SVG paths are manipulated using the ‘d’ attribute, which contains a series of commands and parameters. Each command is represented by a letter (uppercase for absolute coordinates, lowercase for relative). The ‘M’ command moves the pen to a specified point without drawing anything. The ‘L’ command draws a line from the current position to a new one. The ‘H’ and ‘V’ commands draw horizontal and vertical lines respectively. The ‘C’ command creates a cubic Bézier curve, while ‘S’ creates a shorthand/smooth cubic Bézier curve. The ‘Q’ command makes a quadratic Bézier curve, with ‘T’ as its smooth/shorthand version. The ‘A’ command creates an elliptical arc. Lastly, the ‘Z’ or ‘z’ command closes the path.
