flowcvcli

Control a FlowCV resume from the command line or from Python — content, header & links, customization, templates, avatar, reorder/hide, multi-resume management, backup/restore, publish, PDF export, resume-as-code (pull/push a git-diffable Markdown tree), JSON Resume import/export, $EDITOR editing, auto-snapshots before destructive ops, and machine-readable --json output for every command. It drives FlowCV's private JSON API (the same calls the web app makes), so it works for any FlowCV resume with your own session. One tiny dependency (curl_cffi, only for the login TLS fingerprint); everything else is the Python standard library, so it drops easily into scripts and LLM agents.

Unofficial and not affiliated with FlowCV. It uses FlowCV's undocumented internal API and may break if that changes; use it with your own account and at your own risk (mind FlowCV's Terms of Service). See docs/API.md for the reverse-engineered API and docs/RENDERING.md for how the editor renders the live preview and persists edits.

Install

pip install flowcvcli          # installs the `flowcv` command

Or run from source without installing:

git clone https://github.com/dannyota/flowcvcli && cd flowcvcli
python3 flowcv.py --help       # equivalent to the `flowcv` command

Configure

Put a .env in the directory you run flowcv from (or in ~/.config/flowcvcli/.env). Real environment variables override it.

# Auth — pick ONE:
FLOWCV_COOKIE=flowcvsidapp=s%3A...     # your session cookie, OR
# FLOWCV_EMAIL=you@example.com         # log in with credentials instead
# FLOWCV_PASSWORD=...                  #   (session cached to ~/.config/flowcvcli/session)

# FLOWCV_RESUME_ID=...                 # optional; only if your account has several resumes

• Cookie: DevTools → Application → Cookies → app.flowcv.com → copy the flowcvsidapp value. That single cookie is the auth.
• Credentials: with FLOWCV_EMAIL + FLOWCV_PASSWORD the tool logs in and caches the session (re-login is automatic when the cookie expires). The cache is written 0600 to ~/.config/flowcvcli/session (override with $FLOWCV_SESSION_FILE).
• Resume id is optional: with one resume it's auto-selected; with several, set FLOWCV_RESUME_ID or pass --resume-id <id> (run flowcv resumes to list).

CLI

flowcv resumes                       # list resumes (id, title, share token)
flowcv show [section]                # sections + entries (ids, labels, dates)
flowcv dump <section> <id>           # one entry, fields + rich text

# manage resumes (multi-resume / paid plans)
flowcv new "My Second Resume"        # new resume (same details+style, no content) -> prints id
flowcv duplicate ["Copy title"]      # full copy of the current resume
flowcv rename "New Title"            # rename the current resume
flowcv delete-resume --yes           # permanent (refuses without --yes)

# content (markdown mini-format below); `add` creates the section if needed.
# --set aliases (title/company/link) resolve per section (work->jobTitle, publication->title…)
flowcv add work --set title="Engineer" --set company="Acme" \
       --set start=01/2022 --set end=Present --text $'- Did a measurable thing.'
flowcv add custom2 --section-name "Open Source" --icon code --text "…"   # heading+icon at creation
flowcv desc work <id> --file role.md           # rich text; --field is optional (auto: profile=text, skill=infoHtml)
flowcv edit work <id>                          # open the entry's rich text as markdown in $EDITOR, save on change
flowcv date publication <id> --year 2018       # structured date; merges (only passed parts change), --clear resets
flowcv field work <id> employer --text "Acme Corp"
flowcv rm work <id>

# reorder / hide / sections
flowcv reorder work <id3> <id1> <id2>     # set entry order (all of the section's ids)
flowcv hide work <id> ; flowcv show-entry work <id>
flowcv rename-section skill "Core Skills"
flowcv section-icon skill head-side-brain
flowcv rm-section custom1 --yes           # delete a section + its entries
flowcv reorder-sections profile work skill education   # set one-column order (no args = print current)
flowcv reorder-sections work skill --layout two --side left   # two-column: order one column at a time

# header details & links (links are social entries: orcid, googlescholar, github…)
flowcv pd jobTitle --text "Security Leader"
flowcv link orcid ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0000-0000-0000
flowcv unlink orcid ; flowcv links

# avatar
flowcv avatar set https://example.com/me.png   # upload from URL or file
flowcv avatar on | off | remove

# styling (a delta into resume.customization) and templates
flowcv customize                     # no value = print the current customization tree
flowcv customize font                #   filter to a subtree (leaves as dot.path = value)
flowcv customize font.fontFamily "Source Sans Pro"   # with a value = set that dot-path
flowcv customize colors.basic.single '"#0e374e"'
flowcv icons                         # list commonly-used section iconKeys
flowcv templates                     # lists each as [free] / [PAID] (paid needs a subscription)
flowcv apply-template <templateId>   # warns first if the template is paid

# render & share
flowcv download -o resume.pdf        # the rendered PDF (--pages N caps rendered pages; default 10)
flowcv download --token <webToken> -o out.pdf   # any PUBLIC resume by its share token (no auth)
flowcv share | publish | unpublish

# backup / restore
flowcv export -o backup.json          # full resume snapshot (JSON) — keep one before big edits
flowcv import backup.json             # restore the snapshot into a NEW resume (non-destructive)
flowcv export --format jsonresume -o me.json   # export to the jsonresume.org schema
flowcv import --format jsonresume me.json      # build a NEW resume from a JSON Resume doc
flowcv backups                        # list auto-snapshots (rm-section / delete-resume snapshot first; --no-backup opts out)

flowcv login                          # refresh the cached session
flowcv doctor                         # diagnose auth/session/setup (--offline skips the live probe)
flowcv md2html --file role.md         # preview HTML (offline)

Any command takes --resume-id <id> to target a specific resume, and --json (before or after the subcommand) to emit exactly one machine-readable JSON document instead of human text — errors become {"error", "type"} on stdout with exit 1. (From source, replace flowcv with python3 flowcv.py.)

