Markdown Resume Manager

A VS Code extension for managing markdown-based resumes and cover letters with automated build support using Pandoc.

Features

✨ Create Resumes & Cover Letters - Interactive prompts guide you through document creation
📋 Clipboard Support - Paste content directly from Claude/ChatGPT/Opus
🏗️ One-Click Building - Build to DOCX and PDF with keyboard shortcuts
📁 Smart File Organization - Automatically organizes files by company name
🚀 Quick Access - Open build folders directly from VS Code
⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts - Efficient workflow with customizable keybindings

Requirements

Pandoc - Required for markdown-to-DOCX/PDF conversion
- Windows: Download the installer from pandoc.org/installing.html
- macOS: brew install pandoc
- Linux: sudo apt install pandoc or equivalent
Optional: WeasyPrint - For better PDF generation (pip install weasyprint)

Getting Started

1. Install the Extension

From VS Code Marketplace:

Open VS Code
Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
Search for "Markdown Resume Manager"
Click Install

Or install manually:

code --install-extension markdown-resume-manager-1.0.1.vsix

Install from Marketplace

2. Install Pandoc

Make sure Pandoc is installed on your system:

Download from pandoc.org/installing.html
Verify installation: pandoc --version

3. Initialize Your Project

Open a folder in VS Code (or create a new one)
Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
Run: Resume Manager: Initialize Project Structure

This creates:

your-resume-project/
├── resumes/
│   └── tailored/          # Company-specific resumes
├── cover-letters/
│   └── tailored/          # Company-specific cover letters
├── templates/             # Base templates
└── build/                 # Generated DOCX/PDF files (auto-created)

Usage

Creating a New Resume

Method 1: Keyboard Shortcut

Press Ctrl+K then Ctrl+Alt+N (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+K then Cmd+Alt+N (Mac)

Method 2: Command Palette

Press Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on Mac)
Type "Resume Manager: Create New Resume"

Then:

Enter company name (e.g., "google")
Enter position (e.g., "senior-engineer") - optional
Choose content source:
- Paste from clipboard - If you have markdown content copied
- Open empty file in editor - Start from scratch
- Create empty file - Just create the file
Optionally build immediately

Creating a Cover Letter

Same as above, but use:

Keyboard: Ctrl+K then Ctrl+Alt+C (or Cmd+K then Cmd+Alt+C)
Command: "Resume Manager: Create New Cover Letter"

Building Documents

While editing a markdown resume or cover letter:

Build to DOCX:

Press Ctrl+K then Ctrl+Alt+B (or Cmd+K then Cmd+Alt+B)
Or use Command Palette: "Resume Manager: Build Current Document (DOCX)"

Build to DOCX + PDF:

Press Ctrl+K then Ctrl+Alt+D (or Cmd+K then Cmd+Alt+D)
Or use Command Palette: "Resume Manager: Build Current Document (DOCX + PDF)"

Opening Build Folders

Use Command Palette: "Resume Manager: Open Build Folder"
Or click "Open Build Folder" after a successful build

Commands

All commands are available via the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P):

Resume Manager: Initialize Project Structure - Set up the required folder structure
Resume Manager: Create New Resume - Create a new tailored resume
Resume Manager: Create New Cover Letter - Create a new cover letter
Resume Manager: Build Current Document (DOCX) - Build to DOCX
Resume Manager: Build Current Document (DOCX + PDF) - Build both formats
Resume Manager: Open Build Folder - Open the build folder

Keyboard Shortcuts

This extension uses chord keybindings (two-step shortcuts) to avoid conflicts with VS Code's built-in commands. To use a chord keybinding, press the first key combination, release it, then press the second key combination.

Note: These keybindings are designed to not conflict with VS Code's built-in shortcuts out of the box. However, you're free to customize them in your VS Code settings (File > Preferences > Keyboard Shortcuts) to match your preferred workflow.

