rendercv-to-docx

Convert RenderCV-generated Typst (.typ) files to Microsoft Word DOCX format.

What is this?

RenderCV is a LaTeX/Typst CV generator that takes a YAML file and produces beautifully typeset PDFs. This tool takes the Typst output from RenderCV and converts it to DOCX format for situations where you need an editable Word document.

> ⚠️ Important: This is NOT a generic Typst converter. It only works with RenderCV-generated Typst files and their specific template syntax.

Why would I need this?

- Some job application systems only accept DOCX files
- You need to make quick edits without regenerating the PDF
- Your recruiter or HR department needs an editable version
- ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) sometimes prefer DOCX over PDF

Installation

``bash

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/anefzaoui/rendercv-to-docx.git
cd rendercv-to-docx

Install dependencies

npm install
`

Usage

$3

`bash

Basic conversion

node src/cli.js John_Doe_CV.typ

Specify output file

node src/cli.js John_Doe_CV.typ resume.docx

Verbose output

node src/cli.js John_Doe_CV.typ --verbose

Parse only (output AST as JSON)

node src/cli.js John_Doe_CV.typ --parse > ast.json

Show help

node src/cli.js --help
`

$3

`javascript
import { convertToDocx, convertFile, parse } from 'rendercv-to-docx';
import fs from 'fs';

// Convert file directly
await convertFile('John_Doe_CV.typ', 'John_Doe_CV.docx');

// Convert content string to DOCX buffer
const content = fs.readFileSync('John_Doe_CV.typ', 'utf-8');
const buffer = await convertToDocx(content);
fs.writeFileSync('resume.docx', buffer);

// Parse Typst to AST (for debugging/inspection)
const ast = parse(content);
console.log(JSON.stringify(ast, null, 2));
`

Supported RenderCV Features

$3

| Feature | Supported |
|---------|-----------|
| name | ✅ |
| headline | ✅ |
| connections (email, phone, LinkedIn, GitHub, etc.) | ✅ |
| photo | ❌ (photos not supported in DOCX output) |

$3

| Entry Type | Supported | Notes |
|------------|-----------|-------|
| ExperienceEntry | ✅ | company, position, dates, location, highlights |
| EducationEntry | ✅ | institution, degree, area, dates |
| NormalEntry | ✅ | name, dates, location, highlights |
| PublicationEntry | ✅ | title, authors, DOI, journal |
| OneLineEntry | ✅ | label: details format |
| BulletEntry | ✅ | Simple bullet points |
| TextEntry | ✅ | Plain text paragraphs |

$3

| Feature | Supported |
|---------|-----------|
| #strong[text] | ✅ Bold |
| #emph[text] | ✅ Italic |
| #link("url")[text] | ✅ Hyperlinks |
| Bullet lists (-) | ✅ |
| Headings (=, ==) | ✅ |
| Escaped characters (\/, \@, \%) | ✅ |

$3

| Feature | Supported |
|---------|-----------|
| Colors (name, sections, links, body) | ✅ |
| Font families | ✅ |
| Font sizes | Partial (uses sensible defaults) |
| Page margins | ❌ (uses Word defaults) |
| Section title styles | ✅ (underlined headings) |

Example

Input (RenderCV Typst file):
`typst
#import "@preview/rendercv:0.1.0": *

#show: rendercv.with(
name: "Jane Doe",
colors-name: rgb(0, 79, 144),
colors-section-titles: rgb(0, 79, 144),
)

= Jane Doe

#headline([Senior Software Engineer | Full-Stack Developer])

#connections(
[#connection-with-icon("location-dot")[San Francisco, CA]],
[#link("mailto:jane@example.com")[jane\@example.com]],
)

== Experience

#regular-entry(
[
#strong[Acme Corp], Senior Engineer
- Led migration to microservices architecture
- Reduced deployment time by 80%
],
[
San Francisco, CA
Jan 2020 – present
],
)
`

Output: A properly formatted DOCX file with:
- Colored name and section headers
- Clickable email/phone links
- Properly structured experience entries with bullet points
- Professional typography

API Reference

$3

Convert Typst content string to DOCX buffer.

- content string - Typst file content
- options object - Optional conversion settings
- Returns: Promise - DOCX file buffer

$3

Convert Typst file to DOCX file.

- inputPath string - Path to input .typ file
- outputPath string - Path to output .docx file
- options object - Optional conversion settings
- Returns: Promise<{inputPath, outputPath, success}>

$3

Parse Typst content and return AST.

- content string - Typst file content
- Returns: object - Parsed AST

$3

Generate DOCX from parsed AST.

- ast object - Parsed Typst AST
- options object - Generation options
- Returns: Promise - DOCX file buffer

Limitations

This tool is specifically designed for RenderCV output. It does NOT support:

- ❌ Generic Typst documents
- ❌ Custom Typst functions/macros
- ❌ Typst scripting (loops, conditionals, variables)
- ❌ Math equations
- ❌ Tables
- ❌ Images/photos
- ❌ Multi-column layouts
- ❌ Custom fonts (uses system fonts)

If you need a generic Typst → DOCX converter, you would need to essentially reimplement the Typst compiler, which is a massive undertaking.

How It Works

1. Parse - Reads the Typst file and extracts:
- Metadata from rendercv.with() configuration
- Header info (name, headline, connections)
- Sections and their entries
- Inline formatting

2. Transform - Converts the parsed AST to docx library structures:
- Maps RenderCV entry types to Word paragraphs
- Applies colors from metadata
- Creates hyperlinks for connections
- Formats bullet points and highlights

3. Generate - Uses the docx library to produce the final DOCX file

Development

`bash

Run tests

npm test

Convert sample file

npm run convert

Debug parsing

node src/cli.js sample.typ --parse | jq .
``

Related Projects

- RenderCV - The CV generator that produces the Typst files this tool converts
- Typst - The modern typesetting system
- docx - The library used for DOCX generation

License

MIT