🗂️ HireTrack — Career Management Platform

A premium full-stack, private workspace to track job applications, referrals, resumes, cover letters, and career progress — built for serious job seekers.

📌 Table of Contents

Overview
New Features (Latest Updates)
Features
Tech Stack
Project Structure
Database Models
API Endpoints
Getting Started
Environment Variables
Running the App
Browser Extension
Deployment
Author

🌟 Overview

HireTrack is a production-grade, full-stack web application designed to replace messy spreadsheets and scattered notes with a clean, centralized career management workspace.

Every job application, referral outreach, resume version, cover letter, follow-up deadline, and career milestone lives in one private, authenticated workspace — visible only to the logged-in user.

The platform combines practical job-search tooling with AI-powered features (ATS resume analysis, cover letter generation, career roadmap planning) wrapped in a stunning, modern "Dark Nebula" UI theme with fluid animations.

🚀 New Features (Latest Updates)

Over the recent development iterations, HireTrack has evolved significantly to provide a premium user experience:

Dark Nebula Theme & Aesthetics: Completely redesigned frontend UI featuring a highly-polished dark mode, vibrant neon green accents (#c4fc70), glassmorphism effects, glowing active borders, and smooth framer-motion page transitions.
Interactive Visual Pipeline: A dynamic flowchart view for Job Applications and Referrals showing real-time statistics and interactive progression stages (e.g., Applied → Phone Screen → Interview → Offer).
Scribble Feature (Visual Cards): A beautifully simulated cursive handwriting animation tool that tracks realistic job search "scribbles" (like follow-ups and mock interviews) stroke-by-stroke on a transparent canvas.
AI Career Roadmap Builder: Generates dynamic, step-by-step career progression nodes based on your current profile, complete with interactive UI cards.
Enhanced Landing Page: Redesigned marketing landing page with floating 3D elements, feature highlights, and interactive component previews.

✨ Features

✍️ Scribble Feature (Live Job Tracker Notes)

An animated, stroke-by-stroke cursive handwriting showcase built directly into the UI.
Simulates realistic job search notes (e.g., Applied to 10 jobs today, Update resume for Frontend role, Prepare for system design).
Uses framer-motion and custom SVG masking to mimic a real pencil tracing over the screen.

🔐 Authentication & Privacy

Session-based authentication with Django's built-in auth system
Full workspace isolation — each user sees only their own data
Login, Signup, Logout, and password change support
Profile management with photo upload

📋 Job Application Tracker

Log applications with: company, role, job ID, platform, salary range, status, notes, follow-up date
Attach resume and cover letter files per application
Filter, search, and sort applications
Star/favourite important applications
Status tracking: Applied → Pending → Selected → Rejected
Inline editing from the list view

🤝 Referral Manager

Track referral outreach with contact name, company, email, LinkedIn URL
Status tracking: Pending → Replied → No Response
Follow-up date reminders and starred referrals
Inline editing and deletion

📊 Dashboard Analytics & Pipelines

Pipeline Stream: Visual pipeline overview showing live application drop-off rates and referral engagement metrics.
Streak tracker — consecutive daily activity monitoring
Follow-up alerts — items due soon surfaced automatically
Real-time stats across the entire workspace

🔔 Notifications System

Smart notifications for follow-up deadlines, status changes, and milestones
Unread indicator in the header
Mark-as-read with localStorage persistence

⭐ Starred Items

Unified starred view across both jobs and referrals
Quick-access to high-priority opportunities

🧠 AI-Powered Tools

ATS Resume Analyzer

Upload a resume (PDF) + paste a job description
AI extracts keywords from the JD and compares against resume content
Returns a match score, missing keywords, and actionable suggestions
Built with pypdf for PDF parsing + external LLM API (Groq (Llama 3))

Cover Letter Generator

Input resume details and job description
AI generates a structured, professional cover letter
Option to download as PDF (xhtml2pdf)

Career Roadmap

Input your degree, target role, experience level, and country
AI returns a personalized multi-step career plan
Roadmap displayed as an animated visual step-by-step timeline using framer-motion

🗄️ Career Vault

Centralized view of all uploaded documents
Resume and cover letter files linked to each job application
Download documents directly from the vault

🏆 Streak Tracker

Tracks consecutive days of job-search activity
Visual flame indicator in the header
Motivates daily progress

👤 Profile System

Full profile with education (multiple entries), experience (multiple entries), skills
Profile photo upload
Used as context for AI-generated content (cover letters, roadmap)

