diff --git a/cypress/integration/spec.js b/cypress/integration/spec.js
index 82a6e50..c6feff2 100644
--- a/cypress/integration/spec.js
+++ b/cypress/integration/spec.js
@@ -44,4 +44,12 @@ describe('Vite SVG Loader', () => {
   it('supports ?raw param', () => {
     cy.get('#raw').contains('<?xml version="1.0"?>')
   })
+
+  it('ignores root files references', () => {
+    cy.get('#root img')
+      .should('exist')
+      .and(($img) => {
+        expect($img[0].width).to.equal(355)
+      })
+  })
 })
diff --git a/examples/vue/public/root.svg b/examples/vue/public/root.svg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..52075fa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/vue/public/root.svg
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
+<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" height="390" width="355" version="1.0">
+  <path d="m193.39062 4.859375-50.8125 317.375-79.093743-160.71876-58.781256 29.46875l6.6250007 12.5 38.687495-17.75 96.875003 199.40625 58.6875-366.28124h144.71876v-14h-142.46876-10.21874-4.21876z"/>
+</svg>
diff --git a/examples/vue/src/App-url.vue b/examples/vue/src/App-url.vue
index c619a16..c036c83 100644
--- a/examples/vue/src/App-url.vue
+++ b/examples/vue/src/App-url.vue
@@ -35,5 +35,9 @@ const Async = defineAsyncComponent(() => import(`./assets/circle.svg?component`)
     {{ testRaw }}
   </div>
 
+  <div id="root">
+    <img src="/root.svg" />
+  </div>
+
   <HelloWorld msg="Hello Vue 3 + Vite" />
 </template>
diff --git a/examples/vue/src/App.vue b/examples/vue/src/App.vue
index 761bfdf..612e7c3 100644
--- a/examples/vue/src/App.vue
+++ b/examples/vue/src/App.vue
@@ -31,5 +31,9 @@ const Async = defineAsyncComponent(() => import(`./assets/${name}.svg`))
     {{ testRaw }}
   </div>
 
+  <div id="root">
+    <img src="/root.svg" />
+  </div>
+
   <HelloWorld msg="Hello Vue 3 + Vite" />
 </template>
diff --git a/index.js b/index.js
index a50c007..c7caae0 100644
--- a/index.js
+++ b/index.js
@@ -5,14 +5,21 @@ const { optimize: optimizeSvg } = require('svgo')
 module.exports = function svgLoader (options = {}) {
   const { svgoConfig, svgo, defaultImport } = options
 
+  let viteConfig = {}
   const svgRegex = /\.svg(\?(raw|component))?$/
 
   return {
     name: 'svg-loader',
     enforce: 'pre',
 
+    configResolved (config) {
+      viteConfig = config
+    },
+
     async load (id) {
-      if (!id.match(svgRegex)) {
+      const isRootRef = viteConfig.command === 'build' && !id.startsWith(viteConfig.root)
+
+      if (!id.match(svgRegex) || isRootRef) {
         return
       }