Overview¶
Welcome to the Inkscape Manual, the official manual maintained by the Inkscape Documentation Team.
What is Inkscape?¶
Inkscape is a free and open source (FOSS) vector graphics editor for GNU/Linux, Windows, macOS and other POSIX-compatible operating systems. Since its inception as a fork of a former project named Sodipodi, it has grown to become a graphic design tool of all trades. Inkscape has seen usage in CNC/laser-cutting, embroidery, scientific figure creation, UI/UX mockups, illustration, and of course, graphic design.
See also
Differences between Vector and Raster Graphics.
The SVG File Format, the default format of Inkscape files.
Inkscape is also an international community, consisting of developers, translators, documentation writers, bug triagers, and users all over the world. The community provides help and support for Inkscape, and due to the FOSS nature, it is easy for you to contribute to Inkscape with your abilities.
Who this manual is for¶
This manual is intended to be a complete reference and learning material for Inkscape users. It provides chapters for all facets of the program, and details for the knowledge-savvy. It also provides manual pages for all actions, dialogs and tools in Inkscape.
Hint
There is also a Workflows section that contains sub-sections related to specific workflows, such as character design, motion design, typography, laser cutting, etc.
How to use this manual¶
To the left there is the menu with all of the chapters. You can click on the downward-facing arrows to expand and collapse sections.
At the top right there are two buttons that adjust the reading experience:
Light/Dark Toggle: This toggle switches between light, dark and auto modes. If the mode is auto, it applies the theme according to your enviroment settings.
Shortcut Scheme Toggle: This toggle switches between Mac-like and PC-like shortcuts. Try clicking on the button and watch the shortcuts change:
Quit Inkscape: CtrlCmdQ.
Split Path: CtrlCmdShiftAltOptionK.
If the chapter has different headings, you’ll see a table of contents to the right. On mobile screens you can click on the top-right 
button to view it.
Todo
Add the version/language selector and document it here.
Further Reading¶
Next steps¶
If you haven’t installed Inkscape, here are instructions for the 3 major platforms:
Windows
macOS
Linux
If you have already installed Inkscape, you can:
Go to the Setting up Inkscape to learn how to set up a document, or
Go to the Quickstart section to start playing around.