md-cv

md-cv is a Jekyll-based markdown CV template that converts a plain Markdown résumé into a styled HTML page and a print-ready PDF, forked from elipapa's markdown-cv and maintained by Ben Moore (blmoore).

What is md-cv?

md-cv takes a Markdown file as input and produces a static HTML site under _site when built with Jekyll. It includes two stylesheets: media/cv-screen.css for screen display and media/cv-print.css for PDF output. The template is demonstrated at blm.io/cv and was derived from elipapa/markdown-cv.

Key Features

• Jekyll-based build — Clone the repo and run jekyll serve to generate the site locally; output lands in _site.
• Markdown input — The CV content is written in Markdown, making it easy to version-control with Git.
• Separate screen and print stylesheets — media/cv-screen.css styles the HTML version, while media/cv-print.css is tuned for PDF printing.
• Font Awesome icons and Open Sans — The HTML version imports Font Awesome icons and the Open Sans webfont to control typography and icons.
• Three-column layout for lists — List items (ul) are arranged in a three-column layout in the HTML version.
• Explicit page-break control — Add a CSS rule such as #education { page-break-before: always; } to force a page break before any section heading.
• Horizontal scrolling fix — The fork fixes the horizontal scrolling issue present in the original template caused by heavy CSS positioning.

Who is it for?

• Academics and researchers who want to maintain a CV in plain Markdown and generate an elegant HTML version for their personal site.
• Developers and tech professionals comfortable with Jekyll and the command line who want a version-controlled résumé.
• Anyone who needs both a web and PDF CV — the print stylesheet produces a clean PDF when printed through Firefox.

What can you do with it?

• Maintain your CV as Markdown: Edit a single Markdown file with your experience, education, and skills, then rebuild the site to reflect changes.
• Host the generated HTML on any static host: The _site output can be deployed to GitHub Pages or any static server.
• Generate a PDF for job applications: Use Firefox's Print-to-PDF with the print stylesheet to create a submission-ready résumé.

How does it work?

1. Clone the repository: git clone git://github.com/blmoore/md-cv
2. Change into the directory and run jekyll serve (Jekyll must be installed).
3. Open http://0.0.0.0:4000 in your browser to view the generated CV.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Simple Markdown workflow; separate CSS for screen and print; easy to customize via CSS.
• Cons: Building requires Jekyll and Ruby; as of March 2015, CSS3 columns in some sections do not print correctly under Chrome/Blink or Safari/WebKit, so Firefox is recommended for PDF output.

Alternatives

• elipapa/markdown-cv — the original project this template was forked from.
• davidhampgonsalves/resume — another Markdown résumé template that inspired the 3-column layout.

FAQ

Is md-cv free?

Yes, md-cv is open-source and free to use, forked from the MIT-licensed markdown-cv project (check the repo for exact license terms).

Do I need Jekyll to use md-cv?

Yes, md-cv is a Jekyll theme/template. You need to install Jekyll to build the site from the Markdown source.

How do I create a PDF from md-cv?

Run the Jekyll server, open the page in Firefox, and use the browser's Print dialog to save as PDF. The print stylesheet (media/cv-print.css) is applied automatically.

Why doesn't my PDF look right in Chrome?

As noted in the README, CSS3 multi-column layouts in the template do not print correctly under Blink/WebKit engines (as of March 2015). Using Firefox for printing is recommended.

How can I add a page break before a section?

Give the section's h2 heading an id (by default the id is the heading text), then add CSS like #education { page-break-before: always; } to media/cv-print.css.