Simple Resume Theme

Simple Resume Theme is a Hugo theme that turns a YAML data file into a single-page, print-ready resume website. It provides a minimal, no-framework web resume that can be printed to PDF or paper directly from the browser.

What is Simple Resume Theme?

Simple Resume Theme is an open-source Hugo theme created by GitHub user tylersayshi for building a web-based resume that is also optimized for printing. It takes resume content from a YAML data file — specifically exampleSite/data/content.yaml — and generates a clean, simple HTML resume page. The theme is distributed via GitHub and has 38 stars at the time of writing. Since it runs on Hugo, the output is static HTML and CSS with no database or server-side processing, and it can be hosted on any static hosting service.

Key Features

• Web-based resume — Produces an HTML resume page that looks good on screen and can be linked from a portfolio or shared via URL.
• Printable — The page is designed to print cleanly; the author recommends setting browser print margins to "minimum" for best results, with custom margins as a fallback.
• Straightforward design — No JavaScript frameworks, no complex layouts, just a simple single-column resume layout focused on content.
• YAML data input — Resume fields are defined in a YAML file, making it easy to update without editing HTML.
• Easy installation — Install by cloning the repository into your Hugo themes directory and setting theme = "simple-resume" in config.toml.
• Example site included — The exampleSite folder demonstrates the full project structure, including config.toml and data/content.yaml, so you can copy it as a starting point.
• Open to contributions — The repository README explicitly invites issues and pull requests for collaboration.

Who is it for?

• Hugo users who want to add a resume page to an existing static site without learning a new framework.
• Job seekers who need a clean HTML resume they can host themselves and also print to PDF for applications that require a file attachment.
• Developers who prefer managing content in structured YAML data rather than writing page markup.
• Students building a first personal site who want a minimal, working resume section quickly.

Use cases

• Creating a personal resume site: Populate content.yaml and run Hugo to produce a static resume page you can host on GitHub Pages, Netlify, or any static host.
• Printing a PDF resume: Open the built resume page in a browser and use the print dialog with minimum margins to save it as a PDF.
• Templating a resume for multiple users: Because the theme reads from a single YAML file, you can fork the repo and swap in different YAML data to generate different resumes easily.

How does Simple Resume Theme work?

1. Create a new Hugo site with hugo new site your-site-name (skip if you already have one).
2. Enter the site folder and clone the theme into the themes directory: git clone https://github.com/tylersayshi/simple-resume.git.
3. Set the theme in config.toml by adding theme = "simple-resume".
4. Copy the data structure from exampleSite/data/content.yaml and replace it with your own resume information.
5. Build the site with Hugo, then open the resulting page and print it to PDF or paper, adjusting print margins as needed.

FAQ

Is Simple Resume Theme free?

Yes. It is an open-source Hugo theme available on GitHub, with no mention of paid licensing or premium features. You can clone, modify, and use it for personal or commercial resumes.

What do I need to run this theme?

You need Hugo installed on your computer to generate the static site. After building, you can deploy the output to any static web host — no server-side runtime is required.

Can I print my resume with this theme?

Yes, printing is a core feature. The documentation advises setting the browser print margins to 'minimum' for the best output, and you can also set custom margins if the layout looks off.

Where do I put my resume content?

Your resume content goes in a YAML file located at exampleSite/data/content.yaml. You replicate that file in your own Hugo project's data directory and fill in the fields.

Does this theme include a blog or portfolio sections?

No. The theme's stated scope is a web-based resume and its printable layout. It does not advertise blog, portfolio, or multi-page capabilities.