yaml-resume-builder

YAML Resume Builder

A Python package that generates professional PDF resumes from YAML files using Jake's LaTeX template. Define your resume content in simple YAML format and convert it to a polished, ATS-friendly PDF with a single command.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or higher
• LaTeX installation with latexmk command available in your PATH:

LaTeX Installation

Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)

sudo apt update && sudo apt install texlive-full latexmk

macOS

Install MacTeX (includes latexmk):

brew install --cask mactex

Windows

Install MiKTeX (includes latexmk):

• Download the MiKTeX Net Installer from https://miktex.org/download
• Choose "Complete" installation to ensure all required packages are installed
• MiKTeX will add pdflatex and latexmk to your PATH automatically

Installation

From PyPI or GitHub

# Install from PyPI
pip install yaml-resume-builder

# Or install directly from GitHub
pip install git+https://github.com/husayni/resume_builder.git

For Development

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/husayni/resume_builder.git
cd resume_builder

# Create and activate a virtual environment
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate

# Install the package in development mode with dev dependencies
pip install -e ".[dev]"

Usage

Command Line Interface

# Create a sample YAML resume file
yaml-resume-builder init --output my_resume.yml

# Build a resume from a YAML file
yaml-resume-builder build --input my_resume.yml --output resume.pdf

# Build a resume optimized to fit on one page
yaml-resume-builder build --input my_resume.yml --output resume.pdf --one-page

# Build with debug mode to save the intermediate LaTeX file
yaml-resume-builder build --input my_resume.yml --output resume.pdf --debug

Python API

from yaml_resume_builder import build_resume

# Build a resume from a YAML file
build_resume(
    input_path="my_resume.yml",
    output_path="resume.pdf"
)

# Build a resume optimized to fit on one page
build_resume(
    input_path="my_resume.yml",
    output_path="resume.pdf",
    one_page=True
)

# Build with debug mode enabled
build_resume(
    input_path="my_resume.yml",
    output_path="resume.pdf",
    debug=True
)

# Build with both one-page optimization and debug mode
build_resume(
    input_path="my_resume.yml",
    output_path="resume.pdf",
    debug=True,
    one_page=True
)

One-Page Optimization

The --one-page flag (or one_page=True in the Python API) automatically optimizes your resume to fit on a single page. This feature uses progressive optimization techniques:

How It Works

• PDF Analysis: After generating the initial PDF, the tool counts the number of pages
• Progressive Optimization: If the resume exceeds one page, it applies optimization levels in order:
  • Level 1: Apply improved spacing optimizations (better section spacing, consistent margins)
  • Level 2: Add CormorantGaramond font for more compact text
  • Level 3: Reduce font size from 11pt to 10pt with additional spacing adjustments
  • Level 4: Reduce margins slightly with more aggressive spacing
  • Level 5: Apply maximum spacing reductions and margin adjustments
• Automatic Fallback: If optimization fails, it falls back to the regular build

Usage Examples

# CLI usage
yaml-resume-builder build -i resume.yml -o resume.pdf --one-page

# Python API usage
from yaml_resume_builder import build_resume
build_resume("resume.yml", "resume.pdf", one_page=True)

Professional Standards

The optimization maintains professional standards by:

• Keeping font sizes within readable ranges (10pt-11pt)
• Maintaining appropriate margins (minimum 0.35in)
• Preserving content hierarchy and readability
• Only applying changes that improve space efficiency

Certification Links (New in v1.1.1)

Certifications now support optional clickable links! You can use either the traditional string format or the new dictionary format with optional links.

Format Options

New Dictionary Format (with optional links):

certifications:
  - name: AWS Certified Developer - Associate (2023)
    link: https://www.credly.com/badges/your-badge-id
  - name: Google Cloud Certified - Associate Cloud Engineer (2022)  # No link

Traditional String Format (still supported):

certifications:
  - "Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate"
  - "AWS Certified Developer - Associate (2023)"

Mixed Format (both in same file):

certifications:
  - name: AWS Certified Developer - Associate (2023)
    link: https://www.credly.com/badges/your-badge-id
  - "Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate"
  - name: Kubernetes Certified Application Developer
    link: https://www.cncf.io/certification/ckad/

