rendercv

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---
name: rendercv
description: >-
  Create professional CVs and resumes with perfect typography using RenderCV
  (v2.8). Users write content in YAML, and RenderCV produces
  publication-quality PDFs via Typst typesetting. Full control over every visual
  detail: colors, fonts, margins, spacing, section title styles, entry layouts,
  and more. 6 built-in themes with unlimited
  customization. Any language supported (22 built-in, or define your own). Outputs
  PDF, PNG, HTML, and Markdown. Use when the user wants to create, edit,
  customize, or render a CV or resume.
---

## Quick Start

**Available themes:** `classic`, `harvard`, `engineeringresumes`, `engineeringclassic`, `sb2nov`, `moderncv`
**Available locales:** `english`, `arabic`, `danish`, `dutch`, `french`, `german`, `hebrew`, `hindi`, `hungarian`, `indonesian`, `italian`, `japanese`, `korean`, `mandarin_chinese`, `norwegian_bokmål`, `norwegian_nynorsk`, `persian`, `portuguese`, `russian`, `spanish`, `turkish`, `vietnamese`

These are starting points — every aspect of the design and locale can be fully customized in the YAML file.

```bash
# Install RenderCV
uv tool install "rendercv[full]"

# Create a starter YAML file (you can specify theme and locale)
rendercv new "John Doe"
rendercv new "John Doe" --theme moderncv --locale german

# Render to PDF (also generates Typst, Markdown, HTML, PNG by default)
rendercv render John_Doe_CV.yaml

# Watch mode: auto-re-render whenever the YAML file changes
rendercv render John_Doe_CV.yaml --watch

# Render only PNG (useful for previewing or checking page count)
rendercv render John_Doe_CV.yaml --dont-generate-pdf --dont-generate-html --dont-generate-markdown

# Override fields from the CLI without editing the YAML
rendercv render cv.yaml --cv.name "Jane Doe" --design.theme "moderncv"
```

## YAML Structure

A RenderCV input has four sections. Only `cv` is required — the others have sensible defaults.

```yaml
cv:         # Your content: name, contact info, and all sections
design:     # Visual styling: theme, colors, fonts, margins, spacing, layouts
locale:     # Language: month names, phrases, translations
settings:   # Behavior: output paths, bold keywords, current date
```

**Single file vs. separate files:** All four sections can live in one YAML file, or each can be a separate file. Separate files are useful for reusing the same design/locale across multiple CVs:

```bash
# Single self-contained file (all sections in one file)
rendercv render John_Doe_CV.yaml

# Separate files: CV content + design + locale loaded independently
rendercv render cv.yaml --design design.yaml --locale-catalog locale.yaml --settings settings.yaml
```

When using separate files, each file contains only its section (e.g., `design.yaml` has `design:` as the top-level key). CLI-loaded files override values in the main YAML file.

The YAML maps directly to Pydantic models. The complete type-safe schema is provided below so you can understand every field, its type, and its default value.

## Pydantic Schema

The YAML input is validated against these Pydantic models.

### Top-Level Model

```python
class RenderCVModel(BaseModelWithoutExtraKeys):
    cv: Cv = pydantic.Field(default_factory=Cv, title='CV', description='The content of the CV.')
    design: Design = pydantic.Field(default_factory=ClassicTheme, title='Design')
    locale: Locale = pydantic.Field(default_factory=EnglishLocale, title='Locale Catalog')
    settings: Settings = pydantic.Field(default_factory=Settings, title='RenderCV Settings', description='The settings of the RenderCV.')

```

### CV Content (`cv`)

The `cv.sections` field is a dictionary where keys are section titles (any string you want) and values are lists of entries. Each section contains entries of the same type.

```python
class Cv(BaseModelWithoutExtraKeys):
    name: str | None = pydantic.Field(default=None, examples=['John Doe', 'Jane Smith'])
    headline: str | None = pydantic.Field(default=None, examples=['Softwar