Glowforge SVG Requirements: What the App Actually Accepts

The Glowforge App accepts JPG, PNG, SVG, PDF, and DXF (Premium only), but what it does with each format follows strict rules: strokes become cut lines, fills become engraves, and live text is silently ignored. Understanding this mapping prevents the most common failure — uploading a design that engraves when you intended to cut, or cuts when you wanted to engrave.

Accepted File Formats and Processing Model

Glowforge processes five formats: JPG, PNG, SVG, PDF (all plans), and DXF (Premium only). Raster formats (JPG, PNG) always engrave — the app reads pixel data and engraves those regions using varying power to reproduce shading. Vector formats (SVG, PDF, DXF) interpret geometry based on fill and stroke properties, not file type.

The core rule: an unfilled stroke in a vector file becomes a cut line. A filled region with no stroke becomes an engrave. A shape with both stroke and fill produces both operations — the fill engraves, the stroke cuts. This behavior is consistent across all three models (Glowforge Plus, Pro, and Aura), though the Aura's 12×12-inch bed limits usable area compared to the Plus/Pro's 19.5×11-inch cutting space (Performance model: 19.5×11 inch).

Live text — text that remains editable in your design program — does not transfer. The Glowforge App has no access to your local fonts, so it cannot render text. Text must be converted to outlines or paths before upload. In Illustrator, select the text and choose Type → Create Outlines. In Inkscape, use Path → Object to Path. A text object that was not converted will simply vanish when you load the file.

Canvas Size and Material Constraints

The default Glowforge canvas is 12×20 inches, but actual cuttable area depends on the model and material. Performance and Plus/Pro models offer a cutting bed of approximately 11×19.5 inches, accounting for the gantry and head clearance. The Aura is square: 12×12 inches maximum. Designs that exceed these dimensions will not fit, and the app will flag oversized artwork during upload.

Material thickness affects focus and pierce behavior. Proofgrade materials (Glowforge's branded materials with QR codes) carry embedded settings for power, speed, and focus height. For non-Proofgrade stock, you must manually enter thickness using calipers and run test cuts to dial in cut-through power. Thickness above 0.25 inches (6.35 mm) often requires multiple passes or is beyond the laser's capability.

File resolution matters only for raster engraves. The Glowforge rasterizes at up to 1355 DPI for high-detail engraving, but uploading a 72 DPI JPG will produce visible pixelation. For photo engraves, use source images of at least 300 DPI at the final print size. Vector paths are resolution-independent and scale without quality loss.

Why Your Design is Engraving Instead of Cutting

This is the number one support question. The cause is almost always a filled shape with no stroke, or a stroke width set to zero. When you draw a circle in Illustrator or Inkscape and leave the default fill, the Glowforge App sees a filled region and engraves it. To cut the circle, you must remove the fill and add a stroke. Set the stroke to any non-zero width (0.01 inch is sufficient) and ensure the fill is set to none.

Another culprit: grouped or compound paths. If you merge multiple shapes into a compound path and that path retains a fill from one of the source shapes, the entire compound path will engrave. Inspect the object properties in your design software. In Inkscape, open the Fill and Stroke panel (Object → Fill and Stroke). In Illustrator, check the Appearance panel.

A third issue: hidden or duplicate geometry. If your file contains overlapping filled shapes, the Glowforge will engrave the entire stack. If one shape has a fill and another on top has a stroke, you may get an engrave and a cut, doubling machine time and potentially damaging the material. Use View → Outline Mode in Illustrator or View → Display Mode → Outline in Inkscape to see all paths without fills or strokes rendering.

Color Mapping to Operations

The Glowforge App reads fill and stroke properties, not colors, but it uses color to organize operations visually. Each unique stroke color becomes a separate step in the app's operation list. This is useful for ordering cuts and scores. For example, you might assign red strokes to cut lines and blue strokes to score lines, then reorder them in the app so scores happen before cuts (preventing parts from shifting after being freed).

If you want a shape to cut and score, use two separate paths: one with a stroke (cut) and one with a stroke assigned to a different color (score). Do not rely on stroke width to distinguish cuts from scores — the app reads stroke presence, not width. Width affects kerf and burn, but not the operation type.

Optimizing Files for Glowforge

Node count directly impacts processing time. A path with thousands of nodes (common after auto-tracing a photo) will take longer to compute and send to the laser. Simplify paths using Path → Simplify in Inkscape or Object → Path → Simplify in Illustrator. For decorative elements, reducing nodes by 50-70% usually preserves visual quality while cutting processing overhead.

Ensure all paths are closed. An open path with a stroke will cut, but the laser will travel back to the start point without cutting, wasting time. Close paths with Path → Close Path or by snapping the final node to the start node.

Remove hidden layers and unused elements. The Glowforge App processes everything visible in the file, including objects outside the canvas if they overlap the cutting area. Delete construction lines, guides, and reference images before export. Save a working copy with layers intact, then flatten and clean a final export version.

For detailed guidance on preparing cut files for other laser systems, see the LightBurn SVG import guide, and for kerf compensation, check the laser kerf and press-fit guide. If you are starting from a raster image, the PNG to laser-ready vector workflow covers vectorization first.

Common Upload Failures and Fixes

If the app rejects your file or the preview is blank, the most likely causes are malformed XML (for SVG), embedded fonts (for PDF), or unsupported DXF version (for DXF files). SVG files with non-standard namespaces or JavaScript can fail silently. Open the SVG in a text editor and look for <script> tags or references to external resources — remove them. Re-save the file as Plain SVG in Inkscape to strip metadata.

PDF files fail when they contain live text or unsupported filters. Flatten all layers and convert text to outlines before saving the PDF. Use File → Save a Copy in Illustrator and choose Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities: off to ensure compatibility.

DXF failures usually trace to version mismatches. Glowforge recommends DXF R12 or R14 (AutoCAD 12/14 format). Export settings in QCAD, LibreCAD, or Inkscape often default to later versions. Explicitly select R12 or R14 in the export dialog. If your design software does not support older DXF versions, convert to SVG using a tool like our DXF to SVG converter or re-export from a DXF-compatible tool.

For workflows involving other cutting machines, compare the requirements in the Cricut Design Space SVG guide and the Silhouette Studio DXF vs SVG comparison. Each platform has its own quirks around file structure and operation mapping.