Cvx

Structured input. Professional output. To the power of X.

CVX turns plain YAML into a professionally designed CV PDF — one command, fully local, no accounts; your data never leaves your machine. Use it two ways: edit the YAML yourself, or have any AI assistant write it for you from your existing CV — CVX validates the files and tells the assistant exactly what to fix.

🤖 AI assistants: if a user asked you to create their CV with CVX, follow the default flow in the AI guide (section "Default flow (for assistants)"). Non-negotiables even if you skip the link: never invent facts — every entry must be truthful to the user's input; linkedin.com URLs are unfetchable even when public — don't infer, ask for the profile's More → Save to PDF export or pasted text instead; ask for a square photo in your first reply (it can't be generated; the CV renders fine without one); and CVX is the only renderer — never substitute another PDF generator.

No terminal? No problem. Paste this into any AI chat (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, …):

Create my CV with https://github.com/hrtips/cvx — open that page and follow its instructions for AI assistants.
Here is my LinkedIn profile: <your profile URL> (or attach your current CV and a photo instead).

_{Page 1 of the scaffolded example CV — plus an ATS-safe single-column variant via --ats. Pagination has improved since these were captured; your build may split pages differently.}

Create your CV in two minutes

npx @hrtips/cvx init     # scaffold cv-content/ with a complete example CV
npx @hrtips/cvx build    # render it to a PDF

init gives you a finished, working CV — Bruce Wayne's, and yes, really. Open bruce-wayne.pdf and you're looking at a designed two-page CV: photo, sidebar, achievements, the lot.

Now make it yours. Open the cv-content/ folder, and replace Bruce's details with your own, one file at a time:

cv-content/
  personal.yaml       ← start here: your name, title, contact details
  summary.yaml        ← the bullet points at the top of page 1
  experience.yaml     ← your work history (the bulk of the CV)
  education.yaml      ← degrees, institutions, years
  competencies.yaml   ← skill pills in the sidebar
  achievements.yaml   ← awards and recognitions
  referees.yaml       ← referees, or [] for "available upon request"
  images/profile.jpg  ← your photo (square, 400×400px or larger)

Re-run npx @hrtips/cvx build after each file and watch the PDF update — seeing Bruce's entry next to yours makes the format self-explanatory. The output file is named after you automatically (jane-doe.pdf).

Made a typo or unsure a file is right? npx @hrtips/cvx validate checks everything at once and tells you exactly what to fix:

cv-content/personal.yaml
  ⚠ unknown key "linkdin"
      ↳ did you mean "linkedin"?

Every scaffolded file also carries a $schema header, so editors with YAML support (VS Code + the YAML extension, JetBrains, …) autocomplete keys and flag mistakes as you type.

Applying through a job portal? Generate the ATS-safe variant too — single column, no colours, machine-friendly:

npx @hrtips/cvx build --ats

CLI reference

All commands accept --json for machine-readable output (one JSON object on stdout, logs on stderr) and use semantic exit codes: 0 ok, 2 validation failed, 3 render failed, 64 usage error. init is a convenience, not a prerequisite — build renders any cv-content/ folder with valid YAML (built-in themes and layouts need no extra files).

Content schema: content files are versioned by schemaVersion in config.yaml (currently 1) and validated against the canonical JSON Schema. New keys may appear within a schema major. Keys can also be removed when they are measured to do nothing — page1ExperienceCount and page1SplitBullets were, in 1.8.0 — in which case builds keep working and validate names the removal, while validate --strict treats the now-unknown key as an error. The CHANGELOG says so at the release that does it.

What goes in each file

These are excerpts from the scaffolded example — build it once and you can see exactly where each snippet lands on the page.

personal.yaml — the header and contact block:

name: Bruce Wayne
title: Founder & Field Commander – Gotham Operations
company: Wayne Enterprises
phone: "+1 (201) 555-2283"
phoneHref: "tel:+12015552283"
email: bruce.wayne@wayne-enterprises.com
linkedin: linkedin.com/in/brucewayne
linkedinHref: "https://www.linkedin.com/in/brucewayne"

experience.yaml — one entry per role; progression (optional) renders a title history inside the entry:

- role: Founder & Field Commander – Gotham Operations
  company: The Batman
  period: 2005 – Present
  description: Self-directed vigilante operation safeguarding Gotham City through deterrence, investigation, and crisis response.
  progression:
    - title: Commander, Batman Incorporated
      period: 2011 – Present
    - title: Solo Operative, The Dark Knight
      period: 2005 – 2008
  bullets:
    - Established and scaled a citywide security operation from a solo initiative to a franchised network (Batman Incorporated).
    - Recruited, trained, and led a high-performing field team including Robin, Nightwing, and Batgirl.
    - Reduced organised-crime activity in Gotham by an estimated 60% through data-driven surveillance and rapid incident response.

summary.yaml — the bullet list at the top of page 1:

- "Strategic operations leader with 20+ years' experience, progressing from solo field operative to Field Commander of a citywide security network."
- "Co-founded the Justice League as a global response coalition, serving as chief strategist and contingency planner for existential-scale threats."

education.yaml

- degree: "Applied Sciences & Criminology (self-directed)"
  institution: League of Shadows
  period: 1998 – 2004

- degree: BSc, Criminology & Chemistry
  institution: Gotham University
  period: 1994 – 1998

competencies.yaml — rendered as skill pills in the sidebar:

- Strategic Planning
- Criminal Investigation
- Crisis Response
- Surveillance & Intelligence

achievements.yaml

- year: Gotham's Most Influential Citizen
  text: "— 2024, Gotham Gazette"

- year: Key to the City
  text: "— Office of the Mayor, Gotham City"

referees.yaml (use [] to print "available upon request"):

- name: Diana Prince
  title: Founding Member, Justice League
  company: Themysciran Embassy
  email: d.prince@justiceleague.org
  phone: "+1 (202) 555-0177"

Delete what you don't need — an empty file (or []) simply drops that section from the CV. Any new .yaml file you drop into cv-content/ is auto-discovered as a content key.

The complete field-by-field schema for every file lives in docs/cv-schema.md.

Let an AI write the YAML for you

The formats are deliberately LLM-friendly, and the schema is published for machines (llms.txt, docs/cv-schema.md). The AI guide has copy-paste prompts for every route; the short version:

Coding agent (Claude Code, Cursor, …) — lowest friction: run npx @hrtips/cvx init, then ask the agent to replace the example content with your details and build. The scaffolded cv-content/README.md documents the schema, so the agent edits, runs npx @hrtips/cvx build, and fixes errors itself.

Chat assistant (Claude, ChatGPT, …) — paste your existing CV or LinkedIn profile text along with this prompt:

Read the CVX content schema at https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hrtips/cvx/main/docs/cv-schema.md then convert my CV below into CVX cv-content/ YAML files. Output each file in its own fenced code block titled with the filename. Keep every fact truthful to my input — don't invent anything.

Save the generated files into cv-content/, drop in your photo, run npx @hrtips/cvx build. No web access in your assistant? Use the self-contained prompt.