How It Works

• With Link: Generates clickable, underlined certification names in the PDF
• Without Link: Displays as regular text (same as traditional format)
• Backward Compatible: Existing YAML files continue to work unchanged
• Validation: Warns about unknown fields but continues processing
• Special Characters: Properly escapes LaTeX special characters in URLs and names

YAML Format

The YAML file should have the following structure. Any unknown fields will be ignored with a warning message:

The template includes sections for Education, Experience, Projects, Skills, Achievements, Publications, and Certifications. All sections are optional - if you don't provide data for a section, it will be empty in the generated resume.

name: Your Full Name
contact:
  phone: "[phone]"
  email: [e-mail]
  linkedin: your-linkedin-username
  github: your-github-username

education:
  - school: University Name
    location: City, State
    degree: Degree Name (e.g., Bachelor of Science in Computer Science)
    dates: "2020 - 2024"

  - school: Another University (if applicable)
    location: City, State
    degree: Another Degree
    dates: "2016 - 2020"

experience:
  - company: Company Name
    role: Your Job Title
    location: City, State
    dates: "Jan 2023 - Present"
    description:
      - "Accomplished [specific achievement] resulting in [specific measurable outcome]"
      - "Led a team of X people to deliver [project/product] that [specific result]"
      - "Implemented [specific technology/process] that improved [specific metric] by X%"

  - company: Previous Company
    role: Previous Job Title
    location: Remote
    dates: "Jun 2021 - Dec 2022"
    description:
      - "Developed [feature/product] using [technologies] that [specific outcome]"
      - "Collaborated with cross-functional teams to [specific achievement]"
      - "Optimized [process/system] resulting in [specific improvement]"

projects:
  - name: Gitlytics
    technologies: [Python, Flask, React, PostgreSQL, Docker]
    date: June 2020 - Present
    link: https://github.com/yourusername/gitlytics
    description:
      - "Developed a full-stack web application using Flask serving a REST API with React as the frontend"
      - "Implemented GitHub OAuth to get data from user's repositories"
      - "Visualized GitHub data to show collaboration"
      - "Used Celery and Redis for asynchronous tasks"

  - name: Simple Paintball
    technologies: [Spigot API, Java, Maven, TravisCI, Git]
    date: May 2018 - May 2020
    link: https://github.com/yourusername/simple-paintball
    description:
      - "Developed a Minecraft server plugin to entertain kids during free time for a previous job"
      - "Published plugin to websites gaining 2K+ downloads and an average 4.5/5-star review"
      - "Implemented continuous delivery using TravisCI to build the plugin upon new a release"
      - "Collaborated with Minecraft server administrators to suggest features and get feedback"

skills:
  - category: Languages
    list: [Python, JavaScript, Java, SQL]
  - category: Frameworks
    list: [React, Django, Spring Boot, Express.js]

  - category: Tools
    list: [Git, Docker, AWS, CI/CD]

achievements:
  - Won "Best Paper Award" at Conference on Software Engineering (2023)
  - Won "Hackathon Winner" at Tech Innovation Summit (2022)
  - Won "First Prize in Regional Coding Competition" at Tech Association (2020)

publications:
  - Innovative Approaches to Software Testing in Cloud Environments, Journal of Software Engineering, January 2023
  - Machine Learning Applications in DevOps Pipelines, International Conference on DevOps, June 2022

certifications:
  # New format with optional links (v1.1.1+)
  - name: AWS Certified Developer - Associate (2023)
    link: https://www.credly.com/badges/your-badge-id
  - name: Google Cloud Certified - Associate Cloud Engineer (2022)
  # Traditional string format (still supported)
  - "Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate"
  - name: Kubernetes Certified Application Developer
    link: https://www.cncf.io/certification/ckad/

Development

Running Tests

# Run all tests
pytest

# Run tests with coverage
pytest --cov=yaml_resume_builder

# Run linting checks
ruff check .
isort --check --diff .

Pre-commit Hooks

This project uses pre-commit hooks to ensure code quality. To set up pre-commit hooks:

# Install pre-commit
pip install pre-commit

# Install the git hooks
pre-commit install

# Run pre-commit on all files
pre-commit run --all-files

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• This project uses the LaTeX resume template created by Jake Gutierrez, which is also licensed under the MIT License.