GitVitae

A free, open-source portfolio template for developers and job seekers. Edit one YAML file, push to GitHub, get a live portfolio — no account needed, no hosting fees, no framework knowledge required.

Live demo: git-vitae.github.io

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How it works

github.com/git-vitae/git-vitae.github.io
         ↓  Use this template
github.com/YOU/my-portfolio
         ↓  Edit portfolio.config.yaml
         ↓  git push
YOU.github.io/my-portfolio   ← live in ~2 minutes

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Quick start (3 steps)

1. Create your repo from this template

Click the green "Use this template" button at the top of this page → "Create a new repository".

Naming tip: Name it yourusername.github.io and your portfolio lives at the root (yourusername.github.io). Name it anything else (e.g. portfolio) and it lives at yourusername.github.io/portfolio.

2. Enable GitHub Pages

In your new repo: Settings → Pages → Source → GitHub Actions. Save.

3. Edit portfolio.config.yaml and push

This is the only file you need to touch. Every field has a comment. Edit it on GitHub directly (click the pencil icon), commit, and your site builds automatically.

name: "Your Name"
title: "Software Engineer"
email: "you@example.com"
openToWork: true        # shows the "Open to Opportunities" banner

about: |
  Write 2-3 sentences about yourself here.
  The pipe symbol lets you write across multiple lines.

social:
  github: "https://github.com/yourusername"
  linkedin: "https://linkedin.com/in/yourusername"

Your live URL appears in Settings → Pages once the first deploy finishes (~2 min).

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What you get

• Single YAML config — no code to touch
• All sections: About, Skills, Experience, Projects, Education, Certifications, Testimonials, Contact
• Dark / light / system theme + 6 color presets (indigo, emerald, rose, amber, sky, violet)
• Resume download in PDF (print), plain text, and JSON Resume formats
• Schema.org structured data markup (good for SEO and AI tools)
• Share modal: QR code, social links, email signature snippet, embeddable card
• "Open to work" banner (flip openToWork: true)
• Smooth scroll, animated section reveals, custom cursor
• Fully responsive — mobile, tablet, desktop
• Zero backend — static files, free forever on GitHub Pages

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Config reference

Field	Required	Description
name	Yes	Your full name
title	Yes	Job title or headline
email	Yes	Contact email
tagline	No	One-line summary shown on the hero
location	No	City, Country
avatarUrl	No	URL to your photo — empty shows initials
openToWork	No	true shows the "Open to Opportunities" banner
theme.defaultTheme	No	light, dark, or system
theme.colorPreset	No	indigo emerald rose amber sky violet
social.*	No	Any key renders as a link icon (github, linkedin, twitter, …)
about	Yes	2–5 sentence bio (use | for multi-line)
skills	No	List of categories, each with a list of skill names
experience	No	Work history entries
projects	No	Portfolio projects (featured: true pins to top)
education	No	Degrees or courses
certifications	No	Certs with optional credential URL
testimonials	No	Quotes from colleagues or managers

See portfolio.config.yaml for a fully-commented example of every field and every option.

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Adding a profile photo

Set avatarUrl to any public image URL:

avatarUrl: "https://github.com/yourusername.png"

GitHub profile pictures work perfectly — just swap in your username.

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Custom domain

1. Add a CNAME file to the repo root containing your domain (e.g. jane.dev)
2. Add a CNAME DNS record pointing to yourusername.github.io
3. In Settings → Pages, enter your custom domain

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Validate before you push (optional)

If you have Node.js installed locally:

git clone https://github.com/you/your-portfolio
cd your-portfolio
pnpm install
pnpm check-config   # catches typos and missing fields
pnpm dev            # preview at http://localhost:3000

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Getting updates

Stay notified: click Watch → Custom → Releases only on the GitVitae repo and GitHub will email you whenever a new version ships.

When you're ready to pull an update into your portfolio, run:

pnpm upgrade-template

That's it. The script adds GitVitae as an upstream remote (once), fetches the latest code, and merges it — without touching your portfolio.config.yaml. Follow it with pnpm install && git push to deploy the update.

Conflicts are extremely rare. They only occur if GitVitae renames a field in portfolio.config.yaml that you've already filled in. The script will tell you exactly what to do if that happens.

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FAQ

Do I need to know React or JavaScript? No. You only edit portfolio.config.yaml.

Is this free? Yes. GitHub Pages is free for public repos. GitVitae is MIT licensed.

Can I make my repo private? GitHub Pages requires a paid plan for private repos.

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Built with

React · Vite · TypeScript · Tailwind CSS · Framer Motion

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Built with GitVitae — MIT License