🌐 Browser Extension

Floating Action Menu (FAM) — installable Chrome extension
Add job applications and referrals directly from any job portal (LinkedIn, Indeed, etc.)
Without leaving the job listing page

🛠️ Tech Stack

Backend

Technology	Version	Purpose
Python	3.11+	Core language
Django	5.2	Web framework, ORM, auth
Django CORS Headers	4.9	Cross-origin request handling
Gunicorn	23.0	WSGI production server
WhiteNoise	6.9	Static file serving
Pillow	12.2	Image/profile photo processing
pypdf	6.10	PDF resume parsing
xhtml2pdf	0.2	PDF cover letter generation
python-dotenv	1.0	Environment variable management
dj-database-url	2.3	Database URL config for deployment
requests	2.32	External AI API calls

Frontend

Technology	Version	Purpose
React	19	UI component framework
Vite	6	Build tool and dev server
Tailwind CSS	3	Utility-first styling
Framer Motion	latest	Complex animations, page transitions, visual cards
Lucide React	latest	Icon library
React Router DOM	7	Client-side routing
Vanilla CSS	—	Custom glassmorphism, animations, Dark Nebula theme tokens

Database

Environment	Database
Development	SQLite3
Production	PostgreSQL (via `dj-database-url`)

📁 Project Structure

hiretrack/
├── manage.py                    # Django entry point
├── requirements.txt             # Python dependencies
├── db.sqlite3                   # Dev database
├── .gitignore
│
├── config/                      # Django project config
│   ├── settings.py
│   ├── urls.py
│   └── wsgi.py
│
├── tracker/                     # Main Django app
│   ├── models.py                # Job, Referral, Profile, Education, Experience
│   ├── views.py                 # All API views (60+ endpoints)
│   ├── urls.py                  # URL routing
│   ├── career_roadmap_view.py   # Career roadmap AI endpoint
│   ├── utils_pdf.py             # PDF generation utilities
│   ├── forms.py                 # Django forms
│   ├── admin.py                 # Django admin registration
│   └── tests.py                 # Unit tests
│
├── media/                       # Uploaded files (resumes, profile pics)
├── resumes/                     # Resume file storage
├── profiles/                    # Profile image storage
│
├── hiretrack-extension/         # Chrome browser extension
│   ├── manifest.json
│   ├── popup.html
│   ├── popup.js
│   └── content.js
│
└── frontend/                    # React frontend (Vite)
    ├── index.html
    ├── vite.config.js
    ├── tailwind.config.js
    ├── package.json
    └── src/
        ├── main.jsx             # React entry point
        ├── App.jsx              # Router + route definitions
        ├── api.js               # API base URL helper
        ├── index.css            # Global styles + Dark Nebula theme
        │
        ├── Home.jsx             # Landing page
        ├── Header.jsx           # Sticky navigation header
        ├── Sidebar.jsx          # Slide-out user sidebar
        │
        ├── Login.jsx            # Login page
        ├── Signup.jsx           # Registration page
        │
        ├── Dashboard.jsx        # Analytics dashboard
        ├── AddJobPage.jsx       # Add job form
        ├── JobsPage.jsx         # Job list with search/filter/edit
        ├── AddReferralPage.jsx  # Add referral form
        ├── ViewReferrals.jsx    # Referral list
        ├── StarredPage.jsx      # Starred jobs + referrals
        ├── NotificationsPage.jsx # Notification center
        │
        ├── ProfilePage.jsx      # View profile
        ├── EditProfilePage.jsx  # Edit profile, education, experience
        ├── SettingsPage.jsx     # Password change, preferences
        │
        ├── ResumeAnalyzerPage.jsx  # ATS analyzer UI
        ├── CoverLetterPage.jsx     # Cover letter generator UI
        ├── CareerRoadmapPage.jsx   # Career roadmap UI
        ├── CareerVault.jsx         # Document vault
        ├── StreakPage.jsx          # Streak tracker
        ├── ExtensionFormPage.jsx   # Extension form handler
        │
        └── components/
            ├── Avatar.jsx            # Profile avatar component
            ├── ReferralForm.jsx      # Reusable referral form
            ├── PipelineStream.jsx    # Interactive Flowchart visualizations
            ├── VisualCards.jsx       # Chalkboard handwriting showcase
            └── ...

