscape --json document info -p project.json
REPL Mode
When invoked without a subcommand, the CLI enters an interactive REPL session:
cli-anything-inkscape
You can also start the REPL with a nonexistent project path. The CLI now seeds a
new in-memory document instead of failing immediately:
cli-anything-inkscape --project /abs/path/new-title.inkscape-cli.json
Command Groups
Document
Document management commands.
| Command | Description |
|---|
new | Create a new document |
open | Open an existing project |
save | Save the current project |
info | Show document information |
profiles | List available document profiles |
canvas-size | Set the canvas size |
units | Set the document units |
json | Print raw project JSON |
Shape
Shape management commands.
| Command | Description |
|---|
add-rect | Add a rectangle |
add-circle | Add a circle |
add-ellipse | Add an ellipse |
add-line | Add a line |
add-polygon | Add a polygon |
add-path | Add a path |
add-star | Add a star |
remove | Remove a shape by index |
duplicate | Duplicate a shape |
list | List all shapes/objects |
get | Get detailed info about a shape |
Text
Text management commands.
| Command | Description |
|---|
add | Add a text element; supports --box-width, --box-height, and --line-height for wrapped layouts |
set | Set a text property (text, font-family, font-size, fill, box-width, box-height, line-height, etc.) |
list | List all text objects |
Style
Style management commands.
| Command | Description |
|---|
set-fill | Set the fill color of an object |
set-stroke | Set the stroke color (and optionally width) of an object |
set-opacity | Set the opacity of an object (0.0-1.0) |
set | Set an arbitrary style property on an object |
get | Get the style properties of an object |
list-properties | List all available style properties |
Transform
Transform operations (translate, rotate, scale, skew).
| Command | Description |
|---|
translate | Translate (move) an object |
rotate | Rotate an object |
scale | Scale an object |
skew-x | Skew an object horizontally |
skew-y | Skew an object vertically |
get | Get the current transform of an object |
clear | Clear all transforms from an object |
Layer
Layer management commands.
| Command | Description |
|---|
add | Add a new layer |
remove | Remove a layer by index |
move-object | Move an object to a different layer |
set | Set a layer property (name, visible, locked, opacity) |
list | List all layers |
reorder | Move a layer from one position to another |
get | Get detailed info about a layer |
Path Group
Path boolean operations.
| Command | Description |
|---|
union | Union of two objects |
intersection | Intersection of two objects |
difference | Difference of two objects (A minus B) |
exclusion | Exclusion (XOR) of two objects |
convert | Convert a shape to a path |
list-operations | List available path boolean operations |
Gradient
Gradient management commands.
| Command | Description |
|---|
add-linear | Add a linear gradient |
add-radial | Add a radial gradient |
apply | Apply a gradient to an object |
list | List all gradients |
Export Group
Export/render commands.
| Command | Description |
|---|
png | Render the document to PNG |
svg | Export the document as SVG |
pdf | Export the document as PDF (requires Inkscape) |
presets | List export presets |
Session
Session management commands.
| Command | Description |
|---|
status | Show session status |
undo | Undo the last operation |
redo | Redo the last undone operation |
history | Show undo history |
Examples
Create a New Project
Create a new inkscape project file.
cli-anything-inkscape document new -o myproject.json
cli-anything-inkscape --json document new -o myproject.json
Interactive REPL Session
Start an interactive session with undo/redo support.
cli-anything-inkscape
Export Project
Export the project to a final output format.
cli-anything-inkscape --project myproject.json export pdf output.pdf --overwrite
Wrapped Text Layout
For title cards, chips, and portrait-safe panels, prefer wrapped text boxes
instead of manually inserting line breaks:
cli-anything-inkscape --project title.json text add \
--text "Real capture + Veo cold open + Gemini score + thumbnail plate" \
--x 180 --y 470 --font-size 118 \
--box-width 1180 --box-height 260 --line-height 1.05
cli-anything-inkscape --project title.json text set 0 box-width 980
cli-anything-inkscape --project title.json text set 0 line-height 1.15
Notes:
box-width wraps long copy into multiple exported SVG tspan lines.box-height lets long copy fail safely instead of running off-canvas.- Use wrapped text boxes for long-copy graphics before resorting to manual line breaking.
State Management
The CLI maintains session state with:
- Undo/Redo: Up to 50 levels of history
- Project persistence: Save/load project state as JSON
- Session tracking: Track modifications and changes
Output Formats
All commands support dual output modes:
- Human-readable (default): Tables, colors, formatted text
- Machine-readable (
--json flag): Structured JSON for agent consumption
cli-anything-inkscape project info -p project.json
cli-anything-inkscape --json project info -p project.json
For AI Agents
When using this CLI programmatically:
- Always use
--json flag for parseable output
- Check return codes - 0 for success, non-zero for errors
- Parse stderr for error messages on failure
- Use absolute paths for all file operations
- Verify outputs exist after export operations
- Prefer wrapped text boxes for headlines and variable-length copy so layouts remain stable across edits
More Information
- Full documentation: See README.md in the package
- Test coverage: See TEST.md in the package
- Methodology: See HARNESS.md in the cli-anything-plugin
Version
1.0.1
