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The YAML Input File

RenderCV uses a single YAML file to generate your CV. This file has four top-level fields:

Your_Name_CV.yaml
cv:
  ...
  # Your content (name, sections, entries)
  ...
design:
  ...
  # Visual styling (theme, colors, fonts, spacing)
  ...
locale:
  ...
  # Language strings (month names, "present", etc.)
  ...
settings:
  ...
  # RenderCV behavior (current date, bold keywords)
  ...

Only cv is required. The others have sensible defaults.

Explore the detailed documentation for each field:

JSON Schema

To maximize your productivity while editing the input YAML file, set up RenderCV's JSON Schema in your IDE. It will validate your inputs on the fly and give auto-complete suggestions.

JSON Schema in action

  1. Install the YAML extension.
  2. Name your file ending with _CV.yaml. The schema activates automatically.
  3. Press Ctrl + Space for suggestions.
  1. Add this line at the top of your file:
    # yaml-language-server: $schema=https://github.com/rendercv/rendercv/blob/main/schema.json?raw=true
    
  2. Press Ctrl + Space for suggestions (if your editor supports JSON Schema).