Document Templating System

document-templating-system is a local-first document templating system with a browser-based editor, reusable templates, HTML rendering, and PDF export.

The included example workspace is resume/CV oriented on purpose. It demonstrates the document model, asset handling, template switching, rendering, and PDF flow without making the project itself resume-specific.

Project Layout

• src/ - Rust source organized by domain: cli/, web/, templates/, remote/, storage/, pdf/, and archive/, plus core workspace/model modules.
• web/ - vanilla HTML/CSS/JS for the browser editor.
• templates/ - built-in resume/CV template renderers.
• examples/workspace/ - sample resume/CV workspace.
• bruno/document-templating-system-web/ - API regression collection for the local web server.
• scripts/ - local test, release, launcher, and renderer setup helpers.
• tools/wkhtmltox/ - project-local PDF renderer location.

Requirements

• Rust stable.
• Python 3 for helper scripts.
• Node.js for JavaScript syntax checks.
• Optional: Bruno CLI (bru) for API contract tests.
• Windows builds need either Visual Studio C++ Build Tools or the GNU Rust toolchain plus MSYS2 MinGW.

On Windows, the launcher prefers Visual C++ when configured. If Visual C++ is not available but MSYS2 GCC exists at C:\msys64\mingw64\bin\gcc.exe, it uses the GNU Rust toolchain directly.

Install the GNU toolchain if needed:

rustup toolchain install stable-x86_64-pc-windows-gnu

Run

From Windows PowerShell or CMD:

scripts\start-document-templating-system.cmd

From Git Bash, WSL, or another Bash shell:

bash scripts/document-templating-system.sh

With no command, the browser editor opens automatically. To start without opening a browser:

scripts\start-document-templating-system.cmd --web --no-open

Default URL:

http://127.0.0.1:7878

Use another port when 7878 is already in use:

scripts\start-document-templating-system.cmd --web --port 9000 --no-open

Documents

The normal editable file format is .dtsdoc. A .dtsdoc file contains the document JSON, active template reference, custom workspace templates, assets, and latest rendered HTML needed to reopen and edit the document later.

Open a document package:

scripts\start-document-templating-system.cmd --open-document path\to\resume.dtsdoc

Export the currently open document package:

scripts\start-document-templating-system.cmd --export-document resume.dtsdoc

With no command, the browser editor opens using a managed editing workspace outside the project folder:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\document-templating-system\workspaces\current

Use DOCUMENT_TEMPLATING_SYSTEM_MANAGED_WORKSPACE to override the managed workspace location.

Folder Workspaces

Folder workspaces are still supported for development, examples, and advanced workflows. Create one explicitly outside the project tree:

scripts\start-document-templating-system.cmd --init C:\Documents\my-document
scripts\start-document-templating-system.cmd --workspace C:\Documents\my-document

Workspace layout:

document-templating-system.json
document.json
assets/
renders/document.html
outputs/
backups/

Use DOCUMENT_WORKSPACE to point the app at a workspace when --workspace is not provided.

Useful CLI commands:

scripts\start-document-templating-system.cmd --templates
scripts\start-document-templating-system.cmd --check
scripts\start-document-templating-system.cmd --summary
scripts\start-document-templating-system.cmd --render
scripts\start-document-templating-system.cmd --pdf
scripts\start-document-templating-system.cmd --doctor
scripts\start-document-templating-system.cmd --export-document resume.dtsdoc

Initialize directly with a built-in resume/CV template:

scripts\start-document-templating-system.cmd --init germany-cv --template resume-germany
scripts\start-document-templating-system.cmd --init netherlands-cv --template resume-netherlands

Templates

Built-in templates:

• classic-resume - editable resume/CV sections with a two-column renderer.
• resume-germany - formal German Lebenslauf layout.
• resume-netherlands - compact Dutch-market tech CV layout.
• resume-indonesia - Indonesia-market CV layout with a profile/contact sidebar.

Template field types:

text
textarea
url
asset
list
object_list

Workspace templates can live at either:

<workspace>/templates/<id>.json
<workspace>/templates/<id>/document-template.json

Switch templates from the CLI:

scripts\start-document-templating-system.cmd --workspace my-document --use-template classic-resume

Export a template folder as a package:

scripts\start-document-templating-system.cmd --export-template my-template my-template.document-template

Remote templates can be managed from the web editor's Templates page when storage is configured in document-templating-system.config.json beside Cargo.toml, or through DOCUMENT_TEMPLATING_SYSTEM_CONFIG.

S3-compatible storage config:

{
  "driver": "s3",
  "endpoint": "http://127.0.0.1:3900",
  "bucket": "my-app",
  "region": "garage",
  "accessKeyId": "xxx",
  "secretAccessKey": "yyy",
  "forcePathStyle": true,
  "publicBaseUrl": "https://files.example.com",
  "prefix": "templates/"
}

Template folder shape:

my-template/
  document-template.json
  template.html
  style.css
  assets/
  preview.png
  examples/document.json

Manifest shape:

{
  "schema_version": 1,
  "id": "my-template",
  "name": "My Template",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "description": "",
  "render": {
    "html_file": "template.html",
    "css_file": "style.css",
    "pdf_filename": "my-template.pdf"
  },
  "sections": [],
  "defaults": {}
}

PDF Rendering

PDF output uses only the project-local converter:

• Windows: tools/wkhtmltox/bin/wkhtmltopdf.exe
• Linux x64: tools/wkhtmltox/linux-x64/bin/wkhtmltopdf

Seed the project-local converter from an installed wkhtmltopdf binary:

py scripts\install_wkhtmltopdf.py

python3 scripts/install_wkhtmltopdf.py

Use diagnostics when PDF rendering fails:

scripts\start-document-templating-system.cmd --doctor

Test

Full local suite:

py scripts\test_all.py

python3 scripts/test_all.py

Skip Bruno API tests when bru is not installed:

py scripts\test_all.py --skip-bruno

Individual checks:

cargo fmt --check
cargo check --all-targets --all-features
cargo clippy --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings
cargo test --all-features
node --check web\app.js
py -m compileall -q scripts
py scripts\package_release.py --check

Run Bruno manually after starting the web editor:

cd bruno\document-templating-system-web
bru run --env-file environments\local.bru

Package

Build a release archive:

py scripts\package_release.py --build

python3 scripts/package_release.py --build

Platform archives include the matching PDF renderer and are the recommended install artifact.