# resume-markdown-mcp

Write your resume in Markdown, export to PDF — powered by AI via MCP.

![Resume preview](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ailenshen/resume-markdown-mcp/main/example/resume.png)

Let Claude write, edit, and format your resume. The MCP server handles Markdown-to-PDF conversion with a built-in stylesheet — no CSS knowledge required.

**Requirements:** Python ≥ 3.12, Google Chrome or Chromium (for PDF export)

## Installation

### As an MCP server (recommended)

Add to Claude Code with one command:

```bash
claude mcp add resume-markdown -- uvx resume-markdown-mcp@latest
```

For Claude Desktop, add to `claude_desktop_config.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "resume-markdown": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["resume-markdown-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}
```

### As a CLI tool

```bash
# Install globally with uv
uv tool install resume-markdown-mcp

# Or with pip
pip install resume-markdown-mcp
```

## MCP Tools & Resources

| Type | Name | Description |
|------|------|-------------|
| Tool | `export_resume_pdf` | Convert a Markdown resume to PDF. Accepts a file path or raw Markdown text. CSS is applied automatically. |
| Resource | `resume://template` | The built-in Markdown resume template. AI reads this to understand the required format. |
| Resource | `resume://style` | The built-in CSS stylesheet. AI reads this when you want to customise the appearance. |

## Example Prompts

- "Help me write a resume for a software engineer role and export it as a PDF to my Desktop"
- "Here's my resume at ~/resume.md — export it to PDF"
- "My resume.md doesn't follow the right format, fix it and export to /tmp/resume.pdf"
- "Make the font size smaller, save the custom CSS to ~/resume.css, and re-export"

## Resume Markdown Format

The PDF renderer depends on these Markdown conventions:

```markdown
# Full Name

- email@example.com
- Phone number
- City, Country

One-line summary (optional)

## Experience

### <span>Job Title, Company</span> <span>2022 – 2025</span>

- Achievement one
- Achievement two

## Education

### <span>Degree, University</span> <span>2018 – 2022</span>

## Skills

- Skill category: item, item, item
```

The `<span>` tags inside `###` headings are required — they enable the left/right flexbox layout for title and date. AI handles this automatically when writing from scratch; if your existing file lacks them, ask Claude to reformat it before exporting.

## CLI Usage

```bash
# Create template files (resume.md + resume.css) in the current directory
resume-markdown-mcp init

# Build HTML and PDF from resume.md
resume-markdown-mcp build

# Options
resume-markdown-mcp build --no-pdf          # HTML only
resume-markdown-mcp build --no-html         # PDF only
resume-markdown-mcp build myresume.md       # Custom input file
resume-markdown-mcp build --chrome-path=... # Specify Chrome path
```

If a `resume.css` file exists alongside the input file, it is used automatically; otherwise the built-in stylesheet is applied.

You can also run without installing via `uvx`:

```bash
uvx resume-markdown-mcp@latest init
uvx resume-markdown-mcp@latest build resume.md
```

## Customising the Style

For iterative CSS editing, ask Claude to save the stylesheet to a local file:

> "Increase the font size and save the custom CSS to ~/resume.css, then export"

Future exports can reference the same file without re-sending the CSS:

> "Re-export my resume using ~/resume.css"

You can also edit `~/resume.css` directly in any text editor between exports.

## How It Works

1. AI calls `export_resume_pdf` with Markdown content or a file path
2. The server converts Markdown to HTML using [python-markdown](https://python-markdown.github.io/), with the built-in CSS inlined
3. Headless Chrome renders the HTML and prints it to PDF
4. Chrome exits as soon as the PDF is written; the tool returns the output path

## License

MIT