diff --git a/src/common.cc b/src/common.cc
index 0d3595c6..7ad66639 100644
--- a/src/common.cc
+++ b/src/common.cc
@@ -398,6 +398,10 @@ namespace sharp {
         // From filesystem
         imageType = DetermineImageType(descriptor->file.data());
         if (imageType == ImageType::MISSING) {
+          if (descriptor->file.find("<svg") != std::string::npos) {
+            throw vips::VError("Input file is missing, did you mean "
+              "sharp(Buffer.from('" + descriptor->file.substr(0, 8) + "...')?");
+          }
           throw vips::VError("Input file is missing");
         }
         if (imageType != ImageType::UNKNOWN) {
diff --git a/test/unit/svg.js b/test/unit/svg.js
index ee832352..abe2edc1 100644
--- a/test/unit/svg.js
+++ b/test/unit/svg.js
@@ -135,4 +135,11 @@ describe('SVG input', function () {
     assert.strictEqual(info.height, 240);
     assert.strictEqual(info.channels, 4);
   });
+
+  it('Detects SVG passed as a string', () =>
+    assert.rejects(
+      () => sharp('<svg></svg>').toBuffer(),
+      /Input file is missing, did you mean/
+    )
+  );
 });