For example, to build a document:

Press and release Ctrl+K (you'll see "Ctrl+K was pressed. Waiting for second key..." in the status bar)
Then press Ctrl+Alt+B

Action	Windows/Linux	Mac
New Resume	`Ctrl+K Ctrl+Alt+N`	`Cmd+K Cmd+Alt+N`
New Cover Letter	`Ctrl+K Ctrl+Alt+C`	`Cmd+K Cmd+Alt+C`
Build (DOCX)	`Ctrl+K Ctrl+Alt+B`*	`Cmd+K Cmd+Alt+B`*
Build (DOCX+PDF)	`Ctrl+K Ctrl+Alt+D`	`Cmd+K Cmd+Alt+D`

*Only works when editing markdown files in resumes/ or cover-letters/ folders

Configuration

Configure the extension in VS Code settings:

{
  "markdownResumeManager.resumeOutputName": "Your_Name_Resume",
  "markdownResumeManager.coverLetterOutputName": "Your_Name_Cover_Letter",
  "markdownResumeManager.pandocPath": "pandoc"
}

Settings

markdownResumeManager.resumeOutputName - Output filename for resumes without extension (default: Your_Name_Resume)
markdownResumeManager.coverLetterOutputName - Output filename for cover letters without extension (default: Your_Name_Cover_Letter)
markdownResumeManager.pandocPath - Path to Pandoc executable (default: pandoc). On Windows, if Pandoc is not in your PATH, set this to the full path: C:\\Program Files\\Pandoc\\pandoc.exe

Typical Workflow with AI Tools

Ask Claude/ChatGPT/Opus to generate a tailored resume
- "Create a resume tailored for a Senior Software Engineer position at Google"
Copy the markdown output to clipboard
In VS Code, press Ctrl+K then Ctrl+Alt+N
Enter company: google
Enter position: senior-engineer
Choose "Paste from clipboard"
File created at: resumes/tailored/google-senior-engineer.md
Make any edits needed
Press Ctrl+K then Ctrl+Alt+B to build
Click "Open Build Folder"
Your files are ready: build/google/Your_Name_Resume.docx

File Naming Conventions

Input files:

Resumes: {company}-{position}.md (e.g., google-senior.md)
Cover Letters: {company}-cover.md (e.g., google-cover.md)

Output files:

All resumes: Configured name (default: Your_Name_Resume.docx)
All cover letters: Configured name (default: Your_Name_Cover_Letter.docx)
Organized in: build/{company}/

Troubleshooting

"Pandoc is not installed"

Install Pandoc from pandoc.org/installing.html
Windows: Download and run the .msi installer
macOS: brew install pandoc
Linux: sudo apt install pandoc (or your distro's package manager)
Verify installation: pandoc --version
Restart VS Code after installing Pandoc

Windows users: If Pandoc is installed but not recognized:

Find the Pandoc path in PowerShell:
```
where pandoc
# or
gcm pandoc
```
This will show the full path (e.g., C:\Program Files\Pandoc\pandoc.exe)
Open VS Code settings (Ctrl+,)
Search for "Markdown Resume Manager"
Set Pandoc Path to the full path found in step 1

"Build folder doesn't exist"

You need to build the document first before opening the build folder
The folder is created automatically during the first build

PDF generation failed

PDF generation requires additional dependencies
Install WeasyPrint: pip install weasyprint
Or use DOCX-only builds with Ctrl+K then Ctrl+Alt+B

Keyboard shortcuts not working

Make sure you're editing a markdown file in resumes/ or cover-letters/
Check for conflicting keybindings in VS Code settings

Extension not activating

Make sure you have a workspace folder open
Extension activates when markdown files are present in the workspace

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

Author

Eric McKenna - GitHub

Publishing & Development

For Developers

Testing:

npm test                    # Run extension tests

Packaging:

npm run package             # Create .vsix file in dist/ folder

Publishing to VS Code Marketplace:

Create a Personal Access Token:
- Go to https://dev.azure.com/
- User Settings → Personal Access Tokens
- Create token with Marketplace > Manage scope
Store the token in .env file (already git-ignored):
```
VSCE_PAT=your-token-here
```

Publish with npm scripts:

npm run publish         # Publish current version
npm run publish:patch   # Bump patch version (1.0.0 → 1.0.1) and publish
npm run publish:minor   # Bump minor version (1.0.0 → 1.1.0) and publish
npm run publish:major   # Bump major version (1.0.0 → 2.0.0) and publish

Note: The .env file is excluded from git and packaging via .gitignore and .vscodeignore for security.

Changelog

1.0.0 (2025-11-03)

✨ Initial release
📝 Create resumes and cover letters with interactive prompts
🏗️ Build to DOCX and PDF using Pandoc (no shell scripts required!)
📋 Clipboard paste support for quick content insertion
⚙️ Configurable output names
🌍 Full cross-platform support (Windows, macOS, Linux)
🚀 One-command project initialization
⌨️ Keyboard shortcuts for all major operations
✅ Automated testing with 14 test suites
📦 Native build system - no external scripts needed