Resume as code

flowcv pull [dir]            # materialize the resume as a Markdown tree (default ./resume)
# edit the files: personal.md, NN-<section>/_section.md, NN-<id8>.md (frontmatter + body)
flowcv push [dir] --dry-run  # review the diff (last-writer-wins; no 3-way merge)
flowcv push [dir]            # apply ONLY changes (edits, adds, deletes, reorder, renames)

pull then an immediate push is a no-op. Full layout, frontmatter rules and round-trip caveats: docs/PULLPUSH.md.

Library (for scripts & LLM agents)

from flowcvcli import FlowCV

fc = FlowCV()                                   # or FlowCV(resume_id="...")
fc.set_personal_field("fullName", "Jane Doe")
fc.add_entry("work", sets={"jobTitle": "Engineer", "employer": "Acme",
                           "startDateNew": "01/2022", "endDateNew": "Present"},
             md="- Shipped a thing with **measurable** impact.")
fc.set("font.fontFamily", "Source Sans Pro")    # a customization delta
fc.set_photo("https://example.com/me.png")      # avatar from URL
fc.apply_template("a3fb6c37-...")               # a design from list_templates()
fc.save_pdf("resume.pdf")                        # render to PDF

# structure & resume management
fc.reorder_entries("work", ["id3", "id1", "id2"])   # set entry order
fc.rename_section("skill", "Core Skills"); fc.delete_section("custom1")
fc.hide_entry("work", "id", hidden=True)
new_id = fc.create_resume("Second Resume")          # or fc.duplicate_resume()
fc.rename_resume("New Title"); fc.delete_resume()    # delete is permanent
fc.set_date("publication", "id", year=2018)         # structured date; merges (only passed parts change)

# backup / restore
import json
json.dump(fc.export_resume(), open("backup.json", "w"))   # full snapshot
new_id = fc.import_resume(json.load(open("backup.json")))  # restore into a NEW resume

# JSON Resume interop (jsonresume.org schema)
from flowcvcli import to_jsonresume, from_jsonresume
jr = to_jsonresume(fc.export_resume())                     # FlowCV -> JSON Resume dict
fc.import_resume(from_jsonresume(jr, base=fc.get_resume())) # JSON Resume -> a NEW resume

# many edits? batch caches the read (1 GET instead of N against the rate limit)
with fc.batch():
    fc.set_field("work", "id", "employer", "Acme Corp")
    fc.set_date("publication", "id", year=2018)

# errors are normal exceptions (they never SystemExit your process):
from flowcvcli import FlowCVError, AuthError, RateLimitError, NotFoundError
try:
    fc.find_entry(fc.get_resume(), "work", "bad-id")
except NotFoundError as e:
    print(e)                                    # all subclass FlowCVError

Build → render → check → improve

The PDF is the rendered output. An agent can write content, save_pdf(...), open the PDF to see the actual layout, then adjust and re-render — a closed feedback loop for building a resume from raw info.

Markdown mini-format (desc / add)

You write	You get
blank line	block separator
## Heading / **Whole line bold**	bold subheader
***Whole line***	bold + italic subheader
- item	bullet (consecutive = one list)
anything else	justified paragraph
**bold** / ***bold-italic*** inline	<strong> / <strong><em>…</em></strong>
[text](url) inline	link

Bold markers inside an already-bold line or **span** are redundant and collapse to plain text — this keeps markdown ⇄ HTML round-trips stable (flowcv edit, pull/push).

How it works

• Read-modify-write: edits fetch the resume, change one part, and send it back — unrelated fields are never touched.
• New entries append to the bottom of their section; use reorder to change order.
• The on-screen preview is client-side HTML; the PDF download is a separate server render of the same data (details in docs/RENDERING.md).

Scope: this tool covers resumes. The same FlowCV account also has Cover Letters, Job Tracker, Email Signatures and Personal Websites (separate APIs — see docs/API.md "Other FlowCV products"); documented but not implemented here.

Project layout

flowcvcli/             # the package (import flowcvcli)
  config.py            #   resolve resume id + auth from .env / env vars
  client.py            #   HTTP, login, cookie-jar session, retry, batch cache
  errors.py            #   FlowCVError hierarchy (Auth/RateLimit/NotFound/Api)
  markup.py            #   markdown <-> FlowCV rich-text HTML (both directions)
  content.py           #   sections & entries (add/edit/reorder/hide/sections)
  personal.py          #   header details & links
  customization.py     #   styling deltas & templates
  jsonresume.py        #   JSON Resume (jsonresume.org) import/export
  repo.py              #   resume-as-code: pull/push Markdown tree
  photo.py             #   avatar upload / toggle
  resume.py            #   list, create/duplicate/rename/delete, download, publish, snapshots
  api.py               #   FlowCV = Client + all mixins
  cli.py / __main__.py #   the `flowcv` command
tests/                 # offline unit tests: python3 -m unittest discover -s tests -t .
docs/API.md            # reverse-engineered API reference
docs/PULLPUSH.md       # resume-as-code design (layout, frontmatter, diff rules)
docs/RENDERING.md      # how the editor renders the preview & debounces saves
flowcv.py              # source-tree entry point (python3 flowcv.py …)

License

MIT © dannyota