<clipPath>

The <clipPath> SVG element defines a clipping path. A clipping path is used/referenced using the clip-path property.

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

<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)" xlink: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;
}

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 clip-path property, or a child of the referencing element) must remain the same as if it were not clipped.

By default, pointer-events must not be dispatched on the clipped (non-visible) regions of a shape. 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

clipPathUnits

This attribute 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: id

Styling Attributes

class, style

Conditional Processing Attributes

Most notably: requiredExtensions, systemLanguage

Presentation Attributes

Most notably: clip-path, clip-rule, color, display, fill, fill-opacity, fill-rule, filter, mask, opacity, shape-rendering, stroke, stroke-dasharray, stroke-dashoffset, stroke-linecap, stroke-linejoin, stroke-miterlimit, stroke-opacity, stroke-width, transform, vector-effect, visibility

Usage notes

Specifications

Browser compatibilityUpdate compatibility data on GitHub

Related

• Other clipping and masking SVG elements: <mask>
• Some CSS properties: clip-path, pointer-events