EngineerCV

Basic Usage Examples

EngineerCV lets you create resumes using simple YAML files, split content into reusable chunks, and generate multiple variants for different targets.

To get started, run

npx engineercv setup

to start an interactive setup process.

Here are some basic samples:

Single Resume Example

basics:
   name: Jane Smith
   email: [email protected]
   phone: "+1 (555) 123-4567"
   summary: Full-stack developer with expertise in modern web technologies.
output: ./out/jane-smith.pdf
skills:
   - name: Languages
      keywords:
         - JavaScript
         - Python
work:
   - position: Software Engineer
      name: Tech Company
      startDate: 2021/01
      highlights:
         - Built scalable web apps.

Importing Shared Sections

imports:
   - ./shared-skills.yml
   - ./work-experience.yml
basics:
   name: John Doe
output: ./out/john-doe.pdf

Defining Multiple Variants

variants:
   company:
      - name: John Doe
        target: AcmeCorp
        mainLanguage: JavaScript
      - name: John Doe
        target: BetaInc
        mainLanguage: TypeScript
output: ./out/{{ target }}.pdf
basics:
   name: "{{ name }}"

skills:
   - name: Languages
      keywords:
         - "{{ mainLanguage }}"

EngineerCV is a powerful, flexible Resume/CV generator built on React-PDF. It enables you to create multiple targeted resume variants (for different companies, roles, or privacy levels) from a single source file. Modular YAML/JSON/TS/JS configs, imports, and advanced merging make it easy to split your resume into reusable chunks and generate tailored PDFs for every application scenario.

Schema: The data schema is based on jsonresume.org and mostly follows its conventions, making it easy to migrate or reuse existing resume data.

Features

• Variants: Effortlessly generate multiple resume versions (e.g., for different companies, privacy levels, or job types) from a single config file.
• Imports & Reusable Chunks: Split your resume into modular files and import shared sections, skills, or experience blocks.
• Component-Based Architecture: Compose CV sections using reusable React-PDF components.
• YAML/JSON/TS/JS Config Support: Write your CV data in YAML, JSON, or TypeScript/JavaScript files, with support for imports and modularization.
• Strict Schema Validation: All data is validated using Zod schemas for reliability and error reporting.
• Custom Components: Easily add your own components and reference them in your CV config.
• Themes & Style Merging: Deep merging of styles and support for complete theme overrides.
• Hot-Reload Development: Fast development workflow with auto-rebuilds and watch mode.
• Sample Library: Extensive sample configs and docs to help you get started.

Quick Start

1. Install via npm

npm install -g engineercv

This provides the engineercv CLI globally.

2. Generate Multiple Resume Variants

engineercv generate "./resume-source/**/*.yml"

This will generate PDFs for all variants defined in your YAML files.

3. Development Mode

engineercv watch "./resume-source/**/*.yml"

Runs the generator in watch mode for rapid development.

How It Works

1. Write your CV in YAML/JSON/TS/JS
2. Split sections into reusable files and import them as needed
3. Define variants to generate multiple tailored PDFs from one config
4. Schema Validation: Data is validated against Zod schemas defined in each component.
5. Component Tree: The config is parsed into a tree of React-PDF components.
6. PDF Rendering: The tree is rendered to a PDF using React-PDF.

Cover Letter Theme

EngineerCV supports a dedicated cover letter theme, allowing you to generate professional cover letters alongside your resume. You can even use variants to create both a resume and cover letter from the same file.

Sample Cover Letter YAML:

output: ./out/cover-letter.pdf
imports:
   - ./src/themes/coverletter.tsx
basics:
   name: John Doe
   subtitle: Senior Software Engineer
   subject: Application for Software Engineer Position
letterDate: "{{ date 'dddd, MMMM Do YYYY' }}"
toAddress:
   - Hiring Manager
   - Tech Company
   - 1234 Tech Street
   - Karlsruhe, Germany
fromAddress:
   - John Doe
   - 5678 Developer Lane
   - Karlsruhe, Germany

Variants: Target Multiple Companies or Roles

EngineerCV lets you define multiple variants in a single file, so you can generate tailored resumes for different companies, privacy levels, or job types. Each variant can override or extend any part of your resume.

Example: Defining Variants

variants:
 privacy:
  - name: John Doe
   facing: private
   email: [email protected]
   phone: "+11234567890"
  - name: John D.
   facing: public
   email: [email protected]
   phone: "+999999999"
 focus:
  - focus: frontend
   skills:
    - name: Languages
     keywords:
      - JavaScript
      - TypeScript
  - focus: backend
   skills:
    - name: Languages
     keywords:
      - Java
      - Python

output: ../out/variants-{{ facing }}-{{ focus }}.pdf
basics:
 name: "{{ name }}"

This will generate a PDF for each combination of privacy and focus (e.g., variants-private-frontend.pdf, variants-public-backend.pdf).

Imports: Split Your Resume into Reusable Chunks

You can split your resume into multiple files and import shared sections, skills, or experience blocks. This makes it easy to reuse content across variants or different resumes.

Example: Importing Shared Sections

imports:
 - ./shared-skills.yml
 - ./work-experience.yml


 name: John Doe

shared-skills.yml

skills:
 - name: Languages
  keywords:
   - JavaScript
   - TypeScript
   - Python

work-experience.yml

work:
 - position: Software Engineer
  name: Tech Company
  startDate: 2020/01
  highlights:
   - Developed web applications using React and Node.js.

Advanced Merging & Customization

EngineerCV supports advanced merging helpers for lists and objects, so you can fine-tune how imported or variant data is combined. For example:

skills:
 - $id: languages
  keywords:
   - Java
   - Python
   - "{{ remove 'JavaScript' }}"

See samples/src/advanced-merging.yml for more details.

Extending EngineerCV

Adding New Components

1. Create your component in src/components/sections/ or src/components/atoms/.
2. Use defineComponent() to specify schema, render logic, and default styles.
3. Register your component in src/components/default-components.tsx.
4. Use React-PDF primitives (View, Text, etc.) for rendering.

Custom Components (User-Defined)

• Import engineercv/module-globals for access to global helpers.
• Export your components via config.components.
• Reference them in your YAML config using config.customComponents.

Themes & Style Merging

• Override styles globally or per-component.
• Use the src/themes/ directory for full theme replacements.

Documentation & Samples

• Docs: See the docs/ folder for guides on advanced merging, custom components, ordering, fonts, icons, and more.
• Samples: Explore samples/src/ for example CVs, variants, imports, and custom component usage.

Invoice Theme

EngineerCV also provides an invoice theme, so you can generate invoices using the same modular YAML approach. This is useful for freelancers or anyone needing professional invoices.

Sample Invoice YAML:

output: ./out/invoice.pdf
imports:
   - ./src/themes/invoice.tsx
basics:
   name: John Doe
date: "2020-01-01"
toAddress:
   - Hiring Manager
   - Tech Company
   - 1234 Tech Street
   - Karlsruhe, Germany
shipAddress: "{{ use toAddress }}"
fromAddress:
   - John Doe
   - 5678 Developer Lane
   - Karlsruhe, Germany
body: |
   Payment is due within 14 days of receipt of this invoice, on {{ dateadd (date) 14 'd' 'MM/DD/YYYY' }}.
items:
   - definition: "{{ use customProducts.hourOfWork }}"
      quantity: 6