cover-letter

Cover Letter — Typst-based PDF Generation

Tool: Typst (GitHub) — A markup-based typesetting system. Modern, lightweight alternative to LaTeX.

Philosophy

• Only save the .typ source file. Never persist the PDF — generate it on demand with typst compile.
• The .typ file is the single source of truth. It should be human-readable and editable.
• When creating a new cover letter, always start from the template below. Do NOT deviate from the typographic settings.

Prerequisites & Installation

Check that typst is available:

command -v typst >/dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "ERROR: typst not installed"; exit 1; }
typst --version

Install methods (pick one)

Method	Command	Size
Homebrew (recommended on macOS)	brew install typst	~40 MB
Cargo (Rust)	cargo install --locked typst-cli	Builds from source
Binary download	Download from GitHub Releases	~40 MB

Note: Typst is a single binary (~40 MB). No texlive, no multi-GB downloads. This is the whole point of choosing Typst over LaTeX for cover letters.

Font requirement

The template uses Times New Roman, which is pre-installed on macOS. On Linux, install it via ttf-mscorefonts-installer or substitute with a compatible serif font.

Paper Size — ASK THE USER

Before creating a cover letter, ask the user which paper size to use:

Option	Typst value	When to use
US Letter	"us-letter"	North American employers (US, Canada)
A4	"a4"	International / European employers

Do NOT assume. If the user doesn't specify, ask. This is the only parameter that varies per letter.

Template — MANDATORY FORMAT

Every cover letter MUST use this exact preamble. Only paper: changes based on user choice — everything else is fixed:

#set page(paper: "us-letter", margin: (top: 1in, bottom: 0.75in, left: 1in, right: 1in))  // or "a4"
#set text(font: "Times New Roman", size: 11pt, hyphenate: false)
#set par(justify: true, leading: 0.75em, spacing: 1.18em)

Typographic Constraints (NON-NEGOTIABLE)

Parameter	Value	Rationale
Paper	"us-letter" or "a4" — ask user	Depends on target country
Top margin	1 inch	Standard business letter
Bottom margin	0.75 inch	Slightly tighter for single-page fit
Left/Right margins	1 inch	Standard
Font	Times New Roman, 11pt	Professional serif
Hyphenation	OFF	Prevents ugly word breaks
Line leading	0.75em	Matches ~15.4pt actual spacing
Paragraph spacing	1.18em	~20.5pt between paragraphs

Document Structure

// ── Sender address (right-aligned) ──
#align(right)[
  {{SENDER_NAME}} \
  {{SENDER_EMAIL}} \
  {{SENDER_CITY}}, {{SENDER_REGION}}, {{SENDER_COUNTRY}}
  #v(0.6em)
  {{DATE}}
]

#v(1.6em)

// ── Recipient ──
{{RECIPIENT_NAME_OR_TITLE}} \
{{RECIPIENT_ORG}} \
{{RECIPIENT_DEPT}} \
{{RECIPIENT_FACULTY_OR_DIVISION}}

#v(1.5em)

// ── Salutation ──
Dear {{SALUTATION}},

// ── Body paragraphs ──
{{PARAGRAPH_1}}

{{PARAGRAPH_2}}

{{PARAGRAPH_3}}

{{PARAGRAPH_4}}

// ── Closing ──
#v(0.8em)
#align(right)[
  Sincerely,
  #v(0.55em)
  {{SENDER_NAME}}
]

Spacing Rules — Critical Details

These exact #v() values produce correct visual spacing. DO NOT MODIFY:

Location	Value	Purpose
After address, before date	#v(0.6em)	Small gap between address lines and date
After date, before recipient	#v(1.6em)	Section separator
After recipient, before salutation	#v(1.5em)	Section separator
After last body paragraph, before closing	#v(0.8em)	Slightly larger than paragraph gap
Between "Sincerely," and name	#v(0.55em)	Tight — electronic letter, no signature space

Typst Syntax Reminders

• Line breaks within a block: use \ (backslash + space after)
• The @ symbol must be escaped: \@
• Comments: // text
• Do NOT use #parbreak() between body paragraphs — just leave a blank line
• Do NOT add #v() between body paragraphs — par(spacing: 1.18em) handles it

Workflow

Creating a new cover letter

1. Ask the user for:
   • Paper size: US Letter or A4?
   • Target role, company, department
   • Key qualifications to highlight
2. Draft 3-4 body paragraphs tailored to the job description
3. Fill in the template with the content (set paper: per user choice)
4. Save as cover-letter-{slug}.typ (slug = lowercase, hyphenated short name for the role)
5. Compile: typst compile cover-letter-{slug}.typ
6. Open for review: open cover-letter-{slug}.pdf (macOS)

Editing an existing cover letter

1. Read the .typ file
2. Make changes to the content (NOT the preamble or spacing)
3. Recompile: typst compile <filename>.typ

Regenerating PDF

typst compile cover-letter-{slug}.typ

That's it. One command. No need to save the PDF permanently.

File Naming Convention

cover-letter-{target-slug}.typ

Examples:

• cover-letter-ubc-cel.typ
• cover-letter-amazon-sde.typ
• cover-letter-stripe-pm.typ

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Do NOT enable hyphenation — it creates ugly word breaks like "coordi-nating" Do NOT add extra #v() between body paragraphs — paragraph spacing is already set Do NOT leave a large gap between Sincerely and the name — this is electronic, not hand-signed Do NOT save the PDF to version control — only the .typ file matters