🗃️ Database Models

`Job`

Field	Type	Description
`user`	ForeignKey(User)	Owner — workspace isolation
`company`	CharField	Company name
`role`	CharField	Job title/role
`job_id`	CharField	Job posting ID
`platform`	CharField	LinkedIn, Indeed, etc.
`salary_range`	CharField	Expected salary
`job_description`	TextField	Full JD text
`resume_file`	FileField	Attached resume
`cover_letter_file`	FileField	Attached cover letter
`status`	CharField	applied / pending / selected / rejected
`notes`	TextField	Personal notes
`follow_up_date`	DateField	Reminder date
`is_starred`	BooleanField	Starred flag
`date_applied`	DateField	Application date

`Referral`

Field	Type	Description
`user`	ForeignKey(User)	Owner
`person_name`	CharField	Contact person name
`company`	CharField	Target company
`email`	EmailField	Contact email
`linkedin`	URLField	LinkedIn profile
`status`	CharField	pending / replied / no_response
`notes`	TextField	Notes
`follow_up_date`	DateField	Follow-up reminder
`is_starred`	BooleanField	Starred flag
`date`	DateField	Date of outreach

`Profile`

Stores user bio, contact info, single education/experience entry, skills, resume file, and profile photo. Linked 1-to-1 with Django User.

`Education`

Multiple education entries per user — college, course, start/end year.

`Experience`

Multiple work experience entries per user — company, role, start/end date, description.

🔌 API Endpoints

Authentication

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	`/api/auth/status/`	Check login status + user info
POST	`/api/auth/logout/`	Log out current user

Jobs

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	`/api/add-job/`	Create a new job application
GET	`/api/jobs/`	List all jobs for current user
PATCH	`/api/job/update/<id>/`	Update job fields
DELETE	`/api/job/delete/<id>/`	Delete a job
POST	`/api/job/star/<id>/`	Toggle star on a job
GET	`/api/job/document/<id>/<kind>/`	Download resume or cover letter

Referrals

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	`/api/add-referral/`	Create a new referral
GET	`/api/referrals/`	List all referrals
PATCH	`/api/referral/update/<id>/`	Update referral fields
DELETE	`/api/referral/delete/<id>/`	Delete a referral
POST	`/api/referral/star/<id>/`	Toggle star on a referral

Dashboard & Misc

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	`/api/dashboard/`	Aggregated stats for dashboard
GET	`/api/starred/`	All starred jobs and referrals
GET	`/api/notifications/`	All notifications for user
GET	`/api/streaks/`	Streak data

Profile

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	`/api/profile/`	Get current user profile
POST	`/api/profile/update/`	Update profile fields
POST	`/api/change-password/`	Change account password

AI Tools

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	`/api/resume-analyze/`	ATS resume analysis
POST	`/api/generate-cover-letter/`	AI cover letter generation
POST	`/api/generate-cover-letter-pdf/`	Download cover letter as PDF
POST	`/api/career-roadmap/`	AI career roadmap generation
GET	`/api/career-vault/`	List all uploaded documents

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

Python 3.11+
Node.js 18+
npm or yarn
Git

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/your-username/hiretrack.git
cd hiretrack

2. Backend Setup

# Create and activate virtual environment
python -m venv venv

# Windows
venv\Scripts\activate

# macOS / Linux
source venv/bin/activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Configure Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the root directory:

SECRET_KEY=your-django-secret-key
DEBUG=True
ALLOWED_HOSTS=localhost,127.0.0.1
DATABASE_URL=sqlite:///db.sqlite3

# AI API key (for resume analyzer, cover letter, career roadmap)
GROQ_API_KEY=your-api-key-here

# CORS
CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:5173

4. Run Database Migrations

python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py migrate

5. Create a Superuser (Optional)

python manage.py createsuperuser

6. Frontend Setup

cd frontend
npm install

▶️ Running the App

Start Backend (Django)

# From project root
python manage.py runserver
# Runs at http://127.0.0.1:8000

Start Frontend (React + Vite)

# From /frontend directory
npm run dev
# Runs at http://localhost:5173

Both servers need to run simultaneously during development.

Build Frontend for Production

cd frontend
npm run build

The built files will be in frontend/dist/ — serve them with WhiteNoise or a CDN.

🔑 Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Description
`SECRET_KEY`	✅	Django secret key
`DEBUG`	✅	`True` for dev, `False` for prod
`ALLOWED_HOSTS`	✅	Comma-separated allowed hosts
`DATABASE_URL`	✅	Database connection string
`GROQ_API_KEY`	✅	Groq (Llama 3) API key for AI features
`CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS`	✅	Frontend URL for CORS

🧩 Browser Extension

The hiretrack-extension/ folder contains a Chrome-compatible browser extension.

