index.md

---

title: <clipPath>
slug: Web/SVG/Element/clipPath
page-type: svg-element
tags:
  - Element
  - Reference
  - SVG
browser-compat: svg.elements.clipPath

---

{{SVGRef}}

The <clipPath> SVG element defines a clipping path, to be used by the {{SVGAttr("clip-path")}} property.

A clipping path restricts the region to which paint can be applied. Conceptually, parts of the drawing that lie outside of the region bounded by the clipping path are not drawn.

Example

html,
body,
svg {
  height: 100%;
}

<svg viewBox="0 0 100 100">
  <clipPath id="myClip">
    <!--
      Everything outside the circle will be
      clipped and therefore invisible.
    -->
    <circle cx="40" cy="35" r="35" />
  </clipPath>

  <!-- The original black heart, for reference -->
  <path
    id="heart"
    d="M10,30 A20,20,0,0,1,50,30 A20,20,0,0,1,90,30 Q90,60,50,90 Q10,60,10,30 Z" />

  <!--
    Only the portion of the red heart
    inside the clip circle is visible.
  -->
  <use clip-path="url(#myClip)" href="#heart" fill="red" />
</svg>

/* With a touch of CSS for browsers who *
 * implemented the r Geometry Property. */

@keyframes openYourHeart {
  from {
    r: 0;
  }
  to {
    r: 60px;
  }
}

#myClip circle {
  animation: openYourHeart 15s infinite;
}

{{EmbedLiveSample('Example', 100, 100)}}

A clipping path is conceptually equivalent to a custom viewport for the referencing element. Thus, it affects the rendering of an element, but not the element's inherent geometry. The bounding box of a clipped element (meaning, an element which references a <clipPath> element via a {{SVGAttr("clip-path")}} property, or a child of the referencing element) must remain the same as if it were not clipped.

By default, {{cssxref("pointer-events")}} are not dispatched on clipped regions. For example, a circle with a radius of 10 which is clipped to a circle with a radius of 5 will not receive "click" events outside the smaller radius.

Attributes

• {{SVGAttr("clipPathUnits")}}

  • : Defines the coordinate system for the contents of the <clipPath> element. Value type: userSpaceOnUse|objectBoundingBox ; Default value: userSpaceOnUse; Animatable: yes

Global attributes

• Core Attributes

  • : Most notably: {{SVGAttr('id')}}

• Styling Attributes

  • : {{SVGAttr('class')}}, {{SVGAttr('style')}}

• Conditional Processing Attributes

  • : Most notably: {{SVGAttr('requiredExtensions')}}, {{SVGAttr('systemLanguage')}}

• Presentation Attributes

  • : Most notably: {{SVGAttr('clip-path')}}, {{SVGAttr('clip-rule')}}, {{SVGAttr('color')}}, {{SVGAttr('display')}}, {{SVGAttr('fill')}}, {{SVGAttr('fill-opacity')}}, {{SVGAttr('fill-rule')}}, {{SVGAttr('filter')}}, {{SVGAttr('mask')}}, {{SVGAttr('opacity')}}, {{SVGAttr('shape-rendering')}}, {{SVGAttr('stroke')}}, {{SVGAttr('stroke-dasharray')}}, {{SVGAttr('stroke-dashoffset')}}, {{SVGAttr('stroke-linecap')}}, {{SVGAttr('stroke-linejoin')}}, {{SVGAttr('stroke-miterlimit')}}, {{SVGAttr('stroke-opacity')}}, {{SVGAttr('stroke-width')}}, {{SVGAttr("transform")}}, {{SVGAttr('vector-effect')}}, {{SVGAttr('visibility')}}

Usage notes

{{svginfo}}

Specifications

{{Specifications}}

Browser compatibility

{{Compat}}

Related

• Other clipping and masking SVG elements: {{SVGElement("mask")}}

• Some CSS properties: {{cssxref("clip-path")}}, {{cssxref("pointer-events")}}