ResumeCraft

Build professional Word (.docx) and PDF resumes from a simple JSON file.

ResumeCraft is a Python resume/CV generator that takes JSON input and produces a polished Word document or PDF. Use it as a library, a CLI tool, or drop it into a web app (FastAPI, Flask, Django).

See the generated PDF (built from sample_resume.json) to get a feel for the formatting. Set style.ats = true for ATS-friendly output.

Features

• Resume content lives in a single JSON file, easy to version control
• Auto-bolds keywords across all bullet points
• Right-aligned dates using proper tab stops
• Clickable hyperlinks for email, LinkedIn, GitHub, and projects
• Keeps section headings from getting orphaned at page breaks
• Pydantic-validated JSON input
• Custom section ordering and headings
• Sections: experience, projects (with multi-link support), skills, education, certifications, awards, languages
• Style presets: 7 fonts, 6 color themes, 3 spacing options
• Watch mode with PDF output for live preview
• Optional PDF export via docx2pdf
• JSON schema for editor autocomplete

Installation

pip install resumecraft              # library + CLI
pip install resumecraft[pdf]         # + PDF export
pip install resumecraft[pdf,watch]   # + PDF export + watch mode
pip install resumecraft[all]         # everything

# Install the CLI globally
pipx install resumecraft
uv tool install resumecraft

# Or run without installing
uvx resumecraft build my-resume.json
uvx "resumecraft[all]" build my-resume.json --open

Quick Start

# 1. Generate a template
resumecraft init -o my-resume.json

# 2. Edit my-resume.json with your details

# 3. Build your resume (docx)
resumecraft build my-resume.json

# 4. Build a PDF with the same filename (my-resume.pdf)
resumecraft build my-resume.json --pdf

# 5. Build and open immediately
resumecraft build my-resume.json --pdf --open

# 6. Validate without building
resumecraft validate my-resume.json

# 7. Watch for changes and rebuild automatically (defaults to PDF)
resumecraft watch my-resume.json --open

CLI Reference

resumecraft --help                                Show all commands
resumecraft --version                             Show version
resumecraft init -o FILE                          Generate a blank JSON template
resumecraft build FILE [-o FILE] [--pdf] [--open]  Build .docx or .pdf from JSON
resumecraft validate FILE                         Validate JSON without building
resumecraft watch FILE [-o FILE] [--open]         Watch and rebuild on file changes

When -o is omitted from build, the output is named after the input file with a timestamp, e.g., my-resume_2026-04-01_03-45pm.docx.

When -o is omitted from watch, the output defaults to <input-name>.pdf. PDF viewers don't lock files, so changes appear instantly.

Use as a Library

from resumecraft import ResumeCraft

# Load from anywhere
rc = ResumeCraft.from_jsonfile("my-resume.json")
rc = ResumeCraft.from_yamlfile("my-resume.yaml")      # needs: pip install resumecraft[yaml]
rc = ResumeCraft.from_json('{"name": "John", ...}')   # JSON string
rc = ResumeCraft.from_yaml("name: John\n...")         # YAML string
rc = ResumeCraft.from_bytes(uploaded_bytes)           # raw bytes (uploads, request body)
rc = ResumeCraft.from_dict({"name": "John", ...})     # dict

# Export
rc.to_docx("resume.docx")            # save .docx
rc.to_pdf("resume.pdf")              # save .pdf  (needs: pip install resumecraft[pdf])
rc.to_docx_bytes()                   # docx as bytes (for streaming)
rc.to_pdf_bytes()                    # pdf as bytes
rc.to_dict()                         # back to a dict

# Discover the schema
ResumeCraft.sample()                 # sample dict with all fields
ResumeCraft.json_schema()            # JSON schema (for editor autocomplete)

FastAPI example

import io
from fastapi import FastAPI, UploadFile
from fastapi.responses import Response, StreamingResponse

from resumecraft import ResumeCraft

app = FastAPI()


@app.post("/resume/docx")
def generate_docx(data: dict):
    rc = ResumeCraft.from_dict(data)
    return StreamingResponse(
        io.BytesIO(rc.to_docx_bytes()),
        media_type="application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document",
        headers={"Content-Disposition": "attachment; filename=resume.docx"},
    )


@app.post("/resume/pdf")
def generate_pdf(data: dict):
    return Response(
        ResumeCraft.from_dict(data).to_pdf_bytes(),
        media_type="application/pdf",
    )


@app.post("/resume/upload")
async def from_upload(file: UploadFile):
    rc = ResumeCraft.from_bytes(await file.read())
    return Response(rc.to_pdf_bytes(), media_type="application/pdf")

Flask example

import io
from flask import Flask, request, send_file

from resumecraft import ResumeCraft

app = Flask(__name__)


@app.post("/resume/docx")
def generate_docx():
    rc = ResumeCraft.from_dict(request.json)
    return send_file(
        io.BytesIO(rc.to_docx_bytes()),
        mimetype="application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document",
        download_name="resume.docx",
    )


@app.post("/resume/pdf")
def generate_pdf():
    pdf = ResumeCraft.from_dict(request.json).to_pdf_bytes()
    return send_file(io.BytesIO(pdf), mimetype="application/pdf", download_name="resume.pdf")

See the examples/ folder for more complete examples including Django.

