July 2026 · 3 min read

How to Download Your CV as a PDF (and What Export/Import JSON Actually Does)

You have filled in your details, picked a template, maybe even chosen a tasteful accent color. Now you want to take your CV with you. There are two ways out of the builder, and they do very different jobs: the PDF is the document you send to recruiters, and the JSON file is a backup for yourself. Here is how both work.

How to download your PDF

Click the Download PDFbutton in the toolbar (top right, navy, hard to miss). This opens your browser’s print dialog. In the destination dropdown, choose “Save as PDF”, then hit Save. That is the entire process — no account wall, no watermark, no “one free download per month” counter.

There is even a tip under the preview that says exactly this: Tip: “Download PDF” opens your browser’s print dialog — choose “Save as PDF”.

The result is a real PDF with real, selectable text — not a screenshot of your CV. That matters more than it sounds: applicant tracking systems (the robots that read your CV before a human does) can only parse actual text. Colors, fonts, and layout are preserved exactly as you see them in the preview.

What Export data (JSON) is for

Open the Actions menu in the toolbar and choose Export data (JSON). You get a small .json file containing everything: your CV content, template, accent color, fonts, section order, custom titles — the complete state of your draft. It is not meant for recruiters; it is meant for you. Good reasons to keep one around:

• Backup.Your draft lives in your browser’s localStorage. If that gets wiped, the JSON file is your undo button.
• Moving devices. LocalStorage does not travel — a draft made in one browser will not appear in another. Export on the old machine, import on the new one, done.
• Freezing a version. About to do a big rewrite? Export first, experiment freely, and come back if it goes sideways.
• Sharing a draft. Send the file to a friend and they can open your exact CV — formatting included — in their own browser.

What Import data (JSON) does

The same Actions menu, the other button: Import data (JSON). Pick a previously exported file and the builder restores it completely — content, template, colors, fonts, every toggle and title. It replaces your current draft, so export first if you are attached to it.

A note on privacy

All of this happens locally in your browser. The PDF is generated by your browser’s print engine, and the JSON file is written and read on your device. Nothing is uploaded anywhere — there is no server-side copy of your CV to begin with.