ShimSkiaSharp

ShimSkiaSharp is a cloneable, inspectable command-model mirror of the SkiaSharp drawing primitives used by the repository. It is not a renderer. It is the data model that sits between SVG parsing and either runtime conversion or generated-code output.

Install

dotnet add package ShimSkiaSharp

Choose this package when

you need a serializable-style picture model rather than live native Skia objects,
you want to inspect draw commands, paths, paints, and filters,
you are writing tests, code generators, or transformation tooling,
you need deep cloning and edit workflows over the command graph.

Main concepts

Type	Role
`SKPictureRecorder`	Records command-model drawing operations
`SKPicture`	Stores `CullRect` and a list of `CanvasCommand` items
`SKCanvas`	Records commands such as `DrawPath`, `DrawImage`, `Save`, and `Restore`
`SKPath`	Stores geometric path commands
`SKPaint`	Stores fill, stroke, shader, filter, and typography state
`ShimSkiaSharp.Editing.*`	Clone-on-write and traversal helpers for model editing

Recording and inspecting commands

using System;
using ShimSkiaSharp;

var recorder = new SKPictureRecorder();
var canvas = recorder.BeginRecording(SKRect.Create(64, 64));

var path = new SKPath();
path.AddRect(SKRect.Create(8, 8, 48, 48));

var paint = new SKPaint
{
    Style = SKPaintStyle.Fill
};

canvas.DrawPath(path, paint);

var picture = recorder.EndRecording();

foreach (var command in picture.Commands ?? Array.Empty<CanvasCommand>())
{
    Console.WriteLine(command.GetType().Name);
}

This is the same family of types that Svg.Model, Svg.CodeGen.Skia, and parts of Svg.Skia exchange internally.

Why it exists

Live SkiaSharp objects are excellent for rendering, but they are not ideal when you need:

command inspection,
deep cloning,
deterministic transformations,
code generation from a picture graph,
tests that assert over structure instead of pixels.

ShimSkiaSharp fills that gap.

Editing support

The editing helpers under ShimSkiaSharp.Editing let you update paints, paths, and command graphs either in place or with clone-on-write behavior. That makes the package useful outside SVG scenarios as well.

Relationship to other packages

Svg.Model produces ShimSkiaSharp pictures and drawables from SVG input.
Svg.Skia converts ShimSkiaSharp objects into live SkiaSharp objects for rendering.
Svg.CodeGen.Skia emits C# source from ShimSkiaSharp.SKPicture.

When not to choose `ShimSkiaSharp`

Choose Svg.Skia when you want to draw or export immediately.
Choose Svg.Model when you need SVG-aware services in addition to the command model.
Choose Skia.Controls.Avalonia when the goal is UI presentation of live SkiaSharp content in Avalonia.