Advanced usage

The Pydantic model and the renderer are available for power users who need more control:

import json
from pathlib import Path
from resumecraft.models import Resume
from resumecraft.builder import DocxBuilder

data = json.loads(Path("my-resume.json").read_text())
resume = Resume.model_validate(data)
DocxBuilder(resume).save("resume.docx")

JSON Structure

Run resumecraft init to generate a full template. Here's the structure:

{
  "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mdfarhankc/resumecraft/main/schema.json",
  "name": "Your Name",
  "contact": {
    "location": "City, Country",
    "email": "your@email.com",
    "phone": "+1-234-567-8900",
    "links": [
      { "label": "LinkedIn", "url": "https://linkedin.com/in/you" },
      { "label": "GitHub", "url": "https://github.com/you" }
    ]
  },
  "summary": "A brief professional summary...",
  "bold_keywords": ["FastAPI", "React", "PostgreSQL"],
  "experience": [
    {
      "company": "Company Name",
      "location": "City, Country",
      "title": "Your Title",
      "duration": "JAN 2023 - PRESENT",
      "bullets": ["What you did and the impact it had."]
    }
  ],
  "projects": [
    {
      "name": "Project Name",
      "subtitle": "| Description",
      "tech_stack": "Python, FastAPI",
      "link": null,
      "bullets": ["What you built."]
    }
  ],
  "professional_projects": [
    {
      "name": "Project Name",
      "subtitle": "| Location | Type",
      "tech_stack": "FastAPI, React, PostgreSQL",
      "link": null,
      "bullets": ["What you built."]
    }
  ],
  "personal_projects": [
    {
      "name": "Side Project",
      "subtitle": "| Personal Project",
      "tech_stack": null,
      "links": [
        { "label": "GitHub", "url": "https://github.com/you/project" },
        { "label": "Live Demo", "url": "https://project.example.com" }
      ],
      "bullets": ["What you built and why."]
    }
  ],
  "skills": [
    { "category": "Backend", "items": "Python (FastAPI, Django), Node.js" },
    { "category": "Frontend", "items": "React, TypeScript" }
  ],
  "education": [
    {
      "institution": "University Name",
      "degree": "Bachelor of Computer Science",
      "duration": "2019 - 2023"
    }
  ],
  "certifications": [
    {
      "name": "AWS Certified Developer",
      "issuer": "Amazon Web Services",
      "date": "2024",
      "link": { "label": "Verify", "url": "https://aws.amazon.com/verify" }
    }
  ],
  "awards": [
    {
      "title": "Employee of the Year",
      "issuer": "Acme Corp",
      "date": "2024",
      "description": "Recognized for outstanding contributions."
    }
  ],
  "languages": "English - Native  |  Hindi - Professional",
  "style": {
    "font": "calibri",
    "color": "black",
    "spacing": "normal"
  },
  "section_order": [
    "summary",
    "experience",
    "professional_projects",
    "personal_projects",
    "skills",
    "education",
    "certifications",
    "awards",
    "languages"
  ]
}

Field Reference

Style Options

Add a style object to customize the look of your resume:

{
  "style": {
    "font": "garamond",
    "color": "navy",
    "spacing": "compact"
  }
}

Set "ats": true to strip tab stops, colored tech lines, and heading borders for cleaner parsing by applicant tracking systems.

Available sections for section_order

summary, experience, projects, professional_projects, personal_projects, skills, education, certifications, awards, languages

Custom headings

Override any section's heading text:

{
  "headings": {
    "summary": "ABOUT ME",
    "experience": "CAREER",
    "awards": "HONORS"
  }
}

Editor autocomplete (JSON schema)

Reference the schema in your JSON for autocomplete and validation in VS Code, IntelliJ, etc.:

{
  "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mdfarhankc/resumecraft/main/schema.json",
  "name": "Your Name",
  ...
}

Note: Use either projects for a single section, or professional_projects + personal_projects for two separate sections. If you use projects, include it in section_order - it's not part of the default order.

Project Structure

resumecraft/
├── pyproject.toml
├── README.md
├── CHANGELOG.md
├── LICENSE
├── Makefile
├── schema.json                 # JSON schema (regenerate with: make schema)
├── examples/
│   ├── library.py              # Library usage
│   ├── web.py                  # FastAPI/Flask/Django pattern
│   ├── sample_resume.json
│   └── output/sample_resume.pdf
├── src/resumecraft/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── craft.py                # ResumeCraft (entry point)
│   ├── cli.py                  # CLI commands
│   ├── builder.py              # DocxBuilder (slim, drives the rendering)
│   ├── sections.py             # Section classes + SECTION_REGISTRY
│   ├── render.py               # RenderContext + paragraph helpers
│   ├── models.py               # Pydantic data models
│   ├── styles.py               # font/color/spacing maps
│   └── utils.py                # low-level docx helpers (hyperlinks, borders)
└── tests/
    ├── fixtures/sample.json
    ├── test_models.py
    ├── test_builder.py
    ├── test_craft.py
    ├── test_cli.py
    └── test_utils.py

Development

git clone https://github.com/mdfarhankc/resumecraft.git
cd resumecraft
uv sync --extra dev

Run tests

uv run pytest

Build

uv build

This creates dist/resumecraft-x.x.x.tar.gz and dist/resumecraft-x.x.x-py3-none-any.whl.

Publish to PyPI

Create a GitHub release (e.g., v0.2.0) and the CI workflow will publish to PyPI automatically via trusted publishing.

License

MIT