VD Tool Builder (VDTB)

What is the VD Tool?

The VD Tool is the Vector Drawable Conversion Tool used in Android Studio.

What is VD Tool Builder?

VDTB is a portability-first utility to compile the VD Tool as either a JAR or Native Image for linux-x64 without requiring the entire AOSP source.

VDTB was forked from Ryan Harter's VD Tool build process which targeted Java 8+. The project has since been updated to target Java 21.X, which is the latest LTS version offered by Oracle.

Why should I use VD Tool Builder?

VDTB allows for portable execution of the battle-tested VD Tool, while maintaining a telemetry-free experience from Google.

VDTB supports two build options.

Option 1: JAR Only

• Pros:

  • Compiles a Java Runtime Executable that can be executed on any system with Java 21.X installed.
  • Outputs only one file.

• Cons:

  • Uses more RAM at runtime compared to Option 2.

Usage:

git clone https://github.com/Static-Codes/vd-tool-builder/
cd vd-tool-builder
chmod +x build.sh
./build.sh

Running:

java -jar path/to/vd-tool-wrapper.jar -c -in path/to/input.svg -out path/to/output/directory

Option 2: Native Image (uses GraalVM)

• Pros:

  • Doesn't require Java 21.X to be installed (after compilation is complete).
  • Uses less RAM at runtime compared to Option 1.

• Cons:

  • Uses around 60% more disk space for the compiled binary compared to Option 1.

Compiling:

git clone https://github.com/Static-Codes/vd-tool-builder/
cd vd-tool-builder
chmod +x run.sh
./run.sh

Running:

./path/to/vdtool-wrapper -c -in path/to/input.svg -out path/to/output/directory

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Credits

• vd-tool | Copyright (c) 2022 Ryan Harter
• Android Studio/AOSP code | Copyright (C) 2015 The Android Open Source Project

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Static Codes
Copyright (c) 2022 Ryan Harter
Copyright (c) 2015 The Android Open Source Project

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at

http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.