YAMLResume Lands in Homebrew

YAMLResume has just been accepted by Homebrew (the most popular package manager on macOS). That means macOS users can now install and keep YAMLResume up to date with a single, trustworthy command—no manual Node.js global installs, no path juggling. This post shows a more detailed step-by-step yamlresume setup with Homebrew and a typesetting engine for best PDF output.

YAMLResume on Homebrew

Why This Matters

Previously, the typical path of getting YAMLResume CLI for macOS users was:

install Node.js,
install yamlresume CLI by Node.js package managers (npm/pnpm/yarn/bun)
install a typesetting engine in order to generate PDF

A Homebrew formula can merge step 1 and 2 into one, since Homebrew can manage the Node.js dependency for you. This reduces environment configuration issues and simplifies upgrades (brew upgrade yamlresume).

Quick Install

brew install yamlresume

Homebrew will install Node.js as a dependency if you don't have it yet.

Then verify:

$ yamlresume help
Usage: yamlresume [options] [command]

YAMLResume — Resume as Code in YAML

 __   __ _    __  __ _     ____
 \ \ / // \  |  \/  | |   |  _ \ ___  ___ _   _ ___  ___   ___
  \ V // _ \ | |\/| | |   | |_) / _ \/ __| | | / _ \/ _ \ / _ \
   | |/ ___ \| |  | | |___|  _ <  __/\__ \ |_| | | | | | |  __/
   |_/_/   \_\_|  |_|_____|_| \_\___||___/\____|_| |_| |_|\___|


Options:
  -V, --version                  output the version number
  -v, --verbose                  verbose output
  -h, --help                     display help for command

Commands:
  new [filename]                 create a new resume
  build [options] <resume-path>  build a resume to LaTeX and PDF
  dev [options] <resume-path>    build a resume on file changes (watch mode)
  languages                      i18n and l10n support
  templates                      manage resume templates
  validate <resume-path>         validate a resume against the YAMLResume schema
  help [command]                 display help for command

If you see the help output, the CLI binary is available in your PATH.

YAMLResume depends on a typesetting engine to generate PDF, you can either install MacTeX or Tectonic via Homebrew.

Option A: Full TeX Live (XeTeX)

Install via MacTeX cask (includes XeTeX):

# install the full mactex
brew install mactex
# or if you want to save some disk space
brew install mactex-no-gui

After installation, ensure the TeX binaries are on PATH (Homebrew usually symlinks them under /Library/TeX/texbin). Test:

$ xelatex --version
XeTeX 3.141592653-2.6-0.999994 (TeX Live 2022)
kpathsea version 6.3.4
Copyright 2022 SIL International, Jonathan Kew and Khaled Hosny.
There is NO warranty.  Redistribution of this software is
covered by the terms of both the XeTeX copyright and
the Lesser GNU General Public License.
For more information about these matters, see the file
named COPYING and the XeTeX source.
Primary author of XeTeX: Jonathan Kew.
Compiled with ICU version 70.1; using 70.1
Compiled with zlib version 1.2.11; using 1.2.11
Compiled with FreeType2 version 2.11.1; using 2.11.1
Compiled with Graphite2 version 1.3.14; using 1.3.14
Compiled with HarfBuzz version 3.4.0; using 3.4.0
Compiled with libpng version 1.6.37; using 1.6.37
Compiled with pplib version v2.05 less toxic i hope
Using Mac OS X Core Text and Cocoa frameworks

Option B: Tectonic (Lightweight)

$ brew install tectonic
$ tectonic --version

Which one should you pick?

Engine	Pros	Cons
XeTeX	maximal compatibility; mature ecosystem	large download (4-6 GBs)
Tectonic	tiny initial footprint; auto-fetches needed packages	occasional compatibility gaps vs XeTeX

If you run into unexplained LaTeX package issues or advanced font handling edge cases, fall back to XeTeX.

Create and Build a Resume

As usual, you can create a starter YAML resume by:

$ yamlresume new my-resume.yml
✔ Created my-resume.yml successfully.

Inspect and edit my-resume.yml in your editor, then build to PDF:

$ yamlresume build my-resume.yml
◐ Generating resume PDF with command: xelatex -halt-on-error my-resume.tex...
✔ Generated resume PDF successfully.

Under the hood YAMLResume will:

transforms my-resume.yml into LaTeX (my-resume.tex).
invokes your typesetting engine (xelatex or tectonic).
produces my-resume.pdf.

Upgrading

Stay current (new templates, fixes, i18n improvements):

$ brew update
$ brew upgrade yamlresume

Uninstalling

$ brew uninstall yamlresume

Remove optional dependencies only if you no longer need them (fonts, TeX engine, etc.).

Troubleshooting

Verbose mode helps diagnose resume build issues:

$ yamlresume build --verbose my-resume.yml

Common fixes:

missing typesetting engine: install MacTeX or use Tectonic.
permission denied writing files: ensure you are in a writable directory (avoid system paths).
engine mismatch/weird LaTeX errors on Tectonic: fall back to XeTeX (brew install mactex).

Final Notes

Being included in Homebrew lowers the barrier for new users and signals project maturity. If you run into any edge cases, open an issue or discussion—we iterate quickly. Happy hacking and may your resumes be always pixel perfect!

Last but not least, credit to @chenrui333 again for his initial PR to include YAMLResume in Homebrew.