Install Locally

Open Chrome and go to chrome://extensions/
Enable Developer Mode (top right)
Click Load unpacked
Select the hiretrack-extension/ folder

Features

Floating Action Menu on any job portal page
Click to open a quick-add form for jobs or referrals
Data syncs directly to your HireTrack workspace

🌍 Deployment

Recommended Stack

Backend: Render / Railway / Heroku (with Gunicorn)
Frontend: Vercel / Netlify (static build)
Database: PostgreSQL (Render DB / Supabase)
Media Files: Cloudinary or AWS S3

Production Checklist

Set DEBUG=False
Set a strong SECRET_KEY
Configure ALLOWED_HOSTS with your domain
Set DATABASE_URL to PostgreSQL connection string
Set GROQ_API_KEY
Run python manage.py collectstatic
Build frontend with npm run build
Configure CORS to allow your frontend domain

Example `Procfile` (for Render/Heroku)

web: gunicorn config.wsgi:application

🧪 Running Tests

# From project root, with venv activated
python manage.py test tracker

📊 Project Stats

Metric	Value
Backend API Endpoints	30+
Integrated Feature Modules	8
Database Models	5 (Job, Referral, Profile, Education, Experience)
Frontend Pages/Components	28+
AI-Powered Features	3 (ATS Analyzer, Cover Letter, Career Roadmap)
Lines of Code	6,500+

🤝 Contributing

This is a personal project. Feel free to fork it and build your own version.

Fork the repo
Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/your-feature
Commit your changes: git commit -m 'Add your feature'
Push to the branch: git push origin feature/your-feature
Open a Pull Request

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

👤 Author

Shinu Cherian

GitHub: @Shinu-Cherian
Project: HireTrack

_{Built with ❤️ for serious job seekers. Track smarter. Apply faster. Get hired.}

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 247 Commits
config		config
frontend		frontend
hiretrack-extension		hiretrack-extension
staticfiles		staticfiles
tracker		tracker
.env.example		.env.example
.gitignore		.gitignore
Procfile		Procfile
README.md		README.md
ca.pem		ca.pem
docker-compose.yml		docker-compose.yml
fix_visualcards.js		fix_visualcards.js
manage.py		manage.py
patch.py		patch.py
patch_attach_button.py		patch_attach_button.py
patch_attach_button2.py		patch_attach_button2.py
patch_debug_alerts.js		patch_debug_alerts.js
patch_scribble_resilience.js		patch_scribble_resilience.js
patch_span.py		patch_span.py
patch_span2.py		patch_span2.py
patch_upload_fix.py		patch_upload_fix.py
prometheus.yml		prometheus.yml
remove_attach_feature.py		remove_attach_feature.py
requirements.txt		requirements.txt
runtime.txt		runtime.txt
test.png		test.png
test_direct.py		test_direct.py
test_e2e_upload.py		test_e2e_upload.py
test_email.py		test_email.py
test_resend.py		test_resend.py
test_upload.js		test_upload.js
test_upload.py		test_upload.py

Folders and files

Latest commit

History

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🗂️ HireTrack — Career Management Platform

📌 Table of Contents

🌟 Overview

🚀 New Features (Latest Updates)

✨ Features

✍️ Scribble Feature (Live Job Tracker Notes)

🔐 Authentication & Privacy

📋 Job Application Tracker

🤝 Referral Manager

📊 Dashboard Analytics & Pipelines

🔔 Notifications System

⭐ Starred Items

🧠 AI-Powered Tools

ATS Resume Analyzer

Cover Letter Generator

Career Roadmap

🗄️ Career Vault

🏆 Streak Tracker

👤 Profile System

🌐 Browser Extension

🛠️ Tech Stack

Backend

Frontend

Database

📁 Project Structure

🗃️ Database Models

Job

Referral

Profile

Education

Experience

🔌 API Endpoints

Authentication

Jobs

Referrals

Dashboard & Misc

Profile

AI Tools

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

1. Clone the Repository

2. Backend Setup

3. Configure Environment Variables

4. Run Database Migrations

5. Create a Superuser (Optional)

6. Frontend Setup

▶️ Running the App

Start Backend (Django)

Start Frontend (React + Vite)

Build Frontend for Production

🔑 Environment Variables

🧩 Browser Extension

Install Locally

Features

🌍 Deployment

Recommended Stack

Production Checklist

Example Procfile (for Render/Heroku)

🧪 Running Tests

📊 Project Stats

🤝 Contributing

📄 License

👤 Author

About

Resources

Stars

Watchers

Forks

Releases

Packages

Contributors

Languages

`Job`

`Referral`

`Profile`

`Education`

`Experience`

Example `Procfile` (for Render/Heroku)